What a delightful surprise this story was! I wasn’t a huge fan of Beck at first, but he really won me over by the end. Despite there being a little too much miscommunication and self-pitying for my taste, the spice in this book was so weirdly wholesome that I ended up enjoying the story more than expected.

Will definitely be reading more of Charlotte Stein’s work. Would recommend this story to anyone who loves a good cinnamon roll hero, bookish vibes, or wonderfully unselfish MMC. :)

About the narration — perfectly done!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to this ALC and provide an honest review.

Absolutely not for me. The author seemed to want to set the FMC up as some quirky gal with a chip on her shoulder about men but she jumped to conclusions like aerial killer at the drop of a hat, she was rude and abrasive and honestly a bit dumb. I couldn't finish

This is your typical romance with plenty of smut and misunderstandings, but there are a few things that work for me whereas most traditional romances don’t.

First Beck. He is endearingly earnest and incredibly dorky. I love the nerdiness. I love that he can’t lie without feeling nauseated. I love that he’s the inexperienced one. And I love how he makes our girl heal and feel.

Hazel has a taste for toxic men, or she thinks she does, until Beck shows her how good being treated well can be. I kind of like how she’s the one with the experience and leads Beck down that merry road.

But of course the two are pretending to be fake married so of course there will be miscommunication.

It was a good time for me.

This one was a gosh darn delight to read! A fake marriage between the good-guy editor and the aspiring author who lives across the hall gets the forced-proximity treatment when they go on a writing retreat together with his coworkers.

Oh my heart, there’s just something about a love story between two good people falling for each other.

At a glance:
- Single POV
- Characters in their 30s
- British setting
- Ted Lasso-esque love interest
- Super smart nerds—one who has been told she needs to cover up those aspects of herself and one who proudly embraces his geeky side
- Curvy FMC
- Gentle giant love interest
- Cinnamon roll hero
- Fake marriage
- Neighbors
- Forced proximity
- Only one bed
- Kissing (and more) lessons
- Food as a love language
- TV and film references

I thoroughly enjoyed Imogen Wilde’s narration and how she captures both the humor and vulnerability of the tale.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. All review opinions are my own.

This was a delightful read! It was so refreshing having such a nice/decent human MMC. I enjoyed the hijinks of navigating one bed and while being fake married. The narrator added to the enjoyment and flow of listening to the audiobook. Ready to dive in and explore the rest of the author's books!

What a fun book! It has a Bridget Jones's Diary vibe to it. Love the narrator as well. It was very easy to listen to and flowed well.

So this book is high on the spice level. Basically, we get a little bit of Hazel's backstory and then BOOM, the rest of the book is about s#$ and all that you can imagine about that! It was a good book and I did like the fake love troupe! I was just super surprised that we spent so much time learning about Beck's giant body and body parts. I loved the narrator too. She made it even more fun and interesting!

Charlotte Stein does it again!!! I absolutely adore her writing, it just flows and keeps me hooked! This story was just so much fun! It had a slightly zany premise, but Stein made it believable by having such amazing and hilarious main characters! I adored Hazel, and her insecurities hit me right in the feels. I adored seeing her discover her self worth and grow more comfortable with herself as the story went on. And Henry Samuel Beckett, what can I say about him that will do him justice?! I love him. He's just such a perfect cinnamon roll that needs to be cuddled and kept safe at all costs. They are so good together, their banter and cute scenes make me swoon a little-especially those emails! Also-the spicy scenes were HOT. None of them felt forced in, but each was organic to the story.

I also adored the audiobook narrator! Her accents were incredible, and she gave each character their own voice, so it was easy to get swept up in the story!

“My Big Fat Fake Marriage” by Charlotte Stein is a delightful blend of sweetness and spice, making it a truly captivating read. The humor between the characters is infectious, and the chemistry is undeniable. The romance is skillfully woven with a dash of humor and heart, keeping you invested in the journey of Beck and Connie. The spicy scenes are certainly memorable, adding a sizzling layer to this charming tale. Overall, it’s a fun and engaging read that will leave you smiling. 4.5 stars

This was such a sweet book! 💘 The perfect fluffy rom-com! Both characters were complex and struggled with confidence and feeling worthy of love. Their personalities were so lovable and I thought they fit together very well despite being somewhat opposite. I really liked the contrast between a very experienced and somewhat jaded FMC and an innocent and hopeless romantic MMC.

