MATTHEW 🥵🔥 I was so glad to come back to Green Oaks for this new book. I laughed and cried throughout this book. Absolutely loved the chemistry between Josie and Matthew. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC.

This book. I don’t think I could live two characters or story more. This book has everything: love, comedy, steamy scenes, great banter, and memorable characters. Do yourself a favor. Read. This. Book.

I have been a big fan of Elena Armas' previous books. The Spanish Love Deception is one of my favorite romances. However, this one just didn't do it for me. I feel like I was missing the sweetness in the romance. I felt nothing for Matthew as a character, and I didn't feel like I was rooting for Josie and Matthew to be together. Can't love 'em all!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars

I enjoyed this one overall, but I had a real problem with the beginning.

The inciting incident for this whole story really didn't sit well with me. There's no reason Josie should feel any sort of pressure to become a pawn to fix her father's (using that term loosely) PR issues. She has had almost 0 contact with him and doesn't really have any big feelings on him one way or another so why jump through all these hoops for a man you haven't even met in person?

And then Bobbi was an uber bitch. Josie was by no means a push over so I don't know why she didn't tell her to politely fuck off almost immediately. She didn't have a problem doing that with anyone else.

But if I could remove the beginning and just get the parts with Josie and Matthew navigating a fake engagement, I would have been much happier. I really liked both of them, though Josie's quirkiness took a little getting used to. And Matthew was 😍😍

Also loved the ending and how everything resolved. So I would still recommend but wish some parts would have been put together better.

I thought this one was cute but it was just like every other book I’ve read and nothing new. I liked the main character a lot and felt like there could have been so much more. I didn’t feel a connection at all with the male MMC. He was so bland and basic and had no backstory. I can’t keep reading about men who are sexy and perfect and have nothing wrong with them. It’s so annoying!

Firstly, the cover of this novel is truly captivating and sets a high standard for what lies within. From the outset, I was compelled to savor every moment of this literary journey. As my introduction to this author's work, I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of my enjoyment. The seamless interplay of banter, romance, and humor throughout the narrative was truly remarkable. In its entirety, this book is a testament to the beauty of storytelling. My sincere gratitude extends to NetGalley as well as Armas and her team for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another amazing rom-com from Elena Armas! This book takes place in the same universe as The Long Game, this time featuring Adalyn’s sister, Josie. Josie’s history as a literal runaway bride proves to be a PR nightmare for her estranged father so she and the MMC, Matthew, enter into a fake engagement in an attempt to ease the public’s perception. This story solidifies my opinion that Armas writes the BEST MMCs and is the master of the fake dating trope. The burn was a little too slow and the nicknames were on the cringy side, but overall this was a funny and sweet read!

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

Gosh. I could see where and what the author wanted to take this. I wanted to love it. The first half I truly did! How fun and sweet is Josie? How charming is Matthew? But then I feel like the second half of the book didn’t match up with anything in the first half. The spicy scenes were ok, but did they match the character of these people? I don’t know.
It seemed spotty in the plot and I felt disconnected the second half of the book.

I loved this book! I was hooked from the beginning and it was a struggle to put this book down.

I'm so happy we got Josie's story!

I absolutely loved Matthew and the way he was with Josie. The tension between them was to die for. They were so perfect for each other and calling them soulmates is so accurate. My heart hurt for Josie at times and I loved her more because of it.
I need a Matthew of my own now! He was so swoonworthy.
I felt all the feels reading this book and could definitely go for more of Matthew and Josie.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.9*

i throughly enjoyed this book. so so CUTE and SWEET! matthew and josie are perfect together 💜💍

*thank you netgalley and atria books for an ARC copy. all thoughts and opinions are my own :)

I love the worlds Elena Armas creates.

First in the duo of "The Spanish Love Experiment" and then "The American Roommate Experience" and now in "The Long Game" and "The Fiancé Dilemma."

She takes us to worlds where we meet quirky and engaging characters that we don't want to leave. She interweaves their stories and we invest in all of them.

