DNF @ 17%. I am not vibing with the writing, the character or anything. Not interested. 🤷‍♀️ I think Charlotte Stein's writing is not for me because this is the 2nd book I haven't liked from her.

I wanted to like this one more. A fake marriage? A cinnamon roll hero? A plus-sized heroine? I'm in! Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. The hero is simply too guileless. He said some of the most ridiculous things for a grown man. It was hard for me to get past. While the open communication in their "relationship" was great, so many of these scenes were truly the most uncomfortable I have read. I so wanted them to stop apologizing to one another. It just felt awkward and not spicy at all. While the narration was great (loved the accent) it sadly wasn't enough to keep me engaged in the way that I wanted to be. I do think others may enjoy this one if you like a hero like this one. I'm going to chalk this one up as not for me but one that may be for you.

As a plus size woman myself, I really went into this book expecting to love it and while I did enjoy it, it was pretty underwhelming. I read someone rate it cute but ridiculous and that sums up my feelings pretty well. I will say though the narration was well done and the audiobook was a fun way to read this.

A spicy cinnamon roll romance.

This book had strong character development as we follow a main character who finds out that maybe her fake marriage to a gentle giant of a man, will end up with real feelings a partner she can share her true self with.

Hilarity ensues at a writer's retreat where our characters find themselves caught in a web of their own (well intentioned) lies. With hot scenes together and heartwarming banter and interactions throughout, this was a romance book I was not sorry that I clicked on for an audiobook ARC.

I decided to give My Big Fat Fake Marriage another chance by listening to the audiobook, and Imogen Wilde's narration was fantastic! She brought the characters to life. However, even with her excellent performance, the story itself didn't quite hold up for me. The same issues I had with the book persisted. The spicy scenes translated well to audio! They were pretty…vivid. If that's your thing, you'll probably enjoy that aspect of the audiobook.

I DNFed 'When Grumpy Met Sunshine' last year because I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing.
Despite that, I decided to give My Big Fat Fake Marriage a try.
I'm still not the biggest fan of the writing but I was able to make it through this time.
It wasn't the worst thing I've read and it was cute at times but the dialogue was a little too cheesy for me and I couldn't really take the the FMC & her love interest too seriously.
I don't think I'll be reading another book by Charlotte Stein.

This spicy rom-com was such a fun ride! My Big Fat Fake Marriage brings the well-loved (and often overdone) fake marriage trope to life with a fresh twist and some seriously quirky, memorable characters. I found myself rooting for them from the start—just waiting for the moment they'd finally get together and watching all the hilarious, awkward, and steamy moments in between. While the premise isn’t new, the chemistry, humor, and charm in the storytelling made it feel different. It’s definitely one that kept me listening and entertained all the way through. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

Book 1 was a fun read in 2024 so is safe to say i was excited to read this one, so thankful for the opportunity to be an ARC reader for this rom-com story! I love an adorable cinnamon roll of a man who is sweet from the begining, sometimes I just need a sweet man, as much as I love a Grumpy man, sweet ones give a charm to a story and this MMC gave us just that! I absolutely loved Hazel she was fun to get to know. Overall was a fun and cute book to read

I loved this cute romance with plus size representation and quirky and lovable characters! I'm a big fan of fake marriage and force proximity and My Big Fat Fake Marriage delivered on both. Beck was so sweet and nerdy and I loved that he was an actual good guy. Too innocent for this world. Sweet good retriever energy. Connie on the other hand was a sharp contrast with her skepticism of love and good guys and rightly so with her romantic history. We also have some spice and good banter. Overall, this was a good time and I enjoyed it!

Holy spice level, Batman! This was a steamy, hilarious ride with an even steamier epilogue lol. I loved the author's senes of humor and the beautifully accented narration. It was really fun to have a horn dog as the female MC and to find out her soft boy was secretly pretty naughty too--he definitely gives Scorpio Moon vibes.

A sexy strangers to more with pretend marriage, 1 bed writing retreat. Lots of language and open door scenes.

