I enjoyed this book more than I expected to! I love fake dating tropes and I found the banter to be fun and fresh! It is a bit of a slow burn but Matthew makes it worth it!

I loved this book so much! I’m a sucker for the fake dating romance trope and this one had it! This was my first read from this author and I definitely plan to read her other books. This one had me so invested in the story and the relationship development. It was also pretty spicy and I couldn’t get enough!

This book was enjoyable, but didn’t grip me as I hoped it would! I really liked Josie’s character, i thought she was strong, relatable, and well written! I believed Matthew’s personality balanced hers so well and I admired their love story. Unfortunately, for me, the book itself was lacking something strong enough to make me absolutely fall in love! Thank you for the opportunity to read this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
💍 single POV
💍 fake engagement
💍 sister’s best friend
💍 HEA
💍 small town setting
💍 a lilllll (LOT) of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
💍 laugh-out-loud dialogue 🩷🩷

Elena Armas is the queen of creating characters that everyone is in love with, and this book was no different. I really liked both of the main characters and to see the blossoming romance between them; I was rooting so hard for them to get together! Josie and Matthew are for sure going to be one of those couples that people are always talking about 🤪
I was not aware before reading this one that it is the second in a series, but I don’t think I missed anything by not reading the first one; I feel like they are totally standalones.
I really liked all of the characters in this book, especially Grandpa Moe 💕
I loved the first 2 novels I read by Armas and I was so excited to see that she had written a new book for me to read and love! You know with Elena Armas you are definitely going to get some SPICE 🌶️ and this book was no different 🤪 I really do enjoy how there is a real story here and the spice is just extra, because I do not enjoy books where the spice is the main focus 🤪 I am not a huuuge fan of spice, and this was the perfect mixture in a romance novel for me 👍🏻
I really love the fake dating (engagement) trope! It’s just so silly and fun and I don’t really feel like this ever happens in real life 🤪 I love seeing the characters go from “fake” dating to actually realizing they do like each other, and they’re usually already in love by this point 🩷
‘The day you pick up the phone and a complete stranger says, I’m your father, you know your life is about to change.’ What an opening line!!! I was obviously hooked right away 🤪
I usually like a dual point-of-view rom-com but this one was kinda fun only knowing one side! We had no idea what the male main character was ever thinking or feeling about the female main character.
I always enjoy when books have multiple formats included, and I really enjoyed the added podcast transcript parts! I also really enjoyed the text messages between the 2 main characters… since we didn’t have Matthew’s POV in the book it was nice to at least see his side through his text messages.
NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!! Thank The Lord!!!!!
I love when books make me laugh!! I laughed-out-loud multiple times while reading through this story, and I really really enjoy that. I really enjoy this author’s writing style, it makes for a very humorous, enjoyable ride. I can’t wait to read the next Elena Armas!!

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕚𝕤𝕥:
Josie Moore, with four failed engagements and a complicated romantic history, faces a PR issue when her father announces his retirement in a splashy magazine piece. Meanwhile, Matthew Flanagan, after being fired and stuck in the mud, stumbles into Green Oak, North Carolina, and finds himself mistaken for Josie's fiancé.

What begins as a misunderstanding turns into an arrangement with Matthew playing the role of her doting fiancé. Despite her unease at a fifth engagement, Josie goes along with the charade, knowing it's temporary—even if the rest of the town believes the fifth time's the charm.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
💍 Fake fiancé
🏘️ Small town
🔥 Slow burn
🦮 Golden retriever MMC
👏🏼 No third act breakup

𝕊𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕍𝕚𝕓𝕖𝕤:
📚 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗪𝗶𝘁𝘁
📚 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗝𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘇

𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
This book was such a delight. It was an excellent follow up to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲. You don’t have to read that one first in order to read 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗺𝗮, but it will definitely help you connect to the characters even more if you do!

I found myself giggling and kicking my feet as I read this. Matthew and Josie had so much chemistry from the first time they met. Matthew definitely fell first and harder- he was a man obsessed and that suited him just fine. I loved how patient and understanding he was, and how he helped Josie come out of her shell.

I adored the small town vibes. All of the quirky residents and farm animals brought so much humor and light to the story. At times, I felt the pacing dragged a bit and I would get a little bored, but overall I really enjoyed this one!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗮 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.


𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (𝟯.𝟱/𝟱)

𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
🌶️ 🌶️ (𝟮/𝟱)

Elena Armas is the queen of steamy tension. I was drawn to this book because I loved her previous book, The Spanish Love Deception. I loved the slow burn between the couple and of course, the fake dating was entertaining.

