Rating: 3.5⭐️

I don’t really know what to say about this book. It was messy, kinda funny, awkward at times and a slow, slow burn. I started it and got bored to I set it down it and pick something else to read. I almost DNF it but I soldiered on to finish it. I don’t feel any connection to any of the characters and the love story got good maybe the last 70 pages. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC copy.

The primary female character, Josie, has been engaged four times in her life, and her sudden link to her wealthy and hitherto unknown father has become her father's public relations nightmare. in order to resolve this issue. In a panic, Josie confesses that she is engaged to Matthew, the best friend of her sister.

No doubt, the novel picks up speed from the beginning. And although I liked Matthew, at first I didn't think it made sense that he simply accepted Josie's lies.

But I have to say that Josie and Matthew simply melted my heart. Seeing the relationship develop from fake to real was lovely. Also, I must admit that Josie and Matthew's sexual relationship is rather spicy.

My main issue was the false engagement and the reason for it. I think it would have worked better if there had been more context behind it because it was so unbelievable. And I really wanted to hear Matthew's side of the story because I thought it would provide greater insight into how and why he was agreeing to the engagement.

You'll probably like this book if you like sly male main characters and fake dating!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book.
I have enjoyed all of Elena Armas books i have read in the past. However, sometimes they can start very slow. I felt this book gave me more to start than others so it was easier to keep reading.
I love the fake fiance trope. Sign me up!! The characters were relatable and i could feel their connection.

I think this is my favorite Elena Armas book to date, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that there's no third act break-up here. Josie and Matthew were really sweet, if not extremely chaotic, and they did a pretty decent job of communicating, minus the initial "this is my fiance please play along Matthew" shenanigans. The set-up for the fake engagement was pretty far fetched, along with the fact that Josie had been engaged 4 times and left her husband-to-be at the altar 4 times, and I think the fake engagement/marriage is a trope that just isn't for me. But even given that, I really enjoyed this book. And again, no third act break-up! More of this please!

Thank you NetGalley, Elena Armas, and Simon and Schuster for the e-arc of The Fiancé Dilemma! I’ve read and enjoyed all of Elena Armas other books, and now I can add this one to the list!

Josie Moore is “Always the Bride” but never the wife - aka she’s been enhanced 4 times but has made it (successfully) down the aisle 0 times. When a PR strategist (Bobbi-with-an-i Shark) shows up at her door somewhat unexpectedly, Josie is in the middle of trying on a past engagement ring, getting it stuck, and then using a jar of jelly of all things to try to get it off. Needless to say, a mess. This mess causes an even bigger mess when Bobbi mistakes the old engagement ring for a new one, the most logical for Josie to do is to say that her fiancé is none other than her sister’s best friend (whom she has never met but is conveniently walking up her drive at the best moment).

Matthew Flanagan just got fired from his job in Chicago, and the only thing that made sense to him was to visit his best friend in Green Oak, North Carolina. What he wasn’t planning on was his car breaking down, walking in a storm, and getting roped into being a fake fiancé to someone he’s only interacted with over text. But, being the sweetheart he is, Matthew goes along with the idea. Both him and Josie think it’ll just be a quick PR stunt to help Josie’s dad and they can quickly put it behind them.

Neither Josie nor Matthew plan on ACTUALLY making plans and having a wedding date chosen so near in the future. Together, they have to convince a whole town (and two invasive podcast hosts) that they are in love and the real deal. Josie and Matthew navigate Josie’s past and her relationship with her estranged father, his future career choices, and whether or not the feelings they have towards each other are still just for show.


Usually I am not a blond MMC girlie, but Matthew was just so funny, caring, and his mouth was *chefs kiss*. He knew the right thing to say and when to say it and it was great. I do wish we had more than just one chapter for his POV (I wanted to know what he was thinking the entire time) and I feel like I could’ve seen better dimension to his character with his POV.
Josie was an adorable, anxious mess and I related to her many times about being a people pleaser and doing things for others but not expecting anything in return. She doesn’t want to settle in love and she overcomes a lot of negative self talk, with the help of her sister and Matthew.

