I have most of the book from this author and have enjoyed them but it just wasn't the case for this book.
The storyline overall just didn't keep my attention & was very slow. This story being Josie's "happily ever after" on attempt number 5 feels tired.
DNF at 47%
Thanks to Netgalley & Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Fiancé Dilemma is my favorite Elena Armas book. She writes such captivating and addicting books. I loved following Matthew and Josie and their love story. I'm a sucker for fake dating/marriage of convenience. So I knew going in I would absolutely devour this book, and Elena did not disappoint. I loved Matthew's funny and flirty character and I loved how much he genuinely cared about Josie from page one. I loved Josie's character and I loved that despite her failed engagements, she continued to be a hopeless romantic. I really loved this one and all that Matthew and Josie gave us throughout the book.

I was unable to finish this book. I could not get past the absolute chaos that was the main female character. While I have loved this author before, this book was not for me at this time.

I will not be posting any reviews as I don't believe I am qualified as I did not finish the book.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I want to thank Netgalley, Elena Armas and Atria Books for this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity!

This book, however, fell a bit flat for me. From the beginning the romance felt forced (I mean, obviously it was, I understand that) but even the "funny" moments were over the top and came across trying to hard to actually be funny. I have not read the previous book where we first get introduced to these two characters but I really just didn't vibe with them. Their odd first meeting was all I could think about throughout the book and because of that I just couldn't get into it.

I will say, I enjoy the writing style of Elena Armas! It is engaging and flows well and I don't get tripped up while reading and that is a big plus for me. I want to fall easily into book I am reading and I was able to do that with the Fiance Dilemma.

Thank you again for the opportunity!

Josie Moore can easily be described as always a bride but never a wife. She has been engaged 4 times, and has never made it to the actually married part. Her estranged father has just announced his retirement and it brings her under scrutiny of the media and gossip hounds. She is the definition of a PR nightmare and her father hires someone to fix it.

Matthew Flanagan finds himself without a job, and in need of a break so he goes to stay in his bestfriends cabin in small town NC. His car gets stuck, his phone dies and he finds himself on the driveway of Josie's house where he gets roped into faking an engagement with Josie.

It starts out as just a misunderstanding, but Josie really wants to make her father proud and help him in anyway, so she convinces Matthew to go along with it for a bit, and promises they won't actually get married. Lines blur really fast even with rules in place and maybe what started out as a PR ploy, might turn into the real thing.

The banter in this one was *chefs kiss*, all the pet names, the sarcasm, the witt, it was all perfection. Matthew was such a swoon worthy love interest. The small town setting was perfect, it allowed for all this gossip, and for everyone to be involved in their relationship that lead to so many good moments. The romance and chemistry was there and so believable. It was really just a fun time and I enjoyed it from start to finish. The only thing I would have liked would have been more from Matthew's perspective. I would have loved to just read about Matthew hardcore simping.

27 Dresses, but make it a bride instead.

Always a bride never a wife, at least that's how Josie is feeling. Now that she is publicly known as Andrew Underwood's daughter, her life has become a huge spotlight, not to mention her previous love life.

Matthew... ugh Matthew... Man he is one heck of a guy in this book.

A complicated fake dating/fiancé slow burn, that will have you anxiously waiting to see what happens next.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for my DRC.

The Fiancé Dilemma ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book!! It made me laugh out loud, tear up, and swoon. I am so excited that I received this ARC and am so obsessed with this book, and Matthew. 🥵 There is also a pig 🐷 named Pedro Pigscal and he’s my favorite. Need I say more? It’s out today and you should immediately drive to your nearest indie bookstore and pick up a copy.

For those who like:

💍 Fake engagement
🥧 He bakes for her
😊 Good girl
👯‍♀️Sister’s best friend
💁🏻‍♀️ Independent woman
🏠 Small town charm

. It pains me more than you think to not have loved this one. I’ve been such a huge fan of all of Elena’s books and last summer I even received an ARC of The Long Game and lost my mind/cried my eyes out. But sadly, this one didn’t do it for me.

