I liked this book. It was a predictable romcom and as many friends pointed out, it’s similar to the Hating Game but as someone who reads a lot of romcoms, they all kind of are. This was a nice summer time read. Honestly there was nothing that really stood out but again sometimes that’s right up your alley. One thing I do remember clearly is the auction scene. It was nice seeing both characters let their guard down and have some fun. I liked this book and can’t wait to read what comes next for this author.

I loved this, the banter, the set up, fake relationship, work stuff -- steamy as well!  I really liked the dialogue and felt like the leads were well developed and drawn.

I love an enemies to lovers trope. I got through this one pretty quickly. I would have loved to read more of the wedding. I feel like that part was skipped over. Overall I liked it and will continue to read the rest of this series!

I really wanted to enjoy THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION more than I did, but whew 😮‍💨, the length really got me. Overly detailed writing and slow burns are two of my least favorite things so those both factored in to my less than enthusiastic feelings for this book. This is a highly beloved book all over Bookstagram though so I suggest you give it a shot and see for yourself!

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the atmosphere in Spain and the banter between the two characters. The thing that bothered me was the length of the book. It was really long for a romance novel.

This was supposed to be an enemies to lover's romance, but it was more like "guy keeps doing nice things and girl keeps acting like an asshole." Then we get to hear lots of her inner dialogue about how this jerk could never really be acting so nice to her. What's going on? 🙄 

There was no action in the first half of the book. It was about 200 pages too long. I abandoned it a couple of times. After reading a few reviews that said it got better once the couple traveled to Spain, I decided to try again. It did get better for a while, but not for long. I could maybe go up to 1.5 stars if we factor in the brief pre-wedding interactions in Spain. The romance didn't really work for me--especially the dialogue. And then they were on their way home and things immediately got weird again.

Whaaat was that completely unnecessary bit of drama at the end?! 

Anyway...a lot of people liked this book. It just wasn't for me.

Although it came highly recommended, both by friends and BookTok, The Spanish Love Deception just did not work for me. The love interest was possessive in a way that I found off-putting, the spicy scenes were cringe worthy, and overall it just fell very, very flat. A huge disappointment. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this book. I instantly fell in love with the characters and found them very relatable. I thought the plot was interesting and fun. It was a trope that’s done often but still so enjoyable to read and this one was done well

Short synopsis: A little white lie makes Lina desperate for a pretend boyfriend for her sisters wedding in Spain. Aaron Blackford Lina’s handsome but grumpy co-worker volunteers to be her “fake” boyfriend. 

My thoughts: This one was filled with some great banter, and a nice slow burn romance. I enjoyed how Aaron encouraged Lina to be her true self throughout, and tried so hard to be involved with her family. Book boyfriend material for sure! 

I felt like this was a little bit too long, some things could have definitely been shortened or even made into two separate books. Her trip to Spain, and his charity dinner. 

There is a little bit of everything in here for everyone, so I could see this being a top read for a lot of different people based on trope preferences.

All in all a great debut and more I am even more excited to read her sophomore novel The American Roommate Experiment. 

Read if you love: 
* Enemies to lovers
* Grumpy/sunshine
* Fake dating
* Workplace romance
* Slow burn

Thank you to Atria Books for a copy of this book!

This was such a great read. Admittedly it started off a little slow as the characters and some of their back story is established. Catalina is in her late 20s and after a breakup gone bad she left her home country of Spain and has worked herself up the corporate ladder in New York but with her sister getting married she will be returning to Spain. The only small issue is she may have lead her family believe she will be accompanied by her boyfriend … a boyfriend she doesn’t exactly have.

That is until Aaron Blackford enters the picture. Aaron overhears her talking to a coworker about her predicament and offers to step in. Catalina may be short on options but bringing the man who has made it more than clear how he feels about her is not going to happen.

I loved getting to know these characters, it was so much fun to see their personalities come to life. This is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, he falls first, spicy contemporary romance, it is a bit on the long side but it was so enjoyable. I loved how especially the chapters set in Spain made me feel all the summer vibes, I visited the country many years ago and it was as if I had been transported back there.

Aaron Blackford … it is easy to see why this book was seen all over #bookstagram, this man is the epitome of a dream book boyfriend. He is fiercely protective, thoughtful and his love language is physical touch … need I say more.

