This was more than your average romance novel! Catalina is a Venezuelan student finishing up her mechanical engineering degree and internship - she’s the perfect immigrant and plans to get approved for permanent residency and the US ASAP. Everything starts to go wrong when she gets tangled up with her academic rival, Gabe, and they embark on what’s meant to be a fake relationship - he needs to ruin his brother’s wedding and will concede to the permanent job at their internship if Catalina helps him.

It has aaaaalllll the good romance tropes but actually deals super sensitively with serious issues such as immigration and political unrest. It’s a deliciously frustrating slow burn at times, but Gabe is a worth the wait book boyfriend - I love his Gabe, Everyone’s Babe persona 😂

What to expect:

- academic rivals
- enemies to lovers
- fake dating
- he falls first
- closed door but still 🔥

Very much reminiscent of The Spanish Love Deception, but that is one of my favorite romcoms of the last five years. This is a very strong enemies/rivals to lovers story. The backstory of both characters is very strong. The chemistry is absolutely sizzling as well. A definite must read for any enemies to lovers fan.

I'm a sucker for a good academic rivals book, and this one was adorable!

I loved Catalina as a main character. She has some unique backstory that makes her really interesting, and raises her stakes a little higher than some other contemporary romcom heroines. She's smart, has a good sense of self, and is devoted to her family, which is lovely.

Gabriel is the perfect foil for her, and when they entered the fake dating relationship, I knew he was a goner. He's a well-written character who compliments Catalina, and I enjoyed watching their relationship solidify.

I will definitely pick up the next book from this author.

Hello Fellow Readers,

First of all, if anyone needs a book boyfriend can I recommend Gabe? He's so sweet, I can really see why Catalina ends up falling in love with him (although he falls first, which I am always a sucker for). First, let us talk about how Leal addressed the political situation in Venezuela as it is not something you hear talked about much less used as a plot point in a book.

As for Catalina and Gabe, I loved them. Rivals to Lovers and Fake Marriages just give me the tingles and never fail to make me completely fall in love with a book. I will say that I could have done without the drama from a certain side character (looking at you Gabe's Mama), but that shouldn't deter you from this sweet romance.

Overall, very good read.

This was a fun read! I really related with the pressure that Catalina put on herself to be perfect and to achieve everything that she set out to, and I loved how Gabe gave her the space to both succeed but also not have to succeed in order to have worth. I do wish that we had had more opportunities to better get to know Gabe, since this was written only from Catalina's POV, but other than that I highly enjoyed this book!

Thank you to Wattpadd Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

I DNF this book. I just wasn't invested in this book. I gave it a good shoot, but no, not for me...
Thanks to Netgally

This book was so much more than a romance novel. I love how it discussed immigration and other real world issues while also balancing the romance; I'll definitely check out more from marianna!

This book was so enjoyable! I found Catalina relatable as an eldest daughter in a STEM program who is so preoccupied with succeeding and supporting her family that romance really isn’t at the forefront of her mind, or the top of her priorities. I also really enjoyed the academic rivals to lovers arc, and that he fell first (and harder 🤭). I appreciate how their relationship was well paced and Gabe was steady and supportive.

Not only was this a compelling romance, but it effectively detailed the political unrest in Venezuela and the effects it has on families and people of all ages. It was important to include these realistic experiences of immigrants in America and I appreciate the care taken with it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This modern romance was excellent. I loved the chemistry that Cata and Gabe had together. Two of my favorite tropes are "enemies-to-lovers" and "fake dating," Cata and Gabe excelled at both. The humor between the main characters was excellent, and the book's heavy passages dealing with Cata's trauma were expertly balanced with triumphant and joyful moments. I enjoyed the writing; it moved along quickly, wasn't overly corny, and had a few surprises that kept you turning pages. It was an easy read for me and will undoubtedly lift your reading spirits. Because of how she fell in love with him, I adored the narrative. I recommend it for anyone looking for a college-workplace rival to lovers / fake dating romance !!

this was such a cute story i loved the rivarly between catalina and gabe, and i loved that they didn't lose the snarky banter as their relationship progressed. the fake dating aspect of their relationship was also really fun!

i love love loved catalina's character - she was so strong and resilient; her story tugged at my heartstrings, seeing her struggles of being an immigrant and wanting to do right by her family. i also really enjoyed seeing her friendship with maya and taylor and how she'd always turn to them for advice and they were always there to talk sense into her and give her the comfort she needed. and gabriel was such a sweet love interest, the way he cared for catalina even when they were solely rivals was so cute and it made my heart warm seeing how much he'd do for her.

definitely recommend for anyone looking for a college-workplace rivals to lovers / fake dating romance!!

