The Spanish Love Deception: TikTok made me buy it! The Goodreads Choice Awards Debut of the Year Paperback – 28 Oct. 2021

By far one of the cutest and funniest enemies to lover story I have read so far. The chemistry between the main two character was great, I love the quick-witted remarks between them and how Rosie could read in-between the lines. Aaron is basically boyfriend goals. He is so sweet, funny and the lengths he goes to for Lina will make your heart melt. The slow burn was torture, I was literally wanting on the edge of my bed waiting for them to pounce lol The overall story was great and simple to follow, if you love rom-coms this book is for you.

The perfect holiday book. This was an easy, fun, light hearted romance. The story is a little predictable at times and took a while to get going but nonetheless I found ‘Love Deception’ uplifting and enjoyable.

This was a book that I bought purely because it was all over Instagram, but I am so glad I did. After it was compared to The Hating Game, one of my all time favourites, I instantly had high expectations and Spanish Love Deception met every single one.This book is about Catalina Martin who moved from a small Spanish town to New York City. When she tells her Mother she will be bringing her American boyfriend home to her sisters wedding, there is only one small problem... She doesn't actually have an American Boyfriend. This is where Aaron Blackford enters. Aaron, despite being Catalina's work enemy offers to be her fake boyfriend for the trip. Realising she has no other choice, she takes him up on the offer. One event after another, it becomes clear hate isn't the only emotion at play here. Will these two enemies be able to convince her family they are happily in love, without actually falling in love?I loved everything about this book. It was so well written, the plot was so good. I loved how Elena revealed small bits and pieces throughout the entire book that made me love Aaron more and more. I can absolutely see why this has blown up on instagram, if you haven't already read this then I would recommend you do! Overall it is a very funny and sweet enemies to lovers, slow burn book. I can't wait to see what Elena Armas comes out with next.

I really wanted to like this book. A nice, schmaltzy story, with misunderstands, lusting from afar and a passionate romance that succeeds against all odds with charismatic main leads.And at first that was what I got. Catalina Martín needs a date to her sister’s wedding to show up her ex who is attending with his new fiancé. And the only person who’ll agree to go with her is Aaron Blackford, her co-worker that she does not get on with. It is very obvious to the reader that Aaron has it bad for her but she doesn’t see it. But the sparks begin flying between them and soon she can’t hold herself back from admitting that maybe she has feelings as well.Frankly I could have eaten the first half of this book with hot fudge and chocolate. The way it builds up is very satisfying. We learn little hints about who Aaron is under the suit he wears at work. He relaxes and lets Catalina in as they enjoy the wonderful weekend in Spain, getting involved with her family and trying to pretend they’re dating.Sadly the second half isn’t as good. Once they do admit their feelings to each other the sparks kinda fade. There’s less of the snappy conversations and less revelations about Aaron’s character. And it was at this point that I realised that most things we learned about Aaron are never mentioned again and don’t have any baring on his character. He mentions liking dogs but we don’t see him interact with any. He says he likes animated movies (Up is his favourite) but again that doesn’t come back at all. It leaves his character a bit hollow. Honestly it seems like the only consistent thing about him is that he likes Catalina and does so with an intensity that is a little disturbing. Not least because, while up until now there’s been a nice snappy back and forth between him, she just kind of melts into him at this point.Also, and I know this is a weird complaint, but Catalina is oddly…uninvolved when they have sex. Aaron picks her up, moves her limbs into the positions that he wants and generally takes the lead. She enjoys this and the book doesn’t ever say anything about it, it just seems really odd to me. With her personality I’d really expect more of a give and take in bed but, as with the relationship side of things, she very quickly becomes very submissive.Finally, I didn’t like the how the last conflict of the book was resolved. They were building up nicely to a point about how much harder it is for women working in the corporate world in general and in engineering specifically. This came to a head and was then resolved in an almost superficial way. There was no grand revelations to any of the male characters that, yeah, that kind of thing is a difficult issue. In general the plot seemed very conflict adverse, which is fine but it was actively setting up those conflicts and then just avoiding them.All in all it wasn’t a bad book but I’ve read better ones with the same plot.

I adored this book, it is amazing how Armas explained everything in detail, it is an amazing feeling to experience.

I did really love this book at the start, it was very cute had some great moments in it, but it wasn't amazing, and I found myself getting slightly bored at the end.Plot was great, I did prefer this approach over a lot of fake dating stories, but it did get boring towards the end - however, a lot of those books do that because by the time they confess their feelings or things come into light, there's not much left to say.For this being the writer's first book it's great, they did an amazing job. Some descriptive words could use some work (I noticed the repetition of the word "hard" but used for his body? It was a bit strange seeing that) and sometimes the descriptions felt a bit flat, but I didn't mind it much.I personally don't enjoy reading sex scenes so I pretty much skipped through all of that at the end, however, I will say that what I did read did seem a but like wattpad fanfiction smut 😂😂I'm not saying all this to criticise though, as I said, the author still did a great job for their first book which is why I gave it 4 stars.

