The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas was a breath of fresh air. The MCs in this book are just so refreshingly sweet and good in a way that I don't feel like I've seen for a while. Josie is just trying to make everyone happy, and the people pleasing FMCs typically stress me out, but it worked for me in this book. Matthew may be the perfect MC. He is the type of guy you wish you could meet and fall for in real life but don't actually believe exists. If you had had four failed engagements, Matthew would be the guy to restore your faith in happily ever afters.

Josie finds herself in a bit of a PR situation (her father's PR situation really) and decides in a panicked moment that the way out is to pretend she is engaged for a fifth time. This time to her sister's best friend, Matthew, who happened to be walking by at the moment of said panic. It is small town, fake fiancés/engagement of convenience, slow burn (but actually burns), and just an absolute pleasure to read,

Thank you to Elena Armas, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Book 2 in the Long Game series.
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💍fake engagement
💍sister’s best friend
💍small town
💍slow burn
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Is the 5th time the charm for Josie? With 4 previous failed engagements, Matt somehow finds himself Josie’s fake fiancé. Josie’s failed engagements are a PR nightmare, so a misunderstanding turns into Matthew stepping in as Josie’s newest love.
Josie definitely gives me run away bride vibes and she’s a bit of a messy character.
Overall, I enjoyed it!
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Thank you netgalley and Atria books for the opportunity to read this book!

The Fiancé Dilemma is a charming romantic comedy full of unique quirks set in the captivating town of Green Oaks, North Carolina. It follows Josie Moore, coffee enthusiast, and small-town mayor turned PR nightmare. To rectify her unseemly scandal and improve her billionaire father's and her own reputation, she publicly announces her newest engagement, after a long string of broken ones, to none other than Matthew Flanagan, her sister's best friend, and her fake fiancé.

Josie is a bundle of pure sunshine. Despite all the challenges and losses thrown her way, she still manages to find the energy to smile and be an inspiring and radiating force in her small town. However, against her father and the utter shark, who is his PR strategist, Josie is an utter doormat. I don't understand why she'd let them walk all over her when I didn't get the sense she was this type of character in The Long Game. As much as I love Matthew's protectiveness, girlie, you got to fight those battles for yourself, especially to a man you OWE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO BECAUSE HE WAS ABSENT FOR THE ENTIRETY OF YOUR LIFE.

Furthermore, I absolutely hate the resolution because it took about four-hundred pages just for Josie to realize, "Oh yes, I don't owe my absentee father anything, and if this man wants a relationship, he must work for it." Girl, ISN'T THAT A LOGICAL THING? WHY DID IT TAKE YOU THIS LONG TO REALISE THAT? I get you're a people-pleaser, but I wanted to smack a reality check into you.

Glasses-wearing Mattsie-boo is somehow a perfect dichotomy of that golden retriever type we all obsess over and a possessive one that we can't help but drool for. He served almost all of my favorite quotes from this book.

First, he's already a hero in my book for dealing with all of Josie's ramblings. You can ramble when you're nervous; sure, I do get that, but I would have personally smacked her in the mouth and not just stood there listening to her go on and on. Second, the amount of patience this man has, like, oh god, how? I would have thrown up and taken the first bus out of Green Oaks immediately.

I wish we could have gotten more Matthew chapters rather than just one at the very end because why did Cameron 'Cardboard' Caldani get more in his book than Matthew did in this one?

Honestly, it's a solid work for Elena Armas, and I understand that ARCs can get messy, so I don't know if all this will make it into the final copy, but this book was all over the place. I'll forgive it because it's an ARC. I also wanted a more in-depth understanding of Matthew and Josie's characters through a backstory and a stronger foundation for their romantic feelings. However, I did find it unrealistic that the feelings happened literally out of nowhere. They weren't there for one chapter, and in the next, they punched me in the face.

But there was no third-act breakup, and I nearly cried because I love books with no third-act breakups.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun and entertaining read. I enjoyed the fake dating aspect and that Matthew went along with Josie’s hare brained idea…going along with her telling her dad she was engaged to him. I loved that he stood up for her and fell hard for her. Josie was an endearing character that I loved from the get go. She was down to earth and relatable as well as funny. These two had me cracking up multiple times and the connection between them was amazing! Over all I really enjoyed this book. The only thing was I wish is that we had gotten more of Matthews point of view.

The Fiancé Dilemma is SO good! I was excited, invested, and on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen the whole book. I love Elena Armas books and The Fiancé Dilemma is now the number one book in my rankings.

Fake engagement! Pining! Slow burn! The Fiancé Dilemma has it all & so much more. I loved the back and forth between Josie and Matthew, plus the interaction with characters we have met before in The Long Game.

Elena Armas has done it again. This book was fantastic. I love catching up with characters from other books. Josie and Matthew were on fire the whole book. This is a fake engagement trope that doesn't seem so fake.

