I enjoyed the ride of My Big Fat Fake Marriage (publication day March 11, 2025) by Charlotte Stein, although there weren’t any surprises. The banter, though, is superb!!
Set somewhere in England, Hazel, who goes by Connie as an adult, works for a marketing company and is somewhat jaded, although she is close to her two best female friends. She has had many bad dates and is wary of “nice guys.” Mabel, one of those best friends, is a writer, and her editor is Henry Samuel Beckett, who goes by Beck. He’s an American, a 6’5″ mountain of a man who wears bow ties and suspenders. When Beck takes a permanent position at the publishing house, Mabel suggests a flat in Connie’s building, because she is certain of Beck’s trustworthiness as a good person.
Connie is still wary, but Beck bakes pies to leave on her doorstep, and when he perceives that he frightens her in the elevator one day, he bakes her an apology cake. But that leads Connie to finding out his secret . . . to deal with a terrible co-worker, Beck has invented a fake wife who is still in the States. And when Connie meets that terrible co-worker, her instinct is to protect Beck by introducing herself as his wife, Hazel.
But there’s one thing she hasn’t though of. She had planned to go on a 2-week writing retreat because she’s considering starting to write something other than ad copy. And Beck is running the retreat, and they will have to stay in a cottage with terrible co-worker! So we have both fake relationship, and only one bed tropes!
I was delighted with the banter, and how Beck’s nerdiness got Hazel to let down her guard about her own, and stop being so jaded. Their interactions were spicy and sweet. Beck is the ultimate nerdy nice guy who doesn’t curse and says things like “golly” and “you bet your sweet bippy,” which maybe seemed a little unrealistic, but it was nice to imagine someone like Beck exists.
I also loved that it was so fat-positive! The cover clearly shows two big people, but there’s not much discussion about Hazel’s size except for her recalling one date that gave her weight loss tips. She’s fat, and Beck thinks she is just super-cool, awesome, and sexy. And she’s very attracted to the fact that Beck is both tall and a large man.
If you want a fat-positive, hetero romantic comedy, I highly recommend it!
Reading While Fat 