4.5 ⭐️ rounded up because i didn’t think Elena could ever top TSLD but she just might have ????

Matthew must be protected at all costs. In reality to i ever feel that most women don’t deserve their male equivalent? No. I don’t think Josie deserves Matthew because NO ONE DOES. I absolutely wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her because HOW DO YOU EVEN COME CLOSE TO FUMBLING THE BAG ????

Anyways thanks for listening to my rant and thanks to NetGalley and Elena’s team for the ARC because i simply can’t wait to discuss this at length when it comes out this summer and i recommend it to everyone i know. K thanks bye!

This was a good story but it seemed to kinda kinda jump around and you never felt fully in the story. But thats just how I felt. I would say that I would probably read this book again and buy it. It did have a good story line I wish it was in Dual POV because it was hard to tell what matthew was feeling.

The Long Game was such a great book so I was so excited to continue reading about Green Oak and its residents!

Josie (our FMC) is the Mayor of Green Oak, owner of Josie's coffee shop and sister to Miss Ada. Because of the high profile life of her estranged father, she becomes the focus of celebrity gossip. In order to help diffuse the situation and save her sister from the gossip, she decides to enter into a fake engagement with Matthew (Ada's best friend who has just oved to Green Oak).

What I loved:
* Josie was such a great character with multiple layers. She suffers from major daddy issues, she has no sense of who she really is in a relationship and she keeps breaking her engagements.  
* Matthew, he was such a good MMC
* Josie's growth and development through the book
*The residents of Green Oak provided moments of laughter and joy, especially little Maria.
*It was a slow burn that showed us their feelings more than just telling us.

What I didn't like:
*Not hearing Matthew's POV. I think that it would have really helped us see why HE chose to continue the fake engagement. We kinda got a little of it towards the end but I needed more from him.

Overall a great book and I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks NetGalley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun read! Is it the best book I've ever read? No, but at the end of the day I had a lot of fun while reading it and once I fully bought into the premise and Matthew and Josie started to spend more time together I was fully in love.

The beginning of the book was a little rough. I was so confused why the fake engagement even had to happen, frustrated the Josie was in charge of correcting a PR issue that wasn't her fault, and some of the decisions and choices characters made were so unnecessary. All that said - and I think this is a bit true for all Elena Armas books in my opinion - you honestly have to fully give into the fact that there will be over-the-top ridiculous scenarios and our characters will do things that very few actual people would do. If you just sort of let this book happen to you and don't question anything, I think you will have fun.

I absolutely loved Matthew in this book and would have done anything for more of his POV. He was so wonderful and sweet and just gone for Josie in way that was heart-stopping. The way their friendship and relationship develops was great to see and how they supported each other was a highlight of the book.

Overall, if you want a fun, frothy, romcom this will be a great choice!

Delicious chemistry and high heat! This was thoroughly a romp with laugh-out-loud moments. Elena's fans will not be disappointed. I had a, uh, very good time.

Thank you to Atria and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the Spanish love deception and I was so excited for this book. The romance was so sweet and the characters had great development throughout the book

Let it be known that The Long Game was one of my favorite reads last year. I was extremely excited for Josie’s story & was lucky enough to receive an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The first 30% of the book was pure chaos, a bit hard to follow, and all over the place. But once it found its stride, it was un-put-down-able. I fell fast and hard for Matthew & loved how he loved Josie. Josie is just the cutest & very relatable.

I did think some of the descriptions were a little wordy at times but it worked, because Josie is one of those characters that has a lot to say. And thank goodness she does. I loved her character development throughout & I loved all the cameos from Ada & Cam <3

I thought the conflict and resolution were so nicely done. & PRAISE GOD FOR NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP OR MISCOMMUNICATION.

Overall, it was cute & I’m glad I read it. I absolutely adored these two but had a hard time following some of the chaotic inner thoughts. Which, could just be on me.

Disappointment is an understatement. I thought that this was going to be a 5 star read from the first chapter and I am heartbroken that this feeling dissipated.

The Fiance Dilemma follows Josie and Matthew, two fiances pretending to be engagement to handle a PR crisis. I thought that this set-up was cute, and I loved the initial conversations with Josie and Matthew. However, the further I read, the less I understood WHY both Josie and Matthew would agree to the fake engagement in the first place. Josie gained more out of the fake relationship, but she only really does it to handle her absentee father's PR issues, which is quite frankly NOT her problem. Matthew gained *actually nothing* from this partnership, he is just a simp. To truly root for their romantic development, I needed valid motivations for them to be in a fake relationship. Because of this, I found their chemistry lacking. And while Josie had a lot of depth to her character, Matthew was just a plethora of tropes thrown together to create a character with no real substance. The highlights of this book were the dynamics with Josie and her grandpa, as well as Josie and Adalyn's sisterhood. This book also had plenty of laugh out loud moments.

