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

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of this delightful, laugh-out-loud rom-com!


Connie has always distrusted nice guys—they seem too good to be true. Enter Henry Samuel Beckett (aka Beck): bow-tie-wearing, sunshine-beaming, cinnamon-roll editor extraordinaire. Beck might just be the exception… until his big secret slips out—he’s told his entire publishing house he’s married. Cue Connie accidentally stepping into the role of his fake wife.

Off they go to a writing retreat, trying to convince everyone this “marriage” is legit. But with shared beds, sizzling tension, and moments that make your heart flutter, the line between fake and real starts to blur. And let me tell you—it’s perfection.

Charlotte Stein is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are so funny that I catch myself snort-laughing and sighing dramatically in public (zero regrets). This one checks all the boxes:

✔️ Grumpy-sunshine dynamic with a twist—the grump is our FMC, Connie!
✔️ Fake marriage trope done to rom-com perfection.
✔️ 90s rom-com vibes without the characters compromising their identities to “fit.”
✔️ Plus-size representation for BOTH leads (love to see it!).

Let’s talk about Beck for a second: this man is the sweetest, softest cinnamon roll, and I would burn the world to keep him happy. He’s officially my new favorite fictional character, and I am ready to wield an imaginary sword in his honor. Seriously.

The tension? Off. The. Charts. Stein masterfully builds it so well that you feel every single moment between these two. And the payoff? Chef’s kiss.

If you’re looking for a romantic, laugh-out-loud, feel-good story with all the tropes you love, My Big Fat Fake Marriage is an absolute must-read.

🌟Rating: 5/5 stars
Would I read it again? Absolutely.

4.5 ⭐️

Are you looking for a ROM-COM? Feel good cheesiness? Hilarious yet spicy? That highlights a plus-size FMC with amazing personality style and lumberjack-bod MC? This is for you!

Connie is our hilarious FMC who is distrustful of men after dealing with one (or many) too many "nice guys" who turn out to be the worst! So when her neighbor is everything that makes up a nice guy, she waits for the other shoe to drop.... only to find out he is an actual CINAMMON ROLL MC. Yes, she's a writer, and yes, there are lots of references to tropes, books, and pop culture in the book.

Anywho, back to our cinnamon roll, Henry Samuel, he is sickeningly sweet. 🤭 The way he talks threw me for a loop at times and made it a little less believable; he literally says "golly" and "gosh". 🤣 I did have to suspend reality with his vocabulary a bit.

This one was a 2.5 star read for me. Rounded down for Goodreads ratings. For me the “cinnamon bun” traits of the male MC were way too over the top. So much so it took me out of the story. Especially when they then want you to believe he’s this miraculously amazing sex novice. Plus the constant misunderstanding trope, too much. And the cherry on top was the editing was so bad, I lost track of how many typos there were. High hopes but this one needs some work…

I gave My Big Fat Fake Marriage a shot, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I loved the cover and the blurb/summary but just didn't enjoy the female main character. I loved Henry though because I am craving more plus-sized male main character and once who is just so sweet! But I got through 35% of this book and just didn't connect to it at all :///

Cinnamon roll hero, insecure heroine and fake marriage= undeniable chemistry and romance. Beck is unlike any other hero, right down to his awe-shucks Mayberryesqe speech. He is polite, kind and a secret horn dog. Hazel is a “modern” woman burnt out on men. However once these two get to know each other plus the not quite forced proximity, sparks fly. It is not necessary to read the prior book”When Grumpy Met Sunshine,” to fully appreciate this novel.

📚💍 My Big Fat Fake Marriage 💕✍️

Imagine Ted Lasso vibes, but instead of football, it’s all about writing retreats, fake marriages, and falling for the sunshine editor next door! 🌞 Connie’s skepticism meets Beck’s boundless cheer, and the result is a rom com full of swoony moments, late night tension, and quirky charm.

What I loved:
✨ Beck is basically Ted Lasso in bow ties—adorable and endlessly optimistic.
✨ The fake marriage setup is irresistibly fun, and the chemistry builds beautifully.
✨ Cute, lighthearted, and sweet with all the cozy rom com feels.

What didn’t quite hit:
❌ Some parts felt a bit immature and cringe.
❌ Miscommunication as a plot device—why do they DO this to us? 🫠

If you’re in the mood for a sweet escape (and can overlook a few eye roll moments), this one’s for you! Just be ready to laugh, swoon, and maybe wince a little. 💕

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlotte Stein, and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book.

When I heard about this book, I could not stop thinking about it. I wanted to read it Right Now—alas, I had to wait a few days, but then I got approved to read an ARC copy on NetGalley! And it exceeded my expectations.

