Par for Cinderella

Casey Stuart is an enigma one moment with her energy and know it all attitude. She's a firecracker without apology at other times. But with an almost fatal accident, many things have to change at a moments notice.

Aidan Cross is a low key person when he can be. He doesn't like people knowing who he really is. When he sees someone not come up from a quick knock off a boat into water, he goes into action fast and the story then and what happened after becomes known by all the locals.

To watch the dynamic teamwork of so many in a small Cypress town learn to keep a community afloat with their businesses and stay honest and true to themselves was admirable to Aidan. Many struggled but he noticed not because of unnecessary spending but one person trying to control the whole town, Barstow, the local Mayor and his bully of a son PJ.

This story is so admirable and a true fairy tale. I gave this novel 5 stars for a well written, sparkling, captivating tale that came to life from page one. 5 stars also for the author who could write such an inventive and inspiring story. I gave an honest review in exchange for an ARC of the book.

This is a cute story with interesting characters. I liked Aidan a lot; I also liked Casey, but there were a few times I wanted to shake some sense into her. The dynamic of Casey's uncle and the rest of the townsfolk make for a great cast of characters. The conflict threatening the town is also intriguing. The bad guys are despicable, and I was glad to see them all get theirs. I had not read the previous two books is this series and would probably have felt even more connected if I had, but this was still enjoyable as a standalone. Overall, this is a charming take on the Cinderella fairytale.

Thank you to NetGalley and Soul Mate Publishing for providing an ARC for review.

Par for Cinderella is a sweet cute quirky that has a new take on the same story that has been told a thousand times before. The cast of characters are unique while others blend into the story.
Perfect beach read.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Petie McCarty Par for Cinderella

Aidan Cross is the heir to Cross Enterprises, a multi-billion dollar company that does everything from finance to premier golf courses and real estate. The latter is the division that Aidan is in charge of. It is as close as he will ever get to his own dream–being a PGA professional golfer, a dream that he father extinguished after Aidan completed his MBA and his college golfing career. Instead, Aidan builds premier PGA golf resorts with his best friend, Rhett. The next resort is going to be in Cypress Key, Florida. There are a few hiccups with this development project beginning with time in the local jail, a corrupt mayor, and a beautiful boat tour operator, Casey Stuart.

Casey Stuart lost her father when she was a child and her stepmother is now married to the town mayor. All the men in her life have let her down with the exception of her uncle, a former PGA golfer who gave up the tour to take care of his niece when his brother died. To make ends meet, Casey runs a boat tour and helps her uncle on their golf course–a course that Casey designed. Casey’s dream is to design golf courses. She returned to Cypress Key after college to help her uncle with his failing business. He is not the only business in Cypress Key that is struggling. Almost every business in the town owes the mayor a portion of their business or large sums of money. To add to Casey’s issues, her high school boyfriend, PJ Bartow–the mayor’s son, wants her back. He is not taking no for an answer even after she tells him that she is involved with the new stranger in town. PJ is desperate and will do anything even sabotage Casey’s dreams.

Aidan didn’t believe his best friends–Rhett and Garrett when they said they fell in love at first sight. The two men must have been crazy! But when Aidan sees Casey securing her tour boat at the marina–he’s questioning everything he had previously known about women and romance. The once playboy is not only a believer but also willing to do anything for the woman he loves. But will Casey still want him when she find out his real identity?

Aiden Cross gave up his PGA dream to please his father but there’s nothing better he loves than creating a beautiful golf course. That is, until he lays eyes on Casey. Their first meeting, he saves her life. Every other encounter since then, she makes his blood boil, his head spin and logic takes a vacation. She’s prickly and questions his every move. No woman has ever had this effect on him and before he knows it, he’s fallen head over heels in love with her. The only problem is she has no idea he’s a billionaire. He knows when she learns the truth, she’ll never forgive him. He’s fairly certain she’ll chuck him into the water. Can he risk it all to save his very own Cinderella or has he told too many lies and his final score will be a double-bogey?



I’m a big fan of this series and I couldn’t wait to read Aiden’s story. He’s your typical billionaire with a heart of gold. All he wants is for a woman to love the man and not his family’s money. He’s got insecurities and Casey seems to bring out the worst in him. They argue and go round and round but in all actuality, Casey is perfect for him. She keeps him on his toes and he loves it.



There’s quite a few serious issues involved in this romance besides the romance. There’s corruption, attempted rape, drug cartels, suicide and murder. You’ll pick out the characters from Cinderella right away and true to McCarty’s brilliance, she has the uncanny ability to write antagonists I despise. The plot moves at a quick pace and I fell in love with the community of Cypress Key. The ending made me smile and get a little emotional. I grew attached to certain characters and sighed when it ended. A brilliant romance I highly recommend!



Favorite Character/Quote: Aiden. He’s not your everyday billionaire. He’s got depth and the whole PGA dream busted thanks to Aiden’s father gave him a weakness I took to heart. Even men with tons of money don’t get everything they want out of life. He cared about people, especially the people of Cypress Key, was surprising and wonderful. Get ready to swoon, ladies.



My Rating: 5 stars

Having read Betting on Cinderella from Petie McCarty, I was curious what Par for Cinderella would entail. Because, surely, Petie couldn't spin a different story from Cinderella, right? But she can! After Garrett's fairy tale, we now meet Casey with her wicked stepmother and evil stepsister. And although Casey is not cleaning, she is struggling with her uncle Frank to survive with their golf course in the small town of Cypress Key. And there is a (fairy) godmother, Belle, who sold some of her land at Cypress Key to a prince Charming (aka Aidan Cross).
Aidan has just bought some land to build a new golf course. But while checking the region, his boat breaks down just outside the Cypress Key waters. When coming to shore, he saves Casey from drowning. The culprit? PJ, the son of the local mayor. When Aidan manhandles the guy, he gets arrested.
But then Frank bails him out in exchange for some help at the golf course. Can Aidan help Frank and Casey, while remaining undercover? Because there is something fishy going on in this little town and Aidan is determined to get to the bottom of it. A wonderful, hilarious tale, with lots of references to the Cinderella story. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Aiden needs a break, and he heads down to get away from everything. While he is boating in the water, he rescues a lady, Casey and sparks fly....

I actually liked the story, it was a little slow in the beginning but did pick up for me. The story kept me interested. There were really great secondary characters in the story that kept the interest going. I loved their chemistry, even though she wasn't really interested or acting interested, Aiden couldn't get her out of his head. Good story.