the fiancé dilemma by elena armas (publishing 7/30/24!)

rating: 4.5 ⭐️

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-galley!

Oh my god I LOVED THIS! The whole fake dating plot but fake engagement?! I didn’t think I would like this as much as I did. Matthew and Josie are adorable and this was one of those stories where you like both characters and we’re rooting for them the whole book. They had that romantic tension and chemistry which just made you keep reading. I actually couldn’t put this book down every time I picked it up it was a good 2 hours before I put it down. Also this is an interconnected standalone with The Long Game and I would recommend reading this second as you will understand the other characters and their stories more. Overall this was an amazing book and I would 10/10 recommend reading this when it comes out!

I really wanted to like this book. When I got accepted for this advanced copy, I was so excited and couldn’t want to start reading it. One of the biggest issues that I had with this book was the writing. There were several lines that I found so poorly written that I actually had to put my Kindle down for a few moments. The story didn’t seem to have a very direct path, and I felt like the character introductions didn’t make a lot of sense. I did like the strong sense of familial bonds and I LOVE a male main character that wears glasses! Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book, but I think that people who have read and enjoyed Armas’ previous works will like this one. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria, and Elena Armas for the chance to read this advanced copy.

Oh, how excited I was when I received the email notification that I had been selected to read the ARC. I have read all of her books and I really liked them - she is also in my autoread authors list. The greater was my disappointment with this book. I actually read it for 13 days 😱

Maybe I would have liked the book more if I hadn't read the previous book 'The Long Game', because from that I got the impression of Josie as a very strong person and Matthew gave off gay vibes.. therefore my surprise was huge when these two had a fake engagement and fell in love later on.

Josie only recently found out who her father is, and because of that, I couldn't understand why she decided to go along with some nonsense PR scheme to protect her father's reputation. It was hard to read how a person suddenly became weak-minded, indecisive and childish.

Throughout the book, I didn't feel the chemistry between the two at all and couldn't take Matthew as the dominant side in the bedroom. His personality was very unrealistic.

However, one bad work does not make the author bad, and I will definitely be waiting for her next work 😊

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet and honest Rom Com.
He fell first
He made her overcome her insecurities
He protects her from her own head as well as others words
I loved the family story
I LOVED the ending when Matthew goes rogue ;)

I’ve been torn on how to rate this one. A three seems too low, but a four seems too generous. I’m rating it a 3.5, rounded to four for the sake of the NetGalley rating system.

While I was a fan of Armas’s first two novels, I felt like The Long Game was a step backward in terms of plot and character depth. This book, The Fiance Dilmena, was an improvement over that work but still came up short compared to her earlier writing.

What I enjoyed: It improves as it goes on, so if you struggle at the beginning, stick with it. The ending was satisfying and avoided being cliche. I liked the overall take on ‘love’ and how it can develop both instantaneously and over time, all within the same relationship. And I’m not usually a fan of overly perfect book boyfriends, but Matthew is pretty damn cute. He and Josie had great chemistry.

What I wasn’t a fan of: While this book is a follow-up to The Long Game, it specifically states that it can be read as a stand-alone. In terms of plot, that is mostly true. In terms of character backgrounds, not so much. I felt thrown into the story under the assumption that I was very familiar with the characters. Having read The Long Game back in November, I felt lost and often had to refer to that novel to get a full picture of who Josie and Matthew were, and who they were in relation to the oft-mentioned Adalyn, Andrew, and Cameron. I don’t appreciate when books are redundant, but at the same time, I don’t enjoy when a book touted as a stand-alone relies so much on an earlier work.

I also found Josie to be a little cliche, especially at the beginning of the novel, and I wish her ‘issues’ with marriage had been explored a little more in-depth.

All said and done, I think if I had re-read The Long Game prior to reading this, it would have been easier to read. However, I didn’t enjoy that book enough to want to re-read it. I will continue to read Elena Armas’s future works, as I still have faith in her writing capabilities.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy of this book, provided in return for my unbiased opinion.

It was a lot of fun being back in the Green Oak universe in Elena Armas’ new book. I generally love the fake dating trope and this book had all the most deliciously tense moments common to the trope.

The book is told in single POV for the most part (we get the male MC’s POV for the last chapter) so because of that I felt like we didn’t really get to fully appreciate the chemistry and romance between these two. Maybe some of this is set up in The Long Game which I read over a year ago, but I didn’t think there was enough early development for why these two were drawn to each other or why they’d be realistically engaged. We get that back story later on but I would have been more bought in having known it sooner. Once I got to the halfway mark, things definitely picked up and I really liked the second half. Matthew is down bad and I love a blonde hero in glasses (reminds me of my husband!) He is super protective and basically worships Josie through his acts of service. This was a slow burn for sure - we get our first kiss at nearly 80% of the story so stick with it you smut lovers!

Content flags: parental death and abandonment

I voluntarily read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love fake dating/fake engaged tropes. This one blew me away. I really enjoyed the characters and the plot pacing. Check it out!

I wanted to love this but the romance felt forced and unnatural to me. The characters felt underdeveloped. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I truly appreciate the ARC of this novel, but I struggled to get into the story. The pacing felt of for me and any romance over 400 pages is just too much for me.

I do think there is an audience for this book, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

ARC REVIEW

★★★★★ (5/5)
🌶🌶 (2/5)

This was incredible, the improvement of elena's writing is so present and amazing.

This story was amazing, the characters were lovable, the storyline was interesting and the writing was appropriate.

