Elena's books are always so charming! Her personality shines through in every single one and they are always so fun to read.

I love this author. Her books are easy to read and very entertaining. This one was a little rough at the beginning because the premise was a little weird. Even after reading it, I don’t know why she said she was engaged…not really sure how it was going to fix things. That being said, one I accepted the engagement, I went with it and it was fun to read. I like how it took almost the whole book for them to figure things out because it caused some fun tension and stress!

The Fiance Dilemma follows Josie who has recently found out her father (who has been out of the picture) is a famous celebrity & is currently in a PR nightmare due to her previous 4 failed engagements that ended at the altar. Her sister's best friend, Matthew, happens to be walking by her house with this PR situation unfolds and he ends up agreeing to be her fake fiance.

I absolutely loved the banter between Josie and Matthew in this book, and the tension is incredible. I am such a huge fan of fake dating, and this is one of the best examples of that. Matthew is literally a golden retriever inside and out and I loved his character the most. The only thing I wish I had in this book was his POV, because I was DYING to know what was going on inside his head the entire time.

Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Elena armas will never fail me. Her work to me is phenomenal and now that I got to read Matthew and Josie’s story I’m convinced I will never get married knowing Matthew Flanagan does not freakn exist. Like what am I supposed to do with my life now???
This story was hilarious, angsty, raw, and powerful. So heartfelt and will hit you in all the right places. I’m not getting over this anytime soon at all.

Rating: ★★★★
I have been a long-time fan of Elena Armas, and The Fiancé Dilemma is by far my favorite of her books! I loved it so much I cannot wait for all of you to read it. Elena once again brings us lovable main characters that you will immediately fall for, and luckily, we already know them!

We meet Josie, the mayor of Green Oaks, all around sunshine, and sister to Adalyn. When a recent article about their father put Josie’s four previous engagements in the spotlight, she was stuck in the middle of a PR nightmare. In walks Matthew, Adalyn’s best friend, who was recently fired from his job and moved to Green Oaks to hide out, with his sexy glasses, preppy looks, and charming personality. When, by mistake, Josie introduces Matthew as her fiancé, she finds herself engaged for a fifth time, and Matthew does not seem to mind playing along. Between planning sessions, long conversations, safe words, and tender moments, maybe fifth time is the charm for Josie?

One of my favorite things about this book was the tenderness and sweetness between Josie and Matthew. It felt like they found each other at the time they most needed each other and even though their relationship started as an accident, it never felt forced or fake. I really enjoyed getting to know them individually and together, which made me cheer for them even more!

The Fiance Dilemma is a follow on to the long game and is my absolute favorite Elena Armas book yet. This book features Josie and Matthew. Josie has recently found out she is Adalyns sister, and Matt is Adalyns best friend, who finds himself looking for a new start. He accidently ends up on Josie’s front step and before they know it has agreed to be Josie’s fake fiance.

I loved the character development of both characters and the ties to the long game! Highly recommend for anyone looking for a swoon worthy rom com.

Josie is minding her own business at home when she's bombarded by a PR nightmare. Her recently discovered and previously absent father turns out to be a business world celebrity, and her past four failed engagements don't look good. As luck would have it, her sister's best friend, Matthew, just happens to be waltzing up her driveway and somehow agrees to be her fake fiance in an attempt to make this go away. Well... It doesn't go away, and when gossip podcasts and paparazzi start to turn up, things get messy. Oh - and that fake relationship? It starts to feel pretty real...

💭 The cover? Adorable. The town? Super cute. The characters? Relatable. I love a good fake dating trope, and this did not disappoint. Josie has had some past struggles that have shaped who she is. She's not proud of her for failed engagements, but she's also a little afraid to fall in love. Enter matthew. Little does she know that he was destined to be the one, and he takes the time to show her that she's valuable. Did they take the PR stunt too far? Absolutely. Matthew's public declaration?? Swoon

Elena’s latest novel, The Fiance Dilemma, is the perfect feel-good love story we all need. The chemistry between Josie and Matthew is off the charts good. I loved that this was a follow-up to The Long Game, and we got to visit again with Adalyn and Cameron.

