| Title | : | The Spanish Love Deception (Spanish Love Deception, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1668002531 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781668002537 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 487 |
| Publication | : | First published February 23, 2021 |
| Awards | : | Goodreads Choice Award Debut Novel and Nominee for Romance (2021) |
She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.
The Spanish Love Deception (Spanish Love Deception, #1) Reviews
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4 stars ✩⋆
this book has the biggest "you wish that was you huh" energy.
do i wish that i have a coworker who looks like clark kent who is secretly in love with me and is willing to be my fake boyfriend at my sister's wedding in Spain because my ex is engaged and i don't want my relatives to feel pity, who would buy me 5 fish tacos even though i asked for 4 fish tacos, smuggles doughnut for me, whose favorite movie is Up, and is the definition of ride-or-die?
yes. yes i do.
✧ p l o t & t r o p e s⭒ fake relationship
⭒ office romance // similar to the
the hating game
⭒ banter + slowburn // almost mariana zapata type of slowburn if you know what i mean
⭒ one-sided enemies to rivals to semi-friends to lovers
⭒ grumpy/sunshine trope
⭒ unrequited love // the dude was in love with the oblivious girl
↳ ok so Catalina Fernandez (h) needs a fake date to her sisters wedding because, as it turns out, the groom's brother is her ex, 6 years before she moved to nyc, and that relationship is the reason why she has trust/commitment issues. so, she lied to her family and told them she has a boyfriend and lo and behold, her rival coworker, Aaron Blackford (H), offers himself up as her fake date for her sister's wedding.
so yeah, this was a cute slowburn book and honestly? it made me feel single so if a book makes you feel like this, you know it's cute.
BEWARE OF SPOILERS AHEAD
╭⋟─────── *.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.* ───────╮
first and foremost, we're gonna talk about the most important thing in this book:
✧ C A T A L I N A↳ "Exactly. In the same way that I haven't forgotten David Benioff and D.B. Weiss did to us on May 19, 2019... Didn't Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name deserve better than that?"
ugh. love it when fictional characters telekinetically share the same brainwave as me when it comes to my nonfictional opinions.
why is this the most important thing in this book you ask? because KHALEESI DOES DESERVE BETTER!! but anywho.
i knew from the very first page that Aaron was in love with her. i mean, the first line of this book was Aaron saying, "i'll be your date to the wedding" and i KNEW- i just knew this man is simping. and honestly, from the very beginning it's definitely obvious that the dude is in to her but Catalina is too oblivious to know because she's blinded by her one-sided hatred and unfortunately, this annoyed the hell out of me not gonna lie.
because first of all, i have one question for the heroine: HOW ARE YOU NOT IN LOVE HUH???
no seriously im confused. because for me, if a grumpy, ex football player, who looks like clark fucking kent did all the things that aaron did to catalina do to me where he bought her not 1, not 4, but 5 fish tacos, knows all about you because he listens, not a ho- i repeat NOT A HO because he's "saving it for someone who's worth it", tries to learn spanish for you and your family, and is willing to travel across the world with you just to pretend to be your fake boyfriend without expecting anything back?
back arched.
knees bent.
throat open.
I. AM. READY.
and this is saying a lot because i'm a picky bitch with high standards. and to be honest, this book really made me realize that the bar is set so low for men because when Aaron bought her 5 fish tacos (yes, im stuck with the fish tacos. it's food, what about it?) i swooned. unashamedly. and then he looks like this sexy ass man?
... ??? one more:
... *screams* *punches air* *cries in the corner*
also, let's talk about Catalina pushing Aaron away till the very end of the book for a second though because usually, if you know me, i'm more likely to be annoyed with the male main character because, well, they're dumbasses 99.9% of the time but i was more annoyed with the female main character in this one- not that she's a dumbass by the way, but the fact that she was so oblivious when it was so obvious that Aaron is in love with her for the most part.
i was just screaming at Catalina 85% of the time, GIRL ARE YOU DENSE?! THAT MAN IS IN LOVE WITH YOU AND WANTS TO RAIL YOU 24/7 HOW CAN YOU NOT- *sigh* anyways.
i think the fact that i already knew he was in love with her from the very beginning made me more annoyed because sometimes, she was just being so unfairly rude to him and im like?? girl?? it's so obvious?? and the fact that i know this is supposed to be enemies to lovers, but again, the enemies part was more one-sided so honestly, i just felt bad for the dude. i usually don't mind when the girl pushes the guy away, i actually LOVE when this happens because i love reading the "chase" but again, when the "hate" is one-sided, it's just less exciting and more frustrating especially when she's hesitant until the very end.
(spoilers) and especially with the drama at the end?? when she broke things off so easily just like that? ugh. i was so annoyed y'all. but again, i do understand where she was coming from and how her past trauma can make her more hesitant. but still.
it also doesn't help that Aaron is literally perfect. this was me in the last half:
what am i doing you ask? well, obviously, i'm looking for flawsbecause i'm a judgemental bitch when it comes to fictional charactersand i saw none. NONE. no seriously i'm not joking. this fictional man is perfect. especially in the last half when they finally went to the wedding. this man...? no flaws whatsoever. well actually, he does have one and it's just him not telling Catalina his feelings from the very beginning. but that's it!! seriously!!
i even wish he was more of an asshole because he was scarily too perfect for me. but you know what? with perfection comes with a little... i won't say boredom buuut... something close to that. i just wish he had more depth honestly but that's it.
➵ ex drama (spoilers)
for those who want to know, there's a little bit of OM/ex drama here since again, one of the main reasons why Catalina needs a fake date is because her ex, Daniel, is engaged. he was Catalina's old professor and first love. but when students were suddenly slut shaming her just because she was dating her former professor, Daniel did nothing to protect her and he broke things off. after all this, she then moved to NYC and 4 years later she meets Aaron and 1.5 years after that, that's where the book begins. there's no OW drama.
╰─────── *.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.* ───────⋞╯
i actually dont mind that the dynamic is similar to
the hating game because i love the whole dude is in love with the girl but girl is oblivious and thinks the dude hates them trope. because that... that's the one. it reminds me of old KA and MZ books and ugh it's just nostalgic. i have been looking for a book with similar THG vibes so im glad this book exists.
so if you like your typical slowburn book where it's emotional connection >>> smut, sexual tension through cute mundane scenes (y'all know what i'm talking about), bed sharing trope (!!!), and the male main character implicitly showing that he's in love with the female main character but doesn't explicitly say he's in love with her till the end, then i recommend this.
can't wait to read more books by this author ♡ -
I HAVE NEVER WANTED FOR A BOOK TO BE OVER SO BAD
This is just a boring version of
The Hating Game.
I am sorry, I tried to like this, I really did but I just didn't connect with it at all.
It took me more than 3 weeks to finish this. Three!!!! Weeks!!!! Do you know how long it usually takes me to finish a book? One (1) evening.
This just dragged on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... are you getting bored/annoyed by me writing this? Imagine reading this book.
By the end we were just adding on and on on the drama and making sure to introduce every trope at our disposal to let this story continue for all eternity. There was no reason for this to be 500 pages. It could have been 300.
The enemies-to-lovers trope was also barely there. There were no snarky comments, no tension, nothing! Honestly, they weren't enemies at all. Aaron was just too awkward to open his mouth and ask her on a date and Catalina is too busy to be in her own head to notice that she isn't having a sexy rivalry.
It is made perfectly clear from the beginning that Aaron is in love with Catalina and has been since the second he laid eyes on her:
"You are right. Being your friend has always been the last thing on my mind."
This is on like page 100. And then we have to watch Catalina pretend she doesn't see it for 300 pages!!!
Also, he OFFERED to be her fake date. Who does this if they are not already in love with you? Should have tipped you off right here and there.
