Rounding up from 3.5.

This book is ridiculous and charming and outlandish in all the best ways. The fake marriage plot is always a fun one, especially in a modern setting. This isn’t a perfect book, but after reading something heavier, this was exactly what I needed and I found myself smiling throughout.

Beck is just the biggest cinnamon roll to ever cinnamon roll, and even when it was over the top, it was a refreshing change from brooding heroes where you have to wonder how they feel. And Hazel really deserves his brand of earnest, sweet honesty, even if she doesn’t realize it. And it’s so much fun watching her realize she DOES deserve better

Laughs, Love, and a Little Pretending: A Must-Read Romance

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of My Big Fat Fake Marriage!

This book is a delightful and steamy rom-com that delivers an irresistible blend of humor, heart, and undeniable chemistry. With her signature wit and engaging storytelling, Charlotte Stein crafts a fake-marriage trope that feels both fresh and emotionally compelling.

The story follows Hazel who finds herself in a whirlwind of unexpected circumstances that lead to a sham marriage with Beck. What starts as a convenient arrangement soon turns into something much more complicated as sparks fly and real feelings get tangled in the mix. Charlotte’s ability to balance laugh-out-loud moments with genuine emotional depth makes the novel stand out in the crowded fake-relationship genre.

One of the highlights of the book is Charlotte’s knack for crafting lovable, flawed characters. The banter between the Hazel and Beck is sharp, sizzling, and full of tension, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. The supporting cast adds charm and comedic relief, making the world of the novel feel vibrant and immersive.

Beyond the humor and romance, My Big Fat Fake Marriage explores themes of vulnerability, self-discovery, and the courage to embrace love even when it seems inconvenient. The pacing is spot on, with a satisfying build-up to a heartwarming and swoon-worthy conclusion.

Overall, My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a fun, feel-good read that romance lovers will devour. Whether you’re a fan of fake dating, witty banter, or steamy slow burns, this book has something for you. Charlotte Stein once again proves why she’s a master of contemporary romance.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)

I always love a Charlotte Stein book and this one was no different! Only one bed, cinnamon roll hero, with a one bed trope with never not be a fantastic read. Charlotte did such a fantastic job with these characters and this story and I would absolutely recommend to anyone.

✨𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐧✨

Connie had so many bad experiences with dating that she distrusts any guy who seems “nice.” She’s always on alert, trying to decipher their true intentions, convinced that there’s always a hidden agenda—usually a bad one. Even when it comes to her adorable and cheerful neighbor, Beck.

She’s certain there must be something wrong with him. But after an awkward encounter, a homemade dessert as an apology, and a misunderstanding, Beck decides to reveal his deepest secret—a lie he’s been carrying for a while: he’s told everyone at his job that he’s married.

In an attempt to defend him, Connie finds herself caught in a fake marriage ruse at a writing retreat, where they must convince everyone that they’re madly in love.

Everyone knows how much I adoreeee the fake dating trope, and this book was no exception. The story grabbed me from the start and had me laughing out loud. THISSS is the rom-com everyone needs to read! I loved the characters, their humor, and their playful flirting. Beck, being the ultimate green flag, was so refreshing and cute.

I can’t wait for all of you to read and enjoy this book! 

I rate this book 4/5 ⭐️

Huge thanks to netgalley and the author for the ARC.

Loved It (rounded up)

Okay the first book, (When Grumpy Met Sunshine) Alfie was fashioned after Roy Kent (and perfectly so). I was so happy to see him and Mabel back in this one. Nice to catch up.

However, in this one, the MMC Beck is 100% Ted Lasso and I.Am.Here.For.It. Holy hell was this just freaking adorable! Beck was so sweet and genuine and I would say proof that good guys still exist, but, you know...he's fictional. haha

Connie has been beaten down by men (emotionally) and doesn't believe that there are any good men out there anymore: 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓋𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒩𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒢𝓊𝓎𝓈-𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶 𝑜𝒻 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓃𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝓃𝒸𝓎.