Unfortunately, The Fiance Dilemma just did not deliver on the romance. You cannot build a proper romantic relationship without proving why the two characters should be together in the first place. I wanted this to be my new favorite by Elena Armas, and while I will continue to try her new titles, this was such a letdown!

♾️/5

if i could give more than 5 stars for this book i absolutely would. Elena has absolutely done it again with this book and then some. When i tell you Matthew had me kicking my feet & giggling to the point i had heart palpitations i could not put this down. The growth you see in Josie is a beautiful thing and i absolutely adored this book and see it being in my top 5 for the year.

Thank you again NetGalley and Atria for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review ♡

Loved it, a bit over the top with the situation, but overall extremely enjoyable,
Some of the scenes feel a bit too much and the whole Pr thing for me felt a bit overdone. I did like matthew and Josie relationship and how it develops even if it was a bit fast. Overall fun read

4.25/5 stars!
Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I have some conflicting feelings about this book.

Ultimately, I don't think Elena Armas's style of writing is for me, but I loved Josie's story.

There was nothing *wrong* with it. Let me start there. It was just very different from book one (and Elena's other books). The first half and the second half of the book felt completely different. The first half left me feeling like this would be 3 stars or lower, but the second half had lots of redeeming qualities. I was very excited to visit this world after reading The Long Game. Josie and Matthew's story was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, but this was really *Josie's* story only and Matthew was a supporting charcater (the man was really supportive of my girl though).

What I loved:
🌸Josie is all over the place (#relatable). Daddy issues, runaway bride, zero backbone. We only barely scratched the surface of her back story in book one, so getting throught that intial 10 percent was a little rough, but necessary.
🌸Matthew is soooo HORNY. He was down bad for Josie and all their little touches had me kicking my feet and squealing. He's all the *right* amount of protective.
🌸Josie had a great character arc (I totally knew she would though). Much like book one, I wouldn't consider this romance, as much as I would a self-discovery book. And Josie sure does go through it. If you go into this book with that mindset, you will love it.

What I didn't love:
🌸Matthew really had no personality other than horny? Also we got no dual pov in this one? I think this would have been so much better with his point of view. I don't understand why it wasn't written like that.
🌸I love a slow burn, but it was too slow.

I loved reading this book because we got to see two characters from The Long Game, Josie and Matthew, get their own story. I actually liked this storyline better than the previous one in the series, because it was fun to read along as the characters started out faking their engagement and watch their relationship actually grow into something. Plus, there was a ton of chemistry with these two. We mostly get the perspective of Josie, until the end when we get some of Matthew's - although this worked out fine, I would have personally loved a bit more perspective from Matthew. I also liked to read about the dynamic between Josie and her dad. It is always nice when an author inputs more into their story beyond just a romantic relationship.

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

Spoiler Free Arc Review! 4 ⭐️

For anyone who doesn’t know, my favorite tropes are fake dating and marriage of convenience so this was right in my wheelhouse. The Fiancé Dilemma was the same wonderful swoon-worthy comedic romance you expect with Elena Armas. Matthew and Josie’s story was so perfect.

Josie has been engaged four times, but has never been able to say I do. When her high profile father comes into her life, her failed marriages become public knowledge. In order to fix a PR crisis and get her father’s assistant off her back, Josie finds herself self saying she’s actually engaged to her sister’s best friend Matthew. Matthew plays along but eventually the lines blur between pretend and reality.

This book was so fun to read. I love reading about two destined to be together characters find themselves in each other. I super recommend to fans of Elena’s previous books as well as someone who appreciates a true romcom with a little spice here and there! Note: this book is a very slow burn. But worth the wait! Josie and Matthew are probably my favorite couple that Elena has written so far!

This book is poignantly beautiful. It has the perfect blend of light heartedness and major character growth and discovery. The main characters made me feel in my bones that they are soulmates and I absolutely adored them both. But holy hell Matthew!!! You little complex horny devil in glass ILY!

