The Spanish Love Deception Paperback – Big Book, 1 January 2021 by Elena armas (Author), Emily henry (Author)

8 reviews for The Spanish Love Deception Paperback – Big Book, 1 January 2021 by Elena armas (Author), Emily henry (Author)

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Ahana Rao (Heart’s Content) – June 16, 2022

   After the release of THG, every single book in its genre that released after it was somehow, inevitably, similar to it in some way or the other. It’s been awhile since I entered the pages of an enemies to lovers romance and felt the story/character arc was so different from what I’d come to expect or read before—be it THG or any other book.It took me, however, two tries to get into the book. The first time I gave up at around 8%, finding the book a little … like there was colour missing. Somehow the second time around I pushed through the feeling and kept at it. I was surprised to find myself at 28% before I could realize it. I think for the most part a certain sense of disconnect stayed with me, I have absolutely no idea why. But as the events moved along and more emotions got involved, I was happy to be a part of the journey.The book wasn’t aaaaas funny as I was expecting it to be and I did skim read here and there, buuuut, I definitely enjoyed the characters, the situations, the relationships and the overall plot. I’ve just started to expect the miscommunication plot in every book and I was so pleasantly surprised that that wasn’t there in The Spanish Love Deception.The building up of the backstory was done really well. I remained curious but not irritated that the protagonist was talking about something that was yet to be revealed. The writing was endearing and Catalina was a relatable perspective to read through. The plot was fairly seamless and I didn’t have any complaints. The characters were many but fantastically introduced by the author and the protagonist in a funny and memorable way and they all stayed true to their roles. I enjoyed the complexity written into the script with regard to the emotional and relationship dynamics within the family, with one another and with the protagonist.My favourite part of the book (this part may be spoiler-y, please skip if you don’t wish to know) was the trauma-repeat trope that I enjoyed watching in Heartstopper and definitely enjoyed here as well. It was done more gently and well in the show, perhaps because of the time they had; but I still enjoyed it in the book. The trauma-repeat (as I have coined it) trope is where the protagonist has experienced a certain emotional struggle and trauma before and goes through another similar experience and breaks out of the internal fear created by the former. In this story (like with Heartstopper), the protagonist has had a difficult experience about a certain aspect of their relationship with their partner and it so happens this said aspect is present even in their next relationship. This is one of the hardest most emotionally and mentally scary and exhausting spaces to be in. Love is scary, but love that has hurt for the same reasons before is scarier. I love when the writing goes forward to show that the trauma experienced was of no fault of the person and at the same time shows how the person rises above it. This is a personal preference that I like to watch/read, but I’m aware that it may not be so pleasant for some readers, so do be cautious if it’s a trigger for you.I didn’t feel like there was too much angst between them, but I wasn’t complaining as it gives a lot of room for the reader to watch the growth of the emotional relationship between the MCs. The family and the chaos they bring is lovely, the healing and love that follows is lovelier. The lies in the book don’t overwhelm the storyline and take away from the enjoyment of reading the book, rather they sweetly become the truth and have the reader feeling warm and happy; which I’m immensely grateful for. I also enjoyed the protagonist breaking out of the stance of trying to make someone who hurt her feel better. I think we all fall into that hole sometimes and I’m glad there are books out there to remind us we don’t need to.Definitely a four star read for me. Happy reading and stay safe! I’m definitely waiting on the next book in the series.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Chaitali patil – October 20, 2023

   Nice bookReceived in good condition no missing pagesAs for the story it’s sweetly intriguing with twist of humor.

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Elegant Fantasy – May 17, 2021

   I just LOVE slowburn romance and adding a fake dating & enemies to lovers trope to it is like a cherry on top! Catalina Fernandez needs a fake date to take to her sister’s wedding in Spain, which unfortunately her ex-boyfriend would be attending with his fiance. As he is the groom’s brother and his best man. Her breakup caused her a lot of trouble. So much that it made her flee from her hometown to New York to start her career. There she meets her colleague, Aaron Blackford whom she starts to hate (because of a small incident at their workplace.) The hate was obviously very much one sided. Because, everytime Aaron & Lina interacted, it seemed that Aaron was captivated by her.“You’ve never needed anyone to fight your battles, Catalina. That’s one of the things I respect the most about you.”Catalina was headstrong, dramatic, smart, independent and very much talkitive. (I loved that about her) But she was so blinded by her hatred for Aaron and she was just so oblivious till around 75-80% of the book, I got annoyed by that. I wanted to jump in the book, shake her and ask her, how can she not be in love already?“You are right.” His voice was unspeakably flat. “Being your friend has always been the last thing on my mind.”It was so obvious that Aaron was in love with her from the first chapter itself. How can he be so perfect? He was kind, caring, patient, protective and he noticed every single thing Lina did or said. He was too perfect to be true.“I don’t think I’d be able to deny you a single thing if you asked, Catalina.”But, as perfect as he was portrayed to be, Aaron also had a sad past. I feel like that wasn’t explored much in detail as it should have been. It would have made me understand his character more. Throughout the story, I felt like I knew Lina more than him. (because the story was just in Lina’s pov like any other Mariana Zapata book where we don’t get the H’s pov)“You feel complete in my arms. You feel like my home.”So, Lina had told her family that she has moved on with her life and has a boyfriend whom she would be bringing to her sister’s wedding as her plus one and Aaron voluntarily offered to go with her as her fake boyfriend. With that being said, I want to ask, how can you not already have feelings for a man who travels all the way from NYC to Spain for you, tries to learn Spanish in a short amount of time and does not expect anything in return?“Because it was all you were willing to give me. And I’d rather have you hating me than not have you at all.”As soon as I read the blurb of this book, I was like- Yeah. This is my jam! And I wasn’t wrong. This book was full of my favourite tropes, with a bunch of hilarious side characters, a loving family, a swoon worthy hero, funny banters and excess of tension and steam between the main characters. I have always loved the part in fake dating romances, when the relationship comes to a point where the main characters questions themselves if the situation is still fake or it is getting real.Also, the way this book handled the topic of race, accent, sexism and misconduct at workplace was perfect. But, I have to admit, it took me some time to adjust to the writing. The monologues felt a bit too long for my liking.Overall, if you love Mariana Zapata, Ella Maise & Sally Thorne’s books, you should give this one a try, you won’t regret it at all!

4. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Teena – August 24, 2023

   The quality is not very good but it is worth for this rate

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Piyush Awana – October 8, 2023

   Amazing novel. It was my first time reading Elena Armas and have to say the enemies to lovers plot was brilliant the way she has mentioned even little details. So excited to read her other novels😍

6. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   _cortana.bookreads_ – February 11, 2022

   Today’s review is on the SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION , a debut by Elena Armas ( @thebibliotheque ). And trust me when I say everything, I mean this book is everything. I got this as a gift from my mother ( who apparently didn’t know abt the level of spice in this book ) and oh my! I was HOOKED!Reading this book has been such a beautiful journey . I was overwhelmed by such a resplendent story of love between Lina and Aaron *internal screaming intensifies*, who were absolute sweethearts throughout the book. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 Spice Rating :-🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ REVIEW: The story follows Catalina Martin, a Spanish woman , working for an engineering hub in NYC as she deals with her feelings for Aaron Blackford , the person she has hated for the past two years. Nevertheless as Lina’s sister’s wedding approaches and she finds herself lying to her mother about bringing an American date , all the way to Spain, it is Aaron who comes up with a solution. He volunteers to be her date to the wedding and act as her fake boyfriend. What happens when Lina agrees to his conditions and let’s the infamous Neanderthal Aaron creep inside her corazón? The First thing that I absolutely appreciate about this book is that it totally lived up to it’s expectations ( and I would be wrong not to say that it exceeded all those expectations) inspite of being a debut novel! There was nothing stereotypical about this novel and it was refreshing to see Elena Armas showing us around NYC through the eyes of a Spanish lady. Both the MCs in this book were absolutely hilarious right from the commencement, and the book was filled with EASTER EGGS ( e.g. – the one with Rachel’s cat from Friends ). May it be the free spirited and humourous Lina , the confused and hardworking Rosie or the eccentric yet Charming Aaron Blackford, the characters never let me put the book down.Also where do I even begin about Aaron Blackford? Being one of the many main attractions of this book, he has become my new comfort character (sorry Rhysand…you sre still number one). There is literally nothing that man cannot do. Inspite of his traumatic teenage years, Aaron managed to pull himself up to this position at the age of 30(ig) and tried his best from not being distracted by Lina. Moreover,it’s just amazing how Lina and Aaron support each other throughout the trip to Spain, whether it is regarding the fake dating, problems with Aaron’s mother or Lina’s problematic ex. I was just so excited after reading the book and wanted to share it with each one of you! Go give it a read if you haven’t!!And I would never complain about Amazon’s service. The book arrived in an immaculate condition.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Yashpal S. – May 26, 2023

   Finished it in 3 days. Obsessed with the characters. It’s just so dreamy and I love it. The situations and thoughts are stretched a little too long but that’s fine. Overall worth reading. My experience was like a dream. Fantastic 🤎

8. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   10/11 – April 11, 2023

   The books starts with Catalina’s tension of not being able to find a date for her sister’s wedding and that’s the main premise of the book. When Aaron offers her to be her date without any thought, Catalina immediately gets suspicious. What follows after that os the rest of the book.Now, the only reason I’m giving it a four star is because it’s a debut and a few changes in the book could’ve made it a better read. First, the heroine’s inner feelings are described way too much that one point you’ll find it tiring. It’s not even an enemies-to-lovers book coz Aaron doesn’t see her an an enemy.Second, the book is too descriptive, like it’s not so necessary that everything has to be known in detail. Few dialogues and scenes could be omitted in the book.There’s overdosage of romance in few parts of the book which many not be everyone’s cup of tea.So, if you’re a romance lover and okay with too much of descriptive writing, then go ahead with the book.