Home is where the heart is thus the popularity of housekeepers as romantic partners in romance.

 

I always wonder if the heroine still gets to draw a salary after becoming the wife or if she gets a housekeeper. You will see that there is an overabundance of those not good at housework becoming housekeepers. I would love to see some competetance around housekeeping. I could only gasp in wonder. 

 

Here are some Contemporary Romance Novel that explore this theme. 

 

My lists are never in any particular order. Enjoy!

 

1. Let's Misbehave by Lisa Plumley

 

With no skills besides scoring the perfect stilettos, maxing out her credit card, and partying till dawn, Marisol Winston is about to get a lesson in the real world—and in love... 

After years of perfecting her party-girl image, Marisol wants to open an L.A.-based deluxe boutique. Unfortunately her father refuses to foot the bill until she agrees to do a stint in shopaholic rehab. Surely she can survive a few weeks without Dior, right? But part of Marisol's anti-retail remedy entails getting a real job as a nanny/housekeeper in Podunkville, Arizona. Suddenly she’s knee-deep in PB&Js and dirty laundry, surprised to find herself just a teensy bit smitten with her three sticky-fingered charges—and their deliciously distracting Dad (even if he does wear discount denim). 

Quarterback Cash Connelly has one last shot at being re-signed to the pros, which means he needs a nanny who runs a tight ship. Marisol seems to know way more about Tiffany’s than T-ball, and she has more miniskirted sex appeal than is strictly 
necessary for laundering jockey shorts. But his kids seem positively smitten. Well, who wouldn't love a woman who serves up ice cream for breakfast? Now if only Cash can find a way to stick to his strict hands-off-the-nanny policy...

 

2. Once in a Lifetime by Gwynne Forster

 

With a young daughter to support, recently divorced Alexis Stevenson jumps at the chance to become household manager for wealthy businessman Telford Harrington and his two brothers. Though she knows it won't be easy turning their bachelor-pad mansion into a home, she is determined to handle any obstacles, while maintaining a separate life for herself and her daughter. But Alexis isn't at all ready for the red-hot chemistry crackling between her and Telford—or the fact that she's suddenly caught in a maze of unexpected secrets and deep mistrust. But if she and Telford find their way through it—together—can they both embrace the love they so deeply desire?

 

3. The Twelve Nights of Christmas by Sarah Morgan

 

His housekeeper, or his Christmas present? Unexpectedly homeless for the festive season, and exhausted from transforming the penthouse of the hotel where she works into a dazzling winter wonderland, chambermaid Evie Anderson secretly sleeps over. Woken by an outrageously sensual kiss, Evie feels her body come alive...until she realises her seducer is Rio Zaccarelli, her dangerously attractive new boss! This Christmas, it's imperative Rio's reputation appears spotless - but innocently enticing Evie is a temptation he can't resist! Their scorching chemistry leads to twelve nights of endless pleasure. But will it last once the decorations come down?

 

4. Unexpected by Karen Tuft

 

Eleven years ago, Ross McConnell was devastated by the betrayal of the woman of his dreams. Time does not heal all wounds, and after more than a decade, Ross is no closer to finding love. When his well-meaning family attempts to play matchmaker, he concedes by creating a list detailing his perfect mate: A member of the Church. Beauty-queen looks. College educated. Never married. Perhaps he’ll give love another try, if such perfection exists . . . 

 

Natalie Forrester is no stranger to heartache. After two failed marriages, the beautiful single mother of three is determined to make it on her own. Without a college degree, she starts at the bottom: working as a housekeeper may not be glamorous, but it’s her first exhilarating step toward independence. And Natalie’s most recent cleaning job is ideal—the guy is always out of town, and the pay will go a long way toward supporting her missionary son. Maybe luck is finally on her side. And then Ross and Natalie meet . . . and meet again. And following a series of awkward encounters, Ross is shocked by his growing attraction for this woman. Natalie couldn’t be further from his ideal woman, and she is firm in her determination to keep her heart closed to love. But as their tenuous friendship develops and deepens, will the unlikely pair have the courage to set aside the disappointments of the past to catch hold of a bright new future?

 

5. Housekeeper's Happy-Ever-After by Fiona Harper

 

Ellie Bond's heart has ached ever since she lost her beloved husband and little girl. Now her head is telling her it's time to get her life back on track. Her first small step: answering big-shot music executive Mark Wilder's Housekeeper Wanted advertisement!

