This book is way, WAY too long. I ran out of patience with it at 20 per cent because it felt there was still so much to have happen, and I didn't particularly enjoy the book enough to find out what was going to happen.

1.5 stars

Catalina Martin lives in New York, but will be returning home to Spain for her sister's wedding in four weeks. After finding out that her ex-boyfriend will be at the wedding and that he is engaged, Catalina is determined to take a date with her and even lies to her family, telling them that she has an American boyfriend that is coming with her.
Then Catalina's colleague, Aaron Blackford, offers to be her date. Catalina is hesitant to accept - their relationship is not exactly friendly, and Catalina loathes Aaron.
When no other options are forthcoming, Catalina reluctantly accepts Aaron's help. As they start spending time outside of work together, Catalina finds out that maybe Aaron isn't so bad after all.
Will Catalina's family be fooled?

I can't remember the exact reason I requested this book on NetGalley. I think it must have been a moment of madness, because I usually try to steer clear of 'TikTok sensations', and this book was the perfect example of why that's the case.
Catalina was an OK protagonist, and while I did feel sorry for her given what she had been through in the past, I didn't feel that I particularly connected with her, and wasn't invested in what happened to her.
Aaron was a bit of a meh character for me. Sure, he did nice things for Catalina, but if he had just talked to her and explained his feelings, then this book would pretty much have been redundant - the 'deception' part, anyway. I found Aaron to be quite a flat, two-dimensional character, unfortunately, and did not feel any chemistry between him and Catalina.
The plot was OK, but pretty predictable. Nothing happened that surprised or shocked me and I was pretty bored throughout.
The dialogue was very cringy at times, and I found the wording/writing quite stilted, especially with the first chapter, even the first few opening lines. If I hadn't been reading a review copy (and even then I switched to the audiobook to get through it faster), then I would have stopped reading and DNF'd the book before long.

Unfortunately, this was not for me and I will not be recommending it.

It was ok. I expected more but maybe thats because its been hyped up so much. It was a cute little romance story but felt that it dragged on a little too long in the end.

Bit too much happening but also too long? Also like...why do people not communicate with each other? I did really enjoy the parts of the book set in Spain, and I did like the characters as individuals. The romance and chemistry was also pretty good! But I was worn down a bit by everything else like the work stuff and character histories. Overall, not bad.

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a nice easy read which made me laugh and the romance was cute. I loved Lina’s family. It made me a tad jealous that she had such a huge family that had fun parties together. The banter between Lina and Aaron was entertaining. Who doesn’t love an enemies to lovers. The slow burn kept me hooked and I loved seeing the friendship develop first.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

SLD really didn’t do it for me. I can understand why it’s popular on social media, as I think it’s a nice, easy read for those who may be trying to get back into reading and are looking for a popular romance to do so.

I think the main characters were incredibly unlikeable and flat. I wasn’t rooting for them at all, which is important for me in a romance.

I’m glad I read this book as I had been curious about the hype, but unfortunately I was disappointed.

An enjoyable book that I had heard gushed about over and over (and over!) again. This is the story of Lina (Catalina), an engineer who is working with Aaron, who is her polar opposite. The two come up with a plan to solve some personal issues, so they commit to a fake date, which involves a trip to Spain. This was all a lovely premise and I enjoyed the book, which was huge, especially as I read this on a phone, something I don’t and can’t usually do. Saying that I think I’d have enjoyed it so so much more if I hadn’t read so many different versions of this book before, some which are my absolute faves. I think a lot of people will love this book, not least because of the heat level, which is more than I’m used to. Thanks to the publisher for the book in return for an honest review.

A really great enemies to lovers. The writing is good, storyline on point for the trends at the moment. My cup of tea!

3.5 stars

This was a cute and fun read that I've been meaning to pick up for a long time.

This one contains a lot of my favourite tropes, mainly fake dating and I enjoyed watching the two main characters navigate this situation.

However I do feel like the book was dragged out a bit, I definitely think it could have been a bit shorter! Also I found some of the scenes (especially nearer the end) just incredibly cringy and cheesy.

Overall a good read and I will most likely pick up her most recent book.

I honestly judge myself for leaving this lovely book sitting on my shelf for months unread!

