The Spanish Love Deception

Catalina's work enemy Aaron is her date to her sister's wedding in Spain.

Catalina "Lina" Martín is a Spaniard living and working in New York City. She lied to her parents about having an American boyfriend to prevent their meddling in her love life from afar. When Lina is lacking a plus one to her sister's wedding in Spain, she is forced to take Aaron Blackford -- that guy from work she can't stand.

Aaron outwardly has the personality of a rock, but Lina gains some insight into his personality through their fake dates. Even though she's irritated and repulsed by him at work, outside of work she magically realizes she's attracted to him.

Aaron and Lina's relationship is off-putting. Aaron gives off a stalker vibe as he's pined over Lina from afar and his goal is convincing her she's into him too. Overuse of the word "baby" also feels juvenile and shallow. The sex scenes were cringy with language more reminiscent of a porno than a romance novel.

This book is currently available in e-formats only and was a sensation on TikTok. The novel is also a Goodreads Choice Award 2021 winner in the debut novel category. I honestly don't understand the hype behind this romance where the characters seem to fall for each other because they have to for the book to work.

Scarlette Hayes' deadpan delivery of Aaron's lines is accurate since he's an impassive mountain of a man. The rest of her narration is good -- on par with other audiobooks but not exceptional.

Elena Armas is a Spanish author who loves happily ever afters. This is her first novel.

Publisher: Atria (print); Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrator: Scarlette Hayes

Running Time: 14 hours, 32 minutes

Length: 448 pages

Release Date: November 23, 2021 (ebook & audio); February 1, 2022 (print)

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.