He very clearly states that he is interested in her multiple times and she is constantly like "He is just pretending." and "Oh no, I think I have a crush on him, but he doesn't feel the same."
Meanwhile Aaron is just being the hearteye-emoji personified.
It's gets repetitive very quickly and it's just so annoying heaving to sit through pages and pages of internal dialogue that is basically just the same thought repeated over and over again. We don't need every single one of Catalinas thoughts!!! There are sometimes 10 pages of just Catalina thinking and she doesn't even think interesting things?? I started skipping it after page 400 and just reading dialogue and honestly, I missed nothing.
Aaron and Catalina have no chemistry. There is no build up. I wasn't rooting for them, there was no tension, no yearning, nothing. They don't flirt, there is no sexy banter, there is simply no room for sexy banter because we have to spend every single second in Catalinas head.
Instead we go from 0 to 100 in the span of half a page. It takes us around 400 pages to get to their first kiss, which also comes with no emotional build up, no tension, nothing and then Aaron just starts saying things like this:
"If I snuck my hand under your dress, how wet would I find you, baby?"
Calm down, sir. This is your first kiss. You have no - and I repeat absolutely none - sexual chemistry. You have barely exchanged a single flirtatious sentence and this is the first thing you say? You realize this isn't a pornshoot, right?
Coincidentally, this was also the line were I considered dnf'ing but I didn't sit through this much of this travesty to back down 400 pages in.
And then he just keeps going with this weird and frankly uncomfortable dirty talk.
"Do you want me to get you off and hold you until you fall asleep? Or do you want me to claim it with my cock?"
I want you to stop talking to be honest.
Aaron also call her "baby" an excessive amount of time. Baby is like the worst pet name ever to exist and it just makes everything he says sound ten times worse!!
Catalina's family was cool though. -
I'm giving it two stars instead of one star and a punch in the face because of the smut we got to read towards the ending. That's about it.
I hate everyone on GoodReads who said it was the best book they've ever read and everyone should read it. Seriously there are easier and faster ways to torture someone, you didn't have to trick me into reading this book. What in badly written Wattpad story was that? Also, calling this 'enemies to lovers' must be a hate crime.
The writing was bad and the jokes were not funny. The dialogs were odd and repetitive. The author tried to make the characters 'quirky' but they just ended up being weird and annoying. I'm about to go into details with characters so buckle up.
First up, Catalina. She is so stupid that it's painful to watch. She has the IQ level of a used condom. This girl is so dumb that if I saw her stick a fork into an outlet, I'd say it was one of her good days. This girl should be in history books because how can you be this brainless and stay alive on your own for this long? She's in her thirties but I would not trust her with a plastic knife.
Catalina is also VERY annoying and unprofessional. She didn't take her co-worker's number, whom she sees every day and works together when it was needed since they were a group just to be petty. Someone should fire her. She also thinks being stubborn and holding a grudge is a personality trait or something to brag about when it's just pathetic. Aaron wants to go to another continent to help her, he asks and does his best to help her with a project she's struggling with and he asks if she wants a ride home since it's raining really bad and Catalina just says "No because I'm a stubborn dipshit."
Catalina is also dedicated to not seeing that Aaron is clearly a simp for her. Aaron could stare at her longing as he bites his lip then he could break into a song and serenade about how Lina put the stars to the sky and how her shit smells like lavender with a full dance routine and she'd just say "Oh my, I wish Aaron liked me."
Moving on to Aaron. I'm having complicated feelings about him. First, of all, him knowing every little thing about Catalina was cute at first but it was used WAY TOO MUCH so it just became annoying. I started rolling my eyes every time he proved he knew Catalina very well and I ended up hurting myself. We get it, you are walking-talking Lina dictionary. Must be painful.
If a guy I barely talked knew me way too well and obsessively asked to be my date for an intimate family event in another continent, I'd be creeped out. It's one thing to offer, it's another to pull up a Joe Goldberg and keep asking until you get your way.
The relationship between Aaron and Catalina was alright if you exclude Catalina. (Seriously, I hate her.) The smut and the tension in some scenes were well written. They were the best parts of this book.
Aaron needs to stop saying baby in every sentence. You are not Justin Bieber, get it together.
I also understand that Aaron was in love with her for years so it makes sense that he says he loves her after a week of being together. But Lina returning it was just unrealistic. It literally has been a week girl, come on. Was the dick that good?
In conclusion, after this day I'm not saying "Go kill yourself." to anyone. Instead, I'll say "Go read The Spanish Love Deception."
(Update: This is getting likes again so I'm editing the review to clear some grammar mistakes.) -
Soooo...... I don't want to be the one to say this but let's be honest. This was lowkey a poor mans Hating Game.
Ok listen, if you're gonna try to sell me enemies-to-lovers I better see some fuckin hate! I better see some master level pettiness. I better see a lot of awkward tension. I want an Eric and Sookie style situation where every time they interact you're thinking "ok smack him.... no wait... kiss..."
Don't tell me this is enemies-to-lovers and have it amount to nothing more than a side eye. And you better not have one of the MCs be blatantly and obviously in love with the other lmao and pretend like it's still enemies-to-lovers. Where's the enemies? Where's the hate? Because I don't see it at all. I spent this whole read frustrated that this book was trying to convince me that it's something that it's not, while simultaneously freakin irritated that Catalina apparently goes through the world with blinders on.
I wanted to like this book. I really did.
I love enemies-to-lovers, and I love, love, LOVE fake dating or marriage of convenience shit. That's my catnip forever, I can't get enough. But from the literal opening line of the book, it's clear that our Henry Cavill look alike is obsessed with Lina and goes very far out of his way to do things for her. These tropes only really succeed if the Feels sneak up on the MCs. Or both parties are lovable dummies who don't realize that (in a fictional world... don't let anyone tell you this shit is healthy irl) love and hate share a very fine line.
So what we got here was Lina, a silly girl who internal monologues too much, completely oblivious to Aarons love for her because... reasons. Granted it's a pretty good reason to put someone on your shit list, it's absolutely not enough of a thing to hang an entire trope on.
And while this is entirely subjective, but since there wasn't any true enemies-to-lovers style tension... that meant there was no real chemistry here. Even Lina monologuing the same fuckin content over and over again in her head couldn't sell me on these two. It just draaaaagged...
Not to mention! It took me 5 days to read this. FIVE! This is a day and a half book at best and yet I fuckin struggled and forced myself to read it...
And honestly, if we're getting nit picky here, once Aaron let the 'baby's loose, I knew I was done. And I actually like that term of endearment in books! But coming from him, I cringed every time. His characterization in particular just didn't work for me. Too all over the place.“Yes. It’s all because of you. It’s you who makes my cock this hard. And it’s you who makes my heart want to plunder out of my chest with a brief touch or a simple look. But it’s nothing to be scared of. We are in this together, remember?”
Sorry y'all. T'wasn't for me. But a ton of other people loved it so what do I know! -
I don't want to say I can't recommend this book to anyone.
Who am I to decide no one will ever like this book? I am not the god of reading (although not for lack of trying).
Surely if you like reading 500-page books and then wondering what even happened in any of those pages when you're finished, you will enjoy this. Certainly if the reason you appreciate the enemies to lovers trope is for the worst parts of it, this is your cup of tea. If traumatic events work for you most when they are introduced as third-act plot twists, this is the book for you.
But I don't like any of those things. And also I'm being facetious, because even though every human is a snowflake and what have you, I'm assuming no one does.
I do not understand how anyone likes this book.
In spite of the fact that I have dedicated my online presence/various energies/life to being an asshole about literature, I am a basically empathetic person, to the extent that it combines with my anxiety in a fun cocktail of depression about hypothetical scenarios about strangers. So I am typically able to "put" "myself" "in" "others'" "shoes."
