'My Big Fat Fake Marriage' by Charlotte Stein has all the tropes, fake relationship, forced proximity, one bed, cynical in love woman meets the *nicest guy.* Connie finds herself pretending to be married to Henry to help him with a nasty coworker, and naturally finds herself falling for him.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and the female main character's perspective and voice were very relatable. I struggled some with the male main character, Henry, who felt like a caricature of a caricature of a nice guy. He felt very unbelievable.

Thank you to Charlotte Stein and St. Martin's Press | St. Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of 'My Big Fat Fake Marriage.'

Beck reminds me of a character similar to who would star in Leave it to Beaver. I don’t know of anyone who says “golly” and “gee” that much. He also apologizes. A lot. He is a very endearing character but not really believable. By the end I think he changed quite a bit in a good way. There was some good humor in this one but it wasn’t my favorite read.

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (0-5)
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (0-5) I bump up for public places/outdoor space. This one is deliciously descriptive.

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 Unique, steamy, and hilarious romcom audiobook entertainment! It’s so good I’ve already listened again.
🤩 Imogen Wilde has a gorgeous English accent and is such a pleasure to listen to. This book works perfectly with one narrator because it’s in first person single POV. She’s really, really good at the conversations.
🤩 If you like a reluctant, inexperienced golden retriever MMC at all, or just want to try one to see if you do, you need Beck and Hazel in your life.
🤩 Hazel and Beck are so supportive and lovely to each other, but in a very fun, quirky, horny way.
🤩 Neighbors to lovers.
🤩 Fake is my favorite, especially with forced proximity and only one bed at a writing retreat.
🤩 Secret attraction and pining.
🤩 The booty conversation and moment—it’s all written so well, with fabulous characterization, and made me smile so much.
🤩 Slowwwwwww burn to oh so open and honest and sensual and detailed and beautiful.
🤩 The hot tub scene!! Is everything!
🤩 All the great communication in emails and in person.
🤩 Putting nasty Doug in his place.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 Scumbag Doug is written so well. I hate him, but I love what he brings out from Hazel and Beck.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It was a light hearted and easy book to read. I loved the storyline and all the characters. I think that the characters had great growth. I would definitely recommend this book.

From the illustrated cover and description, I thought I was getting a cute, cozy, plus-size romance. Boy, was I wrong!

Connie, whose real name is Hazel, and that's what she's referred to throughout the book, is never really described as plus-size. Henry Samuel Beckett is somehow a hot nerd who's barely ever been on a date, let alone done all the intimate things people do. Yet somehow, he's an expert at all of them...and I wasn't expecting the last third of the book (maybe last half?) to just be them turning each other on in different places.

There was basically no plot, and there were rarely any other characters, just Hazel's inner monologue and conversations between her and Beck (in person, in notes, in texts, in emails). There was nothing happening at all until all the sex scenes started. They're supposed to be getting his co-workers to believe they're married, yet spend less than 1% of the book interacting with these people. It was just pointless. The cute illustrated cover and clean description had me believing this was a cute closed-door rom-com, but that's not what I got.

All in all, I would say to pass this one by unless you like a plot-less story with some steamy scenes for the last third of the novel. I'm disappointed that this didn't work for me.

Thank you to St. Martin's - Griffin and NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Something has to give... Could it be her heart?

This was definitely a very cute romance. It had just the right amount of fluffy happiness. I probably looked like the little “heart eye” emoji while I was reading it. I absolutely loved the dynamic between the two main characters and definitely felt myself swooning over Beck and his bow ties..

This is a great book for anyone interest in:
💖Fake Marriage
💖Forced Proximity
💖Bookish Vibes
💖Angst/Tension
💖Fake Dating
💖One Bed

A very special thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Griffin, and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, easy read! I loveeeee the fake marriage and forced proximity tropes! One of the tropes of the MMC was not my favorite, but I dont want to spoil anything. I loved the pop culture references, that was fun! I cringed at the love handles comment (iykyk)! The language of the MMC was a turn off to me but I understand why the author did that, its just not my thing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Stein and St Martin's Press for this ARC!

Wow, this was not what I was expecting. I loved Charlotte Stein's debut novel and was thrilled to be gifted an advanced reader copy of My Big Fat Fake Marriage in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, it's going to get honest.

