Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an early review copy.

This was a really fun, fast follow-up to "The Long Shot", where Matthew and Josie are introduced. I really enjoyed reading more about each character as we only got glimmers of the two in the previous book. Their relationship does rely on elements of insta-love, but I think Armas did a good job developing the two characters and their relationship.

This was a great follow up to The Long Game. I've been a fan of Elena's but Matthew and Josie were a favorite, and I enjoyed getting to see the continuing relationship between Josie and Adalyn. Grandpa Moe was also a great standout in this book. If you're a fan of Elena's can't go wrong.

3.5 stars

I loved the main characters in this story. He falls first, fake fiancé, small town and sister’s best friend all wrapped into one story. As a whole, I enjoyed this book more than the first one in the series. My favorite trope is fake dating, but this one just didn’t quite do it for me. The plot was a little too far fetched to be believable, so if that doesn’t bother you then this would be a great book for you! I enjoyed the spice!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

“Maybe nothing’s missing. Or maybe we don’t need to be whole to function, you know? Maybe we just need to learn to love who we are and let people around us love us for that, too.”

The Fiancé Dilemma is a cozy warm hug of a book. Josie, the beloved mayor of Green Oaks, owner of the local coffee shop, and all-around selfless ray of sunshine, is a runaway bride - she’s been engaged 4 times but has never said “I do.” When her multimillionaire father needs a PR makeover, Josie asks Matthew to pretend to be her fiancé - just long enough to make a good impression with the public. But as the charade goes on, the lines in their fake relationship start to blur. Josie deserves a forever love, and Matthew might be just the person to help her see that. This was a fun yet heartwarming read - and Matthew is a hall-of-fame book boyfriend! My all-time favorite “Where’s my fiancée” moment lives in this book!

Detailed review:
Characters:
I’ve never met a warm-and-fuzzy-er cast of characters! Josie is adorable, and I was really rooting for her and Matthew. I loved the cutesy side characters in the town, and even callous Sharkie grew on me (will she be getting a redemption book in the future? I hope so)! I appreciated how Matthew and Josie’s love grew organically (a delicious slow burn), and they supported each other in a beautiful way.

Plot:
Though the plot was slower paced, every scene felt vivid and real. The wedding looming at the end of the book kept me turning the pages. And I loved the way that Josie and Matthew resolved conflict (no miscommunication trope here)! Sometimes, though, it felt like the scenes ended prematurely - the action would cut off at the climax and the resolution was explained in the next chapter. It left me wanting more!

Writing Style:
This was fun and easy to read, and the chapters flowed quickly for me. I think Elena Armas and I have the same sense of humor - I really enjoyed the jokes sprinkled throughout the book. The dialogue and banter were exceptionally well-written - some of Matthew’s flirty comments had me blushing!

I had so much fun reading this sweet story. Thank you very much for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I read The Spanish Love Deception and The American Roommate Experiment and enjoyed those but unfortunately skipped The Long Game and think I would have enjoyed this more if I had read that first. This is fine as a standalone but, from reading other reviews, feel that I may have missed some of the depth to this story.

Other than that, I enjoyed the setup of the story but be warned that this is a very slow burn. If you are into small town romances with a fake engagement this would definitely be the summer read for you!

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books and Elena Armas for allowing me to read this ARC.

💍ARC Review time!💍
Title: The Fiance Dilemma
Author: Elena Armas
Release Date: July 30, 2024

My Rating: 3⭐️
Spice: 1.5🌶

This has been my first Elena Armas book, I know, so I was super excited to get the ARC! I will say that this book is funny and sweet. I loved Matthew and Josie's triumphant storyline and their sunny personalities.

That being said..... this wasn't my favourite read. I found myself deeply disliking every side characters. They were all nosy, selfish, and obnoxious, but Grandpa Mo gets a pass because he is my favourite. The story itself was so far fetched so I found that took me out of it a bit, even though I did enjoy it once it got going I couldn't imagine anyone being SUCH a pushover like Josie, to the degree that she was. I mean, none of this situation would've happened if she had just stood up for herself. I'm a people-pleasing pushover by nature but even I wouldn't have let things get this out of control.

But I loved Matthew's character and how his dynamic with Josie evolved as we read. And she did start to get a backbone..... eventually? The spice was definitely a slow burn.