Outwardly Mark is supercool, überpowerful and can make or break careers, but it's the compassion beneath his public exterior that's reawakening Ellie's zest for life.  

 

6. No Less Than a Lifetime by Christine Rimmer

 

FROM A MODEL EMPLOYEE…

For ten years Faith Jones had waited for Price Montgomery to see her as anything but the efficient employee she was. For ten years she'd kept not only his house, but his secrets—all the while hoping that one day he would see her as a woman, not a worker.

…TO A BRIDE IN TRAINING?

But time was up—and Faith was ready to call it quits. And suddenly Price was noticing that his prim and proper housekeeper had a softer side. One he'd like to get to know better—if only he could convince her to stay. After all, good help is so hard to find….

 

7. Jackson's Jewel by N.J. Walters

 

The last thing Jackson Connors wants is a housekeeper. He likes his life just as it is—solitary and uncomplicated. Emerald Jewel is a New York designer with a stalker on her trail. She needs a place to hide out and Jackson’s farm is the perfect solution to her problem. The last thing she wants is to be attracted to her sexy new boss. Neither of them is prepared for the explosion of passion that flares between them. They try to resist, but the desire will not be denied. Jackson knows Emerald’s life is in New York and his is on the farm. He’ll eventually have to let her go, but he’s not about to let her face this threat on her own. But the stalker is getting closer to finding Emerald and will stop at nothing to possess her. As the threat around her escalates, she must face leaving Jackson to draw the danger away from the man she’s coming to love.

 

8. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

 

Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. 

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. 

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?

 

9. The Ring on Her Finger by Elizabeth Bevarly

 

eiress Lucinda Hollander is in something of a bind. After being proposed to by a man in a Bozo the Clown suit—who jams a ring on her finger the size of Gibraltar and then disappears—she's accused of a murder she didn't commit and is forced to go on the lam. Although she's never touched a dust mop, never mind used one, she hides out as Lucy French, housekeeper, on an elegant estate far from the scene of the crime. Hey, she knows her way around big houses, and making floors sparkle sure beats making license plates.

She finds more than she bargained for in the servants’ quarters, however, not the least of which is Max Hogan, the car guy. He’s gorgeous and sexy, and, wow, does he know how to work with his hands. But he’s more than a little silent about his past, which makes Lucy wonder what he’s up to—and what will happen when he discovers her own secrets. Throw in a fiery nanny, a scandalous horse breeder, and a lonely little girl, and Lucy has more than enough to take her mind off her troubles. Until one of those troubles becomes falling in love with Max. How will she ever be able to put things to rights?

And how can she get that darned ring off her finger...?

 

10. The Heart Won't Lie by Vicki Lewis Thompson

 

Just get up and ride… 

Much to his family's displeasure, Michael Hartford pens popular Western paperbacks. But despite his cowboy image, he's more Central Park West than Wild West. With a major photo shoot coming up, he'll need to be a cowboy—not just look like one! And Michael has only a week at the Last Chance Ranch to get the giddy-up in his game…. 

 

After a girl-fight scandal, socialite-turned-housekeeper Keri Fitzpatrick is cheerily unrepentant as she waits for the dust to settle. It's not long before she discovers Michael's secret and a whole lot of similarities…including an irresistible temptation to play Naughty Naked Cowboy! 

 

But does this scrappy socialite have what it takes to ensure her would-be cowboy is both saddle sore and satisfied?

 

Vote for the best of the best on my Goodreads list: Feather Duster: Housekeepers in Contemporary Romance

This story was very fast and short on details.

