hey Google, play The Bolter by Taylor Swift.
"... Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless
Excellent fun 'til you get to know her
Then she runs like it's a race
Behind her back, her best mates laughed
And they nicknamed her "The Bolter" ..."
That's literally describes the FMC.

Even though The Bolter is my favorite song from TS, sadly I hated this book. i have no problem with The Bolter girls, it's the plot that i have problem with.

A small-town girl named Josie was recently discovered to be a product of infidelity of her super famous father, and suddenly became a threat to that old man's reputation. because growing up without a father figure made her have a concerning relationship track records: running away from her fiance. on their supposed wedding day. not once, but 4 times. see, so far i have no problem with it.

but then bad decision after bad decision after bad decision etc happened, i don't even want to recount the events. too keep it short: the couple's initial situation doesn't make sense at all. look me straight in the eye and tell me that's actually possible. bet you can't.

this Josie gave me so much secondhand embarrassment. she reminded me of Lorelai Gilmore but worse. i couldn't feel the slightest bit of sympathy for her beside the fact that this girl who had never met this rich father should do damage control for the sake of his reputation. that annoyed me.

because of the awful start, i didn't really care about what happened to the plot afterwards. i kept reading solely because of Grandpa Moe. he's this book's MVP.

in conclusion i didn't have a great time reading this and i'll never touch Elena Armas books again.

3.75 ⭐️

This was a cute read. Josie is a 4-time runaway bride and a PR nightmare for her estranged, very rich father. To fix it, she enlists the help of Matthew to play groom number 5.

Josie got a little annoying throughout the book. She was doubting herself and her decisions way too much, ignoring all the signs that Matthew was in love with her (and vice versa), and tried too hard to be perfect. But I was glad when she finally stood up for herself.

Matthew was so sweet and honest and was the first man to get Josie out of her own head. Also, he was very growly and in control when it mattered. And I loved his big f*ck you before the HEA, it was perfect.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to like this. But I just couldn’t. I could not with the insta-fiancé storyline and just all the craziness of this. It was not for me, but there were some seriously funny parts.

I definitely didn’t like the FMC Josie because she seemed like such a pushover throughout the entire novel 🤷‍♀️

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the arc of "The Fiance Dilemma" by Elena Armas.

The book was a very enjoyable and quick read, however I did not connect with the FMC as I thought she was a bit childish. The book was not as slow burn as her other books which I didn't mind. There were some spicy scenes that were really well written as well. I love the fake dating/fake fiancé trope and I liked the plot a lot as it was quick paced and fun to read.

I really wanted to like this, the synopsis sounded SO fun, but ultimately, I just couldn't get into it. My biggest gripe was with the main character- I just found her super annoying and immature, to the point where I couldn't focus or get into the rest of the book.

A faster burn for super slow burn Elena! Josie and Matthew were a fun, steamy couple to follow, but unfortunately the quicker burn left me feeling a little less connected to these characters than I typically do to Elena’s leads.

A fun concept, and a quick easy read that I always love from this author. Not my favorite of her novels, but still fun and one I would recommend!

This concept was fun, but I did not care for the main characters. There was a lack of maturity from the female lead that I could not overlook through out the book.

THE FIANCEE DILLEMA

4⭐

PLOT
Jodie Moore has 4 failed engagements . Her absentee father is now back in her life but her past so not exactly good for his image and she jumps at a chance of fake marriage which will help boost the image. Enter Matthew Flanagan her step sisters best friend who gets embroiled in this fake engagement drama but bring together lines blur and everyone starts believing that Josies 5th fiance is actually The One.

MY THOUGHTS
A delightful fake dating forced proximity troupe. Both Josie and Mathew were adorable and their chemistry was though slow burn fun to read.
A light and quick fun read.

This book had it quirks. It was a great light hearted rom com in between books but that was about it. There were times it had me laughing a bit and swooning a bit but I did find it hard to want to finish it. Usually I can't put a book down and this was eh. I didn't get that desire of wanting to finish it in one sitting. It defintely was slow burn but like the slowest sloth burn and eventually I did get a bit bored.

