This was my first time reading author Charlotte Stein’s work, and I really enjoyed My Big Fat Fake Marriage, which I read through a mix of ebook and audiobook. Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St Martin’s Griffin, and NetGalley for early access to both media in exchange for my honest opinion.
Connie has not had very good interactions with men. Enter her neighbor - who Connie at first thinks is a serial killer, for very good reasons. However, once that misunderstanding is cleared up, she offers to jump in and play his fake wife, as he had previously made up a (complicated) relationship which he had told his coworkers about. Connie goes on a retreat with him, as his fake wife, and they plan a fight to prompt their fake divorce. But he is a complete cinnamon roll, and Connie finds herself feeling very not-fake feelings. There are a few really steamy scenes, and I couldn’t put this one down once I started reading/listening to it. It’s available now everywhere!

This was my first Charlotte Stein book. I loved the dynamic and chemistry between Hazel and Beck. These characters resonated with me, specifically with dating. I loved their nerdy quirks and how Hazel and Beck complimented each other. This was a fun and quick read!

Connie has little trust in men; the nice guys aren’t really nice; they have hidden secrets. Henry Samuel Beckett lives in the apartment across from Connie and he really is a nice guy; he’s an editor, loves to wear bowties. He’s charming, smiles a lot and is cheerful but Connie doesn’t trust him…no one is really that nice.
Beck does have a secret hidden underneath his sunny personality. He’s never been married but he told everyone at the publishing house that’s he’s married. Connie finds herself not only defending him but pretending to be his wife. They attend a writing conference, and the people there doubt they are married. Things change when they spend their nights sleeping side by side. The tension between them grows until it finally explodes.
I like this book, its cute and its funny but the whole premise is rather silly. The characters are sweet and funny. Beck is in his 30s and yet he’s never kissed…that’ a little strange. Connie is down on love. She’s been hurt before and determined to protect herself. The writing was inconsistent and the pacing was s..l..o..w. The banter was fun. The secondary characters lacked depth. All in all this was a fun read.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

So this book started off pretty strong. I liked how protective Hazel was of Beck. Beck is a true golden retriever cinnamon roll. The best gentleman I've ever read. There was nice chemistry between the two. The narration was also done very well.

However, once they became romantically involved it seemed that was all the plot became. I wasn't getting much fake dating and wished more of the book took place outside of the bedroom.

1 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I really wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. I got excited by the premise and the cover because it looked so cute. I had some trouble connecting to the characters and then after chapter 17, I just skimmed past parts of the book because it got a bit spicier than I tend to read. The connection between the characters didn't make sense and they knew each other for 2 weeks before they started saying I love you. I thought the narration was good. I did appreciate the fact that the MMC was very sweet but in some ways he was almost too sweet? I didn't know how to feel about it.
Closed door mods: Chapter 17-Epilogue

This was such a cute read. I think Charlotte’s writing has come so far since her debut. The banter between MCs was easy and felt natural. The characters were the right balance of confident and vulnerable.

I am OBSESSED with Becks. He must be protected at all costs, that beautiful cinnamon roll, golden retriever of a man. Think Ted Lasso vibes, but if Ted could also throw down.

I also loved that both the MMC and FMC were plus. It was a great dynamic and I appreciated that Connie had some things to work through from her upbringing but was also confident.

The audio was enjoyable and I would really recommend this medium. It was a quick listen and the narrator was great for Connie! I do really think the story and audio could have benefitted from dual POV. There were so many times that as a reader it would have been beneficial to be inside his brain.

I also didn’t love when Connie was self deprecating about her sexual history, calling herself a slüt just because she’s had a few partners.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Charlotte Stein for an early review copy. These are my honest thoughts.

Reading the description for this made me really excited to get into it, and I'm happy to say it was even better than I expected it to be.
Connie/Hazel is a great main character, witty and funny. She's distrustful of "nice guys" and so avoids her new neighbor, Beck, like the plague. But after finding out his secret, that's he's made up a wife for his conservative job to get off his back, she ends up helping him by standing in as his fake wife during a retreat they're both participating in. I think this is the first romance book I've read in a while that had a "cinnamon roll" MMC, and I have to say I found him quite adorable and likable. His speaking was dweeby, but in the best, most endearing way. I really enjoyed the back and forth between these too.
The only critique I have is that while the spicy scenes were great and bountiful, I would have loved a lot more fluff/romance building between these two. That's a personal preference, I always enjoy the actual romance building in books a lot more, and with these two likable characters I would have loved to have more of their banter and cute moments for them (which they both deserve).

