The Spanish Love Deception

Amazing. I love Lina and Aaron, they're such a great couple! It ticked all of my favorite tropes: fakes dating, enemies to lovers (though here it was more rivals to lovers, which is awesome too), forced proximity, and only one bed. Good writing though I usually don't like 1st person pov - they're very limited and I enjoy dual pov in 3rd person the most, but I still like it and recommend the book.

Lets talk about Tropes
-Enemies-to-lovers
-One bed
- Fake dating
-Slow burn romance

I honestly wish I could give this book 6 stars. Especially because I came into it with a lot of reservations due to the either love it or hate vibe I kept seeing in the book community about it. Sure it has its problems. Like feeling a little too tropey and scripted on occasion, but I honestly enjoyed the heck out of this book and that to me is a five star read.

I found myself having to take breaks reading because my face would literally hurt from smiling so much the whole time I was bingeing on this book. Not only were the interactions between Aaron and Lina ridiculous and adorable, but the chaos that is Lina's mind had me cackling. Also, Aaron is book boyfriend goals and had me feeling swoony at the way he treated Lina. He was so understanding and confident and knew exactly how to read and calm her down that my heart couldn't take it most of the time.

This book was good but just not for me. I read 300 pages of the book waiting for them to finally have sex. I couldn't set the book down. After that point that they had sex it was a rollercoaster. It was dragging and cringy but then it started to get good again. It was back and forth till the end of the book. I will have to say this was my first hate to love trope so maybe it's just not for me we will see.

meh

I was really excited for this book... however it disappointed me somewhere at 70%...
I enjoyed the slow burn and building up the relashionship. However, I started to notice that the main characters have zero chemistery.
I liked Aaron at the biginnig, but I really started to dislike him when they first kiss! He was so inappropriate! And Catalina... well... she was okay, I guess. Just a little annoying for my taste.

2.5 I think?

I have such conflicting feelings on this book because on one hand it was almost compulsively readable for me despite its length, it was pretty fun at times. It was alright. But on the other hand, I never got the sense of a slowburn or even the angst and longing between the main characters despite its length. There were other problems I had with it, especially with the dialogue and characterization (or lack of thereof) but I didn't hate the way I do a certain similar book so I guess it's got that going.

EXACTLY!

Oh dear, finally I can finish this book. Ha! Coz my mama didn't raise me to be a quitter. This is a lame version of The Hating Game. One sided enemies-to-lover, blind & stupid main character (I almost can't stand for being in her head) because it was very clear from the start that the guy already fall for her, tasteless jokes, no tension, no character development, unnecessary repetition. And I hear “a pair of blue eyes” ever again, I think I'm gonna bang my head on the wall.
I gave it 3 stars for the spicy scene(s) though.

~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!

okay... might get hate for this one but here we go..

i did NOT dislike this book, i loved it after they got to Spain. i just got bored during the beginning of reading it.

i looove aaron blackford with all of my being!!! literal perfection. i loved how lowkey (but also highkey) cared for catalina. i thought she was a bit repetitive in how she thought of him like girl just love him!!! you know you already do!!!

i loved her family so much and i loved how she kept reassuring herself it was all ‘pretend' when nothing he was saying was pretend.. ever. it was all so real for him and i LOVED that. all of his stories about their past had me swooning and sobbing for some.

i sobbed like a baby a couple times, when he opened up about his past for the first time and the ending when she went to him (iykyk, i don't wanna spoil anything). like i said, i loved aaron and i think it was partially because of his past, i felt so many emotions for him.

overall, i rated the book 4 stars because i did think the beginning was slow for me but once they got to Spain, i loved it and read the rest in one sitting!! definitely a good read if you like: fake dating, grumpy/grumpy???, weddings, Spain, enemies to lovers and/or workplace romances!

I am in love with Catalina and Arron like oh my god, I didn't want this book to end! Their banter and relationship truly transformed into something that was so lovable and heartwarming I seriously need an Arron Blackford in my life asap

An amusing read.
I read it in almost one sitting. Laughed and shaked my head. In between it was a bit too cheesy and sometimes I think things evolved too quickly. The intimate parts were well written, better than some others.

Read it for a book club and actually didn't expect it to be one of the better romance books I've read so far.

This was a cute story, but the writing was... not great. Not like 50 Shades level bad, but enough that it really irritated me. Things like “decisions he had taken”. You don't take decisions, you MAKE decisions. Or at one point when the two leads are snuggled up together, the main character says “a grunt fell into my neck”. What? And at least three times when the love interest moved towards her suddenly, she says “he ate the distance between us”. Wtf?? Add to that a load of grammatical errors (like using “it's” when it should have been “is”) and the result is 2/5 stars from me. It would have been 3 if the writing had matched the story. So disappointing.

Although I do have to add that the sex scenes were awkward AF and really weird and sudden.

I thought it was okay. I don't really understand the hype surrounding this one.

My main issue was that the reasoning behind Catalina hating Aaron felt really petty & dumb. Definitely not worth the year-long grudge she held.

Aaron Blackford was a swoon-worthy hero though.

It's [b:The Hating Game 25883848 The Hating Game Sally Thorne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1467138679l/25883848.SY75.jpg 45762345] and [b:The Love Hypothesis 56732449 The Love Hypothesis Ali Hazelwood https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611937942l/56732449.SX50.jpg 88674377] combined together, albeit a bit draggy at the beginning. This is, after all, a romance book, so predictability is, well, expected. But you just want to see how everything unfold for the main characters, how they come to their senses, how ultimately love will conquer all.It has got all the right ingredients for a rom-com – cute, perky (God, I hate that word!), adorable female character and of course the tall, dashing, handsome, Greek-god like, smart, considerate, romantic bla bla bla male character, chaotic family (with nosy relatives), the classic damsel-in-distress trope, the jerk of an ex, and so on.A promising debut novel.

