The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas Book Review

“To this . . . what had I called it before? Oh yeah, to this whole Spanish love deception we had planned.

Because we, Aaron and I, got this.

He had said so. And I believed him.

I just hoped, for both our sakes, that he was right.”

(pg. 234)

About

Author: Elena Armas

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

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Other Elena Armas Book Reviews

The American Roommate Experiment

Synopsis

Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiralled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.

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.

Review

Spoilers Contained Below

‼️ TW: Restricted Eating ‼️

To all those who stan Aaron Blackford,

I feel like everyone and their mother has read The Spanish Love Deception except me, and I have been saving to read The Spanish Love Deception until this summer when I could really focus on reading. Part of everyone ranting and raving about The Spanish Love Deception was people saying how they absolutely LOVE Aaron Blackford and that he’s their husband 😅. No judgement because I certainly have my book husbands I wish were real. Suffice to say, The Spanish Love Deception was hyped to the maximum and I was so intrigued about this book.

Did The Spanish Love Deception live up to the hype?

Honestly, when books are hyped up, it sets up this sense of expectation in my brain so I don’t like to know that there is a hype around a book because I like to go into reading with no expectation and no sense of plot 😂. I legit don’t read back blurbs these days and trust in my instant-buy authors and things that I have heard about the book. I don’t know, reading books is more fun when you don’t know what the book is about, or well, to me it is.

The Spanish Love Deception was a great book with many fun, tropey-moments. I wouldn’t say it is my absolute, hands-down favorite rom-com of all time, but that’s not to say that I didn’t like The Spanish Love Deception! I just wasn’t obsessed with The Spanish Love Deception as I felt most people were on bookstagram. It was a solid debut novel with an interesting storyline of fake-dating and grumpy-sunshine where the romance turns real. There were cute and funny scenes that I liked that I will get into later.

I do think The Spanish Love Deception was a bit lengthy. and there were certain parts that I felt weren’t necessary in moving the story along like the beginning auction. I don’t know, I can see how the beginning gala gave more depth to Aaron, but also I didn’t see how the auction fit anything the book was about based on the cover and what I heard. I mean, the book seemed to center around Catalina/Lina going to her sister’s wedding in Spain. The gala took up a BIG chunk of the beginning, but we never really revisited the auction or why the auction was important. I liked how the auction idea was used later on in The American Roommate Experiment, so there’s that 😉 (and yes, I did read The American Roommate Experiment and that’s a book review for later). So I felt like we could have glazed over the gala or took the gala out and add depth to Aaron along the way.

I wish the story actually took place in Spain more, and we spent more time in Spain with Lina and her family. I felt like by the time we got to Spain, the whole Spain trip was like dipping our toes in the water without actually being there. I didn’t even feel like we got a vivid description of Spain or where Lina and her family were. I remember this description of the Northern climate, but it would have been cool to have a stronger visual in my mind of the scent, the scenery, the vibes.

I wish we would have seen more of Lina’s interaction with all her family, more family dinner’s, and more wedding details/scenes. Also, for this being her sister’s wedding, I sure as heck didn’t feel like the focus was on the sister. I would have liked to known the sister better and Lina’s relationship with the sister. The wedding could have been the part where Lina and Aaron had their romantic dance moment because we didn’t even get to see the wedding much. I just didn’t feel like we were in Spain, and I thought that the book could have built up the whole deal part quicker so we could focus on being in Spain. I kind of also wanted a bit more depth with the other relationships in the book like Rosie and how that friendship formed or seeing how that friendship dynamic played out more. I wanted to also maybe see Lina’s parents more because for someone who was so embarrassed to go to her sister’s wedding by herself, I just wanted to know more of her relationship with her parents and why she feared telling them.

That’s the only feedback that I could think of right off the bat after I read The Spanish Love Deception.

Again, a good book—nothing negative here.

But let’s get into the things that I felt were so fun and made this book a great debut.

Catalina is a very bubbly, enthusiastic force-to-be-wreckon with. She gives me Pitbull energy 😂. You know like if she were a dog, she would a Pitbull because she looks so cute and pretty and she’s friendly, but she got bite and she not afraid to bite 😂. And in no means am I calling her a dog, I’m just saying that if she were a dog, that’s the kind of dog energy she gave me. I like to think I give Goldenpoodle energy. Oh my gosh, I digress! Anyway, Lina just gave me enthusiastic while also being a very hard-worker who’s passionate about people she loves. I thought she was also very awkward to a tee and would say too much that I felt embarrassed for her.

