Charlotte Stein never disappoints if you are looking for a fun, spicy romp between the pages.. I enjoyed the character development, humor and heart within these two main characters and found myself smiling throughout the first half of the story and fanning myself through the second half! A fun story for lovers of spice!

This book was an unexpected delight, and I absolutely adored it!

Featuring the biggest, spiciest cinnamon roll I have met to date. I love that this time the sunshine disposition is the guy, because Beck is so goofy and loveable.

Hazel (who goes by Connie, because she never felt like she was the type of person people would accept as "Hazel") has doubts about her neighbor. Yeah, her best friend Mabel works with him and says he's a great guy, and he drops off desserts at her door like clockwork. He's tall and big, with a big mustache, suspenders and a bowtie. He definitely has to be hiding something.

When an awkward encounter in the hall leads to him leaving a letter under her door, a conversation starts. And it becomes clear that Beck has a problem. He has a work bully who's constantly trying to make him seem incompetent and thinks he doesn't deserve the job he has. In the midst of negative comments that Beck takes on the chin, pleasantly joking to make himself seem even sillier, he made a mistake. He made up a wife. A wife that Doug has latched onto, and is constantly asking questions about.

As it becomes clear to Hazel that Beck might possibly be a genuinely nice human, Doug's comments start to burn. How dare he treat someone so cutely, effortlessly good that way? If Beck needs a wife, then he'll have one.

The plan? Convince Doug that Beck is married, but leave hints that the marriage isn't perfect, so later news of their divorce doesn't seem like a surprise. Except when they get to the writing retreat, Beck is constantly throwing her off. Making her food that she's mentioned offhand is her favorite, complimenting her and encouraging her to give writing a try in a way that gives her a confidence she's never known. She's always been told that she's too much, and she needs to tuck herself away to find a man. That she can't be snarky, or be into sci-fi books. That someone her size can't wear revealing or snug clothes, that she can't express her desires freely. And yeah, her mom is the one who's made most of these comments, and guys have only let her down in the past. So why is her fake husband somehow able to know exactly what she needs to hear?

I loved the inclusion of Mabel and Alfie from When Grumpy Met Sunshine, my first Charlotte Stein book, and again, I loved how heavily the dialogue between these two was featured. There were things going on in the background, but even then, they found their way to keep communicating. Their affection and how they got their was real and left no doubts. I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for Stein's next book, because once again I didn't want this one to end!
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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC for this one. All opinions are my own!

💍 Book Review: My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein 💍

Fake marriage. Real feelings. 💘

Just your average rom-com chaos in My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein — and I was HERE FOR IT.

Connie Evans has always been wary of nice guys. But when she meets her cheerful neighbor, Henry Samuel Beckett (Beck), she can't help but be intrigued. When Beck confesses he's been telling everyone he's married to avoid office gossip, Connie impulsively steps in to play the role of his wife. Their charade leads them to a writing retreat, where shared accommodations and simmering tension blur the lines between fiction and reality. 📚❤️

Expect:
🛏️ One bed
💬 Banter for days
🫣 Awkward, sweet tension
💥 Off-the-charts chemistry
😂 Laugh-out-loud moments

If you love the “fake it till you feel it” trope with a quirky, heartfelt twist — this one’s calling your name. 💌

📚 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
💬 “Maybe the fakest things feel the most real.”

#MyBigFatFakeMarriage #CharlotteStein #RomComReads #FakeMarriageTrope #Bookstagram #OneBedTrope #FunnyRomance #RomanticComedy #BookLover #CurrentlyReading #SpicyBooks #SlowBurnRomance

This was adorable! What a refreshing read in this romance genre. The hero was written so wholesomely and watching our heroine fall in love with him was believable and went at the perfect pace. It was a lovely story about two charming and lovely people who deserve the world. Bravo!

Connie’s neighbor is too good to be true, big and burly, with his thick black hair, lush mustache, bowtie, and she doesn’t trust a good thing. Samuel Henry Beckett can’t be this sweet and nice. It turns out he’s hiding a secret, he has told his coworkers about a wife he doesn’t have in reality. Connie agrees to be his pretend wife on the writing retreat he’s hosting. Can Connie keep herself and growing attraction between them under control as they spend close days and nights together, and Beck’s appeal only grows?

