Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

108 reviews

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Honestly, everything about this book is my catnip and I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner. Full review to come!
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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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the_bookinator's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.5

I wonder how much more I would have enjoyed this book if I handed it to a toddler with a pair of scissors. It was extremely slow and repetitive, particularly pre-Spain, and not in a "slow-burn" way. Just a "I don't need to hear you allude to your past without additional details AGAIN" sort of way. Or a "how many times do I need to read about your refusal to view this man as a human because of a grudge" sort of way. I do think her repetitive thoughts/conflicts about her feelings are realistic, however they are unnecessary for a reader. 

I do like the people they become in the epilogue and seeing how letting things go and being honest and earnest in a relationship can bring new life to a person.

All in all, didn't hate the characters or the story, but it was way too long.
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stphcls's review

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

4.25

If you like a mostly predictable, easy to read, "enemies to lovers" style romance, you'll probably enjoy this book. It's relatively easy to see where the story will end up, but how you get there is quite endearing and, at points, a bit steamy.  I'm not the biggest fan of the flowery language and sweeping metaphors that turn characters to mush when they finally realise "what love is", and the last quater of TSLD has a fair bit of that, and several pages of the protagonists telling eachother how much they need the other is a bit too much for my jaded little heart. But all of that is very much redeemed by the Twilight references, not enough books have them. Overall I'm glad I read The Spanish Love Deception and will probably read some more from Armas, her style is one I tend to favour for quick and easy reads, especially considering this is her first novel.
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lizzye33's review against another edition

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emotional relaxing tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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samiann's review against another edition

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

3.0

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drtx_bwt's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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sophiamackey's review against another edition

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

3.0

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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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