I LOVED the long game, so I was very excited for this one. However, I just couldn't get into it. Our FMC is letting everyone else dictate her life and just doing whatever she can to please others the whole book. Our MMC was impossible to understand because we didn't get his pov except the last chapter. I didn't understand why he was going along with the fake dating and it felt very forced.

This book was a little slow at the beginning, so it took some effort to really get into it. I ended up loving the characters, though. It was a little unbelievable at times, but it was a fun romance that made me want to finish Josie & Matthew’s story. ❤️

The Fiance Dilemma is book two in the phenomenal Long Game Series by Elena Armas.
This was the perfect romance that I needed!! I loved the characters, and the storyline was so fun and charming. Elena is one of my must-read authors!
This was absolutely delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty.
A humorous fake engagement, second chances romance story that was utterly delightful.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Elena Armas’ Spanish Love Deception got me back into reading rom-coms, so she is one I will always read! The Fiancé Dilemma is my least favorite of her romances, but I can see how this will be a hit for fans of the genre.

I really liked this book and its premise; I love me a fake engagement. It was super cute and fun and had some spice. Slow burn. I love the small town and the town folks.

Matthew is such a swoony MMC, and I am here for it!! Josie is a bit chaotic and hilarious. Grandpa Moe is such a fun side character!!

Thank you, NetGalley, for my eARC.

NetGalley ARC Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I would recommend the Fiancé Dilemma to anyone who loves:
- a small town full of characters 🐐
- a big-hearted and intelligent fmc 💅🏼
- a silly, sweet mmc with glasses 🤓
- great banter
- fake engagement
- navigating imperfect families
- finding a partner who knows you on a level you didn't think was possible 🥹

If you've read Elena's other work, this is similar with the mmc, Matt, being down so bad for the heroine, Josie. Matt always knew the perfect thing to say when Josie was encountering mishap after mishap 😅 He understood her in a way no one had before 🫶🏻

I loved that Josie was a local business owner, the town mayor, pseudo-granddaughter of Grandpa Moe, and hilarious to boot. Kind to a fault, Josie spends this book people pleasing until she breaks and Matt helps her find her way out of that cycle.

I could easily see this storyline being great for a romcom movie as almost all situations had a humorous element, but I also spent a lot of the story dreading the next crisis to be encountered 😅 It made the pacing feel a little slow, even given the story's tight timeline.

The tight timeline also contributed to the feeling of instant-love. I normally try not to dwell on this as it's expected (even welcomed) in romance books, but Matt was a such hard no on the fake engagement at first, and then he does the wildest 360 and he's all in on the scheme and on Josie.

I feel like we don't get insight into Matt's line of thinking until a bit too late in the story and his unwavering devotion and loyalty feels too strong after being so against the fake engagement idea.

That being said, the couple's happy ending was well worth reading for and I enjoyed the story overall 😊🫶🏻🌼 Definitely add to your TBR (and catch up with Adalyn and Cameron from The Long Game too)!

I love Elena Armas & her writing & overall, I really enjoyed this. This definitely had rom-com vibes and I loved that. I did have a little bit of a hard time getting into it in the beginning, but it did pick up & got better as I read on. Josie was super fun & quirky and Matthew was swoon worthy book boyfriend 🫶🏼

I didn’t read The Long game before reading this book and although you technically don’t need to, I wish that I had. Would’ve given me better insight on certain things in the story but that’s on me! Overall, I enjoyed this read & would definitely still recommend this!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC! This is my honest review!

Tropes:
- Small town romance
- Fake engagement
- Forced proximity
- He falls first

Final rating:
3.75 ⭐️
2 🌶️

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one! The Spanish Love Deception dug its way into my heart years ago, but since, I haven't felt that same spark with Elena Armas's books. But, I'm happy to report that I became very invested in this one. Loved the main characters and their chemistry. It was top notch. Very happy with how the story progressed. It was funny and cute and made me very happy!

Josie and Matthew’s chemistry is off the charts, like fireworks on the Fourth of July! Their banter is sharp, their moments tender, and their fake engagement? Absolutely believable. Josie’s quirks and Matthew’s irresistible charm make for a dynamic duo you can’t help but root for.

