Author: Elena Armas
Pages: 497
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Release Date: 25th November 2021
Blurb from Goodreads:
A wedding in Spain. The most infuriating man. Three days to
convince your family you're actually in love. . .
Catalina
Martín desperately needs a date to her sister's wedding. Especially
when her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled
out of control. Now everyone she knows – including her ex-boyfriend
and his fiancée – will be there.
She only has four
weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic for her and aid
in her deception. NYC to Spain is no short flight and her family
won't be easy to fool. . . But even then, when Aaron Blackford –
the 6'4", blue-eyed pain in the arse – offers to step in,
she's not tempted even for a second. Never has there been a more
aggravating, blood-boiling and insufferable man.
But
Catalina is desperate and as the wedding gets closer the more
desirable an option Aaron Blackford becomes. . .
The
Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating
romance. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn with the
promise of a sweet happy-ever-after.
"Everything you
could want in a romance is right here."
Helen Hoang,
author of The Kiss Quotient
Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley*
Catalina Martin lives in New York, but will be returning home to Spain for her sister's wedding in four weeks. After finding out that her ex-boyfriend will be at the wedding and that he is engaged, Catalina is determined to take a date with her and even lies to her family, telling them that she has an American boyfriend that is coming with her.
Then Catalina's colleague, Aaron Blackford, offers to be her date. Catalina is hesitant to accept - their relationship is not exactly friendly, and Catalina loathes Aaron.
When no other options are forthcoming, Catalina reluctantly accepts Aaron's help. As they start spending time outside of work together, Catalina finds out that maybe Aaron isn't so bad after all.
Will Catalina's family be fooled?
I can't remember the exact reason I requested this book on NetGalley. I think it must have been a moment of madness, because I usually try to steer clear of 'TikTok sensations', and this book was the perfect example of why that's the case.
Catalina was an OK protagonist, and while I did feel sorry for her given what she had been through in the past, I didn't feel that I particularly connected with her, and wasn't invested in what happened to her.
Aaron was a bit of a meh character for me. Sure, he did nice things for Catalina, but if he had just talked to her and explained his feelings, then this book would pretty much have been redundant - the 'deception' part, anyway. I found Aaron to be quite a flat, two-dimensional character, unfortunately, and did not feel any chemistry between him and Catalina.
The plot was OK, but pretty predictable. Nothing happened that surprised or shocked me and I was pretty bored throughout.
The dialogue was very cringy at times, and I found the wording/writing quite stilted, especially with the first chapter, even the first few opening lines. If I hadn't been reading a review copy (and even then I switched to the audiobook to get through it faster), then I would have stopped reading and DNF'd the book before long.
Unfortunately, this was not for me and I will not be recommending it.
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