I was so excited to get this ARC from Netgalley. I have been a huge fan of Elena Armas. This book was really good, not quite my favorite, as The American Roommate Experiment has that spot. I really loved Matthew and what a strong leading man he was, soft and kind but also ready to throw down if needed. The reason I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 is that I would've like the ending tied up in bows a little more. I won't say more as not to spoil the ending. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows Josie; she is caught in a whirlwind of a PR nightmare. She is under scrutiny as her father announced his retirement with a magazine spread. Josie’s love life is dug up and is forced to do damage control. Josie has had four failed engagements. She always leaves her partners at the altar. When a PR specialist, hired by her absentee father, is at Josie’s front door she does damage control by announcing she has a fiancée. Who is the first person she sees on the sidewalk, …lo and behold Mathew Flanagan, her sister’s best friend. Josie then acts as if Mathew is her fiancée and that’s where it all begins.

Mathew, Mathew, Mathew……oh the man you are. This man had me hooked from his first interaction with Josie. Typically blond men don't do it for me but my word, this man was it. From his banter to his protectiveness of Josie, I had not felt that intrigued by a male character in a long time. The spice was top notch. Not many books make me take a lap around my room before continuing. The tension between these two was unmatched.

I knew this book had me in a chokehold when there was a Twilight reference. The pacing of this book was PERFECTION. A five star read!

“And I loved him, I loved Matthew in a way that made me wonder if I’d ever known how love felt before him. It was so scary, it made me feel so vulnerable, so frail, and perhaps . . . perhaps that was how this was supposed to feel. Perhaps that was fine. Perhaps, I love yous were meant to feel this big. To make you feel this naked. This exposed. So big you were terrified to hurt. So safe no one could touch you. Perhaps to love was to leave a mark. And perhaps I no longer wanted to run from that.”


ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

this is something very serious I'm about to write, but I believe matthewjosie have become my new favorite couple of Elena above the other babies who I still love very much.

Like I stayed up until 4am because I needed to finish the book and I don't do that anymore because it messes with my sleep and anxiety. Is that serious.

I just connected so much with Josie, how she's so selfless and full of love for her people, her community, how everybody loves her so much. And also how she wanted to have someone who loved her so much and chose her above fears and troubles. It wasn't always obvious this but it was there. And most of all someone who wouldn't make her compromise herself and her dreams.

And Matthew is that perfect someone. Omg did he exceeded all my expectations. He was already an amazing best friend to Ada but here he just knock it out of the park!!! What a perfect loving brave man, ready to help and defend Josie from anyone and everyone. And he kept surprising me until the end of the book. Like I couldn't love him more and then he said something even more perfect.

All I ask is pleaseeeee Elena give us an epilogue of both couples because after the ending is very much needed.

I also wouldn't hate for certain character that was mentioned to have their own book on a new series. When you read you will know.


“Josie laughed. And the sound felt like a bell, signaling the start of something. It was the start of a life, with her. And I had every intention of doing all those smiles justice. Every morning, evening, and night. Every dawn, every sunset, every time she frowned or laughed. Every time she saw me standing before her. For the rest of my fucking life.”

The Fiance Dilemma by Elena Armas 💒
Overall Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

This was a really fun and cute love story. Some moments were a bit cringey for me, but I could see some people absolutely adoring this.

Overall, I feel like the characters and plot were pretty solid and although it took me a while to read, it was still a decent romance book.

I liked this one better than The Spanish Love Deception and would recommend reading it if you are into the fake dating trope.

This book was slower and more self-reflective than her previous work. The relationship development in the first 3/4 of the book left a lot to be desired, the spicy scenes were ok. Overall it was not my favorite book of hers, but it came together well in the last 15% or so of the book. I love her as an air and can’t wait for what’s next!

"i might break your heart, matthew."
"you can try. won't work though. because with you, i'm unbreakable."

elena armas, you have done it again. every single book of hers just makes me feel so cozy. there is a certain humor in these books that just comes so naturally, and makes me physically laugh out loud.

first of all. matthew. i love this man. this is a classic instance of He Fell First AND he fell so hard that i'm surprised he didn't leave an indent in the ground. man was gone from the get-go. super silly, super overprotective but in really cute way, and just so loyal i have no doubt that the only thought going through his head at all times is just "josie josie josie."

and josie... my love. she is so sweet, so caring, and so, so anxious. i loved getting to see her really find herself in this book, not because of matthew, but with matthew. her relationship with grandpa moe was so cute and i NEED to go to her adorable little small town coffee shop.

the only thing (and i couldn't even say it was bad) was that you most DEFINITELY need to read the long game before this. i did not (and thats my bad so it def doesn't affect my review in anyway), so i spent a good chunk of the book wondering what in gods name was going on. lots of references i just couldnt understand. which is totally understandable because this is book two so, like, duh. but usually romance books can be completely stand alone and i went into this thinking id be all good. however! now i just really really want to read the long game and im SUPPPPERRR excited to read it!!

4/5 stars. someone get me into a small town immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas.

Wow, oh wow!! I only learned of Elena Armas when I was gifted her Spanish Love Deception duology for Mother’s Day last year. When I received this one, I went ahead and read The Long Game. Elena Armas just keeps hitting them out of the park, each one better than the last. I thought Adalyn and Cam were one of my fav book couples, but Matthew and Josie just took the lead. And how can you not love them, Matthew who seemingly has it all together while Josie is trying to hold it together. So many tender, yet spicy moments and still a bit of funny to it. And let me just say, the wine tasting scene, please someone sign me up!!! If you enjoy rom-com style books with some spice, this a good pick for sure. And if you enjoyed anything Elena Armas has done, you will LOVE this one.

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!!!