Elena Armas weaves a tale that’s as heartwarming as it is laugh-out-loud funny. The small-town vibes and quirky side characters add an extra sprinkle of magic to this delightful story. If you’re in the mood for a feel-good romance that will leave you grinning from ear to ear, The Fiancé Dilemma is your perfect summer read! 📖💞

Get ready to fall in love with Josie, Matthew, and the entire town of Green Oak. This book is a rollercoaster of emotions you won’t want to miss! 🎢❤️

Being a people pleaser is a relatable trait. Making everyone happy while sacrificing your own happiness, is not the best trait to have. Those are glaring traits of Josie's. Café owner, town mayor, friend, leader, sister, and suddenly a daughter to a man she knows nothing about- selfless!
Josie is an absolute fantastic character in this book! She drives the story with her humor, drama, family relationships, and the sexual tension created with Matthew! He, too, is such a perfect fit for Josie as her friend and fake-fiancé. Their banter and his compassion are idyllic, making this such an enjoyable book!

The beginning of this book I wasn’t a fan of, but once I got more into the story I really enjoyed it. I always love the Fake dating / Fake engagement trope and once it got to those parts it was SOOO CUTE.

Matthew Flanagan (the MMC) is 100% book boyfriend material, I adored him so much! He was so freaking sweet to Josie (the FMC) and I loved the nicknames he made her throughout the book.

I also really liked Grumpy Grandpa Moe, The bathtub scene had me dying (IYKYK)

Altogether I found this to be a very cute & fun book. It was easy to read and heart warming. 💕

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the ARC 🫶

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 30, 2024

The world building is a bit lacking if you haven’t read the first book in this series. It randomly drops names and associations without clearly explaining the connections, characters, or their significance so it makes for a confusing start. Unfortunately, I found the female MC too neurotic. Her dialogue+inner dialogue was exhausting. This has all the parts—small town, fake dating, fake engagement, forced proximity—but just didn’t do it for me!

4.5 stars

Breaking news: I decided to actually read my ARC a decent amount of time before release.

I will admit all I remember from book 1 is Adalyn punching someone and Cameron being a soccer player. That being said, thankfully I didn’t need to remember much of them except their names 😭

Josie has had four failed marriages—every time, she’s either left them before the wedding or at the altar. But when she’s revealed to be the daughter of multimillionaire Andrew Underwood (which makes her Adalyn’s sister!), everyone finds out about her failed marriages, and it becomes a PR nightmare. To redeem her crumbling reputation, she pretends to be engaged to Matthew, Adalyn’s best friend, who just so happened to be passing by.

Okay firstly, the cover is GORGEOUS.

Small town fake dating without a third-act breakup or miscommunication? Give.

Josie is so cute I love her omg. She’s super upbeat and bright, and she’s super fun to read. Now, Matthew. MATTHEWWWWW. I have a new book boyfriend to obsess over, he was just so considerate and sweet and gentle and I just love him so, so much. The part where he was trying out a bunch of different nicknames for Josie was so adorable, I think I was melting for the better part of this book.

I loved seeing Adalyn and Cameron despite the fact that I kind of forgot them. Bobbi (their impromptu wedding planner) annoyed the hell out of me (a kind of good way) since page 1 (and I didn’t even really know what was happening for the first, like, two chapters). The slow burn was slow-burning, the tension was AMAZING, the spice wasn’t overpowering and it was so, so good.

Matthew is everything; his POV is life.

This book was absolutely amazing. The fiancé dilemma deals with the trout that we all expect a fake dating, but also not at the same time. Once again, there was a little miscommunication that I feel like could've been avoided, but that's just the way that I read it. Thoroughly enjoy anything about Elena. Five stars can't wait for this to be published!!

I can always count on Elena Armas for a fun romance and this one is no exception!

When Josie's estranged, high profile father suddenly makes his way back into her life, she quickly realizes that her romantic past is a PR problem for the millionaire's reputation. Josie's been engaged four times, but has never quite made it down the aisle. When online gossip sites get a hold of this information they dig into her past and question if her absentee father could be the reason why she's never said, "I do." After a misunderstanding leads her father's PR strategist to believe she's engaged for a fifth time, she asks her sister's best friend, Matthew, to act as her fiancé until everything blows over.

I always like a 'fake dating' type of story and I particularly enjoyed this one for all of the nosy neighbors/small town antics. I really loved how vulnerable Josie and Matthew were with each other as they navigated this situation. A romance with no miscommunication or third act break-up will always be at the top of my favorites. I will say that I wished that this was dual POV like The Long Game, but I did like how telling the story through only Josie's POV put a large focus on her character development.

If you've been a fan of Armas' other works I have no doubt that you'll enjoy this one

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Fiance Dilemma was everything I hope and I continue to fall more and more in love with Elena’s writing.

Get ready because the gushing is about to begin. This book was freaking amazing and delighted and satisfied me in every way. Ok, this is the second book in The Long Game series, and it is probably best to read the first book in the series before diving into it. The events in the previous book are the main catalysts that precipitate Josie into needing to have a fake fiancé in this book. There is so much to love about this book, and Elena shows readers she knows what makes a good rom-com.

