Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

Meh. Maybe I've done too many romances lately but this just... wasn't for me. I struggled to finish it.

I was not a huge fan of this story. It was hard to follow at times. I had to really fight and push to finish this book.

Solid 4 ⭐️

I was a little skeptical going into this book because even though I liked Armas' last few books they didn't have the same spark that The Spanish Love Deception had. I was pleasantly surprised with this book and really enjoyed it! I loved the dynamic between Matthew and Josie, they were my favorite characters from The Long Game, (even more so than the MCs) so I'm glad their personalities shined through in this book. Josie is a ball of sunshine and that made this much more enjoyable to read as this is story is predominantly in her POV.

This Fiancé Dilemma has many of my favorite tropes:
💍 Fake Dating
💍 Sister's best friend
💍 Small town
💍 Forced proximity
💍 Slow burn...I mean it, SLOW burn
💍 No third act break-up! I repeat NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP! 💕

Even though while reading this I could predict which way things were going to go, I really enjoyed this read. Sometimes you just want a sweet romance without too much angst and this one hit just right for me. There's nothing ground breaking here, and even though TSLD is still my favorite from Armas, I can definitely recommend this book for anyone looking to read a sweet, small town romance with an FMC you can actually get behind and enjoy spending a whole book in their head.

2/5 🌶️ , 2-3 open door scenes

Thank you to Elena Armas, Net Galley, and Atria books for this early eARC copy for review in exchange for an honest review.

Well, well well... Can Matthew be my new book boyfriend? This was a perfect summer read with great characters, lots of laughable and sweet moments, and a few blushable ones too! 😊 I adored Josie with all her quirkiness, and rooted for her the whole way! I may not have read the long game yet (the first book in this series) but it's definitely going on my list!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this book.

4.5 ⭐️

- fake dating (engagement)
- found family
- sister's best friend
- small town
- anxiety rep
- no third act breakup
- 🌶: 3


First, I need it to be known that I squealed when I was approved for this arc!!! I loved The Long Game (4.5 ⭐️) and was SO excited to read Josie's story. I enjoyed this book just as much, maybe even a little more. This was a cute, emotional, hot, and heartfelt story. I heavily related to Josie, her anxiety, and how her brain spiraled (and focusing on helping others out over herself). Seeing how Matthew helped navigate that was like my dreams on paper tbh. I ATE MATTHEW UPPP!!!!!!!! THIS MAN! The way I was having real reactions to the things coming out of his mouth. Truly a fictional man written by a woman. Matthew Flanagan > Aaron Blackford-just saying. The deli scene.....yeah.

I will say that sometimes there were weird time jumps. A chapter would end in what felt like the middle or beginning of one scene and the next chapter starts in a totally different one. It would interrupt the flow for me from time to time. I also LOVED Grandpa Moe, but I feel like I wanted him to have a little *moment* at the end that never came. I'm forever wishing this was dual pov.....because if you haven't figured it out by now, I am obsessed with Matthew.

Thank You NetGalley for the ARC 💓

Once again, the fake dating trope gets me again Matthew and Josie might be one of my favorite couples yet. The way Matthew shows Josie how much he loves and supports her is just perfection. I love that he is willing to let her take the reins in all aspects of their relationship and always gives her an out if she needs it. I hated Andrew and the role he played in this book. But I guess without him, this book wouldn’t have existed. I really enjoyed this much more than The Long Game as well.


Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for this eARC

Holy bananas! The chemistry between the MCs in this book is delicious! I adore Matthew so hard. Ugh. Josie is the idea you have for a best friend. A very sweet, thoughtful, problem solving overachiever. I loved them together.

We get to see Addalyn and Cameron again, which was so fun. Josie and Addalyn's father, Andrew, joins the group in a new way. I think Grandpa Moe is the best side character I've read in a while. He's hilarious.

The book was a fast-paced, easy read. There was a very slow burn that had a few moments of what we needed only to keep slow burning. Lol I enjoyed the story. The small town atmosphere and the tropes were some of my favorites. I highly recommend this feel-good romance!

I requested this book while reading The Long Game. This would be my 2nd book by the author, and had hopes that I would enjoy more, based on the fact that I do love a good fake dating / fake engagement trope.

I was left wanting more from each character / plot in general. Specially from Josie, which to me, there should be more to her than just her engagements. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the plot, and unfortunately had to stop reading for a while and going back to it after a few days. The ending was a bit underwhelming. I wanted to give this author another shot, I’m sad to say, I don’t think it’s quite the one for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you’re a fan of Elena, you already met Josie and Matthew in The Long Game. For those of you who are new to the scene, Green Oak is a Hallmark-movie lover’s dream. It has grumpy old men bickering, nosy neighbours, gorgeous forest, a rooster named Sebastian Stan (I approve!), Pedro Pigscal, and a smattering of magic. It’s practically perfect in every way.

