Three stars. I found this book overall to have some really great tropes and generally very sweet and a little funny. If you’re a fan of Elena Armas then I would say you would enjoy the book. I personally wouldn’t reach for it again regardless of enjoying it for just a couple reasons. It felt a bit slow for me and I simply had a difficult time relating to the way the FMC acted. I didn’t find her annoying per se but I did find myself frustrated with her at times primarily with her decided to keep certain things from past relationships as well as the way she acts with her father.

Overall not bad! Worth the read especially if you like a pretty formulaic romance. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

If Elena Armas writes it, I am going to read it! I was very excited for Josie and Matthew's story to come out. I could see it coming together in book one. While this is the second book in a duolgy, you can read this one as a stand-alone, but I recommend book one first! I don't know why in book 1 I thought Josie was older. She seemed to have her life together, solving everyone's problems, and was mayor of the town. She just gave off that mom without kids vibe. I also felt she needed to be aged up in order to have 4 failed engagements. It just seemed unrealistic at 29. Matthew seemed like such a wonderful golden retriever boyfriend. I would definitely classify this as a "He Falls First" type of romance. He was swoon-worthy in all the right ways. I enjoyed that there wasn't this dramatic third-act breakup. The secondary characters provided a lot of structure and comedic relief. Bobbi Shark was always throwing in a plot twist, and Grandpa Moe had that classic older person no-filter comedy. Lastly, I thought this book could have benefited from a bit of editing. It felt long and a bit repetitive.

Read if you like Fake Dating, Sisters Best Friend, Small Town Romances. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 7/30!

Absolutely loved this book and have fully fallen for this author. The best fake engagement I’ve read in quite a while. Definitely out this on your TBR.

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

I read The Long Game in tandem to The Fiancé Dilemma. While The Long Game did not hit the spot for me, The Fiancé Dilemma did a better job at keeping me interested. I liked Josie a lot, but Matthew was swoon-worthy and the star of this story. I wanted more of Matthew which is the reason I kept reading. Overall, the book is entertaining, it's cute, funny, but a sloowwww-burn. I enjoyed it :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC! Meet Josie: a small-town girl that did not know that she was the daughter to a multimillionaire named Andrew, who lives in Miami. This leads her to being the talk of the town, and soon after, social media learns that she was engaged four times and that she ran away from each of her fiancé’s before the wedding. In order to save her reputation, she announces (lies) to Bobbi (PR person) that she is engaged to Matthew, who happens to be her sister Adalyn’s best friend. Matthew’s a trooper - playing along with the fake engagement just to save Josie’s reputation. Also, Andrew offers to pay for everything, hoping for some reconciliation with Josie. But when the time of the wedding comes, will they actually go through with it? And why does Josie start to have feelings for her fake fiancé?

This is my first time reading a book from Elena Armas, and it won’t be the last. Both of the main characters were written well and have good chemistry. I loved Matthew’s character a little bit more - he tries his best to make Josie a bit more…comfortable with the cameras following their every move. His endearing nicknames for her are adorable, and how he treats her in general was sweet too. I would label this as slow burn, but it gets spicy when it needs to!

I love a good slow burn, but this one was verrrrry slow. If you love a good fake engagement, this one is for you. The main character, Josie, is very awkward but endearing. The pace of the story is slow, and at times I found I enjoyed the side characters (I need a book with Grandpa Joe) way more than the mains. Enjoyable book, but slow.

This was painful. The main character acts like she’s 12. Seriously, it’s the most annoying part of this book. The circumstances and choices everyone makes are absolutely absurd. Literally the entire time anyone chose to do anything I thought “but why would you do that?!”. This read like an even more off brand romcom than a hallmark movie… like it was made for an obscure streaming service you’ve never heard of. But really the main reason I didn’t finish this was because I just could not make myself care about these characters. They gave me nothing to go on.

I have no doubt lots of people will love this because this author is pretty popular, but I am just not one of them. I thought her Spanish Love Deception was just ok but people seem to love her to I decided to give this one a try. Now I’m just accepting that this author isn’t for me.

** spoiler alert ** I was so excited for Josie and Matthew's love story - I loved The Long Game. Josie has been engaged 4x and is somehow become an interest to a podcast for it that was looking into her famous dad's life. When Matthew arrives at an awkward situation between Josie and her dad's PR person, she fakes Matthew as her fiance and he plays along with it. The story is cute but I thought it was kind of creepy that Matthew fell for Josie because his best friend says she had met his soulmate.