First, let's talk about the story. If you are a fan of Runaway Bride (and who isn't), you will fall in love with Elena's take on this '90s romcom. Elena did a great job taking that movie and putting her own updated spin on it. I really loved every moment of this book. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that often come about because Josie tends to act/speak rashly and without really thinking when she is panicking. This usually leads to hilarious, awkward, and quirky situations that you cannot help but laugh at. The meet-cute moment at the beginning of this book between Josie and Matthew was perfect in my eyes because it was delightful, bonkers and chaotic. And I know I will never forget their meet-cute moment.

I'm not always a fan of fake dating or, in this case, fake engagements, but for whatever reason, I always seem to enjoy this trope when Elena writes it. I think it's because it's pretty clear that the hero is head over heels in love with the heroine, and I enjoy that twist to the fake engagement trope. Elena knows how to write a gorgeous pinning hero who quietly tries to show the heroine how much he truly cares for her. Matthew is perfect and has worked his way up to being one of my all-time favourite book boyfriends. I've been trying to figure out the best way to describe him, and I've decided that he is this wonderful mixture of those great stereotypical hero characteristics like cinnamon roll, protective, fun, sexy, etc. He doesn't fit into one mould, which is why I think I loved him so much. There are just so many sides to him. Matthew is the perfect man for Josie, and I loved his quiet and, at times, spicy ways of showing Josie that he cares for her, that she is worthy of being loved, and that he is going to stick around. He had my heart melting constantly.

Josie was as delightful and fun as I had hoped she would be. She has such a big and caring heart, and she goes through this fake fiancé act to help her family. There is big drama surrounding Josie's father, who has just recently become a part of her life, and her romantic past has been dug up by the press and a rather terrible (but very popular) podcast. Her four broken engagements have reflected poorly on her father's image, and he has sent a PR agent to help straighten everything out. Josie's character, which relates to her past romantic relationships, is similar to Julia Roberts's character in Runaway Bride. In the sense that she sets aside who she is and takes on her fiancé's likes and dislikes even if she doesn't agree. Her character arc revolves around believing she can be loved for being herself and learning to trust and believe in Matthew fully. Her character story and its ending were perfect.

Fans of the previous book will be delighted to know that a lot of the secondary characters from that book make an appearance in this book. I adore, I mean really adore, Grandpa Moe and Otto. They have this whole grumpy old man thing going on, and it was delightful and hilarious. The adorable Maria, who is now ten years old, is just as sassy and wise as she was in the first book. If the adults around her would only listen to what she has to say then they probably wouldn't find themselves in all these messy situations.

The romance is slow burn at its perfection. Matthew knows how to get a bookworm's heart racing. There are so many moments where you find yourself holding your breath because you are so into what is happening and you have to keep on reading because you want more. There is plenty of lusty and spicy tension between Matthew and Josie. They bang in private and public places, and it's super hot. There is also fun witty banter that just flows so perfectly. You find yourself craving more and more. But besides all those fun and lusty moments, some really heartfelt, quiet moments between these two just give their relationship this tremendous amount of depth. It made their relationship believable and real.

If you are a fan of fake engagement, sister's best friend, small-town, slow burn, he falls first and harder, and no third-act breakup, then you will devour this book.


The Fiancé Dilemma is by far one of my favourite rom-coms of this year.

Unrealistic storyline but it made me happy the whole time. I liked it much better than the long game.

I loved absolutely everything about this book! This is the first time in a long time that I have thought that Book Two is better than Book One. I just related so much to Josie and could understand and sympathize with what she was going through and feeling. Sometimes the feels hit a little too close to home, but honestly in the best way possible. I also thought this was an excellent take on the fake dating trope. In the beginning, it felt wayyy too messy, but we got there. I was a little shocked when we only had Josie's POV, but I think it enhanced the story so we could find things out and be shocked with Josie instead of just waiting for everything to click for her. Stunning book, please everyone read it.

Loved this book so much, I never wanted to put it down, the characters were so well developed and the plot was so good. I was definitely swooning over Matthew and thought Josie had a very strong amazing personality. The ending of this book was AMAZING, and really made a point. Overall this book gets 5 stars because of how well it was developed, the spacing of everything, and how it made me feel. Elena Armas never disappoints! Cannot wait for the next book brought!

Armas never fails to deliver. I was so excited to read this book after her previous book in the series gave us bread crumbs of what was to come. I loved the MMC so much- he was an instant book boyfriend for me. Armas has delivered a banter filled love story that uses a popular trope in a refreshing way. Such a good read