Josephine Moore has lived in Green Oak her whole life and wears many hats: mayor, café owner and operator, town event planner, and most recently secret love child of millionaire Andrew Underwood and half sister to Adalyn. Josie also has a history of running from wedding to wedding. All of them hers. And by running, I really mean running away. Engaged four times. Married none.

Matthew Flanagan is Adalyn’s best friend, recently unemployed and currently homeless when he stumbles into town hoping to stay at Adalyn’s lodge in Green Oak. He runs into some car trouble and ends up at Josie’s house. Through a series of missteps, the two of them end up in a fake engagement, but the attraction between them is startlingly real. Can they turn their backwards love story right? Will Josie ever be able to run towards a wedding instead of away?

I really enjoyed this book. Slow burns always take a while to get into, but Elena does a fantastic job of building up the tension between the two characters gradually. Matthew is so full of green flags too. He’s the least problematic hero I’ve read in ages and ages. He is honest. He waits until asked. He respects boundaries. He’s highly protective without being overbearing. And then there is his mouth. He’s the perfect mix of sweet and filthy without going overboard.

Pick up this book if you love:
- Slow burn love stories
- Family drama
- Found family (Grandpa Moe!!!!)
- Women supporting women (Adalyn and Josie are so good for each other)
- A sweet and upstanding MMC with a penchant for dirty talk
- Spicy spice! (In public and private locations)
- Sequels!!!!

Thank you so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book is not for me, so unfortunately it's a DNF.

The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas revolves around a fake engagement trope between a small-town mayor and her sister's best friend. Unfortunately, despite getting over 30% of the way through, I just don't feel invested in any of the characters or in how the story will turn out. The characters seem very one-dimensional, as if they exist solely for one purpose (to be the fake fiance, to be the stereotypical best friend, etc.).

The plot also requires quite a bit of suspense in belief. Understandably, rom-coms are meant to be a little unbelievable, but it's still very hard to believe why the fake engagement had to happen in the first place, and how the MC manages to continue it despite all reason.

With that being said, for those who are in search of a lighthearted low-commitment rom-com, this book could be for you.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Fiance Dilemma will be available everywhere July 30, 2024.

This is my first Elena Armas book and I thought it was really enjoyable. Josie and Matthew are great together. They evened each other out in a good way and I really enjoyed their love story. I didn’t really like Josie on her own. She felt a little too immature when you read just her inter monologue and at times I got a little annoyed with her. Matthew was a pretty good love interest but he was almost too perfect in how he fit with Josie. There were a few situations that I wished he would have reacted more realistically than he did. He was definitely written to be this even keel, it’s always been you, I’m yours type of character. But because of that, he definitely catered to almost all of Josie’s flaws instead of pushing her to grow from them.

The book was super slow in the beginning but picked up in the middle for me. I found the dad storyline to be weird and would have been just as interesting if the story just focused on Josie’s romantic past. Overall, this was a good story that takes a bit to grab your interest but does get better towards the middle and end.

DNF @ 22%. 100 pages in and nothing has happening and I couldn't get into it at all. Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for an advance copy. May try this on audio in the future as I typically love Armas' books

Thank you to Atria Book and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to Simon Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

The Fiancé Dilemma is the sequel to The Long Game, and we met both of the main characters in the earlier book. This one can stand alone, but there are some aspects that are much more fun if you remember the previous book.

Josie is the mayor of Green Oak. Matthew visits the town to see Adalyn, his best friend and Josie's sister. And so he happens to be walking by just as she needs a fake fiancé.

I found this novel eminently readable. I could not put it down. It was great to be back in the small town with all the fun animals we first met in The Long Game. I wanted a bit more growth and depth in Josie and Matthew's relationship, but I loved the plot and journey. I especially wanted to know more about Matthew, as he almost seemed too good to be true. This is one instance where I am not sure that a primarily first person POV for Josie only was as effective as a dual POV or third person narrator might have been.

Brittany Presley narrated most of the book from Josie's first person POV. Zachary Webber was also credited. Both are favorites of mine and did their roles spectacularly.

4.25 stars

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. But I have some kind of issue with this authors books (I've now read all of her books) they all feel like they move at a snail's pace. For the first half of this book it was very very slow going and I felt the urge to put the book down after every chapter. But once we got to the second half it picked up speed a little bit and it was more enjoyable.

I also felt like there were a good amount of scenes that were skipped that I would have loved to see. But I did really love how this book ended. It was a truly fantastic end that I won't spoil at all.

3.5 stars rounded up

✅ Josie, small town mayor, & Matthew, recently laid off and Josie’s sister’s best friend
✅ Josie has been engaged 4 times. Her 5th engagement, to Matthew, is fake
✅ romcom
✅ single POV (hers)
✅ runaway bride retelling
🌶️: my god the burn is SO SLOW! After a while it just got annoying. It takes them until over 70% to just kiss.

