omg omg omg!!!!!! I love the marriage of convenience trope BADDDDD. first of all, mr. matthew flanagan is HIM. he's blonde but it's fine you can just ignore that LOL. he's the most perf ever. josie, the fmc, is so real i can't even handle it!!! it's like Elena Armas reached inside my brain and made josie, my rambling fear-of-commitment queen. ALSO LET ME JUST SAY!!!! NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE WON SO HARD. this was perfect in every sense of the word!!!!!!!!!!! thank you netgalley and elena armas's team for allowing me the privilege of reading this early :) this is my first review on here so I apologize if its not as thorough as it should be lol!!!!

Oooo Elena dear, you do the fake dating/fiance trope so well - I just know I am going to eat it up every. single. time. Let it be known that I did not read the first book of this series - I went into this only having read The Spanish Love Deception and it is possible that may have altered my perception of this novel. However, it's still really cute (and MMC Matthew is a top notch book bf😍).

For fans of: fake engagement, Runaway Bride & 27 Dresses, slowwww burn, small town romance, he falls 1st.

Pros:
+the CHEMISTRY
+Matthew (swoon)
+the sweet sweet ending scenes
+the possibility of this being a CUTE rom com film

Cons:
-needed more POV from Matthew!! (sorry Josie, he was just more likeable)
-depth: I needed a few parts/characters fleshed out a bit more

Big thanks to Elena Armas & NetGalley for letting me read this one early - it was one of the ARCs I have been most excited to be approved for!! x

Cute rom-com premise with a cute cover: Josie Moore, small-town N.C. mayor with four broken engagements, is forced into a faux engagement in order to minimize embarrassment to her mega-wealthy father.

I really tried to love this story, but I just could not get into it. Too many far-fetched twists for my liking.

The subtitle, The Long Game #2 is an indication that you should definitely read the first one first!

This would be a a good beach read for a younger audience.

Thank you @atriabooks, @netgalley and @thebibliotheque for an e-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

----

This book involves Josie, our sweet and loveable small-town mayor who has become newly infamous for being the estranged daughter of a mult-millionaire as well as having had four engagements that ended in disaster, never ending in a marriage or her at the alter.

Andrew Underwood (her father) sends Bobbi to help with all the PR going on, except that this happens at a very unfortunate time and Josie decides to make stories up regarding her relationship status (she had a previous wedding ring on). Que Matthew (our muscle toting blonde MMC and best friend to Josie's half-sister) coming in Josie's home with impeccable timing, thus their fake engagement begins!

I really enjoyed this book, it was a lot slower at times and did take me longer than usual to finish but I am glad I finished! It had me giggling at times and swooning at others! I wouldn't have expected our blonde, glasses wearing MMC to have such a filthy mouth!

Also, Matthew always put Josie first and I can absolutely admire a man without a filter when it comes to standing up for his woman.
Spice is 3/5 🌶

I also freaking adore Grandpa Moe and Predro Pigscal. ❤️

Tropes:
▪️Fake-engagement
▪️Sister's best friend
▪️He falls first
▪️Slow burn
▪️Small town

This book is written in a single POV and first person.

Solid 4 star book. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Josie and Matthew. It fell flat in a few places and really hit it out of the park in a few others.

Where it fell flat for me:
Having read The Long Game, I was really disappointed that there was only one POV from Matthew. I really, really wanted Matthew's POV. He was such a great character and I would have loved to see the boy obsessed POV.
Given how long the book was, we never got interaction from Matthew's family or an epilogue wrapping everything up. I would have loved some interaction with the Flanagan family. Maybe I'm comparing to The Long Game too much, but we had Adalyn's mom very involved in the story and I wish Matthew's family had been just slightly involved in this one.
Adalyn's storyline and why she couldn't be more involved. I think Josie was above that and wouldn't have cared. Seemed like a touch of a cop out.

What I loved:
The chemistry was so good. I loved Matthew's take charge attitude. Biggest green flag. Anytime Matthew took the stress from Josie, I was swooning.
I loved how much I hated Andrew and The Shark. Great writing to make me dislike them so very much.
I was so pleased with the ending of the book. Without creating any spoilers, it was exactly how it should have ended. (Though an epilogue a few years down the road would have been nice.)
The slow burn even though we could tell from the word Go how much Josie and Matthew both cared for each other.
That first text reference from Adalyn was gold. I loved it.

I hope Elena Armas comes out with another book in this small NC town so I can see glimpses of Matthew and Josie happily ever after.

Ok, I really liked the characters. Matthew is everything. And he was perfect for Josie.
However, some plot points were off and/or unclear. I’m really hoping that those awkward points were straightened out by editors before the book was finalized. (I got a late Arc and no grammatical errors were taken into account.)
I love Elena Armas and can’t wait to read the final version!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️ open door with a little heat
The pacing on the spice felt weird.

4⭐️

This might be my favorite Elena Armas book so far. It’s a first person POV from the female lead, Josie. This book is marketed as a standalone and can be read that way but I did appreciate having read The Long Game first because I felt having the background of the town and characters from that added value to this book.

