Robin Kaye – Romeo, Romeo

The first book in the Domestic Gods series, published November 2008.



Rosalie Ronaldi doesn't have a domestic bone in her body ...
All she cares about is her career, so she survives on take-out and dirty martinis, keeps her shoes under the dining room table, her bras on the shower curtain rod, and her clothes on the couch ...

Nick Romeo is every woman's fantasy - tall, dark, handsome, rich, really good in bed, AND he loves to cook and clean ...
He says he wants an independent woman, but when he meets Rosalie, all he wants to do is take care of her. Before too long, he's cleaned up her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog ...
So what's the problem? Just a little matter of mistaken identity, corporate theft, a hidden past in juvenile detention and one big nosy Italian family too close for comfort ...


Rosalie is happy with her life, she loves her job and is good at it. She has a boyfriend on her own terms, and is not planning on getting married, ever. She hates doing domestic work, so her house resembles a blizzard. Her clothes and other stuff are everywhere, except in the closets where they belong. The only clean place is the kitchen, because she doesn’t use it except to make coffee.
If only her mother didn’t start nagging her about getting married. She is 27, and has been dating Joey for two years, so it is about time they got married. But Rosalie doesn’t want that. She isn’t in love with Joey, he is just convenient. So when he does propose to her, she refuses him and breaks things off. Her mother is very mad about that, but Rosalie doesn’t care.
The previous day when she got a flat tire and was rescued by a very handsome car mechanic, she ended up with a date with him. And she really is looking forward to that.

Nick doesn’t know what happens to him when he meets Rosalie. He doesn’t want to tell her who he really is, as woman have been chasing him just for his money. And he really likes this spitfire. He doesn’t want to marry, and as soon as a girlfriend uses that word, or wants him to meet her family, he runs. But this time, it is him who gets the talk about a casual no strings attached relationship. So, is it a dream come true? Rosalie is independent, doesn’t expect him to take her out to dinner at four star restaurants every evening, doesn’t want to talk excessively about her feelings or expectations, and she loves watching hockey games.

On their second date, he finds her in bed, sick. He is worried about her, and stays to take care of her. When he takes her to the emergency room the next day, she is diagnosed with pneumonia. Nick takes her home, vows to take care of her, and just moves in. And when she finally gets better, he just stays. Still pretending he is just a mechanic, and not the owner of all those car dealerships. What he doesn’t know is that Rosalie is the new CFO of Premier cars, a Jaguar dealer ship, Nick has had his eye on since forever. He wants to buy it, and now Rosalie has to make it sound again. Will knowing him jeopardize her career?


Nick and Rosalie are so great together. I thought I would get a nice fluffy hilarious book to read. And I sort of did, but not all the time. The pieces were Nick is doing the household chores, especially the vacuuming, are great. How he cooks nice Italian dinners for her every night, and just takes care of her, cleans up behind her and her big dog. But Rosalie also has to come to terms with her father cheating on her mother, her mother knowing that, and not doing anything about that. Her mother even wants her sister Annabelle to marry her cheating boyfriend after she caught him. There is not much liking her family in this book, I can only hope that will get better.
Rosalie’s assistant Gina and Nick’s secretary Lois, as well as the dog Dave are great secondary characters. All in all, it is still a fun book to read. I really love the writing style and the humor.
Two people not wanting to marry, to have commitments, are falling in love. And they don’t know how to change the rules they have lived by for so long. They are scared about their feelings.

8 stars.