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alysha1221's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
litwithleigh's review against another edition
2.0
Writing: repetitive LOL | Plot: had potential | Ending: sure
SYNOPSIS
Catalina has been lying out her ass about having a bf, so when she has to go back to Spain for her sister's wedding, she needs to bring a fake date. She just didn't expect her work nemesis, Aaron Blackford, to volunteer.
MY OPINION
Respectfully, what happened here? The formula is eerily similar to her most recent book, [b:The Long Game|101144869|The Long Game (Long Game, #1)|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687105546l/101144869._SY75_.jpg|100198322], but... worse. I thought [b:All the Little Raindrops|76839114|All the Little Raindrops|Mia Sheridan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681845436l/76839114._SY75_.jpg|102062902] and [b:Holly|65916344|Holly|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674418461l/65916344._SY75_.jpg|106237905] were repetitive, but Elena Armas said CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Here's the math:
- Chest is mentioned 199 times. YES. ONE. HUNDRED. NINETY. NINE. TIMES. CHEST.
- Heart is mentioned 147 times. I have two arts degrees but by my calculations, the chances of you reading 'heart' and 'chest' on the same page are heinously high.
- Blue is mentioned 102 times. Did you know Aaron Blackford has blue eyes? Don't worry, you can't possible forget because she describes them every 4.2 pages.
Not only does Armas have a penchant to overuse the same words, she loves to write like she's 2 pages short of the page minimum on an assignment but she ran out of shit to say a page ago. For example: The organ that resided there (I guess her editor begged her not to use the word heart) and perhaps the most painful of them all: ...His eyelids sheltered the blue in his eyes for just a heartbeat (he blinked........)
And my last gripe is ANOTHER DRY HUMPING SCENE!!!!! IN JEANS!!!!!! FEDERAL PRISON!!!!!!!!!!! She had one in The Long Game and I was praying that it was just a one-off but I think this is her thing? I need to read [b:The American Roommate Experiment|60114057|The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception, #2)|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660147951l/60114057._SY75_.jpg|90062172] because you know what they say: threes a pattern. I don't support book banning but I will happily sign a petition to ban dry humping in adult romances.
Anyways. Catalina gave me Lydia from Love Is Blind S5 vibes sooooo that's not great. And let's keep it a stack: if Aaron Blackford wasn't hot and rich af, he'd be in jail. Homeboy STAYED eavesdropping on her ass. I can see why this is popular though. She uses that CoHo writing style: every interaction leads to BIG FEELINGS (usually in the chest or heart FYI) and Aaron's charm is sexy caveman. He legit says shit like: "you infuriating woman". I was shocked he didn't pound his .... chest .... while spitting out these neanderthal thoughts.
I was going to give it three stars because #livelaughlove but after writing this review..................
PROS AND CONS
Pros: fun premise (I LOVE fake dating)
Cons: relentlessly repetitive word choice, waaaaayyy too long, didn't care for either of the leads, dry humping **projectile vomit**
___
Check out my YouTube and my TikTok
SYNOPSIS
Catalina has been lying out her ass about having a bf, so when she has to go back to Spain for her sister's wedding, she needs to bring a fake date. She just didn't expect her work nemesis, Aaron Blackford, to volunteer.
MY OPINION
Respectfully, what happened here? The formula is eerily similar to her most recent book, [b:The Long Game|101144869|The Long Game (Long Game, #1)|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1687105546l/101144869._SY75_.jpg|100198322], but... worse. I thought [b:All the Little Raindrops|76839114|All the Little Raindrops|Mia Sheridan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1681845436l/76839114._SY75_.jpg|102062902] and [b:Holly|65916344|Holly|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674418461l/65916344._SY75_.jpg|106237905] were repetitive, but Elena Armas said CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Here's the math:
- Chest is mentioned 199 times. YES. ONE. HUNDRED. NINETY. NINE. TIMES. CHEST.
- Heart is mentioned 147 times. I have two arts degrees but by my calculations, the chances of you reading 'heart' and 'chest' on the same page are heinously high.
- Blue is mentioned 102 times. Did you know Aaron Blackford has blue eyes? Don't worry, you can't possible forget because she describes them every 4.2 pages.