The first part of the book was slow and I didn’t find myself captured into the story until about one-third of the way in. But once I hit that point, the story had my full attention. The pacing was odd for me though. It felt like certain parts were dragged out and others were rushed. But overall I really enjoyed it and loved both the leads in this. Matthew felt like a very silly, yet serious, golden retriever.

Current Elena Armas book ranking:
1. The Fiancé Dilemma
2. The American Roommate Experiment
3. The Spanish Love Deception
4. The Long Game

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an arc of this book!

I grabbed The Fiance Dilemma without knowing what it was about, so imagine how excited I was when I found a fake relationship story aka my favorite trope 😍

Josie has four failed engagements in her past, a fact that the media finds all too interesting once it leaks that her famous father has a daughter who just can’t seem to make it down the aisle. When a PR guru named Bobbi shows up at her house, Josie instinctively tells her that actually she is engaged right now, and her sister’s best friend gets roped in as her fiancée. Matthew seems reluctant initially, but he plays along with the story, even as Bobbi decides on a wedding just weeks away.

I adored Josie’s zany character. On the one hand, she is incredibly resourceful and organized, as the mayor of her town and the owner of a coffee shop. But in her personal relationships, she is a bit of a hot mess with traumatic family situations in her past and a fear of falling too deeply in love. She goes all in on her crazy stories and pulls others along with her, and she was incredibly entertaining. Matthew was a good love interest, but it almost felt like the author wanted him to be absolutely all of the possible personalities in one man, as his personality wavered in a dime all throughout the book. One minute he’s a grump, then he is cheerful, then crazy protective, then full of dirty talk, then unable to discuss any real feelings. It was a whirlwind with his character.

My fave character had to be Bobbi though, whose acerbic personality and wit stole every scene she was in. I never knew what she would say next and she made me laugh multiple times. The situations all these characters found themselves in definitely kept me engaged in the read, full of small town hijinks, humor, and heart.


Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas is a fun, quirky, fast-paced, and entertaining rom-com. Making it the perfect addition to your summer reading list! We follow Josie and Mathew as they navigate a fake engagement in an attempt to neutralize the storm of media attention surrounding the recent announcement that revealed the identity of Josie's famous father. The plan, formed in a moment of panic, backfires as it's revealed that this is Josie's FIFTH engagement! Between the media, meeting her father for the first time, and still running her café, Josie and Mathew get to know each other and soon realize there is nothing fake about their feelings for each other.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for early access to read The Fiancé Dilemma in exchange for an honest review. It's an enjoyable read, and I love how quirky and random Josie is!

While The Fiancé Dilemma was a solid read, it wasn’t as good as my past two reads by Elena Armas. This book did a decent job keeping my attention, but it just didn’t match the steamy chemistry between the characters in The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment. I struggled to pick this book up and there wasn’t that attention grabbing need to pick this book up and rush to see what happened in the end. With that being said, there weren’t bad parts and the plot tied together, but in my opinion this isn’t a have-to-read for my fellow Rom-Com lovers. This is a solid meh in my book, however, I will keep following Elena as an author and see if the zest comes through in other books. <I received this book to review on behalf of NetGalley.>

5⭐️I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When the world discovers Josie Moore is the daughter of millionaire Andrew Underwood, her past failed engagements become a PR issue. Her absentee father sends his associate to help deal with the fall out but things get misconstrued and Josie is believed to be engaged. She is so overwhelmed, unable to dispute the assumption, so when Matthew Flanagan appears on her property she pretends he is her fiancé. She hopes her half sister’s best friend will play along with the ruse. Before she knows it, the whole town thinks she’s engaged and she convinces Matthew to play along. But when real feelings start bubbling to the surface it’s hard to tell what’s fake and what isn’t.

I think Elena Arms excels when writing the fake romance trope. I absolutely loved this book! I thoroughly enjoyed how as the book progressed we found out little tidbits of information that showed Matthew’s interest in Josie long before the fake engagement. These two were so cute together. Josie had some baggage that she was still actively working through and the press coverage of it only made it worse. Matthew was so patient with her and showed her what she deserves. He was there for her and fought for her. And she helped him discover his path. This was such an enjoyable read! It made me laugh and cry which is what a good book will do!

I would like to note that I received this ARC with the mindset that I would provide an honest review.
When I signed up for this ARC, I did not realize that this book was the sequel in the series but I am actually glad that it was because I got two for the price of one. I had to read the first book in the series before I could read this one for full appreciation.

I will say that this was my first experience with Elena Armas and her book. Her book, The Spanish Love Deception, is quite popular and is currently sitting on my physical TBR. I will be moving it up after reading this book.

I am a fan of the fake dating trope and this book does this very well. It also has a very slow burn that leaves the reader wanting it to speed up a lot. I am glad it was slow though, because it allowed me a chance to really understand the characters before they jumped into a relationship for real. It made their true relationship more real and made you love Josie and Matt.