Lina’s main problem was that her sister was getting married in Spain, however, she did not want to go to her sister’s wedding alone because her ex-boyfriend, Daniel, (who is the brother of the groom) who shattered her heart and reputation was going to be there with his fiancé.

First of all, how freaking complicated and uncomfortable that must have been for her sister to marry the brother of her ex. That would feel weird to me, but if that is who the sister is mean to be with, then I would have also learned to put my differences aside for my sister just like Lina and her family learned to do.

Second, the big question was how did Daniel break her heart so much that she was embarrassed to go to her sister’s wedding alone. Lina kept alluding to how Daniel truly obliterated her heart, but I had the sense that it was more than just her feeling heartbroken. The more details were revealed, the more I understood that she felt like she had to prove that she was okay for everyone else. Daniel used to be her physics professor in college. Everyone liked him, but he took notice of Lina. After she was done being in his class, they started dating, which I mean, they are two grow adults who are consensually in a relationship. There shouldn’t have been anything wrong with her dating her ex-professor, but in my head, I still thought there was a power-play or however you call it. I don’t know, to me it just felt wrong because he used to be her teacher and as a teacher, there’s just some lines you cannot and should not cross even if they were adults. Even when they were dating, I would say Daniel was the adult adult in this situation because he was the teacher, so he had to be more delicate about what dating her meant.

But he was a LOSER about dating Lina 😂.

People started spreading rumors about how she slept for her grade and how she was a wh*** or a s***. Don’t we live in the 21st century??? Why are we still slut shaming people??? Slut shaming or starting rumors about something you don’t understand or know about is absolutely repulsive and awful because you do not know the effect of your words until someone is far beyond just hurting. I just can’t stand the fact that people do still spread petty, ridiculous rumors or shame people for things that have nothing to do with them. If no one spread rumors about Lina being a slut or making her feel like she slept her way to her grade, she would have never felt the need to leave her home country to get away from everyone who looked at her differently. She wouldn’t have been carrying around this shame or pressure she felt to prove to everyone that she wasn’t some “pitiful, single woman with her heart still broken.”

When the rumors came out, she fell into a dark place where she didn’t go out or talk to friends. I felt terrible that she even said that felt worthless because people made her feel like she didn’t work hard to be where she was, but assumed that she got things by sleeping around. And can I just go off for a second in saying how we always demean women in society. I agreed with Lina that if a man slept with a female professor, sure it looks wrong, but no one is going to say that that man slept with the female professor for his grade or that he’s a slut. Never in my life have I heard a situation where a man is made to feel ashamed for a relationship. The worst that man in the situation I mentioned above would get is a like a pat on the back for sleeping with an older woman. But no, he’s a man because he slept around, but when a woman dates someone she’s a wh***. Screw that 👏🏼👏🏼.

I just don’t understand why we as society constantly diminish women for every single thing we do. It’s like we breath and it’s suddenly wrong. Perspectives need to change and conversations need to change. The way we speak to each other needs to change and that starts with raising our kids to understand injustices and sexist things so they can be the change so others don’t have to grow up being ashamed for every single ridiculous thing.

Anyway, Daniel was also a coward in not speaking up for Lina. I mean, he could have mitigated a lot of the shame around her by going to academic services or an academic HR or whatever that higher person is that deals with student-teacher relationships. He just should have done something if he knew people were saying such horrible things about her. The fact that he did nothing and broke up with her? LOSER. I respect that he broke up with her because their relationship was complicated and things would be messy, but the way he phrased it to Lina at the time was not the best.

The whole Daniel break-up wasn’t even what broke her heart, it was the idea that people thought less of her. They pitied her as this single woman who was damaged and miserable because she got dumped and people were saying things about her. Honestly, whoever was pitting her or saying such demeaning thoughts about her needs to go, exit her life 😂. Like, excuse me, those people are not your friends or your real people? If I was Lina’s friend, I would not pity her, I would be there to support her and ask her what she needs to feel better again. How dare people make her feel like she was broken just because a guy broke her heart. Newsflash, men breaking hearts isn’t new news 😅. She isn’t pitiable. I also highly dislike how when a girl goes through a breakup, we pity her and think, “Oh, I’m so sorry. Oh, she’s so lonely and miserable and going to have tons of cats.” But when a guy goes through a breakup, we think, “Oh, there’s many fish in the sea. You will find another person.” or, “Oh, get laid with a new girl.” The difference is appalling.