I felt like right off the bat, we were going to have a bad run when this book wasn’t dual POV. In The Long Game we had so much delicious tension and character development by seeing both Adalyn & Cameron’s sides. I was really looking forward to getting inside Matthew’s head but we never got the chance to. It felt off because we know nothing about him other than he is a fan of Cameron’s and is Adalyns best friend. Now he’s a main character and we get very little flushed out about his past, his family, or his reasoning for going along with Josie’s fake engagement scheme.

I also felt like Josie was a completely different person in this book compared to who she was in book 1. In book 1 she was stubborn, strong, super quirky and just a loyal friend. For her to become someone who doesn’t tell Adalyn & Cam why she’s suddenly engaged to Matthew and going along with this situation for her fathers imagine (she doesn’t even know this man and owes him literally nothing) felt so bizarre! Why are you cowering!? Why are you going along with this stupid situation to appease her dad/make a man who doesn’t even try to know you look better in the media??? It just didn’t add up for me.

There was so many cute moments for sure but I just didn’t feel like this was as thought out as book 1 and honestly felt so unresolved even when it ended.

I enjoyed the humor in this book, but that's about it. It was an average read for me. I wasn't a fan of the romance. It felt forced and a little to easy for my liking.

Elena Armas has done a great job building a world in Green Oak. Tropes galore in this one, fake engagement, slow burn, forced proximity. Armas remains queen of the slow burn!

Josie Moore has given love a lot of chances = four to be exact. When her influential, absentee father decides to announce his retirement and his PR agent finds that Josie's four failed engagements are bad press for the family, Josie quickly offers a solution - a fake engagement with Matthew Flanagan. As Josie's sister's best friend, Matthew plays along as the doting fiancee but lines begin to blur and maybe there is a happily ever after for Josie.

Rating 4/5 ⭐️s - Josie is funny and over top. Her antics had me puzzled and laughing. Matthew, on the otherhand, contrasts Josie quite well and he adds an unexpected amount of steam and spice to the story. This is a lighthearted and funny read and I'm interested to read more of Elena Armas work.

Spice Rating 4/5 🌶️s - Multiple steamy/spicy scenes. The language of the scenes isn't terribly explicit but the number and nature of the scenes pushes my spice rating up.

Thank you Elena Armas and NetGalley for this rom-com read that had me laughing and blushing. I enjoyed this book quite a bit.

Josie Moore, always a fiancée but never a bride, finds herself in the public spotlight when her estranged father, a successful businessman, becomes an issue that needs handling. To throw off the PR specialist assigned to her, Josie enlists the help of her half-sister’s best friend, Matthew Flanagan. They agree to fake an engagement, but as the town watches and feelings ignite, Josie faces pressure and personal struggles. Elena Armas weaves small-town charm, quirky characters, and a sensual yet sweet not-really-fake relationship in this delightful romance. Highly recommended! 📚💕

Josie needs a fiance. Matthew shows up just in time to play the part. Chaos ensues.

I really liked this story. The premise was fun, and the way Matthew is written has just the right amount of silliness to make him feel more relatable. Josie has baggage, and you can see her sorting through it as the book goes on.
Overall, it was an enjoyable summer read with just the right amount of spice!

The Fiancé Dilemma is the fourth novel from author Elena Armas. Josie Moore of Green Oak, NC, is a coffee shop owner, community organizer, and self appointed mayor. Until recently Josie had been unaware of her half-sister, Adalyn Underwood, and birth-father, multi-millionaire Andrew Underwood. These revelations have made the life story of a small town big hearted young woman front page news and gossip fodder. In an attempt to control the narrative, PR specialist Bobbi Shark has been dispatched to Green Oak to put a better foot forward, especially after a particularly vicious and viral attack has been made against Josie and her four canceled weddings. While it seems Josie has no qualms when it comes to engagements, she has no ability to actually walk down the aisle.


In a comedy of errors, Bobbi arrives unexpectedly as Josie has made a mess trying to get off one of her past engagement rings which is drenched in a mountain of goo. Simultaneously, Adalyn’s best friend Matthew Flanagan, after a series of his own disasters, appears bedraggled on Josie’s driveway, and just like that the narrative is that Josie and Matthew are on the crazy train to matrimony.