But not now. What, in this absolute tome, is there to like?
Let's sum up what there is to not like:
- The writing style felt...well, not for me
- The enemies to lovers aspect - my FAVORITE TROPE - is COMPLETELY BUNGLED. Enemies to lovers when one person is just fully unable to communicate and the other is jumping to conclusions is more like assholes to lovers!
- These characters are assholes!
- If you had asked me last week (or, okay, a month ago - my review turnaround time is not quick) if it were possible to read a 500 page romance novel without a lick of chemistry, I'd say no. But then I read this
- The background story (about our main character getting over sexual harassment she experienced in college) is good, but I have to say the rise in romances that include a culture of misogyny that the love interest is part of is NOT doing it for me!!! I read romance to pretend men are good, not to be reminded that they're all complicit in monstrosity and thus monsters by default!
- It's a snoozefest. It's boring
- The thing that brings the characters back together after final act drama is LAST MINUTE CANCER INSERTION. NOT F*CKING OKAY
As I listed all the things I hate, and hate enough to vividly remember even after FOUR WEEKS, I have not thought of a single thing I liked.
Oh god. Do I have to lower this to one star?
Bottom line: It has been so long since I had to write a good old-fashioned rant review. Didn't miss it!
----------------
pre-review
finishing this rom-com felt like taking a semester-long intensive course in the anatomy of the fruit fly.
and i wish i could blame that on my reading slump.
review to come / 2 stars (lowered to 1 after reviewing)
----------------
currently-reading updates
people can do amazing things. like for example, this is a book that came out 6 months ago and has tens of thousands of goodreads ratings and i didn't even hear about it until today
update: another amazing thing. two days later i'm remembering it's on my currently reading and actually starting it -
Have you heard the news?
BCDF Pictures has acquired the
FILM RIGHTS to The Spanish Love Deception (!!!!!!!!) All the info on BCDF and who is adapting it for the big screen
here!
♡ If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you can
grab one here -
OMFG when i tell you i found my new comfort read, comfort characters, and favorite romcom of all time…i ain’t fucking lying!!!
This book not only cured all my mental illnesses, cleared my eye sight, and added 20 years to my life span but it also fucking DELIVERED!!
it’s the perfect pacing, not rushed, not too slow.
And when i fucking tell you…the way i would protect these characters and use my body as a human shield for them…i ain’t fucking playing around.
AARON MFing BLACKFORD -
this whole book could've been avoided had aaron just asked lina on a damn date in chapter one bye.
-
2nd read: feb - may 2022
★★★★★
1st read: september 2021
★★★★★
AARON BLACKFORD WHERE ARE YOU?! -
I really suffered through this entire thing to get to the smut only to have him say “I want to feel you milking me, baby“ while using a (most likely) expired condom
-
booktok will pay for its crimes against literature
-
This was fine, but I don't know why it's so hyped up tbh. There weren't any glaring issues, apart from the fact that I think it was a tad overwritten, but it just didn't blow me away. I've read this story before. Now I'll preface this by saying enemies to lovers isn't my favourite, however I do love fake dating. But I just found the enemies part of their relationship to be superfluous. They weren't reaaaally enemies. I found the ending to be a bit too corny for my personal tastes. But I didn't not like it, it just doesn't stand out to me so I don't really have much else to say about it honestly. It's fine, but overhyped. I think the author just did a great job with marketing maybe, or I'm missing something... who knows!
-
“Mamá had taught me better than to leave things hanging over my head. Ignoring and waiting for them to go away on their own wasn’t the smart thing to do. Because they didn’t. Sooner or later—and just when you least expected them to—they’d fall off right on top of you, and chances were, they’d take you down with them if you let them.”
~ Rating- 1 star ~
Content/ Trigger Warnings- Sexism & Misogyny, Dieting & restrictive eating (causes mc to faint as she doesn’t eat for a day, possible eating disorder), Grief & loss depiction, Death of a parent, Fainting, Adult- Minor relationship (recounted), Panic Attacks (on page), Alcohol, Cancer, Bullying, Grief, Swearing & Cursing, Sexual Content (in detail)
Note- I have tried to include all the content warnings that I noticed, but there is no guarantee that I haven’t missed something.
-No Mention of these in the review-
This review has mild spoilers. It is my subjective option. Feel free to disagree and comment respectfully! Hate comments will not be acknowledged and will be blocked.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
"One didn’t need to be young for their life to change in the span of an hour, a handful of minutes, or nothing more than a few seconds. 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."
The Spanish love Deception is a book everyone must have heard about at least once this year (unless you are living under a rock, or are staying away from romance altogether, in which case good for you, and forget you saw this review). This book was released in February 2021, but already has 81,378 ratings and an average of 4.21 star rating (as of November 2021), which is pretty high, especially for a new release. The Spanish Love Deception was showing up on my feed almost every day, which is why I picked it up in August (yes I know my review is going up 3 months later, don't call me out). I read it through kindle unlimited when I was going through stressful times, so it was a good break, but that's unfortunately all the praise I have.
So, was The Spanish Love Deception good? Well, according to everyone it was wonderful and the best book they ever read. According to me? I don't know. Majority clearly wins, so ignore my opinion and give this book a read if you want to. I didn't like The Spanish Love Deception. Actually, that's a lie. I was entertained while reading the book, but there's nothing about it that made me want to give it more than 1 star. I know most people are expecting me to rant and write a long review as to why I hated it, but frankly I don't care about this book enough to do that. I know that sounds harsh, but when I sat down to write this review I had so idea what to say. Still, I'll try.I'm lying again, this is very long and I've hit the character limit.
"Because life wasn’t ideal. It turned and bent. It spun you out for a minute and swung you right back in the next."
The Spanish Love Deception was... ok? It's almost 500 page contemporary. I even hesitate to read fantasy books that are so long. Its not because I find long books boring, I've willingly read books as long as Game of Thronesand then I gave it 2 stars, but that's besides the point, so long books aren't an instant turn-off for me.
My issue is that if I am going to sit through and read such a long book, it should be worth the read. There should be angst and yearning. There should be character developmentbut the characters have to have a personality to begin with for that.There should be chemistry between the characters. There should be a proper plotline. The side-characters should be well developed, and not props that the MC only remembers when they need something. The Spanish Love Deception, according to me, had none of this, it was a book that fell flat on most things that make a good book. But I am in the minority, keep that in mind. I will acknowledge that I am not exactly the target audience, as I am a teenager and this is an adult romance, but since romance is one of my favourite genres, I guess that doesn't apply.
So, let's break this down.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
“We just try our best, even when, often, our best is not good enough. Blaming yourself now is not going to change the past; it’s only going to take away energy that you should be spending in the present. And look where you are now; you are here. It’s not too late.”
Catalina Martìn needs a fake date in a month for her sisters wedding in Spain. Catalina lied to her family and told them she has a boyfriend, as the groom's brother is her ex and she does not want to go alone and face everyone's judgment. Her coworker, Aaron Blackford, offers himself up as her fake date for her sister's wedding. The only problem? Aaron is her nemesis and number one enemy.Will Catalina get over her ego and go to Spain with Aaron, the boy who is obviously in love with her and spare us some unnecessary torture?Will Catalina be able to overcome her inner prejudices and go to Spain with Aaron, and maybe find love along the way?Of course she will, that's how romance books work.
“Only the truth. The reality. We weren’t friends. We barely tolerated each other, Aaron Blackford and I. We were spiteful to each other, pointed out each other’s mistakes, criticized how differently we worked, thought, and lived. We condemned our differences. (...) I wasn’t the only one driving along Hate Boulevard. It was a two-way road. Not only that, but it had actually been him, the one causing our fallout. I hadn’t started this feud between us. So, why? Why was he pretending to offer me help, and why would I humor him by even considering it?”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➼The plot
The plot of The Spanish Love Deception was... not that great. It dragged a lot, the pacing was quite off, and it is a very typical kind of romance book. Basically, writing a 500 page book just about a love-story is not enough. There has to be something more.
