Very funny, full of quick banter. Stein knows how to set up two characters who were meant for each other, and she does it well here. It took a little longer than I wanted for them to figure it out, but ratcheting up the tension made the payoff better. I laughed out loud and really loved the characters.

I had a hard time with the beginning of the book. The events are chaotic and you don't really understand why she doesn't trust the MMC like that when she's someone that her best friend knows.
There were events that made me laugh and the romance was cute but I really loved Grumpy meets Sunshine, her previous book, better.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review. ♡

I have so many thoughts and feelings on this book. The first 15% was slow, but not super hard to get into. Beck is a very self conscious being, which was the main reason I was so thrown off in the beginning.

As the story goes on, you can see why Beck is like this, and the growing love Hazel feels for him.

The spice was great! Right when I thought the book was going to take a boring turn, SMUT!

I definitely recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a wholesome, yet spicy read. 3.5/5

This book was a ride. A weird, sweet, spicy ( so much speed reading for me), hokey ride. And I mean that in both the best and most bewildering way.

Let’s start with Beck. This man is a cinnamon roll of the highest order—soft, earnest, and so devoted it almost hurts. He’s also a little hokey and a little corny, but in a way that makes you want to roll your eyes fondly. Like, of course this man is saying the most ridiculous things with absolute sincerity. Of course, he is. Meanwhile, Hazel is refreshingly confident in her body (a win!) but deeply mistrusting of anything that resembles real feelings. Watching her grapple with that while basking in Beck’s unwavering adoration? A great contrast.

And speaking of contrasts, this book is wholesome and spicy at the same time, which is no small feat. It flips romance tropes and gender roles in a way that feels fresh and engaging—she’s the guarded one, he’s the emotionally available dreamboat, and somehow it all works. The dynamic is fun, the chemistry is there, and the writing is charmingly quirky.

So why only three stars? I don’t even know. I liked it, but I didn’t love it the way I expected it to. Maybe it was the over-the-topness of Beck’s gooey devotion, or maybe Hazel’s walls were a bit too high for a bit too long. Either way, I walked away feeling like it was nice—fun, different, full of heart—but not entirely for me. Still, if you love an unconventional romance with big feelings, flipped tropes, and an almost aggressively sweet hero, you might just adore this one!

Thank you to St-Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

This was a slightly ridiculous but oh-so-fun read, and it was very smutty and h*rny and nerdy and I loved it. Beck is a cinnamon roll of a man hiding a h*rny beast inside that he lets loose with Hazel, and while there was a loose plot in there somewhere, it was mostly smut. Hot, nerdy smut.

Don't expect life-changing literature here, and you'll enjoy it. Light and fun!

I tried so hard to love this book but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. The writing was incredibly too flowery and I felt like I was reading 147 adjectives per sentence. To me, it took away from the overall plot. I was spending too much time trying to figure out why in the world we had to be this descriptive. I think that the characters had good intentions but they were just too quirky for me. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get in to them. I'm sure that this book will find it's right niche but sadly it's not for me.

Such a fun and funny rom com! Characters that will work their way into your heart and make you laugh and cry!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was my first book by Charolette but it will not be my last!

The way that I loved this book! Charlotte Stein is so great at showing us the relationship and the connection by just telling us. We know why Hazel looks at Beck with confusion and love because honestly wouldn't. We know why Beck loves and trusts Hazel because again...who wouldn't? We get to see Mable and Alfie in there funny and caring relationship.

Charlotte writes like we are friends and she is telling us the best story ever and I really enjoy her ability to drop into the story. Her humor is my humor and I can't wait for the next banter, joke or internal musing. I'm not sure if or who the next book is, but I can't wait!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Charlotte Stein for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was really an enjoyable fake marriage rom com. I've read that if some people call the prior book Roy Kent Fanfic- then this is Ted Lasso-- and that translates well!

Beck is sooooo charming. And while he may come off as hokie/corny, this man- he is such a cinnamon roll. This burly man. He's an editor. That reads romance. Our sweet baby may be inexperienced but he's read enough to figure it all out. And the years long mess he's found himself in without a real wife? Ope!

And Hazel- she's confident in her body and knows how to take what she needs. She had a loooong way to go in the trust department but Beck gets her there.

I wonder what ever happened with Tammy and Mandy..

Charlotte Stein is a God, and all her books are drugs I wish I could inject into my veins.

Right from the top she hooks me in and doesn’t let go.

Also omg Beck 😍😍😍 I MEAN BECK!!!😍😍😍


How can a book be so wholesome and spicy at the SAME TIME?! No one knows except the wonderful, amazing, Charlotte Stein.

I could write an entire essay on this story and Charlotte Stein’s genius. Alas, I cannot because I’d get into spoilers and I believe in a spoiler free read. So I will leave you with my unsolicited non spoiler analysis…

1st of all, my favorite part…….but it wasn’t actually my favorite part because ……which was so much better, you would think until you came to this part….and then realize that they’re all equally as good and therefore all parts of this book are my favorite part. How could it now when Beck….and Hazel….and then Hazel really….which then made Beck….which then made me almost pass out.

