I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.,

When I was approved for this book I was excited. I immediately got the first book and just ate that one right up. It was so good and the characters were great. Then I started this book and was like um did two different authors write this. Josie was soooo cringe at the beginning. To be honest I am rating it 3.5 stars rounded down because I did not feel her character was written at all like her character was in the first book. It was like she was completely different person. She finally became the Josie from the first book like 50% of the way through but for half the book to be just weird was well weird. Matthew was amazing. Now the writing......I felt like paragraphs and chapters were missing. I would literally page back to make sure I didn't accidently skip a page or something. Like when her sister is all upset all of a sudden its days later and you don't get any information on that until chapters later. There was no segway. That being said this was the first Elena book I didn't love so I will continue to read her though.

Such a cute romantic story!

I really enjoyed this one! I liked this one more than book 1 for sure. Matthew was my favorite of the whole book by far. He is so sweet, such a gentleman and so caring. He’s also goofy, funny, loving and very steamy book boyfriend. I really liked the aspect of fake marriage and how it brought them closer together.

Even though this story has been done tons of times, this one left me feeling happy and I would recommend this!

Thank you Atria for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

The Josie depicted in The Long Game and the Josie depicted in The Fiance Dilemma are not the same character which I found to be so disappointing. I was really looking forward to a strong female main character. Instead I got a character that is an absolute mess that doesn't stand up for herself. Personally, I am tired of reading romances that feature women like this. Can women not be put together?

Unfortunately, The Fiance Dilemma is a DNF for me.

Thank you the Netgalley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Here are my quick thoughts:

Maybe it’s my cold dead heart, but this was just a lot of cheesy rom com nonsense. And I usually love cheesy rom com nonsense. I had such high hopes for this because I love Runaway Bride and this is basically Runaway Bride. Problem is, it’s not nearly as good as Runaway Bride.

I think my main issue is that all the character development happens in the first book (The Long Game). There is an author’s note at the beginning of this one that claims you don’t need to read that to enjoy this installment. That is a blatant lie. Without knowing what happened in book one, these characters are woefully lacking in personality, development, and context. It’s all fluff.

Also the stakes here are not high. At no point does it feel anything is at risk. There are so many missed opportunities with the dad plot line and all the fiancés, and then none of them go anywhere (only one fiancé even really appears and he does nothing but evilly smirk). The plot is underdeveloped and it makes it hard to root for them to wind up together.

Anyway, I didn’t love this. I’m not sure that I’ll be continuing if there are any more books in this series.

Book was beautiful written. Though Josie never knew her father until a year ago she is suddenly thrown into the middle of a PR crisis to ensure her father‘s name remains intact and through this PR crisis Josie is in the middle of it due to her being engaged four previous times, so comes to dilemma when she is caught with a ring And says that Matthew Adalyn‘s best Friend from the long Game is her current fiancé The book was beautiful and really showed the strength and resilience Josie had throughout her life with losing her mother young and never having a father. Matthew was a great book boyfriend and I think everyone should pick up this book and give it a read.

I love Elena Armas but this book was a bit of a miss for me! I loved the long game so much so I thought this would be just as much of a hit. Although I enjoyed the story, I couldn’t connect to the characters or their reasoning for doing things. I also really think this book could have been worlds better if it was dual pov. I feel like I NEEDED the MMCs thoughts

I really enjoyed this book! I’m so grateful to Elena, Atria Books, and NetGalley for getting it. I thought the cast of characters was entertaining and the book had its funny, lighthearted moments. I loved the small town romance vibes and I can’t help but think of Gilmore Girls when I watch or read anything set in a small town and this town did not disappoint! Josie and Matthew were enjoyable characters and I loved reading their love story! Overall, the book was fun and I’m glad I got the chance to read it!

This book is the second book in The Long Game series by Elena. I hadn’t read The Long Game when I started The Fiancé Dilemma but I believe they can be read as interconnected stanalones. At the beginning I kind of wished I had read The Long Game just to understand some character references but overall it wasn’t necessary to have read.
I love Green Oak! It’s giving Stars Hollow to me with all the slightly nosey but still loveable townspeople
I have three words: Matthew Freaking Flanagan!! 😍 I love this man! He is so sweet and comforts Josie in small ways throughout the book as they go through their fake engagement period. He doesn’t hesitate to help her out when she needs him to be engaged to her. Plus he wears glasses, is a cinnamon roll, but will defend Josie in a heartbeat if anyone upsets her
I loved that Matthew gave Josie a Claddagh ring!! It was his grandma’s ring and I love the choice of something different that could also tie in Matthew’s family
The ease with which he called her sweetheart 🥹 it was everything! The nickname changes later in the book, but i’ll leave that for you all to discover if you decide to read it.
At the beginning of the book I did have a small issue with some of Josie’s phrases and some of them just didn’t read to me how an adult would speak, but the more I read the more I loved her and got used to her quirkiness
There was no third act breakup and I’m so happy that Elena spared us from it!!

