The Spanish Love Deception is a novel by Elena Armas published in February 2022 by Atria Books. It is a romantic comedic novel steeped in the trope of couples who hate at first sight and then gradually come to realize they actually love each other. The premise revolves around a woman named Catalina Martin who finds herself desperately in need of someone willing to pretend to be her boyfriend while attending the wedding of her sister. This desperation stems from the consequences of her ill-conceived decision to make up a fictional story about a non-existent boyfriend that kept getting with romantic details which only served to heighten expectations and intensify the desire of those wanting to meet this awesome wonderful man. Faced with the wedding date deadline being just four short weeks away, Catalina’s desperation reaches the point where even the intensely irritating Aaron Blackford’s offer to take on the challenge is too much for Catalina to reject.
Routinely advertised as a “TikTok sensation” due to its related hashtag earning over a hundred-million views, the novel reached beyond social media phenomenon to attain the ultimate in mainstream success by hitting the New York Times Bestseller list. In addition, the book landed on bestseller lists in England and Ireland before capping its success by being named the GoodReads Choice Awards Debut Novel of the Year.
In the early summer of 2022, it was announced that BCDF Productions had won the rights to the develop a cinematic adaptation the novel. Peter Hutchings, director of the similarly-themed The Hating Game, was chosen to adapt the novel into visual form. No casting possibilities or release date were given in the initial press release announcing the movie deal. Upon reaching a two-book published agreement with the author in late 2021, commissioning editor Molly Crawford described Armas’ novel as a “Netflix-worthy romcom” but early indications suggest that Hutchings’ adaptation will be a theatrical release rather than a multi-episode limited series.
