Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC of The Fiancé Dilemma!

The Fiancé Dilemma is the sequel to The Long Game (TLG) and it features Josie, the beloved mayor of Green Oak, and Matthew, best friend of Adalyn (the MC of TLG). Josie's plan to welcome Adalyn's friend to town don't go to plan as she accidentally reveals him as her fifth fiancé, despite never having met him in person. Matthew goes along with her "proposal" as he is a nice guy and she doesn't seem to have any other choice.

I enjoyed this one a lot more than I enjoyed TLG. At the beginning Josie is almost too ridiculous to be believable but her character does even out as the book goes on. I remember Matthew being funnier in TLG whereas in this book he is mostly just a generic love interest whose only purpose is to love Josie. He has no job and his family doesn't get brough in until the end of the book. His only two friends are the MCs from TLG and they are not in this book that often. The quaint town setting and humorous situations made this book really engaging. I wish Matthew would have had more personality because there was some witty banter. Overall I enjoyed it but it did have some faults.

The Fiancé Dilemma is an interconnected standalone in The Long Game universe.

💜 fake engagement
💜 engagement of convenience
💜 best friend’s sister
💜 small town romance
💜 slowwwww burn
💜 spicy

This was a slowwww burn indeed, but Josie and Matthew’s relationship made it worth it. I loved Josie and her realness, her anxieties and inner thoughts made her so relatable and likable.

I hated how Andrew controlled his daughters’ lives so easily, and how Josie became a pawn in his games, however much he says he wasn’t aware. It just felt so strange and over the top, and I can’t believe Josie actually went so far with the fake wedding just to appease someone she barely knows.

There are several peeks into Adalyn and Cam from The Long Game as well. I loved seeing Adalyn and Josie together, and was so happy for Adalyn and Cam.

Overall super cute and made me want to keep reading, and loved Matthew and Josie.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so beautifully written, it's a pleasure to see how much Armas has developed since TSLD .

Josie and Matthew embark and an epic fake engagement - Matthew having already been half in love with her after the disastrous meet cute and Josie slowly allowing herself to fall in love with him. Armas writes MMC like no one's business, and Matthew was no exception. He loves, protects and is so loyal, he doesn't look to change Josie - he meets her where she is and loves all of her.

📚 Read if you like: fake dating/engagement, small town romance, contemporary romance, spicy books, banter

All in all, I thought this was a very cute fake dating romance with fun spice and plenty of meddling from the small town! There’s plenty of that Elena Armas laugh out loud banter. I adored Matthew and thought he and Josie were good together.

That said, it felt like internal monologuing more than plot a lot of times. It also feels like the author just forgot to include some scenes. There’d be a build up of we’re going to the place or event but then the chapter would just end and then the next one would start later in the story, just skipping over plot and events.

I still enjoyed the read and do plan on reading more Elena Armas in the future! Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks @simonandschuster for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! The Fiancé Dilemma will be out tomorrow: July 30!

When I originally asked for this book, I did not realize it was part of a series that had already been established. So I read this book without reading the first book in the series. I honestly was a little bit thrown at the beginning but quickly fell in love with the characters and their story development. It was definitely a slow burn with some really good spice towards the end but overall I enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading the first book in the series after this!

I delighted in main characters, Josie and Matthew, and their love story and individual journeys throughout the book. Matthew is Elena's most "swoony" leading man and I greatly enjoyed his patience, his confidence, and his blunt nature. Josie was a total sweetheart and it's easy to see why Matthew was head over heels for her...and why she had four previous (albeit failed) engagements in her past.

I did not particularly enjoy the setting or overall storyline of this book and it did take me a long while to get into the story and resonate with the main characters. Once I did, I really enjoyed Josie and Matthew <3 I also found the humor in this story just wasn't hitting for me, but I don't doubt that not being the case for all readers.

Matthew and Josie are each working through the lies (or omissions) we tell those closest to us to spare them from what we believe to be our shortcomings and that was extremely wholesome and relatable. I love that they wanted to protect each other, but ultimately didn't try to fix each other.

Loves:
- Josie's big heart and her resilience! She's stronger than many people give her credit for. People really do mistake kindness for weakness and Josie is anything but weak <3
- The flirty banter between Josie and Matthew :') So good!!
- Matthew is intuitive, even early on, in identifying what Josie needs. He doesn't hesitate to step into a conversation to protect her when she's uncomfortable, but committed to being kind. Also, he is a dirty talker and he is good. at. it!
- The sweetness of the story - the nicknames, the protective nature they feel towards each other, the small town setting, soul mates, etc.

