Written by contributor Lisa D
I don’t remember how I met her under the nickname @thebibliotheque in the vastness of the Bookstagram community, but when I saw Elena launching her debut novel, I thought there might have been a chance I would like to read it, which by itself was already a curious occurrence since I haven’t experienced any craving for a romance book for quite a long time. However, by the time the launch of The Spanish Love Deception, I couldn’t wait to lay my hands on it. There was no particular reason for me to want it so badly, but I did, and I did not expect the novel to be anything exceptionally mind-blowing. It did absolutely not disappoint! In fact, the impression it made was totally opposite—surprise, astonishment, and amazement.
Where it comes from …
Catalina and Aaron work together in an engineering consulting company right in the heart of New York City and they do not seem to like each other. Although, the most important word here is “seem”. Nevertheless, those two agree on a highly peculiar deal: to pretend to be each other’s date (or even more than a date) on a crucial family event—a wedding. Here, the rapid succession of events begin. A refined auction with an impressive lot is interchanged with a bachelor-slash-bachelorette party in Spanish north, a loud cheerful family, a newly engaged ex, and the truth about themselves and the world that both of the main characters are yet to uncover…
… and where it goes
What may look like a conventional enemies-to-lovers romance with non-dimensional, flat, static and unnaturally oddly behaving characters at first, turns the impression of itself upside-down from somewhere around chapter five onwards and continues to do that until one puts the book down at 6am.
But first things first.
Catalina (Lina) Martín is on the one hand, a young, ambitious 28-year-old Spaniard living in Brooklyn, NY. She works hard and everything she owns, including a high-standing team-leading position in the company, was achieved solely by herself. On the other hand, she is infantile and stubborn, tending to overthink what others would think of her and it’s these thoughts that lead her to an unexpected decision: to take a fake boyfriend to her sister’s wedding.
Aaron Blackford is a cold, Edward-Cullen-like-man. Whenever he shows up within Catalina’s eyeshot, he is either arrogant or sarcastic. His appearance is always fraught with tension and certain uneasiness. Nonetheless, it is he who willingly comes forward to become the fake wedding date. At first, his motivation is unclear and his behaviour is not at all consistent. However, everything comes together closer to the end.
Moreover, there are a lot of situations when both of the characters do and say things that seem to not correlate with their character and personality. Here is, though, where the author’s trick awaits the reader! The novel leaves a feeling of sharp tension so extrinsic for a romance but still so loved by readers, as if a person—a character—cannot obtain all of the traits together at once and couldn’t potentially exist and still a reader wants to believe they could be true. As confusing as that might be, everything is possible in fiction. Once a reader throws all the reasonings away, one starts to enjoy. You may ask, how engaged one can get? I, for instance, couldn’t stop reading even for a moment and accidentally almost dropped my Kindle into a pot of boiling pasta while cooking dinner. This novel is a perfect way to show that life does not always require an explanation. And so, the characters become alive and more than relatable, letting a reader gradually explore themselves.
There is a phenomenon I call a reading feeling. It occurs during a long reading period and reflects the utter vibe of a book. A reading feeling of The Spanish Love Deception then will be a joy of anticipation. Reading Lina and Aaron’s dialogue is always looking forward to something both incredible and bewildering to happen, causing the minds of readers to twist and stagger like a huge ocean wave. Containing just the right amount of events, it is dynamic but not overflooded. There are also gracefully incorporated insertions of Spanish that bring up the brightness and expressiveness, not to mention they made me recall my long-forgotten Spanish classes. Furthermore, being genuinely funny, witty, and light reading with totally conventional language, it still grabs the reader’s attention not in the least owing to serious, palpitant, and pressing topics it raises among others: women rights and the right for a woman’s opinion to be heard and appreciated; outer appearance, inexplicable wish to fit some stated standards and the vital importance of not paying attention to such kind of thoughts; the understanding that everyone has history and experience that is hard to overcome; the difficulty of not letting the horrible past to spoil your new feature and much more.
Of course, the novel has its drawbacks, but that’s also a matter of taste. However much people talk about the plot might be flat and unrealistic, the novel still can remain special for someone, even if the probability of the existence of such characters as people and the possibility of similar experiences may steadily approach zero. Although it can be predictable as it can be from time to time, it guarantees to steal your heart. Perhaps, Elena Armas has not yet become a new-era Jane Austen or a 21st century’s Margaret Mitchell, though, entering the world of romance novels with such confident steps and defining the perfect start, she may as well become one someday in the future.
The Spanish Love Deception is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
Will you be picking up The Spanish Love Deception? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A wedding. A trip to Spain. The most infuriating man. And three days of pretending. Or in other words, a plan that will never work.
Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister’s wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year.
That would certainly be tomorrow’s headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call.
Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic–from NYC and all the way to Spain–for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along my charade. But that didn’t mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6’4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me.
Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister’s wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie?
Like my abuela would say, que dios nos pille confesados.
The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating romantic comedy. Perfect for those looking for a steamy slow-burn romance with the sweetest Happily Ever After.
This book is the first book I have ever read. I cannot fathom anyone having anything positive to say about it. Stupid plot. Terrible writing. I have officially abandoned it, I refuse to waste another second of my time on this absolute drivel.
ok lets not be so harsh on a book pls and thanks
what