Ame ame ame... es hermoso, chistoso, cursi peeero no de una manera que te hace querer dejar de leer.Hace mucho un libro no me hacia sentir la emoción de estar leyendo.

Fake Relationship – Real FeelingsBy Valencia TurnerBelieve the hype from what you see on Instagram and TikTok. “The Spanish Love Deception” is wonderful. It’s an exceptionally well-written romance novel with heart, heat, family, friendship, and romance. This is a slow-burn romance and normally, I don’t like slow burn. I’m an impatient reader. I’m an even more impatient writer. I want to get to the first kiss immediately. I’m not sure why. I guess I can handle only so much sexual tension before I get frustrated and put the book down.Nevertheless, I couldn’t put this book down and it is a slow burn romance. It’s an expertly crafted novel with two complex characters who face real challenges in their personal and professional lives. So many things don’t go according to plan. That’s okay because Armas does a great job in weaving a narrative that is so engaging, you don’t really want to put it down. I devoured this book in less than a day. The simmering chemistry between the two leads pulls you in and takes you for a ride.The story centers around Catalina Martin, who needs a date to her sister’s wedding because the best man happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Not just any ex-boyfriend. Apparently he was THE Boyfriend. We later learn what this man did and, yes, he deserves to be an ex. This ex is also happily engaged, and Catalina doesn’t want to show up to the wedding alone. Enter Aaron Blackford; her grumpy but devastatingly handsome colleague at work. He offers to help her with her dilemma, agreeing to go to Catalina’s home country of Spain, meet the family, avoid the ex, and somehow survive the persistent questions from a slew of aunts, grandmothers, and nosy cousins. What ensues is a lush and emotionally detailed love story between two very stubborn people.The romance is subtle. It happens between glances, whispers, gazes, as well as promises made and kept. Catalina and Aaron banter and bicker throughout the novel and the reader can’t help but smile at how the story of these two plays out.Armas makes you wait for the steam that eventually comes in the novel. I will say, the wait is worth it…and this is coming from someone that doesn’t normally like slow burn romances. The payoff will make you squeal, swear, and fan yourself.Catalina and Aaron each have complicated backgrounds and demons they have to vanquish in the pursuit of mutual happiness. This isn’t just a story of flowers, roses, and rainbows. There are good guys and bad guys. Real life problems creep into the narrative, which makes it relatable. The reader connects with the characters, who are complex, imperfect, but not broken.The story is told solely from Catalina’s perspective. There are several novels that switch the point of view to help readers learn how each main character sees the world and the challenges they face. Armas sticks with Catalina’s first person perspective, while doing an excellent job of conveying how Aaron feels through his words and actions. We don’t need to hear his inner monologue because there are plenty of clues to how this drop dead gorgeous Clark Kent look-a-like feels about Catarina. It takes our heroine much longer to realize there is more going on than just an agreement between to coworkers. Clueless heroines frequently annoy me, but in this case, the reader completely understands Catalina’s hesitation to acknowledge her feelings.Yes, TikTok and Instagram made me buy this book, and I’m so glad that I did. I’m sure you will enjoy it too.

I was looking for a slow burn contemporary multi-cultural romance and wow, did this book deliver!The slow evolution of the relationship burned so hot! The characters are lovely and the mix of American and Spanish brings an interesting flavor to the story. It’s also funny.I highly recommend it. Expect to not be able to put it down once you start. It’s that good.

This was such an excellent read. Loved the banter and the chemistry. It was a slow burn of the amazing category. Must read book.

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas became a quick favorite of mine.The story follows sassy Lina, who needs a fake boyfriend to hide the biggest lie she's ever told her family. Her co-worker Aaron offers to help her out, but she doesn't want him to. But when she told her mom her boyfriend's name was Aaron, there was no way back.I loved Lina. She's a layered character like no other. She's proud of her body, yet allows how she thinks her family will act and react to make her doubt. It's what makes her so relatable. And then there's Aaron. I think he may be my new favorite book boyfriend!The chemistry and tension between Lina and Aaron were clear from miles away. And I especially like how they've grown together. I love a good 'enemies to lovers', 'workplace romance', and 'fake dating' novel.Elena's writing style really sells the book for me. To me, the pacing was just right, and I liked how the chapters never were too long, or too short. It kept me wanting to read on and on until there were no chapters left.This book made me laugh (more than once) and I won't deny that somewhere near the end, a tear or two have escaped my eyes.