I usually enjoy dual POV but the way that she writes the point of view from the FMC and you have to guess what the MMC is thinking adds to the layers and fire in the book. The way the looks Matthew gives Josie are described had my blood thrumming. I do love MMC with glasses. They do make a man look sexier, lol.

There is such a build up that really gives the book a punch of spiciness. Elena does a wonderful job with the looks, touches, and words that you are anticipating that first kiss. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who loves fake dating/engagement tropes or romance in general.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Elena Armas for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

I want to start off by saying that I was incredibly excited to read this book. All three previous books by Elena Armas are top tier 5 star reads for me that I could reread over and over and over again. Unfortunately, The Fiance Dilemma didn't feel like any of her previous books and missed the mark for me, which is why I ended up DNFing it. These characters felt completely different from the ones that were introduced in The Long Game, it would have greatly benefited from dual POV and the pacing was slow/a bit off for me. Still excited to see what Elena comes up with next! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

I’m such a sucker for a fate dating/fake engagement trope! It always sucks me in every 👏🏽 single 👏🏽 time!! 👏🏽

I thought this book had that incredible Elena Armas flair with some quirky characters, funny moments and of course a sloooooooow burn! 🔥 It was very intriguing to get to know Matthew and Josie and seeing them work through this fake engagement together. There were many moments that had me giggling, some that had me swooning, and some that had me needing to cool off. 🥵

I did enjoy parts of the romance between Josie and Matthew, but I found the slow burn to be incredibly slow in this one! I found some parts dragged and were a little too slow burn-y for my taste. Elena Armas always does a fantastic job at creating tension between her MCs, where even the brush of a hand will have you swooning. I would have really loved this book even more if this still had all of that tension but at a little bit of a faster pace. If you’re a fan of slow burns though, then this one is it for you (or any of her books for that matter)!!

Side note: that bathtub scene?!? 🥵🫣👀 iykyk!

Thank you to Elena Armas, Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Let me start by saying if you liked Spanish Love Deception and The Long Game, then I think you’ll love this. Elena’s books are long, so if you’re either all in or all out.

The main character is this one is Josie who is Adalyn’s sister if you’ve read The Long Game. Their father Andrew has just resurfaced in their life, not really having anything to do with them in the past. He had a one night stand with Josie’s mom and had never been in their life at all. He is a wealthy, powerful man and he is writing a book about his life which is where Josie comes in, his “misstep” as she’s called.

Josie is trying to save her reputation from this PR nightmare as the media quickly gets wind of Josie’s Runaway Bride act. She’s been engaged and to the alter 4 times but can never manage to seal the deal. Cue Matthew, Adalyn’s best friend who breezes into town and is at the right place at the right time for our fake fiancée trope to begin.

As a romance lover, no spoilers here as people develop feelings into this fake relationship. I loved Matthew’s character in this book and how he went to bat for her every time; Josie finally does stand up for herself at the end with things that happen her father and his publicist, so I was a little disappointed she needed Matthew to do that, but think she just needed someone in her corner.

Be warned fans of Armas, this is very different than Spanish Love Deception; I think it reads more like The Long Game. 4.25 stars from me!

Thanks to NetGalley for this amazing ARC.

This was such a fun read! I Lol’d at some parts & it was just what every good feel good romance book needs! This is book 2 in a series but I don’t honestly think you need to read book 1 because Elena gives good info in this book about the previous main characters in book 1 (which these 2 main characters in this book are in book 1 too).

Josie (FMC) is hilarious & all over the place. She is such a fun character & will do anything for anyone. Matthew (MMC) is quite possibly one of the best book boyfriends I’ve ever met. He was seriously THE SWEETEST & smitten kitten with Josie. Watching their relationship grow was so fun & swoon worthy!

This gives Runaway Bride vibes and I lived for it. The small town vibes also with all the different characters added so much fun to all the drama that was going on!

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Alright alright alright let’s get into this one. First of all. I really loved the plot. While some things were convenient, I still enjoyed it anyway. It reminded me of a 90s Romcom for sure. Even referenced Runaway Bride. But the fake finance part was gold. Listen, when you read these books you know how it’s going to end. You just don’t know the journey which hello, is why we read it in the first place. I liked the MMC and FMC. Here and there I felt like their conversations were slightly inorganic but I’ve read way worse so I brushed it off. HOWEVER. I almost wanted to rate this lower because of the spicy scenes. I legit had to read them to my husband to make sure I wasn’t crazy but the dialogue was SO cringey. Every spicy scene was cringey. And the fact that their first kiss happened so late in the game while other things had happened was so weird to me. Which I’m glad the MMC at least admitted haha but still… weird. But the convos just seemed like nothing that would ever actually happen during a romantic moment between two real people. I get that this is really more someone’s fantasy or what they think people want to read, but I can assure you the way their first real love scene ends…. That would NOT make my fantasy list and I refuse to believe any woman wants that… mess. Hahahaha see I can’t even type without laughing uncomfortably about it. ANYWAYS the spice just wasn’t for me. And unfortunately while you can skip, there are some things said that you miss if you do. Just skim my friends. Trust. Also. Words that do not ever belong in ANY love scene: folds. Poking. Please. Never again.

