1.5/2 stars. This was really disappointing. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites and it was barely there. The book opens with the male love interest, Aaron, clearly crazy about the main character Catalina. There was no tension or banter. They weren't enemies at all; Aaron was just creepy and awkward while Catalina was too self-absorbed. I didn't particularly care for either of them, so I wasn't rooting for them at all.

Aaron and Catalina barely had chemistry. They go from 0 to 100 and it feels disingenuous. The sex scenes were really cringey. I thought the writing was repetitive and clunky. So much of the book could have been cut. Catalina has several internal monologues that are about the same thing (usually daydreaming about Aaron's eyes or muscles, we get it).

The book does try to touch on some issues like work discrimination and toxic relationships, but they felt very hollow. The book revolves so much around the romance that nothing else that happens even matters.

As for the side characters, they were only there to talk about Aaron and how perfect he and Catalina were together. They had no depth to them whatsoever. A third act ~twist with a member of Catalina's family did not help.

Also, the catalyst for the story is them going to Spain for a wedding and we don't see any of the wedding?? Why??

⭐️⭐️⭐️

While I did enjoy this one, I have to wonder about the way that it was marketed... Booktok and Bookstagram pushed this one hard as an "enemies to lovers" romance, but one of the MCs is soooooo obviously in love with the other. From the very beginning. Because of that, I found the chemistry lacking. There wasn't that traditional tension build-up that you usually get in an enemies-to-lovers romance. That "for god's sake, just bang it out" kind of vibe.

What I did love was the banter! I could've done with a lot more of that and about 100 less pages of Lina's internal monologues.

To sum it up, this one gave me major The Hating Game vibes... only with a more exotic location. And much longer.

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Book Review: 5 out of 5 stars.

I have heard so many amazing things about this book. I was so happy to receive a copy of this book from Netgalley and Atria Books as an ARC. I absolutely fell head over heels for Aaron. So much more happens in this book then what I was expecting.

Catalina is in desperate need of a date to her sister's wedding after finding out that her ex, the man of honor, is now engaged and she lied and told her family she would be bringing her "boyfriend". When her work enemy number 1 says that he will be her date she is taken back and hesitant. How could they possibly get along long enough to pretend that they are actually dating when they can't even stand to be around each other for more than 5 minutes. Why would he even suggest it?

The banter between the two is amazing and I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to read one of my favorite trops, fake dating. This book is a definite must read. I was up all night finishing it because I just couldn't put it down.

#Spanishlovedeception #elenaarmas #fakedating #workplaceromance #enemiestolovers

I might have given this book 4 stars if the dialogue wasn’t so repetitive. I really liked Aaron. He was the big draw for me in this book. He was solid and responsible. During the book I realized that I had no idea what Lina looked like. I knew she wasn’t tall but that was about it. I wish the author would have put in more descriptions of her.

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas is a fun fast paced love story. I loved the chemistry between Lina and Aaron. If you are looking for a fake dating, slow burn romance, this one is for you.

This is one of my favorite books ever. I can reread this over and over again. Aaron blackford is literally perfection.

“Because it was all you were willing to give me. And I’d rather have you hating me than not have you at all.”

HELLO YES I HAVE A BRAND NEW OBSESSION. I got sucked into this book and once I started I couldn't put it down!!!! Lina and Aaron had undeniable chemistry right from the beginning. I loved how he was constantly trying to win her over even if she didn't realize it. The plot was fast paced, with so many fun scenes!! I always love a good office romance, but I loved that this book completely removed the characters from work and saw them going on a vacation to Spain together. They really got to see each other in a new light. This book just has everything I love in romances and gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings inside!! Aaron Blackford is the ideal man

Catalina Martin has to take a date to her sister’s wedding in Spain. No, she has to take a boyfriend. One she’s in love with and who is in love with her. That’s the only way she can bear to stand across from the best man, who happens to be the ex who broke her heart and is now happily engaged. Aaron Blackford volunteers to be her date, but they loathe each other. There’s no way they could pull that off. But they’re going to try because he’s her only option.

A fun, fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of passion and heart.

I loved The Spanish Love Deception! Aaron Blackford is one of those love interests that sets the bar too high for every other romance book, and the chemistry between Lina and Aaron was beautifully written. The writing in this book kept me reading, and I finished this in only a few hours. I would definitely recommend this for fans of The Love Hypothesis, and overall just anyone looking for a fun, well-written (and steamy) romance!

Thank You, Net Galley, for the ARC of The Spanish Love Deception. The book was hyped in the Booktok community. It is about Enemies to lovers, fake dating, and slow-burn tropes. Aaron Blackford is a cute book boyfriend. I love their cute banter in the office setting and how Aaron is protective and caring about Lina. Overall The Spanish Love Deception is a light read, and I am looking forward to other Elena Armas Books.