"Because Aaron was right. Finding a date in such a short amount of time was perhaps a little optimistic. Believing I’d find someone to pretend to be my made-up boyfriend was probably delusional. But accepting that Aaron was my only choice and taking him up on his offer? That was straight-up insanity."
The first half of the book dragged a lot. It takes about 200 pages for Lina to agree to go to Spain with Aron for her sisters wedding, and that's not a spoiler as its obvious from the burb. Then when they go to Spain, we don't get to see the wedding. Yes, you heard that right. WE DO NOT GET TO SEE THE WEDDING. The whole purpose they were going to Spain was the wedding, and we get scenes before and after, but not the wedding itself. That was disheartening, as one of the reasons I was so excited to read this was so I could read a wedding set in Spain. I decided not to tag this as a spoiler, because I don't want people to have wrong expectations before going into the book, like I did.
"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."
Apart from all this, the plot entirely lacks depth. While it explores some social issues like facing discrimination at work as a women from STEM, being in a toxic relationship in the past etc well, it falls flat due to the fact that there's nothing going on except the romance. This would have been fine had the book been shorter, but the higher the page count the more I am expecting from a book.
➼The writing
The writing for this book was ok. I liked quite a lot of quotes, but I wasn't a fan of the way the characters communicated in certain scenes (specifically the ~steamy~ ones). Sometimes the dialogue came off cringey and cliché, but since this is a debut I do think there is scope for improvement.
"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."
The paragraphs were defiantly long and wordy, and hyphens were used a lot. There are a lot of word repetitions (
no, I did not make a list this time) I also think this book would have been better as dual POV. I am hoping
Elena Armas's work gets better, as I do think they have potential, though I don't know if I will read more by the author.
➼The characters
➡Catalina (Lina)
Lina is our main character, and the one who's perspective we are stuck in. Lina's inner monologue was repetitive at times, which is understandable as there is literally no plot, so her thoughts only comprise of Aaron Blackford, his abs and his blue eyes. I found Lina annoying. I could tolerate her in some scenes, and was also sympathetic to her situation, but she really dug her own grave with the number of lies she kept telling. It was difficult for me to keep excusing her behavior.
“So, was it that silly of me to want to stand there and look good? Not just fine. Not just getting by. To everyone watching, I wanted to look complete. Beautiful, flawless, unaffected. I needed to give the impression that I had my life back on track. All figured out. Happy. With a man on my arm. Objectively, I knew how dumb all of it sounded, how much I shouldn’t be measuring myself in terms of having a man, looking thinner, or having clear skin. But, God, I knew that was what everybody else would be doing.”
Lina is also an adult, but I didn't feel like that while reading. Lina is not that mature for her age, and sounded like an angsty teenager. I found her perspective boring and sometimes tiresome to read. I also didn't like the way most of the conversations she had with her friends and family were about Aaron (more on this later). I wish Lina's character had a bit more depth.
➡Aaron
I know people are going to come after me with pitchforks when I say this, but I'm not a huge fan of Aaron Blackford. Yes, yes I get why people like him. He is the typical 'brooding love interest who is misunderstood and has a tragic past'. Such characters show up in almost every book, and unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of this trope (
Declan Murphy will always be the exception).
“Aaron didn’t do nonsense. He pointed out facts; he stated verifiable truths. He had been disciplined to do that, just like every other engineer in the consulting company where we worked, me included.”
Aaron is alright. I'm quite indifferent towards his character. He does have some likable qualities. I also found him more interesting than Lina, and wish we got some chapters from his perspective. I don't really have much to say about Aaron.
“I’ve never been scared to work for something, Catalina. Even when all odds are against me.”
Of course, some things about him got on my nerves, like the way he knew so many details about Lina and her life, due to him 'eavesdropping' conversations as Lina 'talks too loud'. It was cute in the beginning, but eventually I found it kind of creepy. I also didn't like the moment he started calling Lina 'baby'. It was awkward to read. I'm quite neutral towards Aaron otherwise, but I defiantly don't think he is the best love interest ever or something along those lines, but I'm happy for you if you liked his character!
➡The side-characters
The side-characters did not play any major role in the story. Their only purpose was for Lina and Aaron to have romantic moments, and it was beyond infuriating. SC's are not there just so the main characters can use them to their convenience. SC's deserve their own stories and characters apart from the MC's, and no-writing another book with them as the MC will not excuse their lack of personality in the main book.
“every person is different. We all have our own pace to put back together our lives after going through something like that. Some people need more time than others. And if you haven’t managed to get there yet, then there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
I was so immensely disappointed with this, as this book had more than enough page time to incorporate the side-characters own arc well. Rosie is Catalina's best friend, but the only times she shows up is so she can tell Lina that Aaron is totally in love with her, or so that Lina can gush or rant about Aaron. Her only purpose is be Lina's support system when something goes wrong. She doesn't have a life apart that, as Lina never bothers being a good friend and asking about Rosie's problems. In fact, Aaron found out that Lina needed a date for through her conversations with Rosie (not a spoiler, happens in first chapter). It was irritating.
Lina's family also plays a similar role for the most part, where majority of what they say makes Lina realise how much of a good person Aaron is. All this would have been fine if the side-characters had personalities and arcs apart from the romance, but since they didn't, it was vexing.
➼The Romance & The Relationship
Lina and Aaron are an ok couple, but I never saw chemistry between them. I also don't think they will be compatible in the long run, but that's just my personal opinion. The thing about them that bothered me the most was that they were so entirely dependent on each other. Every single scene was about Aron and Lina and developing them as a couple.
“You always find a way to catch me completely off guard. And that’s not something many people can do.”
Lina flew to Spain for her sisters wedding, and yet we don’t get her bonding with her family much. The entire thing was about Aron. Its all about Lina and Aron, Lina and Aron, Lina and Aron. They also don’t have any character development apart from their relationship. If I’m reading a 500 page book, character development is the bare minimum. It also isn't really enemies to lovers, more like sort-of-rivals-to-lovers. As a whole, I'm not a huge fan of their romance.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➼Tropes in the book-
➡Slow-Burn
➡Rivals-to-Friends-to-Lovers
➡Office Romance
➡Fake Dating
➡Only One Bed
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
"I was over Daniel. My singlehood had nothing to do with that. I simply … struggled to trust somebody enough to give myself completely. I managed to keep myself one or two feet from anything that had the potential to hurt me. And that always ended one of two ways. I either walked away, or I was the one who was walked away from. But at least, I did come out of it wholly."
Overall, The Spanish Love Deception was obviously not for me. However, I did enjoy reading a bit and would recommend it if this interests you.
"In the real world, there was a consequence to every decision I made. To every choice that I ever took. A perfect world where life happened neatly and ideally didn’t exist. Life was messy and often hard. It did not wait for anybody to be ready or to expect the bumps on the road. You had to grab on to the wheel and steer your way back to your lane. And that was all I had done. That was what had brought me to where I was. For better or for worse."
Review written & uploaded on 14th November 2021.
P.S.-I tried a new reviewing format, would love feedback! This took me 3 hours to write. BR with Mariem!
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DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.
How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite
.....................................
Lowering to 1 star. RTC.
......................................
2.5 stars maybe. This was entertaining, but it didn’t need to be long. This is probably the first time I’ve read an almost 500 page contemporary book. This was super hyped up so I was expecting something better, and while it didn’t disappoint, it didn’t blow my mind either. Review to come soon. -
Not to be blasphemous or anything, but Aaron Blackford isn't anything particularly remarkable. In fact, I would probably go as far as to call him unremarkable, but I don't want his stans to murder me in my sleep. Ultimately, the thing that really sent me to edge with him is use of the word "baby" and the frequency in which he says it. It made me want to throw up.