3.5/5

Ahh, how much I love a classical, sweet love story! This one had all the makings: the guy who she thought hated her, the need to a fake relationship for which he volunteered, the stupid ex... it kept me up till I finished, with a smile on my lips hahaha.

my favorite part of the book was when they went to spain and also when they had fish tacos in the car

Dnf 16%

This was a painful experience.

I absolutely loved it!
Aaron and Catalina were amazing together. Their banter, the push and pull, the chemistry... PERFECTION! A fantastic slow-burn romance.

RTC

I freaking love that the main characters were both engineers, but as a Mech E I am very biased. This was the first fiction I've read that tackles the micro-aggressions of being a woman in STEM and the author handles the topic really well. It had all my favorite tropes and I couldn't put it down.

“Because it was all you were willing to give me. And I'd rather have you hating me than not have you at all.”

rating- 5/5

kinda contains spoilers?

I've been internally screaming ever since i picked up this book. Aaron. Lina's inner monlogue. The romance. Literally everything about this book is so perfect?? Did i mention Aaron Blackford? yes him.
[b:The Spanish Love Deception|54189398|The Spanish Love Deception|Elena Armas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610900883l/54189398.SY75.jpg|84555384] has easily made it to my favourites and is also one of my comfort reads now. i'm so in love<3

I have to admit i was reading way too much fantasy for a while there and that could be why i liked it so much. Although this is probably the first contemporary book I've read that's over 400 pages long, I practically DEVOURED this book. I also want to apologise for all the voice messages i sent to Pratha:) and Shreya<3: i was just veryyyy impressed by Aaron. sighs in love. Like the author definitely put something in this book. Because i get it, it's not even extremely special or unique, but i fleW through it and love it SO much.

Okay moving to the plot, the wedding theme? the workplace romance? i loved every aspect of the book. the tropes? i mean it has:
-enemies (more like rivals?) to lovers-fake dating-slowburn-sunshine x grumpy-one bed trope
How could you possibly not like it?
What i loved most is, despite having so many tropes the author does a great job at playing it out into the story and NOTHING feels forced.
The fake dating trope never gets old :)) I especially LOVE when in the fake dating trope, people don't find out about them ‘NOT dating' in this huge dramatic confrontational scene (I was terrified her family would find out the whole time) and instead they just gradually become a real thing< 3. It just makes my heart SO HAPPY. And THAT is literally this book's brand.

ALSO coming back to AARON-

“If you get any more perfect, I'm going to believe you were made just for me.”

Moderate spoilers ahead for anyone still interested in reading the book!

TLDR Rating: 3.5/5

Came for the enemies-to-lovers trope, stayed for the situational rom-com antics in the middle, but left with a different feeling once the story wrapped up. Since I'm not that well-read with romance fiction, SLD was my first foray into the genre. I came into it pretty much blind, except for the few clips of reviews I saw about it (or, the few people raving about the enemies-to-lovers trope itself). In the end, it was a decent read, and there were hints of enemies-to-lovers, but it wasn't as fleshed out as I'd hoped.

While the draw for the story is two co-workers pretending to be in a relationship for a wedding, the story doesn't truly start until two-hundred pages, or fifteen chapters, in. There's a subplot surrounding the main character, Lina, having to organize an open house for new clients that doesn't really add much to the story other than offering tense situations between her and the love interest, Aaron. There's a black character whose only purpose in the story is to provide more backstory for Aaron. There's also hints of sexism and workplace harassment with one of the older male co-workers, which is fine, but it's handled in a way that feels loose and, again, only serves to prop up Aaron's character in my opinion.

Once we get to Spain, things take off and the story gets better, but to me, the transition from enemies to lovers is handled with little friction or challenge. It's nice getting comedic scenes with family, such as Aaron and Lina having to pretend that they were about to have sex to explain a broken bed frame to Lina's cousin, Charo, but in this sense, the book leaves much to be desired as far as actual enemies having to figure out how to keep up appearances for family. In the end, it's actually Aaron, who goes all in on "pretending," when in reality he's actually liked Lina all this time and is treating everything as real. So in this case, it's more like a hint of unrequited love with sexual tension, I'd say.

Even the handling of personal drama, such as Lina dealing with her ex, Daniel, and Aaron revealing his mother dying from cancer, and eventually his father getting cancer feels like an afterthought. Lina and Daniel's relationship, which is the whole reason for this new situation with Aaron, is handled in a handful of paragraphs, while Aaron's backstory is dedicated to the last three or four chapters of the book. It made me wonder why the first two-hundred pages of the book were spent running around before the actual plot, when it could have been used to build on character and relationship, and sowing the seeds for when the enemies would really become lovers.

There's more that could be dissected from the book, but at the end of the day, my belief was suspended for the most part and I still enjoyed the story as a whole. After being in a reading slump for a while now, this was the book that held my attention and interest the most. I was also glad to explore a different genre and read a book that, while not the greatest example of the trope it was exploring, was still an engaging read with likable-enough protagonists.

This..book was AMAZING! I literally have no words for how much it means to me and how much I enjoyed reading about Aaron & Lina's “adventure.” This is very well now one of my new favorite books..ever