Book Review: Cutie and the Beast by M.E. Carter
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Cutie and the Beast
by M.E. Carter
Series: Cipher Office
Category: Contemporary Romance
Tags: Single Parent
Kindle | Paperback | Apple Books
Rating: ★★★
Definitely a cute story about falling for someone who becomes your best friend first.
This book finds Abel in an unfortunate position where he is in need of a roommate to join him and his 8 year-old daughter in their 3 bedroom house so he can pay his mortgage or risk losing his house. The new employee at Weight Expectations, the gym where Abel works, turns out to be his answer.
Elliot and her 8 year-old daughter have been living with her mother ever since her divorce and it’s high time she found her won place before she loses it for good with her mom. But is moving into a house with a man and his kid the answer?
Overall I thought this was a well-written book and one that finally features a few “mature” characters. By mature I mean a 42 year old female and a 30 something male so let’s not go crazy but these are two divorcees trying to make it as single parents while holding it all together.
So I liked the fact that these two are not young somethings falling into a case of instalove and mad passion. Instead you see them fall easily into life with one another, sparking a friendship first and then something more.
To me though, there definitely could have been MORE to their connection. The beginning of the story really set the stage for how two people living under the same roof could fall for each other but it never really turned into anything that knocked me off my feet. I kept waiting for it to ramp up but it just plugged along. The reader is just told that they all of a sudden felt as if they were best friends and loved each other (yeah, there was no big moment of the big L word, it just sort of happened) then later (much later) they supposedly take their relationship to the next level physically – but it’s implied (aka there are no sex scenes in this book).
I did love Abel’s approach to telling Elliott that he thought they should date and their back and forth leading up to her capitulating was great, but that was really the only sizzle of a connection I got from them.
This was more a story looking at the ups and downs of trying to blend a family. That’s all well and good but I kind of want more to my romances as well.
Overall, a very well written book and cute story, just not one I’d reread.
*Thank you to M.E. Carter and Smartypants Romance for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.
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