Wait. What did I just read? Where do I start? Where do I even go from here?! I don't remember what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but how I got to this point of having literally cried in the last 10%? I ...I do not even know.

I'm not going to lie, it took me a bit to get settled into the flow and hyperactive brain of our FMC. Hence the four stars instead of five. However...well, lets just dive in. Connie, well, Hazel, and her inner monologue are sometimes a cacophony of run on sentences moving so fast I might have whiplash. However, it is so much like how my own brain works that I felt both overwhelmed, and perfectly at home within her high speed chase toward love.

Speaking of, Beck must absolutely be the most cinnamony, cinnafilled, cinnamon roll hero I have ever read, with drippy, finger licking good frosting drizzled right across the top. Oh, where was I... This man is the epitome of 'Nice Guys Finish Last' and his quiet demeanor left others assuming he was out of touch with how to handle a relationship. So much so that he ended up creating, and I mean creating, a wife to get one of his co-workers off his back!

Could Hazel fit into the mold he formed the perfect wife into? Will Beck ever be able to help her with her vision of herself to realize the mold isn't perfect, but she undoubtably is? By the time the tear inducing final last chunk of this book came around, I was so in tune with exactly what Hazel was feeling (as a plus sized woman who felt so much of it at the beginning of my own relationship) that I had to stop and take a few deep breaths. I didn't sign up for crying with Charlotte Stein last night, but I certainly appreciate the journey, the humor (the laugh out loud moments got me some odd looks) and the growth of each MC. Mix in the delicious finger licking good frosting on that cinnamon roll of a man and...ahem, don't get me started again!

A huge, big fat thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the eArc of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and freely given.

Woman who swears off "nice" men meets neighbor who talks like he's off the set of Gomer Pyle.

I really tried to like this novel, but the whole premise and the MMC was just ridiculous. Add to that pages of teenage "everything but" sex, and I had enough. It was certainly not my kind of romance, but I am sure it would appeal to some.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity. This was such a feel good, heartwarming romance! I’m going to admit the book cover and the title was what drew my attention to the book and I’m so glad it did. Beck our MMC was the perfect golden retriever! The fake marriage, the slow romance and the tension were all chefs kiss.

Connie’s new neighbor Beckseems way too nice to be real. She suspects he’s hiding a deep dark secret. She finds out he made up having a wife to save face at work. Connie comes to his rescue and pretends to be his wife when his bully at work it making fun of him. Then they all end up on a two week writing retreat together.

I loved how Beck’s character was huge but he’s legitimately the nicest guy ever and is so perceptive of the people around him. I loved how he encouraged Connie (Hazel) to not be afraid to be her true self and how awesome she is. I also loved when he finally cut loose a little and had some spicy fun.

Read this in a day, the story is great for a binge read. Easy to get sucked in to the story and relate to the main characters.

Connie is fairly convinced that all men are terrible, including the nice ones. Maybe, especially the nice ones. And her neighbor is the nicest of all the men she's ever met, so he clearly has something dangerous about him. Except it turns out that the only really dangerous thing about Henry is that he's genuinely a good man who accidentally lied about having a wife. And when Connie meets the man who caused Henry to come up with this lie, she finds herself protectively pretending to be Henry's wife.

I listened to this on my six hour drive from my parent's house to my house and I loved it so much. I had the absolute best time, giggling and laughing along with the audiobook. I was stressed and giddy and joyful and so excited for Connie to manage to rid herself of her mother's toxic voice in her head that kept her from really enjoying living her own life. This book was an absolute delight, but I enjoyed it so much, I actually don't have a ton to say? It just... It was a really fun fake romance that became not fake so fast, but the two of them are so silly and stuck in their own heads that it took them FOREVER to realize it wasn't fake. If you're looking for a fun time, I'd recommend picking this one up.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage follows Hazel, a struggling writer and her adorable editor neighbor Beck as they try to pull off a fake marriage. After their first real conversation Beck blurts out to Hazel that in a moment of panic he'd told all of his coworkers that he was married. Hazel understands his plight and since they will both be at a writer's retreat, she can help him put more "truth" into his story. But can they really pull it off when the whole retreat already thinks there's something off about them?
I found this romcom to be so freaking cute and sweet that once the spice hit, whoo! The obvious lusting that Hazel and Beck had for each other was really slow burn but so good! I did appreciate that Beck blurted that he had a wife due to a snide douche of a coworker, which is very relatable. Hazel's spiraling thoughts got to be a bit wild, but as an anxious lady myself, I related more than I would like to admit. Overall a sweet and spicy romcom with just the most marshmallow of a MMC. Sometimes a nice guy is just a really nice guy...who also bakes cakes.