They're across the hall neighbors and Beck knows Mabel. They have a pretty hilarious run in (I wouldn't call it a meet cute since they'd met a lot of times before) and they start to open up to eachother a little. Connie feeling protective over Beck a little. When yet another chance encounter with Beck's work bully has Connie seeing red and blurting out that she's Beck's wife.

Beck was just a surprise. I mean, that sweet, caring, soft, genuine man on the surface and a freaking stallion in the sheets! (Get it, Connie!) They end up growing closer and becoming friends and just watching it blossom between the two of them was so sweet.

The book is also riddled with little funny quips that made me snort because of either nostalgia or they're inside jokes with some friends (you bet your booty I texted them screen shots). Charlotte has a way of writing that just is easy, breezy, and feels warm.

𝐼'𝓂 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓁. 𝒪𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝒪𝓃𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝒹 𝟤: 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒸 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑔𝒶𝓁𝑜𝑜.

𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉𝓁𝑒, 𝒷𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎.

Disclaimer: I received this as an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars— I love me cheese in a rom-com. Those “that would never happen IRL” moments are what make it fun, right? But this story just had too many things that were not making sense… 😩

There was just a LOT of internal monologue, even for being a first-person POV. It was kind of hard to follow at times and by the time Connie/Hazel had finished her thoughts, I had forgotten who had done what to make her spiral.

The MMC… oh man. It just didn’t do it for me. He’s inexperienced but had noooo issues pleasing. He’s naive when it comes to reading people but clocked her from the beginning. I didn’t dislike his character completely but felt his personality was just forced to be stuck in this weird, be-completely-opposite-than-her kind of box.

I don’t know… If you want a light hearted story featuring a quirky, super sweet cinnamon roll MMC, this mayyyy be the book for you?

Quick Summary: A cinnamon roll romance

My Review: My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is a 2025 release. It's being released today.

About the Book: "A fake marriage at a writer's retreat goes awry when two people fall in love for real..."

In My Own Words: Close proximity and shared spaces take a fake situationship into a slow burn, hot and heavy relationship

My Final Say: This novel was certainly an easy read. It proved to be very entertaining, albeit incredibly fluffy. The pacing was up and down, but it eventually leveled out.

Other: Readers who enjoy witty rom-coms, forced proximity stories, and cinnamon sweet MMCs should like this book.

Rating: 3/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Status/Level: 👍
Note: I think the audiobook version of this novel will capture readers attention even more. I would definitely be interested in the listening experience.

Thank you to the author, to the publisher (St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin), and to NetGalley for providing access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. I appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you net galley for the arc. so this is 2nd book from this author. and this was just a cute but ridiculous rom com about a writer Hazel and her neighbor Beck . if you like a nerdy MC ,slow burn and lots of horniness. this is for you

The premise to My Big Fat Fake Marriage sounded very good, it had a lot of potential and I was looking forward to picking this read up. Unfortunately, the execution was not what I was expecting. I really wanted to like this one, I really did, but I had such a hard time connecting with the characters. There wasn’t much depth to either of our main characters. Connie/Hazel and Beckett both have major insecurities, which the author never goes into detail as to why they do, just that they do. So we have these two insecure people who apparently “see each other” past these insecurities, however, they each don’t feel worthy enough for the other, but they never actually talk it out… so then there’s misunderstanding… it was a mess. But honestly this wasn’t what had me pulling away from the story multiple times. Nope. It was the way Beckett talked. Who talks like that? And then you take that and add some really cringey interactions between these two - conversations were cringey, the spicy scenes were cringey, and it was all too much cringe for me. Sadly this was not my cup of tea.


*Thank you St. Martin’s Press / St Martin’s Griffin for providing me with an eARC for review via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.*

Aspiring writer Connie doesn’t trust nice men, and in general she’s been right. In fact, all the men she’s dealt with have turned out to be pretty expectedly terrible. So when sweet American editor Henry Samuel Beckett—named for the Quantum Leap character, not the playwright—moves into her building, she doesn’t quite know what to make of him. She discovers that he’s lied to a bully of a co-worker about being married (when he in fact has no experience with women), and then when she meets that bully of a co-worker, Connie is so outraged by his awfulness she claims to be Beck’s pretend wife. Which means they have to act like a married couple at a writer’s retreat they’re both scheduled to attend. As with any just-one-bed trope, sparks fly, but Connie can’t believe a man as nice as Beck would ever really want a woman like her.