I love the tropes in this book, there was humor that I liked so much. Beck and his situation and his fake “wife” thing is wild, especially when Connie see’s something she was not supposed to really see. I found Beck to be a little childish and a little too nerdy, and Connie is a little too immature for what I like to read in a FMC. And we all know I hate a slow burn, and being that Beck is severely Vanilla and Connie was doing too much, made it even harder to read. This book was not for me and that’s ok.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage Review

Thank you so much to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for the ARC! I received this copy in exchange for my honest review and as always I’m so appreciative of the opportunity.

I will be posting this review in full on my goodreads profile and featuring parts of this review on my Instagram account story on 3/1/2025.

I was drawn to this book because I’m a sucker for the trope of fake marriage and reading about the couple and how they eventually fall in love.

The beginning of this book kind of threw me off at first but then just when I was like what the heck is happening I found myself laughing out loud. Beck and Hazel are the sweetest couple and make my inner nerd heart so happy. There is nothing I hate more than a bully so I really can’t blame Hazel for stepping up and doing what she did as I would have done the same thing.

I really loved watching Hazels jaded soul, turn into a soft mushy heart with her adventures with Beck. It’s just goes to show the power of being loved by the right person. My favorite line of the book was “ Someone needs to save your cinnamon roll ass from evil, and apparently that someone is me.” Girl after my own heart for sure.

Hazel is the epitome of “hurt people hurt people” and I get her behavior behind it just seems like at the end of the book during the breakup scene it was kind of rushed/forced and just annoyed me more than did anything to set up an epic get back together scene. But to be honest I ate this book up and enjoyed it for the lighthearted spicy romance book it is.

Also side note: I LOVE Alfie and Mabel and definitely need to read their origin story. Overall I think the authors own words of “Because I don’t like it when people try to crush something good in the world. There’s too little of it as it is” sum up this book perfectly. Take it at face value for the sunshine it is.

Thanks again to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

As always I really enjoy Charlotte Stein’s writing style. This was a sort of grumpycat/ sunshine reversal with Beck our leading man being the sunshine. Well written, decent chemistry between the leads and plenty of heat in the second half. 3 🌟

I found this book very disappointing. There really wasn’t enough character development or plot, it’s genuinely 97% dirty talk and smut. Which would be fine if this weren’t being marketed as a romcom.
I am a big Ted Lasso fan, but it does bother me that there isn’t much difference between him and Beck. I am all for characters being inspired by other characters, but this just read like self insert fan fiction.
A lot of the passages had my eyes glazing over, because it was the sixth or seventh time it had been said.
Overall, not a very enjoyable read.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage takes an outgoing aspiring writer and a wholesome top editor and places them together at a writing retreat where she pretends to be the fake wife he has been telling his colleagues about. Mabel (from book 1) works with Beck and let him know about the empty apartment across the hall from Hazel. Hazel is suspicious of his consistently nice and cheery manners, having been burned too many times by "nice" guys.

If 'When Grumpy Met Sunshine' was a Roy Kent fanfic, then this is the Ted Lasso MC. A big and tall American, too nice to survive the London scene. Hazel slowly realizes that it's okay to be her true self as she gets more comfortable around him, and Beck is able to let loose a little more with Hazel's encouragement.

You can expect -
Romcom
Golden Retriever x Black Cat
Fake Marriage
Opposites Attract
Forced Proximity
Only One Bed
Pining & Banter
Writing Retreat
English Countryside
Mid30s MCs
Single, 1stP POV

This was funny and spicy, and gave everything you could want from a fake relationship. I liked that Mabel called it after her fake dating scenario in her book, and helped Hazel work through it. It was great having that supportive friendship in the background of this. This is an interconnected standalone, so you do not need to read the first book, but it is fun to have both.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's for providing an eARC for my honest opinion.

While this book was very well written, I didn’t particularly enjoy the storyline which felt overly familiar. The characters were not relatable to me and that definitely impacted my opinion. If you’re looking for a light, easy read then this will definitely suffice!

Very propulsive--I read this all in one shot. Stein is so good at continually ratcheting up the tension until it has to break in an explosive way, and we all know she can write a killer sex scene. In many ways, though, it felt very surface--there didn't seem to be a lot of depth to Connie/Hazel or to Beck, and getting his POV might have been useful here. I was also very confused at the naming. Why did she have to be called Connie at all? Why did her best friend suddenly start calling her that out of nowhere when she didn't seem to know that Beck was calling her that? The bleak moment/ending also felt a little rushed. Still, it was a bright and sparkling read that I enjoyed.

Oh this book is SO good! Warning don't listen to it while trying to work. Oh my it's steamy! I highly recommend this one.

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: 📯📯📯📯📯