DUTY, DESIRE AND THE DESERT KING – Jane Porter (The Desert Kings)

Line:                        Mills and Boon Modern
                                Harlequin Presents

Release month         UK: November 2009
                                 North America: Dec 2009


The S-Factor:          Sizzling


Back-Blurb:


Playboy sheikh, unwilling wife…


As the black sheep of the Fehrs, a powerful desert family, middle son Zayed has sworn off love and marriage. This playboy prince is happiest when cruising the casinos of Monte Carlo. But then family tragedy leaves him as heir to his kingdom’s throne. Custom dictates that a wife must be seated beside him, and he’s got just the bride in mind…


Rou Tournell is a feisty, independent woman – and if she won’t marry Zayed for duty, maybe desire will help persuade her…

Review: ♥♥♥♥

Duty, Desire and the Desert King authored by Jane porter is an excellently executed story that pulls one into its magic from the beginning to end. It a wonderful holiday romance with a theme of love and the joy; it brings to those who believe. It also emphasises that love can actually heal all.


Sheikh Jayed is one handsome and charismatic man who also carries guilt and believes he is the black sheep of his royal family. He believes himself to be cursed because of his past, and holds himself responsible for his love, his sisters, his father and now his missing brother. Now he must return home to the desert, marry and assume the responsibility of King.

Dr. Rou Tournell is a scientist who matches compatible people to marry. She is indebted to King Sharif Fehr who was her mentor and responsible for her successful career. She years earlier also met his handsome playboy brother Zayed, was attracted to him until she found out quite by accident that he found her dull and boring. And now, years later, he needs to her, he is demanding her help to immediately find him a wife because his brother’s plane has crashed in the desert and he is missing. Now Zayed must return home to take over as ruler, bring with him a wife.


Because of her love and respect for Sharif, Rou accompanies Zayed back to Saraq and agrees to find him a wife. When Zayed realizes that Rou is a challenge, beautiful, smart, intelligent and the perfect woman to become his wife, he’s relentless until she agrees. Brilliantly written, their love story is a dance of attraction, battle of wills and a sensual journey one won’t want to miss. It’s magical in the sense that their insecurities seem to diminish when they are together, at their engagement party, on their wedding night and on their honeymoon. However, the fact the King is still missing, royal duties and Rou’s insecurities due to her past as a child take it’s toll on their marriage and in the end, Rou returns back to North America and her career.


Fate brings them together again and a warm and beautiful healing in the form of a pregnancy neither expected, facing the reality of their love for each other and like the magic of Christmas a beautiful ending full of peace, love and joy.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Series Description from Author's Website:


Jane's Sheikh Books are not necessarily connected by storyline, though a few are, these books all feature sheikhs in their exciting settings.

The Desert Kings

"The series features the three royal Fehr brothers of Sarq, a desert kingdom neighboring Egypt. The eldest brother, Sharif Fehr, is featured in the The Sheikh's Chosen Queen and is king of their country. We meet the youngest brother, Khalid Fehr, a darkly brooding nomadic sheik, in the second book, King of the Desert, Captive Bride, and the third book, Duty, Desire and the Desert King, features the middle brother, Zayad, a playboy tycoon sheikh that can't be tamed.'

THE DESERT KING’S HOUSEKEEPER BRIDE – Carol Marinelli (The Royal House of Karedes)

Author:      Carol Marinelli
Line:          Mills and Boon Modern
                  Harlequin Presents
Release month UK: Nov 2009
                          North America: Feb 2010
The S-Factor:    Sensual

Back-Blurb:

Housekeeper Effie, a practical yet slightly frumpy virgin, has been summoned to the desert to serve the sheikh!

Ruthless Sheikh King Zakari had gone to seek solitude in the sands, but nights alone are not something this ruler is used to. However, with his housekeeper at his service, there's no need to allow his bed to grow cold….

After hot hours of passion, Effie's heart is near to bursting. But what she doesn't realize is that something has compelled Zakari to take her, a lowly servant, as his royal bride!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

There are series and then there are spectacular series and that what every single Harlequin Presents author gave to The Royal House of Karedes.

Dramatic and stunning is all I can say about the last book which is Carol Marinelli’s contribution with The Desert King’s Housekeeper Bride. It was so amazing that it kept be charged and up all night reading it and absolutely not wanting it to end. As I read the last three chapters my heart raced because I new it was going to end dramatically and it lived up to that emotion and so much more!

Knowing that you were going to be King of a country would be hard on any man but not this future King, this desert sheikh Zakari He can’t wait but before he can rule his country Calista and take over the island Aristo he must find the missing pink Stefani diamond. Once he does that and he’s very sure he will, he will rule both countries as Adamas as it once originally was before a bitter family feud. The desert always clears sheikh Zakari’s head so that’s where he’s gone and he awaiting a maid from the palace to take personal care of him in everyway. However, she’s becomes unavailable and in her place a palace maid is sent thinking she’s going to clean and cook for him. Of course, this sexy and handsome sheikh has other ideas until he sees this prim, shy and curvy virgin.

