DNF at 42%. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't feel any connection with the characters and they seemed a little too immature for my taste.

I thought this was a really fun book with just the right amount of spice. The narrator for the audiobook did an incredible job

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to relate to Connie. I even wanted to love Henry! Unfortunately for me, My Big Fat Fake Marriage fell flat. I couldn’t get into the story, Connie’s career aspect seemed to completely fall to the wayside, and the forced proximity seemed to jump the duo from 0 to 100 in no time at all. I loved the spice, the ending, and the idea overall.

Loved everything about this. Such a cute story and hot/charming main characters. Captivated and enjoyable from cover to cover. LOVED everything about it!

I really loved this book. In the beginning I found both characters very odd and was not sure if I would like them or their story of falling in love but I did. I loved how nerdy they could be together and I really loved that Henry would only get aggressive when defending someone. I found Hazel so fun. I liked that while Henry was a virgin Hazel was basically a virgin too because she never really enjoyed or liked the sex/relationships she has been in. In some book I hate when we linger on past trauma caused by parents but in this book it was just enough bi was able to lean about her childhood without feeling lot of second hand trauma. Overall I loved this cute quick love story.

Connie doesn’t trust nice guys. She doesn’t particularly like the bad guys, but at least she knows where she stands with them. They pretty much just want the one thing, so there is no confusion. And then there’s her neighbor, Henry Samuel Beckett (Beck), who is a very nice guy. He’s always making her cakes and is very thoughtful. But he’s married. Or so he said.

Connie is going to get the chance to get to know her neighbor better though. He’s a book editor and has helped plan a weeklong writer’s retreat. Connie has been working as a copywriter, but what she really wants is to write fiction, so she signed up for the writer’s retreat. She’s been looking forward to a week of relaxing and getting to know other writers.

When Connie talks to Beck about the retreat, she finds out that he’s far more awkward than she first realized, to the point that he made up a wife that he told his entire workplace about. And he’s going on the writer’s retreat with people who think he’s married, including a bestselling author who isn’t afraid to call Beck out on his awkwardness. Connie sees that and feels protective toward Beck. She feels so protective that she jumps into the conversation and announces that she is Beck’s wife.

Which is fine, until Connie realizes that now she’s going to have to pretend to be Beck’s wife through the writer’s retreat. And she’s finding that the more time she spends around Beck, the warmer her feelings grow towards him. So acting like his wife won’t be too difficult. But staying in the same room and respecting each other’s boundaries might be harder than they think.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a sweet rom com about a couple of people who don’t quite seem to fit into their worlds they live in. They have both been bullied and marginalized for being different, and it takes them some time to realize how perfect they are for each other, and I thought it was really sweet how they found respect and support in each other.

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Imogen Wilde. I thought she did a really good job. The accent she used for Connie was lovely and brought her to life. The voice she used for Beck was a little awkward, which brought the character to life with perfection. I thought that listening to this book was a lot of fun, but there were several scenes that got extra-spicy, so listening at work may be a bad idea.

I wanted to love this book. I loved Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine, and I was excited for this fake marriage story. I thought the idea was a lot of fun. I just felt like the story veered off from the fake marriage idea to a very spicy story about the tension building between Connie and Beck. For me, that took over the plot, so I missed out on the comedy I was looking for with them acting like a couple in public. It’s not a bad book, but I think that the marketing for it was a little off from what the book became. It was still a lot of fun to listen to, and extra spicy, just not as entertaining as the book I was picturing in my mind.

Egalleys for My Big Fat Fake Marriage were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin, and an early copy of the audio were provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio with St. Martin’s Press as well as the author for this ARC.
#NetGalley #MAC2025 #MacmillanAudio #St.Martin’sPress #CharlotteStein #audiobook #Books #Bookreviews
Title: My Big Fat Fake Wedding
Author: Charlotte Stein
Format: Audio book
Narrator: Imogen Wilde
Publisher: Macmillan Audio/St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Themes: romance, fake to real relationship,

In all honesty, this wasn’t for me. It was very cute, but a little too…saccharine for me. The story follows Connie Evans has never been a fan of “nice guys” until she meets Samuel Henry Beckett, or Beck. He asks Connie to be his fake wife due to a moment of haste when he tells everyone at his work that he’s married. We can all guess where it goes from here right? Exactly. We have tumbled headfirst into a rom-com!

