The Spanish Love Deception

~I'm not used to writing my thoughts on books, I don't like giving marks or saying bad stuff about things I know take so much time, effort and courage. I have many things to say, and some of them are not as pleasant to read, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the book or understand that many others will fall in love with it. I just want to give an honest review, not intending to be mean or witty. I don't know if this would even classify as a review, these are just some thoughts I have now, that will maybe change later, who knows. Either way, if you feel like you'll get annoyed by my words, please don't continue reading, if you do read this, thanks and let me know what you feel about the book if you want too!~

I don't know how to feel about this book. I devoured it in much less time than I was expecting. I've been in an incredible readers block for... years now. I'm only able to read less than a hundred pages a day and get saturated easily. I'm relying on short, easy-to-digest books for the most part, and manga has been my salvation, but this book? This book has opened a voracious part of my reader's stomach I didn't remember I had. It's not because it has a delightful prose or the characters are not annoying. It's not because it's believable or I related to anyone specially. It was because it took me back to a point in my life in which I read because I simply wanted to. Because I wanted to read what was going to happen next even if I already knew. Everything is obvious from the beginning, the book doesn't pretend to be something it's not, it knows what it's purpose is and it suffices. It didn't make me angry (for the most part) because I knew I was in for a ride, and what a ride.
I'd say the thing I disliked the most was how unrealistic it all felt. How, as it tends to happen with this type of books, the MC doesn't show any signs of being special enough to drive the love interest that crazy. The rivalry was all in her head and I would have enjoyed seeing true rivals fall in love. At some point I even wrote down “I wish Aaron was lying right now, I wish he was pretending to be in love just to break her heart.” It would have given him a strong personality, it would have been such a good interesting plot-twist, but this is not that kind of book. You can tell from the very beginning how he feels about her, it all happens very quickly and it almost feels like a fever dream. She didn't even say goodbye to her family when leaving Spain, for crying out loud, all that mattered was that he ate her pussy!
But, believe it or not, all those things that completely annoyed me, made me happy too. I realized how silly and obvious something can be, and how that doesn't have to affect the way I feel about it. Of course men like Aaron are literally impossible to find. It's the female gaze, it's romantic love, it's the view on love we've been fed from our childhood, one that doesn't rely on true conflict or how people actually react and interact with it. But that's okay as long as you understand you're not someone else's, you can enjoy Aaron calling Lina his, and Lina begging to get Aaron to be hers, you can fantasize about getting your own Aaron and acknowledge that's not how it works. Relationships don't work like that, no one will predict what you want, or feel or need just with a glance, and that's okay. Relationships take time and trust and a lot of conversations that a book like this, one that doesn't pretend to be deeper than a cute romance story, can fathom. And again, that's okay. I think books that are all about romance are very interesting from a social point of view, and I don't pretend to make a dissertation about it, but it got me reflecting on my own view about romance and what I expect from my partners. It felt great to get lost in a fantastic world in which love conquers all and everyone will forgive, forget and move on to a brighter future. It was nice to see Lina explore her insecurities and come back home to face her demons. I liked how little Daniel mattered in the end, how justice was made, how she could heal from it all because she had a better support system and was (a bit) more mature. I've grown to like Lina as an MC, yet I still have to see why Aaron likes her that much and is so determined to get her.
There were many conversations missing, which is surprising given the length of the book. Everything relied on their eyes, the way they looked at eachother. Nothing else. I think that's not the best form of communication, personally. Maybe I'm silly for wanting more of it, feelings were portrayed through touch and gazes alone. The occasional typical romance quote to get the girl. No adult, mature conversation about what was going on, no conversation about their future together. There had to be done kind of conflict before the ending, of course, so instead of having the characters talk to eachother and face reality, the author preferred to use grand love gestures, almost impossible things to believe or do.
I'm completely aware many people will hate this book, and sooo many people will adore it. It's not like it was or wasn't for me
It just was, and again, that's okay too. I had a lot of fun reading this. I needed some fluff, I needed to see myself, my doubts, my stupidity reflected on a 28-year-old woman to understand my needs are as valid as anyone else's and I will still deserve to be loved no matter what. Something I already knew, of course, but it felt great to experience it through Lina. It made me reflect on the person I currently like and the way he treats me; it made me feel lucky and enamoured, something that I already feel pretty often, but there was that nice cozy “I wish that was me” feeling nevertheless.
I feel like the author made a great job at portraying your usual “she's endearing but she doesn't know” kind of character, but I would have liked a more in-depth description of her physically. Sometimes the whole novel felt as if I was reading a Y/N novel, quite generic, very teenagy, predictable and something most cishet men would shit on for decades if they knew existed. But that's what I was waiting for and wanted to read.
I wish it wasn't as repetitive, I don't know how many times I've read that Aaron's eyes were blue, but it definitely were too many. I wish someone gave a churro for every time Aaron's eyes were mentioned. Which takes me to one of my favourite parts of the book: the Spanish references. Although I don't consider myself a Spaniard (I'm Catalan, my family comes from the south of Spain), it felt great to see your typical Spanish family, very veracious if you ask me.
I also enjoyed the grandma so much, and Rosie too, I wish I got to see more of them.
All in all, I'm happy I read this, I'm happy and grateful I'll get to talk about it with my friend group (I'm sure they will/have liked it even more than I have!) and I'm looking forward to more works from the author!