My Big Fat Fake Marriage

Spicy scenes scorch the page in this high-heat rom-com from Stein (When Grumpy Met Sunshine). Thirty-one-year-old Londonite Connie, a writer, and her American neighbor, 37-year-old editor Beck, have been awkwardly dancing around each other for a while. Beck, who has never had sex or a lasting relationship, tells his officemates that he is married to get a bullying coworker off his back. When Connie learns of his lie, she offers to play the role of his wife at an upcoming writing retreat. The results of this deception are hilarious and, eventually, intensely steamy; Stein dives into the eroticism with gusto and the back half of the novel is jam-packed with sex scenes. The real heart of the story, however, lies in Connie’s emotional growth as she unlearns the toxic femininity she was taught as a child and embraces her truest self. Cameos from the leads of Stein’s previous book will please returning fans, as will the subtle grumpy/sunshine dynamic between Connie and Beck. There’s more than enough here to entertain. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Mar.)