I did like the fake dating, even if it was a tad bit extreme. Matthew being so charmingly sweet and perfect through the whole thing was perfect. Besdies that it was a quick simple read.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!

3.5 stars

I liked the previous book was dual POV. This one’s not and I wish it was.

I’ve obviously read fake dating before, but I could not get into this. Maybe because you know she’s just going to keep getting burned, the dad is an asshole, her now fiancée is a stranger she’s forcing into this, and this publicist is heartless. It’s not endearing, it’s really sad.

Favorite lines:
That dedication - sobbing! “To my readers (yes, you. Hi babe). Your expectations are not impossibly high. Never let anyone make you believe you’re asking for too much.”

“We handle shit together. I don’t care if you can do it on your own. You shouldn’t have to.” - I’ve only ever been alone and had to handle myself. I don’t even know what this would feel like.

“What makes you sad?” “Saying goodbye. Throwing away leftover cake. Lonely people. Broken things shoved aside.” - yep to all of these

It took me awhile to get into this one, felt a little too cutesy for a bit, but all of a sudden I was devouring it and wanted more.

I am absolutely an Elena Armas fan! The Fiancé Dilemma yet another irresistible romcom that just hit the right spot the same way The Spanish Love Deception did.

Small Town Romance ✔
Fake Dating ✔
Sister's Best Friend ✔

Elena Armas delivers yet another showstopper with The Fiance Dilemma. Matthew is the quintessential book boyfriend for any contemporary romance fan, and Josie embodies the charm of a small-town girl searching (or not!) for her Mr. Right. While the first half of the book takes its time building momentum, the final third more than makes up for it.

Thanks to NeGalley and the publisher.

I absolutely love books by this author. Funnily enough I haven’t read her first but every single one after and I loved them all.
This one was so much fun and I couldn’t put it down!!
Can‘t wait to read more by her

Plot: Josie is her famous father's recently revealed secret baby and she has four previous engagements. For romance reasons, the press are very into examining Josie's past which leads to her fake engagement to Matthew, her half-sister's best friend. Many hijinks ensue.

What I Loved: There's something about the way Arias has created this small town that is just so cozy and comforting to me. I also loved the way the sexual tension in this book simmers. It's a slow burn on that aspect and even the way the two go back and forth with the is it real/is it not was appealing to me.

Who Would I Recommend this to?: You have to be okay with a lack of logic, ready to ride for and with Josie and Matthew as the situations they're in become more and more silly. If you loved the town aspects of the last book, I do think this book is a great choice for you. And I, personally, loved it.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒎𝒂 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 (𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐞). 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰’𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 *𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐟’𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬,* 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬! 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞.

𝐈𝐧 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒎𝒂, 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞—𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰-𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚 𝐏𝐑 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐰.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒶 𝒜𝓇𝓂𝒶𝓈, 𝒜𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒶 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I really enjoyed this book. It was super cute. Fake dating is always fun. I am going to have to go read more from Elena Adams now.

Faking dating/ fake fiance is one of my favorite tropes and Elana Armas did this one well. I really enjoyed reading Matthew and Josie's story. It was cute and their chemistry was so fun. I loved so many of Matthew's characteristics. He was a perfect book boyfriend and perfect for Josie.

I can't wait to read more books by Elena Armas.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was fortunate to receive an advance readers copy of this book, I really enjoy Elena Armas books, they’re so light and quick enjoyable reads. This one was funny, I actually found myself laughing out loud at times. While a very slooowwww burn, the relationship build was cute and man did Matthew have it bad for Josie. I’d say 3.5 rounded up, definitely worth the read. Thank you to the publisher @atriabooks and Simon & Schuster for letting me escape to green oak.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for an eletronic ARC of "The Fiance Dilemma" by Elena Armas, out now!

I love a good fake dating, or in this case fake fiance story and this one did not disappoint. I have enjoyed all of Elena Armas' books and this one was just as amazing as the others I have read by her.

Definitely recommend reading this book if you liked her other books, enjoy romance books and/or love the fake dating trope!