When Lina was finished with college, she left Spain for the states because she wanted a fresh start. I don’t blame her. I would have wanted to leave if the environment I was in wasn’t healthy for my growth anymore. And look at Lina go!!! She was one of the only female leaders at InTech and she was a boss a** bi*** 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼!!!! She had a nice apartment, a nice friend, and a stable job. She wasn’t someone to feel sorry for. So when she was invited to her sister’s wedding, she knew she didn’t want to show up and still be this pitiful, miserable woman at the wedding like she was still broken from Daniel. She wasn’t—far from it. I understood her fear because it was that fear that turned to shame that drove her away from home and from people she loved.

Hence, the deception.

The lead up to the deception, as mentioned before, took a while.

Aaron Blackford offered to be Lina’s date to the wedding when overhearing Lina talk to her best friend Rosie about it.

Aaron Blackford, the man who stole many book lovers hearts. I could see why.

He was broody, mysterious, and a carried homemade granola bar in his pockets.

He was also the epitome of grumpy-sunshine in how he was seemingly always rude towards Lina. When Lina first met him, she mentioned how she thought he seemed nervous to start at InTech, so she brought him a welcome basket, and all he did was look at her and the gifts and then asked her to leave. From Lina’s perspective, I could see how getting him this gift and asking her to leave is a weenie move, and it was. But early on, I kind of knew that Aaron’s the type of fictional male that likes to hide his feelings behind this cool, indifferent, angsty facade because he really likes her and doesn’t know how to react or emote in an interested way. I freaking cracked up when he said said how he doesn’t like to play games; he’s very straight-forward; and if he likes someone, they will know. Oh yea, says the man who’s playing the biggest game **cough cough deception cough cough** with Lina and who was not very direct in showing her he liked her???? Yea, direct my a** 😂.

Also, Aaron Blackford had to have been the king of monosyllable responses.

Not him, literally saying I will tell you everything and then giving Lina one-worded responses 😂. She was literally fetching for anything. I don’t know, I just felt like his personality of who he thought he was was different from how other people thought he was—like his personalities didn’t match up to what he thought. He said, I am a cool dude ✌🏼😂.

He offered Lina to be her date to the wedding because he needed a date to this gala. I felt that the gala was unnecessary because there wasn’t any real reason to have the gala besides giving Aaron a motive to be her date to the wedding—a deal for a deal.

The gala, sorry, auction, was a fun and funny moment. I laughed when she ogled Aaron in a tux and called him “big boy” 😂. I have no idea haha. But when a man wears a suit, it is necessary to ogle. I don’t know where I heard this, but when a person wears a suit, there’s like this tuxedo effect where they look a thousand times more attractive because they are in a suit. I could believe that. I liked how Lina bid on this older man because she felt bad that no one went for the starting bid. I laughed when she accidentally raised her hand again to bid higher, and Aaron laughed too. I don’t know if they still have people auctions, but I don’t feel like that’s thing we should have. Auctioning off people seems absolutely wrong and uncomfortable for both sides. It’s not like Aaron wanted to be auctioned off, and that’s the sole person he brought Lina—so she could be the highest bid and he wouldn’t have to go on a date with a random person. I did like that the auction was for a good cause, I just think there are better ways to raise money for a cause then auctioning off people.

The slow dance scene was also a steamy moment for them. I felt the tension radiating off of Aaron while Lina was trying to grapple with how she felt with Aaron affecting her in such a way. Again, I think having the dance scene later would have been better because they would have built up more of their relationship for the tension and love to be stronger.

What I liked most about the auction was we learned more about Aaron. I liked that we saw one of Aaron’s friends and saw Aaron’s dynamic with other people. I was kind of surprised that Aaron played football when he was younger and was going to go pro. His dad was a football coach and raised Aaron to be the best football player he could be. Knowing Aaron was conditioned to play football, it kind of made sense how rigid he was in routine or his disposition—a machine. Aaron stopped playing football a year after his mom passed away because he wasn’t in love with football anymore. However, his father was furious with him for giving up everything and told Aaron he wanted nothing to do with him, which is awful. I understood why Aaron was closed off to feelings because I don’t think he ever had the emotional support to grieve or process his mom’s passing. He also got disowned by his father when they were both going through a hard time. All these emotions were not fair for Aaron to handle alone, and he just shut off. So when Lina gave him a gift, I felt like Aaron just wasn’t used to such kindness from people because life hadn’t been kind to him. I just had more sympathy for who Aaron was and how he built himself up without support.

I wanted to know more about Aaron and his grief and how he felt about his father disowning him because he only mentioned what happened, not how those actions made him feel. Yet alone, effected him. I also highly respected Aaron because he came from wealth on his mother’s side, but he worked hard to be where he was when he didn’t really need to work. Working hard when you don’t really need to, shows character and drive. He was also getting promoted to boss, which was a big deal.