The podcast was ridiculous and took my out of the book every. Single. Time. I HATED IT.

All in all, it wasn't terrible but not my cup of tea!

This book has some great humor in it and I really enjoyed her writing. My one issue was that it was a bit too much of a slow burn for me. I enjoyed reading it as I have for all of this authors books.

The Fiance Dilemma is Elena Armas's newest romance novel. I have enjoyed all her past books and this one is no different! It follows Josie who is the mayor of a small town who has recently learned the identity of her father. He is a successful businessman and is getting a lot of bad press for having a daughter hidden away in a small town. Matthew has been recently fired from his job and is visiting Josie's small town to get away. When a PR strategist shows up and believes Matthew to be Josie's fiance, a fake engagement ensues. Josie and Matthew have never met in person but they know each other through Josie's sister Adalyn. The characters had such good tension from the very beginning and I was eating it up. I loved that Matthew was such a nice guy. His words and his gestures were always so sweet. He helps Josie to not be so hard on herself for her past and look at her life in a better light. He also communicated so well and prevented a messy third-act breakup which I loved it since those typically annoy me. I also enjoyed the podcast element of the story since it added an outside media perspective of the events. I just wish we could have gotten to know Matthew more because we never learned much about him. Besides that, I loved this one!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I found this book to be engaging and the characters were well matched together personality-wise. The plot kept my attention and the romance made me swoon.

I usually love any book that Elena Armas writes, but this one put me into a bit of a reading slump. The beginning was super slow and the book only starts to pick up around halfway through the book. I ended up skim reading a lot of it and didn't feel like I missed much. The only part of the book that had me giggling and kicking my feet was whenever Matthew would call Josie "baby blues". It was so cute and heart-warming. I wish the rest of the book would have made me feel that way.
Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

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

This book was a letdown. I had high hopes since being a fan of other Elena Armas books but this one fell so flat for me.

It started off so chaotic with so much going on with little explanation or depth. I wanted to like Josie but despite trying to play her off as this strong, independent woman, she didn't show much backbone with her dad and his whole related PR disaster. Matthew and his feelings also seemed to go from 0 to 100 with little to no explanation. That was hard for me to buy into as well. Also, four prior failed engagements felt like way too many and unrealistic. Overall, Josie just felt very unrelatable and the story felt rushed, a bit too unorganized, and not fully thought out. This book definitely will make me hesitant to read more Elana Armas books in the future.

”This girl runs on men. On grooms. Her fiancés. She gets engaged and abandons the dudes AT THE ALTAR. On their wedding day.”

Josie has been engaged four times. And she’s left one man after another at the altar, four times. People call her a “serial runner,” and the number of people gossiping about her has grown exponentially, thanks to her newly-discovered celebrity father and the paparazzi surrounding him. Josie decides that the only way to get the tabloids off her back is to get engaged again—and to actually follow through on the wedding this time. Enter Matthew, her sister’s best friend, who is too nice to say no, and agrees to become Josie’s groom of convenience. What could go wrong?

”Perhaps to love was to leave a mark. And perhaps I no longer wanted to run from that.”

I loved the chemistry between Josie and Matthew, and the small town vibes of this story, but the plot itself and the book’s pacing didn’t really work for me. There was a lot that didn’t make sense or that felt rushed; I really had to suspend disbelief to accept everything that was happening. I think if I was reading this immediately after finishing The Long Game, back to back, I would have appreciated it more, because so much of Josie & Matthew’s character development and backstories happen in that book instead. I was playing catch-up for a while, trying to remember their personalities, because the author doesn’t really delve into that in this book.

I love Elena Armas and have really enjoyed past books of hers, so this feels like an it’s-not-you-it’s-me issue. Rounding up to 3 stars because of how much I wanted to like this.

