Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

70 reviews

frantically's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"this is a poor man's hating game" i am the poor man
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3ndt4p3s's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

i want to have aaron blackford’s patience
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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

4.25

Writing: 4.25⭐️/5 
The Spanish Love Deception is written very well, with some sections shining quite nicely. At certain tiny moments, the dialogue felt a bit forced or unnatural but these were fleeting sections and didn’t impact the overall read.  

Characters: 4.25⭐️/5
Again, apart from a couple of moments where the characters felt like cookie-cutter tropes, but it was quickly overcome by deeper character development. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters by the end and honestly fell in love with a few. 

Plot: 4⭐️/5 
While the overarching plot (and the great use of the fake dating trope) was thoroughly enjoyable, I didn’t love the semi-focus on some of the side plots. The somewhat flippant plot point in which Lina decides to not eat felt unfinished, especially as it never comes up again. Similarly, while I understand the desire to keep certain backstories secret until necessary, the way both Lina and Aaron’s backstories are consistently hinted at without being revealed until they confess to each other left other sections of the novel feeling unfinished. Definitely a fun (and good) read, but I wonder what it could have been had these been more thoroughly thought out.

Who Should Read This Book? 
  • Fans of fun romance novels
  • Those who love the fake dating trope

Content Warnings? 
  • Disordered Eating, Toxic Relationships, Sexual Content, Swearing, Stalking, Sexual Harassment, Misogyny, Sexism

Post-Reading Rating:  4.5⭐️/5
Very fun. 

Final Rating: 4.25⭐️/5
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annahamburger's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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khymihr's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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__romancereader__'s review

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challenging emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book it was a very interesting book i love how protective Aaron was of Catalina and how much he loved her and couldn’t even hide it I definitely rate this book a five star⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😍😍😍😍💖💖💖💖
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vj_thompson's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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yllenia's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was definitely deceived.. into reading this book - dnf @ 73% (νέο ρεκόρ για εμένα)

Αυτό το βιβλίο προχωράει βασανιστικά αργά. Για να καταλάβεις, η πλοκή βασίζεται σε μια κοπέλα που φέρνει ένα ψεύτικο ραντεβού στο γάμο της αδερφής της, και δεν φτάνουμε καν στο μέρος που γίνεται ο γάμος με τη σελίδα 240 (!).

Το παραπάνω πιθανά δεν θα με πείραζε εάν ένιωθα ότι έγινε για να δώσει βάθος στους χαρακτήρες και τις περιπέτειες τους. Αντί για αυτό αναλωθήκαμε σε περιστατικά μεμονωμένα και χωρίς την απαραίτητη ροή ή σύνδεση, τα οποία πήραν τη διπλάσια έκταση από αυτή που τους αναλογούσε. 

Παράλληλα το βιβλίο προσπάθησε να δημιουργήσει σασπένς κρατώντας από εμάς πληροφορίες για τα μεγάλα συμβάντα της ζωής της πρωταγωνίστριας μέχρι (φαντάζομαι) το τέλος του βιβλίου. Κατάφερε όμως να γίνει τόσο βαρετό που δεν θα μάθω ποτέ.

#bookstagram #booktok #booktokwaswrong #willievercomebackfromthis
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lacrimaeignis's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely adored this rom com! It was a fun trip and the perfect story to start off the new year!  I loved how the characters played off of each other. Lina and Aaron's banter and chemistry was fantastic and seeing the build up of their relationship was nice.
Even though I was a little disappointed at first, I am ultimately glad that we didn't get to their trip to Spain until later in the book - about halfway through. It allowed the relationship to build up more and allowed the characters to understand each other a bit better before getting others involved in their relationship.
. It was also very pleasant to read about a loving family and not just the strained relationship families that appear more often than not in this genre. I only wish that we had been given a chance to see and experience more of Spain in the story.  I also would have preferred to see more of Aaron's flaws - especially during the trip. 
And while it was fun to get references to pop culture, they were used a bit too much especially the Twilight references.  One or two Twilight references would have been fine but they started throwing me out of the story; it got to a point where Lina was basically pretending she was Bella and Aaron was her Edward.
But all in all it was an enjoyable story with believable and relatable characters.  And most of all it  made me want to visit Spain once again.
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booksalacarte's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-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

4.0

The Spanish Love Deception- 4⭐️, 3++🌶️

Enemies to lovers
Fake dating
One bed
Tall, dark, and handsome MMC

That’s my solidly entertained formula. This had all that and more! 

I loved the bipoc FMC! She was so vividly portrayed and easy to love. The relationship dynamic was intriguing and compelling to see shift and develop. The Spanish intertwined into the storytelling was flawlessly done (coming from someone who doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish).

The spice was spicy, but not uncharacteristic for the story.
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