The Spanish Love Deception

Lina’s plan to deceive her family into believing she is happily in love seems plausible until she arrives in Spain. Panicking in the airport, she says she cannot go through with the deception. Aaron reassures her that they are in this together. From this point on, Lina is able to move forward, knowing she has Aaron’s support. Armas highlights the concept of success arising from couples working together throughout the novel. When Aaron teams up with Lina to prepare for a special event, the project suddenly becomes less daunting. When Lina teams up with Aaron at a charity auction, he avoids being “won” by The Lady in Red. When Lina reunites with Aaron in a Seattle hospital, the latter finds the strength to face his grief over his mother’s death, estrangement from his father, and his father’s illness.

Armas also demonstrates the opposite of this concept: When couples part without proper communication, failure follows. Lina suffered a great deal when Daniel broke up with her to spare his own pride. She was left to face cruel, jealous liars without a partner whom she could trust. In New York, Lina suffers yet again when Aaron walks away from their hallway encounter and disappears for three days; Aaron’s estrangement from his father is a direct result of the latter losing his beloved wife. Armas implies that couples can face and overcome virtually any hardship. Broken apart, the individuals who were a couple struggle to deal with previously manageable challenges.

In Chapter 1, readers are treated to an intriguing, comical exchange between Lina, the epitome of a female character playing “hard to get,” and Aaron, a male character who refuses to let her “get away.” In Chapter 2, Armas brings the novel’s levity and romantic possibility to a dramatic halt with the character of Gerald. The older man targets Lina because she is a young, attractive woman, demonstrating his misogyny. In this respect, Armas has created a narrative that is current and pertinent to the modern workplace—and beyond.

While gender bias against women is clearest in Gerald’s treatment of Lina, he is not the only offender. Lina’s former lover Daniel initially apologizes to Lina for the way their relationship ended, but when confronted about his own gender bias, he reveals his true attitude toward her and, by extension, women in general. Armas continually points out that, as adamant and forceful as Aaron is in relating to Lina, he is unfailingly respectful of her ability, dignity, and boundaries.