I enjoyed When Grumpy Met Sunshine, so I was excited to pick up My Big Fat Fake Marriage, but this one just wasn’t a match for me. The fake marriage trope here didn’t pull me in, partly because I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the characters. Henry “Beck” is adorable, but he’s almost too sweet. He’s also very “Ned Flanders” coded, which doesn’t hit the mark for me.

While I didn’t connect with this book, I think if you love the super sweet, cinnamon roll MMC who’s quirky and ultra kind, then you’ll enjoy Beck’s character. He’s definitely unique, and the retreat setting adds some fun to the story. For me, though, it didn’t capture the charm I loved in Stein’s last book, but I’ll still check out her future work.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for sending this eARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!

If you are looking for a fun, fluffy, bookish, fake-marriage romance set in England look no further. Stein wrote Grumpy meets Sunshine as some Roy Kent fantasy tribute and she has done it again here- all hail to the Rob Delany mustacioed fan-fic! I mean, could Beck have been anymore like Rob with his mustache, size, and gentleness? So hot!

I enjoy this book and Beck and Hazel were interesting characters who I was rooting for. I love how Beck understood Hazel so quickly and accepted her. I wish we got a bit more of a backstory about Hazel's childhood and her parents. I could have used more depth here. But, gosh? Could she have dated any more losers who wrecked her self esteem? Ugh.

When this slow burn romance hit it was a sexy explosion. 🌶🌶🌶 This book was set in the same universe as GMS but was a stand alone. It was nice to see Mabel and Alfie still going strong. I guess Berinder's book is next. I'm giving this 4 stars cause I just enjoyed it. This may not be the world's best writing, but I love how Hazel's weight was not an issue. I loved Beck and how sweet and caring he was... but how tough he got for Hazel- loved the basketball scene. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for gifting me an ARC of her book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine, so I was so excited to receive an ARC of story in the same universe!

This book hurt my teeth it was so sweet - it was fun to see Connie/Hazel and Beck develop their relationship, but it didn’t feel fully there for me.

The tropes in this book (fake dating/marriage trope, only one bed, forced proximity, inexperienced MMC) are all ones I am usually feral for, but Beck was simply TOO nice for me to get into the sexier aspects of this book. I needed to see more of him cracking his Ned Flander’s-esque shell before getting to the spicy scenes.

I recommend this read if you like:
📚 Fake marriage
📚 Experienced FMC x inexperienced MMC
📚 Forced proximity
📚 Only one bed
📚 Writer x editor

CHARLOTTE STEIN has quickly become one of my absolute favorite authors of thick queen contemporary romance alongside Olivia Dade. I love the dynamic between her characters and My Big Fat Fake Marriage was no exception. This one was so cute, so sexy, and 100% awesome. Deserves the all the delicious buzzwords like 'unputdownable' and 'beautifully smutty'. Our mustachioed main man was all green flags and our thick queen was properly ravished and had excellent character development.

Love this author's stuff and CANNOT WAIT for what she has next!

I thought it was a cute, fluffy, fake-dating/marriage story. I liked the characters, even though the fmc seemed a little pessimistic in the beginning, I began to like her. Then you have Beck, who was just so sweet and loving all the time. He was so nerdy and thoughtful. It had some funny moments, but still good.

Thank you NetGally for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute book and I loved the plus sized representation! I don't see that often in books so it was nice to read it here! Overall such an enjoyable read!

From the very start the Beck is every fictional gay best friend + a mustache. She even refers to him as “bearish” in chapter 4. I thought perhaps this story would have LGBTQ representation, but it ultimately seems more like queerbaiting than anything. I found it more and more off-putting as the story progressed. I would have LOVED to see a bisexual male romantic interest that was unapologetic in both his queerness and his attraction to this woman. Unfortunately, in its current state, I am just not able to connect with the story or the characters. Beck reads like the side character gay best friend watched too much Ted Lasso and told the guy bullying him that he definitely has a wife.

This was such an entertaining read. The main characters were so fun to read about and their banter was so fun!

Cute read! Loved the writing style and the FMC was adorable and made me laugh several times. The MMC was adorable as well and overall I liked the story.

Rating: 3/5 stars

I enjoy Charlotte Stein books normally, so I was very excited to get an ARC of this one.

The premise of the book is a good one with a lot of potential that I think a lot of readers will enjoy. Beck, the male character is very sweet. And he has obvious chemistry with Hazel.

I personally felt Beck and Hazel were both sort of caricatures of their respective types and tropes. The characters just felt underdeveloped and forced. Ultimately, I just felt like I didn't connect with this book. However, I would still recommend it to fans of Stein's, or who find the premise of the book intriguing because it is not a terrible book, it just wasn't for me. Give this book a try!

