Josie Moore has always been a runaway bride. Following the discovery of her wealthy and well-known father, who never saw his children grow up, her four fiancés, whom she abandoned at the altar, have been thrust into the spotlight.

In an attempt to preserve his reputation, he sends his assistant to conceal the publicity issue. Josie is so frightened of Bobbi Shark that she cries out for him to stop when Matthew happens to walk by. With the intention of chasing Bobbi away, Josie calls out to him and persuades him to join her as her new fiancé. Except that things are getting worse because of the rumors of her new engagement.

Soon, Matthew and Josie come to an agreement to call it off after pretending to be involved in some kind of redemption. With just two months to go before the wedding, Josie and Matthew find themselves embroiled in media attention and questioning whether their romance will endure at all.

They become extremely close as a result of their fictitious engagement, and a romance blossoms. Considering everything that is going on, they quickly fall in love.

I can't stand Elena Armas's love for ellipsis anymore. Every time I had to read "I..." I cringed. It was just so grating. I know it's a small thing but it bothered me a lot. On "The Long Game" I could handle a little bit better because I liked everything else more. But I found it really annoying.

I hated how Matthew already started calling Josie sweetheart since their first interaction. His insta-love (it felt like insta-love to me) felt so forced since the beginning for me. Josie was written to be so quirky and so immature that she reminded me of the manic pixie dream girl that feels so fake. It was exhausting being in her head.

I usually like the fake relationship/marriage in romance books. But this plan made absolutely no sense. Josie was going to help chage her image as someone who broken engagements by pretending to be engaged and then breaking that engagement? And honestly one of the antagonist is a podcast who is doing a series about Josie? Why care that much?

The Long Game I liked the characters and I liked the relationship even though there some things that annoyed me a lot. In this one, I couldn't find anything to like.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

This one was so cute! Fake dating/engagement is one of my fave tropes and I loved it here. I just wish we had Matthew's POV throughout the book because he was down bad for Josie! I loved the glimpse into his POV at the end and the bonus chapter of the paperback and definitely would've enjoyed having his POV earlier.

Poor Josie has been through it and now she's a bit of a PR mess for her uber-rich dad that she only recently came to know. When a PR specialist is sent to try to help, she sees a ring on Josie's finger and makes an assumption that sets this whole thing in motion. When Josie's sister's best friend visits, he seems the perfect candidate to help Josie get through this situation. Little did she know not only was Matthew just a good guy who would've helped her anyway, but getting to fake date Josie was basically a dream come true for him!

Elena always nails the humor and banter and this was no different. This was a fun, easy read!

Thanks to Atria and Elena for this ARC!

I enjoyed The Fiancé Dilemma a lot more than the first book - The Long Game which I actually ended up dnf'ing… I mean there are still quite a bit of cringe moments but I could push through it. The story was sweet, and I adored Josie and Matthew's scenes together, but something about the writing was just boring at times; a slow progress that I started skimming the last 20% of.

It's a pretty decent plot for an engagement of convenience trope. There were quite a few moments where I felt bad for Josie, but Matthew is a complete starstruck gem that just made him the perfect match for her.

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

I didn't love this one, especially compared to the first one in the series. The characters felt SO shallow.

I went into this one hesitantly. I enjoyed The Spanish Love Deception but did not care for The Long Game. This book is the second in The Long Game series. Fortunately, where that book went wrong with its unlikable characters from the get-go, I adored the main female and male lead. I loved the one point of view, which kept me guessing, and the quick and fun running commentary. The fake engagement troupe is not for me – but I suffered through it. The spice was present but not a massive part of the story. I recommend this to someone looking for a Hallmark, small-town romance. You do not need to read the first book to enjoy the second.

Quick recap without spoilers:
Josie Moore is a strong single woman who is a business owner and the mayor of her small town. Her engagement count without a marriage is up to four. Her mom passed when she was younger, and she recently found out that her father is a high-profile businessman in Miami. Her half-sister’s best friend, Matthew Flanagan, shows up simultaneously as Josie’s father’s PR fixer…who assumes Matthew and Josie are engaged. The two play along to appease the media. But when is the right time to stop playing and start making life decisions?

I give this one 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy! I will post this review on my page @onebookeachweek and my Goodreads profile.

This may be my favorite Elena Armas book! Josie is so sweet, and always puts others above herself. Which is how she ends up in a fake engagement to Matthew, her sister’s best friend— her new-to-her father (who’s wealthy and famous) sends a PR woman to “deal with” Josie after it gets out that she’s been engaged several times, making her father look bad. The solution? Another engagement, this time with a wedding that goes smoothly.