Definitely not for me here. The intro says this can be read standalone but it reads like someone talking about a ton of people you’ve never met. A weird intimacy that doesn’t work if you didn’t read the other book. Gets off on the wrong (uncomfortable) foot for the reader and never recovers. Josie was exasperating. And the nosy neighbors were not charming at all.

🦋Small Town
🩵Engagement of Convenience
🦋Sister’s Best Friend
🩵He Falls First
🦋Slow Burn
🩵Single POV

I’m a RomCom movie girlie, especially 90’s and early 00’s ones. The Fiancé Dilemma has ‘The Runaway Bride’ vibes! Josie has been engaged 4 times and it is a PR nightmare for her recently discovered father. Josie’s daddy and abandonment issues coupled with her people pleasing nature causes her to desperately and rashly say she’s engaged again, and she declares lucky number 5 is her sister’s best friend, Matthew, because he happens by at the same moment. I laughed every time Matthew flirts with Josie because she would get so flustered and be absolutely hilarious! I am going to tell you not to hate on a blond MMC, especially Matthew because he is hot, super sweet and protective, loves to call Josie his fiancée, wants her backed goods, has a little bit of a filthy mouth, and he wears glasses! I would have loved his POV because seeing him through Josie’s perspective was making me awww and ahhh but to know his thoughts and feelings throughout the book would have been perfection. While this was a slow burn to the spicy content, there was plenty of chemistry, tension, horny thoughts and steam in the build up. Overall, I enjoyed it.

This was very entertaining and I really enjoyed it. A solid rom com that had me laughing, sighing, and sobbing. I will definitely be recommending this one! Gotta love a fake engagement and he falls first and falls hard. And he’s actually always loved her!!!

Josie and Matthew are so stinking precious. I love the way Matt shows Josie all the ways she is perfect and how to have self confidence. And the way they go from friends to lovers is everything. It had me crying! The fact that the “rules” of their engagement just kept changing shows how they just couldn’t not give in. Also he’s a giant golden retriever but has a bit of dominance in him.

Josie has been through 4 previous engagements and weddings. She is working through her trauma and is trying to heal. The way that she cares too much about Matt and doesn’t want to hurt him had me sighing. Her glasses kink (only for Matthew) was pretty funny as well.

Overall this was a pretty spectacular read and I can’t wait for more! I will for sure be recommending this book to everyone.

2.5/5

I feel kind of bad about this and I don’t want to be too mean, but I was not a fan of this book.

The premise was strange and not believable. Josie’s father is having a book written about his accomplishments and life and the writer called out the fact that Andrew basically abandoned Josie after she was born. It also looks bad that Josie has been a runaway bride 4x in the past so the writer insinuates she has “daddy issues. In order to rectify the public opinion Andrew hires a PR agent to manage Josie’s life. The PR agent’s (Bobbi Shark) answer to this is to have Josie get married?

Josie then ropes Matthew into playing fiancés (even though they literally JUST MET) and they are steamrolled by Bobbi and Andrew into a whirlwind wedding that Andrew will pay for and will culminate in him walking her down the aisle.

Josie comes off as insane for the first 25% of this book. She clearly doesn’t want to do it, but she keeps making excuses and doing it anyway. Matthew, on the other hand, comes off as aloof and angry. It is very unclear why he is going along with it all. I really missed Matthew’s POV, particularly in the beginning. I felt like I didn’t get to know him or his motivations. It was odd the entire book was in Josie’s POV, especially since the first book was dual POV with Cam and Adalyn.

Things do perk up after Andrew rolls into town. Matthew becomes quite protective of Josie and it becomes clear he is attracted to her. They slowly start becoming physical with each other as a “distraction”. The actual wedding planning and events surrounding it had some funny moments and I liked seeing Adalyn and Cameron again. The sister bonding moments were some of my favorite.

There is also a side plot of a podcast that is concurrently dishing about the entire ordeal, because it’s apparently national news. Josie and co. are having to deal with paparazzi, gossip sites, and the whole nine yards. This was an issue for me in the first book as well. The situations did not feel like they warranted national tabloid fodder. It felt like a crutch for the weak plot to have stakes.

It all culminates in a big dramatic way that was actually somewhat satisfying. However, I was highly upset that Josie did not give Andrew a piece of her mind at any point during the book. Even when he half-asses an apology she just accepts it and says she doesn’t want or need him in her life.

Overall, it had some sweet and funny moments and the spice was decent, but the plot wasn’t there for me. I’m not sure I’d recommend this series to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great one with slow burn that paid off with some serious spice in the end!

Josie & Matthew were adorable, and a fake relationship gets me every time. This was spicy and romantic, but also laugh out loud funny! I loved the banter and how invested I got in the final outcome of the book. Don’t miss this one!