<4.5* rounded up>

Elena Armas can write a medical synopsis, and I would read it, let's be honest. When I was approved to read this book, I was OVER THE MOON, and told everyone (including my mom). It didn't let me down, necessarily, but I would be lying if I said it gave me the same feels as her books previously did.

Josie as a FMC was a bit...annoying. I completely understand that she had issues with commitment, especially after growing up not knowing who her Dad was, and having her mom die. These are legit reasons to be scared of falling in love...but they are not reasons that should have become your entire personality. The first half of the book felt like all we kept hearing about were Josie's commitment issues which made the first part of the book seem never-ending. It was heartening, however, to see her come into her own towards the last 25% of the book.

Matthew as an MMC...yes. Just..yes. He is DOWN BAD for Josie, and I am down bad for the way that he loves her. That man is swoon-worthy, and all other men should take copious notes.

My only other complaint is I wish we had gotten an epilogue or just a little more of an ending, but I'm not mad about it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Elena for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
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thank you so much to elena armas, atria books, and netgalley for this AMAZING eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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my LORD. say it with me everybody!!! elena 👏🏼 armas 👏🏼 never 👏🏼 misses 👏🏼 seriously. every book i’ve read by her has been amazing. top tier. i have a copy of the american roommate experiment sitting on my shelf right now and honestly i’m debating cracking it open right this second.

now, i’ve always loved fake dating/marriage of convenience type tropes. but this? this hit DIFFERENT. i don’t even know why but it just did. the story started off and i was just laughing and laughing. i finished this book in maybe four days? which, because of life and stuff, hadn’t happened in a long, long time. that’s enough of a testament to how good this book is, i think.

it had been a while since i read the long game, but i remember loving both josie and matthew so, so much. and then every other character that came back this time around, like the vasquez’s and the members of the youth soccer team, ugh it just felt so nice.

i was absolutely obsessed with josie’s narration this entire time. she’s just so funny and i couldn’t stop myself from smiling and even audibly laughing more often than not. i was completely sucked into this story, and i found myself just compulsively reading it. i could not stop. she made so many cute and funny little jokes that had me giggling in my seat.

and her and matthew’s chemistry??? amazing. top notch. it had me giggling and kicking my feet the entire time. i’ve highlighted so many parts that had me smiling and laughing and my eyes going wide and my mouth falling open because “oh my god, did he just SAY that?!” yeah. he did. and i was not okay for a moment or two there. in the best way possible. i’ve said it once and i’ll say it however many more times i need to: matthew flanagan’s single red flag is that he is blond. that is it.

the story itself, aside from their relationship dynamic was pretty amazing as well. it started off in the most hilarious way possible and the ball kept rolling from then on. like, they met for the first time in person when she had a towel in her hair, a face mask on, and strawberry jelly all over her robe due to a series of very unfortunate but arguably hilarious events. how could you NOT keep reading after that?

we also got to see updates on the two characters from the last book, adalyn and cameron, who are josie’s sister and best friend respectively, as well as matthew’s best friend and man crush. they’re still very important to the story and i loved that we got to see them so often. this is my favorite way that authors can do interconnected standalone books; having characters from the previous books making frequent appearances beyond cameos will ALWAYS be a win in my book.

and my favorite part of this story? there’s no third act breakup!!! not really. at least not in the way you would think. if anything, the way the book ended made it even BETTER in my opinion. it made sense for the two of them, and i loved that.

all in all, this book was absolutely fantastic! and i think all of my friends from the bindings and brews discord will be very proud of me for actually finishing an ARC before release date. even if it does release tomorrow.

the fiancé dilemma by elena armas releases tuesday, july 30th from atria books! if you love fake relationships, romcoms, and literally the best man to ever have graced paper, then this book is absolutely for you.

I loved The Spanish Love Deception. However, the rest of Elena Arams' books have been misses for me. I had high hopes for this one since it had a lot of my favorite tropes. I could tell by about chapter 4 this was not going to be for me. It was just so poorly written and the characters were annoying. I had hoped the story could redeem it but there was already too much damage done. Now I'm just mad I finished it instead of moving on.

This was a fun follow up to "The Long Shot". I loved Josie and Matthew in that book and Matthew is swoony in this one. I think Elena Armas' other books were better than this one, but it was a fun summer read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an early review copy.

This was a really fun, fast follow-up to "The Long Shot", where Matthew and Josie are introduced. I really enjoyed reading more about each character as we only got glimmers of the two in the previous book. Their relationship does rely on elements of insta-love, but I think Armas did a good job developing the two characters and their relationship.

This was a great follow up to The Long Game. I've been a fan of Elena's but Matthew and Josie were a favorite, and I enjoyed getting to see the continuing relationship between Josie and Adalyn. Grandpa Moe was also a great standout in this book. If you're a fan of Elena's can't go wrong.