Connie is in her early thirties, fat and an aspiring author with a penchant for men who treat her like she should be grateful they gave her the time of day, let alone the D. Her trust issues, fueled both by these deceitful and selfish humans, and the lifelong digs dolled out by her own mother that pop into her mind at random, are both sadly relevant and relatable. Her inner battle to step into her self- confidence on terms that pleases her and her alone is a constant balancing act.

Enter Beck, her across-the-hall neighbour, who is at once adorkable, wholesome, thoughtful, and a smoke show. With assurances from her best friend who knows Beck and vouches for his authenticity, Connie insists that they attend a writers retreat together as a married couple to show up and shut up his workplace bully. Only one bed, you say? That’s fine, Connie trusts Beck implicitly. What she didn’t count on was how incredibly respectful he is of her whole person, of her writerly dreams; and her body. He asks if he may escort her forward with a light hand on her back. He treats her writerly dreams like they’re already coming true. Connie isn’t used to a man being nice to her with no hidden agenda. Which is why she’s shocked to discover that Beck’s golden heart takes her lust to unexplored physical and emotional territory, often and fondly; and she’s taking an enthusiastic Beck along for that ride.

What I loved about this book is everything. Beck is sweet and spicy, has also spent a life unable to dodge constant put-downs, but unlike Connie was surrounded by enough people who enjoy his company to find the strength to support Connie through her own revelations—and his own. Turns out he had some trust issues to work through, too. And though these two idiots in love take a while to put all the pieces together, they ways in which they try to fit (*euphemism*) is an absolute delight.

Charlotte Stein is a new-to-me author, whose backlist I’m about to binge read. I adore that she used no filter with these characters; they are over the top in their mutual and individual dorkiness, swooniness, dirty talk and general observations about those people in our lives who we really should not bother expending energy on. I was up until 2 a.m. reading, and now have a book hangover for the ages and zero regrets.

And yeah, if you’re a fan of a certain fictional American football coach who moves to England for work, sports a memorable mustache and regularly drops creative but lengthy one liners? You’re gonna want to read this.

My big fat fake marriage was fine. I’d say about 45% of the book was sex scenes, which I didn’t mind because they were good, but I had some trouble getting invested in the relationship.

The MMC was so obviously modeled after Ted Lasso that it pulled me out of it a bit, one scene copied the show pretty much exactly. I think that the FMC’s insecurities and issues were solved way too quickly, and there wasn’t too much plot beyond the sex.

I did get into it enough to want to finish it, so I’m rating it 2.5/5 rounded up to 3

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this charming book. I saw someone say MMC is Ted Lasso and I can't unread that. It really makes sense. I liked the fake dating/marriage trope and the chemistry these two had!

This book didn't quickly draw me so I decided to not complete it. I found the characters uninteresting and it was taking too long to develop the story. Based on other reviews, I am alone in this opinion so I hope other potential readers ignore my grumpiness.

4.5 STARS!
This book brought me a huge surprise.

From the beginning, I was not sure what to expect. The writer’s prose was something I had to get used to as it was different than typical. The characters were definitely unique and one of a kind compared to any other similar story.

But what was interesting is that the author took us from the most awkward people ever to a steaming long foreplay session that is not only hot but beautiful. The author’s prose for Sam is amazing. His characteristics are overly sweet and almost dorky, which aligns perfectly with the plot.

The female lead, Connie, is tough on the outside, but tender-hearted and a bit broken on the inside. She is the balance that Sam needs and as they grow together, they become fire.

There are a few unbelievable parts in this story regarding Sam which I am not spoiling, but the author continued to reel me in and by the closing HEA, my heart was singing. That man is hot and together they are burning up the sheets.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is refreshingly different and definitely memorable. This is one you need to check out!

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is an enjoyable fake romance/forced proximity story with a cinnamon roll type of guy and a prickly woman.

While I enjoyed the book and appreciated the plus-size representation in both characters, I did not enjoy it as much as the first book, When Grumpy Met Sunshine. The characters did not connect with me as well and I did not find it as funny as the first. All that said, I still liked the romance and look forward to future books from the author.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

After a series of dates with so called “nice guys”, Connie has decided they simply do not exist. In fact, whenever she comes into contact with one she’s immediately distrustful. But when she meets lovable, goofy, and kind hearted Henry Samual Beckett aka Beck, her beliefs about nice guys begin to waiver. Could it be that nice guys exist after all?

Beck believes in treating everyone kindly. He’s the epitome of a nice guy and a genuinely good person, but he’s got a secret: he’s been single his whole life. There’s only one problem: everyone at work believes he’s married. When the office bully begins to bother him at a work party, Connie jumps to defend him and accidentally becomes his fake wife. Now the two must continue the charade at a two week work retreat, but will a fake marriage turn into something real?

