This book had some really cute moments! I a really enjoyed the two main characters in the story and their quirky personalities. However, there was a lot of moments that just felt clunky and awkward, but not in a cute way. The characters also felt really cliche in a lot of moments and it just kind of turned me off as reader. There wasn’t anything in those story that I absolutely hated but there’s wasn’t a whole lot I absolutely loved either.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage was an absolute delight. The nerdiness, fake relationship, one bed trope made my heart soar. I’m not one to usually highlight texts in books but I did for the ice planet barbarians reference. I literally jumped for joy! The spice was spicing and I loved the realness of their love and attraction.

"nothing else matters but being who I want to be. And who I want to be is someone like him." HELLO?!

i'm not a big romance fan especially when it's a cute fluffy one like this. i either read it dark or none at all. but this book had my heart! this story was so adorable.

it has been a while since i read a book that made me laugh so damn hard and was blushing throughout the whole time with the characters interaction lol Beck was my type of man and boy did i eat him up. some of the things he did i will level super cringe but it actually suits his character haha

5 stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Nice guys get the girl plus reverse grumpy sunshine and fake marriage, are at the heart of this book. Add to that a goofy loveable cinnamon bun MMC and you are gifted with a fluffy quick read that won't set the world on fire but will make you smile.

Ok I inhaled this book. I was not expecting to read a book in essentially 24 hours. I loved the FMC and the MMC was just a cinnamon roll as people are known to call them. I also have a BFF who is exactly like the MMC so this was crazy on point including the ability to talk better in text versus in person. I didn't realize this was a second book in a series. I cannot wait to read more! Also one cannot forget the spice in this book, it was on fire!

I received a free ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

I'd like to extend a sincere thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

My rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved it and it left me with that indescribable “wow” feeling. Would read again.

Review:
tap, tap, tap Is this thing on? I feel like I need to shout: THIS BOOK HAS FOUND ITS AUDIENCE. I am obsessed. I love a cinnamon roll hero, and Beck is a cinnamon roll to the absolute extreme. I can totally understand how his extreme niceness and use of goofy phrases can be off putting to some (maybe many), but I found Beck so completely over-the-top adorkable. Beck is HOT. He totally did it for me.

I wish more MFCs were like Hazel. She is self-aware and willing to seek advice and guidance from her loved ones. She is open to change. She embraces her sexuality, and she is considerate of Beck’s inexperience. I adored her.

I must confess. The fake-dating/fake-marriage trope is my least favorite in the romance genre. Because of that, I was reluctant to give this book a shot. But I love a softie romance hero more than I dislike the trope, so I let Beck’s description persuade me into reading this. I’m so glad I did. I couldn’t put it down.

This was my first read by Charlotte Stein, and it will not be the last. I have already downloaded some of her backlist. I hope there will be an audiobook of this one in the future. I would love to listen to it.

The Cover: Adorable! It captures the story so perfectly.

My Favorite Things:
• Hazel’s quote— “Nothing else matters but being who I want to be. And who I want to be is someone like him.”
• The Marvel references.
• Beck singing to Sabrina Carpenter.
• The emails!
• That second kiss (aka their first practice kiss). HOT.
• In case it hasn’t gotten through yet—Beck. Just Beck. Everything about him.
• All of it. Seriously. All of it.

Samuel Henry Beckett has now entered a very exclusive list of top tier book boyfriends. The author took me on a wild ride of being somewhat skeptical of his good guy nature to screaming his praises. I ran a gambit of emotions for this one and was thoroughly surprised by this book. Connie was a character I struggled to connect with in the first few chapters, but quickly became a mirror for some of my deepest feelings. She became so likeable that I was rooting for her and Beck to work it out, regardless of their arrangement. I will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen, It was a wild ride from start to finish!

*3.5 Stars*

Connie believes that she has all nice guys figured out and her neighbor is the worst of them. He is always polite, wears bowties and super cheery. Connie is sure he is hiding something under that facade. When Connie finds that his secret is a fake wife, she ends up playing the part at the upcoming writer's retreat. What starts out as a fake marriage, may turn into something real.

I really enjoyed this book. Beck is the best "cinnamon roll" character I have read in a while. Although his character seemed a little outrageous with his language and his overall demeanor, he was a fun MMC and enjoyed his interactions with Connie. Their relationship was a slow burn, but this book does have some spice. Overall, another great read by Charlotte Stein.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is out March 11th.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review My Big Fat Fake Marriage. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book has a lot of potential, but I just wasn't able to believe Beck as a character. He felt too much like a unicorn. I understand that this is a work of fiction, but I still want to feel like there is a possibility that the characters could exist. He was too unreal. The concept of a big cinnamon roll/teddy bear of a man is one I'm fond of, but Beck was too extreme. I mean, he was a super-hot, super-nerdy, super-nice, super-naive, super-polite guy in his late 30s and a virgin? Nope. I think if his character was a bit more realistic (while still a dream guy) I might've enjoyed this more. The naivete and cluelessness were probably what felt the most unreasonable.

My other complaint is that Charlotte Stein's prose could get really rambly and hard to read. I don't know if that was a trait of the characters or if that's just how her writing was, but I often found myself getting lost in paragraph or reading a sentence over and over because it was so confusing. I think she's a good storyteller, so I'm going to try one of her audiobooks and see if that goes any better. Reading her writing just took a lot of effort for me, and I want reading to be relaxing and fun.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

What a delightful read! A blend of humor, heart, and sizzling chemistry. From the first page, the story sweeps you into a whirlwind of fake relationships, unexpected feelings, and endearing characters that are impossible not to root for.