Except Josie is fake-engaged to Matthew, who she’s beginning to fall for. Meanwhile Matthew becomes protective of people-pleasing Josie, just wanting what’s best for her, not the people she’s trying to pacify.

I love how these two went together. Both are golden retriever energy and utterly kind. The slow burn was so satisfying, and virtually every character had qualities that made me feel attached to them.

This is what you want to pick up for an excellent romance with perfect writing! I highly recommend — and humbly request more content with these sweet characters!

DNF @ 22%

Was The Spanish Love Deception this... cringey? Because I loved that book and I can't believe this was written by the same person. I feel bad not finishing this because it was an ARC, but I don't want to force myself into a slump.

Matthew Flanagan, can you report for book boyfriend duty. This man destroyed me. I was kicking and screaming and was so giddy while I listened to this book. It was so cute. This is really such a beautiful story. I cannot deal with the perfect characters that Elena writes. Just a PS I related to Josie‘s life being a mess to my soul.

Matthew and Josie were amazing MCs, both as individuals, and for each other 😭 This book had me laughing out loud pretty much throughout the entirety of the read! When I tell you Matthew was the PERFECT MAN??!?!! No notes, literally the best small town fake engagement story, I loved that you could just tell they were meant for each other every step of the way 🥹

Honestly, I should have readjusted my expectations with this book. I truly thought that I was going to love it as much as I loved the first book in the series. And I just didn’t love it. 

There were a few things that I enjoyed reading, but I mostly didn’t like the main character, Josie. I find Josie a bit annoying and pushy at times. Like she honestly pushed Matthew to fake date her even though he told her multiple times no. Excuse me, but you need to respect boundaries. That annoyed me the most with Josie. And don’t get me started with her daddy issues. 

Thankfully, Matthew held this book up with his funny self. He was too cute and adorable. I understand why Josie starts to fall for him. 

In my honest opinion, you can either read it or not. If you enjoy reading romance stories with a bit of an annoying main character, then give it a chance.

I was very hopeful to start what seemed like a light read romance and even though I do consider it a light read, I struggled with it. It took me longer than usual to finish and I considered giving up a few times. With most romances, the storytelling can be quite predictable. But what makes a predictable book enjoyable for me, is the execution of the story. Unfortunately, I found the character development lacking. As I was reading the book, I kept waiting to get to the “meat” of the story and sadly, that just never happened for me. Everything read as if it were all on the surface. I did appreciate the humor and found myself laughing out loud at some parts with Bobbi, the PR agent/wedding planner.

The main characters were just too blah for me. Josie’s thought process was frustrating and the sudden changes in Matthew’s demeanor were off-putting. Some chapters would end in a small “cliffhanger” and didn’t always get back to that unresolved issue. That threw me off from the flow of the story.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. Although this is a stand-alone book, this is book two in a series. The first book centers on characters that made a “cameo” in this one. I may or may not give that one a shot and hopefully, it will be a better reading experience.

Contemporary Romance ♥ Small Town ♥ Fake Marriage
Slow Burn ♥ Golden Retriever ♥ Wedding Planning
Published ♥ 30 July 2024

Thank you @atriabooks for giving me this complimentary review copy! #atriapartner

This one is for my small town fans, my fake marriage lovers, anyone who is here for the slow burn but steamy filth-talking-yet-supportive men. For those who love farm markets, little coffee shops, and furry animal friends who may or may not do yoga with the townsfolk. And those that may have a dysfunctional family saga to unpack.

This was my first book from Elena Armas and although it is technically book 2 of the Long Game series, it can be read as a standalone which is how I read it.

This is a cute, small town romance about leading lady Josie: quirky coffee shop owner and baking connoisseur, who also happens to be the town’s mayor and unlucky in love. She is like the unwed bride fate from the Caravel/OUABH series — she’s been engaged 4 times but never made it to the I do’s. Maybe the fifth time will be the charm.

The only problem is that fiancé #5 is a fake, who Josie bamboozles into getting engaged to her when he turns up on her doorstep at an inopportune moment. Or maybe it was an opportune moment when Matthew Flanagan (who happens to be Josie’s sisters best friend) suddenly finds himself thrust into the middle of Josie’s crazy family dramatics and the rush is on to plan and execute a wedding in mere months.

The first half moved at a slower, cozier pace and took me a bit to get through. I found myself enjoying this book most in the final acts after the spice started spicing. Matthew is that sweetheart supportive guy who you’d never expect to have a filthy take-charge bedroom attitude, getting frisky in public places. Finally, much appreciation for the ending which I found incredibly realistic.