Here we follow a character who had an integral role in The Long Game, and dive deeper into the town we fell in love with then.

"What starts as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement, with Matthew playing the role of the doting fiancé as he and Josie are swept into a PR whirlwind. The ring on Josie’s finger makes her stomach turn, but she knows this is only temporary. They have rules in place, and one of them is that no matter what, there will be no exchange of “I dos.” But that’s easier said than done, as lines soon start to blur, and the rest of the small town comes to believe the fifth fiancé is truly The One."

Sure there's tropes of fake dating and forced proximity, but none of it feels like a trope when Armas is writing it. You feel every move and motivation the characters make.

I laughed and cried and thoroughly enjoyed this journey back to this small southern town.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜é 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐬

"𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭."

This book was so freaking good!

I made the mistake of reading this book before 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞. It didn’t take too much away from my reading experience but I definitely think I would recommend reading that book before this one. It’ll set up the characters and how they got together!

Matthew and Josie radiated chemistry from their first in person meeting. This book is filled with crazy townspeople, wild roosters, and a ton of laughs. There’s so much great humor that when something is revealed about one of Josie’s ex fiancés it really hits you right in the heart. Josie is just a woman trying to find her happy ending.

Matthew definitely fits the “man obsessed” trope. He was sucked into Josie’s orbit and had no intention of getting out of it! He helps Josie understand that there is absolutely nothing about herself that needs to be changed.

The spice was perfect. Matthew is a clean cut glasses wearing man that leans into the dirty talk!🔥🥵

"𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦?" 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱. "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘣 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴?"

The ending of this book was so dang refreshing! The author definitely didn’t take the route you would assume is a given and I loved that.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜é 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 releases on July 30, so you have plenty of time to go read 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 before it does! These are quirky books with swoon worthy men and women you can’t help but to love!

Thank you to 𝐀𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚 books for my early copy so that I could share this honest review!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
💍 𝘍𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵
☀️ 𝘎𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘔𝘊
🥵 𝘔𝘢𝘯 𝘖𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥
💋𝘏𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵
🔥 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯/𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 (2🌶️)

Josie is back, and she has a Fiance Dilemma. We are once again back in Green Oak with all of the remarkable community members that you know and love. This book is a little Runaway Bride, a little Three's Company, but an excellent fun light read.

I really wanted to like this book. I’m a big fan of Elena Armas’ first three and was excited for this one. However, I could not get into it. In the Long Game, Josie was the bubbly and friendly unofficial mayor and I felt like she was a big rambling, bumbling mess in this book. On Matthew’s side, I think his whole personality type was “horny”. Not much more to him. The sticking point for me was you really never got his motivation for going along with being Josie’s fiance. I found myself just asking “why” thru the whole book. Why is he doing this? Why is Josie doing this? Why do the podcasters care? Why is this the best solution the Shark has? The book got better in the last 1/3 when things started happening. This definitely has spicy open door scenes. For me, this is at best a library read.

Thank you Atria Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Not my favorite Elena Armas book, but still very cute and fun. I think I may be over the fake dating/fake engagement trope, though, because in all the ones I’ve read over the past few months (The Fiancé Dilemma sadly included), I haven’t been able to find a new or fresh twist on it. No, the saving-father-from-PR-dilemma is not new and different enough to change my mind about the trope. In fact, I kind of knew I wouldn’t be a fan of this part of the plot because I didn’t enjoy the “PR problem” from The Long Game. This just kind of felt recycled and the easy way out for there to be conflict in the sequel. That all being said, I think Armas is a master of the slow burn, and I was kicking my feet in anticipation for Josie and Matthew to finalllllyyyyyy act on their growing feelings. Matthew was a very well written MMC — Armas excels at MMCs who know how to treat a woman, and Matthew is no exception. I would recommend this book for someone who likes fake dating more than I do.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for this ARC! All opinions below are my own.

I was so excited to receive this ARC from Elena Armas, having read all her past books! I thoroughly enjoyed Spanish Love Deception, but felt less strongly about her sports book, The Long Game -- Cam, for whatever reason, was grumpy, but didn't have much of a personality to me.