For many people, being in a rom-com wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s not for me. I liked the character of Connie but Beck was a little hard to swallow. Sure, he was sweet…but nearly a 40-year-old virgin. Seriously..a man in his thirties who’s never even been kissed??? Weird.
Still, it’s a cute book and the characters are likable. The reader will need to turn off his or her sense of logic, but we all do that with fiction. It’s a light and fun read, but not the one for me.

A bright spot for me was the narrator, Imogen Wilde. I enjoyed her narration of all of Ruth Ware’s books and was excited to see her name as the narrator. She has a way of making each character apparent with very little change in her voice. I also find her very soothing.

All in all, while this book wasn’t for me, lots of people will enjoy it. Just remember that it’s fiction. I recommend this to anyone who loves a romantic comedy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.

I had a really hard time with this one right out of the gate. The main character is very unlikeable, the different names doesn't make much sense at all, and the man is just boring. I can't get past about 20% unfortunately. Thank you for the opportunity to try the book out.

Minor spoilers in this review. This book was an e-arc though NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.

How I read it: audiobook. The narrator did an amazing job!

Themes: romance, forced proximity, fake marriage

Spice: Explicit sex scenes (very well done)

At first I didn’t like the main character constantly putting herself down, thinking Beck couldn’t possibly find her attractive or want her. Like..I got really annoyed I almost wanted to DNF. I’m glad I did not!! After a lot of thinking, I understand where Connie is coming from and her thoughts/feelings are valid. The spice is spicy, and I LOVED it. Perfectly paced and enjoyable to read.

I would recommend this book. I gave 4 stars because I like it a lot, but would not re-read it and/or buy a physical copy.

Absolutely charming. I am obsessed with these characters. Charlotte Stein is my hero. This is the perfect pick me up. Utterly cozy and hilarious while still being very hot.

Connie is distrustful of nice men, they are always hiding something. That is until she meets Henry Samuel Beckett, who is almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, he is also hiding something, he has told his coworkers that he is married and now he needs to prove it.

This is a spicy fake dating trope that, unfortunately, is more spice than flavor. I love a good fake dating trope, but this one fell flat. The cinnamon role MMC was somewhat unbelievable and, golly gee, I struggled with his dialog sounding like a 1950’s television character. The narrator did well with the female main character but missed the big middle American male accent. There was some semblance of a plot in the first half, but the second half was all spice. This book will find its audience but not sure it was for me.

this was SO FUN! I requested this on a whim (lets be real, the cute cover and plus size representation on it got to me) and i'm honestly SO GLAD that I did! I had previously read one of Charlotte Stein's books and was not a massive fan, however this just goes to prove that one book does not define an author because this was such a funny read / listen. I found myself relating to both characters, the jadedness of Hazel and the utter inability to believe that someone could ACTUALLY like you like Beck. And I loved that while both of these characters exist in bigger bodies, it's not the MAIN focus of the book like a lot of books are with this sort of representation.

Now for the content? I was cackling at MULTIPLE points. So hard that I would have to rewind or simply turn it off in fear of crashing my car (audiobook car listener over here!). The spicy scenes were funny and lighthearted while still keeping things real, and the character development from both ends was top tier.

I also LOVED the narrator for this book! It felt like I was on the phone or having a conversation with Hazel and that made it all the better. It was just the perfect voice, cadence, and complimented the writing style PERFECTLY!

I received this ALC (Advanced Listener Copy) of this audiobook from NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.
🎧5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐🎧

I enjoyed this audio so much that I listened to it twice. Imogen Wilde is spectacular in this performance. She brings out the character's wit and charm in ways I couldn’t get enough of.

Beck is awkwardly honest in all the best ways. He is charming without knowing it. We all need a Beck in our lives.
Hazel is WITTTTTY and so sharp. I adored this about her. She also sees what not many people see because she is a people watcher and a people-pleaser, almost to her detriment.

When they truly get to know each other, they help each other be more authentic. She helps him to open up by standing up for himself and guiding him through intimacy.

Charlotte Stein presents romance in a unique way compared to traditional, and formulaic approaches. This story is driven by the characters, rather than being centred around them. If that makes sense. I feel as though other readers and listeners may enjoy this fresh perspective in our romances.

I need more, please!

Book Review: My Big Fat Fake Marriage

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read (or rather, listen to) and review this ARC.

