Bea Corbin enters a contest to win her dream wedding and miraculously wins. The only issue is she doesn't have a fiancée. Bea presses on figuring she can find someone to marry in the 8 months leading up to her big day. We then get to follow her dating shenanigans.

I guessed very early on how it was going to end, but that didn't bother me. My biggest issue was that the main character was so self absorbed. It was hard to root for her at times. For example, at one point Bea calls her best friend (who she works with and would see in the office at a reasonable time in the morning) at 4am to complain about their boss calling her at 3am. *rolls eyes* However, her circle of friends were well written and kept me in the story. I also really appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation.

If you're looking for a lighthearted and slightly unbelievable rom com, this is a good option.

Though this particular book wasn't for me, I would still give the next Jessica Hatch book a chance. There was potential, but My Big Fake Wedding lacked the execution I needed.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so the story wasn't terrible... it just wasn't good either.

I guessed very early on how it was going to end, which isn't uncommon when it comes to romance books, nor is it a bad thing. In this case however it was very long and drawn out to get to the "plot twist" and then before it could become anything, the book ended.

There was a lot in the book that just felt like filler, things that could have easily been left out (like the majority of the event they held) and the book would have made just as much sense.

It might have done better as an e-book, because the audio, even being played at x1.5 took forever.

Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

3.45⭐ rounded up.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy and the audiobook to review. I started out reading it, then switched to audio, then back again and ultimately my favorite was probably the e-book.

Bea received a call saying she has won a raffle for the wedding package she signed up for months ago when she was with Ray (what a tool he is). A $50,000 wedding package for only $2,000 ~ what a deal! The only problem is that she doesn't even have a boyfriend, but she can't help herself from accepting the June 22nd date. Now she only has 8 months to find someone to marry. Her best friends, Oliver and Lucy, think she's crazy.

She sets her sights on her co-worker, Andrew, to pursue. After he gets over the shock of her plan, he's on board. I never really felt they had a connection. Yeah, it seemed like they got along well enough, but I just wasn't feeling them together at all. I wasn't invested in the work project of the story either.

For most of the book Bea was kinda self absorbed and wasn't a very good friend sometimes. Although this makes her an unlikable character, it also makes her relatable as I'm sure we all worry about ourselves over others from time to time. I was happy with the wedding at the end. I did like how each chapter ended in a to do list too.

I am rounding up my rating because I know that the author put in a lot of effort to give us a somewhat original plot and not the usual fake dating trope. I, also, appreciate that she wrote a letter to the reader thanking us for taking the time to read it and explaining why she wrote it.

Narrated by Stephanie Cannon for 9 hours and 13 minutes, easy to follow at 2x. She did an alright job. Not overly in love with her male voices though.

Side note ~ what kind of food truck that uses peanut oil does not have signage to say so in this day and age?

The main character was a little too much for my liking. Some of the timelines didn’t flow well with certain “scenes” in the book. Over all the story was cute, just needs to be adjusted. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read & review!

Unfortunately this book didn’t meet my expectations
I expected it to be a cute romcom but I found myself losing interest halfway into the book

I listened to the audiobook of My Big Fake Wedding by Jessica Hatch. The novel stars Bea, who is lucky enough to win a drawing for her dream wedding…except she doesn’t have a groom… or even a boyfriend. We follow Bea through a crazy journey of planning said dream wedding, trying to find a groom, and just generally keep up with work, life, etc. She makes so many unbelievable choices that I had a hard time buying into the story at times. If I hadn’t been reviewing the book, I might have given up early-on… after some of Bea’s quite unbelievable antics. However, the characters are likable, so as I continued to listen, I did find myself caring about how it ended. I was happy with the ending. It was quite sweet and fitting.

I would recommend My Big Fake Wedding to someone looking for an outrageously unbelievable romcom. Sometimes it’s fun to get lost in a fantasy and this was definitely unreal.

Special thanks to Bookouture Audio for the audiobook ARC via NetGalley.

Bea’s dreams have all come true as she has won her dream wedding! The only problem is that she no longer has a fiancé as he was a cheater. But how can she say no? Here begins the hunt for a fiancé in just a few months time to pull off her dream wedding. Then come all the twists and turns of the pressure of a rushed wedding.

This is a solid romcom, the storyline has a lot of potential and there are some really great characters. Unfortunately, one of those isn’t Bea. I just couldn’t connect with her but the other characters were very well written, even if Oliver is a bit soppy!

The narration on the audiobook is so good! I absolutely love the narrator and would seek out more books narrated by Stephanie Cannon.

I would recommend if you want a lighthearted romcom.

My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.

I really wanted to like this book but I honestly felt like it was super predictable and a tad ridiculous. The ending saved it for me because I really liked part at least otherwise my rating probably would have been lower.

🌀Synopsis
Bea wins a wedding package but she broke up with her boyfriend months ago. Instead of turning it down she accepts the gift and starts wedding planning…without a groom. One drunken night she finally makes a move on one of her coworkers, Andrew. With a little convincing he agrees to marry Bea. They continue the charade until Bea finds out he’s put in a transfer for work without even telling her. That’s how, one month before the wedding, she finds herself without a groom again. She rings up her old friend, Oliver, who finally admits he has feelings for her. He comes to her rescue to help her out of the mess she’s found herself in. It’s finally Lucy who gets to steal the show though and she gets everything she’s deserved for being such a good friend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers via NetGalley for the arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved the premise of the story, I’m the kind of person that sort of sits back not really taking chances, but thoroughly root for those that do. So Bea is recovering from a horrible break up, when she receives a phone call telling her she’s won the wedding lottery. Does she do what I’d do and add that as fuel to the pity party? No absolutely she does not. She goes with it, and the idea that she has 8 months til the wedding with an as yet to be found groom…..

