Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Spanish Love Deception

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

248 reviews

aksmith92's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I will not lie: I read this book with VERY low expectations. I signed up for a subscription service to buy a special edition fantasy trilogy from The Bookish Box. Through that subscription, I received The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas while waiting for the trilogy. I had heard some not-so-glamorous things about this book, and as someone who struggles with rom-com novels, I truly believed that I would DNF this. However, the special edition was pretty, and I thought, "I might as well," and dove in. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be!

The Setup: The Spanish Love Deception is a contemporary rom-com focusing solely on the slow-burn romance around Catalina "Lina" Martín and Aaron Blackford. Lina needs a date for her sister's wedding in Spain to avoid facing her ex-boyfriend alone, and to her surprise, Aaron, her aloof and seemingly indifferent coworker, offers to accompany her. Though Lina is skeptical, she agrees, and the two embark on a journey that takes them from the bustling office life of New York to the picturesque family celebrations in Spain.

As Lina and Aaron pretend to be a couple, SHOCKINGLY, their interactions gradually reveal hidden depths to their relationship, transforming their initial antagonism into a potential real thing. Aaron's support during the trip, combined with his own personal struggles, leads Lina to see him in a new light. Their shared moments, from a soccer match to wedding festivities, force them to confront their feelings and question whether their "fake" relationship might be something more real.

What I Liked: Listen, I liked the banter. I'm not usually into the aloof, brooding guys, but that seems to be the norm for any romance (contemporary, fantasy, etc.). Some authors can work it better than others, and I think Armas did it well here. Aaron was snippy and a tad grumpy but also charming and cute. Obviously, you rolled your eyes when Lina couldn't see through the grumpiness, but it was part of the story, and I knew it was coming. Overall, their witty banter and tension were a highlight for me. I felt invested in their potential relationship and themselves as characters, which sometimes is what falls flat for me with rom-coms. I was pleasantly surprised about wanting to read more about them to see where they went. I also liked the plot itself, even if it was far-fetched (of course, but it's a rom-com, I have let it go at times!). I thoroughly enjoyed the fake dating trope here (which is not something I usually say), and I most certainly loved the slow burn. Overall, this book delivered on its intention: a pretty good romance with a decent plot that wasn't completely butchered. I had a good time overall and was smirking in some parts - Armas could be funny, and I appreciated that humor peppered throughout.

What I Didn't Like: Here is a list, which will come as a surprise to literally no one:

Mr. Blackford was SO HUGE AND TALL, and lil Lina is, in fact, tiny. Enough, Armas, we get it. The gawking was quite prevalent here, and I could only take so much. Additionally, Armas, we also get that Aaron had piercing blue eyes. Thanks.
I almost thought I would DNF from page 6 simply because the first roughly 10 pages was Aaron talking about how he would go to Spain with Lina and Lina, saying, "Ha ha, good joke, I actually hate you." This long-winded book DID NOT need to be almost 500 pages. There was no need. Things could have been cut and dialogue compressed.
There were some heavier topics here, like inappropriate and toxic relationships, that I think were glossed over and not taken as seriously. Lina's past relationship was no bueno, and while I believe Armas was getting at the toxicity of it all, the messaging was too lost in the new romance. I suppose I didn't see much growth, and if there was, it was only because of another person, not because Lina tried to grow and evolve with herself. I don't know if that makes much sense, but romances are known for using the other person as their savior, and I think that was noticeable here, and I couldn't say I loved it.
The sexual tension was palatable, and I enjoyed it, but there were some words during the sexier times that were not my cup of tea. I'm picky with my spicy scenes, and I didn't mind the ones here at all, but some of the words used to describe it made me cringe a little.
Putting in spoilers just in case:
I didn't mind the third-act breakup. I know that's wild because usually I hate them. However, I felt like this one was a little bit justified. We are talking about a profession and someone's career, something thrown out the door beforehand in Lina's past. That said, I think it was rushed at the end - both the breakup and getting back together. For a long book, I wish there was less fluff in the beginning and middle and more substance at the end when much of this went down.
Honestly, Aaron was a bit too perfect and clingy for me. I loved much of what he did in the earlier chapters, but by the end, it was borderline possessive, which I think many romance authors do. It didn't reach the point of cringy to me, but it started getting into that territory.

Overall, this book did what it set out to do for me: be a palate cleanser and a fluffy book that made me chuckle and gave me a decent romance that made me smile. I can't say it was favorite, but I expected a lot worse. It was a pleasant surprise to finish this book without skimming and be invested in the characters, even if I had some qualms. I loved the cute little Spanish nicknames :)

Bonus points for no engagement, wedding, or pregnancy at the end of this book and them just being happy. It made me go from a 3 to a 3.5!

Content Warnings

saffotron's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I started this book despising the main character. The book took several chapters to give us any reason whatsoever to sympathise with her disliking the love interest and by the time they had gotten together, I kind of disliked him too just on the basis of how cheesy he was. I found some moments sweet and funny, but having to get past the initial 'i hate him, because I hate him and he's soooo unemotional' of the first third of the book is a chore.

Lina isn't the most enjoyable character to live through, because the way she hates Aaron seems so unearned for so much of the story. I felt like maybe there would be some Eleanor Oliphant twist where I'd understand her through all the meaner aspects of her character, but all of the interesting aspects of the story are clear as day before their 'reveals' and all the character development is kind of rushed or expected too.

Finally, if I had a dollar for every time the name of the book or the word 'deception' was used to refer to the main plot, I'd have enough to ride the bus into town, grab a snack and then ride back again. Not the worst writing, just really not the best.