Quotes:
- "You're memorable enough already. You don't need to resort to violence."
- "Maybe I would help any stranger. But it's you I'm going this far for. Josie."
- "Perfection is subjective."
- "It was his dream to get married in a place like that." "His dream should have been getting married to you."
- "I don't care about firsts when I have you."
- "You have a life. You don't have a reputation. You have a heart that chose to believe in love. A beautiful mind that singled out every bad or ugly thing that came at you and stayed hopeful."
- "More of you that's just for me."
- "I deserve a reward. Even if small. Preferably from you. Ideas?"

This was a sweet and fun read!

I really enjoyed this, though it did take me some time to get into it at the beginning. I had a hard time relating to Josie but she eventually grew on me.

Matthew was adorable! I loved his humor and how he was obviously such a goner for Josie very early on. He also had a bit of a mouth on him, loved it!

Also, I loved every single glimpse of Adalyn and Cam, all loved up and happy!

Grandpa Moe was another great character, but I almost felt like the rest of the town kind of disappears into the background, no one else was particularly memorable.

Overall, this was a cute read and I definitely recommend if you read and enjoyed The Long Game (Adalyn's book)!

ELENA FREAKING ARMAS! She killed it with this one. I have loved all her other book and this was no excpetion!

Overall I'd definitely read this book again and I would recommend this book for fans of other romance books.I have received this ARC for an honest review, all thoughts/ opinions above are my own.

The Long Game #2, The Fiance Dilemma, is a truly swoon-worthy love story featuring Irish heart throb, Matthew Flanagan. This man makes the story, you'll be obsessed with his ability to make a women feel special. He's mastered the insight into a ladies heart. Armas has written the perfect man.

Josie, anxiety ridden, coffee shop owner and Mayor, meets man that gives her the room to shine. Matthew, along with his glasses, leaves her breathless at the sight him. Secretly he's obsessed over her, knowing one day she'd be his wife.

I'm throughly addicted to this series, this small town and its characters. This couples dynamics rival those from the first novel. Back-to-back five stars for the books in this seres.

Thank you Atria for the free ebook.

This authors just isn’t for me, and I have to accept that. I keep trying her books but they’re either bad, boring or annoying. It’s totally a me thing and I need to stop requesting them!!

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.,

When I was approved for this book I was excited. I immediately got the first book and just ate that one right up. It was so good and the characters were great. Then I started this book and was like um did two different authors write this. Josie was soooo cringe at the beginning. To be honest I am rating it 3.5 stars rounded down because I did not feel her character was written at all like her character was in the first book. It was like she was completely different person. She finally became the Josie from the first book like 50% of the way through but for half the book to be just weird was well weird. Matthew was amazing. Now the writing......I felt like paragraphs and chapters were missing. I would literally page back to make sure I didn't accidently skip a page or something. Like when her sister is all upset all of a sudden its days later and you don't get any information on that until chapters later. There was no segway. That being said this was the first Elena book I didn't love so I will continue to read her though.

Such a cute romantic story!

I really enjoyed this one! I liked this one more than book 1 for sure. Matthew was my favorite of the whole book by far. He is so sweet, such a gentleman and so caring. He’s also goofy, funny, loving and very steamy book boyfriend. I really liked the aspect of fake marriage and how it brought them closer together.

Even though this story has been done tons of times, this one left me feeling happy and I would recommend this!

Thank you Atria for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

The Josie depicted in The Long Game and the Josie depicted in The Fiance Dilemma are not the same character which I found to be so disappointing. I was really looking forward to a strong female main character. Instead I got a character that is an absolute mess that doesn't stand up for herself. Personally, I am tired of reading romances that feature women like this. Can women not be put together?

Unfortunately, The Fiance Dilemma is a DNF for me.

Thank you the Netgalley and Atria for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Here are my quick thoughts:

Maybe it’s my cold dead heart, but this was just a lot of cheesy rom com nonsense. And I usually love cheesy rom com nonsense. I had such high hopes for this because I love Runaway Bride and this is basically Runaway Bride. Problem is, it’s not nearly as good as Runaway Bride.

I think my main issue is that all the character development happens in the first book (The Long Game). There is an author’s note at the beginning of this one that claims you don’t need to read that to enjoy this installment. That is a blatant lie. Without knowing what happened in book one, these characters are woefully lacking in personality, development, and context. It’s all fluff.