I loved the spice and the funny, heartfelt moments and think this might be my favorite Elena Armas book to date! (And I LOVED grumpy British Cameron in The Long Game)

**I was given an eARC that was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Solid 4 ⭐️

This was cute, fun, and I love a man obsessed! So happy there was no 3rd act breakup 🙌🏻 I really enjoyed the characters and their relationships with each other. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read

I’m a sucker for the fake finance trope so I thought this one was a lot of fun. The banter, the spice, the tension was all *chefs kiss* I’m looking forward to reading more of her books

The Fiancé Dilemma
By: Elena Armas
Review Score: 4 1/2 Stars

The Fiancé Dilemma was provided by NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

In The Fiancé Dilemma, we meet Josie, a woman who has been engaged multiple times, who also happens to be the daughter of a very rich father (whom she didn’t know until recently). He starts to get some heat for her inability to get married, and before she knows it, she has a PR team playing damage control. In a panic, she tells them she is marrying Matthew, the best friend of her sister.

Naturally, chaos ensues as Josie and Matthew get to know each other, all while tackling the press (and a podcast!) who is talking about Josie’s love life, and her estranged father.

This book was a joy to read. I loved following Josie and Matthew’s relationship!

This book is actually the second in a series, but I loved this one so much more!

Definitely check this one out!

She’s done it again!
Elena Armas cannot miss!
I absolutely loved this one. I am the biggest fan of fake dating and absolutely devoured this one. These may be my fav characters of hers yet!

Baby Blue and her Boston Boy

MY FIRST @netgal read! I screamed when I got approved for this on NetGalley cuz I literally had juuust signed up and was just hoping for the best.

Everything I’ve read by @elena so far, I’ve loved. And that didn’t change with The Fiancé Dilemma. Josie and Matthew were adorable and perfectly imperfect for each other.

This gave me the gushy feelings that an enemies to lovers read gives me and STAY WITH ME, I know that it’s not an enemies to lovers book but it’s still definitely had the “if I show you all my imperfections, will you still love me” aspect that we all know in love from those kind of books.

Josie has made it to the altar four times and has left the altar single four times. All of these left a mark on her and she was aware of that but then this tall golden retriever with a dirty mind and an even dirty mouth walked in and looked at all of those marks and still loved her and still wanted to make her smile.

What this was, was a quirky and heart warming sister’s best friend, fake engagement book that had cute side characters and an even cutter small town.

Matthew will go on the blond book boyfriend perfection shelf and I really don’t know I’ll ever get over him and his glasesss …. And that mouth yall looool. So hot. 🤣

I loved the main characters and their excellent chemistry. I enjoyed the overall fake dating vibe and how it developed. I found it nice to read about how they bonded so well that even in their lowest points, they relied on one another for support.

Thank you NetGalley, Elena Armas, and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Did I enjoy the book - yes, I really did. However, I was hoping for more.. I don't know if that's because of the build up around the book, but I was left with that "huh, that's it" feeling. Am I disappointed that I read it, absolutely not, I love Elena Armas and will read whatever she releases. Will I recommend this book to my friends? Yes, I just wouldn't hype it up as much as it was hyped up to me. Had I not been so excited for this book because of the promo, I would have probably given it a higher star rating, but because I was let down, I can't give it 5 stars.

I wanted to love this, when I started it I thought I would. But it just wasn’t it. Bobbi was involved for way too long, I hated her and hated her walking all over Josie. It was exhausting and towards the end i lost interest. I loved Matthew, I wish there was more fork his POV.

This was so stinking fun and cute! Leave it to Elena to always come through with the rom-com feels! I truly adored being back in this town again and the different take on fake engagement!

4.5/5 stars
Elena Armas is back with a fake dating romance book. This book follows Josie who had some failed engagements and because of a PR issue, she ends up being engaged to Matthew. This was a great read and I devoured the story of this book. I loved this book so much more than The Spanish Love Deception. The story takes place in a small town and I loved following the characaters there. The story was fun but I do have to say that by the cover and the sounds of it, I was expecting all 4 of the ex-fiances to show up but they never did. This book is told from Josie’s pov but I would have done anything to be in Matthew’s head.

