This book was a pretty cute romance. I don't think it will be my favorite romance of 2025, but overall I still enjoyed this book. I did find the male main character to be a bit unrealistic. Also I liked the audiobook narrator.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc/alc.

Thank you so much MacmillanAudio for letting me get the arc audio for this book .I like the book the characters were quirky. The smut was 5/5 my biggest no was the narrator I felt like their was no emotion and just fell flat. The one thing I did enjoy about this book was MMC was definitely a very interesting character I would recommend this book just not on audio. Look forward to reading more from this author

This was a good book! If you like spicy romance, definitely give it a try. The first have is a little dragging and the spice starts in the second half. I felt the FMC was a little selfish and the MMC lack of experience was unbelievable. Overall it was a good listen and the narrator did a fantastic job.

Very cute and relatable characters. Great representation of fake dating and forced proximity tropes. A little too heavy on the spice for me, and don’t love that Connie was touching herself in bed with Beck, kinda without consent? I know he didn’t mind (at all) but still felt a lil icky listening to it

“Someone needs to save your cinnamon roll ass from evil and apparently that someone is me.” This is the definition of a romcom! Connie is a badass who speaks before she thinks. Beck is a cinnamon roll hero who just deserves love! There were times I swooned and others I seriously laughed out loud!!

Huge Thank you to Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Beck a super sweet nice guy book editor that finds himself Fake Married to his neighbor Connie/Hazel (who distrust nice guys) to cover his lie about being married to his co-workers.

I enjoyed this book at times but also have mixed feelings about it.

It almost felt a little all over the place Connie/Hazel doesn't know who she is and definitely feels like she is two different people and it was a lot to keep up with and then Beck while super sweet and a complete gentleman also has a spicy side that I didn't expect. There was just a lot of contradictions between the main characters each on their own that left me feeling at times there were 4 main characters instead of 2.

So I have very mixed feelings about this book. Overall - I think a lot of people will like it. It is VERY spicy. - but most of the spice is in the second half of the book, while the first half is mostly internal dialogue - this is where I think the book kind of missed the mark for me. When the characters are interacting, chatting, etc., I enjoyed the story. But the constant stream of internal dialogue and questioning felt very repetitive and I didn't find that engaging at all. I also found the idea of a 37 year old, attractive man who hasn't even kissed someone to be difficult to get past.

This narrator FMC has to my favorite that I’ve listened to thus far. She reminds me of Pen from Bridgerton and I must say that made me connect to this character more. (I love our Lady Whistledown) She was actually quite similar. I loved Beck and her’s friendship turned fake marriage/relationship. The way he was so shy and passive at first yet he came up with this giant lie about having a fake wife and then we have our heroine Hazey swoop in and save him cause she couldn’t stand the way he was being treated. They went from 0-100 on the 🌶️ and there was about 4-5 chapters straight of them just 💦 so that was that. Overall I enjoyed and recommend for a lighthearted fake dating romance. 💘 👩🏼‍❤️‍👨🏻✨ The way he wrote notes for her and that last note omg I swooned 🥲
Lastly, thank you NetGalley and Harlequin publishing for this opportunity to read this ARC. I was not paid to write this and this review is fully my own opinions.

Fake romance tropes are a favorite of mine. I just finished listening to a fun one. My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein is one to grab soon.

this book was not for me. i didn't keep my attention.. I did not like mc and the narration dragged for me

I really wanted to like this, but the extreme tropiness of both characters just didn't work for me. While there was plenty of spice...I didn't feel much authentic chemistry with the characters. I really don't enjoy when the FMC is so exasperating because she's in her head, not communicating and making tons of assumptions, while the seemingly perfect MMC has unwavering patience with the behavior.

Also...the constant description of of the FMC's greediness in bed really annoyed me. It was hot the first time, even the second...after that I'm gonna need you to use a thesaurus or have some character growth.

3.75/5 rounded up

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

Another sweet and spicy story from Charlotte Stein! I really enjoyed WHEN GRUMPY MET SUNSHINE and was excited for some cameos from Mabel and Alfie in this book.

Beck was the BEST -- sweet cinnamon roll angel and I loved him so much. He started out sweet and turned into spicy which is the most fun thing to witness in my opinion. Our FMC -- who I will call Hazel, because the Connie/Hazel thing felt odd and unnecessary to me -- was great, as well. We hear this entire story through her stream-of-consciousness perspective, which I can find annoying but loved in this case. It's so believable and well-written, you truly feel like you're right there with her. It could be frustrating to hear her not believe in herself and their feelings for each other, but I know that's just part of the book and, ultimately, made her more loveable.