Speaking of repetition, this book includes a lot of that. Certain phrases and words kept on being repeated. The writing in general is just not for me. It was very clunky in some parts. There would also be paragraphs and paragraphs about the most miniscule thing. And there would be full on monologues between dialogue or in between actions. There was so much about this book that could have been cut out or reduced, it was so much longer than it needed to be. Other than this, just in general, I found it too cheesy and it gave me so much second hand embarrassment. The amount of times I had to set the book down and recoup was unfathomable. While I should have been blushing from the cuteness, I was blushing from discomfort.
The romance was not great either. Catalina and Aaron's relationship was just so uninteresting and their banter was lackluster. It was very obviously trying to be The Hating Game. Workplace romance, enemies to lovers, they're enemies because of some sort of miscommunication when they met for the first time, guy that has liked the girl for the beginning but continues the rivalry for her sake, girl who thinks guy absolutely hates her because of his first reaction to her so she is just super petty and blindsided by that, a wedding where one of them brings a fake date because their ex will be there, a son who quit the career pathway set for him by his dad, and a dad that is estranged and has issues with his son for that reason, stopping the elevator scene, tall love interest who mocks main character for being short... shall I go on? And don't even get me started on the dirty talk between these two. It genuinely made me want to crawl out of my skin.
And I wish I loved the characters, but as I said before, Aaron isn't that special. There isn't much appealing about him. Where's the flavor? He's just an amalgamation of every other romcom love interest. Catalina isn't any better. I found her annoying and her stubbornness wasn't as cute or quirky as it was trying to make it seem. She made things for herself so much harder than they had to be.
Overall, I was severely disappointed by this. I expected more substance. I don't have a burning hate for it or anything which is why it isn't a 1 star read, but if I could unread this, I would. -
An enemies to lovers romance, filled with heated stares and magical chemistry between two opposite individuals who bring the best in each other for the better, and the worse...
Right off the bat I just knew I was going to fall in love when diving into this magnificent novel. The cover, the synopsis, it being written but a humble and beautiful human being, it was a no brainer that my love would be immense for these characters. AND I WAS NOT WRONG! Aaron and Catalina, one of my favorite characters this year, have out done themselves with how much passion they have for each other. Whether it's the passion of their arguments, heated stares... my gosh those heated stares— heated stares from Aaron that make your panties (or boxers, to each it's own) melt in the best of ways— and that emotional connection that makes them compatible in all aspects.
After months of working next to each other, but having mental doubts about each other Aaron makes the move when Lina aka Catalina needs a date to take to her sister's wedding. A wedding where her ex boyfriend will be because he is related to Lina's soon to be brother in law. Trying to find a date for her sister's wedding is not because of Daniel, her ex. But because she does not wish to go alone. Something in which Elena captured so perfectly for young women in our generation. Then comes Aaron, sweeping his cape and honoring Lina. When she least expects it, and also out of desperation— she agrees to Aaron's deal and makes the best out of it.
Once their walls come down, they both reveal a side to themselves that is unexpected to them but also the reader. Lina has doubts though, because the small physical and emotional touches coming from Aaron makes her question whether it's real, or just a facade to make their fake relationship look real in front of her Spaniard family. But Aaron is determined to make her trust him and believe him, instead of her dispose him. And after a three day vacation for her sister's wedding in Spain, and multiple dances and some glasses of wine, their physical attraction emerges in that small room with the small bed they have to share. and Aaron does not disappoint;
"When I finally kiss you, there won't be any doubt in your mind that it is real..."
Obstacles come in the way as well, there is no doubt about that. After Lina's previous relationship, she knows that dealing with Aaron and have a strong relationship with him is something that is uncertain because of the impromptu change as per his new job title at their mutual job. But once again, Aaron does not give up and stays strong to be with Lina. He wants nothing more than to just be with her, absorb her aura and happiness that comes from being simply in her presence. And Lina must learn to let him in, to let him show her how much he truly cares about her;
"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."
Overall, this magnificent and beautifully written novel is truly one of a kind that will make the butterflies in your stomach flutter. Every stare, every touch, every kiss— is what makes Aaron Blackford one of a kind. And my sweet eyes are patiently waiting for the next novel... in which I got an inside scoop will be someone in this world! I am so proud of
Elena Armas and what has accomplished. And I cannot wait to be part of her author career and have her as a true friend.
ARC kindly provided by Elena in exchange for an honest review...
Follow Me On:
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ReRead #4: Giggling and blushing over words on paper
ReRead #3: Can Aaron get any more perfect?
ReRead #2:My heart physically hurts and I WANT MY AARON BLACKFORD PLEASE AND THANK YOU!
I am and will forever be salty that Aaron Blackford does not exist.
Men written by women are the best I tell y'all.
Repeat after me:
“Men written by women do and will not exist. They are made up and if one ever pops up out of nowhere I give him to Zoë.”
Thank you, I appreciate you donating him to me. 😃 ❤
This book is AMAZING I don’t give five stars out often, I reserve them for the books that capture me and make me stay up late to finish. For this book I stayed up until 4am to read. The characters were amazing and I will forever love them.
Lina
I loved Lina. She was such a bubbly person and she reminded me very much of myself because of how she constantly thought out loud like I do. She was such a fun character to be around. Although I did want to strangle her at times.
Aaron
Where do I even start with this character? A Clark Kent look alike who donates his time to help animals in shelters, loves Disney animated movies?! His favourite movie of all time is UP!! Gets 5 fish tacos when she asks for 4! Andddddd he is guarded but lets that down when she is around!! On top of all that he is extremely ATTRACTIVE AND SEXY.
✨men written by women✨
Matin Fam
This family is one that I want! My family can get out of the way because this one is so AMAZING. They care so much for Lina and I love her sister so much.
The Best Friend
Yes, I did forget her name. OK, she wasn't mentioned enough for me to remember it. I think it was something like Kate? Katie? Lilly? Alice? I don’t know. But she was an amazing best friend and I want her in my life NOW.
I could not stop laughing and smiling throughout this whole book and at the end I actually hugged it because I loved it so much! And then I cried because Aaron does not exist. I MEAN HE LOOKS LIKE SUPERMAN. HE IS LITERALLY PERFECTION
*bows* -
i read this earlier this month (i wanted to wait to post closer to its release date - TOMORROW!), but i have thought about this book ever since.
or, i guess i should be more specific - i have thought about aaron ever since. lol. never have i fallen in love with a character more quickly, more obsessively. hes pretty dang perfect.
the story really plays well into the slow burn, enemies to lovers, and fake dating tropes. honestly, the tension and chemistry between lina and aaron is off the charts - it really helps for those who arent a fan of slow burn romances.
but there is also a lot of depth to the story. i think it handles the topics of trust, grief, family pressures, and sexism in the workplace very well. so this book is relatable as much as it is enjoyable.
entertaining, swoon-worthy, with loads of sass - this debut novel has hit the mark.
thank you so much to the author,
elena, for the ARC! shes a sweetheart and deserves all of the positive reviews for this!!
↠ 4.5 stars -
thoughts to come in 2 different vlogs ✌🏻
-
The more I think about this book, the more it hits that it was just...... not good lol
CW: dieting/disordered eating, terminal illness, death of a parent, slut shaming -
I’m a twenty something smart independent mature adult who is currently unable to function properly and turned into a huge mess because of a book. I’m just in love, okay??
