Thank you so much to Atria and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

Book 1 in this series was a shocking favorite of last year. So I was excited to get more from this author and world! Sadly this sequel didn't hit the way the previous book did...

The beginning of this romance was ROUGH. I even considered DNF-ing multiple times because I was struggling to get on board with this heroine and romance.

My biggest issue was the way the heroine practically forced the hero into a situation he didn't want anything to do with, and then tried to play it off like he could have walked away at any point...

The lack of consent until he finally caved just left me feeling very uncomfortable. She pushes when he says no, she lies to get him to show up to public situations that essentially strong arm him into her plot, and overall just doesn't seem to respect his boundaries or reluctance...

And it's all brushed aside because the hero has been secretly pining for her...

My other issue is that in contrast to her "never take no for an answer" attitude for the hero, she was a complete and utter pushover with everyone else. To the point it got frustrating watching the MCs deal with the most ridiculous PR plots.

I love a pining hero, and this definitely delivered on that. But overall I just wasn't left loving this story or the romance.

mixed feelings. was kinda just fine for me but if you’ve read and liked other EE books i’m sure this will be your jam. I didn’t like TSLD and haven’t read her other books, so this was an improvement. a lot of the dialogue was super cheesy and immature in an attempt to be funny, mainly from the FMC. it felt very New Girl and I don’t like New Girl. and then the ending felt confusing for me tbh? it took me a bit to understand what was happening. and i’m still not totally sure I got it. however I loved matthew. he was sweet but also hot and he built some great tension with josie (even if she often got awkward and defused the situation). enjoyed the invisible string moments. I think the pacing was a lot of what I struggled with. also when does she actually run her cafe???? and the side characters felt like they could have been anyone (except moe)

The Fiancé Dilemma is my favorite Elena Armas book. She writes such captivating and addicting books. I loved following Matthew and Josie and their love story. I'm a sucker for fake dating/marriage of convenience. So I knew going in I would absolutely devour this book, and Elena did not disappoint. I loved Matthew's funny and flirty character and I loved how much he genuinely cared about Josie from page one. I loved Josie's character and I loved that despite her failed engagements, she continued to be a hopeless romantic. I really loved this one and all that Matthew and Josie gave us throughout the book.

Thank you to Elena Armas and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.