This rom-com is a cute, steamy, and slow-burn delight! Both main characters are in their 30s, with the FMC being a confident, curvy woman. While the story starts off a little slow, the playful banter keeps things engaging, and when the spice hits—trust me, it’s well worth the wait. 😉

Hazel (aka Connie) sees herself as a carefree, love-them-and-leave-them kind of person, while Beck is the ultimate golden retriever cinnamon-roll hero. His fake marriage, meant to fend off an aggressive co-worker, suddenly gets complicated when he moves in next door to Hazel—thanks to her meddling best friend, Mabel. What starts as a mutually beneficial arrangement soon turns into something much deeper… or is Hazel the only one catching real feelings?

This story is lighthearted, fun, and an easy listen—perfect for when you need a rom-com with just the right amount of steam. 🌶🌶🌶

4.75 absolutely loved it!! In my oh so not humble in any way opinion, the downside for this story is:
1) how short it is 😭 not nearly long enough for me to get my heart full up on these characters
2) because of its length, too rushed.
Now, that being said, I loved it. I fell head over heels for the absolute gem that was Beck. Love him, head to toe, top to bottom, all the way around. You sweet gigantic bear of a man 😍 Give me a big boy who is shy and has experienced terrible things, yet still happens to be sweet as sugar and with the kindest of hearts, and eager to please on top of it all?! Stop I’m melting! He was believably honest for me, because I have known people who behave in that way with their honesty. I just wanted more of him! More back story, more of who he is and what he loves. I feel like it still wouldn’t have been enough, but I wanted his POV, the greedy little thing that I am lol.
Connie was the big girl all big girls both want to be and hate being all at the same time. Shoe horned into a box built for and by someone else because of others expectations. Her self doubt and mistrust was me growing up, and it made me sad to see it in print. And I know people are going to read this and say things like “that’s not how a parent would act toward a child” or “no woman would mistrust this boldly” and all I can say is, don’t dismiss it just because you’ve had the fortune never to have experienced it.
I loved the story line, and the characters, I just wished I could have gotten more. I wanted more of Connie’s background and story, a little more of her friends, and who she is, as the contrast was pointed out multiple times of who she portrays vs who she actually is and wants to be. I wanted to know more about Beck, why he lives where he does, why he moved, his family, his history, etc. I wanted to know and really feel who they were. I’m likely one of the few readers who’s happy to go through a 15 hour long audiobook in order to get to know the characters more.
The spice was open door, but good lord I wanted more!! I loved it, and I am so happy with what there was, but don’t tease me with things like “I did something I didn’t think he was ready for, and he was absolutely delighted.” DID WHAT??!! I need to know!
I loved the narrator so much, and I would have been happy for her to narrate a dual pov in its entirety. Her voice is perfect for me. Her deadpan delivery of the jokes had me howling with laughter. Also? She made me cry a little. In a spicy romcom! Pretty sure that’s some sort of law broken lol.
All in all, i absolutely loved it.

Aspiring writer Connie doesn’t trust nice men, and in general she’s been right. In fact, all the men she’s dealt with have turned out to be pretty expectedly terrible. So when sweet American editor Henry Samuel Beckett—named for the Quantum Leap character, not the playwright—moves into her building, she doesn’t quite know what to make of him. She discovers that he’s lied to a bully of a co-worker about being married (when he in fact has no experience with women), and then when she meets that bully of a co-worker, Connie is so outraged by his awfulness she claims to be Beck’s pretend wife. Which means they have to act like a married couple at a writer’s retreat they’re both scheduled to attend. As with any just-one-bed trope, sparks fly, but Connie can’t believe a man as nice as Beck would ever really want a woman like her.

The first half of this book had me laughing out loud. The characters are so delightfully over the top and their banter and notes to each other were hysterical. It was also very sweet to see the way the two characters took care of each other. Once the steam started, it didn’t stop. It’s most of the second half of the book, and while I don’t mind steam, the story started to feel more like a short story in terms of story arc.

Connie is friends with Mabel from Stein’s past release When Grumpy Met Sunshine and it was fun to see Connie turning to her friend for advice about having a fake relationship since it was also the premise in that book. Ultimately I enjoyed this one. There’s something about Charlotte Stein’s writing that just tickles me, but if her previous books have not been your thing, I don’t think this one will change your mind.

Imogen Wilde does a great job narrating. She had perfect delivery for both the bantery sections and the steamy sections and it’s always more fun to listen to a book set in England because the accent helps set you in the location immediately. I’d definitely recommend listening.