I definitely wanted more content and thought it would have been interesting seeing the exs a bit more. I feel what you did see from the exs just highlighted Matthew so well because he GETS josie in so many ways


Thank you so much to Atria books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

3.5
Ce livre ne sort que le 30 juillet prochain en anglais mais j’ai eu l’opportunité de le découvrir!
Il faut savoir que ce livre fait partie de la série The Long Game et que je n’avais pas lu le premier tome mais cela n’a absolument rien changé à la compréhension de cet univers! Nous allons suivre Josie qui doit gérer une catastrophe médiatique du fait que son père revienne dans sa vie et elle va faire croire qu’elle est fiancée à Matthew… Mais à force de se côtoyer, il va peut-être avoir des sentiments…

Le résumé m’a donné envie de foncer tête baissé dans ce livre surtout avec la trope fake dating/ fake engagement mais j’ai trouvé que l’histoire était assez prévisible même si mignonne! La première partie du livre est vraiment bien mais on tombe rapidement dans des longueurs. J’ai eu du mal à ressentir quoique ce soit envers Josie que j’ai eu envie de secouer à plusieurs reprises tandis que j’ai trouvé Matthew très mignon, c’est un véritable sucre d’orge!

En bref, une romance mignonne, assez prévisible et quelques longueurs!

I loved this book! Thanks to Atria and Net Galley for my advanced copy.

The Fiancé Dilemma had all the classic elements of an Elena Armas novel: funny, jump-off-the-page supporting characters, and a love story with BIG heart. I loved Matthew and Josie in this. The ability Matthew had to see Josie exactly for who she was, what she wanted, at all times was beautiful, and I loved the return of Cam and Ada. I would have LOVED to see an epilogue, a longer look into the future, but the lack of one means I’ll hold out hope for a book three, a special edition, a something else. I’m not ready to say goodbye to this world!,

Oh my goodness. This book is amazing! If you haven't read The Long Game yet, I highly recommend reading that first. You don't have to, but there will be major spoilers if you don't.

This is the story of Josie, who is the mayor of Green Oak and the owner of Josie's coffee shop. She has been engaged 4 times and is single, never married. She has never actually met her father, Andrew Underwood, in person. She finds herself in a robe with a face mask on and her hand in a jar of jam trying to get an old stuck engagement ring off her finger when she has to answer the door. At the door is a PR specialist for her father, Bobbi Shark. Bobbi says that Josie has to fix her father's image as a deadbeat and come to Florida unless she's getting married again. Then Matthew pulls in, her sister's best friend, and she decides not to go to Florida. She does this by pretending Matthew is her fiancé, which he goes along with.

What ensues is a masterpiece. The way Josie grows, although subtle, is a masterclass in character growth. I adore Matthew and how he genuinely loves Josie and helps her to love herself. I can not recommend this one enough. Elena Armas knocked it out of the park.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars for The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

This is my first Elena Armas book but it won’t be my last! I was a little worried reading this without first reading The Long Game but I didn’t feel too out of the loop by reading them out of order. The Fiancé Dilemma follows Josie and Matthew and their whirlwind romance. Josie has a lot going on between finding out who her dad is, discovering a sister turned bff, taking care of her quaint small town as Mayor, caring for grandpa Moe (which I wish we got a little bit more of cuz his character seemed so cute and wholesome) , fending off the gossipers after her 4 failed engagements and now a brand new fake engagement brought on in an attempt to calm down the PR nightmare stewing in the midst of it all. Matthew has just lost his job and is new in town thanks to his bff who also happens to be Josie’s newly found sister. I loved Matthew so much. He was like a sexy golden retriever. He was loyal to a tee to Josie but also a perfect balance of protective and patient which was oh so sexy. He helps heal her insecurities and she falls for him in the process. The story was swoon worthy and sweet like a hallmark movie with some spice. I can’t wait to read more of Elena’s books soon!

Josie runs a one woman show around Green Oak. She’s part time mayor, multiple business owner, and more. When she finds out she has a sister and a famous father, though, her life gets thrown up in shambles. Josie’s never been good with relationships (5 fiancés no weddings anyone?) but when PR shows up on her porch one night, she doesn’t have a choice but pretend to date Matthew.
I, firstly, am obsessed with Elena Armas. I swear, every book she writes is better than the last. I binged this entire book in one night, I never wanted it to end. Can I just live in Green Oak?? I was obsessed with the main characters, the side characters, the plot, the setting, literally everything about this book. I literally don’t have criticisms about it, which is kind of bizarre.
Thank you thank you thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC of this book!

I really enjoyed The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas. It had all the elements of the Spanish Love Deception, but with new fresh characters who I immediately connected with. Josie was maybe a little bit goofy, but she was endearing, and I loved the different facets of Matthew. Admittedly I didn’t totally realize it was part of a series, so there were some confusing moments on my part early on, but it worked out. Overall really great, and I continue to love this author’s writing style and sense of humor.