Format - E-ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- Fake Marriage, Forced Proximity, Grumpy/Sunshine, Virgin Hero, Cinnamon Roll Hero, Sex lessons

Representation- Body Positivity

So if you are like me and you’ve read Stein’s last book and you wanted more of that. She defiantly delivered. This book is a rom com, it’s not taking it’s self to seriously. Not to say there aren’t some important subjects cause there are but it also is a fun romp of a romance.

Connie/Hazel is a girl after my own heart. She’d fat and fun and also tired of it all. Beck does not excite in the real world. And if he does please clone him and make him the blueprint for every male moving forward, I just wanted to put him in my pocket and pull him out when I am sad.

The chemistry it sizzling and honestly I will never tire of sex lessons for the MMC. Especially one who reads romance and has done his homework! Cause 🥵that man had just been waiting to try some things out!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love to fall into a good Stein romcom, the real world melts away.

Thank you Charlotte Stein, St Martins Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy all opinions are my own.

This book had all the tropes i needed. The perfect FMC who looks kinda like me. The MMC who’s just so infatuated. And he’s so infatuated with love too!!! PLEASE!!! Just so cute.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It got better as it went, though and I ended up enjoying it!

I have enjoyed other Charlotte Stein books, especially her novellas, but this one didn’t do it for me. She’s good at a lot of things, but writing Americans isn’t one of them. Beck says things like “golly” and “hey there, neighbor” without a trace of irony. Between that and the lustrous mustache, I agree with other reviewers who said it’s like she’s fake dating Ned Flanders.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 31%
I really wanted to like this book but I was just struggling so hard with it. For me the biggest issue is that I felt constantly confused by the back and forth between back and Connie-Hazel. I guess my brain just doesn't work that way because it was so chaotic to me and I could not follow anything that was going on or stay focused on it. Is this a love letter to all the ADHD kids?

The characterizations of Beck seemed a little over the top and unrealistic which I probably could have gone over because I love a nerdy bowtie wearing cinnamon roll but given how confusing everything was I really just could not connect to the characters.

Also my poor elder millennial feelings were a little "personally attacked" if you will... 😂. I think some of the references to the '90s were supposed to be fun and endearing but they just came off as weird. I even wrote down in my notes "Is this a normal thing, for Gen Z to be weirded out by knowing mid-90s movies? Because I never felt weird knowing 70s movies and now I can't stop thinking about this LOL"

It wasn't all bad, here are some things I liked:
1. Quantum Leap reference because that was also one of my favorite shows as a kid
2. Swapping stereotypical gender roles
3. Passing notes in the hallway

Idk, maybe the target audience is all the quirky, brilliant, book kids growing up in the 90s who felt like they didn't fit in? I mean I'm sort of on the edge of that but ultimately I was struggling to finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Charlotte Stein for the ARC of My Big Fat Fake Marriage!

One chapter into this, I remembered that I had gripes with the author's previous book, When Grumpy Met Sunshine. In simple, these gripes were: miscommunication and lengthy, lengthy dialogue scenes. I found similar gripes here, with additional frustration with the amount of internal monologuing, and cheesy chapter endings. Despite these frustrations, I preferred the MMC, Beck, in My Big Fat Fake Marriage, and ultimately because of Beck alone, I like this second book more. He feels really unique amongst MMCs in contemporary romance, and I appreciated his various character quirks (incapable of lying, bow ties, silly word choices, and perpetually single). He felt quite complex, whereas Hazel/Connie fell flat for me in this regard. Nevertheless, this was a worthwhile, sweet romance to speed through at the end of this month.