——

A huge thank you to Elena Armas, Atria, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don't know; I just don't think this one was for me. I genuinely enjoyed the chemistry between the leads in The Long Game, and rooted for them. But I had very little connection to these characters.
This book had a slow start -- so slow that I struggled to get through the first 1/3 or so, but then enjoyed it a bit once things started picking up. And before you say, "slow burn," it was more than that -- the plot conflict just wasn't there?
As a person who is fairly neurotic, I don't usually mind a character's inner monologue. But I just didn't feel like I liked Josie. The character did not feel fully formed; compared to the MMC, Matthew, I wanted more. The chemistry also just wasn't there in any other areas except the spicy scenes.
But there were certain parts of the book I did truly enjoy, including the side characters. I love Grandpa Moe. And the reveal of WHY Matthew was so connected to her was lovely.
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

As a follow up to The Long Game (I recommend reading it first to better understand the family dynamics that are central to this story), we get to see Josie and her sister’s best friend Matthew enter into a fake engagement. It’s funny and heartfelt. I enjoyed this book very much. I was a bit let down by the end as it felt rushed, but I definitely recommend it for fans of Elena Armas’s other books!

The Fiance Dilemma is the second book in the Long Game series by Elena Armas. It follows Josie who is Madeline's sister from the first book and her best friend Matthew. Josie had no idea who her famous father, and all of a sudden all of her past has been brought up in the media. Including being engaged not once, but 4 times. When Matthew arrives at her house asking for help, Josie introduces him as her fake fiance.
While you don't need to read The Long Game to understand this book, I feel like you would be missing out if you didn't. I loved the movie Runaway Bride and this is definitely on the same lines (it's even mentioned in the book). Elena Armas never fails to deliver an enjoyable rom com so give this one a read!
Thank you to Atria, Elena Armas and NetGalley for my advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book publishes July 30, 2024

I’ll be honest Elena Armas is an author I like but have never loved, but I thought what the heck who doesn’t love a fake engagement, sisters best friend story? I was so right because I flew through this book and Matthew might have just entered the top book boyfriends group. All the pet names he gives (especially baby blue😍), he knows the difference between all her smiles, runs with the idea of her love of wildflowers and that catering taste test scene now lives rent free in my head thanks to him! She also needs someone that makes her happy, takes care of her, has that soulmate compatibility and just gets her and they are just that for each other. To make it all better the small town vibes, Adalyn being back in the picture and being such a big role in their love story and no third act break up! This is definitely one you should put on your TBR and although it’s not necessary I suggest reading The Long Game first! Thank you to Atria books and Netgallery for the eARC of this book, it comes out this Tuesday 7/30

The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
432 pages
Releasing July 30th, 2024

Josie hasn’t had just one failed engagements-she’s has 4…. She recently learns of her famous father & her life & her failed engagements become a PR nightmare. Matthew, Josie’s newfound sister’s bestfriend, arrives in Josie’s hometown & is instantly in need of help. He happens to stumble upon Josie’s house & as soon as he arrives, she’s announcing him as her fake fiancé… Oh what unfolds from here..

The Fiancé Dilemma is the second book in the Long Game series (not necessarily a prerequisite to read before, but characters from The Long Game are in this book). I love learning about Matthew & Josie who are present in The Long Game & to follow alongside their story & their fake engagement drama 🤪

Elena did an amazing job with the slow burn! The forced proximity of Matthew and Josie was AMAZING. Not too spicy compared to her other books. Overall, the romance in this book was well done. Matthew may just be one of my new fav book boyfriends! 🤪

Read if you like:
✨Small town romance
✨Fake fiancé
✨Second chance
✨Sister’s best friend
✨Slow burn


#elenaarmas #thefiancédillema #newreleases #romancetrope #smalltownromance #secondchance #sister’sbestfriend #slowburn

I LOVED the long game, so I was very excited for this one. However, I just couldn't get into it. Our FMC is letting everyone else dictate her life and just doing whatever she can to please others the whole book. Our MMC was impossible to understand because we didn't get his pov except the last chapter. I didn't understand why he was going along with the fake dating and it felt very forced.

This book was a little slow at the beginning, so it took some effort to really get into it. I ended up loving the characters, though. It was a little unbelievable at times, but it was a fun romance that made me want to finish Josie & Matthew’s story. ❤️

The Fiance Dilemma is book two in the phenomenal Long Game Series by Elena Armas.
This was the perfect romance that I needed!! I loved the characters, and the storyline was so fun and charming. Elena is one of my must-read authors!
This was absolutely delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty.
A humorous fake engagement, second chances romance story that was utterly delightful.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!