"There was never a choice. I don't give a shit how corny or cliché this sounds, but I knew when I saw her, and I know now more than ever before. I don't need her to walk down an aisle, wear my ring, or sign her name on a dotted line. she's my happy. the rest is only important when you need it and everyone should fucking know that."

I went into this thinking it was a standalone, but it so heavily features the characters and history from The Long Game that I spent way too much time feeling like I was missing something. It might have been a DNF, but luckily my library had The Long Game available, so I took a break to read that first.

After reading The Long Game, The Fiance Dilemma was SO much more enjoyable! Josie is such a fun disaster of a character, and the mess that she gets everyone into is such a delight to read.

I loved Elena Armas' other books, and this one did not dissapoint! Josie and Matthew were the most adorable characters and the plot was easy enough to follow. 5th time is the charm when it comes to Josie! I thought the setup was hilarious and the execution of the story was playful and cute. Matthew is also the perfect book boyfriend! I loved the little details - like the pig named "Pedro Pigscal". It was a perfect balance of sweet and spicy and without spoiling anything, everything all came together for the best ending. Loved it!!!

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for providing an advanced digital copy for review. All thoughts & opinions expressed are my own.

Absolutely delightful! I loved the characters, I loved the plot, and I loved the romance of it all. Fake relationships are my favorite trope and I knew from book 1 that I was going to love Matthew - boy was I correct. He was absolutely hilarious and the dynamic with Josie was tooth rotting sweet.

I cannot wait to see more from Green Oak and all of its wonderful residents

Elena Armas has MY WHOLE HEART. If she writes it, I WILL BINGE READ IT AND THEN BE A MESS ON THE FLOOR BECAUSE IT'S OVER.

If you are looking for:

• small town romance
• slow burn
• faking dating
• sister's best friend

Then, look no further because The Fiance Dilemma is the perfect book for you to settle into, falling in love slowly just like Josie x Matthew. This will have you laughing out loud, swooning, and believing in the inevitable magnetic pull of soulmates.

The Fiancce Dilemma is the second book in the long game series. I absolutely adored fake dating romances and really enjoyed that aspect of this book. But the story also included instalove which I don’t enjoy as much. While this was a quick and easy read for me the instalove really put me off of the book.

Where do I begin...
First, I enjoyed the slow-burn of this book.
Second, Matthew Flanagan.
Third, small town, friends to lovers, and a touch of found family.
Fourth, Matthew Flanagan.

This book is told mostly from the POV of Josie Moore. After 4 previously failed engagements, with the return of her very public figure of a father looming, she now must face the public eye and her fifth engagement. Except this time, this isn't an actual engagement, just a friend helping a friend.

I LOVED Matthew as a friend, but as Josie's "partner". Regardless of the facade of their relationship, Matthew steps up to the plate and is the epitome of loving fiancé. He is willing to do anything for Josie, and I do believe it it was any other theme, he would physically harm others for Josie.

Josie's growth to accept herself and her worth over the story was a bit frustrating at first, but I think that is the nature of character development in a slow-burn story.

The Fiancé Dilemma is the second book in Elena Armas’ The Long Game series. I loved the first book in the series so I was excited to dive into this one, especially since it features two beloved side characters from the first book.

From her absentee father to her four failed engagements, Josie Moore hasn’t had the greatest luck when it comes to men. When Josie learns that her father plans to announce his retirement with a big magazine story about his family, she panics because she knows her history as a runaway bride is sure to create a PR nightmare. When her dad’s pushy assistant Bobbi shows up at the front door and sees an engagement ring on Josie’s finger, rather than tell the truth (it’s actually stuck on her finger), Josie panics and when she sees a man walking by, pretends that he is her fiancé. The lucky guy is Matthew, the brother of her best friend. Matthew is a bit shell shocked at first but goes along with it since he can tell Josie is desperate. What starts out as a fake relationship turns into so much more!

I enjoyed this book! I felt bad for Josie since she clearly has had so many duds in her life as far as males go. It was nice to see Matthew step in and be exactly what she needs him to be while she navigates this uncomfortable situation with her family. I loved their chemistry and their banter and was eagerly rooting for their fake relationship to give way to real feelings, especially since it became clear pretty soon that Matthew had feelings for Josie.

If tropes like fake dating, small town romance, and best friend’s brother are tropes you enjoy, you’ll want to check out The Fiancé Dilemma.

UGH! ELENA ARMAS! WHY DO YOU MAKE ME CRY AND SWOON WITH EVERY BOOK YOU PUT OUT! I usually don't like instalove. I usually don't like overly quirky FMC. I usually loathe when a fake romance goes WAY to far. But..... Not this time.

