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.

Elena Armas absolutely nailed this book. There was so much chemistry between the characters and I loved the overall story line so much!

4.25 ⭐️s!!

I was so incredibly excited when this ARC landed in my inbox via NetGalley & Atria Books, so thank you 🤩

Josie is such a girls girl. We’ve got daddy issues, four men left at the altar, her own local business, and she’s the MAYOR? Sign me up to follow along with her girlboss adventures!!

Enter Matthew, the fake-iancé. Jobless, homeless, hopelessly in love, and quite frankly, one of the horniest men I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about.

These two make it their mission to fake their engagement & wedding to resolve some ~media issues~ for Josie’s newfound dad. There’s hiccups and hijinks, and the sweeeetest slow burn 😍 literally the only thing I could’ve wanted more of is MATTHEWS POV 😭

Do yourself a favour and pick this up on release day, especially if you enjoyed the long game!

✨ARC Review✨

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

It's no secret that I love Elena Armas's novels, but I think this might be my new favorite. Matthew is everything! The absolute best, sweetest cinnamon roll of a man but possessive in the bedroom...HOT.

This story had me laughing out loud, giggling, kicking my feet and swooning it was so good! Matthew just *gets* Josie in a way no other man has before, or in a way no other man has put in the effort before to know her; he literally RUNS to her because he thinks one of her texts is an emergency. He falls first, hard, and these two together are magic. The spice was just the right amount (and HOT, I mean the bathtub scene?! Damnnnn) and mixed perfectly into the story.

Josie's insecurities were so relatable, and I loved her relationship with Grandpa Moe; speaking of Grandpa Moe, I ADORED his grumpy self! He's hilarious and had me laughing so much. While told from Josie's POV, the last chapter is from Matthew's and I found it tied everything together really well; I also loved the glimpses we get from characters from The Long Game!

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

Elena Armas does it again! 😭😭😭😭 the level of complexity and depth that Josie had? The love and horniness of Mathew? Ah! This love story will live rent free in my mind for the foreseeable future. I cannot stress how perfectly this book came together and how entertaining this was. I HIGHLY recommend picking this up when it comes out.

ELENA ARMAS ES UNA MARAVILLOSA AUTORA! I freakin' loved this book! Can someone give me a Matthew? All enthusiasm aside, I truly resonated with this book. Weird family dynamics are a prominent theme in this book. I definitely know what's that like and I really loved how Armas reconciled that with Josie's love life. Also, I just loved seeing a little of the Armas' world outside our couple. TRULY WORTH THE READ!

This book was so cute and I absolutely adore the characters in this series and Elena never misses when it comes to fake dating. The slow burn and tension between Josie and Matthew is so good, I was giddy the whole time and couldn’t put this down.

Josie is such a people pleaser (same bestie) and I immediately related to her character and beamed with joy when she started to put her foot down and stand up for herself. And it was definitely a bonus to have Matthew, the loving and supportive “fiancé”, right by her side no matter what obstacle came their way. I understood Josie’s fear of abandonment and the idea of someone not truly loving you, but Matthew is there as her anchor and isn’t backing out. I love him so so much and I have no one but Elena to blame for making me fall in love with another blonde man.

The story is very fast paced which is nice at times, but I do wish there were a bit more details with the characters and the story. I think if it was set as dual pov like it was in The Long Game, it would have given us more understanding of the relationship between Josie and Matthew. I still really enjoyed the story, but just wanted that extra oomph, ya know?

And y’all, Elena wasn’t messing around with the chemistry and spice. The few scenes we have are literally so hot. Matthew has a MOUTH on him and respectfully, I’m on my knees. And there’s a horny wine tasting scene which I didn’t know I needed until now.

Thank you Atria Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

Some tropes:
-fake engagement of convenience
-small town
-horny wine tasting (she’s blindfolded)
-he gives her ✨instructions✨ over the phone while she’s in a bath
-blonde mmc with glasses (trust me on this one)

There were certain parts of this book I really enjoyed and other parts I really disliked.