Stein has delivered a book that is both sweet, laugh-out-loud funny, and spicy. Connie is probably the horniest heroine I’ve ever read, and I loved it. Being in her head is like being in a tornado. Her thoughts jump around constantly, and they can be hard to keep track of, but it was a fun time. Beck is delicious, and irresistible, and I love to see a plus size hero in the spotlight. He is conveyed as utterly irresistible, and he definitely came off that way to me. And he was so sweet! I loved his kind, almost old-fashioned (but in a good way) demeanor. He bakes for her! Beck is an 11 out of 10, in my book.

This book is very spicy, but in an interesting way. Each erotic element helps to build the connection and ties to the emotional development of the characters as they explore their sexuality in relation to each other. I loved how attracted they were to each other, and how they found every aspect of each other appealing. A lot of it is about seduction, as the two seduce each other through their interactions and flirtations. As Beck is an editor and Connie is a writer, the letters and correspondence they exchange is sizzling hot. They do a lot of fooling around, and it’s very raunchy. However, when they fully do it for the first time, it’s so romantic. I felt very touched and I knew this was something real.

I admit I would prefer a dual perspective, because I would have loved to be in Beck’s head. Seeing him through Connie's eyes was great, but I would have appreciated the opportunity to experience how he perceives the world, Connie and othrwise. He was such a fascinating character, very unique, lovable and I feel like this would have brought the book up to a five star rating. Additionally, I would have liked more exploration of Connie’s insecurities where it came to her parents. Not much was said about it, but it clear shapes a lot of her behavior and choices. More time was spent on Connie’s bad relationship experiences in the past, but I think it would have been good to find the roots of why she was willing to accept so little from the bad boyfriends in her past. I appreciated the cameos of Connie's friends, who have their story in When Grumpy Met Sunshine. I still need to read that one, and I'm looking forward to it.

Connie and Beck together are magic, affecting each others' lives for the best. I loved how Connie also finds her writing inspiration and passion. And Beck is able to contront his bully.

This was a good book. I want to see more romances where both of the romantic partners are plus sized characters.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book. This was such a fun read. I read it on an overnight flight and I loved every bit of it. I thought that Hazel's apprehension and suspicion towards Beck and his good-mannered way was perfect. Beck truly does seem too good to be true and I guess in a sense he is. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover but in comparison to When Grumpy Met Sunshine I preferred the latter just the teensiest bit more. Charlotte Stein is a wonderful romance author who creates perfect men and perfect chemistry.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

OOOF. I'm sorry to say I hated this. I had to force myself to finish it. The writing needs major work and editing. Some sentences weren't even full sentences??? This entire story took place in a few conversations between the two main characters. For someone who doesn't seem to like men, the FMC sure talked about them a lot. And talking shit about men not being honest, when you can't be honest either? Girl. I don't get the appeal the MMC is supposed to have. "Golly gee willikers" really? This book had no depth, no huge meaning, no nothing. Big pass. OH AND THE FAKE NAME THING??? FOR WHAT????

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein! I'm obsessed with cliche romances and I'm so happy NetGalley provides :)
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️'s!! I normally don't give half stars, but in this scenario I was really stuck between 4-5 star rating and couldn't decide on one, so halfsies is it
If you're in the mood for romance that's as sweet as it is steamy, My Big Fat Marriage by Charlotte Stein is an ABSOLUTE must-read! This rom-com delivers everything I wanted in my cliche romance from the witty banter to the slow-burn tension.

