3 ⭐️ this was cute!! Tbh, it was a little slow through many parts of this book and thus, hard to keep up with. I felt like besides the two MCs, there was nothing else really going on? Like I would’ve liked to hear from the other people on the retreat or her best friend, Mabel, more.

Still, the romance definitely was there — at about 60% in. Definitelyyyyyy a slow burn. Samuel Henry Beckett is def a cinnamon roll and I loved that!! He was so sweet and so romantic …. But those spicy scenes!! Okayyyyy. 🥰 Anyway, I also liked the FMC, Connie! She came from a lot of mistrust and mistreatment and homegirl just wanted to be loved — but she had a hard time letting her guards down. Until samuel came in!!

There was a lot of miscommunication in this book which doesn’t typically annoy me but in this one it did. Like just say you love each other already!!!!

Overall, I liked it!! The story was kinda slow at parts and I struggled to get through it sometimes. But it was a cute romance and I’m always down for plus size rep in books!!

Thanks netgalley and st. martin’s for my copy!

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Charlotte never misses. I’m convinced. If Charlotte writes it, I’m going to read it. But adding in fake dating? Beyond sold. I’m obsessed. It’s so good! I loved every single word of this book. I was eating it up.

From character development, to pacing, to the relationship- i loved every single thing. This was just another fantastic novel from Charlotte and I can’t recommend
Her books enough!

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ebook.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Book Review: My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein

My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein kicks off with a fun and strong start, especially for Connie (who goes by Hazel for much of the story) and Beckett. The humor and witty banter between them were a delightful way to pull me in right from the beginning. One standout moment comes in Chapter 2, where Hazel (mistakenly) believes Beckett is a murderer who has killed his wife. The scene was wonderfully absurd, and I couldn’t help but laugh at how unhinged and hilarious it all was—it set such a unique tone for the story.

However, as the story progressed, I found myself growing less engaged. While Beckett is undeniably a nice guy, his overly "cinnamon roll" personality—sweet, goofy, and a little too perfect—started to feel a bit too much at times. There was something about him that didn’t quite click for me, especially as the romantic moments between him and Hazel escalated quickly. Though spicy, these scenes often felt a bit cringe-y, leaving me distracted to the point where I had to go back and re-read parts just to stay focused.

Having read one other work by Charlotte Stein that I absolutely loved, I was hoping for the same energy here, but this ARC didn’t quite deliver. It felt more like a rough draft rather than a finished product, and I do hope the final version is polished further. The pacing between Hazel and Beckett’s relationship seemed rushed, almost leaning toward "insta-love" territory, and I found myself wishing for more gradual development and backstory. The lack of depth to their connection made it difficult to stay invested in their romance as the book wore on.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the first 30% of the book, but as the story progressed, I felt myself losing interest. The humor that initially captivated me seemed to fade, and I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from the narrative. There’s potential here, but it didn’t fully reach its mark for me.

Hoo boy where do I begin with this book?

Well to start, it was kind of boring. Like the chemistry between these characters felt very… splendia like. Like you know how spelndia tastes sweet but he’s all these chemicals that make it taste weird? That’s what the romance in this book felt like. Sweet but artificial. Like it was trying to emulate sweetness but failing.

Also the character elements outside of the romance weren’t explored very well. Like at all. All we get is like bits and pieces of the characters pasts and motivations and arcs so they feel very hollow. Not very fleshed out. Probably another reason I couldn’t vibe with the romance.

Honestly all of that was fine and I was gonna give a three but then the smut happened and babe- it was bad. Like so bad. I felt like I was reading two teenagers figuring out boning for the first time during prom night. Expect these weren’t teenagers they were adults in their 30s with full fledged careers. I like smut, I read it regularly but god the smut in this book? Everytime they boinked I was begging for it to stop because it was just- so awkward. So yea, if it weren’t for the cringe inducing smut, this book would’ve gotten a three but I’m gonna have to doc it half a star for that.