This had me reeled in from the start, no messing about. Lina's sister is getting married in Spain in a few weeks time, and she needs a date so that her family believe she has moved on from her previous relationship to Daniel, her former professor. Lina's work enemy Aaron offers to be her date, and as the story continues, Lina realises Aaron might not be so bad after all.....

I loved how the characters were written, especially the detail given to Aaron*swoon* and the Martìn family. Honestly enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes so this was always going to be a winner with me!

Brilliant debut novel, I can't wait to read the next one when it's out.

Fun books are just fun. They make no attempt to be anything more and we are thankful when they stay in their box. For that reason, this book is good. At points, the relationship takes some big leaps to get from point A to B but the overall journey is fine.

A generous 2.5
I realise I am not a fan of the fake dating trope as it is frustrating having a heroine not see how in love the male interest is.
But I my main issue was how long it took for the fake dating trope to actually start. Nearly half the book is all setup in New York. Making it seem more enemies to lovers.
The latter part felt very rushed. With the wedding day playing a bit part of one or two chapters. I actually didn’t realise it was the actual wedding and at first thought it was a daydream because of how sparse the events were told.
The final act conflicts were equally shoved in with little preparation.
The couple are cute and while I was into the spicy scenes, I couldn’t careless about them getting together. I didn’t buy into their chemistry.

Thanks to NetGalley for this digital copy.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. What a treat!! Love the romance and steam. Will definitely read more by this author.

A typical will they won't they book which has gone wild on TikTok.

While I think the book was good, I do feel like it was over-hyped, Still it is definitely a must-read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Personally I really enjoyed this book, I found that whilst it was pretty clear what was going to happen, I didn’t find it annoyingly obvious. Those who enjoy this genre will understand how sometimes this can be annoying but I enjoyed how the author took us on a ride and how whilst it was mainly about being in Spain it wasn’t the start of the story, it was simply the Main.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the details/descriptions throughout.

Enjoyable read and after not reading for a while it was just what I needed! 4stars from me.

A cute will they won’t they love story (obviously they will!) following two bickering colleagues who strike up a deal to save face at Lina’s sister's wedding.

Working at a NYC tech company, Spanish Lina is totally comfortable in her US life, so much so that she actively avoids going back home.
But sometimes there’s just no excuse, and with her sister’s wedding looming (and her ex-boyfriend is the best man) she can avoid it no longer and desperately doesn’t want to show up alone.
So when moody coworker Aaron offers himself as her plus-one, she’s not really got any better options.. but they hate each other’s guts.. or do they?

Yeah of course they don’t.

Perfect for fans of a workplace rom-com, frenemies to lovers? Is that a thing?

This was a lighthearted steamy romp which will make you question all the losers you have ever dated. 😅😅😅

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital copy for review

Like everyone on the planet, I’ve loved this book so much. It’s not because of the hype or because it was always a must read romance recommendation from all my bookish friends. It’s because I could connect with the characters in more ways than others. I loved their interaction, their way of growing throughout the book and their way of risking or taking decisions that might hurt them but still learning how to live with the consequences.
And the banter and chemistry was there at all times. It’s a must read book indeed and one that now I can recommend myself as well.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This book was longer than I expected, i went in thinking it would be a short romance but nop, is pretty thick, but still for me it flew. At the beginning before they go to spain it read similar to the love hypothesis, but that stopped once on their way to the wedding. I loved to see the family in Spain, everything reminded me to my BFF wedding, and my own family.
I am used to read Spanish in books but it has been always Latin American Spanish so I loved to read the Spanish expressions, like "everybody and their mother" in there. The mix of both languages made everything more relatable to me.
I get why Aaron is so hyped, I have to agree I love him too, he is pretty perfect and the kind of guy I am convinced that doesn't exist other than in books written by women.
So if you know a guy like this that is real and single, maybe just point him my way? 🤗

Now there is a moment that Catalina thinks about everything happening as the Lina Martin show, and my mind just jumped to my favourite TV and theatre show as a child called "The Lina Morgan show". So Elena Armas if you are reading this, wich well, I doubt, but por si las moscas, was this possible reference to Lina Morgan on propuse??

So in resume I loved this book, i have to say it is ridiculous how much I love the fake dating trope, and then include only one bed trope and what else can i ask for? Really. the only thing that bother me a little, and it wasn't even that much of a bother was how many time how very blue Aaron eyes are is mention.

I’m so late to the party with this book. But I absolutely loved it!!! So fun and loveable!!! A must read for sure