Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

8 reviews

liabl_28's review against another edition

challenging relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i have looooow standars, but even i can see when the guy doesn't have a personality.
also, google translator and footnotes exists so chill out explaining everything in both languages, as a bisexual bilingual is annoying 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Minor: Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Cancer

cielosiluminado's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

where is my irl version of aaron blackford??

this cheesy, frustratingly cute story would have been rated higher but it was too slow paced at times, even for my own liking. they didn't even kiss until like the last quarter of the book!!

i really wish i had a co-worker who looked like clark kent who is secretly in love with me and is willing to be my fake boyfriend to my sister's wedding back in the homeland because my ex is engaged and i don't want people pitying me if i show up alone. AND then said fake bf learns my native language on his own...??? truly wish that was me.

like i'm a picky bitch with very high standards. and to be honest, this book really made me realize that the bar is set so low for men because aaron blew everything out of the water and was too perfect. this book constantly had me swooning and kicking my feet and twirling my hair..

it was very obvious from the first sentence of the book that aaron is in love with catalina and of course, she has no idea of this. and i understand why she pushed him away AAAAAAA because of course there's a third act breakup but i really wished she wasn't so harsh towards him 24/7. their "beef" was always one-sided,

BUT!

i get it because of her trauma. his one flaw was being too scared to even ask her out to begin with.

“I’ll give you the world,” he said against my mouth. “The moon. The fucking stars. Anything you ask, it’s yours. I’m yours.”

so if you like typical slowburn books where there's strong emotional connections, hot sexual tension, bed sharing trope, and the male mc being hopelessly in love with the oblivious female mc who thinks he hates her, then i recommend this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

Minor: Toxic relationship

fkshg8465's review

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

I was ready to hate my book and took my eyes start to finish. I had tried to read this book once before, but I’d DNFd it the first time. But it kept coming back to me from one must read list to another, so I gave it another chance. So glad I did. Aaron is the perfect man in so many ways. Despite my desire to hate the book, I kept finding myself charmed. I even laughed hard at few times. And OMG, the first sex scene in the book - I was fully present and there for it and for quite a while afterward. That was an unexpected and delicious surprise. But then, after that, I started liking him less. It was almost like he was a different character - less attuned, less perfect. He got crass, insensitive, patronizing, closed off, and needy. Carolina went from smart and respectable to a hero to root for, to needy herself and simpering. But they eventually became two characters I could like and respect by the end of the story and my disappointment was lifted. For all these reasons, the book started out a 2, climbed to a 4, and landed as a 3.5.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Cancer, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism

ankiaisreading's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, Cancer, Misogyny, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Xenophobia

hannibanani29's review

funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Cursing, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Cancer

Minor: Xenophobia, Grief, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

larxene_castellan's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia

hayleyw's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Medical content, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia

Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual harassment

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I LOVE a long-winded romance because it can give you the slowest burn and the deepest feels. I have never been weak-in-the-knees about coffee shop banter before but OK. I have been ENTRAPPED. This romance serves up fake dating, workplace enemies-to-lovers, only one bed, sunshine & grump, and a cinnamon roll that's pretending he's not. There's even a charity bachelor auction to get your heart racing.

I'll admit for the first hundred pages I wasn't convinced. The back-and-forth about Catalina needing a date for her sister's wedding didn't draw me in right away. I retroactively understood the urgency once we reached Spain and saw the situation, learned her history. BUT all it took to completely rattle me and make me a believer was one fake date. The tension was sublime, and it unfurled through the rest of the story to great effect. Aka I was freaking out and very invested.

So there was some rough-around-the-edges pacing, but it didn't ultimately detract from my enjoyment. I will be delighted to pick up more books from this author and see what else she has to throw at me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Xenophobia