My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein

Something has to give… Could it be her heart?

If you’re a sucker for fake relationships, awkwardly adorable characters, and a slow-burn romance that makes your heart ache (in the best way), My Big Fat Fake Marriage by Charlotte Stein needs to be at the top of your TBR.

Connie is the kind of heroine you root for from page one. She’s fiercely loyal, a little nerdy, and has a tendency to jump in and defend the people she loves but not herself.  Henry Samuel Beckett is her quiet, equally nerdy neighbor with a penchant for baking comfort into every cake and pie he makes. These two are incredible forces of nature, but also insecure in so many ways.

What Beck’s claim that he is married spirals into so much more when they find themselves in forced proximity at a writer’s retreat acting as though they are married. Watching Connie, who we find out is realy a Hazel, and Beck navigate their awkwardness and slowly peel back their protective layers was such a delight. Beck isn’t your typical broody hero—he’s soft-spoken and kind. And Hazel? She’s his fiercest protector, always ready to throw down in his defense, even when he doesn’t think he deserves it.

Beck is a man that doesn’t think he is worthy of a lot of things, and the narrative of his past dates is top notch hilarity.  

The chemistry between these two simmers just under the surface, and when it finally boils over? SWOON. Charlotte Stein gives us a romance that feels real and tender, with characters who stumble through their feelings in the most endearing ways. If you love a close-proximity, nerd-meets-nerd romance where baking is basically foreplay, you’ll devour My Big Fat Fake Marriage.

POV: Single 1st Person
TROPES: Fake Relationship; Close Proximity: Neighbors; Forced Proximity (at the retreat); Slow Burn
RELEASE DATE: March 11, 2025
PoP: 84%

Check out this Author Spotlight with Charlotte Stein