3.5 stars

I loved the main characters in this story. He falls first, fake fiancé, small town and sister’s best friend all wrapped into one story. As a whole, I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. My favorite trope is fake dating, but this one just didn’t quite do it for me. The plot was a little too far fetched to be believable, so if that doesn’t bother you then this would be a great book for you! I enjoyed the spice!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

“Maybe nothing’s missing. Or maybe we don’t need to be whole to function, you know? Maybe we just need to learn to love who we are and let people around us love us for that, too.”

The Fiancé Dilemma is a cozy warm hug of a book. Josie, the beloved mayor of Green Oaks, owner of the local coffee shop, and all-around selfless ray of sunshine, is a runaway bride - she’s been engaged 4 times but has never said “I do.” When her multimillionaire father needs a PR makeover, Josie asks Matthew to pretend to be her fiancé - just long enough to make a good impression with the public. But as the charade goes on, the lines in their fake relationship start to blur. Josie deserves a forever love, and Matthew might be just the person to help her see that. This was a fun yet heartwarming read - and Matthew is a hall-of-fame book boyfriend! My all-time favorite “Where’s my fiancée” moment lives in this book!

Detailed review:
Characters:
I’ve never met a warm-and-fuzzy-er cast of characters! Josie is adorable, and I was really rooting for her and Matthew. I loved the cutesy side characters in the town, and even callous Sharkie grew on me (will she be getting a redemption book in the future? I hope so)! I appreciated how Matthew and Josie’s love grew organically (a delicious slow burn), and they supported each other in a beautiful way.

Plot:
Though the plot was slower paced, every scene felt vivid and real. The wedding looming at the end of the book kept me turning the pages. And I loved the way that Josie and Matthew resolved conflict (no miscommunication trope here)! Sometimes, though, it felt like the scenes ended prematurely - the action would cut off at the climax and the resolution was explained in the next chapter. It left me wanting more!

Writing Style:
This was fun and easy to read, and the chapters flowed quickly for me. I think Elena Armas and I have the same sense of humor - I really enjoyed the jokes sprinkled throughout the book. The dialogue and banter were exceptionally well-written - some of Matthew’s flirty comments had me blushing!

I had so much fun reading this sweet story. Thank you very much for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I read The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment and enjoyed those but unfortunately skipped The Long Game and think I would have enjoyed this more if I had read that first. This is fine as a standalone but, from reading other reviews, feel that I may have missed some of the depth to this story.

Other than that, I enjoyed the setup of the story but be warned that this is a very slow burn. If you are into small town romances with a fake engagement this would definitely be the summer read for you!

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books and Elena Armas for allowing me to read this ARC.

💍ARC Review time!💍
Title: The Fiance Dilemma
Author: Elena Armas
Release Date: July 30, 2024

My Rating: 3⭐️
Spice: 1.5🌶

This has been my first Elena Armas book, I know, so I was super excited to get the ARC! I will say that this book is funny and sweet. I loved Matthew and Josie's triumphant storyline and their sunny personalities.

That being said..... this wasn't my favourite read. I found myself deeply disliking every side characters. They were all nosy, selfish, and obnoxious, but Grandpa Mo gets a pass because he is my favourite. The story itself was so far fetched so I found that took me out of it a bit, even though I did enjoy it once it got going I couldn't imagine anyone being SUCH a pushover like Josie, to the degree that she was. I mean, none of this situation would've happened if she had just stood up for herself. I'm a people-pleasing pushover by nature but even I wouldn't have let things get this out of control.

But I loved Matthew's character and how his dynamic with Josie evolved as we read. And she did start to get a backbone..... eventually? The spice was definitely a slow burn.

The podcast was ridiculous and took my out of the book every. Single. Time. I HATED IT.

All in all, it wasn't terrible but not my cup of tea!

This book has some great humor in it and I really enjoyed her writing. My one issue was that it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me. I enjoyed reading it as I have for all of this authors books.

The Fiance Dilemma is Elena Armas's newest romance novel. I have enjoyed all her past books and this one is no different! It follows Josie who is the mayor of a small town who has recently learned the identity of her father. He is a successful businessman and is getting a lot of bad press for having a daughter hidden away in a small town. Matthew has been recently fired from his job and is visiting Josie's small town to get away. When a PR strategist shows up and believes Matthew to be Josie's fiance, a fake engagement ensues. Josie and Matthew have never met in person but they know each other through Josie's sister Adalyn. The characters had such good tension from the very beginning and I was eating it up. I loved that Matthew was such a nice guy. His words and his gestures were always so sweet. He helps Josie to not be so hard on herself for her past and look at her life in a better light. He also communicated so well and prevented a messy third-act breakup which I loved it since those typically annoy me. I also enjoyed the podcast element of the story since it added an outside media perspective of the events. I just wish we could have gotten to know Matthew more because we never learned much about him. Besides that, I loved this one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I found this book to be engaging and the characters were well matched together personality-wise. The plot kept my attention and the romance made me swoon.