The Spanish Love Deception

Elena Armas’s literary career took off when her debut novel, The Spanish Love Deception (2021), became a New York Times Bestseller. The romance novel acquired 100 million views on BookTok, received the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Debut Novel, and accepted a bid from BCDF Picture for motion picture rights. The story follows the stormy relationship of Catalina “Lina” Martín, a small-town girl from Spain, and Aaron Blackford, a former star athlete from Seattle, who work as mid-management colleagues at a New York City engineering firm. Lina must return to Spain to serve as the maid of honor in her sister’s wedding. Circumstances dictate she must bring an American boyfriend and the only volunteer is the aloof Aaron, whom she calls “Mr. Robot.” Armas understands the backdrop of the story as she is a chemical engineer from Spain and a lifelong lover of romance. Though written in English, the story also contains occasional uses of Spanish words and phrases.

This guide is based on the original Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) version published in 2021.

Content Warning: The Spanish Love Deception frequently references alcohol and explicit sexual content. Elena Armas occasionally uses English and Spanish expletives, including variations of the f-word.