Also the stakes here are not high. At no point does it feel anything is at risk. There are so many missed opportunities with the dad plot line and all the fiancés, and then none of them go anywhere (only one fiancé even really appears and he does nothing but evilly smirk). The plot is underdeveloped and it makes it hard to root for them to wind up together.

Anyway, I didn’t love this. I’m not sure that I’ll be continuing if there are any more books in this series.

Book was beautiful written. Though Josie never knew her father until a year ago she is suddenly thrown into the middle of a PR crisis to ensure her father‘s name remains intact and through this PR crisis Josie is in the middle of it due to her being engaged four previous times, so comes to dilemma when she is caught with a ring And says that Matthew Adalyn‘s best Friend from the long Game is her current fiancé The book was beautiful and really showed the strength and resilience Josie had throughout her life with losing her mother young and never having a father. Matthew was a great book boyfriend and I think everyone should pick up this book and give it a read.

I love Elena Armas but this book was a bit of a miss for me! I loved the long game so much so I thought this would be just as much of a hit. Although I enjoyed the story, I couldn’t connect to the characters or their reasoning for doing things. I also really think this book could have been worlds better if it was dual pov. I feel like I NEEDED the MMCs thoughts

I really enjoyed this book! I’m so grateful to Elena, Atria Books, and NetGalley for getting it. I thought the cast of characters was entertaining and the book had its funny, lighthearted moments. I loved the small town romance vibes and I can’t help but think of Gilmore Girls when I watch or read anything set in a small town and this town did not disappoint! Josie and Matthew were enjoyable characters and I loved reading their love story! Overall, the book was fun and I’m glad I got the chance to read it!

This book is the second book in The Long Game series by Elena. I hadn’t read The Long Game when I started The Fiancé Dilemma but I believe they can be read as interconnected stanalones. At the beginning I kind of wished I had read The Long Game just to understand some character references but overall it wasn’t necessary to have read.
I love Green Oak! It’s giving Stars Hollow to me with all the slightly nosey but still loveable townspeople
I have three words: Matthew Freaking Flanagan!! 😍 I love this man! He is so sweet and comforts Josie in small ways throughout the book as they go through their fake engagement period. He doesn’t hesitate to help her out when she needs him to be engaged to her. Plus he wears glasses, is a cinnamon roll, but will defend Josie in a heartbeat if anyone upsets her
I loved that Matthew gave Josie a Claddagh ring!! It was his grandma’s ring and I love the choice of something different that could also tie in Matthew’s family
The ease with which he called her sweetheart 🥹 it was everything! The nickname changes later in the book, but i’ll leave that for you all to discover if you decide to read it.
At the beginning of the book I did have a small issue with some of Josie’s phrases and some of them just didn’t read to me how an adult would speak, but the more I read the more I loved her and got used to her quirkiness
There was no third act breakup and I’m so happy that Elena spared us from it!!

<4.5* rounded up>

Elena Armas can write a medical synopsis, and I would read it, let's be honest. When I was approved to read this book, I was OVER THE MOON, and told everyone (including my mom). It didn't let me down, necessarily, but I would be lying if I said it gave me the same feels as her books previously did.

Josie as a FMC was a bit...annoying. I completely understand that she had issues with commitment, especially after growing up not knowing who her Dad was, and having her mom die. These are legit reasons to be scared of falling in love...but they are not reasons that should have become your entire personality. The first half of the book felt like all we kept hearing about were Josie's commitment issues which made the first part of the book seem never-ending. It was heartening, however, to see her come into her own towards the last 25% of the book.

Matthew as an MMC...yes. Just..yes. He is DOWN BAD for Josie, and I am down bad for the way that he loves her. That man is swoon-worthy, and all other men should take copious notes.

My only other complaint is I wish we had gotten an epilogue or just a little more of an ending, but I'm not mad about it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Elena for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved The Spanish Love Deception. However, the rest of Elena Arams' books have been misses for me. I had high hopes for this one since it had a lot of my favorite tropes. I could tell by about chapter 4 this was not going to be for me. It was just so poorly written and the characters were annoying. I had hoped the story could redeem it but there was already too much damage done. Now I'm just mad I finished it instead of moving on.

This was a fun follow up to "The Long Shot". I loved Josie and Matthew in that book and Matthew is swoony in this one. I think Elena Armas' other books were better than this one, but it was a fun summer read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.