Aaron becoming the boss was a problem that lingered like an impending storm cloud. Being boss insinuates a position of power—power of Lina—and Lina had already been there dated that. She didn’t want a repeat of dating or fake-dating someone with power only for her to feel trapped by pity and nowhere to go or start over again. I understood her fear completely because she was thrown under the bus so much she felt like she had to escape to begin again. I could only imagine how scared she felt to like Aaron just for the rumors to spread again and for her to not have anyway of doing all this—-starting over—again. I would feel scared.

But you know, if there’s one thing you can’t say about Aaron Blackford, is that is is not adamant.

Bro, carried homemade granola bars in his pocket. I feel like a missed a opportunity to have a special edition with his granola bar recipe 😂.

I feel like he was giving big caveman energy with always saying, “Take me. I’ll be your date.”

Truly, if I were Lina my first response would have been, “okay” because for real 👏🏼 who else was going to take her 😂.

A little subplot that I wanted to talk about really quick was how Lina felt like she had to restrict her eating to look good at the wedding.

‼️ For anyone who might be triggered by restricted eating, please feel free to skip the next paragraph and do what is best for your health. ‼️

There’s this idea that you have to lose weight before–and for–a wedding. Never lose weight for a reason other than losing weight makes your mind and body feel good and losing the weight comes from a healthy place. As someone who has had an eating disorder and has struggled with feeling happy in my weight or confidence, I used to believe that restricting what I ate or starving myself was the way to go because it is the fastest way to lose weight—no food equals no calories equals no weight gained. But if you are not eating anything, you are depriving your body energy that your body needs to function and grow. Please, don’t feel the need to ever, ever, ever, restrict what you eat to look good because it will not feel good in the long run. It might feel good to lose that weight, but you will only end up hurting your body and yourself in ways I wish you to never experience. You are so beautiful as you are, and I am not just saying that, but I believe that with every fiber of my being even if I don’t know what you look like. But you are beautiful because you are you, and you don’t need to starve yourself or lose weight to be happy about who you are. And losing weight to be this idea of “beauty” isn’t healthy because society’s idea of “beauty” isn’t healthy. So eat what you want, and do it with love—-love for yourself, love for your bodies, love for the hands that prepared your food. Beauty isn’t about a weight, it’s a feeling. And sure, if you want to lose weight because you feel like you want to feel more confident, go for it. But take care of your mind and body in a healthy way by balancing eating the right foods that make you feel good, not taking out anything—not a restrictive mindset, but a addition mindset of what can you add to make you feel good. And a healthy mindset of doing this health journey out of love for yourself and not hate. I’ve been at rock bottom, and I say all this in love. So Lina, starving herself made me want to scream at her because she wasn’t losing weight out of love. Also, I wanted to hug her when she fainted because she wasn’t feeding her body. Heck yea, Aaron had a right to be upset–I was too–because it truly is concerning when someone isn’t taking care of themselves with such a basic need as eating. There is no shame in eating. I did like how he bought her more fish tacos than she could imagine and paid for all this brownies for her because he was trying to be chivalrous. I laughed because if he wanted to pay for her coffee, she said, “I’ll take one of everything” 😂. Anyway, that was my long spiel about the restrictive eating subplot. I felt like it was a meaningful topic to touch on, but maybe could have been flushed out more.

The whole Spain trip was fun as short as it felt.

I loved how nervous she was that he wouldn’t show up at the airport, but when Aaron came, the relief glided off of her. To be honest, I don’t know Aaron, for one because he’s fictional, but I even knew he was going to be at the airport because for someone who really wanted to be her fake-date at this wedding, he sure as heck was going to show up. I also knew he was a man of his word. It was kind of funny though how she saw Aaron as normal in his regular clothes because I do think it’s weird, not in a bad way, just different, when you see people in a role that you’re not used to them as.

I also liked the plane ride and how she grilled him on her family. It felt like a Parent-Trap moment, you know, when Hallie teaches Annie all about her life and vise versa. What was so cute, but unsurprising, was how good Aaron was about remembering every little detail Lina threw at him because he listened because he liked her 😏. Tell me I’m wrong. I also loved when they would tease each other about what nickname to call each other. Yea, because boyfriend is inconspicuous.

I CRACKED up just like crack in the bed Aaron broke !!!!!

Freaking hilarious that when they got to their room, Aaron broke the bed that Lina offered to sleep in instead. But he was so adamant that he was going to be okay and fit, so he tested the bed out and it broke!!! But when Charo walked into the room with a knowing smirk, I was in hysterics! What else was she supposed to think when Lina and her “boyfriend” were there 😂. Also, we love a forced proximity and a one-bed trope because no way José was it going to be that easy that they weren’t going to be sharing a bed, or at least a room.

