ARC Review: Professor Adorkable (Domesticated Inc #1) by Edie Danford

Blurb:

What happens when a star-gazing professor falls for his hot young housekeeper? One heck of an earthy explosion…

Professor Marek Janos's genius at analyzing stellar explosions doesn't apply to his own disordered world. Forgetting to eat, sleep, and leave his lab has triggered some epic personal disasters. When his family insists he hire live-in help, he discovers home life has awesome benefits. His new housekeeper's smile sparks more energy than a supernova. And the way he moves? It rocks Marek's galaxy.

Pete Schulz took a tough fall from his high-flying life in Hollywood. But how does a guy whose best skill is getting dirty clean up his act? His new gig with Domesticated Inc seems like a great first step. Keeping house for a nerdy young astrophysics professor is exactly the low-key, no-chance-for-trouble job he needs, right?

Living together is surprisingly easy for both men. And fun. And more than a little hot. It's when they're faced with the idea of living apart that the truly messy work begins…

Todd's rating:

Well, that was entirely unexpected. Pete, one of this book's MC's turned out to be none other than the main asshole character from Danford's "Unraveling Josh (Ellery College #3)".

However, unlike Nick and Josh's story, which I absolutely adored, this story fell a bit flat for me.

While I did like both Pete and Marek as MC's, I also found myself a bit bored and left with some disbelief regarding a few turning points of the story.

First, Pete had a set of hard and fast rules by which he'd lived since moving away from Hollywood, where his "looks and status above all else" outlook had left his previously-shallow life in shambles.

So at first, the story was rules, rules, rules, but after one small fit of jealousy, those rules were (mostly) left in a burning pile of ash on the side of the highway. This felt a bit too convenient and not utterly believable.

But the MC's became a couple and things were going well, with "I love you's" exchanged and they both lived happily ever after.

Except, umm... NOT. :- /

Because Marek's controlling uncle, Jakub had manipulated Pete's employment contract to include a clause that, upon termination of employment, Pete would be forced to cut off all communication with Marek.


When this came to light, the separation that followed felt anything but organic in my opinion. Adults IN LOVE in that situation would have stayed and talked through what legal options were available. Instead, Pete decided that he *must* immediately pack his bags and leave -- without so much as a goodbye.

This felt entirely contrived to ramp up the drama, when such swift, drastic measures weren't really required. So yeah, forced plotline felt forced.

I did enjoy the interactions between the MC's, with Marek being a bumbling geek and Pete feeling fulfilled and needed in his relationship with Marek.

The humor was 'mostly' funny, but at times tiptoed dangerously close up to the "Mom Jokes" line. Pete was 23 and Marek was 26, so I didn't find some of those completely corny jokes very realistic for guys that young.

There was a decent amount of steam, but not enough to where the reader would feel completely dicked to death, for which I was glad.

I enjoyed the ending quite a bit, after Pete returned to Chicago, and was happy with where their relationship was headed.

But GURL, their new peacock blue couch has gots ta go! ;- )

#GayButNotTHATGay  #TooFabulousForMe  #MyEyesMyEyes

Overall, the story was okay, but nothing really earth-shattering, so I'd rate it at around 3.25 stars and hope that future books in the series stay far away from corny jokes and sudden, less-than-convincing separations.

My ARC copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.

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