I think I stepped outside of my preferred genres for this one. I definitely anticipate a rom-com book but did not expect the spice level in this. Unfortunately, to me it felt like the majority of the content was spiraling inner dialog and soooo many bedroom scenes. I enjoyed the beginning and end but the entire middle felt like lots of sex that didn’t move the plot along. In my option it was over the top in the spice department. So if that’s your jam, this one is for you. I really did love Becks character. He was kind and endearing in a nerdy sort of way, which was refreshing to read about someone who seemed more like a real person than your typical romance book hunk. The truth is I put this book down for a long time because I was annoyed that they rarely left the bedroom. I wanted to know more about the writers conference they were at but that was not talked about much. All in all, I like Beck and think he steals the show but wouldn’t pick it up again.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

I may have a toothache from all the sweetness but I can’t be bothered to care. I have been looking for a light, spicy, fun romance novel and I was so thankful to have found this one. I normally love a dual POV for my romances but I wasn’t even missing it for this one. Beck is such an honest man that I felt the same relief as Hazel to just have a man be so genuine. There was no need to doubt him or his intentions.

I love when traditionally rugged looking men are written to be cinnamon roles and Beck truly was the best example of that I’ve seen. I also really enjoyed the respect the author gave to how hot consent can be. The lack of instant gratification by wanting the other person to be clear with what they desire? Chefs kiss. Overall this novel was so fun to binge read. Thanks Netgalley!

This book was just ok. It was cute in some ways but mostly just unlikely. I appreciate the idea behind it but just didn’t connect the way I hoped.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage started off totally bonkers and just kept going. And I loved it! Connie is a aspiring writer. She has a distrust of nice guys because in her experience they always turn out to be losers. Her neighbor, Beck, is an editor and the ultimate nice guy. But he has a problem, he told everyone at work he’s married.

Connie sees Beck getting treated poorly by his coworker, she steps in to defend him and says that they are married. Next thing you know they are off to a writers retreat for his work, as a married couple. And you can imagine where this goes….

I loved what a sweet cinnamon roll Beck was and how he brought out Connie’s impulse to protect him at all costs. I also enjoyed how they communicated through writing - notes passed under the doors and emails. We also got to see Mabel and Alfie from When Grumpy Met Sunshine. I enjoyed getting an update on how they are doing.

Read this if you enjoy:

🩷 fake marriage
🩷 only one bed
🩷 opposites attract
🩷 open door romance

Rating ~2.5

I wanted to love this. An adorkable giant of a man and a slightly jaded curvy female lead faking a relationship? Sounds promising. Alas, this book did not deliver anything great.

In fact, at times, it is downright preposterous. If you read the book you'll understand why I use that adjective. Anyways, onto the review.

The pacing felt off to me. We went from the FMC thinking the MMC was faking niceness to wondering if he offed his non-existent wife to her stepping in to defend his honor in a few quick chapters. From there, it felt like there was a lot more lust than there was love.

Beck is a sweet guy. He is both considerate and thoughtful. His past honestly had me appalled over the fact that no one ever stepped in to defend him when he was mistreated, but I also could not understand why he never did so himself. He's clearly capable. He proved time and time again that he is capable at just about everything.

Hazel is her own unique brand of confusing. Her thoughts were like watching an amateur trying to juggle. Somewhat amusing, a bit unfortunate, and leaving you wondering if you want to applaud them simply for the effort. She fell for Beck so darn quickly. Every tender act had her falling into a tailspin and I just wanted to tell her to sit, calm down and breathe.

I finished the book convinced these two definitely liked each other and had sexual chemistry, but I definitely wouldn't go as far as to say I believed they were in love.

And to me that is the main marker of a good romance book: I believe the couple is in love by the end of the book.

Sadly, that isn't the case here.

This is a light hearted romp of a book. The MMC is adorably unrealistic in the best way possible. There is a lot more spicy than I was expecting but I had fun. If you need a nice, palette cleanser of a book, this is it.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the characters in this book, it felt like such a beautiful read overall. I read it quickly and felt so smiley afterwards.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Charlotte Stein, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Connie has always distrusted nice guys because they usually end up revealing a big, horrible secret. But, then she meets big, adorable, Henry. He is an editor extraordinaire, lover of bow ties, and is so sweet, it is hard for her to believe that he is real.