This book was definitely fun to listen to. I enjoyed the story thoroughly and the spice was super sexy and well done. I don't totally buy-in to their romantic feelings for each other, rather feel that this was wrapped up in lust and sex more than anything else. I guess you just need to go into this book knowing that you're getting something fun and raunchy and not anything super deep -- and that's totally okay if that's what you want! I would absolutely read more by Charlotte Stein and hope for more books like this in the future! The writing retreat setting was great and that basketball scene -- IYKYK. I love a fun story and this was definitely that!

Here’s what you need to know about My Big Fat Fake Marriage; it’s all about the vibes, and in this case, they’re immaculate. If you’re looking for heavy plot and lots of supportive characters, or vivid imagery, none of that is important and I don’t mean that as a negative. Instead Stein writes from a first person single POV that almost reads a a stream of consciousness and is deeply into the mood, feelings, dialogue, and actions of the moment. This book was excellent on audio for this reason, because the reader is either inside of Hazel’s head or observing her interactions. So back to the vibes; Hazel has never had a quality relationship with anyone and approaches feelings with caution. Sex is transactional and at this point in her life she’s kinda down on men and distrustful of one who seems especially nice. Beck on the other hand is the biggest cinnamon roll hero I could ever imagine—he’s American, huge in size, mustachioed, virginal, and bright-eyed, and just happened to invent a fake wife to his publisher. Agreeing to be his fake-wife for a retreat, Hazel begins to see Beck for all his wonderful qualities and begins to believe that just maybe not all guys are unlikeable.
The dynamic between Hazel and Beck is so good. It’s unfathomable for her to think that “what you see is what you get” with Beck, but that’s what softens her up. He truly is authentic. Seeing Beck explore everything (even if it seems pretend—spoiler, it’s not) with Hazel is so refreshing, and Hazel derives pleasure from seeing Beck’s reactions to her. Hazel eventually feels comfortable enough to let some major walls down and it’s a beautiful thing when it happens.
The other thing that makes this a Charlotte Stein™️ book is that the sex is Hot, with a capital H. Let me crown her the new Queen of Dirty Talk, because for MULTIPLE chapters, her characters engage in frisky only-one-bed-we—are-pretend-married-mutual-masturbation-horniness. Beck is trainable (wink), and loves knowing he makes Hazel feel good whether that’s emotionally or physically. Penetrative intercourse doesn’t even happen until 86%, but Stein will have you so worked up for the six chapters before that it’s just icing on the cake. These are MCs who TALK. How else would you understand your fake-partner, when you haven’t been around them enough to notice their likes and dislikes? And the dialogue heavy aspect of this book makes is revelatory to see how expressing yourself can be tantamount to showing love. I think this is a great place to start if you haven’t read Stein before. She took one of my admittedly least favorite types of MMCs (the nice guy) and made me adore him. This book is also for the jaded girlies who maybe don’t think there’s anything better out there for them. There is. I received an early copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭🪭🪭🪭
Vibes: ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️
Level of horniness: 📯📯📯📯📯
Narration: 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸

Wow! Probably one of my favorite reads so far this year!! Honestly I love Charlottes Stein and should not be surprised because I LOVE when Grumpy Met Sunshine but this was the book hug that I needed.

This book was fantastic and the moment I got approved it was an instant download and drop everything that I am doing kind of book. My one small criticism is that the constant self shame that both Connie and Henry put themselves through got a little hard to read especially because how clear their attraction was but it just made me keep reading more and more so clearly it did what it needed to do. Haha that being said I loved this story and the clear draw that they had to one another. There was a great mix of wit and humor tied with the romance and emotional elements of this book. I loved Connie's instant overprotection of Henry and how caring and considerate they both were for each other. and the spice ... needless to say it hit (much like all of Charlotte's books). I will definitely be reading more from this author because I love how she tells stories.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fierce plus size main character with a man who knows what he wants but is a little timid. Thank you NetGallley for the opportunity to read this book.

My Big Fat Marriage by Charlotte Stein is a hilarious, heartfelt romance with witty banter and lovable, flawed characters. The emotional depth adds charm, though some parts felt a bit chaotic. Still, it’s a fun, swoon-worthy read that I’d definitely recommend to romance lovers! ❤️

I really enjoyed this story. It was sweet, entertaining and heartwarming. The characters were playful and fun, and I enjoyed the banter between them. With their insecurities, they were relatable which was a refreshing change from so many characters I have encountered.

Romance is one of the genres I do not tend to be drawn to, but I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone this year and "dip my toes into the water" so to speak. While the graphic scenes were a bit much for me and took away from the story line (again, this is simply personal preference), I have two things to say....First, I cannot say anything negative about it because I mean....this is a romance book.... these scenes are par for the course, and should I be a romance reader, I would have likely eaten them up!!! Second, the scenes in question were very well written. They painted a descriptive picture and were believable. The author did a great job of capturing the intensity and passion of the moments.