The first half of this book had me laughing out loud. The characters are so delightfully over the top and their banter and notes to each other were hysterical. It was also very sweet to see the way the two characters took care of each other. Once the steam started, it didn’t stop. It’s most of the second half of the book, and while I don’t mind steam, the story started to feel more like a short story in terms of story arc.

Connie is friends with Mabel from Stein’s past release When Grumpy Met Sunshine and it was fun to see Connie turning to her friend for advice about having a fake relationship since it was also the premise in that book. Ultimately I enjoyed this one. There’s something about Charlotte Stein’s writing that just tickles me. I love her voice and books, but if her previous books have not been your thing, I don’t think this one will change your mind.

"For husband, whose kindness made my life."

"You’re not scared of commitment, Haze. You just haven’t had anything worth committing to..."

"I knew how loved you made me feel, even when it wasn’t supposed to be real."

Starting with the dedication to her husband about his kindness, renowned droll RomCom author, Charlotte Stein, sets the tone for her adorable, surprisingly steamy, out right hilarious romantic comedy, My Big Fat Fake Marriage.

Hazel mistakenly believes Beck has murdered his wife. He doesn't have a wife. Never did. But he lied to the bully at work that he did and now he needs one for his publishing firm's writing retreat. Feeling bad for her accusations about Beck, Hazel volunteers to be his fake wife. Let the insanity, misunderstandings, vulnerabilities and forced proximity sexy times begin.

Hazel doesn't let anyone see her nerdy side. The one that watches Star Wars movies and rereads Interview With The Vampire. Beck wears his nerdy side with pride. He uses his vast vocabulary not to show off but to communicate the exact words for his thoughts. He's a quiet man but when put to the test he will easily win the game.

Their roles are reversed in every way. Charlotte's the dirty talker with sex on the brain. Beck is the inexperienced, only been kissed once, pursued man. It's different and a lot of fun.

Voice actress Imogen Wilde perfectly portrays the sharp comedic Hazel as well as the cinnamon roll unobtrusive Beck. Told through Hazel's first person POV, we see through her eyes Beck's decency.

There's nothing fake about the laughter, steam or romance found in My Big Fat Fake Marriage. It also proves, sometimes, the nice guy finishes first.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. Opinions are my own.

I'm sorry, but I wasn't really a fan. I wanted to like it, but I had trouble connecting with the characters and also felt like some of it was confusing causing me to reread several parts.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had to stop reading. This was not for me I made it 50% through and had to stop reading. The MMC was too cinnamon roll for me. I loved the concept .

Ahhhhhhh! I loved My Big Fat Fake Marriage! It is so delightfully bonkers, and sweet, and filthy. Charlotte Stein has become an auto-buy author for me. Her books are so joyful while also digging into very relatable anxieties.

Connie has a lot of experience with the modern London Nice Guy, and she knows better than to trust a nice guy. Her neighbor, Beck, is just so nice. He says “howdy neighbor” and leaves her pies that he baked himself. Beck is so nice that Connie is pretty sure he’s a serial killer. That impression is not helped when she sees inside his apartment and there are cut outs of women’s heads everywhere and a notepad that says, “Where can I tell people my wife is?” As it turns out, Beck has lied about being married to shut up a bullying colleague and the situation is getting complicated. The situation gets more complicated when Connie claims to be Beck’s wife, again to get that bullying colleague to shut up, and then they have to be husband and wife for two weeks at a writing retreat. The united against a bully, forced proximity, and only one bed situation gives Charlotte Stein a wonderful canvas for Connie and Beck to be honest and vulnerable and for plenty of shenanigans.