I think my face might’ve been permanently defected from smiling like a fool the whole time I was reading this book! This is just the type of romance I love and enjoy! Also, after a bunch of three stars romances, I FINALLY found my first five stars of the year! And it’s a debut?? It was so freakin cute and so sweet and so swoon-worthy and just so good! I lost count of how many times I sighted out loud.“When I finally kiss you, there won’t be any doubt in your mind that it is real.”
Lina is such a hilarious independent kinda dramatic character and I love her so much! Aaron might have ruined me. He’s just so (this is where I struggle to gather my thoughts and try to explain how perfect and sweet and considerate and patient and ridiculously amazing he is) How he is always taking care of Lina and always there for her and always pays attention to everything she does and say?? I swear that everything that came out of his mouth turned me into a mess! He’s just so perfect okay? Aaron es mi futuro marido. (Thank you
Lau for teaching me that, lol!)
This book has everything you could ask for and more, it’s a huge mixture of perfect tropes, swoon worthy moments, amazing lovable characters, light banter, sweet subtle touches, grumpy hero, a sweet kinda cheesy (in a good way, lol) story, Spanish setting, hilarious fun moments, beautiful writing, and a slow burn that is full of tension and angst that would make you set on the edge of your seat from the anticipation.
Ps:
Elena, I demand that we get Rosie and Lucas book! I mean, please? We haven’t even met him but I could totally picture it! Please make it happen! -
With a slow-burn (what exquisite agony!) enemies to lovers storyline, this book is perfect for fans of Sally Thorne and Mariana Zapata. Oh, and there's a fake relationship. And a soccer game that reminded me of the baseball game from Twilight? Friends, everything you could want in a romance is right here. Enjoy.
-
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DNF @ 8%
This was mentally exhausting and the thought of returning to it actually made me feel upset. The characters were so childish and I didn't like the writing style. I'm so bummed because I love Spain and Spanish culture and the premise sounded like pure wish fulfillment but this is really just like a more infuriating version of THE HATING GAME and I couldn't get into it at all. Bummer.
1 star -
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN LET ME PRESENT TO U WHO YOU ALL CAME FOR, THE LAST BACHELOR OF THE EVENING AARON BLACKFORD 👏👏👏👏👏
today aaron Blackford is raising money for rescue puppies. your date with aaron blackford will be a day at the shelter he volunteers at: playing and walking the dogs. he has offered to wear his tight football pants when he plays with the newborn puppies. aaron will also carry you everywhere, make sure you eat enough and get you five tacos, not four. when you're stressed, aaron blackford will massage your shoulders or stop elevators to make out with you. aaron wants to get married have a bunch of kids and a dog. if this does not appeal to you, remember that making kids takes practice. *every paddle goes up at the same time* mhmm that's what i thought.
in his free time, aaron makes homemade granola bars and has wild sex. on a related note, the snazzy tuxedo you say displayed on him tonight will be auctioned off today as well. and by auctioned off i mean OFF as in 5000 dollars for every piece of clothing he removes.
aaron is also being auctioned today to be your fake date to a wedding in spain. when u sit in his lap for show (which is inevitable ofc) then try to get up he will put his arms around your waist and say "stop," in your ear, "that's not helping with the situation." Aaron will now show you how he will say those words to you. *he repeats it and two women and one man faint* no stacey, you cannot trade in your date for him. he's the father of your children, stacey. moving on, aaron will take spanish lessons to be able to speak to your family. aaron will score a goal with you over his shoulder. shirtless. there is only one bed.
also i just got word that aaron blackford is not for bidding today because he has been kidnapped. oops i said that too early. men, take what's mine and run *four armed men in suits lift aaron and walk him out the door* -
The Spanish Love Deception was a disappointment.
The romance was daft.
The plot was severely lacklustre.
And the writing was simply not it.
The enemies/ rivalry aspect of this book was absolutely terrible, let’s address that real quick. If you're going to write a work rivalry to lovers trope, at least make the rivalry make sense? Aaron was just straight up rude to Lina for two years with absolutely no basis. It was weakly written and fell apart way too quickly. Suddenly, he wants to go to Spain with her and doesn’t actually hate her guts?
What- I don’t buy it.
To summarise what this book is about, Lina has her sisters wedding to attend back in Spain. She has no one to go with but apparently, her public enemy no.1 wants to go with her. And the rest you shall read to know I guess.
I must confess, after chapter 24 I started to skim read. There was nothing to look forward to and everything seemed to unravel to the point where the main source of conflict was inconsequential. No angst, no tension and the meagre plotline had already died out, what was left?
･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★.The characters:･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★.
Our main character,Lina, is an engineer in a predominately male workplace. It was insightful reading about her experiences interacting with sexist coworkers. As someone who wants to follow a similar career as Lina and being hella scared of workplace sexism, I couldn’t help admiring her & the way she carries herself.
Aaron… sheesh, where to start?
I’m convinced that all a love interest has to do to be a booktok fav is 1) be a prick to the main character for a while for no reason 2) have blue eyes 3) have good banter.
And that’s not to say that Aaron is terribly written, don’t get me wrong.
But am I disappointed? Yes.
Did I find Aaron kinda-sorta boring? Double yes.
I feel like the only thing that was highlighted about Aaron’s character is that he has blue eyes, played footy and is a workaholic? No offence but that doesn’t even sound like all that…
Oh, and did I mention he has blue eyes?
The author was really persistent that we know he has blue eyes.
Also…
Aaron Warner > Aaron Blackford any day.
All the other characters in this book were so scarcely discussed that I can't say much about them even if I wanted to...
･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★.The writing: ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★.
The word ‘blue’ is said 108 times, 90 of which were used to describe Aaron’s eyes....
90 fucking times.
Ninety!
That is not a normal amount at all.
And of course, that doesn’t include the other mentions of his eyes where it wasn’t explicitly mentioned that they were blue. Our author here likes to be unique, you know? Switch it up a bit. She also uses the term, wait for it, ✨ocean✨
aArOnS oCeAn bLuE eYeS uWu uWu
Once again, because I love my statistics, the word ‘ocean’ was mentioned 23 times, 16 of which referred to Aaron’s eyes.
Now can you see how obnoxiously repetitive this is?
*eye roll*
Something I’ve just now come to terms with is that when you're reading something you really enjoy, you never really notice the writing that much. Writing is only ever noteworthy when it’s either bad or really really good. And I’m figuring this out now because this is the first book that I honestly hate, and I mean HATE the writing.
The paragraphs in this book were, to say the least, wordy and hard to read (lol)
And of course, since I am a woman of facts and vigour, I have examples to show for it.
As well as my substitution.
“He searched my face for a brief moment that seemed to stretch into a full—and very uncomfortable—minute.”
I propose:
“He searched my face for what felt like a minute, leaving me uncomfortable.”
My reason:
The hyphens ARE SO WEIRD! I never see them in books and for good reason.
“Gerald is a prick,” came from the man in the driver’s seat.”
My proposal:
“Gerald is a prick,” Aaron said
My reason:
listen, I get this. The author was trying to be cool and tell us where Aaron is and what he said in one go. Two birds with one stone right? But no. My dumb ass spent 2 minutes trying to figure who the hell she was talking about. ‘What man next to you?’ I thought. Cause she better not be calling Aaron, her work nemesis of near 2 years, ‘the man’.
Btw, this isn’t the first time the author has written something like this, where an important character is belittled to ‘that person said’ or ‘my best friend said’. I personally don’t like it. They have a name; let’s use it, shall we?
“To my offer. Have you thought about it? And please”—dammit, that word again—“stop pretending you don’t remember. I know you do.”
My proposal:
“To my offer. Have you thought about it? And please stop pretending you don’t remember. I know you do.”
My reason:
we honestly don’t need to know how many times he says please, it’s drawing attention to something unnecessary. And again with the hyphens!!
“My apprehensive brown eyes held his determined blue ones, and some kind of silent understanding passed between us.”
