Thank you so NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC!

This novel follows mayor/business owner Josie Moore, as she finds herself in the public eye thanks to her famous father and her four past broken engagements (and her new, fake engagement to her sister’s best friend Matthew).

I want to start by saying that I generally really enjoy Elena Armas’ books. She has a very engaging writing style and can often be laugh-out-loud funny! But I really struggled with this book. Josie’s motivations tend to be very muddled and unclear…. To be honest I re-read the beginning twice and I still can’t figured out why she decided to started (and continue) a fake engagement. And Matthew…. I liked him as a bit character on the previous book but found him to be demanding, overly intense, and a little cringy. All together, I continue to give the author kudos or an engaging writing style, but struggle with the plot and characters. 3.5 (rounded to a 4)

The Fiancé Dilemma (ARC)
By: @thebibliotheque
4.5/5 ⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

In the last year Josie’s life has really changed, she went from not knowing who her father was to finding out her new best friend was half her sister. Now her dad wants to be a part of her life. Now Josie finds herself in her own PR mess thanks to her colorful line of ex fiancés (4 to be exact). When she find Ms. Shark the new PR manager at her doorstep Josie finds herself in a very awkward situation! Thankfully Matthew (her sister’s best friend) happens to appear in her front yard at the right moment to become her fiancé!
Matthew Flanagan not only had to uproot his whole life after being fired from his job, but now finds himself in a dilemma. A woman he realizes is his best friends sister, is shouting that they’re engaged and after saving her from the aggressive looking woman who wouldn’t leave Josie’s porch he can’t seem to get out of this “engagement.”

And just like that this is my FAVORITE Elena Armas book!!! I was lucky enough to get an ARC and I’m so glad I did!! This book is a mix of the Spanish love deception and The American Roommate Experiment.
It’s funny, sweet, emotional, and sexy!

“That’s a dangerous green light you’re giving me”- MF
“Talk to me baby blue. Please?” -MF

Matthew Flanagan immediately became my book boyfriend of the Armas men! He was funny, witty, blunt, and had a filthy mouth! Watching his support with Josie through the whole fiasco that was the fake engagement and trying to “fix” her reputation because of something Andrew Underwood did was giving all the green flags!!! His view on love was so romantic, not only that but the amount of respect that he gave Josie instead of taking advantage of the whole fiancé situation!

I struggled with Josie not because she wasn’t funny or sweet but because NO MEANS NO! I hated how she pushed this whole agenda on Matthew regardless of how he said no 17483929x and didn’t want to be part of the mess that was created! She STEAM ROLLED HIM!!

It almost felt like Josie felt that Matthew owed her something for being his best friend’s sister!
But as i got further into the book I started to feel bad for Josie the once bright silly woman was starting to have so much self doubt because of everything that was being said about her through news outlets all because her father decided to do an interview and talk about it. They called her a mishap! While my view on Josie started as an annoyed and dislike I started to love her and feel bad for her! I wanted to just hug her! While she was a push over and a people pleaser I loved that after Matthew really started being involved with her she grew a back bone!

I found myself crying (yes I’m a crier I know) mainly at stuff that Matthew said 😭

I loved that while María doesn’t really pop up to much in this book when she does I got all happy!
Even when Adalyn and Cameron make appearances I loved that they weren’t overshadowing Matt or Josie! I liked that regardless of it being over a year since finding out they were sisters they were still trying to figure out how to navigate that relationship!

And grandpa Moe oh my god I love that man! He’s so funny and sweet and protective of his Josie! He was the comic relief I needed

The drama that unfolded was interesting because while I expected part of it, it unfolded very differently. There was multiple types of drama throughout the book but it was all executed perfectly and it fit the scenes

And boy those spicy scenes were HOT!

I just freaking loved this book! And no it’s not because it’s an ARC I loved it because it had EVERYTHING I look for in a romance novel ! 😍

This “stand-alone” but probably-should-read-the-other-book-first novel by Elena Armas was a sweet, spicy romance, that felt very middle of the road.

Josie, who we met in The Long Game, has gone a bit viral when the press finds out about her previous 4 engagements. In order to handle the PR firestorm, she enlists the help of a fake fiancé, Matthew, who we remember as the best friend of Adalyn in TLG.

I wanted to give this more stars, but I just couldn’t. I really struggled with not getting anything in Matthew’s POV until the last chapter. We got hints of his feelings for Josie, but never got any details as to why they existed. Her overly kookie personality was too frantic to be endearing or for me to understand how he fell for her. What was she giving him that screamed “here is a stable, lovely woman that I should give up everything for”?

When he shared about the text from Adalyn or the story of his grandma, it felt like a too-convenient plot point, as opposed to an organic for-real element of their story, and I think his POV could have helped with that. I really loved Matthew and would have liked to see Josie from his eyes, because I couldn’t fall in love with her in the same way.

I will say that the spice in this book was spicing, for sure! It was a slow burn, but I didn’t hate it. At. All.

