I was already done and over this the first 1/4 of reading. The concept left much to be desire, the characters fell flat and I found myself zoning out more times that I could count due to the lackluster plot, so needless to say, this fell in the dropped graveyard.

( )

I...just don’t know what to do about Weight Expectations. This book just didn’t do it for me. Of all the Smartypants novels, this is the only one I rated less than 5 stars.

Let’s start with the characters. Penny’s version of Carlos was a tall, good looking Latino with beautiful brown eyes. I know “tall” is relative, but Janie is over 5’10” & she thinks Carlos is tall, not barely 6’. Also, brown eyes rep, it was nice that Carlos was a brown eyed man since most heroes have startling blue or ocean’s deep green eyes. So, ME Carter just tried to make Penny’s character fit her own narrative. Also, she changed Carlos into a stereotypical Latin lover, giving “pleasure to all women.” Blech! She also flipped the script on Olivia’s firing. It’s like she never read, Neanderthal Seeks Human.

The other thing that bothered me were all the grammatical errors. I read the kindle version so maybe the paperback is better, but these went beyond mere typos. It’s like she didn’t even have an editor who told her when her phrasing was clunky or not to use the same word twice in a sentence. And clunky it was. Whole sentences made as much sense as, “A noble spirit embiggins the smallest man.” It just doesn’t mean anything. And this happened more than a couple of times.

All in all the book is just a big No! ( )

This is part of the Penny Reid Smartypants romance series.

This story is Carlos, who works with Quinn.

This one didn't work for me.

Obviously the main topic is weight and the setting is a gym.

Carlos is not interested in relationships and is happy single.

He has a few thoughts about attempting to pick up a couple of women before noticing the heroine, who starts going to the gym and needs to loose weight on advice from her doctor.

Carlos meets the heroine, looks right through her. He seemed so shallow not at all how I saw him in Neathdathal seeks human, Quinn and Janie's book.

He goes on a date with another woman after officially meeting the heroine.
"She’s no Rian, but those heels will still look fabulous wrapped around my waist tonight. Although I’m not sure why Rian just popped into my head. I’ve only met the woman once, and while I enjoyed talking to her, she’s not my type at all.
Focus, Carlos. Your date is here and she’s a knockout."

His intention is to wine, dine then have sex with this other woman.
It doesnt work out that way but not because of him.
"More important, I’m not the kind of guy she wants. That’s really what it boils down to—honesty. There is no reason to make her think I’m looking for a relationship. I’m not, and I don’t want to disappoint anyone by pretending otherwise. My interests in women are three-fold:
Holidays and visits with my mother.
Acquaintanceship and fun conversation with co-workers.
One night of pleasure with anyone else who may catch my eye."

He's such a peach.

I honestly thought she was going to end up with the trainer, Abel, they spent so much time together esp at the start.

I did like the author didn't label the heroine with a size, esp as dress sizing varies from country to country but it was for health reasons from her doctor that she was trying to get fit.
Also there was a skinny person with deadly high cholesterol which showed you are not automatically healthy just because you are thinner.

No intimate scenes with anyone other than the Hero and heroine.

Ex drama.

HEA. ( )

I hate to one-star a Smartypants Romance book, but this one just didn't work for me. Rian is overweight, so she starts working out at a gym. She's kind of the stereotypical jolly fat girl; she was okay as a character. We've seen Carlos before in the Knitting in the City series where he worked with Janie and seemed fine. Here though he's an egotistical gym-rat who only does one-time hook-ups with gorgeous women. Honestly, I don't understand why Quinn, Janie, Dan, or any of the others from KITC series would have anything to do with this guy. He's truly obnoxious.
I had no idea why Rian wanted anything to do with him. As other reviews mentioned, she had a lot more chemistry with Abel, her trainer. They would have been a much better pairing. As it is, Rian being with Carlos seems to degrade her character. Her sister was also obnoxious, carrying the bridezilla trope way too far.
Anyway, I still love the Sassypants books, but this one wasn't for me. ( )