Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

- small town romance
- fake engagement
- cinnamon roll MMC
- slow burn

The tension and banter between the main characters was done so well! I found Josie’s quirks annoying at first, but I was rooting for her in the end. Matthew Flanagan is literal perfection! 🔥 However, I felt like the story was missing something. I would have loved a dual POV. There were many times when I wanted to be in Matthew’s head.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend if you like 27 Dresses/Runaway Bride vibes.

“What if I can’t give you any f*cking firsts, so I want to make sure I get a chance at being your last?”

I read a whole book in one day. This book. This whole book in one day.

Firstly, thank you to Elena Armas and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Secondly, Elena Armas!! You evil genius- this book was perfection! The tension, the build up, the banter, the absolute perfection that is Matthew Flanagan. I need one of those, do you get them on Amazon??

This book was magic- literally. I’ve loved every book Elena has written, but I think this might be my favorite.

I really wanted to love this because the cover, description and title were so good! Then I was 100 pages in and ended up DNFing because i really could not get into it.

I adore Elena Aramas' writing style and characters. The stories are always so fun and sweet. The characters feel like real people...and this is why The Fiance Dilemma is my least favorite of her books so far. Josie is wonderful but Matthew feels like a placeholder instead of a fully developed character. This is still a fun read and quite charming but it ranked well below her other books for me.

This was my first Elena Armas book and I absolutely loved it. I am simply obsessed with this book and could not put it down, I was hooked on to every word. Throughout the book I found myself smiling as I was reading, giggling, and blushing. It also gave me butterflies!! Both Matthew and Josie were lovable characters. Josie is relatable in some ways. She’s funny, overthinks, is a people pleaser, and has a tendency to put others first before thinking of how she is feeling. I love how Matthew would comfort her and could read her so well whenever she was anxious. His actions meant so much to her and helped her relax. They’re so cute together! I adore them. Their banter, tension, and chemistry was 10/10. Matthew is a king. I love this man. You could tell Josie was all he ever saw, he’s so obsessed with her I LOVE. Don’t even get me started on his nickname for her. I swooned every time.

I will be running to the bookstore to get my physical copy on release day! I can’t wait to read more of of Elena Armas books.

The Fiancé Dilemma picks up with Josie and Matthew in a whirlwind fake engagement while they both balance their true feelings. This one had all my favorite tropes and was the perfect amount of cutesy without being overly cheesy.

I’m secretly hoping the next book is Bobbi and the single daddy farmer 👀

Just what my romance reader heart needed from Elena Armas. I was a bit hesitant about picking up this book as it is a stand alone sequel of sorts to The Long Game, which was not my favorite. But this one was definitely worth reading. The mmc might be the best one from the author yet, and he had all the good qualities I like in a hero in a romance. Attentive, funny, kind, caring, obsessed with the heroine and not afraid to show it. I do wish we had gotten more of his backstory and personality, but that’s not as easy to do when it’s a Single POV like this one. And while at times I was a bit irked with the “quirky” stuff that came out of her mouth I still felt a lot for her. Specially with her mom and dad issues. I’m glad that the exes did not bring an unnecessary or excessive amount of drama to the plot, and the conclusion of the story was very satisfying to me.🥰

Simply put, this book was cheesy. I appreciated that the characters did have actual personality traits, but I felt like they were static and there was no character development. Matthew as a MMC was a little too caveman for me, and I honestly felt like his personality did not match who he was at the beginning of the book. Josie was your typical saccharine-sweet hometown girl. The ending wrapped too quickly with many conversations still needing to be had. Honestly, it should be a 2.5 stars, but I rounded to 3- just based on my personal preferences. It fits your typical rom-com stereotype, so fans of the genre will probably love this read.