I look forward to reading the sequel The American Roommate Experiment and hope to see a few glimpses of how Lina and Aarons relationship grows.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy. 

I saw this all over BookTok, so I was hopeful. However, I hated it from the first chapter. I do not get the hype. I gave up after 20 pages.

AARON BLACKFORD AARON BLACKFORD AARON BLACKFORD🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️

I-

No words. 

Just Aaron blackford, cuz no words has me functioning right now. 

Time to do an Amazon search on Mr. Mf Blackford

If you're looking for some spice, this enemies-to-lovers story will definitely satisfy! The heat in this book is delicious and super fun. However, I found the balance of spice to plot-line to be lacking, and the characters were not lovable to me. Normally, I want to root for the female character to get the guy, for that confession that he's actually always loved her, but I found the main character so irritating that I was not invested in her getting what she desired.

I could. not. put. this. down!!! 

This is a BIG book! And I enjoyed every page. The romance is spicy. The banter is witty. The plot is fun! Definitely a must read for romcom lovers! 

Elena Armas, you're inching your way to auto-purchase status for me!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing team for the free ARC. Opinions and marketing for the book were posted on my personal social media sites and are all 100% my own.

I loved this fun romance story! A perfect mix of enemies to lovers with some spice. I loved the friendship and family aspects. It was a great summer read

The Spanish love deception I found was a delightful enemies to lovers. I love a good enemies to lovers and I think Elena Armas executed that trope perfectly. 

I loved all of the summer vibes I got from this book. Also AARON BLACKFORD. Love him.

One thing I didn’t like was that It definitely could have been shorter.

In this slowest of slow burns, we see Catalina Martin fall into a fake dating scenario with her workplace enemy, Aaron Blackford, when she needs a date to her sister's wedding. One "small" lie to her family turns into a full-blown overseas getaway with the one person she can't stand. 

It could have been worse. It could have been a lot better. And a lot shorter. With much less annoying characters. But I didn't completely hate it apparently because I finished it. Lina was a bit difficult for me to relate to, or even enjoy. Aaron made up for some of that- until he refuses to stand up for her in their workplace because she can "handle it". There was some fun banter but the whole thing was a bit off for me. Aaron is a bit over the top for someone who spent the last year acting as he did. Somehow, I am still intrigued enough about the follow-up book...

3/5

Always thankful for Netgalley and Atria for my copy in exchange for my review! All opinions are strictly my own <3

Catalina needs a date to her sister’s wedding. In Spain. And her ex and his fiance are attending. Desperate for a date, the least-likely prospect ever–her annoying, humorless, cold, (handsome) colleague Aaron–volunteers to go with her. They’ve rubbed each other the wrong way since his first week at InTech, the engineering consulting company they both work for. She says no, but… then she’s is voluntold to put on a full day fair for prospective clients (since women know all about party planning and socializing, ugh, misogyny) and Aaron doesn’t come to her defense in a meeting. He DOES step up to help her plan the event though, and after a bout of stubbornness, she accepts his offer. In return for being her date to her sister’s wedding, she agrees to accompany him to a social engagement, which turns out to be a bachelor auction to raise money for an animal charity. Then they’re off to northern Spain, where there is #JustOne!Bed, a Wedding Cup to compete for in the bachelor/bachelorette party games, and much drinking. They present a united front that fools her ex, her family, and themselves. The physicality of their relationship is sultry, slow and sexy.

Enemies to lovers works best for me when the characters are not out and out mean to one another. There is snarky banter and bad feelings but it turns out these two have just been misunderstanding one another from their first meeting. Lina’s attraction is slow growing and confusing, made more complicated by Aaron’s recent promotion.

I loved the Spanish phrases sprinkled throughout (generally easy to decipher in context when left untranslated) and Spanish cultural and geographical details, deftly defined within the structure of the narrative. Also we get a hint of Lina’s coworkers crush on her cousin (a teaser for Rosie and Lucas’s story takes place in The American Roommate Experiment).

This debut became one of my favorite romance books. It was a slow burn with the perfect amount of spice when needed. Looking forward to reading her second book! Aaron Blackford 👏🏽

Wildly popular and I can understand why. I wish the story was shorter. It was too long and drawn out