And really, our lead Matthew? Swoon worthy, perfect man material. Everything he says, everything he does. Protect him at all costs because that man will go to battle for you, wipe your tears away, and cause you to melt into the floor.

The feelings and emotions in this story were so relatable, and I’m so glad I got an early preview to indulge in. Love!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

This is my second book by Elena Armas and it was fun, quirky, chaotic, and cute. Josie the fmc has been engaged 4 times always has a lot going on and drama follows her everywhere. Matthew the mmc is the FMC's sister's best friend and he runs into Josie and finds himself in a fake engagement. The fake engagement aspect was so quirky because of the fmc and sometimes I was like how far are they going to go in the wedding planning before they come clean about it lol. The romance was a slow-burn and the steamy scenes were done quite well. I wish there had been more with the character development, especially in the beginning. I think the mmc wasn't as developed as I would have liked. There were also pacing issues, especially in the first half but overall this is a pretty quick and decent romcom. Thank you Atria for the arc.

Read if you like:
- Fake engagement
- Small-town romance
- Rom-com's
- Slow burn

Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC. I have read all of Elena Armas’ books and I have a bit of a hard time with them. I keep chasing the love I had for the Spanish Love Deception but nothing she writes ever gets close for me. After reading the Long Game I really liked Matthew’s character but when I started this book I feel like we lost him and he was replaced with another character named Matthew. I feel that because Josie is a character that incessantly talked & is so quirky that Addison’s quick & witty best friend got overshadowed. I feel that her editors should have pushed for a dual POV because he shows up at her door and all of a sudden you are second guessing his motives. I think knowing about Matthew’s text thread with Addison about Josie and him completely and utterly in love from the jump WHILE Josie was needing him, and unsure about him would have been ten times more romantic to know his real intentions and feelings. Also, I get Addison has other things happening in her life but to have the dual POV of Matthew & Josie where Addison is within those POV’s communicating with both Josie & Matthew about the situation and if she would have been in on the scheme as a go between, knowing Matthew is completely in love, would have added some depth to the story. Anyway, as a positive her spicy scenes are good. I will give her that. Also I really did love Matthew’s character and just wish I could have heard from him. Josie was sweet but lord does she need A LOT of therapy. Even just agreeing to a fake engagement for a father she doesn’t know and having 4 broken engagements is wild. The girl needs help, I will keep reading her books though to hopefully get another Spanish Love Deception so the jokes on me.

Oh boy not only is Elena Armas a must read author for me but boy it boy does she knock it out the park every time I read one of her books. I absolutely adored this book and the follow up with the characters from The Long Game.Josie is the small town mayor of Green Oak, NC with four past fiancés behind her when Matthew (Josie’s sister best friend) moves to town after he get fired from his job in Chicago. This is a small town, fake engagement, he falls first romance that gives you all the warm fuzzies and leave you laughing along the way. I’m so beyond grateful for this ARC and devoured this book in one day.

I haven’t read Elena before and let me tell you she has a new fan! I loved everything about this! It has been a while since I’ve had a 5 star read! Thank you for letting me be part of the story!

This book was a fun read with some emotional moments. Runaway bride mixed with a fake fiancé.

Josie has just met her long lost father. Fast forward one year and she has only met him through video chat. Josie also has a history of being a runaway bride leaving a trail of broken hearts. Four to be exact. So when her father’s PR manager shows up on her doorstep while she is trying to remove one of her old engagement rings what is a girl to do but invent a fake fiancé. Who better to play the role? None other than her new sister’s best friend Matthew.

This story is told from Josie’s point of view. Matthew is a great character and is great at protecting Josie. He is patient with her and balances out her quirkiness.

I was frustrated at times when Josie would let everyone steamroll her. I really wanted her to act like an adult and stand up for herself.