Honestly, overall, what a great fake boyfriend 👏🏼😂!!

If there was a rateyourfake boyfriend.com, Lina should give Aaron a 6/5 stars.

He really sold the relationship with the nicknames, longing gazes, overbearing protectiveness, backstory, and touches. Heck, he even learned some Spanish for her 🥺. I honestly loved that.

In my head, it’s funny how she felt like everything he was doing was for show, but I knew that his actions and words were all real.

He really did like her, and I WISHED he would have been more honest or upfront about how he felt so she didn’t feel like he was pretending when she was starting to really like him too!!! It sucked 😫 That’s why sometimes I can’t get behind the whole grumpy-sunshine because it’s like can you just be clear with how you feel rather than beat around the bush and act like you hate her or whatever because you don’t know how to show her you care in a kind way. Don’t get me wrong, I love grumpy-sunshine and the I-hate-everyone-here-but-you trope when done right. The trope was done right, but it’s soooo frustrating, I just don’t like games 😅.

OOOOOh, but I LOVED the bride-groom game 💗.

My favorite part of the whole book was probably the bride-groom game because it was sooooo hilariously rom-commy, that I was living.

We met Daniel at the bride-groom game, and can I say, he gave me the vibe that he was still interested in Lina 😑. I mean, dude said she looked good still and kept looking at her. Dude, you broke up with her, so I have no idea why he was being all territorial and acting like a macho man. Also, for someone who was engaged, he sure never showed up with his fiancé at any point 😂. Tell me I’m wrong, but I kept waiting for Daniel to show up with his fiancé to at least show that she was real. But Daniel was always mysteriously by himself at any of the wedding events. That’s hilarious if he faked his engagement to make it seem like he was doing better than Lina when he wasn’t—that they were faking their lives to impress the other. If that was the case, at least Lina came through with her fake boyfriend.

I loved how Aaron kept giving her tender touches like a boyfriend would and how he also played this protective boyfriend act. I freaking laughed when Daniel called Aaron a boy. Excuse you, it’s big boy to you 😂.

What made me cackle the mostest was how the soccer shirts were too small for the boys, so Gabi (Lina’s sister) said let the men play shirtless. Yea, because nothing says unfair more than boys versus girls playing soccer where the men are shirtless 🤧. In my mind, it seemed unfair, but then Lina was right that most of the shirtless men would be family and that’s weird to ogle family. But to an outsider, heck yea, shirtless men playing soccer is distracting 🤪. GOOOOOOSH, when Daniel was like, “Are scared?” or whatever he said to goad Aaron, I was like, Daniel’s going to be retracting them words!!! And I FREAKING WAS LIVING how confident Aaron was when he took off his shirt like Paxton would from Never Have I Ever, and then his whole Clark Kent body came out. Lina sure got a show.

Sis, I would have been thoroughly distracted too. A toned-abbed shirtless guy running around playing soccer while the sweat dripped off his body????? Yup 😂.

I laughed when she almost tripped and Aaron caught her and literally carried her like a linebacker. I guess old habits died hard; he played soccer like a football player. I thought it was weird, but playful with the whole pinched his butt to distract him. We know he liked that and was turned on. This whole soccer game was the Aaron and Lina show. Honestly, if I was Lina’s parents or family, I wouldn’t have thought they were fake-dating either because the chemistry was there and Lina was happy. I think that’s all a parent would hope for their child—to be happy—and when Lina left Spain, she was anything but. So seeing her with Aaron, must have made the parents happy.

I also loved how sweet Aaron was about telling how Lina and him first met/started going out. Aaron told his perspective of the time that Lina gave him the gift-basket. I loved seeing his perspective because he was nervous, but he was also awkward because he wasn’t used to such kindness that he didn’t know how to receive it. I always find it disheartening in the way that when we are unused to nice things, we don’t believe that nice things could happen to us when they do. Aaron also mentioned how he felt like a fool when he realized he pushed her away because he didn’t mean to, which I get.

“‘By the time I knew I didn’t want to push you away anymore, that I couldn’t do it, it was too late. So, I took whatever you had for me even if that was hatred, antagonism, your obvious dislike, anything if that gave me a few minutes with you every day. If that put me on your mind, even for a little while.'”

(pg. 418-9)

Later on he mentioned how he used to walk by her or be near her just so that she would at least have him in her thoughts. All of his actions clearly said I like you, and if a guy really wants to be with you, I do think they would take the chance to see you anytime they can because they want to be near you. So I thought it was kind of sweet how he regretted the way he treated her, but he still wanted him to notice her. But also like, I am a sucker for good guy, and if you honestly want to impress a woman, I guess it depends on the woman, I would say just apologize and be a sweetheart to her because I would much rather be with someone sweet and honest than someone who antagonizes me and makes me believe he’s shizheasd still unworthy of my time 😅. In my opinion.