Sweet and heartwarming rom-com with a bit of spice.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well I definitely judged this book by its cover but unfortunately the story inside just didn't work out for me.

This cover art is adorable, colorful, and an attention getter, but the story itself was not. It was lacking character development making it hard to connect with the characters and I needed a stronger story line, there wasn't much going on outside of the two main characters. Not to mention the eye rolling, awkward spice/dirty talk that was beyond ridiculous for 2 grown adults. I felt like he was too perfect and she was trying too hard to be a "bad girl". I get that opposites attract but this was a little too far fetched for me. I did appreciate the plus size representation and a couple of unhinged silly scenes but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much as I had expected.

Thank you St. Martins Press for the gifted ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Charlotte Stein has quickly become an autobuy author for me. I love the sass and banter between the characters, and Beck is someone I didn't know I needed in my life until this moment. The perfect nerdy cinnamon roll combo that had me wanting to wrap him in a hug and slug anyone who treated him poorly.
This is fun, fast-paced, and the chemistry between Beck and Connie practically sizzled off the page! I was invested in their relationship from the first time we saw them together and rooted for them throughout the entire book.

We all know how it will go but as long as there is witty banter and some sweet emotions, I am here for it. And My Big Fat Fake Marriage was just that. Of course it followed the standard playbook but I loved Beck so much, the fake husband. He was dorky and awkward and so lovable that it made this one not so run of the mill. This one was very spicy so heads up. Out today .

Rating: 4.5/5
I received the eARC for my honest opinion.

If you love reading books that have fake dating/fate marriage, slow burn, forced proximity, one bed, spicy scenes and an overall really cute read you need to pick up this book. I love a good romcom and I found this book to have been fun and a charming read. The plot is fun, and I loved that we didn’t just get 1 location that they had to act like they were married but 2 locations in the book. The pace of the book was perfect for me, and when reading a romcom, I did find myself putting the book down because I didn’t want to end their cute and chemistry filled tension. You will find the MMC to be nerdy, 1 huge teddy bear but a freak in the sheets, and a MFC is nerdy, curvy, sweet and she hates when people are treated badly for no reason.

The plot was fun, I enjoyed that we got to know the characters a little bit before the retreat happens, but I really loved all the tension that their chemistry is causing the characters. I liked that this all started out because Connie finds out her neighbor has created a fake wife to his co-workers and after seeing how one of his co-workers treat him in person Connie decides she is going to pretend to be his fake wife but what she didn’t know was that there would a writing retreat and of course her fake husband is in charge of it and she has to go… but what always happens when there is one bed in romance books.

The characters are what really made this book shine for me. I loved that Connie was a strong FC, but she was also sweet, caring, and quirky. You have Beck the MC who is nerdy, sweet, tender and at the same time can I say a champ in the sheets. I enjoyed getting to see their growth as a fake/real couple and getting to see their own personal growth in the book as well. I loved that both characters were encouraging each other, to follow their dreams or to be themselves. I found their story of fake kisses to real meaningful kisses at the end to have been chefs kiss and to be able to see their HEA was wonderful.

I cannot wait to see what Stein will bring us in the next book, but I do hope that it's soon.

I want to thank NetGalley and SMP for the opportunity to review this book.

Rom com like romance. Easy to read, funny to follow. She is suspicious of the nice guy. He is *a man that actually listens and is observant* (is that really a thing??)

As they enter a fake marriage, coworkers and inexperience threaten to expose them. 4 ⭐️

4 stars! THIS WAS SO CUTESY. As a reader and a huge fan of fake marriages with close proximity, I ate this TF up. There was a lot of fan banter, a ONE bed and tub trope - which was so deliciously spicy!!

I really enjoyed how kind and honest Beck was with Connie. Being a bookish reader myself, the retreat was the cherry on top. If you want a low-stakes fun read, I would encourage you to pick this up.

Thank you SO much St. Martin's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.