It’s generally accepted wisdom that you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. Stein digs into this in interesting ways. At heart, Connie and Beck like themselves, where things get stickier is how they interact with the world at large. They’ve both learned that the wider world does not reward them for being their true selves. Beck is himself anyway, mostly. Connie has erected a thick shield between herself and the world and she has a hard time believing that Beck sees and loves her for her own true self. Connie and Beck are similar in some important ways, they are both delightfully nerdy, with overlapping nerd interests, and they are both going to stick up for someone else before they stand up for themselves.

I’ve seen some conversations about My Big Fat Fake Marriage as being Ted Lasso coded and, yes, that’s in the DNA, but Beck is not an alternate universe Ted Lasso. He’s a cinnamon roll with some Clark Kent (mild manners hiding strength) and a mustache – a man sure of his own masculinity with no need to prove it to others. Beck is kind, sweet, and genuine, which gets mistaken for weak and maybe not super smart, even by Connie on occasion. But Beck knows himself and has made thoughtful choices about how he is going to be in the world.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how rare and wonderful it is to find someone with whom you can truly be your weirdest self and they can be their weirdest self. I identified so much with Connie’s reluctance to let down her guard. As one should expect from a Charlotte Stein novel, these two are delightfully freaky and filthy. When Connie goes feral over Beck’s tiny shorts and his high potency sex drive, it’s both steamy and achingly sweet.

I read both an e-arc and an audio arc. Imogen Wilde’s narration was delightful, giving added depth to an excellent text. Imogen Wilde conveyed emotions and moments of humor that I hadn’t picked up on. I love it when I’m able to read a book and have it read to me.

I received this as an advance reader copy from St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little afraid to read this book since I DNF'd this author's last book but I'm very happy to say that I enjoyed this one. Maybe it's just her paranormal books that won't be for me but I'd probably still give her next one in that series a try and any other ones.

The MMC, Beck is the ultimate cinnamon roll. I seriously don't think I've seen a bigger one. I'm not really sure what the point was for Connie to have two names and to actually have her name be Hazel.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the last 1/4 of the book basically being all smut with very little plot.

3.5 stars rounded down

(4.5⭐️)

Charlotte does it again with a book that delves deep into the mind of her characters, we meet "Connie" and Henry Samuel Beckett - an unlikely duo that fall into a sticky situation headfirst with nothing to catch their fall but each other. Quickly going from next door neighbors with vastly different perspectives and personalities to realizing just how much they enjoy each other's company and so much more. Hazel (a.k.a. Connie) and Beck are stuck together on a writing retreat and a little white lie that forces them to confront the many misconceptions that they have of one another. It's a wildly chaotic ride full of steamy emails, stolen kisses, some "peach" grabbing, a golden retriever MMC with a dirty mouth and two people who realize that they both deserve to be loved for who they are and not who they should be. I loved the quirky characters and heartfelt emotions that Charlotte always provides and I know so many more are going to enjoy this wonderful story that has you cheering for our main characters from their first interaction.

Henry Samuel Beckett and Connie are neighbors. He leaves her cakes, and she goes to say thank you with a slice of a cake and she sees something she didn’t expect. Who is this guy? Well, she finds out. He’s the ultimate nice guy; the guy who has never really been with a woman before; the guy who people make fun of; the guy who told people he was married but it was fake. So Connie decides to step in and pretend to be his wife. And now they are on a writing retreat together, faking a marriage. But then there’s a kiss, and tension. She thinks he wasn’t someone more tame than her, he thinks she wants someone better than him. The tension just builds and builds. What if they are really what they need for each other?

This book has some of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, fake marriage – YES! I loved the plot, I loved the setting, and I loved the characters. Connie is sassy, witty, and just a really fun character. HSB, or Beck as he was called in the book, was a harder character to believe. Are there really men at 37 years old that are like that? Says things like Oh Fudge? That’s never been kissed? Yes, it was hard to believe his character, he was unrealistic at times, especially with the way that he spoke, but he was still likeable.

The first half of this book was very vanilla, and the second half of this book was very spicy. It went that way really quickly. The spicy scenes were well written, but it felt like the whole focus of the second half of the book was mainly the spice and not anything else. For me, I wanted more than just the spice.

