okay, my new fav Elena Armas book! i read the american roommate experiment and really liked it but Josie and Matthew 😩😩😩 i looooove them. their banter was the cutest and just their chemistry together made my heart swell and smile and do all the things. i was chuckling so often and the freaking tension was killin me. we love an assertive man in glasses, and let me tell you, Matthew is that guy. he’s one of my new fav book boyfriends for sure. we also love good spice. it was v nice and not something i was expecting from a blonde in glasses lmao. this whole review is just about how much i love them together lol. but also how sad i was for Josie and how ppl were seeing her and just knowing her by her engagements. anyway, 5/5
thank you Atria books and netgalley for this e arc in exchange for my honest review!

I had a really hard time connecting to this story. I couldn't get into the characters and the slow burn made me lose interest. It was a really sweet story, just not for me. I really loved Elena Armas' previous book and I will keep reading her future work.

The only other Elena Armas book that I have read was the American Roommate Experiment. I know that her books are all connected but I obviously have no read them all! I believe I missed the story of Cam and Adalyn?

I loved Matthew and Josie. From the very first time we see them interact in this story, I was in love. The small town setting was perfect. I was getting Stars Hollow vibes and also some Done and Dusted vibes. I felt immediately pulled into this story. The setting felt incredibly cozy and I just wanted to live in this little town.

Anyway, this was a really fun book!! If I’m being honest, I got a little bored towards the end. It felt like it dragged on a bit and I wasn’t sure where the story was going to go.

I loved the fake dating trope in this story. I loved the side characters (Grandpa Moe ❤️) This was a lovely romance book!

I appreciate the opportunity to read this book early, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite resonate with me. I struggled to connect with the main character, which made the story feel a bit lackluster. I found myself not as engaged with Josie and Matthew's journey as I usually am with romances. While this one wasn’t a perfect fit for me, I’m grateful for the chance to read it.

Elena Armas has done it again. This was such a great book and had my favorite trope fake dating in it. The only down fall in my opinion was that it was such a slow burn. The chemistry was there but it took so long to actually occur.

Going into this book I had never read any other Elena Armas books before, so I had no notions of what to expect. I really ended up thoroughly enjoying every aspect of this book, and really fell in love with all the characters and the story. Matthew is an amazing MMC, and the thing he does for Josie really make my heart melt. I would love to get more of Matthew’s perspective, and could read a whole book from his side. Regardless, I loved this book, and will now be looking to read some more Elena Armas books.

Fake engagement? Baby pigs named Pedro? A hilarious PR crisis manager? This book is the perfect amount of romance, humor, and heartwarming!

Josie Moore is a runaway bride. With four failed engagements and a complicated family history, she seizes the opportunity to help her father’s PR crisis by pretending to be engaged. Meanwhile, Matthew Flanagan, freshly fired and stranded in Green Oak, North Carolina, unexpectedly finds himself playing the role of Josie's fiancé when he runs into her. As they navigate their fake relationship, unexpected sparks fly. Will they actually make it to the altar or will their situationship end in heartbreak?

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Elena Armas for allowing me access to this book. All opinions are my own.

(3.5/5) This book took me a little longer to get to as I love a series, so I went back and read The Long Game first. I'll be honest, TLG did not give Josie the setup she deserved, and I feel like actually going back and reading TLG didn't really hype me up that Josie was the main character in this book. The four fiance premise on top of the fake engagement on top of the public intrigue was a bit much, and it took me a bit to get into it, but it did pick up for me and I ended up enjoying this book more than TLG overall. Elena Armas is truly gifted at writing romantic tension between her characters, and although her books are slow burns, once they burn they burn brightly! I think when I can buy into the plot a bit more, Elena Armas' writing is a home run for me (The Spanish Love Deception). This book is a solid romance, but was not my favorite I read this summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my advanced eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The plot kept me interested and the author did a good job with the back and forth banter that makes all books good

A well written romance between 2 fake fiance's. The story was well written and the scenes were steamy. It was a pleasure to read.

I really enjoyed The Long Game and liked Josie and Matthew in that story. Unfortunately, I struggled to get through this one. I’m not sure why, but Josie seemed clueless in this book, making poor decisions to keep everyone else happy. Matthew was fine, I didn’t get the same joy from this book as I did the first one as I was too distracted by my annoyance with Josie caring about a PR nightmare for a man she barely knows.

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Elena Armas for the eARC.

Elena Armas is the queen of slow burn and she's doing it again with Josie and Matthew's love story!

