Holly‘s review of Too Hot To Handle (Domestic Gods, Book 2) by Robin Kaye
He sure would love to have someone to take care of…
Dr. Mike Flynn’s single mom taught him early how to cook and clean, and there’s nothing like vacuuming or doing dishes to help a guy relax. Annabelle Ronaldi is an artist without a domestic bone in her body. Since her fiance’s death, she can’t paint, and life looks hopeless.
Until the day after her sister’s wedding, when she wakes up with Mike next to her in bed, and then she’s really beside herself – because the handsome stranger is a dead ringer for her dead fiance.
After their mind-blowing one night stand, Mike is sure this is the woman he wants to take care of forever, but she acts like she’s seen a ghost. While Mike sets to work wooing Annabelle, she sets to work sniffing out the truth of the convoluted family secret that turns everybody’s lives upside down.
I had reservations going into this book because I didn’t care for Annabelle’s character in the first book Romeo, Romeo. It turns out I was right to be wary. Casee disagreed, however. You can read her review here.
Annabelle and Mike hook at up her sister’s wedding. She doesn’t remember what happened the night before but is totally freaked out when she realizes the stranger in bed with her is a dead ringer for her dead fiance. At first she’s convinced she’d dreaming – or his ghost is stalking her. Eventually she realizes she’s not dreaming and the man in her apartment is for real. But his resemblance to her dead fiance is uncanny.
Mike isn’t thrilled when he realizes the woman of his dreams doesn’t remember him or the night they spent together, but he’s determined to get to know her better. Though Annabelle is reluctant to start a relationship, and Mike isn’t in the best financial situation, he pursues her.
I really liked Mike in the beginning. He just graduated med school and has started work at a practice, but he hasn’t been offered a partnership yet, which means he’s pretty financially strapped. I actually really liked that, because too often romance novel heroes are already loaded, or at least well established in their careers and financially stable. Mike wasn’t. Unfortunately my feelings of good will only lasted until I realized he was turning a blind eye to some bad things in the practice because he’s afraid of making waves. At first I understood his reluctance to say anything, but the longer it went on the more frustrated I became.
Beyond that Mike is practically perfect. He likes to cook and clean, and he actually enjoys taking care of Annabelle. He’s kind and caring, and his pursuit of her is admirable, if somewhat misplaced.
I absolutely hated Annabelle. Right from the beginning she annoyed me, but it just got worse as the novel progressed. I understand needing to be independent, believe me. I also understand that she needed to break away from her family and stand on her own two feet. What I don’t understand is how she kept lying to Mike and keeping secrets from him. Especially the BIG secret. You see, Mike is really her dead fiance’s brother. Annabelle figures this out early in the book, but doesn’t tell Mike.
I didn’t understand the way she kept pushing Mike away and treating him like crap. Several times he called her on it, telling her flat out she needed to decide if she wanted to be with him. Then she’d be like, “Oh here, let me throw you a bone. Ok, I like you. Now stop asking questions about my life and trying to get to know me. Let’s just do the dirty already.”
I guess if this had been a chick-lit I would have been fine with that, but in the end I didn’t buy the romance. I didn’t believe for one second that she loved him. She was using him as a convenient lay. That she was lying to him the whole time was just icing on the cake.
Overall the heroine was beyond annoying and the circumstances behind the main conflict were contrived and dumb. The hero bugged, too. Very disappointing since I loved her debut release.
2 out of 5
The Series:
This book is available from Sourcebooks Casablanca. You can buy it here.
I haven’t read this book yet so I can’t say, but I really like your description of Mike. Sounds like someone I’d like for my very own! (I meant the domestic god thing. Sexy!) *grin*
I had enjoyed Too Hot to Handle, even though I did not like the heroine. Just received Breakfast in Bed today.
@Silver – I thought Mike was pretty sexy. But then all of Kaye’s heroes in this series have been. Any many who cooks and cleans is good in my book. 😛
@Luci – I know Casee enjoyed this book much more than I did.