Another thing I had a hard time with? Her repeating what people said immediately after CONSTANTLY. I heard what they said, I do not need the FMC to rethink it on the next line in italics. Here and there sure. BUT NOT EVERY TIME SOMEONE SAYS SOMETHING SWEET OR MOVING. And I feel like the author repeated some phrases a lot in this book. I can’t remember what but.. WAIT OMG HOW DID I ALMOST FORGET.

Baby blue. No. Absolutely not. Not sexy. Maybe cute the first time he said it. But to default to that as what he called her? Dry heave. And calling someone “my sweet f@$;@ girl” during an intimate scene… maybe it’s because I have kids but it gave me the ICK. Don’t call me your sweet girl. Please. Okay okay I’m sorry I’m done.

Side note, I did NOT read the first book and felt like I was able to get enough of a read on everything through details given in the book that I wasn’t totally lost.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for providing me with an ARC read in exchange for my honest review!

No third act breakup!!!! That alone had me jazzed, but Elena Armas had to go and write some of the loveliest MCs too. Her newest work is a tour de force of the romance genre. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

The Fiancé Dilemma
4.5 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️

I thought this was great! Loved the banter and tension between the characters. I loved Josie’s POV and appreciated how the story went throughout the book. The last chapter was in Matthew’s POV and I so wish I could have seen more of his chapters. His feelings are easily expressed in Josie’s POV, but I still would have loved his. 😂
I really enjoyed that Adalyn and Cameron were major side characters in this book - they were in it just the right amount.
I thought the podcast was an interesting storyline, and loved how that was entwined and then the twist I did not see coming! 😱

Read if you like:
Fake fiancé 💍
Runway Bride Vibes
Small town romance
Slow burn 🔥
Sister’s best friend
Teacup pig 🫠
Single POV

The Fiancé Dilemma is in the same universe as The Long Game (she is the town’s mayor/coffee shop owner, he is Adalyn’s best friend), but can be read as a standalone.

This book was missing some things for me, but it was still worth the read. I enjoyed all of the characters and the friend relationships the story portrays. I wanted some back story about Josie and her previous relationships because it was hard to feel sympathetic for her 4 failed engagements. She was described as an independent woman, but let herself be easily manipulated by her father and the PR scandal.

Josie and Matthew were adorable together, but it was a little instant-love for my taste. Some of their history was touched on, but not fully explored to understand how their connection built so fast. I appreciated Matthew’s patience with Josie’s hesitation about a relationship, and I thought they were really sweet to each other. I just fully didn’t buy in to the fast timeline. Overall, it was a cute story and a fun read, just not one that will stick out in my memory.

Thank you to Atria, Elena Armas, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

ELENA FREAKING ARMAS!
You did it again.
You created the most delectable MMC, who is undeniably perfect for the FMC.
Witty banter, nicknames, S P I C E, tension… I’m obsessed. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.
4.5 ⭐️

“You’re too honorable, Josie girl. A true unicorn.”

“Oversharing was one of my love languages.”

“I always liked this part of a relationship. It’s what I miss the most.”
“That’s a dangerous green light you’re giving me.”

“I didn’t think I’d ever date a blond. Not that I was dating one now. I- I was probably ovulating.”

“I was in an obvious rush to see my… Josie. My fiancée, Josie.”

“You didn’t leave me on read?”

“My face was flaming. I didn’t even know why, just that apparently I wasn’t in control of simple bodily functions when this man called me beautiful.”

“Only a fool would wait when there’s something so precious to be claimed.”

“Matthew. Are you the jealous, possessive type?”
“Yes. I can be. But I’m easily swayed to be nice and proper.”

“Maybe I would help any stranger. But it’s you I’m going this far for, Josie.”

“Beautiful things shouldn’t be boxed. It eventually dims their light.”

“He was all growly and grouchy over me being up here. Over something I could do with my eyes closed, I’d done it so many times.”

“You’re important. You have me. And there’s nothing about you I want to fix. There’s nothing about you that needs fixing.”

“It was truly unfair how much he loved to eat and how happy it made me to watch him.”

“His dream should have been getting married to you.”

“I’m needy, I guess. I’m not cool enough to act like I don’t care, when I’ve been moping around.”

“Nah, Blue. It makes you the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”

“Your fiancé is a hands man. What’s anyone going to say? I’m yours to do as you want.”

“Give me what I want. Let me have you all to myself.”

“What if I can’t give you any f*$%ing firsts, so I want to make sure I get a chance at being your last?”