Originally I had hoped to post my review before @steamylitcon but decided it might be nice to wait until after meeting Elena Armas in the flesh. She was so sweet. What an unforgettable experience.

A big thanks to Atria/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced (e-)reader copy and a chance to rate and review this book! First off, Matthew and Josie are adorable together, (even though they start out fake dating), once things start finally heat up, they heat up! The spicy scenes were so good! The Andrew (Dad) was a little too forced for me, and I wish we got more Grandpa Moe scenes, he was adorable! Overall, I really enjoyed this sexy romance, and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!

Oh. My. Matthew. Elena Armas writes a great book boyfriend. That remains a constant book to book. It took me a LONG time to like our FMC though. She grew on me but the first quarter of the book was a little rough as she basically word vomited every other paragraph. This wasn’t a new or unique concept by any means but boy oh boy did I enjoy nearly every minute that we were reading about Matthew. He was just so steadfast and wonderful to Josie that you couldn’t pay me to wipe the smile off my face. Definitely recommend and will continue to read anything Elena Armas writes!

I loved this book! The two main characters were so lovable and I was obsessed with the male main character in particular. I loved the slow burn and build up in this book. The spice was super sexy even before they really got together! Elena Armas knows how to write depth to her characters while still making it fun and spicy. I also loved the sister dynamic in this book and found it super interesting to have two adults find out that they have a sibling so late in life and how they navigate that new relationship. Overall, this book was a solid romance for me.

Really sweet story!
I did miss the dual POV that we had in The Long Game and The American Roommate Experiment but the ending made it all worth it!
I’ve really enjoyed my time in Green Oak so far.
#netgalley #atriabooks

Cómo siempre Elena Armas nos envuelve con sus novelas románticas, me encantaron estos personajes.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the copy

Josie, the fun-loving mayor from The Long Game, and Adalyn’s BFFL Matthew team up in this fake-engagement, friends-to-lovers story set in small-town Green Oak. Amid a PR crisis with Adalyn's (and now Josie’s) father, Andrew Underwood, Josie, and her people-pleasing tendencies, agrees to help fix Andrew’s image by throwing a wedding. The problem is that Josie is a serial runner and has been engaged four times before. Enter Matthew—the right place at perhaps the wrong time after leaving his job in Chicago for the very same tabloid coming after Josie and Andrew. Now, with the wedding only a couple of months away, Josie and Matthew navigate their attraction for each other “backward,” like the Claddagh ring she wears as his fiancée.

Fake dating is such a trope. I have to suspend disbelief the entire time I read it because it is just so unrealistic. What wasn’t unrealistic? How freaking amazing Matthew was. And he’s blond. With glasses. He would do anything for Josie (including get married to her!) and was a closet dirty talker. I was a little confused about their character arcs during this story, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Josie has Daddy issues, and Matthew seems to not believe in himself as much as he lets on. They both help each other out and there is resolution at the end, but it was hard for me to piece together. There were times when Josie was so mad at Andrew and allowed him to do crummy things. It was confusing. The “plan” at the end – while it was sweet, I still am not sure I get it! Perhaps I need to read it again?

This book has just the right amount of spice—I can’t deny getting it on in public! Elena did this in TLG and TSLD, and I am here for it! I also loved hearing about Cameron and Adalyn’s continuation of their love story. I knew the whole time what was happening—it wasn’t much of a mystery!

Thank you so much to Atria/Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced (e-)reader copy and a chance to rate and review this book!

4 ⭐️ 1 🌶

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and Atria books for this eArc!

I have to say, I was afraid that Elena Armas had lost her touch for me after I read the first book in this series, The Long Game. This book began with a lot of the same issues I had with book 1: forced chemistry, overuse of nicknames in lieu of actually building tension, antics for side characters that felt over the top instead of charming in the way many small town stories are. However; at about the 40% mark that just… all changed. And I fell hard for Josie and Matthew.

Once we got past that first almost half, these two had really adorable tension and chemistry. Their banter made me actually laugh out loud (something that had fully disappeared for me in book 1), and more than anything I just found myself really enjoying these characters both together and on their own. The build up to their physical connections had me positively swooning and squirming, and I loved that they felt like firm and stable supports for one another even amidst the “what are we” tension.

Ultimately I am giving this a 3.5/5. If the whole thing had been like the last 60%, it would have been an absolute hit. One final thing I didn’t end up enjoying as much was really the whole premise for their fake relationship, ie. The scandal with her father, the podcast that for some reason is interested enough in this to make a whole season about her & her family, etc. it just felt wildly unrealistic to me and took something away from the story. If you love a funny, charming couple, fake dating / engagement, and small town antics, you probably will enjoy this one!