Bullet points because I don't want to have to think about this anymore than necessary:*The writing was like reading someone's very first fan fiction (only technically proficient).*The dialogue was beyond ridiculous. I shouldn't be thinking of Leave It to Beaver when reading a contemporary book. No one, no one speaks like that in real life in the 21st century. This was a complete and total failure to make these characters sound like believable human beings.*They kind of read like old timey robots programmed to do improv. The dialogue was that stilted and their conversations would start off making sense, but one would end a sentence and jump to a non-sequitur literally in the same breath. I felt I was yelling, "WHAT?! WHERE DID THAT COME FROM, THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" every other page. They'd be having some ostensibly sweet moment and the next thing out of his mouth is something entirely random that set off a fight. 'Oh, Jack, this dinner was scrumptious!" (yes, it sounded exactly like that) "Thank you, Melanie. Why do you keep denying you have any feelings for me?" I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. This was constant.*If you don't want to write cursing into your book, that's fine. Having adults in their 30's say things like "gosh", "gee", "heck" constantly makes them sound utterly stupid.*There was no continuity. They'd have a conversation and a few pages later one of them would say something that completely contradicted the conversation. 'Why won't you commit to me?!' Okay, except you've had like ten conversations where you've each confirmed you'll only be with each other. "Unless she could tell by the, Porsche, she doesn't know how wealthy I am and she doesn't care." Uhmmm, what in the actual fuck? Let's say the Porsche actually didn't tip her off to his wealth. I think him having an office in the rich area of town, paying for this clinic in the poorer area on his own, the fancy-ass wealthy things he wears, buys, throws around, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. would freaking tip her off! Honestly, the whole thing was this nonsensical.*Did an editor even read this?!*Worst attempt at an alpha male. Ever. It's not all that cute to begin with, but when the author writes it with all the deftness of a toddler finger painting it becomes painful. He is the most over sensitive, YOU MUST TELL ME YOU LOVE ME. WHY, EVEN THOUGH YOU'VE JUST SHOWN ME AFFECTION TWO SECONDS AGO, WILL YOU NOT SHOW ME/TELL ME THAT YOU CARE ABOUT ME?! No lie, these are things that were said. Yet he was controlling to the point that he literally buckled her seat belt for her every time she got in his car. He would give her commands constantly. It was so clunky and awful. *The Heroine read more like a teenager than someone who is 31 years old (and not because she only referred to her father as "Daddy"). Her behavior and reactions to things were so stupid. But so were his. I wish they wouldn't breed, their children will be dumb as a box of rocks and emotionally volatile. And the reason why she was only finishing up her schooling at this age was never addressed.*The plot was so basic and clichéd. I still can't believe that this was somehow 300 freaking pages long. There was so much random crap. It makes no sense that it rambled on that long without really saying anything. No, seriously, so much of it didn't make sense! The character actions, reactions, interactions, and motivations were so dumb. Again, I spent way too much time stopping reading to exclaim how much what was going on made no damn sense whatsoever. HOW WAS THIS 300 PAGES?!*No, seriously, how is it even possible an editor read this?!Honestly, I could really delve deeper into all of these points and find new ones to bring up and give countless examples (which I kind of want to do because I want you guys to understand my pain) but I've already written more than I had intended. Apparently my abject frustration from reading this kind of poured out against my will.

I really struggled with this book. So much so that I stopped reading it for a few weeks then came back to it. It starts out really good. You have solid characters here, and you sympathize quickly with Leslie and her situation that brings her to Jordan's home looking for work. Jordan, I fell in love with instantly and the more I got to know him I fell even harder. The people he trusts and surrounds himself with are well written as well. The chemistry with Jordan and Leslie was good but..

The problem I had with this one was all the ridiculous back and forth, with Leslie and Jordan. Her weak excuses as to why she felt she could not get involved with Jordan. Although she knew he loved her and she loved him. The entire 7 months she was working for him everything this man said was always backed up by his actions. Not to mention the fact that everyone who worked with or for him, and those who basically raised him all had great and positive things to say about Jordan. His character, his beliefs, his cares, etc.. The fact that he continued to encourage her to pursue and complete her education, as was her goal, he offered to help her in any way he could to help make this goal a reality for her. So she would not have to suffer to achieve this goal. How Leslie twisted this up in her head that he would be or try to be a major issue with her completing her education is lost on me. All I can say was Simple minded, stupidity, & FEAR were her main motivations behind this way of thinking.

Also the whole angle with the "villian" was weak. The whole way how they handled this issue and the ultimate outcome was just pitiful. I can't even say this part of the story was not executed well, cause it was not executed @ all! The whole thing with Jordan's nephew could have been left out. I failed to see the point of him being there. I mean he was a sweet kid & it was unfortunate how he came to be there, but what was the point? How did it contribute to the story of Jordan and Leslie?
Julie was kinda getting on my nerves with her reservations of the fact that Jordan was white and Leslie was black. So was Ossie, but not so much so that I felt like slapping them.
Also the story seemed to jump in certain parts and @ times I got kinda confused on who was saying what or what exactly was happening.
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately I don't. So I cannot recommend this read. I would suggest you get this one from the library or have someone lend it to you but do not purchase it.