I adore Josie so much! Her strong independent personality was done well. And her humor and intelligence made me want her to have the happily ever after ending.

The humor within the podcasts were also great! I love how well Elena Armas writes humor into her books. I typically have a dry sense of humor and this book was highly entertaining to me.

This book was fun and worth the read. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy the slow burn/fake dating trope and to those that just enjoy a story that leaves you wanting more.

Josie has been a "runaway bride" four times. She's left four men at the altar and blames herself. Matthew is the best friend of Josie's sister. They've never met until one night when Josie is in a pinch and needs a fake fiance; Matthew just happens to be in the right place at the right time. As Josie puts everyone else's needs before her own, Matthew shows her how her needs are just as important.

If you like the fake dating trope, this book is for you! I really enjoyed Josie and Matthew's relationship that was built up throughout the book. Their banter was great and their growing love for each other was authentic. Josie's character was a little problematic for me as I prefer a stronger female lead who can stand up for herself, but Matthew complimented her so well it worked. Both Josie and Matthew had backstories that could have been explored a little more to give the book more depth. The book had lots of spice and a happily ever after ending.

This books follows the story of Josie and Matthew. They are one of the cutest couples I have read. First Josie is so quick and witty I was so caught off guard from the very start. She is independent and smart and funny and everything I want to be. She is absolutely amazing. Matthew is genuinely the most sweet and ridiculous flirty person. He is so supportive of everything Josie throws his way and we love that in a man. But I could talk all day about how much of a green flag Matthew is. He’s a 10/10 for me. The storyline was super cute and I really enjoyed reading this adorable book. I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole book and I was living for the cute banter. This book genuinely made me laugh too. (And not in a cute giggling way) I ate this whole book up and would absolutely read it again. Oh and did I mention there’s no third act break up?! SIGN ME UP!

Ok, I have never written a review so quickly after finishing a book. I just want to say how much I really thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was so excited to be accepted because The Spanish Love Deception was my favorite audio book I listened to last year. The Fiance Dilemma felt like a y2k romcom and it was exactly what I needed the last couple of days. Josie and Matthew were 👌 All of the supporting characters were so well done also. As a reader I really wanted one more chapter but it was also the perfect ending. I can’t wait to recommend this to my friends.

Thank you so very much for the arc.

It’s cute. Theres parts that gave me butterflies, made me laugh, made me smile. I looove a good slow burn, and this did that. But there’s also parts that just feel so unrealistic and far fetched that it took me out of the story and made it easy to put down.

Hoping book 3 is about Robbie because he’s just such a cinnamon roll and Maria is adorable and needs a bad ass step mom. 🤞🏻

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I regret having to review this book negatively. I read the long game in preparation but I could've never prepared myself for how hard of a read this was. Josie is the epitome of millennial cringe. there are also references in this book that just pinpoint the exact time it was written and take me out of the immersion.

There are so many characters that it's truly difficult to keep up with who is who and who's friends with who, who hates who, who's dating who, etc. They pop up incredibly randomly in the story just so there's an info dump to give us more information on why Josie acts the way she does (which still doesn't excuse her bizarre behaviors as a whole).

In 'The Long Game' we're given Cameron's point of view alongside Adalyn's which makes it a much more enthralling book. we don't have Matthew's POV until the very end of the book and I truly believe it's because he is a surface-level character. His only undercurrent of drama is tied directly to Josie and rectified with a MASSIVE monologue at the end.

I will also point out the very obvious overt gay stereotypes portrayed by the two podcasters, disappointing to see this writing in 2024. When we ask for representation this is NOT what we mean.

This wasn't even a slow burn it was a CRAWL. I genuinely don't understand how we got to where we ended up, I'm blaming it on Matthew being a total creep and disrespecting the solid boundaries she set up at the very beginning of their agreement!

Once again, thank you so very much to NetGalley and Atria Books for entrusting me to leave a genuine and honest review.

I wasn’t a big fan of The Long Game, but I still wanted to try out the next book since it revolves around different characters.

2.5 stars for me. I felt like the entire relationship was rushed and also that I barely knew anything about our male main character Matthew?? And don’t get me started with the endless nicknames he gave Josie…wasn’t cutting it for me. I kept putting this book down and not much about the plot was sticking with me when I would circle back to reading it.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I really loved the characters and the "hired fiancé turned lover" trope. I always root for the hired man in the end. The connection between characters was instant but not in a cheesy unbelievable way. This book made me laugh and smile throughout the whole thing. I loved Mathew more than I typically love the MMC and the spice there 🌶 🌶 🌶. The FMC was relatable and I felt so bad for her and all her failed romances, you will be cheering for her to find love.

I was so looking forward to this book. Armas has become one of my favorite authors in the past few years. These characters were so likeable. Although this trope is done often I loved this take on it. I highly recommend this book- you will fall in love with both Josie and Matthew. Thank you, Elena and keep going! I can't wait for what you give us next!