Until Henry or Beck, as he’s known—tells her the secret underneath his always happy attitude: He’s been single all his life, but in a moment of panic, he’s told everyone at his job that he’s married. Connie, a writer herself, can’t help defending him, she ends up being the fake wife he doesn’t have.

They soon head off on a writing retreat, surrounded by people convinced this must be fake, and they both kind of agree. Until they share their first kiss, first touch, and the first time in only one bed. Side by side, every night, as the tension builds…Connie starts to wonder if this might be real after all.

A great romcom if you are looking for something that is charming and lighthearted. It was also nice to see two characters so nice to each other.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a fun, flirty read with great banter and plenty of chemistry. The fake marriage trope is always 10/10, and the humor keeps things engaging. While I wished for a bit more depth and development, it’s still an enjoyable, easy read for contemporary romance lovers!

This was a fast enjoyable read for me! I requested it because the title pulled me in as I loved “my big fat Greek wedding” movie. It was a light romcom that was a perfect palette cleanser between the heavy books I usually read, will be recommending!

I enjoyed this.. the second half more so. Being in Hazels head felt very chaotic at times. She kept talking about how big his hands were. Beck was the cinnamon roll expected from these books with a FILTHY mouth. Overall, a good time. Thank you for the arc!

🎧 Audiobook +📗 E-book: My Big Fat Fake Marriage

Cover: loved the plus sized couple

✍🏾 Author: Charlotte Stein- I read When Grumpy Met Sunshine 3 ⭐ & How to Help a Hungry Werewolf 4 ⭐

📃Page Count: 320

📅Publication date: 3-11-25 | Read: 3-8-25

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 8:04

🌎 Setting: London

👆🏾POV: 1st person, single-Connie

Genre: Rom-Com

Tropes: fake marriage, plus size h/H, 1-bed, grumpy/sunshine, body positivity, close proximity, slow burn, cinnamon roll H, book lovers

⚠️TW: bullying, virgin H

🗣️Narrator: Imogen Wilde voices all the characters with standouts from Connie and Beck. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Summary: After speculating about her too nice American neighbor, Connie meets Beck at an office party at his publishing house. He is sweet and cheery, but when his colleague starts harassing him, he tells a little white lie-that he's married. Connie stands up for him and claims to be his wife. Together they go on a writing retreat getting to know each other to keep up the ruse.

👩🏾 Heroine: Connie Evans/Hazel 31, an aspiring writer, marketing copy

👨🏾 Hero: Henry Samuel Beckett/Beck 37, a book editor

🎭 Side Characters:
*Mabel-Connie's BFF/married to Alfie
*Doug-the office bully

🤔 My Thoughts: Connie was a sexually charged character while Beck had no experience. Together they learn to live together, sleep in the same bed, and boost Beck's self-esteem. They were an unlikely pair, but Beck showed Connie there are good people in the world, and she taught him how to be in love.

Range of Emotions 😊😭🤣😔
*Spice: 4/5 🌶️
*Emotion: 4/5 🥲
*Couple: 4/5 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
*Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press| St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan Audio, and Charlotte Stein for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I received and ARC on Net Galley and this is my review.

Adding another cinnamon roll book boyfriend to the list, Beck! Connie has sworn off nice guys because, in her experience, they always end up being anything but nice. Meanwhile, Beck - the sweet, nerdy, bookish editor next door has found himself in a bit of a pickle - he accidentally made up a fake wife to get his nosy coworkers off his back. Now, with a work retreat coming up, he needs someone to play along. Enter Connie, who agrees to be his fake wife for a week. But between shared hotel rooms, forced proximity, and some seriously swoony moments, their fake marriage starts to feel a little too real. Beck is the ultimate book boyfriend. He’s nerdy, soft, bakes muffins, and wears bow ties—I was fully in love by chapter two. The banter? HILARIOUS. If you love back-and-forth teasing with a slow build to undeniable chemistry, this book delivers. Fake dating + forced proximity = absolute perfection. This trope never gets old, and Stein writes it so well. Body positivity! Connie is a plus-size lead, and her relationship with Beck is so affirming and heartwarming. Connie’s Story! I was so excited to finally get her HEA! If you read When Grumpy Met Sunshine, you know Connie was the ultimate ride-or-die best friend to Mabel. She was hilarious, supportive, and always ready to hype Mabel up or tell her the hard truths she needed to hear. So when I found out she was getting her own book, I was so excited. And let me tell you, her love story was so worth the wait!

