Elena Armas

SO many bookstagrammers/booktokers recommended this book and I truly can’t understand why…

This book absolutely did not need to be 400 pages. It took me forever to finish it because it just went on. And on. And ON.

This is supposed to be your stereotypical enemies-to-lovers office romance. And while I have no issue reading the same tropes over and over again, this book just didn’t hit the mark. The banter wasn’t really banter, just immature and excessive arguing. The reason they were show more “enemies” felt so lazy. It was less enemies-to-lovers and more unrequited love that leads to a huge misunderstanding that turns in to “enemies”-to-lovers. Also there were way too many things going on (the office, the auction, the wedding, Aaron’s dad, Lina’s ex, the list goes on) and it all just felt excessive.

Catalina was SO annoying! She’s immature, whiny, and so purposely oblivious it makes me want to scream. Her entire personality is her completely over-the-top stubbornness and her need to prove herself in all aspects of her life. I normally don’t have a problem with either of those but like everything else in this book, it was excessive. I did appreciate the way the author highlighted the difficulties that a lot of women face in the workplace, but that was about the only thing that had me feeling any sort of compassion towards Catalina. And I was still frustrated because if she’s supposed to be this headstrong, take-no-shit kind of person, why would she put up with it?? This is just one of the many inconsistencies that I honestly don’t have the time to list here show less

I’ve been meaning to get around to reading this for a long time now and I am so happy I finally got to it. I am an absolute sucker for fake relationship tropes (call it an unhealthy obsession) so you can already guess how excited and entertained I was reading this.

I can’t enjoy a book unless I have laughed out loud and caused someone to look in my direction like I’m strange, thankfully and unthankfully, it happened with this book.

“Of course,” he said with his brows still furrowed. show more “I always have time for you.”

If someone said this to me I would kiss them on the spot. That’s a promise.

Aaron is so special and he was probably my favourite character and what made this book for me. Lina believes she has a lot of baggage, she believes she’s broken and he never failed to be reassuring and make her feel wanted and safe.

Also, Aaron loving Disney and Pixar movies gave me an absurd amount of serotonin that I wasn’t expecting.

“And I know that even if something did break you—because that’s life and no one is invincible—you’d still put the pieces back together and remain the brightest thing I’d ever seen.”

I’m not even going to sit here and pretend that this didn’t make me get choked up. This is so beautiful and so special to me. This is by far my favourite quote from the entire book.

This has definitely become a comfort read for me. show less

You had me at "Smug Clark Kent look-alike."! No, really - if a man looks like Henry Cavill, that's all it takes for me to love a book (and if he doesn't look like him I'll just make it work haha).

Catalina Martin must attend her sister's wedding in Spain and has lied to her family about having an American boyfriend. It is expected that she'll bring him along, all she has to do is actually find someone to play the part. That happens to be tall, dark, handsome but brooding Aaron Blackford, her show more coworker and arch-nemesis. The rest can be predicted.

The film "The Wedding Date" meets the book "The Hating Game" in this fun romantic novel (one very ideal for reading on holiday). Aaron is a goof, a grouch, a sex God and a sweetheart all at once, I love him. I am a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating tropes so this was a perfect read. The pacing was great, I could not put it down (I recall it only took me a few days at the most).

And Lina was so real when she said to Rosie about how the Game of Thrones ending broke her heart! We don't talk about Season 8. show less

The Long Game is a slowww burn sports romance, grumpy x grumpy, dislike to lovers, small town, and forced proximity. Adalyn and Cameron don’t get off on the right foot. There’s some animosity between them that stems from baggage they’re carrying. They’re working on a project together that forces them to let their guard down and ensures they work as a team and gain the success that’s needed. One of the things I loved about this book was how Cameron’s protective instincts started show more kicking in for Adalyn without it being unbearable and suffocating. This wasn’t something Adalyn could really understand. She’s used to standing on her own, the people she should’ve trusted in her life have continuously failed her. The way she views herself isn’t all too pretty either. But he took care such good care of her! The vulnerabilities and insecurities shown was appreciated. show less