This is a lovely story with many twists and turns. While laugh out loud funny at times, there is also a more serious undertone making the story of Josie and Matthew one you don’t want to miss! I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

This has been my favourite Elena Armas book so far, but I think I have to accept that her writing style just isn't for me. I think if you're a fan of hers, you'll love this book - she just doesn't work for me unfortunately. It's absolutely a me issue - nothing terrible about the book, it just doesn't work for me, so your mileage may vary.

Overall I thought this read was fine, it wasn’t superb for me but it also wasn’t the worst thing. I love a good fake dating/engagement/marriage trope, so I ate that up real quick here. I liked that this story continues with characters from the long game, but didn’t feel like you had to have read that one to understand what was happening here.

I think my biggest frustration with this book was the father daughter relationship. I didn’t like how Josie felt like she needed to do everything to help her father’s image when he hadn’t been around. I just think the story could’ve started a different and more effective way without that. Instant love isn’t my favorite trope either and here it didn’t really make sense. One day Matthew is against the fake engagement idea, but the next he’s all of a sudden in love with her. There wasn’t any build up. For two people who didn’t really spend much time together, that connection and chemistry wasn’t solid enough for me.

At the end, I’m glad the story didn’t force them to get married and the characters got to choose their own timeline but the story was just a EH for me.

I enjoyed this book so much! I became a fan of Elena Armas after reading The :Spanish Love Deception but The Long Game is what made her an auto buy for me so I couldn’t wait for The Fiancé Dilemma.

Since we got to know Josie in The Long Game, it was easy to dive in and immediately be invested. Matthew is everything in this book, such a great golden retriever MMC, he’s sweet, protective and funny. I loved the banter and the nicknames!

I bought a physical copy as soon as it was released, it was that good!

Cute but moved too fast. I like a little more time of the characters getting to know each other before falling in love. I would have found it more believable if the two had more of a background with each other. Fun and easy read. Good for the summer.

Following The Long Game, this story shifts focus to Josie, Adalyn’s sister. Josie is grappling with the shock of her father's identity when she discovers that her history as a serial runaway bride is tarnishing the family reputation.

Desperate to avoid further disappointment, Josie devises a scheme involving a fake engagement to her sister's exceptionally hot best friend. Her plan is to deflect attention from her, expecting the scandal to blow over quickly. She’s not THAT interesting, surely.

Enter Matthew, Adalyn’s recently unemployed best friend who inadvertently becomes Josie's saviour (even if at first he didn’t recognize her!). His presence serves as a perfect distraction from the mounting gossip and family drama.

As the wedding date draws near, Josie and Matthew find themselves getting deeper entangled in a web of deception, with only four weeks to unravel their charade before things spiral out of control.

This slow-burn romance offers a feel-good read that’s bound to leave readers smiling. Fans of Elena Almas will find much to enjoy here.

A Billie spinoff would be an amazing addition!

Almost rated this a 5⭐️ but some of the 🌶️ scenes had me rolling my eyes with how unlikely they are.

The Fiance Dilemma (The Long Game Book 2)
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Beautiful things shouldn't be boxed. It eventually dims their light."

"Go on Baby Blue. It's me you're running to."

.....................................................

As my first Elena Armas book, I couldn't be more pleasantly surprised. I love a good fake engagement/engagement of convenience story, and this really hit the mark for me. While the plots of this trope are usually quite similar, I felt that Armas found a way to make this one orginal. Losely based off of Runaway Bride, it gave off late 90's/00's rom-coms in the best way.

I loved the female main character, Josie. She was cute, quirky, and so fun! Obviously enduring various losses has left its mark on her, but I loved her development and growth over the course of the novel. She is resilience and defiance.

Matthew, the male MC, is now one of my new favorites! He was so loyal and reliable, but also protective and possessive. Let me just say, this man brought the flirting and dirty talk to a new level. I appreciated his approach, his smoothness and not-so-in your face style, but definitely blunt enough that Josie and the audience still got the point (IFYKYK). AND who knew wearing glasses could be a thing🔥.

I really felt the tension between the main characters as their relationship grew and developed. And while the burn was slow, I found it appropriate for the plot. Though, once the burn started burning, I was here for it 😉

This was my first Elena Armas book, but it won't be my last!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book.

⚠️Warning⚠️
Language, low to medium spice, adult content, parent abandonment, death of a parent (off page)