The Spanish Love Deception
Ratings274
Average rating3.6
dnf @ pg 8
i could not do it y'all i just COULD NOT... this book was very much not written for me in any sense, from the trope it employs to the way it's written. i might just be too old for this book (at the ancient age of 25) or my sense of humor leans towards the dry side too much
but i can't do it. like you couldn't even pay me goodbye
2/5 stars
My brain is telling me to give this book three stars, because it really wasn't that bad and I'm probably being overdramatic, by my heart wants to give it two stars just because Aaron Blackford creeped me out so much. Just urgh. No. I hate possessive men.
I'm gonna sleep on this and rate it tomorrow.
Actually, nevermind. I'm not sleeping on it. I'm giving it two stars bc it's been 20 minutes my hatred for Aaron is growing uncontrollably.
Most of the time when it comes to romance books, I don't love them and I 100% know that I'm the problem. Romance books aren't for me. But this is different. As I sit and stew on what I read, I think I'm actually right this time when I say this isn't great.
Lina literally gave us an entire page about how she hates being called Catalina and what did Aaron call her the entire time? That man definitely had the audacity. If someone did that to me, since I also go by a shorted version of my name because I literally despise myactual first name, his ass would have been left at the airport. I would not be getting in a giant flying tube with that man. Please respect my basic requests.
And also the chemistry? Where was it? Nobody told me this was gonna be a Where's Waldo book. We literally went to “he hates me. I know it” to him asking Lina how wet she is for him in like .02578 seconds. Just urgh that's so awkward.
And like maybe I should judge bc I literally don't feel sexual attraction but he was so possessive? I returned the ebook to Amazon already bc I wasn't wasting $10 on this so I can't find exact moments to support my claim, but like he creeped me out. He seemed so demanding. Very much like “you're mine.
Everyone seems to skip over that? And small things like not telling her what the fundraiser was for just seemed very
Wanted a light read and tried my hardest to give this book time but it's just not for me. The way it starts, with Lina talking to Aaron with her back turned to him and using her friend as a proxy for, what, at least thirty minutes? Yeah it wasn't a good first impression for me. There is something interesting here and there when Lina talks about herself, her family, her past, but that's about it. Also, I get it that it's a romance with tropes and silly situations but when Lina's getting dressed and she ignores Aaron's knocks on the door for absolutely no reason, so he comes barging in? At least make it that she's listening to music and doesn't hear the knocking? I was also not a fan of all the repeated "I don't need help - yes you need help - I don't need help - yes you need help" scenes (the wedding date, the work thing, the car lift in the rain...).
4 ⭐️ cuz the begging was too much for me and I abandoned like at page 150, but I luckily started reading it again and it definitely got better.
I do love a fake boyfriend trope but instead of getting the usual miscommunication breakup we got it for some subplot. It was fine just not a satisfying ending.
it started so bad and then it got a little better, then bad again. MC so dumb and annoying I couldn't stand her. extremely predictable and it was so wanna be poetic at the end. the “i love you”s after 3 days just killed me. what's with the hype for this book? it was bad and soooo unnecessarily LONG
This was not good.
The first 40% of this could have been condensed into one paragraph and the book would have been 100% better off from it. It was absolutely tedious to get through, even on audio.
Why on earth is seemingly normal Aaron so adamant to be the date for Lina?
Why can Lina not use one single brain cell and see Aaron does not in fact hate her?
Why at 66% is she STILL asking if they are still pretending?
Why does the author not just use character's names instead of describing them for the 749th time?
Why is the book SO VERY long? I mean I get that she was probably going for page count with it originally being on KU but once it got picked up, that publisher should have seriously edited all the crap out.
2 stars is solely for Lina's family and the parts when they (eventually) got to Spain as I love Spain!
This book was definitely a slow burn and the chapters were ridiculously long. However, I love Aaron Black Ford's character but Lina's character made me furious lol.
Difficult one to rate because the writing standard is so poor in places. An editor should have fixed that of course. Jumbled sentences, 2D characters, amateurish. But the romance hooked me enough to keep me reading, after I had struggled past the first part. Very angsty. Hero suffering almost from the get-go, heroine unaware of this and hating him. Thrown together by a crazy bargain, falling in love, crisis caused by past problems. All standard stuff, but entertaining enough.
This one was recommended by a friend who looooves this book. And gosh i rated it an extra star just cause i love my friend that much. This book had me perched on the edge smiling and feeling giddy, while rolling my eyes and begging for more.