“You’re perfect.”
“Wrong. I’m perfect for you.”

“I got you, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

“You don’t have a reputation. You have a heart that chose to believe in love.”

“Josie, baby.” A sob exploded out of me. As if yanked by those two words. Him, being with me.

“My heart is not broken. And I’m not leaving you. Hear me?”

“You good? That was a lot, and you were so brave.”

“It had always been difficult not to come off too strong around Josie.”

“Go on, Baby Blue. It’s me you’re running to.”

I don’t know what it about wild and chaotic characters in books but I love them so much… maybe I’m wild at heart and just don’t know yet? 😏

But Josephine was a whole vibe that had be laughing from the very beginning. I just loved her free spirit! When she loves , she loves and when she hurts, she hurts- and you can’t help but to just feel all of those emotions right there with her.

And Matthew??? Oh Matthew… a pretty boy with a mouth that will bring you to your knees 🥵. He was something else, and i absolutely loved him! He’s not scared to give it to you straight and he will love you like there’s no tomorrow.

The Fiancé Dilemma by @thebibliotheque was such a fun, heartwarming, sexy and emotional story. Towards the end I definitely shed a couple of tears. The chemistry between the characters, the slow burn, the tension was perfection 🤌🏽. Oh, and Grandpa Moe- I loved him so much!! 🥹

My girlies who are in their romance era who loves a good heartfelt and sexy story- this one is for you! 🫶🏽

Tropes:

🌼 Small Town
💜 Fake Dating
🌼 Sister’s Best Friend
💜 He Falls First
🌼 No Third Act Breakup
💜 Slow burn
🌼 Spice

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Available now at your favorite bookstore.

Thank you so much @thebibliotheque and @netgalley for an e-arc of The Fiancé Dilemma. I now need to go read The Long Game because I need to know all about Cam, Adalyn and Josie 🥹.

Ask yourself: Do you love a good fake dating trope? Are you a fan of quaint small-town drama, zero third-act breakups, and a slow-burn romance that takes its sweet time? If you answered yes, then you might want to pick this book up asap!

Meet Josie Moore, whose love life reads like a rom-com blooper reel: four failed engagements and an absentee dad making a dramatic comeback. When her father decides to drop a retirement announcement in a magazine (because that’s a totally normal way to retire), Josie’s love life is not exactly the PR win she hoped for. Enter her brilliant idea: a fake fiancé! Matthew Flanagan is basically a walking disaster. He’s been fired, stranded, and is currently playing hide-and-seek with a muddy ditch on his way to Green Oak, North Carolina. He accidentally stumbles into his best friend’s sister, Josie, who seizes the opportunity to introduce him as her "fiancé."

What starts as a comedy of errors quickly becomes a fake engagement fiasco, with Matthew playing the clueless but charming fiancé amidst a whirlwind of small-town gossip. Despite their rule of no real “I dos,” the lines between fake and real start to blur, and the town starts to believe that maybe, just maybe, the fifth fiancé is the real deal.

In my opinion, The Fiance Dilemma is Elena’s best work! It’s got all the swoon-worthy moments and steamy goodness that’ll have you grinning from ear to ear and sighing deep long sighs. This continuation to The Long Game continues to charm with its delightful small-town setting and endearing characters, especially Matthew and Josie. Definitely worth your time!

Huge thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the eARC!

Matthew & Josie
ARC Review

Here’s the thing- I really liked Matthew. He was hands down one of the most underrated, understanding men written. Next to a green flag is a picture of this man.
Josie- listen I liked her ok. She had baggage and self doubt and was a people pleaser. Matthew was really good for her.

Much like book one this story went on forever with weird drama. It was the slowest of slow burns and in my opinion without the ending I thought it should have. It was so slow to start and had lots of moments where it just dragged. It took me 3x as long to read this compared to others. Finally at the 60-70% it picked up, but then the ending was just not it.

Unfortunately this is where the series ends for me if there’s another. It was ok and entertaining at times, but just not for me.

Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to voluntarily read and review. Best wishes to the author on release and beyond.

Book Rating: 3.5
A continuation from A Long Game, but focusing on Adalyn’s half-sister and best friend.
This small-town romance will have you invested once you learn more about Josie’s past and how her father’s PR team intends to “fix” it. She radiates positivity and quirkiness and will have you laughing out loud. Next to Matt, the banter and slow burn make them a well-matched couple.
Overall, a good & entertaining storyline full of emotion. A fake-dating trope is always worth the read!

Runaway bride, daddy issues, a swoon worthy MMC, and a Grandpa Moe. What more could you ask for? This was funny, cute, romantic, and a little bit cheesy at times, but I loved all of it. The ending wasn’t what I expected, but in a good way.

Read if you like:
• small town
• fake dating
• slow burn
• no third act breakup

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!