I did feel that many of the emotions and fears of each of the characters were somewhat repetitive and it made the story drag a bit. The second half of the book was EXTREMELY spicy (at least for me) and it got a little bit repetitive and drawn out as well. I would have liked a little more substance…

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun cutesy romance read! The audiobook version had a lovely narrator, so definitely listen if that’s your cup of tea!

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the free alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. Inloved the narration and could listen to the narrators all day. i didnt really buy the story as it felt like insta-love too much. I look forward to the authors next book.

4.5/5☆

This author is just not for me and I need to accept that. The MMC is so boring...he sounds like Ned Flanders from the Simpsons and I just can't. Everything is just awkward, the spicy scenes nope. And the FMC with the fake name ? Why ? What's the purpose. It just wasn't for me and I couldn't continue on.

✨ Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio, @smpromance & Charlotte Stein for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such a "perfect" little fake marriage—super cute!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC.

This one took me a while to get into. I probably would have tossed it if it wasn't an arc read. I was probably 40% of the way through before I felt like okay I like these characters.

I enjoyed the spice that we got and it had a satisfying ending, the beginning just felt clumsy.

I had an audio copy, I think the narrator was my issue. Lovely voice it just came off as too young for the character.(In my opinion) I couldn't stop picturing the gal that plays Lady Whistledown (which the character probably looks a lot like this actress) which made it a little humorous for me when she was talking dirty.

Overall a good read, just me being picky I think.

Overall, it was a cute (and fairly quick) listen! I loved the cinnamon roll/Ted Lasso MMC vibes! I also loved the change that she’s the one who is more sexually experienced, and he’s more naive about it. I also really loved the bits and pieces when she shows her insecurity about her body (and the outfit he got not being “flattering” and such) as someone who is plus size and also deals with those thoughts.

A few things that maybe just weren’t for me were the accent for the MMC and even though I liked the Ted Lasso personality, I wish we got a little more of him not being quite so nice (like when being protective or something). This happens once that I can recall towards the end but would have loved a bit more of it (I think it would provide more depth to his character). Finally, the ending felt a little rushed to me. I’m all for spicy scenes, but I personally felt like some of that description was a bit long and like we were going from the end of a spicy scene to pretty suddenly the book being over.

Well this was not quite the way that I thought this book would go.

Henry is the innocent fellow and Connie (Hazel) been hurt from people in her past. Henry needed a fake wife to go to a work function and Connie helps him out

Enjoy this quick read of how their relationship becomes more familiar as their time at a writing retreat passes day by day. You will learn what they learn and feel about each other

This book is spicy but I like how their relationship changes

Enjoy!!

This is one of my new favorites. I absolutely love Connie and Beck. Who doesn't love a good fake marriage?! I devoured this audiobook literally in one day. I'm definitely going to need the physical book when it releases. The nerd references, the banter, just perfect!

My big fat fake marriage. An adult comedy of two quarky people. One is a virgin and one wants sex without commitment. Can you guess which one is who

Connie has always had a distrustful heart. When she sees a man to potentially date, she always tries to find the unsavory elements of his character. When she meets her neighbor, Beck, she can't seem to find anything. Henry Samuel Beckett and his love for books, sci-fi TV and bowties seems to be just that. One day when his behavior changes rapidly, she discovers his big secret. His wife that she has heard about is fake, made up to impress a coworker. In a split-second decision at a party, Connie decides to help Beck by becoming his fake wife. She then learns that they will have to keep up this ruse for two weeks on a writing retreat. During these two weeks, maybe Connie's distrustful heart will learn to love.

My Big Fat Fake Marriage was the perfect swoon-worthy Audiobook! I listened to this on Valentine's Day and it was such a fun listen. So many romance books lately have been focusing on the “moody and dark” MMC’s and I loved that our main character here was an awkward and loving nerd. SO much of his story made me want to hug him and I am so glad we are getting characters like him in contemporary romances. The Audiobook was well produced but I felt that the narrator's man voice was a little too awkward. This became more so when the audiobook was sped up. Other than that, the narrator had great comedic timing and fit the character well. This was a delightful read that I would definitely recommend to anyone who just wants a sweet, soft MMC.

I love that Beck was such a nice guy and so caring about the people in his life. I thought the story was interesting and it was so short that it kept my attention the whole time. I really liked how he dealt with his work bully too. I love that the cover is representative of the story and that the characters look like normal people and aren't so skinny. This was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what the author writes next.