Quick Preview : Connie Evans, a cynical writer, has always been wary of "nice guys." So when she meets her overly cheerful neighbor, Beck, she's convinced he's hiding something. Turns out, Beck has fabricated a fake wife to appease a nosy coworker. When Connie inadvertently steps into the role of his spouse at a work event (what a coincidence), the two are forced to maintain the ruse during a writing retreat.
━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━
What I Loved:
━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━
● Beck: Imagine a cinnamon roll in human form. Beck's genuine kindness and vulnerability make him my favorite character in this book. His journey from socially anxious editor to confident lover is both heartwarming and swoon-worthy.
● Connie: Initially skeptical and guarded, Connie's character growth is beautifully portrayed. Her evolution from a distrustful cynic to someone willing to embrace love is both relatable and inspiring
●Chemistry: The fake marriage trope is executed *:･ﾟ flawlessly *:･ﾟ The forced proximity and one-bed scenario are literally my favorite. The slow-burn romance keeps readers eagerly turning pages!
●Humor: I love Stein's writing style and she definitely shows her wit. there were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments amidst the romance.
●Emotional Depth: Beyond all the laughs and steam, the novel delves into themes of trust, vulnerability, and self-acceptance.
So why 4.5 and not 5 stars? While the focus on Connie and Beck's relationship is compelling, some secondary characters and the retreat setting could have been more fleshed out. Additionally, the resolution feels a bit swift, especially after the slow build-up.
Overall though! This was a fun read and if these tropes are up your alley I recommend picking this one up!

I started reading this book with high expectations, which quickly slid down with each page. As I read, I found myself bored and wanting to skip pages, hoping for it to improve but it did not. The author included way too much internal dialogue and the first half of the book drones on, without much plot moving the storyline forward. While the characters were somewhat charming, they were also boring and difficult to relate to. I'm not sure I would read another book by this author since this experience was so disappointing.

Couldn’t get into this book. I struggled staying interested and connecting with the characters. I loved the cover art for this book.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for review.

I've read Stein's previous work and I think she should teach a masterclass in how to write banter between characters. Truly she has such an ability to make what a character is saying sound believable even if it is one of the wildest things you've ever heard within that setting (e.g., an email communicating with your fake husband where you refer to him as a scruffier Captian America). The way that Stein can write funny, yet vulnerable dialogue is my favorite part of her writing and this book does not disappoint on that front. The way that Connie and Beck communicate is so endearing and funny it feels like watching a Sandra Bullock 90s rom-com.

That being said I did feel that there was a little substance missing outside of the interactions that Connie and Beck had. Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed every interaction and when the spice started it was spicy. However, there were a lot of references to things that happened to Connie in the past with her mom that I just didn't feel like I got a lot of details on. Overall, it just felt like the same point kept coming up.

I did love what happened with Beck's co-worker. It was quick and he was definitely a background character, but it was chefs kiss comeuppance for a real turd of a character (his behavior, not who he was written. The way he was written was so accurate by Stein that I could picture several real-life people I know who fit the character's profile).

Overall, this was a fun and quick rom-com. If you are looking for two nerds who fall in love while fake dating I would recommend it. The dialogue will keep you entertained and the spice will liven things up a bit.

Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be the last! I loved these two characters and their journey to their Happily Ever After. Be advised there is a LOT of very explicit SPICE! I feel this book could even qualify as erotica, as the sexual scenes were extremely formative for the characters' emotional growth and the progression of the plot. So much of this book is the internal dialogue and emotional reckoning of the female main character, but we get a glimpse of the inner workings of the male main character as well. Charlotte Stein is one of my new favorite romance authors!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this e-galley!

I was a few pages into this when I realized that I DNF'd the first book of this series, When Grumpy Met Sunshine. I just couldn't get into that one. This book, I was able to get into more easily, but it still didn't really grab me. Beck didn't seem like a real person, and their chemistry wasn't really believable. The plot of the book was interesting enough to keep me engaged though. I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it. Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for this ARC!

If I could give this book more than five stars I would. There aren't enough good things I can say about it. I found the characters to be heartbreakingly realistic and wonderfully complex. After reading about them for 350 pages or so, I feel like we've been friends for a lifetime. The connection between Beck and Hazel was absolutely, positively hot and sexy and tender and sweet all at the same time. Watching their love blossom over the course of the two weeks at the writer's retreat was a wonder to behold.