While I was excited for the premise, and one of the most relatable ways that someone may ACTUALLY pretend to be married, this book was odd. I felt for Beck in the beginning, but then his character turned into this bumbling Ned Flanders character that I couldn't shake. And it turned from the first 40% being only banter and dialogue back and forth, to pure unnecessary smut out of nowhere. I'm not sure where the Charlotte went that wrote her debut, and I wanted to love this, but it just didn't come together for me.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3?

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for my honest review.*

Connie/Hazel distrusts men. Especially Beck who has moved in across the hall from her and who brings her pies for no reason at all. But who doesn't love pie? Also, Beck is name Henry Samuel Beckett and there are plenty of Quantum Leap references which are far too few in modern novels for my tastes!

Connie/Hazel ends up pretending to be Beck's non-existent wife that he had created for a bully in his office. And I'm sure you can guess what happens next.

Loved the banter and how literary it was and the aforementioned Quantum Leap references! Ready to read another novel from this author!

This was my first time reading author Charlotte Stein’s work, and I really enjoyed My Big Fat Fake Marriage, which I read through a mix of ebook and audiobook. Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for early access to both media in exchange for my honest opinion.
Connie has not had very good interactions with men. Enter her neighbor - who Connie at first thinks is a serial killer, for very good reasons. However, once that misunderstanding is cleared up, she offers to jump in and play his fake wife, as he had previously made up a (complicated) relationship which he had told his coworkers about. Connie goes on a retreat with him, as his fake wife, and they plan a fight to prompt their fake divorce. But he is a complete cinnamon roll, and Connie finds herself feeling very not-fake feelings. There are a few really steamy scenes, and I couldn’t put this one down once I started reading/listening to it. It’s available now everywhere!

Connie and Beck are neighbors and Connie can't figure out what's off about him until she finds out his secret. His wife is not real. And he is so nice and innocent he only told the lie because of a bully at work and he doesnt know how to end it. Connie somehow says shes his wife and the story really starts.

I love me a sweet innocent MMC and she knows who she is tot he outside world but behind close doors she's lost. As they team up and get to know each other I love that part if the story but when it came to the sexy parts it was very corny and I was uncomfortable, it had parts I was laughing that I shouldn't and the golly gee became a bit much. I think if we could do the romance different this would be a 4 star but I had a good time with everything but that.

Thank you NetGalley for this Arc in exchange for my thoughts.

3.5 stars!

Super cute and fluffy contemporary romance! The MMC is a complete cinnamon roll but just a tad cheesy! There are a quite a few cheesy lines throughout the book.

Overall this was a quick and enjoyable read that will have you kicking your feet up and giggling!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is a fun, steamy, and delightfully chaotic ride! The fake marriage trope is executed perfectly with plenty of sizzling tension and laugh-out-loud moments. The chemistry between the characters is off the charts, and their emotional journey adds depth to the spice. While some parts felt a little rushed, the charm and humor more than made up for it. A solid 4-star read that’s perfect for fans of witty banter and swoony romance!

Charlotte stein is not for me. This is the second story of hers that just doesn’t hit. I don’t enjoy her writing style.

I started this book on a Saturday morning, expecting to read for a bit before going about my day. I proceeded to read non-stop for the next 4 hours, laughing out loud and kicking my feet in amusement the whole time. The banter between these two adorably nerdy, oblivious characters was perfect, the smut was hot and I had such a fun time reading it!

Spicy, male female, 1st person single point of view, contemporary romance. This was much spicier than I was expecting. Especially considering the characters' personalities and relationship. I thought it was well written, but I had a hard time connecting to the characters. A quick easy, steamy read though.

I am loving this series!!! Book 1 was great and now book 2 was also!! I look forward to seeing this little world continue and to reading future Charlotte Stein books in general.

From the moment they met I was excited for them to be together. I enjoyed them so much as individuals and their journey as a fake couple on the way to a real couple.

It was such a cute book. If like fake relationship tropes this book is for you!

It is such a cute rom-com. It certainly made me laugh out loud, and it featured a plus-size character that we could relate to. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.

A fab read, the story of Connie/Hazel and Beck. I loved his character and wanted everything to work out for them beyond a fake marriage. I liked the notes to see things from his point of view. Looking forward to more from this author.

This was absurdly horny while also being vulnerable—so overall, just loads of fun. Stein is a classic romance author unafraid to make big tropes her own.