Author: Petie McCarty
Series: Cinderella #2
Pages: 359
Date Published: 2018
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Format: Kindle
Genre: Romance
Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
Garrett Tucker inherits his grandfather's casino empire and steps into the reclusive billionaire's shoes as the "Prince of Vegas." His first act is to buy and renovate a bankrupt casino in Biloxi. When he discovers embezzling in his new operation, Garrett goes in undercover. His number one suspect is the new finance supervisor.
Andi Ryan moves to Biloxi to care for her godmother and takes a job as finance supervisor for the renovated Bayou Princess casino. She discovers someone is skimming from the till and starts her own investigation, worried she will be blamed for the theft when the new owner discovers her godmother has a costly gambling addiction.
Garrett’s rival Vegas competitor has sent a spy in to ruin the Bayou Princess, and Garrett and Andi are forced to work together to prove her innocence and discover the identity of their casino spy.
~My Thoughts~
With a romance that clicks with the reader as quickly as Garret fell for Andi's blue-green eyes, Betting on Cinderella is a fun, sweet, modern retelling of the classic fairy tale.
Weddings do seem like such a romantic place to find your true love. Garrett sees Andi and it's like he's found his whole world...he just doesn't know her name yet. When she disappears, it's like something physically has been taken from him, and he doesn't even have a glass slipper to try and track her down with.
Andi is devoted to her godmother. It was a pleasure to see them interact with each other, and how much Andi worried and cared about her godmother's wellbeing. I liked the play on the classic story of "Godmother looking after Cinderella" was a bit turned on its head here. It was very believable, as I feel like most of us have a parent or grandparent that could easily fall into the problem of a gambling addiction. The stepmother and stepsisters too created interesting conflicts that Andi had to deal with.
Garrett and Andi are both very likable people. Their romance was believable and fun. Despite the love at first sight - on Garrett's part at least - there was a lot of tension and chemistry to the whole "will-they, won't they?" tug of emotions. I liked that Andi had her own sense of self and worked finance rather than being a waitress or card-girl in the casino. It gave her just a touch more depth than a typical romance book. The plot was generally predictable, as we all tend to be familiar with the Cinderella story, but there was one larger twist that surprised me and made the story all the better for it.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read! I really only have one caveat about reading it, which was that I had not read the first book in the series and it was difficult to get onboard from the start. This story started with a lot of references to the last book and short summary explanations of who is who without really folding it into the context of the new book. I found myself having to re-read the first chapter or so over and over again just to catch the one or two sentences that tell me who a character was, or what they did in the prior book so I could start to assemble the cast in my mind. You are able to do so eventually, but especially at the start, there is a lot of names thrown around and references to the past book, making the plot difficult to track if you don't already know the characters. I feel you should start out with Cinderella Busted if you like the sound of this series instead of starting with Betting on Cinderella. Luckily, we're giving away three below!
~Try an Excerpt!~
She made a beeline for the door, and Garrett grabbed her arm. “Oh, no you don’t. I want to talk to you. I’ve been trying to talk to you all day.”
The tug on her arm lit the fuse. “Well, I’m not talking to you. Don’t bother trying to justify dating Irene, I wouldn’t believe you. She bragged to everyone in the office that you two were out till the wee hours. You’re a player, Garrett, and Irene can help you.”
“What?” he roared.
“Oh, forget it.” She jerked her arm free. “You want to sleep with her? Go ahead. You made your bed, now you can lie in it. Good luck, you’re going to need it.”
Before the last word left her mouth, he yanked her up against his hard chest. “Stop it, Andi. Just stop it.”
His lips silenced her retort. His kiss gentled, though she could feel him tremble with anger. His palms cradled her cheeks, and his tongue teased at her lower lip, urging her to open for him. God forgive her, she did. She could not resist this man.
She had missed Garrett—his smile, his twinkling eyes, his glorious scent, and especially his taste. She knuckled her fingers into the curls at his nape to hold him in the kiss. His tongue caressed hers with a slow, sensual rhythm that turned her knees to water. She had dreamed of this kiss, night after night, in the month he was gone.
Had he kissed Irene like this? The dark thought chilled like a bucket of cold water. She tried to wrestle free, but he held her fast.
“The only one I need is you,” he whispered against her lips.
Her heart desperately wanted to believe him, her body wanted to sink back into another nerve-tingling kiss, and her too-wary head conjured up an image of him leaving with Irene. Just last night. The hurt and heartache roared back to life all over again.
She shoved him back, hating the tears piling up in her eyes. “I don’t believe you, and I don’t trust you.”
She stumbled for the door, and he made a grab for her. “No, Andi, wait!”
The tug on her arm lit the fuse. “Well, I’m not talking to you. Don’t bother trying to justify dating Irene, I wouldn’t believe you. She bragged to everyone in the office that you two were out till the wee hours. You’re a player, Garrett, and Irene can help you.”
“What?” he roared.
“Oh, forget it.” She jerked her arm free. “You want to sleep with her? Go ahead. You made your bed, now you can lie in it. Good luck, you’re going to need it.”
Before the last word left her mouth, he yanked her up against his hard chest. “Stop it, Andi. Just stop it.”
His lips silenced her retort. His kiss gentled, though she could feel him tremble with anger. His palms cradled her cheeks, and his tongue teased at her lower lip, urging her to open for him. God forgive her, she did. She could not resist this man.
She had missed Garrett—his smile, his twinkling eyes, his glorious scent, and especially his taste. She knuckled her fingers into the curls at his nape to hold him in the kiss. His tongue caressed hers with a slow, sensual rhythm that turned her knees to water. She had dreamed of this kiss, night after night, in the month he was gone.
Had he kissed Irene like this? The dark thought chilled like a bucket of cold water. She tried to wrestle free, but he held her fast.
“The only one I need is you,” he whispered against her lips.
Her heart desperately wanted to believe him, her body wanted to sink back into another nerve-tingling kiss, and her too-wary head conjured up an image of him leaving with Irene. Just last night. The hurt and heartache roared back to life all over again.
She shoved him back, hating the tears piling up in her eyes. “I don’t believe you, and I don’t trust you.”
She stumbled for the door, and he made a grab for her. “No, Andi, wait!”
~Meet Petie!~
Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband, a spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel addicted to pimento-stuffed green olives, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue.
Petie will be awarding 3 eBook copies of Cinderella Busted (Book 1 in the series!) to three randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thank you very much for taking valuable time to read and review my story!
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