"For husband, whose kindness made my life."

"You’re not scared of commitment, Haze. You just haven’t had anything worth committing to..."

"I knew how loved you made me feel, even when it wasn’t supposed to be real."

Starting with the dedication to her husband about his kindness, renowned droll RomCom author, Charlotte Stein, sets the tone for her adorable, surprisingly steamy, out right hilarious romantic comedy, My Big Fat Fake Marriage.

Hazel mistakenly believes Beck has murdered his wife. He doesn't have a wife. Never did. But he lied to the bully at work that he did and now he needs one for his publishing firm's writing retreat. Feeling bad for her accusations about Beck, Hazel volunteers to be his fake wife. Let the insanity, misunderstandings, vulnerabilities and forced proximity sexy times begin.

Hazel doesn't let anyone see her nerdy side. The one that watches Star Wars movies and rereads Interview With The Vampire. Beck wears his nerdy side with pride. He uses his vast vocabulary not to show off but to communicate the exact words for his thoughts. He's a quiet man but when put to the test he will easily win the game.

Their roles are reversed in every way. Charlotte's the dirty talker with sex on the brain. Beck is the inexperienced, only been kissed once, pursued man. It's different and a lot of fun.

Voice actress Imogen Wilde perfectly portrays the sharp comedic Hazel as well as the cinnamon roll unobtrusive Beck. Told through Hazel's first person POV, we see through her eyes Beck's decency.

There's nothing fake about the laughter, steam or romance found in My Big Fat Fake Marriage. It also proves, sometimes, the nice guy finishes first.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the St. Martins Press and Macmillan Audio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. Opinions are my own.

A delightful and lighthearted book filled with love, passion and a sense of pure sincerity with a cinnamon roll of a man who is simply the best!

Connie is a woman who does not trust men. She has been burned one too many times. In the apartment across from her lives Beck who is seeking his perfect partner to share his life. Connie and Beck are definitely opposites yet they still connect with one another once they finally begin interacting with each other. Connie hates bullies and is bothered by the guy bullying Beck; it gets under her skin. Thus, when Connie learns of Beck’s situation, telling everyone he is married and has a wife, she offers to be his fake wife, in a fake marriage during their upcoming writing retreat.

Beck is sweet, honest and open with Connie even when it is hard. He speaks about everything in a matter of fact tone although he best expresses himself through his writing. He believes in fairness and enjoys hanging out with Connie and learning more about her. He is so thoughtful with Connie and the way he approaches life. Beck shows a very protective side when it comes to Connie; he does not like injustice especially if directed at her.

As the story moves on, Connie and Beck discover more of who they really are as people and together. Connie finds herself fiercely defending Beck. She also discovers that a man can be caring, sweet and thoughtful. Together Connie and Beck discover some extremely hot levels of steaminess but also a slower sense of intimacy as well.

While Imogene Wilde is a solid narrator for the book, I did not connect with her portrayal of Beck. She was able to clearly voice his vulnerability and his matter of fact personality. However, her narration of a male character still came off more feminie. This being the case, the extremely spicy scenes just did not give off the right vibe. Otherwise, her narration of Connie and the book was great.

I still enjoyed the audiobook very much. It is a quick listen and entertaining. Make sure to give it a listen!

This just wasn't the romance for me. It felt like a man clearly written by a woman, meaning he was just too perfect. The main conflict is that he could love you too much. I just like my men to have more character and depth.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Macmillan Audio!

Connie has been wary of her overly nice neighbor Beck but when she finds out he lied about being married, she offers to pretend to be his wife for a work retreat.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a stand-alone, contemporary romance. This book does contain open-door content.

If you love a sweet “golden retriever” MMC, then this is absolutely the book for you. Beck is willing to do just about anything for Connie’s attention as long as he's not inconveniencing her. Connie is a bit of a self-sabotager but she does get it worked by the end.

The audiobook for My Big Fat Fake Marriage is delightful. It is narrated by Imogen Wilde. I was previously familiar with any of her work but her performance for this book is excellent. She really nails the voice to go with Beck’s sweet, cinnamon roll personality.

This is only the second book that I have read from author Charlotte Stein but I enjoy her style. While this book isn't necessarily a romcom, her sense of humor really shines through in the dialogue.I look forward to reading much more of her work in the future.