This book was SO hyped on bookstagram I was expecting to be blown away and I was NOT. Also, it has a lot of my favorite things: BIPOC protagonist, fake dating, office romance, only one bed, so I was expecting to love The Spanish Love Deception for many reasons.

I knew going in that this was a slow burn romance but I didn’t realize that meant we would be reading every. single. thought. Catalina has. It was easy to skip paragraphs/pages because one thing would happen (even something as small as the male lead speaking to her) and we would have to listen to a solid two pages of her subsequent thoughts.

The book ostensibly takes place over a few weeks, but maybe 30% of it happens the day before Catalina’s sister’s wedding. It is apparently a LONG day. Also, the whole point of this book is for Catalina to attend her sister’s wedding and that was almost entirely skipped over. There were a few mentions of the overall event but it was mostly Catalina and Aaron’s preparing for the wedding, how hot they both found each other, and then them departing.

Obviously Aaron has been in love with Catalina for ages, but it seems wildly unrealistic that Catalina also feels this passionately after their 1 week together after years of dislike. Especially since her past relationship triggers are very much present in this new relationship (in a different way but still) and suddenly Aaron just expects her to trust him and not worry about something that had previously wrecked her and caused her to leave her home country???

The end got VERY over the top in Catalina’s thoughts and proclamations of love, it just felt strangely dramatic for a previously not effusive person.

Overall this was fine and I will most likely read her next one, but it will not be top of my list.