Side note—I cannot stand the cutesie nicknames in some romance books, like Baby Blue in this one, I cannot be the only one right? Who is reading these and being like “you know what this book is missing? A weird, childish nickname that gets repeated entirely too often!”

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC in exchange for my opinions!

In case nobody else has done so, I hereby declare Elena Armas Queen of the slow-burn romance! And here’s the thing—-it was worth every excruciating second that I waited for that first kiss, for that declaration of love! Josie and Matthew were not perfect—in fact they had many many things to work through—but that’s what made them real. Every emotion, every touch, every smile, was authentic, and it all made my heart swoop and leap! What I found intriguing, and maybe why this slow-burn was so perfect for them, was that we knew who Josie was right away. Her personality and even her transgressions were right out in front of us. Matthew, however, was a bit of a mystery, albeit a VERY swoony mystery, and uncovering all of those layers took time, as both Josie and readers of this book find out. I loved everything about this book. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC of The Fiance Dilemma. Overall this was a cute story. I really enjoyed Matthew’s main character although I felt like he was much more subdued in his book bs his side character in The Long Game. Josie was fun and kind of a mess and I enjoyed how Matthew balanced her out but I did find her character got a bit old. If you really enjoyed The Long Game you will like this follow up!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

I know everyone loves her stories but no matter how many tries I give it, I don't like the characters and plots for Armas' books. The characters feel like such big caricatures of absolutely unreal people, and I just didn't enjoy the plot of this one and how unbelievable it was.

Josie Moore has given the opposite sex—and love—plenty of chances. Four exactly, if you count all her failed engagements, and five if you include her no-longer-absentee father. Nonetheless, when the influential man decides to announce his retirement with a splashy magazine piece and Josie learns that her romantic history isn’t great PR for the family, she jumps at the chance to offer a solution.
Matthew Flanagan is in the mud. Literally. Not only has he been fired from his job, but after taking a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, North Carolina, his car is stuck. So, he grabs a duffel bag with his essentials and goes in search of a place to crash until he gets his life (and vehicle) back on track. But instead, he stumbles upon his best friend’s sister, Josie, greeting him as her fiancé.
What starts as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement, with Matthew playing the role of the doting fiancé as he and Josie are swept into a PR whirlwind. The ring on Josie’s finger makes her stomach turn, but she knows this is only temporary. They have rules in place, and one of them is that no matter what, there will be no exchange of “I dos.” But that’s easier said than done, as lines soon start to blur, and the rest of the small town comes to believe the fifth fiancé is truly The One.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Atria Books for sending me this ARC!
This was my first book by Elena Armas and i can’t wait to go back and read her other ones! It was funny, witty, and easily digestible. I couldn’t put it down!!!

first off, thank you netgalley and elena armas for my very first ARC! i was so excited to read this book after i read the long game so again, thank you.
i think the beginning of the book was a little confusing for me. i wish there had been more of matthew and josie in the beginning getting to know each other. they hadn’t even met each other prior to their fake engagement, but he jumped through all these hoops for her.. which is romantic but threw me for a loop.
NOW. that being said, the rest of the book?? LOVED. matthew is one of the best book bf’s i’ve read in a good minute, and i loved the way he’s written.. so thank you for that. josie proves why it’s important to never settle. the engagement of convenience trope was done justice.

This surprised me in a good way. Josie was quirky and goofy and ‘a lot’ sometimes - but I resonated with her in a way. Matthew didn’t make her become ‘less’ and embraced her the whole time. I think sometimes authors approach the ‘quirky’ main character too head on, but I enjoyed the complexity of Josie’s people pleasing and how Matthew was her calm.

Matthew was also just a sweetheart and I loved him!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 stars

While this book had a lot of potential for me, I have learned that Elena Armas' writing is not for me. I don't mind a romance with a comedic tone, but lacking seriousness at all and turning everything into a comedic device instead of allowing side characters and side plots to have any depth is where I struggle. Her tone rarely matures throughout a book, no matter the tropes or premise.

Her books definitely have a target audience, and its just not me - which is totally okay!

Loved this! I was happy to return to Armas’ fictional world and this time, for fake engagements of (in)convenience. Swoony with the best banter, I love how Armas lets her characters talk even about mundane things that us readers WANT to read because they show character, while other novels rush things for the sake of word count. We want more like this! I hope to keep seeing much more of Armas.

This one wasn't for me. It felt like the book dragged on, and the chemistry just wasn't there. Everything about the couple felt very contrived, and I really didn't want to finish the book but I did.

This book is definitely better than the Long Game, however I still felt like there were some things missing and at the end I feel like it ended abruptly. If it wasn't because it literally says "The End" I honestly had no idea it ended there. I honestly think this is my last book from this author.

This book was good in the prose, it was fake relationship trope. They didn't do the whole do they like me which I appreciate they were very straightforward and honest with each other. However, I feel like the characters were a little immature for their age not because it wasn't spicy, because it definitely was, but in their language.