Overall I thought this was a cute story. It had a lot of similarities to the runaway bride movie and there were chapters that i felt like ended abruptly. It almost felt like whiplash, something would happen and then you would end up two days later without actually knowing what the resolution was.

I also recommend reading the first story. I felt like I was missing pieces to the story.

Thank you Simon & Schuster LLC for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I have loved all of Elena Armas’ previous books and this one is no exception! I read the whole thing with a smile on my face. Matthew and Josie have great chemistry and I love the “fake dating” trope. I enjoyed seeing characters return from The Long Game as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

Another duo executed beautifully by Elena.
We met Josie and Matthew in The Long Game, along with a handful of other side characters who continue to move this story along and give us laughs and maybe a few cries. This picks up about a year after the conclusion of The Long Game. Elena really has us falling for a blonde hair MMC who says yes to Josie’s chaos like one says yes to ordering fries with a burger. You can’t help but enjoy their antics throughout Green Oaks and how she ties things up at the end with *the texts*, in the feels.

Adalyn texting “my best friend and my sister” gave me all the Ross Geller from Friends vibes. I laughed out loud. (Although we don’t see much of her and Cameron in this).

Elena was not kidding when she said she was delivering her horniest book yet. The mouth on Matthew. He can sweetheart me anytime.

“Give your fiancé a little scream. Tell me who’s making the fucking world disappear.”

“…If someone fails to see all of that, or who you really are, then good.” A throaty sound left him. “More of you that’s just for me.” Okay. Again. Matthew.

Grandpa Moe with the jokes.
“Croquembouche,” he repeated.
Jesus Christ. “You’re unbearable.”
“And you’re cranky,” he pointed out. “You’re a crankembouche.”

Is Josie going to make him shortbread cookies?! No. She never did. JOSIE!!!! How could you after he told you they’re his favorite?! This, along with a few gaps around the previous fiancés kept this from being a true 5 star read for me. (Really though - how could she not make him shortbread cookies?!) A solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (like a 2.75)

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster/Atria Books

This was not my favorite. Perhaps all of this author's books need to be read in order? I felt like I was missing some background on the characters. And sometimes there would be a lapse of time between chapters that I had to sit and think about what happened in between the last chapter and this new chapter. I did feel some sparks between the characters, and eventually I was invested in the outcome, but for 3/4 of the book I was struggling to decide whether to finish or not.

The Fiancé Dilemma was hard to get into, because everything was moving so fast. it was fine, but overall not my favorite by elena.

I’ve been waiting for Matthew and Josie’s love story since I finished The Long Game. I was excited to see Elena’s take on the fake dating trope. I really enjoyed the small town setting again and I loved the two main characters. I didn’t care for some of the secondary characters, specifically Josie’s dad. I understood why he needed to be in the book because he had so much to do with why the characters are the way they are. Overall I thought this was a fun/easy read.

This is my first Elena Armas book, I've seen so many good things about The Spanish Love Deception and I have yet to read it, I know :( so I ran so fast to request this and thank you to Atria Books and Elena Armas for accepting!

I did think the beginning couldnt keep my attention, it was kinda slow but I pulled through and continued and it picked up in the middle to end. I loved how Matthew gave Josie the courage to love and to not run away and he would be there no matter what fighting for them .

In "The Fiance Dilemma" by Elena Armas, we dive into Josie's world as she faces her reputation after four failed engagements. To dodge her father's publicist and shake off the engagement baggage, she ropes in her sister's friend, Matthew, for a fake engagement.

Matthew is like a human golden retriever—sweet, sexy, and head over heels for Josie. Their fake engagement journey turns into something real, filled with hilarious, swoon-worthy, and sometimes awkward moments.

Josie's fun-loving personality and Matthew's protectiveness make for a charming read that's both heartwarming and entertaining. If you're into fake engagements with a dash of slow-burn romance, "The Fiance Dilemma" is a must-read that'll leave you smiling and rooting for Josie and Matthew's happily ever after.

I binged this book in a day, it was honestly so good! Thanks NetGalley for letting me read the ARC 💜