My proposal:
“My warry eyes held his determined ones, and some kind of silent understanding passed between us.”
My reason:
Seriously stop with the eye colour references. We know!! Aaron has blue uwu uwu eyes! Get over it for fucks sake.
Okay, that’s it. There are so, so many more weird sentences and if I mentioned them all, this review would be an essay long.
Overall, overhyped. This book was almost 500 pages and for what?
Also, s/o to
Aliyah for reading this with me xx -
i'm going to dnf this. I can't with Lina sorry 😭😭😭
Also, the times she said HE HAS BLUE EYES????? Thank you sm I thought for a moment they were purple 🥰🥰 -
🎧 2nd Read, Dec. 2021 — 2 Stars
The fact that the author doesn’t have the DECENCY to at least admit that she was “inspired” by Sally Thorne’s
The Hating Game is truly TRAGIC and beyond OUTRAGEOUS. I don’t think she ever went on record to address the issue. She named
Mariana Zapata,
Ella Maise, and
Tessa Bailey under “influences” in her Goodreads author page, and I get it. In the case of this book, I can see how the influences manifest cause I’m no strangers to those authors’ works.MZ ==> for the slow burn, the h’s inclination for long inner monologues, and the glaring proof that the book is 500 pages long.
EM ==> for the CHEESE and (simplistic/cringey) writing. I mean, from the writing alone, it feels like they’re literally the same person.
TB ==> for the steam, which isn’t exactly raunchy, but the H’s dominance in bed and dirty talk does up the steaminess a notch.
I also watched a promotional video where she recommended her book for those who liked the movie The Wedding Date and the book
The Unhoneymooners, and I GET IT. Obviously, both involve a wedding and fake dating. What I don’t get and most upset about is why she didn’t credit Sally Thorne when there’s clearly SOOO MUCH/MANY likeness between their books. Idk why I make such a big deal out of this when readers who’ve caught on to this didn’t, but it just does piss me off okay. 😭
Before you attack me for re-reading a book I didn’t enjoy... (1) I didn’t know that I’d go from feeling meh about the book to outright rage and utter dislike. (2) I was adamant about re-reading it because they finally released the audiobook version, which I’m kinda known to be a fanatic of in general. Speaking of, I didn’t like the narrator, but the audiobook did make the writing sound less cringey. Talking about this book is not good for my blood pressure, so I’ll just ignore its existence from now on.
📚 1st Read, May 2021 — 3.5 Stars
“The Spanish Love Deception”???
More like...
The Aaron Blackford Invasion!!!
Why is the hero such an angel???
Isn’t he supposed to be grumpy???
Why is he so ✦ flawless ✦ ???
I swear, you read this book and watch him being as cool as a cucumber and as perfect as a cookie-cutter while leisurely bulldozing his way into Catalina’s heart, like...
THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS FARCE
Listen people, this is NOT enemies to lovers. It’s “I stupidly believe we’re mortal enemies because I heard you talked shit about me which hurt my feelings so bad I could never let it go for dear life - to - reluctant friends - to - stinking cute lovers.” The animosity is highly one sided, and ALL of it comes from the heroine. It’s CRYSTAL CLEAR from the very first page that our hero has always been into her. You can plainly see from the things he says and does, all the little quirks he notices about her, and every time she describes the on-going emotions on his features.
I get that with the enemies to lovers trope we don’t always get real, thick, and pure hate between the leads. Sometimes it’s laced with judgement and false perception, attraction, lust, or a disguised love. Even so, I was momenteraly bewildered because I thought I’d be presented with characters who (if they didn’t hate each other, but either one or both of them actually secretly pined for the other) would at least ACT like enemies for approximately the first half of the book. It doesn’t help that Aaron is such a ~soft~ hero. I was wondering what had crawled up the heroine’s butt to detest him so much.
As it turns out, she’s just sooo OBLIVIOUS and BLINDED by this...“Anyone but her, Jeff. Just not her. I don’t think I could take it. Is she even capable of taking on this project? She looks young and inexperienced.” — Aaron
which admittedly, had it been me they talked about—I’m not so conceited to think that they were just intimidated by my talent and distracted by my beauty LOL—my immediate reaction would be feeling hurt, offended, and angry, too. That is it though, isn’t it??? This is a romance, and we know that he means he couldn’t afford the distraction working together would create. By the time the story takes place, it’s been one year and eight months. Some grudge you hold there, baby girl!
THE CLOYING ROMANCE
She keeps treating him with hostility, and misinterprets everything he says. He neither encourages nor rerturns it, but continues to brush it off...“Because it was all you were willing to give me. And I’d rather have you hating me than not have you at all.” — See, what a Saint! And a crazy in love fool.
Lina dear, how can you stubbornly and begrudgingly hold one person accountable for ONE little mistake (that’s actually a misunderstanding) he’s not even aware he’s made? How can you not EVER come to the realisation that maybe what you’ve heard was wrong when he’s been nothing but nice and civil to you? Sheesh. ANYHOO... it was the fact that our hero was never mean back to the heroine, but instead showed tiny, ✧ mounting ✧ acts of love that made the book for me.
The book is told only from Lina’s POV, but I never felt like I needed Aaron’s because he was being so obvious with everything and she was the one clueless.
As much as I dug the slow-burn, I feel like most of the romance in this book is made up of scenes that are unoriginal and non-impactful. It’s as if the author just adopts every cheesy scene in romcom movies she can think of and smack-dabs them into her book. I didn’t roll my eyes, but there was just no excitement and anticipation because you knew... aww, he/she’s going to pull this move and he/she’s going to melt. You know what I mean???“Look at you, at my mercy. Just where I’ve wanted you all this time.” — Aaron
Oh, and the Aaron is sooo sweet all throughout the book that it’s slightly jarring when he gets all dirty, naughty, and dominant in bed. Rawwrrr. 😂 Not that I’m complaining.
“
THE HATING GAME” BLATANT RIP-OFF
The are instances (so many IMO, it’s honestly eerie and slightly uncomfortable)...- from the reason behind their *hate*,
- the office romance,
- the ‘bringing a fake-date’ to the wedding schtick,
- the freakishly tall, big Clark Kent lookalike hero vs. the small petite heroine,
- the heroine’s obsession with clinging/latching on to/hanging off the hero like a monkey (?!),
- the hero proudly bragging about the heroine’s success to her family and defending her in front of them...
and other (even) miniscule details that are too precise to be dismissed as “coincidence” or the author being “inspired,” but instead it’s simply her ~outrightly~ “copying”
Sally Thorne’s work. I should probably present you with all the proof, quotes, and whatnot to give some credibility to my words, but I’m unprepared. 🙈 This is already long as it is. Not to mention, for someone who’s read “
The Hating Game” three times, I think I know.
The most distinguished elements that this book “has it going” are all the Spanish influences, the heroine’s traumatic past romantic relationship, and the female STEM representation. All of which I appreciated and had fun reading about immensely. Other than that, and I know this is no light accusation, I swear “The Spanish Love Deception” is imitating “
The Hating Game” with or without it realizing to.
THE ROBOTIC WRITING
I said earlier that the romance was corny, and I think it might be because of the bland writing. It’s not succinct and just so straightforward. Okay, I feel like those adjectives cancel out each other? But I mean, the writing is unimaginative. It lacks finesse. Even with the most run-of-the-mill moment...like, when Aaron brushes off a strand of hair out of the Lina’s face or swipes a chocolate stain off her mouth,
there are ways to make those look interesting, enthralling, sexy, and swoony. However, the way the author describes them is *almost* cringe and eyeroll worthy. The heroine’s monologues are *almost* always longwinded, and the dialogues sometimes come off robotic. It’s like the characters are programmed to say them because they are “romantic.”