There were a lot of steamy moments but I cringed at the public sex in a dressing room when everyone was waiting outside.

I did enjoy seeing characters from The Long Game back in this story.

Thank you @atriabooks for copy of this.

3.5 stars rounded up - this book was good and left me feeling good about the HEA ending however, I didn’t love Bobbi’s character or the Duncan/Andrew weird story line thrown in. That being said Matthew is another great book boyfriend and Josephine did have some relatable characteristics. I will say I did read this book in 2 days and liked that it was a slow burn but the story moved along at a good pace.

Overall, The Fiancé Dilemma is a mixed bag. The writing is somewhat uneven (and repetitive) and the dialog is often cringeworthy. Josie and Matthew share some humorous moments, especially when a mini pig named Pedro Pigscal is involved. (In fact, I think Pedro was my favorite character in this novel!) The chemistry between Josie and Matthew is inconsistent and often unbelievable; sometimes all seems well . . . until it isn’t. I enjoyed Ms. Armas' first novel, The Spanish Love Deception, but this one didn’t measure up.

I loved long game and the story of Adalyn and Cam so was excited for this story to continue. I usually love the trope of fake relationship, but it didn’t always feel fluid. Josie is adorable and Matthew is a swoon MMC but their chemistry sometimes felt rushed. I enjoyed it but not as much as the first book in the series.

3.5 🌟
I found this book cute but also so frustrating.
Josie finds herself in a marriage of convenience with the best friend of her recently discovered half sister. I love a marriage of convenience, but this really wasn't that. It was super inconvenient and not necessary in any way. They also never have a full conversation to iron anything out, basically just one miscommunication after another. The wedding is supposed to be fake, yet it gets planned with no discussion of how it would get canceled canceled.

I would have loved a dual POV! Matthew was very "yes and" and saved the book in my opinion. He wanted to protect Josie at all cost and falls hard.

Like I said, the book was still super cute and I enjoyed it, but the miscommunication really brought the rating down for me.

Thank you Net Galley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest review.

The Fiance Dilemma, by Elena Armas, begins when Matthew Flanagan gets his car stuck and after a misunderstanding, becomes part of a fake engagement. This one is a good summer read, not too heavy, and easy to follow.
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this read- however I compare everything she writes to the Spanish Love Deception, and this book just didn’t hit the mark for me. I didn’t feel as connected to the characters on a personal emotional level. This was not a bad book by any means, it just wasn't the one for me! If you are a diehard Elena Armas fan, this is definitely for you. If you are exclusively a Spanish Love Deception fan…this may not live up to your hype. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Was an absolute privilege to read this ARC! Elena Armas has knocked it out of the park again. Loved Matthew and Josie. The story was so adorable. Matthew is definitely book husband material. He is so kind, generous, understanding and the perfect hype man! Highly recommend picking up this book.

Elena Armas does it again! I love every single book that I've read by her and this is no different!

Josie and Matthew's relationship from beginning to end was truly swoon-worthy. I found myself stopping just because I had to put my Kindle down and squeal. The fake relationship (engagement) was, at first, hard to believe because things were moving SO quick. But I can see that the build up of their relationship was perfect and grew at such a steady pace.

Romance novel that showcases Elana Armas's talent for storytelling and character development. With its relatable characters, engaging plot, and thoughtful exploration of love and commitment, the novel is a standout in the romance genre. It offers a heartfelt and satisfying read that will resonate with anyone who has ever faced the complexities of choosing between love and personal fulfillment.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I read the previous one a while ago: and had forgotten a bit about it, but it didn’t detract from the cuteness of the story.

Elena Armas is really one of my favorite go-to authors. But this one kind of hurt. The main character turned me off of this one within the first couple of chapters. I couldn't handle her teenage-doormat vibe. It gave me some SEVERE second-hand embarrassment. So much so, that I, honestly, couldn't read the whole book.
I really believe, had Armas gone a different direction with the heroine, that I would've immensely enjoyed this one. What a bummer.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

The Fiance Dilemma is so good!! The characters are so relatable and funny. the banter between the characters are hilarious

Couldn't get enough of the story