It’s pretty cliche/been done before plot but the narrator and writing gives it some new life with a strong voice. I’m always a fan on one bed and fake dating/marriage.

Beck is a sweet, bumbling guy who needs a lot of confidence. Hazel is short is height to Beck’s but full of personality and character and more. Opposites attract.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the alc. This book is out now and these are my own thoughts and opinions.

The cover, featuring a plus-size couple and the promise of a fake relationship, captivated me and set my expectations for a fun rom-com.

The book was cute but not as good as I had hoped. Fake marriage? Forced proximity?
A nerdy, bowtie-wearing book editor who is sweet and kind, along with someone jaded and mistrusting, held the potential to create a great story.

Beck is so corny that he often seems unbelievable, while Hazel/Connie, on the other hand, has been burned by love so many times that she cannot believe someone like Beck could be as good as he seems. Hence, the miscommunication, internal turmoil, and, of course, misunderstandings.


The writing style was somewhat underwhelming at times, as Hazel and Connie’s inner dialogue resembled an endless downward spiral and came across as self-deprecating. However, the chemistry was fantastic! The vibes were entertaining. The banter? Strong. The spice? It felt a bit excessive for me, especially considering that the man had never been kissed, consistently says, "Oh fudge, " and then engages in nonstop, cringeworthy dirty talk alongside a seemingly teenage sex-fueled trope.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio production by St. Martin’s Press for the audiobook.

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.

Arc review: Audiobook narrated by Imogene Wilde. I really enjoyed the narration of the book. Imogene’s voice is soothing and really brings Connie to life. I liked that I was able to differentiate her from Beckett as she does the voice for both. It’s specially good as she has to change between an English and an American accent. Her flow is good and you can also differentiate when chapters end. It’s the first narration I hear from her and I’d love to listen to more.

As far as the story goes. It was good. It hits all the aspects of romance, spice and it’s even funny at times. Some of the spice was a little cringy for me as the MMC is inexperienced and shy which just makes some moments awkward. I think this could have been avoided had we had double POV but we only get Connie’s side. I was also not in love with Connie. As the characters seem to be of bigger body types than the norm for romance books, it made me kinda sad that both were so insecure. Even as Connie seemed to be more open with exploring her sexuality and liked to portray being confident, deep down she wasn’t. I would have liked to see one of them being confident in their looks, because it made the story a little heavy; not as light hearted as the tittle suggests. In the end it was good enough for me to continue listening to; and I think the narrator helped in that.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Charlotte Stein for giving me the chance to review.

This one started off fun, but it lost me along the way. I was expecting more of a rom-com. The main characters were quirky, which I usually love, but their interactions felt over-the-top and unrealistic. Also, the lack of communication was frustrating, and the constant internal monologues got tiring fast.

This was a quick listen but just not my favorite. The second half was just smut and nothing else really. It was just a little too far fetched for me and I was not a fan of the FMC.

I really wanted to like this but it fell short. It started as a RomCom and morphed into smut. Both areas really didn’t hit the mark for me. I think it would have read better if it stayed fully a RomCom. Overall it was a disappointment.

This was a very cute book, well-plotted book. I loved the characters and thought the ending was great. I recommend it.

I enjoyed this story with all the characters that were within. The main two characters were Connie and Henry Samel Beckett.

Connie and Henry are next-door neighbors. Connie meets Henry at the elevator and is surprised by the way his clothes are not right.
He mostly of the time has his clothes in the right placement on his person. But this time, something is off. She gets suspicious of him and wants to know why.

This was fun to listen to. The narrative did a good job telling the story. It had action and drama throughout. There were twists and turns throughout. There were quite a bit of giggles within. This book might have some trigger warnings to look out for. Plus, it does have a bit of steamy to it.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest, unbiased opinion.

This book was super cute! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I loved that Samuel "Beck" is awkward and the dynamic between him and Connie is delightful. If you're looking for a lighthearted read this may be enjoyable. It has unbelievable moments, naturally, but their fake relationship starts to feel real. There are some close calls with their lie being exposed and if you can just read it without logic and just enjoy the story you'll get a lot more out of it.