Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Cutie and the Beast by M.E. Carter [Review]


Cutie and the Beast by M.E. Carter
Cutie and the Beast (Cipher Office #3) by M.E. Carter
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: April 2, 2020

Cipher Office
1. Weight Expectations
2. Sticking to the Script
3. Cutie and the BeastPaperback | Kindle
4. Weights of Wrath

M.E. Carter
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Synopsis (Goodreads):
Living with her mother seemed like a good idea at the time. But Elliott Donovan’s living arrangements are not working for her anymore. Desperate to get back on her financial feet after a divorce and out from under her mother’s thumb, Elliott takes a job in the child care center at Weight Expectations, a local gym.

It has everything she needs – family friendly hours, more pay than she expected, and a super cute trainer who just happens to have part of his house for rent.

Abel DiSoto was living the good life until his wife walked out taking half of the family income with her. The blow to his ego was bad enough, but after a fire at the gym scattered Abel’s clients, and consequently his commissions, he’s stuck figuring out how to make ends meet, too. Renting out the master suite of his house to his new co-worker seems like an easy solution. They’re both mature adults, they both have eight-year-old daughters, and their work schedules coordinate so they can lend each other a helping hand to ease the burden of single parenthood.

The only downside? Living like a blended family when you’re not actually a family can present some challenges.

Welcome back to Weight Expectations, where the unexpected is likely to happen.
Thoughts on Cutie and the Beast: Abel, who had a RUN of bad luck in WE, gets his chance to shine this time around. Just to recap: his wife left him, the gym burning down hit him in a very financial manner, and...uhh, wait. Maybe that was everything. Regardless, he's now a single dad struggling to do this parenting thing without messing up his kid too badly and he's looking to bring in a roommate to help ease the financial burden a bit.

Lucky for him, Elliott needs exactly what he's offering. I'm not just talking about the roommate situation, either. Admittedly, it takes her a while to wrap her head around the idea of her and Abel dating, but she had her reasons. While her parenting situation isn't as hit-or-miss with her ex as Abel's is with his, she still has to consider her daughter's well-being into every decision she makes. Plus, she has a few hangups of a more personal manner she has to come to terms with.

I like Abel's easy-going attitude (although he could be a little too laid back with Mabel sometimes, but that goes hand-in-hand with figuring out the parenting thing, so I totally get it) and I like that Elliott took her time and became comfortable with the idea of dating her sexy new roommate before jumping into a relationship. These two were just so cute together.

A familiar face or two (HA!), a few sticky situations (not literally), and crazy shenanigans of the kid-ish variety (because kids!). What can I say except I like these guys and everything they have to deal with at the gym and beyond.

Excerpt

In my haste to not be late, I barrel right into a woman coming through the front door.

Grabbing her arms to steady her from falling, I apologize profusely. “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you. Are you all right?”

Smiling tightly, the blonde isn’t thrilled a random stranger practically ran her over. But she’s polite anyway. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? You aren’t hurt?” I don’t think she is, but sometimes I don’t know my own strength.

This time her smile is a little more genuine. “I’m sure. You sure are in a rush.”

Letting go of her arms, I feel like she needs an explanation other than me racing around like an idiot. “I’m the one parent who has a tendency to be late for school pickup. The lady at the front desk gives me a nasty evil glare if she has to call me.”

This woman, whose name I still haven’t bothered to ask, laughs and I’m struck by how cute she is. She’s definitely a few years older than I am, but not by much. There’s nothing about her that necessarily stands out in a crowd, but her smile is genuine. This is a woman who likes to laugh and have fun. I always gravitate toward those people, which gives me a fleeting thought: I should have noticed my ex-wife hardly ever smiled for real. Laughing was even rarer unless it was at someone else’s expense. Those should have been easy indicators she wasn’t the one for me.

“Parker Elementary?” the blonde asks.

“Yeah.” I give her a quizzical look. “How did you know?”

“Do not mess with Ms. Alexander’s routine. She will cut a bitch.”

My laugh comes easily, and I find myself hoping this woman is a new member. She’s funny. I love it when clients have a sense of humor. Offering her my hand, I introduce myself. “I’m Abel. Trainer here at Weight Expectations and father of Mabel in second grade.”

She places her cold hand in mine. “Elliott. Interviewee for the childcare position and mother of Ainsley, also in second grade.”

“Ah! Well it’s nice to meet you. Fingers crossed I’ll see you here later as a fellow employee. And if not here, at Parker Elementary as a fellow parent. Hopefully not in Ms. Alexander’s line of sight.”

Elliott holds up her gloved hands and crosses her fingers around each other. “Wish me luck. Now run fast.”


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About M.E. Carter
My name is ME Carter and I have no idea how I ended writing books. I’m more of a story teller (the more exaggerated the better) and I happen to know people who helped me get those stories on paper. I love reading (read almost 200 books last year), hate working out (but I do it anyway because my trainer makes me), love food (but hate what it does to my butt) and love traveling to non-touristy places most people never see. I live in Houston with my four kids, Mary, Elizabeth, Carter and Bug, who was just a twinkle in my eye when I came up with my pen name. Yeah, I’ll probably have to pay for his therapy someday for being left out.

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