In a very soap-opera style, Josie gets Matthew to agree to her crazy plan to pretend they're engaged for PR purposes. The plan is quite simple: they don't get married but stay friends.

Well, it'd be simple, if falling for each other wasn't inevitable.

Elena's signature style is woven in this novel, and you can expect lots of banter, sex tension, and hilarious moments, that will have you turning the pages so fast you'll get to the end of the book without even realizing it!

Josie might be a little neurotic but I absolutely love it. One mishap after another this book is cute and funny! Our FMC Josie, finds her self in a pickle only to bale save by Mathew. As their fake relationship progresses, real feelings begin to grow. This book has LOL moments all throughout and is the type of messy we love! I had a great time reading this story

Rating: 3.5/5

- small town
- fake engagement
- best friend's half-sister
- single pov
- narrated by Brittany Pressley

Premise: A PR person comes knocking on your door to handle the PR crisis that is your existence as your famous father's "love child." The fact you've run away from four weddings doesn't help matters, but do you know what does? Saying you're engaged to the first man that appears – your half-sister's best friend.

I've got to admit, I think Elena peaked with TSLD 🫣. This was very cute... but also not super memorable. You have over-the-top, bubbly Josie, the perfect golden retriever book boyfriend in Matthew, a dash of spicy spice, and all the quintessential small-town shenanigans.

I will say Brittany nailed the audiobook, but what I wouldn't have given for more than one chapter from Matthew's POV narrated by Zachary Webber! He was the book's shining star, the way he loved and accepted Josie.

I have not read an Elena Armas book that I haven’t loved. I adored The Long Game so much so I knew I needed to read Josie’s story too.

This book does not disappoint. I adored Matthew and his glasses. Iykyk. I’ll be the first to admit I love books with some romance and spice but the storyline always ends up being the part that keeps me invested. I was so invested in this book. When it got to the spice I was so far gone for Josie and Matthew together. I’d say this is a slow burn but not TOO slow.

Once again I’m giving Elena Armas 4.5 stars - my only complaint is that some parts seemed unnecessarily long with no real purpose to their overall character growth. And I disliked one character so much I tried to rush through scenes with that person in them.

Unfortunately, I just don’t think this book was for me. This book follows Josie who’s recently discovered her father is a famous businessman. The world has also discovered she is the daughter he never acknowledged and has created a PR frenzy. He sends his publicist to meet Josie who accidentally thinks she’s engaged and starts planning her wedding.

I understand that romance novels often have slightly far fetched plots but this one was a stretch even for the genre. The main character came off as very immature and lacking life experience (even though this was supposed to be her 5th engagement). I enjoy the fake dating trope in general but this just didn’t do it for me. The writing was a little flat and the plot became boring. A couple of the spicy scenes were at least well done though.

A huge HUGE thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for this e-ARC! I really REALLY enjoyed this book! Josie and Matthew's relationship was very sweet and the second half of the book just flew on by! It was sexy and swoon-worthy... and did I mention an MMC in GLASSES????? oh yes. I also really appreciate a book that doesn't fall into the "third act breakup" category and does it WELL. To see a couple work through a third act "conflict" together, rather than some miscommunication trope is SO refreshing. I also really appreciated Josie's disposition and her humor. There were only two critical points I have with this book- I feel that the Matthew that I came to "know" in The Long Game was a different Matthew that we met at the top of this book. I feel like he was missing some of the bluntness, and the self deprecating humor and forwardness from the last book. Don't get me wrong, still loved him in the end-but it took me a step back at the beginning. I also must be honest and say I enjoyed this book much more than THE LONG GAME.

Honestly not my favorite of her books. I’m not sure why I dint not enjoy or could barely get through it.

This story ripped my heart out of my chest and put it back together. This might be my favorite book by this author. The market has been saturated with fake dating stories lately but this one took it and made it so special. The setting is incredible, the band of supporting characters bring so much laughter and joy, and the two main characters make you want to believe in a love that makes your soul sing. I loved Josie and Matthew so much. Wow.

while this is definitely not my favorite book of elena’s, matthew and josie were absolutely adorable 🥹

i wasnt the biggest fan of the plot as i felt really shitty for josie the entire time but everything else was great, i loved all the cameos of people from the first book. i like that andrew finally pulled his head out of his ass(!!!!!). it felt impossible not to love matthew and josie separately and together

i am pretty bummed in the sense i ended up doing the audio for this one thinking we’d see plenty of zachary webber as matthew and unfortunately it was only the very last chapter lol so im going to remain salty ab that one