A review by just_one_more_paige
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

3.0

 
This romance got a lot of hype when it came out a couple years ago, so I added it to my "when you are wanting a romance" list. And, having lived for a few months in Spain, I am always excited to revisit the country in literature. Even though I was in southern Spain, and this (the parts set in Spain) is in the northern part of the country, there is some similar slang and food and vibes that are just different than Latin and South American Spanish-speaking settings and it's familiar and comfortable and fun to be back in sometimes. Anyways, it was time for a basic contemporary romance and this was the winner. 
 
Catalina (Lina) Martín's white lie to her family about the American boyfriend she's bringing as a date to her sister's wedding in Spain has backed her into a bit of a corner. She needs to find someone to play that role, and time is running out. And desperation leads her to say yes to the offer to help from her coworker Aaron Blackford. Sure, he's handsome, but he was super condescending to her when they first met and, since then, they've kind of developed into office enemies. Beggars can't be choosers though. And so Lina finds herself on a flight across the Atlantic with Aaron...who turns out to be a fantastic fake boyfriend. Like, they're totally succeeding in fooling her nosy and close-knit family. And Lina realizes that perhaps it's time to work though/past some of her past relationship trauma, because her feelings towards this fake relationship are developing into something real. And it seems that Aaron is right there with her. 
 
Well, this was a solid romance. I, of course, really enjoyed all the parts in Spain. And NYC is honestly always a fun setting, too. The opening vibes were *very* The Hating Game. I was actually questioning, for a second there, if this was a lowkey fanfic situation. The workplace enmity (and how it played out in dialogue/action), along with the "guy has clearly fallen but can't figure out how to say something about it so the girl has no idea," was so similar. Thankfully, the parallels chilled out after the story left the office environment. At which point, I was pleased with the way it developed. The hole Aaron had to dig out of, because he'd spent so long settling into it and not really doing anything to get out before this offer to be a fake "date," was pretty big. So, I honestly don't hate how long it took (effort and time wise), because you can't rush that and maintain a sense of authentic emotional development. That genuine growth/change was worth if from the perspective that it made the story more believable. However, the internet told me this was spicy. And...having to wait until three quarters of the way in to the novel to get a first kiss, hot as it was, just doesn't leave enough time for smut for me to consider this spicy. Personally. I mean, it was definitely steamy - the build up and tension and "closeness-but-not-quite" vibes - were spot on. And I am in full support of this romanticization of tenderness, the small touches and looks and acts, because that’s such real connection-type stuff, meaningful and beautiful in it's own, lovely, way. Truly. But the consummation of all that was late, and there were only a couple fully detailed, open-door, sexy scenes. And I just had been hoping for more based on reviews I'd read (which is an expectation issue. not a delivery-by-the-author issue, to be clear).  
 
Random other things... The individual side characters were all pretty basic. I enjoyed the Martín family as a whole, as a vibe (I always love a rowdy family situation), but mostly everyone that wasn't Lina and Aaron blended into the background for me. There was entirely too much repeated inner monologue from Lina, about the past boyfriend trauma and the boss thing and the boundaries and heart barriers stuff. I mean, I get it; it's understandable and realistic that she'd be constantly dwelling on it, bur it was just a bit too tiresome, as a reader. Speaking of repetition, there were just a couple too many mentions of how sculpted/strong Aaron’s body is, tbh. We get it and it kind of started to feel a bit icky/objectifying. And finally, my biggest issue is the miscommunication trope (in this case, disguised as the "I'm too unsure/insecure to just talk about wanting to fix how we got off on the wrong foot an/or what's stopping me from taking this emotional jump") that is so highly featured in this novel. It's just not a favorite of mine and it was all over this story, so that was tough. But again, personal.   
 
At the end of the day though, even with all the little things I wasn't a fan of, or wanted more/less of, or the tropes I didn't love (shoutout here to the "one bed" trope - which I do like - because how it happened was kind of hilarious), this novel grew on me. In part, it was just well written and the emotional pacing/development was so realistic. I always appreciate that type of believability. But also, if I'm being honest, mostly because of the softie romantic interest. I do love a “he falls harder” situation and this one delivers that all out. 
 
“Because his words were, without a doubt in my mind, the most beautiful thing I would ever hear said about me. To me. And for me.” 
 
“It was in that precise moment that I felt like something had finally clicked into place, unhinging everything I had been keeping on a short leash. I couldn’t know how or why. Didn’t even have the slightest idea. And wasn’t that part of the mystery of life? Part of what made it breathtakingly exciting? Unexpectedly beautiful? We couldn’t control and tame emotions to our convenience.” 
 
Ignited. That was exactly how I felt. It was what Aaron had done to me. He had lit me up.” 
 
“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.” 
 
“Your family loves you, and that’s a kind of bond you can’t force. It’s a kind of love one doesn’t find anywhere else. It can be overwhelming, but that’s only because it’s always honest.” 
 
“Life changed constantly, wickedly fast and terribly slow, when one least expected it to or after a long time of chasing that change. Life could be turned around, inside out, backward and forward, or it could even transform into something else entirely. And it happened regardless of age, but most importantly, it didn’t care for time. Life-altering moments spanned from a few seconds to decades. It was part of the magic of life. Of living.” 
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