But nothing in Aaron’s version ever gave me the impression that he was lying to embellish a story, but speaking his truth. Everything about this wedding was real to him to prove to Lina that he loved her from the moment she welcomed him with a cheesy gift basket.

Nothing about Aaron in general was fake and we all knew that. If he was faking his interest in Lina, he had the wrong calling as an engineer. They had a heated moment when they were on the brink of kissing until they heard a sound from Charo’s side of the room. But in that moment, Aaron promised Lina that when he did kiss her, she would know that the kiss was real. I didn’t like this whole kiss-cam at Gabi’s wedding because talk about uncomfortable. At weddings, you’re supposed to make the married couple uncomfortable, not the guests. But I loved that there wasn’t a whole award kiss-cam moment for Lina and Aaron because of how Aaron said he wanted their first kiss to be real. I also didn’t want Lina to think he was putting on a show for everyone. So when they walked away to the bushes to make-out, I was like, “Let’s go realness.” 😂 I liked the tension built up to the kiss and Aaron being so direct as to tell her that she felt like she wanted him to kiss her, which he wasn’t wrong.

“‘I’ll give you the world,’ he said against my mouth. ‘The moon. The fu**ing stars. Anything you ask, it’s yours. I’m yours.'”

(pg. 379)

If you partner doesn’t want to give you the moon, the stars, the world, that person is not it 👏🏼👏🏼!!!! I like feisty Aaron. Or when he first saw Lina at h wedding:

“‘In my book, having the most beautiful woman on my arm classifies as an honor.'”

(pg. 370)

That was a good answer 🥺💗!!

We love a gentleman who also knows how to sweet-talk.

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

(pg. 400)

Excuse me???? 🥺💗

I loved that moment in bed when he asked Lina for a little Spanish lesson by kissing her lips and roaming his hands on her. I mean, what a spicy, but sweet moment. OOOOh, don’t even get me started with the whole pattern of how many letters were in the words she was teaching him and how he asked for a four letter word.

Amor.

Love.

We all knew that that was the word she was thinking of when she pondered what four letter to tell him. But she didn’t tell him amor because doing so would feel too soon to say she loved him. But I loved loved loved how Aaron was like, “I’m going to earn that four letter word” (pg. 404). Yea, he was 👏🏼💗!! All I kept thinking about was how they teased each other with nicknames like bear, but the real nickname would be amor 🥺.

You know that show, From Scratch on Netflix where Amy calls Lino her lover, amore?? Well, if you don’t know From Scratch, it’s this show on Netflix that I HIGHLY recommend you watch—I don’t want to say more to spoil anything, so honestly just take my word and watch it and don’t look up anything to spoil yourself—but this woman, Lina, falls in love with an Italian man named Lino and she called him amore. The moment that Lina did call Aaron amor, made m shrink of From Scratch and the endearment amore. Honestly, I want to be called amore or someone’s amor 🤧.

When they got back to New York, I loved how honest and real their relationship was now that they were leaning into their feelings. I loved the domestic feeling of them waking up together and brushing their teeth together. Aaron really said I would carry Lina like a bear when she brushed her teeth. I mean, sis, if you want to climb your mans like a bear to brush your teeth, why not 🤪?? She said, I can, so I will. I loved when Lina saw a picture of Aaron’s mom at his house and how their resemblance; being in Aaron’s space was like being part of Aaron’s world. I also teared up when Aaron thanked Lina for letting him meet her family because he never had something close to a family in a long time, so being part of Lina’s life was such a gift.

Also, not me having the STUPIDEST moment ever 😂.

They were getting spicy in the kitchen, and for some reason when the book said Aaron opened a drawer and got out foil, I was thinking foil for food—what you use to wrap leftovers— because you know, they’re in a kitchen 😂. And for a second I was like, “ooooookay. Weird kink. Foil is uncomfortable, what are you using it for? Like that sucker can cut.” I know I’m inexperienced, but foil??? And then it hit me, OOOOOOOOH 😅. Foil. He kept foil in his kitchen drawers. Okay, Aaron Blackford. I see you. He said, I be cooking in the kitchen 🙈.

JAIL.

With being in New York, their bubble sort of had to pop because of the the whole boss relationship was more ominous than ever.