The Fiance Dilemma resolves around Josie Moore, our favorite bubbly mayor, who discovered at the end of the last book that she was actually a secret daughter of a multimillionaire real estate developer. This book is all about her faking a marriage to bend over backwards and help her father improve his image -- and I have to say, stupidly enough, this marriage of convenience felt way more realistic than our usual "its in the contract for me to inherit!"

Josie was a thoroughly fun character to follow, and was already a favorite of mine -- I loved her sunshine-y ness, and the ways in which she bent over backward to make everyone else happy. Matthew, on the other hand, felt sorely lacking in his character development. I don't know why, but from the last book, I got the sense of a fun-loving rakeish player boy. This is not how this book presented him. Instead, it was uber clear from the start that Matthew was a die-hard romantic who already loved Josie despite never having really met her (or recognizing her!) because he felt like they were fated soulmates. He really just represented a trope - a trope that I love, in fairness - of the ideal boyfriend who was protective but also defensive and uplifting and classic "he fell first" and "he's pining within this marriage of convenience." This is a single-person POV, so we never really hear from his side until the very end, in which a podcast with his direct words are finally laid out. I appreciated that build up of tension, since I really did want to hear his side by the end, even though it didn't have that dramatic oomph factor. I also appreciated the little podcast clips throughout. Rather than being clearly evil antagonistic podcast speakers, Elena did a 10/10 job of having commentary on the way in which podcasters can "say" all the right things like, I'm all in support of girls, etc. etc. and still showing why it was problematic. That surface level ally-ship was well done in a romantic comedy that wasn't about it at all!

Overall, a book that I devoured over two sittings with decent spice and a HEA. If you are in need of a salve for problematic men, this is your book - just don't expect to get any complex character representation from Matthew. Giving this a solid 4 stars with a 2.5 chili pepper for spice!

This book was swoony and engrossing, which I definitely expect of all Elena Armas books at this point!
I loved Josie and Matthew. Their chemistry was so sweet and 🔥 🔥🔥

If I could make any criticism I would say that I wished there would have been more of a prelude to Matthew and Josie jumping into their fake engagement. It all happened so quickly and it had been quite awhile since I read the last book so it was a bit confusing for awhile.

Also this book would have benefitted so strongly from having dual POVs. it would have cleared up so much confusion and it would have contributed to the angst rather than almost feeling like “insta love” in some parts which honestly is my least favorite trope.
All that to say I really enjoyed this book and Elena Armas is still an auto buy for me! :)

As a fan of Elena Armas’ other books, this book lived up to the hype and storytelling that was set up in The Long Game. I loved the small town romance, fake fiancé, and obsessed mmc tropes that made this book so fun to read. Genuinely made me tear up from happiness at the end, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Another winner by Elena Armas! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this fun, romantic, and charming book!
I loved the small town charm and characters of Green Oak, North Carolina, from the book The Long Game, so it was wonderful to visit this world again. The book centers on Josie, Adalyn's sister. After some entertaining hijinks Josie ends up asking Adalyn's best friend Matthew to pretend to be in a relationship and engaged to her, in order to help with PR with their famous father. Matthew willingly agrees and the two start a pretend engagement that leads to a real romance.
The book had heart, humor, and depth. Fake relationships are one of my favorite tropes. The book was a great slow-burn that was entertaining and enjoyable. Elena Armas' books always bring me joy to read. She's an author I always can't wait to read and never disappoints! I highly recommend this touching and cozy book!

So this is book two in the Green Oak series with the focus now being on Josie and Matthew. I really enjoyed The Long Game, so I looked forward to reading this one. I hate to say that it was a bit of a letdown for me. I felt like the fake engagement was SO rushed. It started immediately after they met for the first time, and it just didn’t land with me. I also wished we could’ve had more scenes with Josie and Adalyn since we didn’t really get anything with them after they found out they were sisters in the previous book.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.