Josie if the FMC of the story who doesn’t want to be enagaged but has to for this PR issue. I loved her bubbly self and seeing her develop throughout the book. She cares so much for her people but I loved seeing her love for Matthew grow. Matthew is the main side character who stubbles into the mess but would do anything for Josie. I do have to say that it was strange how he just appeared but I think I should have read book 1 to know more. I loved his character as he’s such a sweeatheart. There are many side characters in this book and I loved a majority of them. Josie’s grandpa is such a sweet grump. The romance is fake dating and slow burn which was so well done.

The ending of this story was well done and I was so happy to read Matthew’s pov. The story was greatly and amazingly done. Also the color of the cover is so pretty. I recommend checking this book which you don’t want to miss out.

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

I haven't read the first book in this series, so maybe something was a little lost on me. I certainly was a bit confused by all the characters in the book. But, I found the second half of this book to be much stronger than the first half. Once the slow burn romance picks up a bit (and boy, does it pick up....), the story moved a lot faster and I didn't want it to end!

I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you NetGalley, Elena Armas, and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

This follow up to The Long Game felt exactly that... long - but we love a good slow burn. I am a huge fan of this author, and have absolutely devoured her other works, but this one... just fell short after the masterpiece that The Long Game was.

***Must read The Long Game before reading this one, or you will be lost.***

Read if you love:
-Fake Dating/Engagements
-Slow Burn (and I mean SLOW... but when it picks up it does get pretty spicy!)
-He Falls First
-Small Towns
-Runaway Bride vibes
-Sibling's Best Friend romances
-Laugh out loud moments

The overall story was actually very cute. Chock full of angst. laugh out loud moments and the delicious fake engagement debacle - Elena Armas fans will generally enjoy this one. However, our FMC - Josie seemed to lack a certain depth that I was craving as a reader on the character development front. This one definitely wasn't my personal favorite from this author, and other readers may find themselves a bit underwhelmed by this one... but I will definitely be looking to have this in a physical copy for the shelves!

sabe aquele filme “quatro casamentos um funeral”? é essa vibe aqui, mas o certo seria: quase quatro casamento e uma demissão!

eu gostei do livro, ganhou o bronze dos livros da elena. consigo ver a evolução da escrita da elena e como ela ter perdido alguns vícios. isso deixa a leitura ainda mais fluída.

enfim, nao tem muito oq considerar…

Josie, the secret sister of Adalyn from the first book, is the daughter of Andrew Underwood, the multimillionaire owner of the Miami Heat soccer team. A small-town girl unaware of her wealthy lineage, Josie suddenly finds her life under public scrutiny when the media and social media expose her secrets, including her history of being engaged four times. Dubbed "the runner" for leaving each fiancé before the wedding, Josie fabricates a new engagement to redeem her reputation—this time with Matthew, Adalyn’s best friend. With the lie spiraling out of control, Matthew reluctantly agrees to go along with the fake engagement. I enjoyed this one, it kept me interested throughout!

3.5 stars (⭐️⭐️⭐️✨)

Oh how I had higher hopes for Josie and Matthew’s story after reading “The Long Game” – which I do recommend you read first, otherwise you might be a little lost in the story with The Fiance Dilemma. The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas is fun and a suuppppper slow burn with all the wonderful witty banter I’ve come to expect from her as an author. Josie lives in a small, rural town in North Carolina, is the self-appointed “mayor”, owns a coffee shop, and pretty much does it all for the town. Until recently, she didn’t know who her father was and found out she has a sister all in one fell swoop and gets into a PR nightmare. Josie has a bit of a past with broken engagements – 4 to be exact and when Matthew comes stumbling into town she ropes him into her fake engagement scheme. Uggghhhhh I really wanted to like this one way more — I feel like it would have worked better had it been dual POV — it felt very rushed/you didn’t really get a good sense of what Matthew was thinking or how they truly fell in love. I think we were in Josie’s head a little bit too much and bless her she just was a bit of a mess who I didn’t see much personal growth from. I do love that there was no 3rd act break-up or miscommunication trope!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Elena Armas and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book!