This book was very hyped :) some of it was well deserved but other times it felt like I was reading something different than the hyped book I have seen all over TikTok. A cute rom com with an enemies to lovers but they didn’t really seem like enemies tbh more like misunderstood coworkers….. I still enjoyed my time reading it and LOVE the cover!

I have seen this all over Bookstagram and was shocked, but thrilled to be approved for a copy of it through NetGalley after publication.
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An enemies to lovers romance with a slow burn fake dating situation. The chemistry was there and the characters were lovable, but it felt too long and drawn out..
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Aaron makes me swoon. The steam was real and the banter was so fun.
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Catalina being such a strong female lead was lovely b

A wonderful debut that will introduce you to Aaron Blackford, who also happens to be one of the steamiest book boyfriends, and our MC, Catalina, as they go from enemies to lovers, to pretend dating, to actual lovers all while attending a wedding in the dreamiest location of Spain! I enjoyed this lighter romcom and can’t wait to read more from Elena! My only negative was the length and the overly detailed and at times repetitive dialogue. I would absolutely recommend this to others as it will most definitely put a smile on your face!

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the story and the writing style was good, but there was just too much... fluff. This book could have been a lot shorter. I really struggled to finish it because I felt like I just kept reading and reading the same thing over again. It was just too boring for me, and since this hating/romance story has been done before, I felt like it wasn't really anything new.

5/5⭐️
Love it as the first time ❤️❤️🤧🤧🤧 where can I get a Aaron??🤧
Lina is amazing everything is amazing, I can’t wait to read more books from Elena🤧 she is an amazing writer!!! Please read this book it’s AMAZING

3.5 stars

Talk about a hyped up and widely loved book!

I'm in the minority with this rating and I know it😂 I picked this up (finally!!) after hearing all kinds of incredible things about this book. I'm gonna say this is a "it's not the book, it's me" kind of situation. I see the potential and was an ok book to me, but it just wasn't for me at the end.

Let me start off by saying that this book felt like The Hating Game, but on steroids. It had the same relationship dynamic with the reader only getting the female MC's POV and we just get to see the actions of the male MC. I loved Hating Game and I thought I'd love this too, but again, this book isn't what I particularly like in a romance book, and that's ok!! That's just me and my preferences!! For the sake of writing my opinions, I will talk about what I did and didn't like in this book.

I completely understand the hype around Aaron Blackford now, totally understandable, he's like a giant teddy bear in the shape of a rugged ex-football player, who doesn't love that?? And he was the best part of this book. He was super patient, considerate, understanding, ruggedly handsome, all the best things in a book bf! I also loved Lina's family, they were a good time!

Some things I didn't like was Lina as a character, I understand her stubbornness and why she's stubborn, we also understand later why she doesn't let people get too close, but I just thought there was too much conflict and stubbornness on her part at the beginning. Again, that's just my preference. And overall, I'm not the biggest fan of slow burn, but Lina and Aaron waited until 80% into the book to actually kiss for the first time, and I was about to lose my damn mind, just like Aaron and I wasn't as patient as he was.😂

Ok, rant officially done!!

I will state it one more time that this book is great for those who enjoy the specific tropes it contains, but it isn't for me! Don't let this review persuade anything, I still think you should give this book a shot just to know about the character of Aaron Blackford👌👌

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for the arc in return for an honest review.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I adored this book. The funny banter, the many scenes, the sex absolutely yes. Lina is a quirky woman on a path to prove she is more than the rumour and looks she gets back home. Aaron is grumpy and her enemy.

These two come together in the most adorable way and I am here for it. Aaron is adorable with her clear love for. Lina and although understandably skiddish Lina is feeling Aaron also.

I wish I could unread this to read it again. Loved

The romance in this book is so cute!!! I was squealing. I love how the author writes her well fleshed out characters.
Armas writing makes me irrevocably happy. This writing pulls you in from the very beginning.
The chemistry. The laugh-out-loud banter, everything you could want in a romance novel is right here!
I finished this book really quickly and loved every second of it.
It was extremely engaging and wonderfully written.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Atria Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Another sad Hating Game imitation. None of the characters were likable and this book was entirely too long. The writing felt very juvenile and felt too much like fanfic than a published book. Yikes

Everyone has been absolutely raving about this book, but sadly The Spanish Love Deception was a swing and a miss for me.

From the very beginning Catalina's character was just a turn off. She acted very immature for her age to the point of ridiculousness. Plus she did not have a good enough reason to have the male lead as an enemy...I mean Aaron was just a generous guy who was trying to help her out...and this made me dislike Catalina and her childish behavior even more. Sadly this just killed the storyline for me, and I was just never able to get into it at all.

This book was also just way too long and could have been easily condensed to somewhere in the 300 page range. The slow burn romance did not help either, since nothing at all happens until the last 100 pages or so.

There still were some fun aspects to this romcom. I enjoyed Catalina's nosy family. Aaron really was a swoon worthy and kind male lead that any lady would admire.

Overall, this is a book that just wasn't for me, but I know so many out there loved it, so definitely give it a shot.