This book was everything and more. The cutest enemies to lovers romance. By the end of it I could not get enough of Gabe and Catalina!!

The one thing that annoyed me is when books are in different languages with no heads up. If I need to translate I will, but a warning would be nice. Some of this book was in Spanish with no translation so please be aware.

Other than that everything in this book was perfect. I loved the writing, it was fast pace, not too cheesy, and it had some twists and turns that kept you interested the entire book. It was a fast read for me and will definitely get you out of a reading slump.

I loved the story because of how she fell in love with him. It wasn’t all at once or a quick omg realization it was slow and because of all the little things. It showed an accurate representation of how someone falls in love. Not only that, it gives a glimpse of real world problems that I won’t spoil.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

As Long As You Love Me was so cute! I adored the chemistry between Catalina and Gabe once Catalina realized her first impression of him wasn't quite on par with the actual guy he is. This one made me smile a lot. I was truly immersed from start to finish, and I hope to read more from Marianna Leal in the future.

Thank you, NetGalley and Marianna Leal for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

When I saw this cover I was immediately hooked.
The tropes inside this book are everything to me!
It's been years since I read a Wattpad book and I have to tell you, I'm non disappointed

As Long as You Love Me is perfect for fans of Jane the Virgin. This book is straight out of a telenovella and is incredibly fun to read!!

If you like a fake dating slash fake marriage situation, with a strong female lead where he falls first, this is for you. As Long As You Love Me by Marianna Leal is a fun read with a strong theme of family throughout. Speaking as a first-generation Canadian, I found it to be truly reflective of first and second generation immigrant's lives. The story hooked me and if you give it a chance, you will find yourself engrossed in the pages.

Meet Catalina. She’s the eldest daughter in her family, and she feels a lot of pressure to help her parents out. She’s also a student who is trying to secure a job post-graduation. She hasn’t really been interested in love, but her rival at school is someone she is starting to see another way. Will she be able to make everyone happy, and will she find the love and support she so deserves?

My first read from Leal and it was so well written, the story and writing voice hooked me. The subplot following the political unrest in Venezuela is one you cannot ignore, and shouldn’t. Leal paints a realistic portrayal of being an immigrant today, and I’ll admit it had me crying on more than one occasion. You will feel all the feels with this read, and you’ll love every minute of it.

This book was a great read that I devoured. I loved the characters and the storyline. I wish I had more to read!

You know the saying never judge a book by its cover? this is the book it means. I went into this book thinking I would be reading about a cutesy romance between two characters. Never in my life did I think the politics and other topics the book discussed would be in it. With that being said it did have some spice and romance to it but it also went over some hard to talk about topics. I overall enjoyed the book and thank you netgalley for letting me read it!

4.5 stars
I loved this book. I think it had an amazing plot that really carried the story and the writing was great. I found myself worrying about Catalina like she was a real person when I wasn’t reading and I think that says a lot about how powerful this story actually is. I was very stressed while reading, but in a good day. I think her connection with Gabe was a little lacking though and that’s why I’m not giving this one a full 5 stars.

This book had so much potential for me and made me feel so many great emotions from the main character's experiences working so hard in a new country looking for her American Dream. After being a star student at the University of Miami for her whole undergrad, Catalina has the internship of her dreams. Still, she is told that only one intern can stay with the company after graduation. This wouldn't be an issue, but Catalina's competition, Gabe, is also a great candidate. Catalina's only problem? She'll be deported to Venezuela if she can't obtain a work visa.
With her residency in the US at stake, Catalina is willing to do anything to ensure she gets the full-time position after graduation, so she makes a deal to fake date Gabe (at his request) in exchange for him to turn down the full-time position. They obviously won't gain feelings for each other, so it'll be no problem... right?
This book has a great build-up of enemies-to-lovers and marriage of convenience, but the end of the story was entirely too rushed for me. I loved seeing the two get together and fight their attraction, but I missed out on seeing them together and growing as an actual couple.

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster and included everything from political and family turmoil, the struggles of moving away from both your family and your home country, and learning that sometimes people aren't always what they seem. It also included two of my favorite tropes: enemies/rivals to lovers and fake dating!

The only thing I wasn't too sold on was the epilogue. While I absolutely loved the chemistry between Gabe and Cata, couldn't get enough of each of their interactions, and was so happy for their ending, I felt like the book would've been fine not including the epilogue it did.