The protagonist’s wit shines throughout, making her incredibly relatable and fun, while the romantic lead is the perfect mix of charm and vulnerability. Their interactions sparkle with sharp banter, heartfelt moments, and genuine emotional depth that makes their dynamic both entertaining and swoon-worthy.

What sets this book apart is how it balances humor with tender moments, creating a story that’s as sweet as it is funny. The fake marriage trope is executed with a fresh twist, keeping the reader engaged and eagerly turning pages to see how the inevitable unraveling of feelings unfolds.

If you’re a fan of lighthearted romance with authentic characters, clever dialogue, and plenty of heart, My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a must-read.

Charlotte Stein has done it again! This was so fun and silly and sweet! Beck is just a cinnamon roll and I love him! And the spice in this book is perfect and hot!! I had such a good time reading this book, I couldn't put it done and I finished it so quickly! I can't wait for her next book!! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!!

Connie (or hazel? I don’t get it) lives next to to Beck who is her nerdy neighbor. He’s being bullied a work by some tool and she’s like oh I’m his wife and they do the whole fake marriage thing at a writing retreat.

I want to like this story line but the writing just seemed, to me, to ramble and the considering this takes places in the UK and Beck is American it’s kinda insulting how he’s sort of portrayed as a kind of rain man who communicates from a 1950’s American tv show with “golly gee”, “oh shucks”, & “darn”. He’s basically a 30 year old virgin and when he communicates in such a simplistic way, it’s a little cringey, especially come the more “spicy” scenes. It just sort of seems wrong like in a Forrest Gump/Jenny way.

I do WHOLLY love how his character is named for Quantum Leap, which the FMC is into as well but it it’s mentioned like three times but no fun quirkiness attached. This could have been a cute thing in the novel.

I was excited for this book because I love all of the tropes, but overall it was rather...disappointing. I had to read the first few chapters a few times because I didn't connect with either of the MC's that much. If I hadn't received this has an ARC, especially from NetGalley, I would have likely DNF'd it. It was just an ok read--nothing new, exciting or anything that stood out from the other books I have read recently. I read this during a slump so it's possible that was why I didn't enjoy it and it's totally possible that someone else could love this!

A good fake dating troupe romance! Actually pretending to be married, Connie and Beck navigate a new friendship while on a writing retreat/work trip. Connie is cynical about men and isn't sure what to believe about the cinnamon roll of a man, Beck. Their relationship is eye-opening for them both in very different ways. Charlotte Stein is the queen of spicy scenes and does not disappoint with this book!

I just don’t think this book was for me. This was very hard for me to finish because I didn’t enjoy the writing at all. The chapters were long and for no absolute reason. It was a lot of internal monologue and the FMC almost seemed like she had ADHD with how much her thoughts shifted. I also really hate how many sentences stated with ‘but’ because she changed her thought process that often.

Besides the writing the MMC really was cringey and gave me the ick. I understand this is cinnamon roll type but no person actually says the things he does. It’s weird. I genuinely like the cover and that’s about it.

This book did nooooot work for me. I saw someone else say that the male main character talks like Ned Flanders and WOW was that an astute observation.

The biggest thing that threw me off in this book was the dialogue. The line between witty banter and cringey overdoing it is soooo thin and this one rode the cringe line HARD. There were full chapters where nothing really happened beyond two characters having a conversation that went absolutely no where.

I love the concept and the artwork is BEAUTIFUL but the book definitely fell flat.

What a fun novel! A nice, easy, read-in-a-day rom com. It was a little Ted Lasso coded which is highly enjoyable to me.

These characters were unbelievably unrealistic. They were "oh golly gosh" every two seconds. While some might enjoy the cinnamon roll characters on steroids, this was not the book for me. Such a shame, too, because I'm obsessed with this book cover.

This is my first book by the author, Charlotte Stein, though I have heard good things about her book, Grumpy Sunshine. Also, the cover is adorable and I loved seeing a curvy mfc. But I struggled in reading it and almost DNF'd at chapter 5. I had a hard time getting past the first person narration and the mmc's way of talking. Once I read some other reviews that likened Beck to Ted Lasso, I started to understand the corniness a little better. I relate maybe too well to Mabel's internal struggle to deal with how she was raised. For some reason though, I still had trouble with getting into the book. I just kept thinking 'this is a lot'. Reminded me of when I read Kate Canterbury's In A Jam. I think I might just not be the right reader for this book.

My Pros:
Curvy heroine
Nerdy hero
Spice 4/5
Love the forced proximity trope
Cinnamon roll/golden retriever mmc and sassy black cat mfc

My Cons:
First person POV was overwhelming
Over the top mmc's dialogue
A few spacing and formatting issues
Frustrating communication issues between mfc and mmc

This story is heartwarming and sweet but a little cringey in parts. I tried to put myself in the FMC's shoes in this one to see what she saw in Beck and I do get it but from the outside, he's not for me. I also cannot get over the fact that he reminded me of Tom Selleck (the hair, the mustache, the short shorts) lol. That being said, I love the way Beck treats Connie (Hazel). He treats her like a treasure and loves her for who she is and that is something every woman deserves. I loved their little notes back and forth and the fact that they are able to be 100% themselves with each other. This one was a little insta-love but it works. Overall this was a fun read and I even laughed out loud a few times. 3.5 rounding down to 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.