Overall, 2.5 stars. I wanted to vibe with this, really I did, but man I just couldn’t. I really couldn’t. The ending was kinda sweet though and the cover arts great. That’s it though. Sorry

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

After When Grumpy Met Sunshine, I had some really high expectations for this next read from Charlotte Stein. I love the representation that this author gives to plus size characters and how they feel in their own bodies. The quirkiness of these characters was loveable and brought a new kind of romance that I haven't really seen before in romance novels. It was nerdy and anxious in way that was endearing and sweet, while still having a good amount of spice too.

My only "but" for this book what that sometimes the spicy scenes were a bit cringey. I know that these characters were overcoming a barrier of anxiety and awkwardness, but there were a couple times when reading but I couldn't help but cringe and almost feel awkward myself for reading it. I do appreciate the reality of her writing, but it did take me out of the story a couple times.

Overall, this is a funny, spicy, and quirky read that I still finished in one sitting and definitely enjoyed reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this book with an advanced reader copy.

My Review of My Big Fat Fake Marriage Book

My Big Fat Fake Marriage book is a book that will make you laugh. It will also remind you that some good guys are still left.

As someone who struggles with significant trust issues, which can create problems in my marriage, I found it refreshing to read a book where the woman ultimately discovers that she can trust the man.

This storyline is not overly realistic, but that is part of the reason I liked reading it. It was nice to escape reality and experience some humor and romance.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. This was such a fun follow up to When Grumpy Met Sunshine! Although it was more vibes than plot, I still had a great time reading it! This hero was the biggest cinnamon roll and I loved the way that Stein. wrote about both mcs bodies. I think she does such a great job blending sweet and spicy and I can't wait to see what she does next!

I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. I previously tried a book by Charlotte Stein and really disliked it, but I was intrigued by the premise of this one, so decided to give her another shot. I do feel better about her writing with this one, but I am not sure she is an author for me.
Some things I liked:
- This was fake dating/marriage done well. There was a legitimate reason for needing a "wife" and even for how she would benefit from the arrangement too.
- The FMC and MMC did a pretty good job of communicating with each other almost throughout.
- Good narration on audio and goes down super easy, like finish in a sitting easy.
Unbelievably sweet MMC (just dreamy, almost)
Some things I didn't:
- Unbelievably sweet MMC. He was too wholesome most of the time. To the point of pulling me out of the story. He IS dreamy, but I would be so incredibly suspicious of him in real life.
- Dual narration would have been ideal here and may have helped the believability of the MMC.

Overall, good brain candy, but nothing I will return to in the future.

I love everything Charlotte Stein writes! I enjoyed how weird both protagonists are, it's one of my favorite things about her books. I did find the premise a bit contrived and the whole fake marriage of it all didn't seem all that concrete, but I did love the romance. I guess it just needed more time to cook, it felt like it wasn't totally done.

This book has all the hallmarks of a Charlotte Stein. Two sweet dummies whose low self esteem and bad experiences keep them from seeing what’s in front of their face, even as they have a sexual awakening and feel seen for the first time. Some quirk of fate or poor decision making leads to a forced proximity situation- in this case, Hazel poses as her neighbor Beck’s fake wife at a writers retreat he’s leading that she had already signed up to go to- where the pent up lust and emotions have no option but to boil over.

Stein has a gift for inane and spirally but delightfully quick and funny repartee. Her humor always goes in unexpected stream of consciousness directions that lead to more discoveries about the characters. Even during sexy times, there’s sheepish confessions about appreciation of body parts that seem to bubble up until the mc can’t help but blurt them out, like the verbal equivalent of coming in his pants because she’s just that desirable (which is also a Stein classic that we get here).

Other Stein hallmarks we know and love: a mutual masturbation scene, dirty talk, a very well endowed virgin hero. Refreshingly he hasn’t done something horrible to her in the past that he needs to atone for, as is sometimes the case in a Charlotte Stein relationship dynamic. The fake marriage trope delivers the “my wife” catnip we all crave. Not to be spoilery, but they also have sex in the backseat of a car and he wraps a blanket around her like he’s Lloyd Dobbler, so if you like sweet cinnamon roll heroes you really can’t go wrong here.