Content Warnings

manudonato's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

cdkm9's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

macc1503's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

cicuma's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was kinda fun reading how they found to each other, but the end was too kitschy for me. Their adorement was a little over the top for me.

Content Warnings

stormeno's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This romance got a lot of hype when it came out a couple years ago, so I added it to my "when you are wanting a romance" list. And, having lived for a few months in Spain, I am always excited to revisit the country in literature. Even though I was in southern Spain, and this (the parts set in Spain) is in the northern part of the country, there is some similar slang and food and vibes that are just different than Latin and South American Spanish-speaking settings and it's familiar and comfortable and fun to be back in sometimes. Anyways, it was time for a basic contemporary romance and this was the winner.

Catalina (Lina) Martín's white lie to her family about the American boyfriend she's bringing as a date to her sister's wedding in Spain has backed her into a bit of a corner. She needs to find someone to play that role, and time is running out. And desperation leads her to say yes to the offer to help from her coworker Aaron Blackford. Sure, he's handsome, but he was super condescending to her when they first met and, since then, they've kind of developed into office enemies. Beggars can't be choosers though. And so Lina finds herself on a flight across the Atlantic with Aaron...who turns out to be a fantastic fake boyfriend. Like, they're totally succeeding in fooling her nosy and close-knit family. And Lina realizes that perhaps it's time to work though/past some of her past relationship trauma, because her feelings towards this fake relationship are developing into something real. And it seems that Aaron is right there with her.

Well, this was a solid romance. I, of course, really enjoyed all the parts in Spain. And NYC is honestly always a fun setting, too. The opening vibes were *very* The Hating Game. I was actually questioning, for a second there, if this was a lowkey fanfic situation. The workplace enmity (and how it played out in dialogue/action), along with the "guy has clearly fallen but can't figure out how to say something about it so the girl has no idea," was so similar. Thankfully, the parallels chilled out after the story left the office environment. At which point, I was pleased with the way it developed. The hole Aaron had to dig out of, because he'd spent so long settling into it and not really doing anything to get out before this offer to be a fake "date," was pretty big. So, I honestly don't hate how long it took (effort and time wise), because you can't rush that and maintain a sense of authentic emotional development. That genuine growth/change was worth if from the perspective that it made the story more believable. However, the internet told me this was spicy. And...having to wait until three quarters of the way in to the novel to get a first kiss, hot as it was, just doesn't leave enough time for smut for me to consider this spicy. Personally. I mean, it was definitely steamy - the build up and tension and "closeness-but-not-quite" vibes - were spot on. And I am in full support of this romanticization of tenderness, the small touches and looks and acts, because that’s such real connection-type stuff, meaningful and beautiful in it's own, lovely, way. Truly. But the consummation of all that was late, and there were only a couple fully detailed, open-door, sexy scenes. And I just had been hoping for more based on reviews I'd read (which is an expectation issue. not a delivery-by-the-author issue, to be clear).

Random other things... The individual side characters were all pretty basic. I enjoyed the Martín family as a whole, as a vibe (I always love a rowdy family situation), but mostly everyone that wasn't Lina and Aaron blended into the background for me. There was entirely too much repeated inner monologue from Lina, about the past boyfriend trauma and the boss thing and the boundaries and heart barriers stuff. I mean, I get it; it's understandable and realistic that she'd be constantly dwelling on it, bur it was just a bit too tiresome, as a reader. Speaking of repetition, there were just a couple too many mentions of how sculpted/strong Aaron’s body is, tbh. We get it and it kind of started to feel a bit icky/objectifying. And finally, my biggest issue is the miscommunication trope (in this case, disguised as the "I'm too unsure/insecure to just talk about wanting to fix how we got off on the wrong foot an/or what's stopping me from taking this emotional jump") that is so highly featured in this novel. It's just not a favorite of mine and it was all over this story, so that was tough. But again, personal.

At the end of the day though, even with all the little things I wasn't a fan of, or wanted more/less of, or the tropes I didn't love (shoutout here to the "one bed" trope - which I do like - because how it happened was kind of hilarious), this novel grew on me. In part, it was just well written and the emotional pacing/development was so realistic. I always appreciate that type of believability. But also, if I'm being honest, mostly because of the softie romantic interest. I do love a “he falls harder” situation and this one delivers that all out.

“Because his words were, without a doubt in my mind, the most beautiful thing I would ever hear said about me. To me. And for me.”

“It was in that precise moment that I felt like something had finally clicked into place, unhinging everything I had been keeping on a short leash. I couldn’t know how or why. Didn’t even have the slightest idea. And wasn’t that part of the mystery of life? Part of what made it breathtakingly exciting? Unexpectedly beautiful? We couldn’t control and tame emotions to our convenience.”

Ignited. That was exactly how I felt. It was what Aaron had done to me. He had lit me up.”

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

“Your family loves you, and that’s a kind of bond you can’t force. It’s a kind of love one doesn’t find anywhere else. It can be overwhelming, but that’s only because it’s always honest.”

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

Content Warnings

almaprincess66's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very cute romance. I see the criticsm that could be put onto the book, such as so little portion of the book taking place in Spain and at the wedding, which is the whole premise, but it doesen't really bother me.

Will I remember anything that happened in it in like a month? Probably not. But it was a good thing to turn my brain out to and just listen. It would probably been a lower rating if I had to read it, because why is this book so long?!

Content Warnings

sirenricobooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

More...