Book Review: The Fiancé Dilemma
I always love Elena Armas’s books; I’ve enjoyed her other three, and I knew I was going to enjoy this one. Elena Armas is the queen of the slow-burning romance novel, and they’re always a welcome break from some of the heavier works I’ve been reading of late.
There is something rather quaint about delving into the Hallmark genre of romance - girl/boy from the big city moves to a small town and is charmed by the locals into giving up big city dreams and living their best lives in good ol’ traditional values America. Well, quaint for some people, a sick bucket for others. But Armas does her own take on this tried, tested and much-loved genre. Small town Mayor, Josephine, has been down the aisle 4 times and has never gotten married. Matthew is out of luck and has moved to a small town in South Carolina for a much-needed break, only to get roped into the small town Mayor’s panic when said Mayor is cornered by a high-powered PR lady representing her father (whom she has never met and is worth a billion dollars) and says she's marrying HIM. Cue over-dramatic but glorious slow-burning romance plot.
Here is what I like about the plot: it is not as Hallmark-y as I expected it to be. I’m not cringing every 5 minutes and wondering who wrote this and why? I like the characters, which is always important for any writer - it gets the audience onside. But also, I want to root for them. While the Hero of the story at first is a little bit 2 two-dimensional, depth comes later. It is hard to write complex characters in a romcom when everyone seems to be here for the romance, heart palpitations and or smut (be honest, it's for the smut). Sometimes romance writers will forgo the plot slightly in favour of getting their readers' hearts racing, which is fine. Sex sells, always has, always will. But it can be tiresome after a while. Josie is the character who develops the most over the course of the book. She might be the mayor, but she is a people pleaser - a yes girl, and that can come at the detriment of who she is as a person, her self-esteem and her own personal strength. While I don't love the fact that Matthew steps in and fights her battles for her. We do see her bite back against the townspeople, and of course, that manic, hellish PR person without demeaning her integrity.
What I didn't like so much was that this book is quite long. It felt a lot longer than the other books of Armas’s books, which was a shame as I found my mind drifting at certain parts. I also felt like the stakes could’ve been higher in places. There is a new dad on the horizon, pressing at the door, which certainly added tension, but a lot of the stakes relied on Josie’s fear of disappointing people, which didn't really feel like stakes at all. Just a personality flaw that people want to shake out of you. So yeah, there could be a little more depth and control over the word count - but I guess I’m just being picky. This isn't a book that will win the Pulitzer any time soon.
Lastly, I enjoyed this book as it's the perfect book to read by the pool or on the beach. It is good, honest fun and a book you don't necessarily need to read too much into. It's a book with a happy ending, something we all aspire to have - whatever that may be.