I have enjoyed Elena Armas’s previous books and this was no exception. The chemistry between Josie and Matthew was amazing and the runaway bride plus a fake fiancé made the plot unique. I did want more from the cameos with the characters from The Long Game and I found some of the side plots lacked detail. It was an enjoyable beach-like read that is worth picking up.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

elena armas does it a freaking gain!!! honestly… is matthew flanagan the new aaron blackford?? i think this may be my 2nd favorite of her books because truthfully i don’t think anything will ever top the spanish love deception for me, but oh my gosh!! this came so so close. these characters are so near & dear to my heart. the way they are written is just so realistic and i feel like i could just call up adalyn and josie like they’re my in real life besties or something. i definitely think this will remind readers of why they loved the spanish love deception so much! this book was addictive & the pacing of this relationship was chefs kiss for me! the nicknames AHHH they had me blushing and kicking my feet so hard!! i am an elena armas stan until the day i die!!

I’ll be honest I didn’t read The Long Game so o wasn’t familiar with the characters and felt kind of dropped into the story. The characters were one dimensional and I couldn’t connect with the silliness of the storyline. It felt convenient and overdone. The characters were a bit cringey and the dialogue was lacking depth for me.

Fuck, okay, where do I start? This was such a HORNY book. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I loved it. It reminded of my love story minus the fake dating/engagement thing. These people fell so deeply in love, so fast and it wasn’t that BS insta-love thing. It was cute, and it made sense. Have I said it was horny? Yeah. Well, give it a try when it comes out. It was fun as hell to read about Josie Moore and Matthew Flanagan (yes, he’s from Boston, like my husband. Give me a break). 🤍 thanks NetGalley for the ARC 🥰

Josie Moore, the quirky mayor of a small town in South Carolina, has not only just recently learned the identity of her father, but has been thrown into the limelight due to his status as a sports mogul. Josie’s past engagements (four to be exact), have come under scrutiny by popular podcasters, bringing unwanted attention to herself and her father. After being bombarded by her father’s PR agent, she ropes in her sister’s best friend, Matthew, into being her fake fiancé. What starts out as a fake engagement quickly becomes much more.

I found the main premise of the book to be entertaining, and the characters to be endearing. I haven’t read The Long Game, so this was my first introduction to these characters, and felt like this book definitely stands well on its own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Fiance Dilemma was a super fun read, and I loved the twist on the fake marriage trope. I was so excited to get a book about Josie and Matthew and The Fiance Dilemma was perfect. I just wished it was dual-POV. I wanted to hear Matthew thoughts and feelings so bad! I also wished the beginning made it not feel like Matthew was being forced into the deal. However, as the book progressed Matthew enjoyed the fake engagement a lot. :) Overall, this was a enjoyable read and a perfect edition to The Long Game series!

I was excited to see a new ARC from Elena Armas land in my Kindle. I loved The Spanish Love Deception and her books since. There's always a delicious build up of tension before all the good stuff happens that makes it even sweeter.

Adalyn's sister Josie is the town mayor of Green Oak, North Carolina and runs her own coffee shop. Adalyn and Josie were excited to learn they're sisters in The Long Game but now Adalyn is off her partner Cameron working on soccer projects. Josie has somehow become a PR liability for her famous father, Andrew, and Bobbi Shark is sent to manage the PR crisis. Walking his daughter down the aisle for good should do just the trick, especially since Josie has pulled a Runaway Bride four times. Now, she pretends Adalyn's best friend Matthew is her fiance and the two run through the motions until it's almost the big day. Sure they've developed feelings, but will they really go through with it?

Read if you like:
✅ Pretend engagement
✅ Small town romance
✅ Sassy female MC
✅ Dirty talking male MC

This was incredibly well done and had that signature tension build of Elena's. Josie was adorable and I love how she was so real through everything. She sorta lost herself and Matthew helped her find herself.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

OH MY GOD I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!

I wish I could read it for the first time all over again. All the butterflies, all the feels, ALL THE TENSION. This is by far my favorite Elena Armas couple so far.