Overall, the book was enjoyable and had me smiling throughout. I found myself loving and rooting for Connie and Beck. It was an easy and fast read (or in my case with the audio book, listen) and I am glad to have had the opportunity to try something different. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and as a side note, I love the cover. That was what drew me in to check the book out. It is bright, airy and fun which is exactly what this book was for me.

A big thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ARC copy of the audio version of this book.

My big fat, fake marriage had me laughing and kicking my feet throughout the whole story. This story follows a girl whose falsely confident and her cinnamon roll counterpart. It is just genuinely himself. The British heroin and the American cinnamon roll. Find themselves in a bit of a sticky situation, these neighbors turned, fake spouses, must find a way to get out of their own heads and into each other‘s hearts.
I got to listen to the audiobook of this one, and the narrator knocked it out of the park. She kept you engaged throughout the story.

Thank you so much to the author for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts on the book.

This is my first Charlotte Stein book and I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and how she uses the inter thoughts and observations of the female main character to set the scene versus just telling us flat out what the surroundings look like.

FMC’s inner thoughts/paranoia regarding other peoples intentions is so over the top but 100% relatable. It’s written in a way that you want to laugh/roll your eyes when you’re reading it but then you stop realizing ‘oh crap - this is so me’.

The male main character in this is the epitome of a cinnamon roll. I really like that the author shares his life setbacks. Instead of his current actions explaining that he’s a cinnamon roll we see it in the characters history, which is very refreshing.

I’d also like to take a moment to note that while this is a rom com that will have you giggling and kicking your feet it also beautifully shows the evolution of friends to lovers and true character growth for both main characters.

I rated this book 4 ⭐️ and 3🌶️’s. I was lucky enough to receive the audiobook for this rom com. I really enjoyed the narrator’s cadence and accent for the female main character but I struggled with her male main character voice. The rhythm was just slightly slower when she changed accents and it felt choppy/slow at times instead of the savvy intellectual and book editor the male main character should sound like. There were also a few words that were spoken from the male main characters American accent that did not sound like any kind of American accent that I know of. While that only happened a few times It was enough to pull me from the story in that moment. Due to this I rated narrators reading of this seriously adorable audiobook is 3.5⭐️.

**Book Review: *My Big Fat Fake Marriage* by Charlotte Stein, Narrated by Imogen Wilde**

Rating: 4⭐️ (Story) | 5⭐️ (Narration)

*My Big Fat Fake Marriage* by Charlotte Stein is a heartwarming, feel-good romantic comedy that brings together two unlikely characters in a fake marriage agreement. The story follows Henry Samuel Beckett, a charming but quirky editor, and his next-door neighbor Charlotte. When Beck's work bully causes him trouble, Charlotte agrees to pretend to be his wife at a book retreat to help him out. The agreement sparks delightful moments of humor, chemistry, and, of course, romance.

The hero, Beck, is a true "cinnamon roll" type — sweet, kind, and just a little vulnerable. The heroine, Charlotte, is equally likable with her quirky personality that adds a charming dynamic to their interactions. Their chemistry is palpable, making for a truly enjoyable reading experience.

Imogen Wilde’s narration is a standout, effortlessly bringing each character to life with distinct voices, adding an extra layer of enjoyment to the book. Her narration is engaging, capturing the humor and emotional depth of the characters with ease. The pacing and tone are spot-on, making it a delightful listen.

The story is cute and definitely geared toward hopeless romantics, with a happy ending that ties everything together nicely. It’s not the most complex plot, but it’s fun and heartwarming — perfect for readers looking for a lighthearted, feel-good escape.

In conclusion, while the story itself is sweet and enjoyable, it’s the stellar narration that elevates this book. If you’re a fan of cozy, romantic comedies with charming characters and a happy ending, *My Big Fat Fake Marriage* is sure to be a hit.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

***Five HOLY FREAKING HOT Stars***

This book started by grating my nerves. The amount of talk about "nice guys" as if every man on the planet this chick ever met was a "nice guy". Seriously yes, they're out there but OMG okay already. I stuck with it though, and I'm really happy that I did because the spice was SPICING! Holy crap, I didn't think this was something I'd like but it was so. freaking. good. AND THAT ENDING!!! OMG all the swoon.

So even though I was a bit annoyed at the start, this one gets 5 stars anyway. I'd happily read it again and again.

Imogen Wilde was perfect for this narration.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this story. I LOVED IT!