This book gave a much better insight into Josie's character. From The Long Game, I got the impression Josie was just the crazy and busy mayor of a small town who couldn't commit to anything or anyone. This book delved into the complexities of her character and made you understand why and how Josie came to be. And then there was Matt *heart eyes* I was never much one for the story line that one character is immediately head over heels for the other. I did love how he stood up for Josie, knew her inside and out, and her grandmother's ring???? Are you kidding me??? If you want to experience a too cute romance book or want to configure how to find your own Matt, this is the book for you!

Wavering between 4 and 5. I liked this novel as a follow up to the previous story, and I'm not sure that the background of family etc. would make as much sense if you didn't have the setup story. I also liked Josie and Matthew and the slow burn of the relationship was great. But because this one doesn't have portions from Matthew's perspective like the other one did, it's hard to think of him as a fully formed character and not just a guy that it seems obvious to the reader likes Josie a lot more than Josie is seeing. But altogether it was a fun novel and community.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read The Long Game first so I was familiar with all of the characters. Loved the banter and growing relationship between Josie and Matthew. While I’ve read many fake relationship romances, this was one of my favorites. Great characters and storyline.

I was excited to read this one as I enjoyed The Spanish Love Deception. Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. The characters were one dimensional, and the main character was not relatable.

I LOVED this book 😍😍😍 Matthew had me falling in love with him! The slow burn was well worth the wait, and my favorite part???? ****Mild spoiler**** there was no break up near the end!!! Made the book so much better in my opinion! ❤️

While their encounters started off a little rocky (which was by design, but didn’t make having to read it any less cringy), I ended up falling a little bit in love with Josie and Matthew.

Josie is a strong, yet sensitive FMC. She shows up and stands up for everyone around her, even going so far as to ignore her own needs and desires to focus on placating everyone else. She is a highly relatable character, and as someone who recently got married and suffers from anxiety, I appreciate the representation of a bride that isn’t glowingly happy, or a complete bridezilla.

Matthew is the epitome of “if he wanted to, he would”. His constant championing for Josie was admirable, and I know he is literally a character that was made up to be this way - but he was the perfect match for Josie. His calming presence and ability to always know what to say is what all of us anxious girlies want. Incredibly swoon-worthy.

The books pacing was excellent, and I adored all of the side characters. I definitely need to go back and read the first book of this series, The Long Game now.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Leave it to Elena Armas to make me realize how much I love the “he falls first” trope! Matthew Flanagan has my heart after reading this book. I adore him. 🫶🏻

This book had many of my favorite tropes and lived up to all of them.

3.5 rounded up. Overall a fun time, assuming you’re okay ignoring a lot. A lot of the plot simply doesn’t make sense - why would faking a wedding be better PR? What is Matthew thinking 90% of the book? What is any of this backstory? But ultimately I don’t really care. It was good fluffy fun, and while it seemed like I needed a lot more background info from the first book than I should have for this to be advertised as a standalone, I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

DNF

I was really bummed with this one. I loved the first book in the series and was excited to continue on. Right off the bat everything felt too "quirky". Like some of the comments Grandpa Moe made were funny, but after 3+ in a chapter, I just wanted to roll my eyes. Also, Josie's behaviors were so, so unrealistic I couldn't continue reading.

This is probably my favorite Elena Armas book that she has published so far, and I love all of her books. Josie and Matthew had such good chemistry and the book had me giggling and kicking my feet the whole time. Armas brings in cute farm animals again that are to die for. The book overall gave such perfect summer reading energy and I can't wait to re-read this book over and over again.

This was full of humor, romance and family drama all the best way. Matthew stole my heart and I’m afraid he’ll never return it.

2.5 stars

ever since the spanish love deception ive been extremely reluctant to pick up another book by elena and that was for good reason! her writing style and plots are never for me! this could've been shorter, plus what is the obsession with making the fmc's so quirky and awkward! i definitely think this was better than sid by a landslide but it wasn't good enough to become a favorite of mine sadly. it was mediocre at best.

this is definitely for people in search of small town's, take dating/engagement, no third act (thankfully), and a very sunshine/sunshine couple. this was marketed as a standalone but i definitely think i should've read the long game prior to this since the characters overlap heavily and it did have me confused at first but this overall wasn't for me sadly.

thank you to netgalley and atria books for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

ok, so this was incredible! i pretty much highlighted everything matthew said and did because wowza!!! i didn't think elena armas could top her previous heros but i think she might have with this one; the angst, pining, and flirting made me squeal. do yourself a favor and read this when it comes out!!!

In this Fake engagement romance we follow Josie, our very quirky, outspoken, and wild female lead as she navigates her fifth engagement but this time to a man she’s never met in person. Her new sister’s best friend, Matthew. I absolutely loved everything about this. It was a little messy at the start but once he starts flirting boy does the romance heat up. The banter is funny and playful. I enjoyed how relatable Josie and Matthew are. Struggles with anxiety and disorder and opening up. What I loved most was there’s no miscommunication trope! Just honest thoughts and feelings about the anxieties they have. It was such a refreshing read! I can’t wait for everyone else to get to fall in love with Josie and Matthew’s story!

I know I am in the minority, but I just can't get into Elena Armas' writing. This is the second book I've attempted by her, and the second one I DNF'd. There's something about her writing that seems too gimmicky to me, even though the plot for this book--a fake engagement with the brother's best friend--sounds like it would be right up my alley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

MATTHEW!!! He may have jumped to the top of the list!!! What can I say he treated Josie right from start to finish. I loved the evolution of their relationship it was the perfect amount of waiting. I loveee Josie and she is honestly so relatable. Love love loved this read and so happy I was blessed with an arc!!