So if you like sweet and spicy, this one is for you!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is told from Hazel’s perspective. Now I usually prefer dual perspectives, but with their book I felt like it was very well suited to be Hazel. She’s experienced a lot of negativity in her life- from her parents trying to reshape who she is as a person, to men treating her like crap and it severely impacting her faith in them (as a whole). So when her new across-the-hall neighbour is Henry, she doesn’t believe in his “nice guy” act **at all**. His pants are always starched, she’s never seen his moustache out of sorts, and he bakes her pies (cakes too). She doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong with him- but she knows that nice men like him are always lying. She’s a serial dater but her dates always turn out horribly. Stale conversation, the expectation of sex for bare minimum manners, and temper tantrums when things don’t go the guy’s way. Any hopes of being a hopeless romantic were smothered a long time ago. Yet, she gives new people chances in the small hopes that they will be different.
So when she gets sucked into Henry’s brand of chaos she finds herself shocked that she finds him endearing. Their friendship grows strong and steady in such a short amount of time. When Hazel realizes that the way Henry acts is not fake, but rather genuine she comes to be protective of him. He’s huge, he’s goofy, and he’s smart as can be. Yet his self-protecting instincts are dull, so he has a high tolerance for being picked on and he’s quick to excuse other people’s bad behaviour.
While being fake-married Hazel finds her emotions going haywire, and her libido ramping up in a way it never has before. Henry’s brand of kindness is an aphrodisiac personally made for her. While she’s building her confidence in herself as a writer on the retreat, Henry and her are growing closer and the feelings are turning real. I read this book twice because of how easy it was for me to read. Hazel and Henry’s chemistry is poignant, and they are funny together. This book was my kind of humour. Plus, Henry is just my type of main-male-character. I was very satisfied with their Happily-Ever-After and found it wrapped up perfectly.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is a refreshing tale that gives the reader an authentic view of the reality men and women have as they navigate dating. I found myself laughing out loud, yelling at both Beck and Connie and fighting tears. Beck and Connie take readers on a emotional roller coaster ride with twists, turns and heart breaking emotions. Both are accomplished people who have suffered from unkindness, passive aggressive comments and plain our bullying to the point that they are willing to settle for less than they really deserve. Their experiences have come to shape the way they see themselves and make them hide the parts of themselves that they think other people would deride.
I like reading Charlotte Stein's books because she creates characters who feel hope, desire and disappointment in real ways. Connie is every woman who struggles with body image, fitting in with others and accepting that she is loved. Beck is the shy man of many talents who is tender hearted and considerate beyond expectations. Their chemistry builds resulting in open door encounters that are funny but steamy!
I received an advance reader copy and am leaving a voluntary review based solely on my personal reading experience.

When it comes to reviewing books I try to reserve my rating until I'm done reading. This book however was screaming five stars before I was even half way though. By the time I was done I wanted to give it one hundred stars!

First we have Connie/Hazel, a strong independent woman working for an advertisement firm and longing to be an author. She goes about her daily life life work and back again doing all she can to avoid the suspiciously kind, handsome, neighbor across the hall who like to leave her freshly baked pies.

Beck is an editor from America. He keeps a kind demeanor, and neat appearance all the way to his precise handwriting and perfectly baked confections. But he has a secret, and it makes him sick to his stomach to keep lying.

"Lucky" for him, his neighbor across the hall decides to step in for him and tell his co-worker SHE is his wife. Now all they have to do is pretend to be married for the next two weeks during a writing retreat. Where they'll share a room, in a cabin with said co-worker. What could go wrong.

I loved both of these characters. Hazel/Connie has such growth and acceptance of herself, with the help of Beck just being HIMSELF. And Back while he accepts himself as he is and is true to himself from the beginning grows to finally see that, yes there is a woman standing before him that enjoys and loves all those things that make him HIM. And I love that.

This book is sweet and FUNNY. I could not stop laughing in some spots. It's also a slow burn but even though it is it's not one that leaves us wanting. It's one that had me biting my nails to the quick with anticipation because it smoldered so good. I love it. It was the fastest 5 star I've given in 2025 yet.