I also appreciated the fast resolution at the end. I came to this book after immensely enjoying When Grumpy Met Sunshine but the delay to the HEA in that book nearly killed me and so I was glad Stein skipped that in this book. I love, however that the fake dating (or in this case fake marriage) trope made a comeback and I loved even more that the characters talked about it. Somehow, this absolutely absurd situation Beck and Hazel find themselves in seemed perfectly sensical in the moment. And I believe that is a testament to Stein's ability to weave a story and emotions together.

As I said earlier, I could wax poetic about this book forever, but I'll leave it with this. This was a top 5 book, not just of the year, but probably of all time for me. I laughed out loud, I cried, I felt so deeply for these characters that I would read any slice of their life together that the author would give me. Books like this are why I love Romance. Can't wait for the next one!

My Big Fat Fake Marriage was a charming read with a cinnamon roll of a main male character (MMC). It was sweet, a tad far-fetched, and had a few over-the-top moments. I had a bit of trouble connecting with the MMC; he used phrases like "Oh gosh" and other cheesy expressions over and over. This wasn't my favorite read, but it was definitely light and fluffy.

This one was tough for me to get into and continue to read. the MMC was yes, a cinnamon roll, but geez it was a little much for me. There were so many weird things said throughout this book, that more made it feel like it was too cheesy and not believable. this one was not for me.

What a cute story! Connie has a lot of experience with not so good men, and then she meets Henry Samuel Beckett—-Beck for short—-and he tells her his great secret, that he’s been single his whole life. But everyone at his publishing house thinks he has a wife. So Connie ends up being his fake wife at a writing retreat, and they start getting to know each other!

The twists and turns of their fake? romance are such good entertainment! It’s a really enjoyable tale.

Four sparkly stars!

I received a copy of the digital ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is a standalone contemporary romance and is a really fun, interesting, and love inducing fake to real relationship. Mid level spice, not too bad, definitely could’ve been more, but that may have been a whole different kind of story hehe.

I really love the idea of having a writer who purposely lives in a place because she knows a guy who works at a publisher lives there too. Also the fact that they don’t really know each other yet fall into this weird relationship of pretending to be married is hilarious.

The guy barely knows her name yet goes along with her being his wifey, thinking it’ll be a one off thing until he finds out she’s going to the writer’s retreat too. Them having to try and explain that away is great. There’s a cute dynamic between the two, her being super guarded and him being super awkward yet direct. Also, I liked the level of misunderstandings throughout. As a whole, this is a fun book.

There’s definitely moments that are a little confusing and kind of rushed, but it's all good. It doesn't hurt the story too much and everything that happens afterwards, keeps things going smoothly.

If you love a good friends to lovers, chick lit, close proximity, neighbors, book industry type story, this is for you!

*This was an honest review for a complimentary copy of My Big Fat Fake Marriage from Charlotte Stein via NetGalley

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the arc!

Such a cute, funny, lighthearted romance that also has so much depth and heart to our mcs! Connie/Hazel is a distrustful pessimist due to her own negative experiences with past men (especially "nice" men) and also her own childhood with her mother who very much wanted her to keep up appearances. Beck is a giant golden retriever of a man who's reminds me a lot of Ted Lasso (iykyk). When Hazel finds out that Beck lied about having a wife, to his co-workers, she steps in as his fake spouse on the writing retreat they're both attending. Stein's writing style was so much fun and I enjoyed the story through Connie/Hazel's inner monologues. As someone who's also not the most optimistic when it comes to romance or men in general, I related so much to her own feelings and saw some of myself in her. I also enjoyed the couples own interactions wit each other from their friendship to how they fell in love. I also enjoyed the more intimate scenes, quite spicy! Only thing I wish this book had more of was to have more interactions with the secondary characters, especially a bit more from Alfie and Mabel from When Grumpy Met Sunshine. Also, I wish that Beck cussed at least once lol, but that's just me. Again, if you're looking for a fun read with fake marriage, reverse grumpy x sunshine, witty banter and heart this is your book!

This one was almost a DNF for me. I'm glad I stuck with it because I ended up enjoying it in the end. I'm still not totally convinced that I really loved it as much as I rated it.