Now. Bea. I didn’t like her much she was a bit self centred and over bearing - that’s human though right? Also she’s a fictional character we are allowed to love or loathe her. Her friendship with Lucy comes over as a little toxic at times, in fact quite a lot. They’re not characters I loved. I found all of the relationships a bit odd in all honesty even that with her parents, and the potential grooms I wanted a bit more from. Having said all of that, purely based on the premise of the story I’ve given it a 3 star review. It’s the kind of thing that we’d all be raving about in a rom com movie I feel?!

A cute romance story which was a delightful listen whist doing the gardening and one I would recommend

I don’t like leaving negative reviews because everyone likes something different and people work hard to provide that. This one wasn’t for me. The concept was too absurd and I couldn’t identify with the protagonist at all. I kept thinking ‘No one would do that!’ In the worst possible way. I realise lots of books in this genre ask us to suspend our disbelief but the protagonist was actually living on another planet. (I wanted to shout, Run! To one poor character). I also found the narrator of the audio book just a bit much.
At one point I skipped lots of pages and was horrified to find I hadn’t missed anything.
I think it was a light hearted, fun book, but not for me. Apparently, I like gritty realism?

2.5 ⭐️

This contemporary romance had so much potential, but it unfortunately left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.

The story follows Bea after she finds out that she won a lottery for her dream wedding. The only issue is that her boyfriend-at-the-time-of-entering is no longer in the picture. She has a wedding set, but no one to marry…

I did enjoy the writing style and the addition of the “To Do” lists at the end of each chapter - it let you understand more of Bea’s character. That being said, character development is a big thing for me and I did not enjoy Bea, I found her annoying and selfish in how she treated her friends. I also wished we saw more of the final love interest throughout the book as it would have made the ending sweeter - I was left unsatisfied.
The story itself was predictable but it was lighthearted and funny.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

OK... This is going to be harsh but I hated this book. First off it's not that I found the premise to be far fetched (because I actually know someone that decided at the start of 2013 that that was going to be the year she got married and now she is in a marriage with a man she absolutely can't stand) it's more that I have such a strong dislike for every single character. I hated them all. And over all the story was incredibly dull.

Even though I absolutely disliked this book, this is my first time trying this author and I always give authors at least 3 goes before I call it quits for good so I would try another book but probably only if it was from the library or Kindle Unlimited.

My Big Fake Wedding was just not for me. The synopsis came across as a fun and interesting read but alas it just left me feeling utterly hollow. With a plot that was unbelievable, along with bland dialogue and characters that became more and more annoying as the book went on.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to listen to this book before release.

Unfortunately My Big Fake Wedding was just not my cup of tea. I found the characters to be annoying and the plot to be so unrealistic that it was just not enjoyable for me. I am not often one to not enjoy books I choose to read/listen to. But I just couldn’t get into this one. I was difficult to finish and unfortunately, I would not recommend it.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Rom-com

My thoughts: I thought this book was so fun— especially as I plan my real wedding! I loved how it plays on popular tropes like fake fiancés, possible work-place lovers, and possible friends to lovers without being too unrealistic. It kept me guessing the whole time, and I wasn’t sure which trope it would end up falling the most into. You’ll have to read it to find out!

Big Fake Wedding by Jessica Hatch

Thank you so much for approving me for this audiobook review. Unfortunately I am going to DNF this book. I am 50% through the book and I can’t finish it.

I am not connecting to the main character; I find her extremely obnoxious. The premise of the story is ridiculous, but I could get behind it if anything the main character was doing made sense. The author is asking me to suspended my disbelief too much.

Additionally, this is tagged as a romance, but at 50% through I am not identifying any romance plot. It may need to be clarified in marketing that this is not a romance novel.

A younger reader (I’m 31) might connect more with this story and character but I find her to be immature.

Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book. I will not be posting about this book on my Instagram page (unless you want me to, but it will not be a positive review).

My Big Fake Wedding was honestly not my cup of tea. I was optimistic from the synopsis but found the FMC and most of the supporting characters unbearable. The plot has such great potential but unfortunately for me the personalities of the characters made it hard to get through.


Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Normal sequence: first you found someone you could stand to be around for more than five minutes without wanting to kill them, then you had an existential crisis about whether or not you are the marrying kind, and then you got married. Not all at once…

When Bea enters a lottery to win her perfect wedding, she never imagines that her name will be picked right after she’s been cheated on, and unceremoniously dumped, by her ex. But when the event planner calls with the good news, Bea doesn’t say any of that. She panics and says yes. Now all she has to do is find a fella for the big day.

This is the kind of premise that might have seemed implausible to me a decade ago but after seeing so many married at first sight shows, this doesn’t seem that far fetched. It definitely plays with the concept of marriage being a cheapened endeavour in the states and this obsession with being in love with love.

I thought it was a great premise but quickly became frustrated by the overt narcissism of Bea. Her circle of friends were well written and added some warmth to the story. The book also has some good LGBT representation that I enjoyed seeing.

I flew through the book; eager to see how the story would resolve. Overall, an easy if at times infuriating read, but I’d recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of a romcom or planning their own wedding!

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy. It’s out on August 18th.