Let’s give Aaron some freaking credit for being extremely reassuring and smart about their relationship in how he said they would go to HR and talk about their relationship and what working together would mean. I thought that was a fabulous idea because he was serious about being with her and knew how much being with Daniel effected her. Aaron was no Daniel, he was going to fight for his woman.

I freaking wanted to SCREAM at Gerald.

Gerald is a grade A LOSER and can go suck a rat in the New York sewers 😂.

Sorry. I detested this man with every fiber of my being.

He always said the most sexist and repulsive things ever and I am not sure how he never gagged on his owns words like the filth he was. He always belittled Lina because she was a woman.

Something Elena Armas discussed in TSLD was sexism in the workplace and how sometimes women are discerned a certain way. Lina was volun-told to plan this whole event at InTeach because she was “bubbly” and “would know what to do.” Aka, she was an attractive women who would draw the attention of others and be perceived in a better light by other companies, and because she was a woman, supposedly she knew how to plan events 🙃. I didn’t like how no one stood up for her at work even if they felt the responsibilities Lina was given or the way she was spoken was wrong. Saying nothing is saying something. I did like how Aaron helped Lina by organizing her desk in the beginning because he was like, “messy desk, messy mind.” But he was sweet for trying because he knew it wasn’t fair to plant everything on Lina. I do wish more people said something for her because there is power in numbers.

What really wanted me to rage was how Gerald was bullying Lina with the same slut shaming narrative society gives women. He found out from a friend that he saw Aaron and Lina being cozy, so Gerad felt the need to, you know, go up and slut shame her. He was using fighting words. But the absolute audacity of people is repulsive and they should be ashamed. I wanted to scream at Lina to don’t let this loser make her doubt her relationship and everything she built because she knew what it took to be where she was.

But she did doubt her relationship.

I don’t blame her because of her past, and also this relationship was so new, that I felt like it was okay for her to have doubts. I freaking LOVED when Aaron appeared was ready to POUND Gerald 😂. I was ready for him to make Gerald pancake!!!! He sure derived it. Lina stopped him and everything spiraled from there in terms of she didn’t want negative attention on her at work or for Aaron to be in a position where he also lost everything he built for himself.

I give soooo much credit for Aaron fighting for Lina because he loved her 🥺💗!!!

I love when the main character fights for the love they share. But it sucks when you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle because you can only convince someone to love you so much to keep them from walking away.

Gosh, I always fall for the broken I-love-you trope or whatever the trope is when the main character says I love you but in a pleading, broken way—the way your heart breaks for them.

“‘I love you, Lina.'”

A crack sliced its way across my poor, beaten heart at how wrong those four words sounded. How void of happiness and sorrow they were when they shouldn’t have been.

‘How is it possible that it feels like you are breaking my heart, and I haven’t even had you yet?'”

(pg. 442)

Sorrows, sorrows, prayers, prayers 😭.

Oh, gosh, but the real tear-jerker that would have GUTTED me if I was Lina was:

“‘I need you to trust in us, in me. Can you do that?’

‘I trust you, Aaron. . . But this is just . . . too complicated. I don’t think I can do it. Go through it again.’

. . .’You don’t then,’ he whispered, his voice broken. ‘If you mean that, then you don’t trust me.’

. . . ‘I can’t make you trust me like I need you to. With your whole fu**ing heart. . . I can’ take you run into my arms instead of in the opposite direction. I just . . . can’t make you love me enough to give us a chance.'”

(pg. 442-3)

LINA!!!! You’re breaking my heart for Aaron 😭!!!!!!!

But wow. He really said I can’t make you trust me with your whole heart to give us a chance. In his head he’s thinking you don’t trust me because you don’t love me enough to trust me.

You hear that?

That’s my the sound of a storm—the storm in my eyes.

Dang.

When Aaron walked away, I was shook my head. Shame. Dishonor.

What had to really hurt Lina more was the fact that when she went to HR, Sharon said how Aaron already spoke to her about their relationship and that there was nothing wrong with them dating. She should have trusted Aaron that things would be okay. Sharon was also on Lina’s side because she wanted Gerald fired as much as anyone did. Also, her workplace was not college. Thankfully people weren’t petty losers. I loved loved loved how everyone had her back and was on her side to write-up Gerald.

“‘I know people like Gerald often go unpunished; it’s how the world words sometimes. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to change that, does it. Doesn’t mean that we stop fighting.'”

(pg. 448)

Like how Lina stopped fighting for Aaron 🙃.

Sorry, I went there.

But no one cared that Aaron was dating Lina, which was kind of nice because that meant they weren’t saying anything bad about her. Also, can’t do adults have a mutually respectable relationship without people spreading rumors or thinking what they will. It’s tiring.