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

If you’re someone who needs a change from the “dark brooding alpha-hole” hero, this one is for you!

🏕️Summer camp/woodland retreat
🏕️Hero who encourages you to act like your dorky self 🏕️Possibly the most sunshine hero ever
🏕️ Black cat heroine who starts the fake relationship
🏕️ Size difference
🏕️ HAWT

BLURB: Something has to give... Could it be her heart?

Connie has always distrusted nice guys. In her experience, they’re just waiting to reveal some horrible secret. And then she meets big, adorable, Henry Samuel Beckett—editor extraordinaire, lover of bow ties, sweet and so cheery she struggles to believe he’s real.

Until Henry Samuel Beckett—or Beck, as he’s known to most—tells her the secret underneath his sunny surface: He’s been single all his life. But in a moment of panic, he’s told everyone at his publishing house that he’s married. And when Connie, an aspiring writer herself, can’t help defending him, she ends up being the fake wife he doesn’t actually have.

When they head off on a writing retreat, surrounded by people convinced this must be a ruse, both of them can’t help but agree. Until they share their first kiss, their first touch, their first time in only one bed. Side by side, every night, as the simmering tension builds…Connie starts to wonder if this might be real after all.

🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️🏕️

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and one of the things I love is her commitment to diversifying the hero’s! She gives the dimension and makes the more than the grumpy alpha. This book is basically a love letter to your inner dork. It’s a romance novel that celebrates someone loving every aspect of you unabashedly. Honestly, sweet, cozy, while still HAWT.

Thank you @charlotte.stein for the ARC :)
Release Date: March 11, 2025

I truly appreciate the opportunity to read this book- but I've realized that a cinnamon roll mmc is NOT for me.....at least not this particular style? I know he was supposed to be endearing and sweet, but it gave me both serial killer and incel vibes.
I think this just didn't hit me the right way and for others, that may not be the case!
I would love to read others by this author and see how those take me

Thanks so much to Charlotte Stein and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC of this book. I love a good fake marriage/ forced proximity trope. Quick cute fun read. I loved it. Definitely recommend it!

3.5 stars.

Hazel helps out her neighbor with a fake marriage in this cute, forced proximity read. Agreeing to attend a writing retreat posing as the wife to her neighbor who is a book editor. A ver cute cinnamon roll love story.

I really like how the author writes. The story moves fast, even if the premise for it is a bit much. The start was rough, but quickly builds. As a friend says, “it’ll make you feel things.” It was a quick, fun read. I’d definitely read others from this author.

This book had an excellent meet-cute and gives so much character depth with just a misunderstanding between neighbors--it's actually a masterclass in show don't tell. Connie sees something that leads her to believe Henry is a murderer when in fact he's a run of the mill editor who has backed himself into a corner at work by making up a wife. This is a romance novel so you know what comes next -- Connie decides to agree to pretend to be said wife on a writing retreat. I really enjoyed the premise and the beginning of the book, but somewhere along the line Henry turned a bit too cartoonish for me. He's written as a Ted Lasso type from mustache to golly gees and it became a bit too much for me. I wasn't able to see him as an object of lust and it kind of took me out of the love scenes. As a follow-up to When Grumpy Met Sunshine, this missed the mark, although I would give it 3 stars for writing, banter, and pacing. I just didn't connect with the couple like I hoped.

Beck is the cinnamon roll I never knew I needed. Big and sweet and unabashedly himself, nerdy and thoughtful and I want to wrap him in cotton and tell him he's doing a really good job. And Hazel is so wonderful, even if she is a bit cynical and hides herself and doesn't know how to trust. Watching these two find their way to each other was BEAUTIFUL. I was crying by the end. Also, lots of heat....like, so hot. Also, I literally laughed out loud throughout the whole thing. I was getting looks, y'all, and I just didn't care, it is so funny!

Charlotte Stein is quickly becoming a new favorite of mine for romance. I am absolutely loving the banter, wit, characterization, and representation. The characters spend so much time together in the best way, and I would honestly follow them through whatever if the author ever wanted to write a sequel.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

I don’t normally read this genre, but that’s all about to change!

I absolutely loved this book, I’ll definitely check out more from this author!!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Charlotte Stein for sending me this arc!! I was so excited to get it! After reading three of her books now, Charlotte is one of my favorite authors because she always seems to write characters that are so inherently good. I’m usually such an enemies to lovers girl, a grumpy/sunshine girl, but Charlotte can sell me on a golden retriever like no other. I will fall for her characters and their big mushy hearts every single time! And LAUGH!! Gosh, her books bring me so much joy. So this book was no exception, it was a delight to read.