I loved Stein’s subversion of gendered romance expectations: Hazel’s a grump and Beck is a bow tie-wearing manic pixie dream dork in the body of a lumberjack. And he’s the sexually inexperienced one- at one point Hazel thinks of him as a nineteenth century wallflower and she’s the rake who is scandalizing him. One thing that’s delightfully equal opportunity though— these poor babies have come to expect and minimize mistreatment for themselves, but are absolutely feral in defense of each other. Going back to the nineteenth century comparison, there’s also something delicious about the epistolary moments we get here, notes passed under doors and emails sent while in different parts of the same retreat: these tentative souls are more comfortable and more honest in writing (this is also clearly a kink Beck has).

So here’s what kept me from 5 stars: Stein increasingly relies on my least fave subsection of the miscommunication trope, when an mc persists in their misunderstanding because of their low self worth and assumptions they continue to make after lots of contradicting evidence has been presented. Hazel and Beck stay surprised by the other’s sexual and then emotional interest in each other for longer than I can suspend my disbelief for. And I was so frustrated when she would say things to test him, see if he’ll protest. She just ends up confirming both of their worst suspicions that the other doesn’t want something lasting with them. Passive aggression is not sexy! It’s very high school, I think I would have been less irritated if these characters were not in their 30s.

Hazel is so lucky to have a friend like Mabel!! Thank goodness for her and her truthtelling. Also I love Alfie from When Grumpy Met Sunshine and it was a delight to experience his growly overprotectiveness again. I loved this as an addition to the series, overall a solid recommendation.

If you like the following tropes, I highly recommend:
-Fake Marriage
-Coworkers
-Forced proximity
-One bed
-“What did you say to my wife?!”
-Miscommunication

Things I loved about this book:
1. That the FMC was curvy and that it wasn’t a huge plot point in the book. The author describes the curves a couple times but I loved that her size wasn’t spoken of derogatorily. I also loved that the FMC was pensive toward men in the very beginning. That part was very relatable.
2. I love that they had a friendship that started before the fake marriage stuff happened. I love that the MMC put in the effort to make the FMC feel comfortable all the time.
3. The couple from When Grumpy Met Sunshine are in this book, but you do not need to read that one before you read this.

What I didn’t really care for:
1. The communication issues. It seemed like they were communicating fantastically at one point and then one of them would run away from the situation, they don’t take for a period of time and then they clear the air.

Overall, it was a cute read. I would read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Beck appears to be an absolute nice guy, but Connie's met enough nice guys to know that they're never actually very nice. The more she gets to know Beck, the more she starts to believe he might be the real deal, even as she gets pulled into his lies about having a wife.

I loved the premise of this book, but I could not get into the story. It starts out very slowly, and I wasn't invested in the characters. While I could understand that Connie's perspective coming from a place of trauma and hurt, her entire personality was just grumpy and Beck's personality was just sunshine and kind of clueless.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a rom-com that combines the fake marriage trope with a slow-burn romance.
This book is engaging, with some witty dialogue and a unique premise. However, some aspects didn't fully resonate with me. While Beck's character is endearing, his portrayal as a "cinnamon roll" hero felt a bit one-dimensional at times. The focus on the romance occasionally overshadowed potential character development and plot depth.
Overall, this book offers an enjoyable reading experience with its charming leads and humorous scenarios. It's a suitable pick for fans of lighthearted romantic comedies.

MY BIG FAT FAKE MARRIAGE is a story filled with lies, love, longings, and more! It follows the story of a pretty lady named Connie who has a wonderful neighbor across the hall who leaves her fresh baked pastries. She wonders who in this day and age leaves pastries for their neighbor? She avoids her neighbor at all costs, suspiciously theorizing all kinds of bad thoughts. Connie is very independent, works for an advertising firm, doesn't believe in love and wants to write books.

Enter her private neighbor, Beck. He is a burly, mustachioed man and an editor. He is neat and a whiz at baking sweet things. He is also kindly, cheery, muscly, and has a secret that makes him sick. Connie notices something off with Beck one day and nudges him about it. They both reveal their secrets and Beck's is a doozy! He tells her that in the heat of the moment where he works with a nasty colleague, he told everyone that he is married, when in real life he is not.