I loved this book. I adored Matthew. I loved Josie. I loved her sister and her SO. I loathed Andrew (until the end) and Bobbi (which I assumed I was supposed to. I loved the small town feel. I loved the way Matthew spoke through out the entire book. Man...

I will be screaming at people to read this book. It was fun, spicy, funny, and at times heavy. I seriously had so much fun reading it.

Good book just maybe not for me! Quick and easy read, I was just hoping for a bit more in terms of the story. Fake dating can be hit or miss and for me this was more of a miss.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ .75

Do I have blue eyes? No.
Will I absolutely allow Matthew to call me Baby Blue and just MELT in a puddle if I was in Josie’s shoes? Without a doubt!!

If you thought you had enough book boyfriends on your belt, MAKE ROOM because Matthew is literally perfection personified and I don’t care how bold that is of me to say, because THE CHOKEHOLD THAT THIS MAN HAD—NO, HAS ON ME 🥵😭👏🏼

Before I continue blabbing about Matthew, let me just say that if you’re in a mood for a small town romance with realism from the MCs that you can relate to, the fluffiest moments, and the SPICEEE of a man that has made his way to my top 5 book bf list (look at Matthew creepin his way into my words even after I said I’d put a quick pause), stop what you’re doing and
PICK. UP. THIS. BOOK!! 👏🏼

This was my first Elena Armas book (don’t worry, I’m also twisting my arm, not understanding why it took me this long), but it definitely won’t be my last because did someone say, ✨in my Elena Armas era✨ Her work is absolutely phenomenal and an example of that is through her way of building a world filled with so many great characters, even the redeemable antagonist(s) except for one of Josie’s exes that can go eat dirt, but it’s okay because Matthew handled it -brb SWOONIN’ again-

But as I was saying, I absolutely fell in love with Elena’s writing; she just has a way of fully creating individual characters and their story. Grandpa Moe, for example, deserves the world and I’d be lying if I said I’m not craving a stack of his midnight grilled cheese sandwiches right now!!

I will say that as the pages started to dwindle, I started to get really anxious thinking that the ending would be rushed and unrealistic, but I—the smile on my face and the feelings I was FEELINGGG during the last chapter!! The ending wasn’t predictable, but instead provided a HEA in a way that felt true to its main characters and highlighted their growth (individually and together). That and Matthew’s 5 ⭐️ moment during the podcast, UGH. Unmatched 🥹🫶🏼

Thank you to Elena, Atria Books and Netgalley for this spectacular arc 💜

Rating 3

Fake dating is such a fun trope and one that I really enjoy. For some reason this book just wasn't for me. I can't tell if it was the writing style, length, or the characters. Either way, I struggled to get through it and almost dnf at certain points. If you are a fan of this author, I say give it a try! It could have just been a me thing and not the book. I do love the beautiful cover and am happy to own a physical copy.

✨ 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰✨

“𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠.”

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: 14, 20, 23 & 25
𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧: 84%
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: Small town romance, fake engagement, sister’s best friend
𝐏𝐎𝐕: 1st person, Single POV (1 chapter from MMCs POV)
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Dual
𝐊𝐔: No

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, so I had high hopes for this one. But, I didn’t really care for the whole plotline where the FMC leaves 4 fiancés at the altar, and then provided little explanation for it. This very much felt like a retelling of the movie Runaway Bride, which I loved! But it just missed the mark for me.

I didn’t’ realize this was a companion novel to The Long Game until I was almost finished with the book. I typically recommend reading series in order because it gives the reader the most impact but with this one you don’t have to. You can read this without having read The Long Game and not have your reading experience impacted.

Overall, this wasn’t a favorite of mine by the author, but it might just be a me problem.

A sequel of sorts to The Long Game, I love this new book by Elena Armas. Josie is a small town North Carolina girl who’s been engaged four times but never married. Matthew is her best friend’s brother who happens to walk into her life at just the right time - to pretend to be her fifth fiancé as a PR stunt. Fake dating is my favoriteeeeee trope and this one was excellent and very, very hot. It’s funny, poignant, and an easy read. Highly recommend!

Elena Armas is an incredibly gifted writer. I have loved her earlier books, so I was honored to read her latest release, The Fiance Dilemma. Needless to say, I was not disappointed! In true Armas fashion, a series of unlikely events set the stage for the trajectory of this delightful rom-com. The plot is flawless, and the characters are likable and perfectly imperfect. All in all, if you are looking for a bit of sunshine in your next read, The Fiance Dilemma is the perfect choice for you.