My Big Fat Fake Marriage was such a great audiobook! I was hooked right away! These characters felt so genuine! It was quite spicy.

DNF at 42%. I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I didn't feel any connection with the characters and they seemed a little too immature for my taste.

I thought this was a really fun book with just the right amount of spice. The narrator for the audiobook did an incredible job

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to relate to Connie. I even wanted to love Henry! Unfortunately for me, My Big Fat Fake Marriage fell flat. I couldn’t get into the story, Connie’s career aspect seemed to completely fall to the wayside, and the forced proximity seemed to jump the duo from 0 to 100 in no time at all. I loved the spice, the ending, and the idea overall.

Loved everything about this. Such a cute story and hot/charming main characters. Captivated and enjoyable from cover to cover. LOVED everything about it!

I really loved this book. In the beginning I found both characters very odd and was not sure if I would like them or their story of falling in love but I did. I loved how nerdy they could be together and I really loved that Henry would only get aggressive when defending someone. I found Hazel so fun. I liked that while Henry was a virgin Hazel was basically a virgin too because she never really enjoyed or liked the sex/relationships she has been in. In some book I hate when we linger on past trauma caused by parents but in this book it was just enough bi was able to lean about her childhood without feeling lot of second hand trauma. Overall I loved this cute quick love story.

Connie doesn’t trust nice guys. She doesn’t particularly like the bad guys, but at least she knows where she stands with them. They pretty much just want the one thing, so there is no confusion. And then there’s her neighbor, Henry Samuel Beckett (Beck), who is a very nice guy. He’s always making her cakes and is very thoughtful. But he’s married. Or so he said.

Connie is going to get the chance to get to know her neighbor better though. He’s a book editor and has helped plan a weeklong writer’s retreat. Connie has been working as a copywriter, but what she really wants is to write fiction, so she signed up for the writer’s retreat. She’s been looking forward to a week of relaxing and getting to know other writers.

When Connie talks to Beck about the retreat, she finds out that he’s far more awkward than she first realized, to the point that he made up a wife that he told his entire workplace about. And he’s going on the writer’s retreat with people who think he’s married, including a bestselling author who isn’t afraid to call Beck out on his awkwardness. Connie sees that and feels protective toward Beck. She feels so protective that she jumps into the conversation and announces that she is Beck’s wife.

Which is fine, until Connie realizes that now she’s going to have to pretend to be Beck’s wife through the writer’s retreat. And she’s finding that the more time she spends around Beck, the warmer her feelings grow towards him. So acting like his wife won’t be too difficult. But staying in the same room and respecting each other’s boundaries might be harder than they think.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage is a sweet rom com about a couple of people who don’t quite seem to fit into their worlds they live in. They have both been bullied and marginalized for being different, and it takes them some time to realize how perfect they are for each other, and I thought it was really sweet how they found respect and support in each other.

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Imogen Wilde. I thought she did a really good job. The accent she used for Connie was lovely and brought her to life. The voice she used for Beck was a little awkward, which brought the character to life with perfection. I thought that listening to this book was a lot of fun, but there were several scenes that got extra-spicy, so listening at work may be a bad idea.

I wanted to love this book. I loved Charlotte Stein’s When Grumpy Met Sunshine, and I was excited for this fake marriage story. I thought the idea was a lot of fun. I just felt like the story veered off from the fake marriage idea to a very spicy story about the tension building between Connie and Beck. For me, that took over the plot, so I missed out on the comedy I was looking for with them acting like a couple in public. It’s not a bad book, but I think that the marketing for it was a little off from what the book became. It was still a lot of fun to listen to, and extra spicy, just not as entertaining as the book I was picturing in my mind.