Miss Armas cranked up the humor even more in this novel. The family drama and tension reminds me of the Spanish Love Deception, which is my other favorite book by her.

Matthew and Josie's love story is tantalizing from beginning to end. From their humorous meeting to their happy ending, I didn't want to miss a beat. A lot of the same characters from The Long Game added a level of depth and enjoyment to this couples love story. From Grandpa Mo to Adalyn and Cameron, the community and family is heart touching through this couples ups and downs and all arounds.

Ultimately, I loved the little extra dirty spice added to this couples' relationship, which made it stand out from the rest. As I have come to realize, I can't wait to preorder Elena's next love story.

As a resident of small-town North Carolina, I was hoping to find a charming and relatable story in "The Fiance Dilemma." Unfortunately, this book missed the mark on multiple fronts, leading me to DNF.

First, the portrayal of the location was utterly unconvincing. The setting, the people, and even the distances between places felt completely fabricated. It's evident that the author did not have a firm grasp on the place she was trying to depict.

The premise of a fake engagement, while a popular trope in romance novels, felt particularly tired and uninspired in this context. Josie's character, with her quirky persona, failed to elicit any real sympathy or interest. Her motivations seemed shallow, and her actions often made no sense. Matthew, the fake fiance, was equally disappointing. His sudden willingness to go along with Josie's outlandish plan lacked credibility and made it hard to root for their relationship on its meager chemistry alone.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Rating: 4 stars

First, I would like to discuss this cover which is absolutely fantastic. If I had seen this on a shelf at the bookstore it would 100% be coming home with me. I love that the four ex-fiances are cast aside to the back because Mr. Matthew has entered the novel and they are no longer relevant.

For a quick summary, Josie (the sister of Adalyn who we meet in book one) has been engaged to be married a total of 4 times. As the newly revealed daughter of someone well known by the media, this track record of leaving men at the alter apparently reflects bad on daddy-dearest. So, when a PR specialist shows up on Josie’s doorstep, being pretty damn insulting about her “reputation,” Josie makes a split decision that changes her future and that of Matthew (Adalyn’s best friend) who happened to be walking by looking for his lodging, by introducing him as her fiancé. At first Matthew is opposed to the plan, but is pretty quickly on board and the two spend the duration of the book being “fake” engaged before realizing their true feelings for each other.

I found this to be a very fun read, but be warned it is a VERY SLOOOOOW burn. I liked the two characters on their own and together. I felt like we did get to see more of Josie than Matthew on a personal level but we are also in Josie’s head so that makes sense. But Matthew’s past was hidden for a lot of the story so I felt like I was missing a little bit of connection there. But regardless, I loved this glasses wearing man.

A major pro or me was the communication between the characters. I mean, it is to be expected if you are going to be pretending to be in a relationship. But I felt like they were comfortable with each other even though they had never met before, but they had learned about the other through Adalyn.

On the topic of Adalyn, she was basically absentee the entire book. That took away some points for me because I liked her and Cameron’s characters a lot. I didn’t expect them to be in every scene, but I definitely expected to see more of them based on their interactions in the last book. I think that is something major I would change about this plot which made their connection feel a little off. Josie is Adalyn’s friend and sister, and Matthew is her best friend and both are friend’s of Cameron’s, so how did they almost never talk (and I know there is a reason mentioned in the book but it is not enough for it to make sense to me). This may have also added to Matthew’s character more if we were able to learn about him through Adalyn or see their interations more.

Overall, definitely a fun read and I would recommend if you like small town romance, fake dating/relationship, slowburns and/or men in glasses :)


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review!

Before I get into this book, can we just take a minute to appreciate this cover!!!! The purple is stunning and with the flowers, it just looks so beautiful!! I would say that this is my favourite Elena Armas book cover.🫶🏼

Josie, who is the sister of Adalyn from The Long Game, is the daughter of Andrew Underwood, a very rich and famous man. While Josie has been living her entire life in a smalltown, her father, who she did not know of, was enjoying a luxurious life in Miami. She’s been living a quiet life, until the press suddenly finds out all about her and her past. Now everyone in the media is scrutinizing her, including the fact that she’s been engaged four times. The press have dubbed her “the runner” because each engagement ended before the weddings even happened. Since her father is a famous man, all of Josies secrets coming out is harming his reputation. In order to solve this PR crisis, Joise pretends to be engaged once again, but this time to her sisters best friend, Matthew. With the lie spiraling out of control, Matthew reluctantly agrees to play along with the charade.

I enjoyed this book! It was such a fun read. I was laughing so much while reading this especially during the first few chapters. I got to say, my favourite character is Grandpa Moe. I wish he was real, because that man has the grumpiest and funniest personality and I love it! There were so many cute moments throughout this book and I have so many favourite scenes (which I will keep to myself because they will spoil the book for you if you haven’t read it). I really like Matthews and Josies characters. Matthew is such a sweet talker and the perfect man. That man makes Josie feel so special and some of the things he said... SWOON WORTHY! We also got some Josie and Matthews scenes that were HOT! Overall, such a cute and hilarious story which just felt so refreshing for me.

Honestly I just had a great time reading this book! It felt so nice to be reading an Elena Armas book again! :)

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an early copy!🫶🏼