I was given an ARC by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

I was SO EXCITED to get an arc of this! And as expected it was absolutely wonderful! Elena knows how to write a man who HAS IT BAD!! And the slow burn?? Josie and Matthews chemistry was written so well! And their banter?? And I loved being back in Green Oaks. I LOVED that we got to see Maria again!! I loved that she got to speak her little magical wisdom again!! This universe makes my heart so happy!

Josie had my heart since the first time we met her in TLG and I was SO excited that she got to have her own book! She is HILARIOUS. And she is SO SO SO SOFT. I love her and her stress baking heart so much. I love her and Adalyn so much. I want nothing more than to read about just their relationship.

Matthew Flanagan is EVERYTHING. I love him so much?? The way he loves Josie?? The way he cared for her?? The way he agreed to do the whole fake but seemingly very real engagement with little to no fight?! They were truly meant to be and I LOVED the chaotic journey they took to get there. I also loved how supportive Matthew was of Josie. She was under SO MUCH pressure and he was there, always, no matter what, from the very beginning.

I do wish it could have been dual POV 😭 I know it would have just been Matthew taking about how in love he was…but I also feel like at some parts things were missing…

I love this series so much and I don’t know if there’s going to be more from Green Oaks…but either way I cannot wait for whatever is next from Elena because I will be there always!

Thank you so much to Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While this took me a minute to get into, once I fell there was no dragging me out until I had finished.

This was the slowest of slow burns, yet I was still grinning and squealing the entire time. Josie and Matt are perfect complements of one another, and I loved how quickly Matt took on a protective role over Josie, who is quite a people pleaser until it’s the eleventh hour. The entire time I was reading, I kept telling myself, ‘This is getting way too close to happening…’ I enjoyed the panic while also grinning and squealing.

Without giving too much away, the realization and conversation as to how this couple was meant to be made my heart nearly explode out of my chest. I adore these two and had a blast reading their story.

This book was just another reminder as to why Elena Armas is one of my go-to must-buy authors. I can never turn her down!

This book is definitely for all the hopeless romantics out there.

*NO SPOILERS HERE*

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ /5
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ /5

✨Great Humor
✨Rom-Com
✨Steamy Romance
✨Fake Engagement Trope
✨Amazing Ending
✨Multiple POV

One day Josie is trying on one of her rings from her past engagements, yes ENGAGEMENTS plural when there is a knock at the door and she is forced into lying about a new engagement to her businessman father’s PR agent. Matthew comes stumbling through the rain and she draws him into her plan to fake an engagement together. They set rules, but the rules keep changing. Will she ditch him at the altar or will she fall in love with Matthew?

What I Loved: This book blew me away. I had never read an Elena Armas book and although this is actually a series, I think it is possible to read as a standalone unless you are deeply interested in the supporting characters. All I can say is that I was so amazed by the MC Josie and how relatable she was to me. I loved the characters and the shenanigans they were getting into with this fake marriage. The ending of this story was amazingly breathtaking and gave me chills as I read the last chapter. I cannot praise this book enough in the spice department because it gave me realistic vibes immediatley. READ THIS BOOK! Elena
Armas can take my money any day.

What I Didn’t Like: Absolutely nothing, this book was incredible.

Vibes: Just Go With It, 27 Dresses

After loving the author’s first 2 books and really disliking the last one, I was a bit nervous to try her latest- the Fiancé Dilemma. Unfortunately I think this has made this author no longer one I will auto read.

To be fair, I only made it 25% before I had to put it down. The premise was just so ridiculous that I couldn’t get behind it. Everything felt incredibly outlandish and reading it felt like a chore.

This one was not for me. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Josie finds herself in a sticky situation when her famous father’s PR Strategist considers her a “problem” to her dad’s image with four failed engagements. However, when a misunderstanding leads the PR Strategist to assume Josie is engaged again she thinks a wedding will solve everything. Josie goes along with it to get the woman off her back, and ropes her sister’s best friend, Matthew, into being her fake fiancé. As the two pretend to be in love, and with a wedding looming their way, they’re thrown into countless situations where the lines are blurred on their relationship.

If you read The Long Game, I would highly recommend this follow up novel! It was so fun to revisit Green Oak and all its charm, with appearances from Adalyn and Cameron among others! Elena Armas is an auto-read author for me and this book only affirmed that. Huge thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me this book in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely adored the Fiancé Dilemma. Thank you so much to @NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Josie has been engaged four times before... but has never been able to get down the aisle. She learns who her very wealthy, estranged father is and now her life is part of a weird PR stunt. I was so excited to read this because I LOVED Long Game and was soo happy to see these characters again!
Matthew Flanagan is the brother of Josie's best friend. They end up needing to pretend to be engaged to make her father look good. The humor is so on point - Josie is funny but completely relatable. It was fun how the social media aspect was delivered so clearly. Matthew was an amazing cinnamon roll fake (but was it really fake?!?) fiancé who just really wants Josie to feel how special he finds her.
Runaway Bride + Fake Engagement = perfection!

Elena Armas kills it once again!! This hero was the epitome of simp/golden retriever energy. Fake dating was also immaculate. A new favorite for sure!!