Egalleys for My Big Fat Fake Marriage were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin, and an early copy of the audio were provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio with St. Martin’s Press as well as the author for this ARC.
#NetGalley #MAC2025 #MacmillanAudio #St.Martin’sPress #CharlotteStein #audiobook #Books #Bookreviews
Title: My Big Fat Fake Wedding
Author: Charlotte Stein
Format: Audio book
Narrator: Imogen Wilde
Publisher: Macmillan Audio/St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Themes: romance, fake to real relationship,

In all honesty, this wasn’t for me. It was very cute, but a little too…saccharine for me. The story follows Connie Evans has never been a fan of “nice guys” until she meets Samuel Henry Beckett, or Beck. He asks Connie to be his fake wife due to a moment of haste when he tells everyone at his work that he’s married. We can all guess where it goes from here right? Exactly. We have tumbled headfirst into a rom-com!

For many people, being in a rom-com wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s not for me. I liked the character of Connie but Beck was a little hard to swallow. Sure, he was sweet…but nearly a 40-year-old virgin. Seriously..a man in his thirties who’s never even been kissed??? Weird.
Still, it’s a cute book and the characters are likable. The reader will need to turn off his or her sense of logic, but we all do that with fiction. It’s a light and fun read, but not the one for me.

A bright spot for me was the narrator, Imogen Wilde. I enjoyed her narration of all of Ruth Ware’s books and was excited to see her name as the narrator. She has a way of making each character apparent with very little change in her voice. I also find her very soothing.

All in all, while this book wasn’t for me, lots of people will enjoy it. Just remember that it’s fiction. I recommend this to anyone who loves a romantic comedy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.

I had a really hard time with this one right out of the gate. The main character is very unlikeable, the different names doesn't make much sense at all, and the man is just boring. I can't get past about 20% unfortunately. Thank you for the opportunity to try the book out.

Minor spoilers in this review. This book was an e-arc though NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.

How I read it: audiobook. The narrator did an amazing job!

Themes: romance, forced proximity, fake marriage

Spice: Explicit sex scenes (very well done)

At first I didn’t like the main character constantly putting herself down, thinking Beck couldn’t possibly find her attractive or want her. Like..I got really annoyed I almost wanted to DNF. I’m glad I did not!! After a lot of thinking, I understand where Connie is coming from and her thoughts/feelings are valid. The spice is spicy, and I LOVED it. Perfectly paced and enjoyable to read.

I would recommend this book. I gave 4 stars because I like it a lot, but would not re-read it and/or buy a physical copy.

Absolutely charming. I am obsessed with these characters. Charlotte Stein is my hero. This is the perfect pick me up. Utterly cozy and hilarious while still being very hot.

Connie is distrustful of nice men, they are always hiding something. That is until she meets Henry Samuel Beckett, who is almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, he is also hiding something, he has told his coworkers that he is married and now he needs to prove it.

This is a spicy fake dating trope that, unfortunately, is more spice than flavor. I love a good fake dating trope, but this one fell flat. The cinnamon role MMC was somewhat unbelievable and, golly gee, I struggled with his dialog sounding like a 1950’s television character. The narrator did well with the female main character but missed the big middle American male accent. There was some semblance of a plot in the first half, but the second half was all spice. This book will find its audience but not sure it was for me.

this was SO FUN! I requested this on a whim (lets be real, the cute cover and plus size representation on it got to me) and i'm honestly SO GLAD that I did! I had previously read one of Charlotte Stein's books and was not a massive fan, however this just goes to prove that one book does not define an author because this was such a funny read / listen. I found myself relating to both characters, the jadedness of Hazel and the utter inability to believe that someone could ACTUALLY like you like Beck. And I loved that while both of these characters exist in bigger bodies, it's not the MAIN focus of the book like a lot of books are with this sort of representation.

Now for the content? I was cackling at MULTIPLE points. So hard that I would have to rewind or simply turn it off in fear of crashing my car (audiobook car listener over here!). The spicy scenes were funny and lighthearted while still keeping things real, and the character development from both ends was top tier.

I also LOVED the narrator for this book! It felt like I was on the phone or having a conversation with Hazel and that made it all the better. It was just the perfect voice, cadence, and complimented the writing style PERFECTLY!