They both attend the same writing retreat and Connie comes up with a ruse of pretending to be his wife. They try to convince everyone they are a couple, when it's clear they don't seem to be married. On their first night alone in bed the attraction builds. As two weeks fly by, their time spent with one another turns into a steamy romance. Will love jaded Connie let down her defenses and let real love in with Beck? Will disaster strike at the retreat?

MY BIG FAT FAKE MARRIAGE is a love story filled with hope, fresh baked pies, romance, and secrets. Beck and Connie are perfect for each other, his yin to her yang. I wondered how they were going to pull off their ruse. You will have to wait and see what happens! Loved all the quirky characters and the fluffy romance. This is definitely my kind of cup of rom-com tea!

This book had some fun moments, but ultimately it felt a little empty to me. I like a cinnamon roll man, but this one was so sweet he'd make your teeth fall out. And I never really understood Connie/Hazel. I'm not sure what the point of the fake name was, because as soon as she tells Beck her real name you never hear it again, in any context. I think this author may not be for me, as this is the second book of hers I've 3-starred.

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book. They were well developed and kept me interested to see how they came to embrace their true inner selves. Connie has been burned by love. She is searching for a nice guy who will treat her right but only seems to find bad boys. Her neighbor, Beck is a kind, nerdy type guy who keeps to himself. He is running a conference that Connie is scheduled to attend. He has told his coworkers that he is married. To go along with this lie, he asks Connie to pretend to be his wife. He is hoping that his nemesis at work might get off his back. This book is told from Connie’s POV, yet gives a lot of insight into Beck’s character. Reading how these characters evolved was a truly fun read.

Also reviewed on B&N (1IrishEyes430 and Kobo (IrishEyes430)

REVIEW: My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein

Hazel, a writer, has been burned by many self-proclaimed nice guys. Then she meets Beck, an editor from across the hall, who is nerdy and friendly, which makes Hazel suspicious. She discovers that Beck has made up a wife to keep some coworkers from bothering him. When a situation arises where Hazel says she's Beck's wife to the coworker, they have to go to a writing retreat together to try to fool everyone.

I enjoyed My Big Fat Fake Marriage. I have always loved the tropes of fake marriage, but this book also features a shared bed, friends to lovers, experienced versus nonexperienced, and cinnamon roll MMC. I like the different character representations in this book. It isn't the stereotypical perfect, good-looking guy and girl; they are both unique and have more depth. Beck and Hazel have so much fun together and great chemistry. They both have some deep-rooted vulnerabilities, which they talk about together. They also had a lot of playful banter, and I laughed out loud. My Big Fat Fake Marriage gets really spicy in some of the scenes. Beck and Hazel are just so sweet, funny, and sexy together.

The only slight thing I wasn't a fan of in My Big Fat Fake Marriage was that the ending seemed to wrap up a little too quickly. I would have loved a little more to it.

Overall, I enjoyed My Big Fat Fake Marriage. It was so fun in all the best ways. I'm looking forward to reading more books by Charlotte Stein.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

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Have you ever made a rash decision due to injustice that changed the trajectory of your life forever?

In My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein, Hazel stands up to a bully and then realizes the consequences of her "mistake" when she has to pretend to be the wife to Beck on a two week retreat.

The author has created so much depth in these characters that I was invested from the first page. You fall in love with Beck's quirkiness, and you want to wrap Hazel in a hug and tell her all of the ways that she's enough, just how she is... and the spice. Wow!

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

Thank you to Charlotte Stein, NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC copy of My Big Fat Fake Marriage 🩷

I thought this was such a sweet read. We have Hazel, who has a guarded but very big heart, an affinity for delicious pie and a love for writing. And Becks, the golden retriever writer who is so wholesome it’s hard to believe he’s real. I thought the two of them faking a marriage was so fun (honestly who doesn’t love a fake dating trope) especially when it was a very fast, forced proximity situation.

I really loved how encouraging of Hazel’s writing that Becks was and how kind and just sweet he was to her. She was also very patient with him and they were overall just a good match. I do wish we got to see more backstory other than their initial meeting but it’s fun to imagine on my own.

I’d highly recommend if you’re looking for a sweet, short and spicy read. 4/5 stars!