I loved how original the love interest is, he domehow seemed different from all other book boyfriends and it was really refreshing he has qualities that work in perfect dynamic with the main character and i absolutely fell in love wth their relationship.

The cameos of past characters really bring together that sense of reality in the story and seals the deal.

The pace was perfect, something i think it is very hard to nail and was absolutely accomplished here, the characters feelings were clear and felt real, the plot well planned, intriguing and creative and the spice was well written. All these well crafted elements togather made what id dare to call elena arma's best book so far.

I must say i missed my epilogue. It ended too abruptly and i just wanted more time with them.

Im so excited to see what else she comes up with and will make sure to be there when she does.

Some Elena Armas I have loved…this one was just okay. The premise of the fake engagement seemed farfetched, and I love a fake dating storyline. Armas loved a slow burn or maybe just an unnecessarily long story. This could have been shortened. Overall, not great, but not bad.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for the ARC.

I had a very strong love/hate relationship with this book!

The parts I loved, I absolutely loved, but the parts I hated, I really hated it. It was very polarizing, and it did affect my overall reading experience. At the end of the day, I did enjoy it, but at times it was a struggle.

Starting off on the positives, the romance was amazing! It was slow-burn, but still so intense! Like it was steamy without extreme amounts of spice. Also Matthew was the MVP! I was obsessed with him from the beginning, and his protective nature towards Josie was everything. I thought the pacing was good as well. But seriously if there is one reason to read this book, it's Matthew! He's literally amazing. Definitely book boyfriend material!

Now for the cons: I couldn't stand Bobbi. Like her attitude and everything just irked me. Her treatment of Josie at times was also just upsetting. The overall plot (outside of the romance) bothered me. Josie deserved so much better than Andrew.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book. Like I said Matthew is the reason to read this book. He's amazing and makes this book worth it all.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.2/5

matthew is one of my favorite heroes everrrrr. he is just so sweet and steady and PERFECT for josie. i kept thinking that if i were josie, i wouldve cried like 50x throughout the book, and when she finally did cry the scene felt so raw and real! the way her and matthew dealt with the third act conflict was so perfect for them. the only reason this book wasnt a flawless five star was because there were some parts of the writing that bugged me a bit. some of the gen z language felt cringey, and the amount of times matthew said “look at me” made it feel a little stale and like he shouldve said something else. like i wish it would have been just one or two times less. the steamy scenes were great though. probably elena armas’ best🔥🔥

This was a first of Elena Armas for me, and WOW she does not disappoint! Though you may see overlapping characters from The Long Game, The Fiance Dilemma stands alone - and you don't miss a blip!

Josie has been engaged 4 times - none of which ended in marriage. Matthew finds himself as lucky number 5 -- except it's all a stunt. The banter and spice was delightful. I could not put this down. I definitely laughed out loud at Josie's roommate... more than once!

Out on July 30, 2024, I won't be surprised to see this one on the charts for top books of the summer!

This book is everything you wanted Runaway Bride to be, lose the a-hole, add a swoon-worthy alpha-male who still helps our FMC discover herself without having to be a complete **** first, a fake engagement (with aforementioned swoon-worthy MMC), address the family trauma, and add is a TON of steamy chemistry, and a sprinkling of 🥵🥵🥵 spice.

I have a confession - I stopped reading this book around the 1/2 point so I could re-watch Runaway Bride. When I finished the movie I instantly picked up the book again. In total it took me less than 24 hours to read The Fiancé Dilemma and watch Runaway Bride.

Final verdict, Runaway Bride would have been an exponentially better movie if Elena Armas had written the script. AKA this book is sooooooo much better than the movie it draws inspiration from.

This book did SO many things right. Here is what I loved…
- FMC is totally adorable, flawed, and has depth that makes her so real and relatable
- MMC is literal perfection - Matthew is my new perfect book boyfriend
- no seriously, the mouth on that man 🥵 a supportive man that stands up for his woman and is also 🔥 behind closed doors. 🫠
- NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!!!!!
- found family
- slow burn - but you get plenty of tension and chemistry to tide you over.
- daddy issues, family trauma, and it gets addressed is a satisfying way.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book!! This one has fake fiancé, sister’s best friend, and so much sexual tension 🔥🔥🔥. I adored this book and never wanted to put it down. The situation is far-fetched and somehow relatable. The characters are great. Grandpa Moe has my heart! I adored the fact that, without spoilers, the ending ties everything up. It stays true to these characters, without being the cookie cutter, predictable, happily ever after. It was perfection! Grab this one ASAP so that you can enjoy it for yourself. I think this is my favorite @thebibliotheque to date!

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read many Elena Armas books and always enjoy them. This was a fun continuation of The Long Game. Those characters played a big role in The Fiancé Dilemma as Josie and Adalyn are sisters. Slow burn. Easy read. Great book for the beach.

The Fiancé Dilemma was an enjoyable, easy read. It was fun to take a trip back to Green Oak. Absolutely adored Matthew and Josie!

Was a bit hard to finish. Josie and Matthew's story drug on a but too long. Josie been to the alter 4 times, but then faking a marriage with Matthew... why? JUST for publicity stunt cause her dad is famous... Matthew was really a sweetheart to Josie.

Elena Armas fed us with this book! Josie and Matthew chef’s kiss!! I loved this book! I was weary trying this book because I didn’t particularly like The American Roommate Experiment. But this book!! You should read it if you like small town romance, quirky neighbors, and banter!! The banter is perfection! Just read and thank me later!

Thank you to Net galley for an early copy of this book!