It’s stated somewhere in the copyright section that the author designed the cover with Ella Maise, and I wonder if they took writing lessons together too because I feel like they have similar style—which is to say, not exactly my cup of tea. Though if asked, I like Armas’ better. It might be a hit or miss with her future books, but I’d love to see what she comes up with next regardless.“When I finally kiss you, there won’t be any doubt in your mind that it is real.” — Aaron
In conclusion...
I’m conflicted. Even though Catalina was stubborn for holding on to her grudges and so unaware of Aaron’s feelings, she learned her lessons. Even though Aaron was not a jerk like I expected him to be, I ~adored~ that he was the way he was. In other words, the characters won me over. Even though I think the romance was too clichéd, I also couldn’t help that sometimes it had me all up in my feels. Even though the writing was formulaic, I enjoyed it to the point of finishing the book in one sitting. I think my biggest issue was it hitting too close to “
The Hating Game”—which is my favorite book; hence, me feeling territorial—for me to be able to love it completely. -
I'm serious when i say i had a huge grin on my face from page one. Like: i-dont-want-this-to -end-yes-give-me-more kinda grin
A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work.
Catalina Martìn has four weeks to find a fake boyfriend to attend her sisters wedding with her back home in Spain.
What she didnt expect was for her nemesis and coworker, Aaron Blackford, to volunteer himself for the job.
Catalina vows to find someone else. But when it becomes apparent that Aaron is her only option, Lina throws all her efforts into making sure their deception is flawless.
Through wedding festivities and family shenanigans it becomes easier to pretend to be in love. Lines start to blur and suddenly Lina doesnt feel like she's acting anymore.
Real talk: this book was so addictive!
The further i read the more i felt like it was written specifically with all my favourite tropes in mind.
If you love: fake relationship, office romance, big nosy families, hate to love, theres only one bed, grumpy and sunshine, slow burn, stolen glances, tension, adorableness that you cant resist, 🔥 chemistry
...then this is for you!!
The writing was easy and perfect. Written in the first person (first person is always my preference when it comes to reading romance) in Lina's pov, it was filled with banter, bickering and humour that had me gasping and giggling like a fool.
Both our love interest were stubborn and the tension and chemistry between them was undeniable.
Lina is everything i loved in a heroine. Funny, smart, unafraid to speak her mind, and doesn't take crap from grumpy Aaron.
Aaron is my new husband and thats all you need to know.
The way that everything played out was just *chefs kiss*.
And i know for a fact I'll be reading this book again when I need another dose of warm, soft and fuzzy cuteness.
Read this if you loved: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
This book is available on
Kindle Unlimited
4.5 stars
« ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review »
• release date: 23 February 2021 • -
I have been cheated.
This book is a scam. Would I call it bad? No. House of Night was bad. The Twilight movies were bad. But this, this was so mind-numbing horrible that I have no words to describe its disgustingness. It promises us "an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating romantic comedy. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn romance". Instead, it is a series of poorly executed, cringy clichés, with little to no plot or character development, and an unoriginal, expected climax. It was horrible. Wait, I already called it that. Then it was dreadful, horrifying, awful, terrible, appalling, hideous, ghastly, harrowing, gruesome, heinous, vile and loathsome.It was so bad that it made my vocabulary run out, and I had to copy-paste words from Google.
No wonder I hated it, and here's more on why.
Characters - Okay, I will talk about them first, because the two main characters were basically the only thing this book had going on. That didn't work so much in its favour, since I hated both of them. Well technically, I hated their life choices, personalities and behaviour. But that's basically them.
I could not stand Lina at all. She had no personality except being a perky, obsessed-with-sweets Spanish person. In the author's effort to make her generic, she has gone so far as to say that the whole of Spain was filled with an "army" of Linas. One would assume this meant Miss Catalina Martin was a relatable, enjoyable book character who made sense to the reader. But well, she wasn't. Instead, we got a brainless manic whose only personality trait was grieving about her non-existent love-life and oOgLiNg her co-worker's broad chest and hard abs. Her family and all only seemed decent when they made fun of Lina, but that was not very often.
Aaron Blackford was...honestly I have no idea. All I gathered from Lina's shallow descriptions of him was that he was a blue-eyed mountain who kneaded people's body parts with a passion. And all the "drawing circles" with his thumb was pretty revolting. I will not get into all his animal attitude in the bedroom or whatever it's called because a) I'm no expert and b) IT'S DISGUSTING. This guy just wasn't for me. I mean, he could be a gentleman and all, but he was super fixated on Lina and I can't see how he could have time to focus on anything but her. What's up with dwarfing all the furniture, dude? Also, 6'4" is tall, but not as tall as Aaron was made to sound; as if none of them had ever seen anyone that huge in their life. As if this happened to him every night-
Most reviews I read liked Lina's views about women in the workplace, and of course, I agree with them too, but I did not like how the author has portrayed Lina handling them. I cannot consider her a headstrong woman when all she does is run away from fights or let her large boyfriend handle them for her. I get that it was affecting her and she tried the best she could, but I could not count that as her victory because of the way she reacted.
Pacing - Maybe romances just aren't for me, but the beginning of this book was super slow. I am not used to reading 500-page contemporaries, and after reading this one I can see why they aren't written so long. When the only plot is two people falling in love, that can get boring fast. The first chapter was just Aaron offering to be Lina's date, and her saying no. The words "I don't need you" have been read by me more times in those ten minutes than they have in my entire life. After a few more chapters, I would have said this book was getting better, but only because of the drastically low standards set by the horrible first couple of chapters. I was still waiting for something of consequence to happen. The whole thing to do with the man-auction could have been cut out entirely. I was bored when I was not even one-fourth of the way through.
Writing - Pardon my ignorance, but I thought the enemies-to-lovers trope indicates that the characters go from enemies to lovers. I was not aware that they had to go from secretly loving each other to openly loving each other. And where was the "comedy"? The "slow burn romance"? All I saw was two shallow people's shallow wuv for each other.
The book was also way too repetitive for mine- or anyone's- liking. Lina going on about Aaron'sspeshulblue eyes was very infuriating. Thirty pages in, and there were already more than twenty lines about the blueness of Aaron's eyes. His condescending and unfriendly manner was being overly mentioned too, to the extent that any word of his was being constituted as an insult directed at Lina. And his height. His stupid height. I didn't- and still don't- care if he was a million feet tall okay, just get on with the story.
What else is there to say? Just don't read this book. I mean-
Edit: I was reading this review again and I cannot fathom how I forgot to mention the atrocious amounts of time he called her 'bAbY' in that cheesy, cringy way and made us all gag. Also, no, I don't agree with Lina's opinion. Khaleesi got what she deserved.
Buddy-read with my friend
Devina (you can read her really funny rant
here). The book was trash and a waste of time, and I'm glad you hated it as much as I did.
P.S. Unfortunately, the pictures I paste in my Goodreads reviews don't always work, but you can find
my complete review on my blog. -
what does a romance book need to be 400 pages for? idk but it was sooo good!!! the slow burn, the banter from the first freakin page, the chemistry. this book has great family relationships and an amazing friendship, literally everything i look for in a romance boo. i dreaded the breakup scene and of course it happen cus does that trope not exist in romance? nope but it was okay didn’t take away from my enjoyment from the book but that may be because the smut was immaculate.
-
AARON MOTHERFUCKING BLACKFORD! 😩
This book had no business being this good! It cured my depression and made me like men.
After reading less than a half of it, I thought it was okay and would be 4 stars but noooo it colonized my heart.
Such a cute romance with the perfect HEA ending ugh.
I am in love with the guy, I can’t even. He is the one I’m gonna use in my before bed scenarios. Perfect man I’m telling you🤧 the bar is too high now.
Lemme go and quickly manifest me some Aaron🕯