This is a must-read. 100%. Period. I thought The Long Game was my new favorite Elena Armas book, but omg, this one is it. This is the one. I adore Josie, and Matthew is so much more than the snarky best friend. Who knew blonde MMCs could get it 😏

Josie is trying to solve a PR nightmare that is not her fault, in comes Matthew, who agrees in a shocked moment to be her fake fiance.

And of course, you know how those fake relationships go. It is absolute chaos, and I'm here for it. I love how scattered Josie is and how unapologetically herself she is. Even through insecurities and trauma, she is still who she is, and she doesn't need to apologize for it.

Also, love that Adalyn and Cam make appearances of course 😏 so maybe read The Long Game before this book is published in July!!

This book was a roller coaster but so worth the ride and journey to the end. Thank you for your the opportunity to read an advance copy. There were the normal grammar items that I assume get fixed before release but those don’t take away from the story. Elena Armas doesn’t write easy love stories, she writes stories with real emotions and hard work for the characters to get their happily ever afters and this book is another example of that. How she takes two amazing characters, and how they don’t just skip off into the sunset but work through issues and together and get a beautiful story. I enjoyed the funny moments, the sad moments, honestly every moment of this book. I cannot say enough good things in this feedback box and can’t wait to review it once it’s released. Thank you once again. This book was phenomenal. 5 stars.

The Fiancé Dilemma is a story that had several expectations, but none of them were achieved. My problem with this book was the plot, mainly. The beginning was not as strong as it should have been. The conflict in which the characters find themselves involved in this false marriage is completely unrealistic and even basic. I don't think it worked as expected. I feel like it was an excuse to start the story. The plot could not stand on its own.

I also want to point out that the narration was very messy, at least that's how I perceived it. It rambled quite a lot, which caused the thread to be completely lost. I think, structurally, it could improve.

Another reason this book wasn't one of my favorites was because of the characters. I couldn't connect with them, nor with their personalities. In Josie's case, her quirkiness was enhanced to a level that did not favor her at all. It was like she was constantly in chaos with everything, even the narration became chaotic when Josie was involved. It was very disappointing. And Matthew, the truth is that he was fine, he was not memorable like other characters the author wrote.

All in all, it was a disappointing read. It was not one of the author's best works.

Thanks NetGalley & Atria for this ARC!

I really wish I liked this but I ended up dnfing it early on. Josie was just too “quirky” and I couldn’t stomach reading the whole book from her perspective.

I LOVE Elena's writing! I've read every one of her books and there is not a single time where I did not rate it as a 5-star read!

This book can absolutely be read as a stand alone, but if you haven't read The Long Game yet, I would suggest to do that first. The Fiance Dilemma follows Josie, who we meet in The Long Game, and we do have Adalyn and Cam in this book as wonderful side characters.

Josie is getting all kinds of attention, but not in a good way, when her father, Andrew is facing scrutiny from the public for not being part of Josie's life all this time. After the passing of Josie's mom, Andrew reaches out with a "Luke, I am your Father" phone call to Josie and to offer his condolences. Not a great way to find out who your dad is or "meet" them for the first time.

Some time later, Josie is met at her door by a PR hot shot named Bobbi Shark while wearing one of her old engagement rings (she was just trying it on again and it got stuck). When Bobbi sees the ring she figures this is just what Andrew's image needs, a big show of a wedding for him to pay for and him to walk his daughter down the aisle to make him look like the dotting father and back in the good graces of the public image.

Insert - a on the spot, fake engagement to Matthew Flanagan, who happened to be passing by after car trouble, dead on his feet to Josie, (his best friends sister) greeting him and his fiance.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet like a little school girl. I could not get enough and didn't want to put it down!

There is some spice in the book as well, it was wonderful, but didn't over shadow the book at all and was very tastefully done. There are only a couple steamy/spicy scenes throughout but let me tell you they are WORTH IT! phew!

An absolutely wonderful read, highly recommend!