There were a lot of things that really worked in this novel, and some things that were a bit of a miss. I really liked Connie/Hazel. She was witty, and her dialogue kept me laughing. She’s been hurt many times, and yet she is still open to the possibility of something more. The story is told entirely from her POV, and I can’t help but wish we got to see Beck’s POV as well.

Here’s the thing: he’s based off of Ted Lasso, and while the tv show portrayed a man who’s kind but had multiple layers below the surface, I can’t say the same for Beck. He’s a bit of a doormat, and there’s no real substance to him. What motivates him to be so kind to such an extreme? What’s his backstory? I think if we had a clearer understanding of what drives him, it would have been easier to connect to him. As of now, he reads a bit like what an idea of a nice guy is, but not a flesh and blood human with real feelings.

I did appreciate the care with which he treats Hazel and their banter was extremely cute. The spicy scenes were hot, and I will say that Ms. Stein did an excellent job of maintaining Beck’s characterization consistent. He didn’t suddenly turn into a dirty talking sexpot, so I do appreciate that.

I also wish there were higher stakes when it came to their fake marriage. I think it could have been used more to create opportunities for them to work together to convince people their marriage was real. Despite this, I did enjoy reading this story. It was also nice to see Mabel and Alfie from the previous story.

This is the 2nd book I have read in the series/author.

As a Ted Lasso fan, I am enjoying the sweet connection in the series brings with characters showing similar characteristics. As always the plus size rep is great and done well. 5/5 would recommend.

Let me just start this off by saying that My Big Fat Fake Marriage LITERALLY pulled me from the edge of s reading slump! I started this book and was immediately pulled in with the characters, quirkiness, AND the MOST golden retriever/cinnamon roll book boyfriend, Beck. He literally bakes her cakes and pies WHEN HE'S JUST HER NEIGHBOR and they know so much about each other before they even really meet!

This gorgeous book has some aspects of personal growth, fake dating/fake marriage, forced proximity, and one bed! As well, last year, I read When Grumpy Met Sunshine and was ABSOLUTELY obsessed! So when Alfie and Mable from WGMS showed up and are besties with the female main character, Connie/Hazel, I was so excited and happy to see them in a different time/perspective! 🥹

I don't know if I can really describe how much I loved this book and why I loved it so much but suffice it to say that I think I highlighted like 80% of the book on my Kindle because there were so many cute + quotable moments!🤩

Thank you so much to St Martin's Press for an early copy of this book!💖

This book was so delightful, I loved the humor, the romance, everything about it. Hazel and Beck’s chemistry was a palpable on page thing. I loved their emails, I would have loved more of that. And I especially loved Hazel realizing she doesn’t have to hide the parts of herself her mother deemed too much. I would have enjoyed seeing Beck defend her to them, or tell them off.

This was a sweet read. My only issue was the MMC was little too “Ned Flanders-esque”. It didn’t seem realistic. It also was far-fetched that this attractive 6 foot five inch tall man that we learn played college basketball is unattached let alone has no relationship experience.

4.5/5 🌟
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for this laugh out loud romantic comedy ARC.

This book had some of my favorite tropes:
😍 Fake dating/ Fake Marriage
😍 Plus Size fmc
😍 Romantic Comedy
😍 Nerdy MCs
😍 Forced Proximity

Connie/ Hazel's neighbor Beck is always cheery when she sees him and she is under the assumption he's married. Jes a brar pf a man amd just like Connie, hes a guge nerd. When she walks into his apartment and finds weird pictures of magazine cutups of models and no furniture she's curious. Turns out he's not actually married but he's told his work nemesis that he is. He's expected to take his wife to a work trip and he's panicking that his lies will be revealed.

Connie agrees to pretend to be his wife and stay with him on the retreat. The more Connie gets to know Beck the more she falls for him and their fake relationship starts to feel real.

I highly recommend reading 📚 tht book to find out what hilarious antics happen during the retreat and after.

This was a relatively fasy rrad bit there were some parts that dragged on for me. Overall I thought this eas always cute read.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. *Spoilers in this review*

This was my first book by this author. I loved the premise of this book, but I felt like something was missing. Maybe if Hazel's backstory with her parents was flushed out a little more? There are some humorous parts which I enjoyed; The author is really witty. The spice level is high in this book so be prepared if you're not used to that.

Beck is a quirky, super, sweet guy who doesn't think he's good enough for Hazel. Hazel has a lot of trauma from growing up and no one ever loving her. In the process of pretending to be married, Hazel discovers Beck is really actually a nice guy. Neither of them think they are what the other person wants in a relationship. They discover they are just what each other needs while on the writer's retreat.

Unfortunately, this was not my cup of tea. I was actually really looking forward to this book, but the prose made me cringe. Maybe I don't enjoy this style of writing? The main character seemed immature and the neighbor seemed like a creep. I got stalker vibes from this weird book. Would not recommend.