TSLD is like a beautifully wrapped present, and I'm all excited to tear it open. But here's the catch: slow burns aren't exactly my cup of tea. It's like trying to start a campfire with damp wood. I crave a story that ignites right from the get-go. Elena Armas, you've got the writing chops, but maybe its just me...
i'm not here for slow burns, sis. It's like trying to light a fire with a wet match. The spiciness? Well, let's just say, I needed a bit more heat in my life.
But let's not kid ourselves. Even when I was rolling my eyes or lamenting the slow burn, I couldn't put it down. There's something about the storyline and the characters that keeps you hooked. It's like a good TV series that keeps you coming back for more, no matter how much you complain about the cliffhangers.
So, if you're into romantic tales that put your patience to the test but have an undeniable charm, “The Spanish Love Deception” is your jam. But bring a fan because you might need it!
It wasn't the best romance I've read but it wasn't bad either. It definitely took a bit too much time to get to the wedding portion of the book since it's so heavily advertised as such. The writing also could have been more polished. There were too many internal thoughts that we really didn't need to know about.
Overall I would mostly recommend it for slow-burn lovers and if you like the he-falls-first trope.
З цією книгою у мене точно не було любові з першого речення. І навіть не з сотого. Перша половина книги була непростою. Від головної героїні я явно була не в захваті. Та й якісь часто повторювані описи чи кліше теж спочатку дратували. Але якось сторінка за сторінкою все це вже почало мені подобатись і навіть дуже подобатись. Тепер от ще наступну книгу авторки доведеться читати
this was fun, it lost a star because Lina was so repetitive when describing Aaron, it was exhausting lol
Thank GOD it's finally over. This was pure torture it never got better it just got shittier and felt so fake istg
Lekka, wciągająca historia. Ogromny minus jednak za złą wymowę hiszpańskich wstawek w audiobooku
Nothing too much, didn't lack on anything, wasn't too exaggerated, just the right tempo.
I've been meaning to get around to reading this for a long time now and I am so happy I finally got to it. I am an absolute sucker for fake relationship tropes (call it an unhealthy obsession) so you can already guess how excited and entertained I was reading this.
I can't enjoy a book unless I have laughed out loud and caused someone to look in my direction like I'm strange, thankfully and unthankfully, it happened with this book.
“Of course,” he said with his brows still furrowed. “I always have time for you.”
If someone said this to me I would kiss them on the spot. That's a promise.
Aaron is so special and he was probably my favourite character and what made this book for me. Lina believes she has a lot of baggage, she believes she's broken and he never failed to be reassuring and make her feel wanted and safe.
Also, Aaron loving Disney and Pixar movies gave me an absurd amount of serotonin that I wasn't expecting.
“And I know that even if something did break you—because that's life and no one is invincible—you'd still put the pieces back together and remain the brightest thing I'd ever seen.”
I'm not even going to sit here and pretend that this didn't make me get choked up. This is so beautiful and so special to me. This is by far my favourite quote from the entire book.
This has definitely become a comfort read for me.
that was a pretty alright story! I really enjoyed the auction + Spain trip arc but everything before and after was slightly drab.
Her constant pushing him away also got old pretty quickly. BUT LORD, THE IN-BETWEEN SHIT WAS SOOO GOOD!!! THEIR BANTER AND SPICE MADE MY KNEES SHAKE AND MY LEGS WOBBLE. I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF THE FAMILY INTERACTIONS W/ HIM & HIS UTTER DEVOTION TO HER... AND THE SMUT??? THAT SHIT WAS A BIT TOO HOT. OMG. HE IS JUST SO SMEXY and some of the things lina would say were just so funnyyy.
I have to say though - although the ending fell flat, the actual Spanish love deception portion of the book was unbearably good.
the whole vibe was so fun and I really loved it - kinda gave me a Crazy Rich Asians family dynamic vibe but Spanish (this has also brought to my attention the fact that one of my fav tropes/family tropes is that kind of crazy, rushed, adrenaline-pumped families whereby everyone is moving hella chaotically but love each other very much & then an outsider is welcomed to the fray and they soon realise how hectic it is) basically, I love the family dynamics x lina x aaron too much.
aaron is definitely the embodiment of the female gaze.
FORGOT TO MENTION — THE FUCKING TWILIGHT REFERENCES???? ABSOLUTE QUEEN, that in and of itself should give this book a 10 because WITH THE AMOUNT OF REFERENCES I SAW, I KNOW THAT SHIT WAS PURPOSEFUL TO REACH OUT TO THE FANS — AND BEBS — I HEARD YOUUUUU, WE HEARD YOUUUU <3333. shine bright like a diamond frfr
3.5 ⭐
Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the book. I just could not get over them going from hating each other for 2 years to him calling her pet names. It was weird and kept pulling me out from the book