I liked that it was funny and original. I love the small town feel and I thought the characters were well developed and entertaining to read. I think the family drama added a lot to the story, but I felt like some of the back story was kind of missing there. Also, I really loved the animals in this book - they were a lot of fun!

I disliked some of the spicy scenes in this book. To be honest, I found them really cringy. The whole ‘be a good girl’ phrasing and submissive sexual interactions were so off putting to me that I almost stopped reading. I think Josie is a strong character and this seemed like these scenes didn’t match up with her personality or what we know about her.

Overall, a quick decent read but not a favorite for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Fiancé Dilemma was a great modern romance with a lot of comedy. Josie is town mayor and helper to all but she very suddenly need a lot of help herself when it’s revealed who her father is (he has only been a presence in her mother’s and newly discovered sister’s life) leading to Josie getting caught up in rehabilitating his image in the press. Her sister’s best friend, Matthew comes into town at the exact wrong time and gets caught up as Josie’s most recent fiancé, after a string of four previous fails for her. Naturally, Josie and Matthew are meant to be but thanks to all the complications leading to their romance - and a lot of press - it’s a big mystery if everything will work out for them and for Josie specifically with her father.

I can’t really describe this book accurately because while the plot wasn’t all over the place there were a lot of different things afoot! I loved the characters, with those supporting being as strong the mains. It seems like this is one of a series, with Adalyn, Josie’s recently discovered sister preceding her story, and while you don’t need to read the previous book to get into this one fully I found myself wanting to. A great light romance with a lot of comedy, I recommend this for readers. My favorite parts were learning about Josie’s previous relationships/attempted weddings, which was a great callback to runaway bride. If you enjoyed movies like that consider it a sign you’ll also love this book.

I’ve read and loved all the other Elena Armas books, so it was not at all surprising to find that this one was a wild and wonderful ride. Josie and Matthew (THOSE GLASSES THOUGH) are my favorite of her couples. Josie is a repeat runaway bride, and Matthew is her sister’s best friend who is so down bad for her from day 1 that he agrees to a fake engagement almost immediately to save her from a PR nightmare. Their attraction is immediate and palpable, and they eventually give in to a friends with benefits situation, though it’s obvious to everyone but the two of them that they are completely head over heels in love. This is so good and so steamy.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria, and Elena Armas for this eARC. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas✨

ℹ️Synopsis: This book brings us back into Green Oaks, North Carolina, with the same endearing small-town folks we first met in The Long Game. In this story, we follow Josie, the 29-year-old mayor of Green Oaks and Adalyn’s half-sister. Josie has a history of broken engagements and is known (lovingly) as a runaway bride in her town. However, her past becomes a significant issue when she is revealed to media outlets to be the mystery daughter of billionaire businessman Andrew Underwood, who had been absent from her life until now. Underwood’s publicity team deems Josie’s fractured relationship with her father and her broken engagements a PR nightmare as he announces his retirement and begins to write a tell-all memoir.

After a misunderstanding with Underwood’s PR strategist regarding a ring on her finger, Josie panics and claims that Matthew, Adalyn’s best friend who recently returned to NC, is her fiancé. He goes along with it in the moment, and soon enough, the lie has taken on a life of its own, spreading across the town and the internet.

💭My thoughts: Elena Armas is known for her quirky and endearing characters, who often find themselves in improbable situations. While some readers may find it hard to get into her books at first because of this, the quality of her writing and the charm of her characters will win you over and get you hooked. This absolutely delightful rom-com includes a fake engagement, second chances, and the slowest of slow burns that will have you cheering when Josie and Matthew finally (FINALLY) get together. And let me just say, Matthew is wholesome + hot AF - a total swoon-worthy dreamboat 😍

I wish we had more context around why Josie’s previous relationships fizzled + more depth to her feelings about her father. At the start, I was a bit frustrated by her antics, but as the story progressed + we gained insight into her thoughts and history, I became a huge fan + was fully rooting for her by the end.

Overall, this is a funny, tender, hot, feel-good read!! Perfect for the beach or poolside ☀️🫶🏼

Check it out on July 30th!! Thanks @netgalley for the e-arc 🥰