If you’re looking for a sweet, spicy, and laugh-out-loud romance with a cinnamon roll hero who will love you for exactly who you are, this book is IT. Connie stole my heart in When Grumpy Met Sunshine, and she completely owned her own story here. I was grinning the whole time!

Tropes:
- Fake Marriage
- Forced Proximity
- Grumpy x Sunshine (She's the grump, he's the sunshine)
- Friends to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Cinnamon Roll Hero
- Body Positivity
- Workplace Shenanigans
- He Falls First (and HARD)

Spice: 3/5

I love Charlotte Stein's books, and this one is no exception! This himbo Clark Kent hero is everything, everything.

This was a fun, lighthearted romance novel. It is a trope that has been done before but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. This is a good beach read for summer.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a fast, enjoyable read. The main trope is right there in the title, and it’s worth suspending belief and just going along for the ride. FMC Hazel is an aspiring writer, jaded about men, love, and life in general. Beck, our MMC, is the very best cinnamon roll. Their personal growth along with their growing feelings for each other made for a satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC. Opinions are my own.

Charlotte Stein’s My Big Fat Fake Marriage offers a fun, trope-filled romance with plenty of charm, but it doesn’t quite hit all the right notes. The setup is classic rom-com: Connie, a skeptical aspiring writer, finds herself in a fake marriage with Henry Samuel Beckett—aka Beck—a bow tie-wearing, sunshine-filled book editor who has somehow never been in a real relationship. What starts as a ridiculous fib to his colleagues turns into a close-quarters writing retreat where fake feelings start to feel dangerously real.

There’s plenty to enjoy here: the humor, the undeniable chemistry between Connie and Beck, and the heartwarming moments of vulnerability that peek through their banter. Beck is a sweet, cinnamon-roll hero, and Connie’s distrust of "nice guys" makes for an interesting contrast to his open-hearted charm. The book leans heavily into the forced proximity and fake relationship tropes, which will delight fans of those dynamics.

However, the pacing sometimes drags, and while the characters have depth, some of the emotional beats feel repetitive. Connie’s skepticism, while understandable, can make the romance feel like it’s spinning in circles rather than progressing naturally. The writing is engaging, but certain scenes feel overwritten, making the conflict feel stretched rather than organic.

Overall, My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a cute, steamy romance with some great moments, but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. If you love fake marriage hijinks, slow-burn tension, and quirky, bookish protagonists, this is worth a read—but be prepared for some pacing hiccups along the way.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a sweet and heartwarming rom-com following Hazel, a distrustful writer, and Beck, her shy and gentle neighbor. After a misunderstanding, Hazel discovers that Beck lied to his co-workers about being married to save face; and since they’re both attending the same writing retreat, she agrees to play along as his fake wife. However, as they spend more time together and share a bed, the line between pretend and reality quickly begins to blur.
This book was such a fun and charming read! I absolutely loved Hazel and Beck together; the two were so kind to one another and always putting each other first. Beck was an absolute cinnamon roll; he was so attentive and tender. The romance was perfectly crafted, filled with banter, chemistry, and so much steam. Hazel and Beck were completely obsessed with each other and I loved their obvious lust. While the romance was solid, I found the plot and writing a bit lacking at times. The setting and secondary characters felt somewhat like an afterthought, which left the story feeling a little underdeveloped outside of the central romance. That said, if you’re looking for a rom-com full of attraction, tension, and an irresistibly sweet MMC, this book is definitely worth a try!

Read if you like:
🤍Virgin MMC🤍
🤍Fake Dating🤍
🤍Slow Burn🤍
🤍Forced Proximity🤍
🤍Nerdy MCs🤍
🤍So Much Horniness🤍
🤍One Bed🤍

This was fluffy and adorable and also mildly unhinged but in a super cute way! I adored these two. Beck was SO SOFT. A giant, mild-mannered, sweet, kind, nerd who just GETS HER is everything you’d want in a romance MMC. The way he was nervous and innocent, but then became so dirty once Hazel got him to open up was everything. And Hazel, sweet, untrusting, hilarious Hazel was such a fun FMC!!

This was a fun ride from start to finish and had so many tropes I adore. I also loved seeing Mabel and Alfie have cameos since I loved their book!

Thank you to SMP Romance and Charlotte for this ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. I feel like there was something missing to make it a little bit more enjoyable, but I did like the tropes in this book! There was fake marriage, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and grumpy x sunshine. I did like Connie and Henry together. They did seem to match well together as their chemistry and the sexual tension was strong.