Not only does Armas have a penchant to overuse the same words, she loves to write like she's 2 pages short of the page minimum on an assignment but she ran out of shit to say a page ago. For example: The organ that resided there (I guess her editor begged her not to use the word heart) and perhaps the most painful of them all: ...His eyelids sheltered the blue in his eyes for just a heartbeat (he blinked........)
And my last gripe is ANOTHER DRY HUMPING SCENE!!!!! IN JEANS!!!!!! FEDERAL PRISON!!!!!!!!!!! She had one in The Long Game and I was praying that it was just a one-off but I think this is her thing? I need to read [b:The American Roommate Experiment|60114057|The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception, #2)|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1660147951l/60114057._SY75_.jpg|90062172] because you know what they say: threes a pattern. I don't support book banning but I will happily sign a petition to ban dry humping in adult romances.
Anyways. Catalina gave me Lydia from Love Is Blind S5 vibes sooooo that's not great. And let's keep it a stack: if Aaron Blackford wasn't hot and rich af, he'd be in jail. Homeboy STAYED eavesdropping on her ass. I can see why this is popular though. She uses that CoHo writing style: every interaction leads to BIG FEELINGS (usually in the chest or heart FYI) and Aaron's charm is sexy caveman. He legit says shit like: "you infuriating woman". I was shocked he didn't pound his .... chest .... while spitting out these neanderthal thoughts.
I was going to give it three stars because #livelaughlove but after writing this review..................
PROS AND CONS
Pros: fun premise (I LOVE fake dating)
Cons: relentlessly repetitive word choice, waaaaayyy too long, didn't care for either of the leads, dry humping **projectile vomit**
___
Check out my YouTube and my TikTok
adeeba_ahmed's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
charschapters14's review against another edition
5.0
I ate this book right up, which is a good thing as I've already pre-ordered her next book, The American Roommate Experiment on Waterstones double points weekend! If I didn't have to work this would have been a one day read.
If you're looking for;
* enemies to lovers
* one-sided feelings
* fake dating
* bachelor auction
So this book 100% follows the romance trope formula, however lets be honest with each other we all love it!
The first half of the book is definitely setting up the scene, it's when they finally fly out to Spain where it all really starts.
At times it made me want to scream, as I wanted Catalina to just be honest and say something but if she had there would not have been the build up.
As much as I loved the relationship development between Aaron and Catalina, what Elena did with the other relationships is so great. Lina's interactions with her mum, sister and Rosie are honestly so accurate to real life relationships.
Here's me wishing I had my own Clark Kent look-a-like in my life!! The small things Aaron does throughout the book and how caring he is with these small gestures, why is Lina so blind to it all!!!
The fish tacos, the homemade granola bars and the doughnut! You should read this book for these moments alone.
If you're looking for;
* enemies to lovers
* one-sided feelings
* fake dating
* bachelor auction
So this book 100% follows the romance trope formula, however lets be honest with each other we all love it!
The first half of the book is definitely setting up the scene, it's when they finally fly out to Spain where it all really starts.
At times it made me want to scream, as I wanted Catalina to just be honest and say something but if she had there would not have been the build up.
As much as I loved the relationship development between Aaron and Catalina, what Elena did with the other relationships is so great. Lina's interactions with her mum, sister and Rosie are honestly so accurate to real life relationships.
Here's me wishing I had my own Clark Kent look-a-like in my life!! The small things Aaron does throughout the book and how caring he is with these small gestures, why is Lina so blind to it all!!!
The fish tacos, the homemade granola bars and the doughnut! You should read this book for these moments alone.
meghanfeen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
novaxnovels's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I skimmed the last 5 chapters because I was just over it. Up until about 60%, I really thought this was gonna be a 3.5-4 star read. Classic case of one thing goes wrong (for me), and it all falls apart. When the “enemies” became lovers, I could not stop cringing. The dialogue was icky (the words “I want to feel you milking me” were spoken. I can’t make that up). The slow burn did NOT pay off. I kept waiting to like Aaron more but he always seemed so cold to me. I also never really warmed up to Lina. She seemed very superficial to me somehow? Now, there were some truly sweet moments between our MCs that I did like, but not enough to save it. Can’t say I’ll be reading any more books by this author.