Oh, gosh, but I truly didn’t except the ending to go where it did.

I thought Aaron wasn’t at work because he was heartbroken, but he was more than heartbroken.

His dad was in the hospital because he was battling the same battle his mom did 😭.

Aaron hadn’t spoken to his dad since his dad disowned him.

I would have felt hurt and angry if I was Aaron, but also his dad was dying and you never know how much time you have left with a person.

“‘Life changed constantly, wickedly fast and terribly slow, when one least expected it to or after a long time of chasing that change. Life can 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.”

(pg. 452)

Stylistically? Beautifully written.

There was such a shift in mood in Elena Armas writing in this moment that felt pulled from personal experiences that I felt in every second my eyes grazed the words. I loved the sense of how serious and heavy the emotions were, coupled with the time to find Aaron and hoping she wasn’t too late—that it wasn’t too late.

I loved how Lina flew all the way to Seattle and went from hospital to hospital looking for Aaron. I loved how when Aaron saw her, he wasn’t angry with her, but in disbelief that she was real or that she found him. We love 21st century Google-searching skills on a person—also highly scary for the wrong reasons. But I loved how we saw Aaron in such a vulnerable state, which humanized him from this typically flirty, debonair to someone who was hurting.

I loved how this grand gesture had a sense of urgency, but for a different reason.

I loved the conversation Aaron and Lina had and how he wasn’t really mad at her or was going to give up on her. He said he had a lot of patience and still needed to earn those four-letters. He just didn’t expect to be visiting his dad because he wasn’t going to at first. Aaron knew his dad wasn’t doing well even before they left for the trip, but he came to say good-bye to his dad because of how he understood how much his father was hurting when the dad lost his wife. When Aaron walked away from Lina, he felt like he truly lost the chance to be with her, and that feeling made him think of how his dad must have felt. The dad must have been so lost in his head and angry that he did or said things he wasn’t proud of. I am proud and happy that Aaron did see his dad and that he told him everything that has been going on in his life. I like to think the dad regretted never reaching out to Aaron sooner to make amends because the dad could have apologized all those years, but probably felt embarrassed or ashamed. But this situation makes me think how you never know what happens and to not let anger make you angry forever.

I loved that Aaron brought Lina to meet the dad, and the dad was like, “Is this her, son? Your Thea?”

The mom—the dad’s love 🥺 💗.

I thought the way the book ended was fitting for how Aaron always joked—not really—how they would be stuck with each other, and now this sentiment was true. They fought so hard to be together that they weren’t going to let each other go again. I honestly, wanted more past the hospital scene and the epilogue. I liked the epilogue though and how we saw Lina and Aaron’s work dynamic. I also was excited for the Martín’s to go to America and see New York because what an adventure that would be. I would have liked to see or hear Lina’s family’s reaction to Aaron and her fake-dating at the time because the fact was glossed over that they told her family. I was happy that Aaron’s dad was still around and that Aaron was building a relationship with his father in the time they had together. I also loved the sense that they were each other’s forever and they were very steadfast in that.

All in all, TSLD was a fun, cute read that had moments that made me smile and scream. But there were some things I would have liked more conversations or details about that could have added more depth to the story.

The million dollar question though is, is Aaron Blackford everything in more?

Honestly, when you get past his monosyllable answers, he’s a very honest and loyal man about his feelings and he’s also sweet, so yes.

But Lucas Martín’s better 🤪.

Yea, I said it.

Now, go read my The American Roommate Experiment book review so you know how OBSESSED I am with Lucas Martín. Haha. No, but seriously, I love him more than Aaron Blackford.

#TeamLucasMartín

What was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book? 

If you could choose any person to be your fake-date to an event, who would it be and why?

That’s hard question even for me to think about. Honestly, I would go with Tom Holland because I think he’s such a great, kind, respectful human-being, and we would go as friends because I love Zendaya and I respect their relationship (i.e. I love Tomdaya), and we would just have fun and laugh and dance like idiots. Maybe he’ll bring Zendaya and I can become friends with her ✌🏼. One can dream.

Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕

I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.

And as always, with love,

Rating

4.68 Full Bloom Flowers

Characters: Lina is hilarious and gives such a great energy, and Aaron balances her well with his cool, mysterious, but surprisingly sweet dude disposition.

Plot: I loved the fake-dating turned real, but would have liked more focus on the trip in Spain and building the relationship during the wedding. I would have also liked more cutesy moments to see sweet moments between Lina and Aaron.

Writing: Fun, humorous, steamy, and an all round great time.

Romance: I liked how sweet Aaron was to Lina, but would have liked to seen more connection or build between them in more honest conversations.