A fake engagement, second chances, and newfound family members come together in this new romance from the New York Times bestselling author of the “swoon-worthy” (Business Insider) The Spanish Love Deception.
Josie Moore has given the opposite sex—and love—plenty of chances. Four exactly, if you count all her failed engagements, and five if you include her no-longer-absentee father. Nonetheless, when the influential man decides to announce his retirement with a splashy magazine piece and Josie learns that her romantic history isn’t great PR for the family, she jumps at the chance to offer a solution.
Matthew Flanagan is in the mud. Literally. Not only has he been fired from his job, but after taking a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, North Carolina, his car is stuck. So, he grabs a duffel bag with his essentials and goes in search of a place to crash until he gets his life (and vehicle) back on track. But instead, he stumbles upon his best friend’s sister, Josie, greeting him as her fiancé.
What starts as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement, with Matthew playing the role of the doting fiancé as he and Josie are swept into a PR whirlwind. The ring on Josie’s finger makes her stomach turn, but she knows this is only temporary. They have rules in place, and one of them is that no matter what, there will be no exchange of “I dos.” But that’s easier said than done, as lines soon start to blur, and the rest of the small town comes to believe the fifth fiancé is truly The One.
Josie Moore has given the opposite sex—and love—plenty of chances. Four exactly, if you count all her failed engagements, and five if you include her no-longer-absentee father. Nonetheless, when the influential man decides to announce his retirement with a splashy magazine piece and Josie learns that her romantic history isn’t great PR for the family, she jumps at the chance to offer a solution.
Matthew Flanagan is in the mud. Literally. Not only has he been fired from his job, but after taking a wrong turn on his way to Green Oak, North Carolina, his car is stuck. So, he grabs a duffel bag with his essentials and goes in search of a place to crash until he gets his life (and vehicle) back on track. But instead, he stumbles upon his best friend’s sister, Josie, greeting him as her fiancé.
What starts as a big misunderstanding quickly turns into a fake engagement, with Matthew playing the role of the doting fiancé as he and Josie are swept into a PR whirlwind. The ring on Josie’s finger makes her stomach turn, but she knows this is only temporary. They have rules in place, and one of them is that no matter what, there will be no exchange of “I dos.” But that’s easier said than done, as lines soon start to blur, and the rest of the small town comes to believe the fifth fiancé is truly The One.
Title: The Fiancé Dilemma (The Long Game #2)
Author: Elena Armas
Publisher:
Expected Publication Date: July 30, 2024
Review:
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. All opinions expressed here are my own.
Josie Moore has given love a chance and failed, many times. When her estranged father decides to announce his retirement very publicly, she realizes she may cause him a PR nightmare. Matthew Flannagan is out of a job and trying to find himself. When he gets stuck in the mud, literally, he goes in search of his best friend's sister. But he falls into her orbit and gets drawn into a fake fiance scheme. Matthew doesn't mind helping Josie out by becoming her fifth fiance. But neither realize their fake arrangement might very easily turn into something very real.
If you read the first book in this series, The Long Game, you met both Josie and Matthew. It's no wonder Armas wanted to tell their story after introducing them to us!
I enjoy Armas's books. They are cute and fast reads. The romance is always fun with good chemistry and just the right amount of angst. Her pacing keeps me wanting to turn the pages and find out exactly what happens next. And her stories do not rely only on spice, there are emotional aspects that she always hits on that are important to the characters. She also knows how to weave in a good amount of comedy, making me giggle throughout the story. But she also has a knack for giving you realistic drama and characters that are relatable.
Josie is definitely wounded when it comes to love. She's fighting abandonment issues which have lead her to leave a few fiances at the alter in the past. I really enjoyed watching her realize what her needs are when it comes to love. She's also fiercely independent. She's made her way in the world without a father, since he did not acknowledge she existed until recently, and essentially without a mother since she died when Josie was quite young. Matthew is our golden retriever main man. He's the perfect mix of sexy, smart, and protective. He is very tender and yet, underneath his good boy exterior lingers this seductive and spicy side that is brought out when he and Josie are together. And his patience, oh man does he have that when it comes to Josie. So willing to let her take the lead and give her whatever she needs to be comfortable with him.
One thing I will mention is Aramas's writing style. Even though I've read several of her books, I fell like every time I start one I have to get used to it. It comes across as just a bit choppy at times which is hard on a romance for me. I was happy she included a chapter from Matthew's POV at the end. However, I'm not really sure what the point of it was. I wish we had his POV the entire time. I feel like I would have gotten to know him much better if I were inside his head a bit.
The story was a delight to read. It's not my favorite by Armas but I'd would recommend it to anyone who loves a slow burn, quirky romance.
Author:
Elena is a Spanish writer, a self confessed hopeless romantic and a proud book hoarder. Now, she's also the author of International bestseller and soon to be adapted to film The Spanish Love Deception; and instant New York Times bestsellers The American Roommate Experiment and The Long Game. Her books are being translated to over 30 languages–which is bananas, if you ask her.
She hopes her stories make your heart skip a beat or two, your palms a little sweaty, and your cheeks flush in that rosy pink that makes other people want to peek at the page you are reading.
She hopes her stories make your heart skip a beat or two, your palms a little sweaty, and your cheeks flush in that rosy pink that makes other people want to peek at the page you are reading.
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