Effie is a very sweet and sincere person, takes her duties at the palace very serious and misses her mother very much since she passed away. She loves her country but also has a love of Aristo where her mother once was a palace maid as well before leaving and arriving in the desert kingdom to live out her days in her little cottage. Effie has kept up on the politics of both countries and is aware Aristo’s king cannot have his coronation until the missing diamond is found. She is hard working, honourable and wishes to serve her King but when she arrives to his desert tent what she sees is the most amazing and handsome King she’s admired from afar. What she doesn’t count on is liking him, spending time talking with him, sharing a meal and in the end having him seduce her.

Zahir is used to getting what he wants especially in bed. He doesn’t make the time for kissing he only takes but on this occasion when he realizes that Effie is a virgin he makes sure it’s perfect for her. What he doesn’t realize is two things, 1) it’s perfect for him as well and 2) later that evening she’s wearing a gift from her mother, a necklace with a pink diamond the exact one he’s looking for and he puts two and two together with Effie’s stories about her mother. He realizes her mother had an affair with the King of Aristo and she’s the result. He whisks her back to his palace, demands they marry, lies with words of love and then the next day destroys her when he tells her the news.

How can the man she loves sink so low by lying with words of love to get the diamond and end the end for one reason only to be the ruler of bother countries? Effie’s devastated and the proud sheikh doesn’t understand. He likes Effie, she gives him peace and soothes him and he believes she’ll be a good Queen and mother of his children. She’ll have power, money, everything her heart desires so how can she turn away from him?

Personally I wondered how any author could tie all of these books together, with the two countries, the different families and their own personal stories and Carol Marinelli did it brilliantly. The last chapters, the strong emotions, the uncertain, the heartbreak and the oh so surprising ending full of twists and turns, they had me on the edge of my seat and I thought absolutely brilliant. And then the teaser because not all of the mysteries surrounding these two dynasties were solved as there is still one missing person and Ms. Marinelli left one hoping and dangling at the same time. So if you’re a fan of The Royal House of Karedes, Carol Marinelli’s Wedlocked: Banished Sheikh, Untouched Queen might hold all of the answers. This will be part of her Dark-Heart Desert Men series.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the book – Carol Marinelli:

“I loved how awkward and shy Effie first appeared, yet just beneath the surface, she was intelligent an strong. And as the story revealed, there was something special about her – she just didn’t know it yet.

As for Zakari, he was my first sheikh, so he holds an extra-special place in my heart. I love Zakari!” CM

TAMED: THE BARBARIAN KING (Book 2, Dark Hearted Desert Men) – Jennie Lucas

Author: Jennie Lucas
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America: May 2010 UK: April 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual

Back Blurb:

He's as wild as the desert, a barbarian prince, a revered leader. Long ago he loved a girl, but the power of their feelings almost destroyed them both. Now that woman, the only one he could ever love, is forbidden to him!

Betrothed to another, unable to bear him sons, she is unfit to be his queen…. But she can stop the storm that has raged in his heart since he last made her his.

His choice—take her as his mistress, or become the king he was born to be….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Jennie Lucas has written a real winner with her first venture into the sheikh genre with Tamed: The Barbarian King. It was such an emotional read of two strong characters who once were deeply in love and experienced a tragic ending with no hope for a second chance, or was there?

In Book 1 Banished Sheikh, Untouched Queen we learned that the future king was not the natural heir but the missing son the king from Calista. In the end he abdicated and went to live with his new wife, the Queen. So now the throne of Qusay needs a king and it falls to the oldest son of the deceased King’s brother, a nephew Kareef Al’Ramiz, a fierce warrior of the desert, a man of honor, a man who lost the love of his life 13 years ago when they fell in love, lost a child and there was a scandal which ruined her family and she was exiled to the United States.

Now years later Jasmine Kouri has returned to her homeland engaged to a respected man of high society in Qusay and is soon to be wed and her family have forgiven her past mistakes because she is now marrying this well respected man, a man who for the most part controls her life. This very same man is also making her a ready made mother to his four children, giving her her hearts desire because when she lost her baby years ago she was told she would never bare children.

As fate sometimes intervenes, Jasmine and her past lover the future King of Qusay are thrown together at her engagement party. Her fiance is called away on an emergency and asks that the future King Kareef take care of Jasmine, under his protection. As you can well imagine, it’s very difficult for them both in more ways than one because they are still so very attracted to each other and Kareef is determined to have Jasmine in his bed so he makes the decision to take her to his desert home, a home he had once promised her. So many things happen……..a car accident, a sand storm and their own full fledged storm, a romantic one that will literally take your breath away because they can’t forget the past, a past that ties them together in more ways than you can imagine. A past of loving memories and horrible ones because of the loss of their child and the scandal their relationship caused their country and families.

Towards the end of this very emotional love story, at times I had to put it down because I could feel their pain and their love and the possibility of a not so happy ending. The way author Jennie Lucas tied this story together was magnificent which also earned Tamed: The Barbarian King a spot on the USA Today Best Selling List and it’s no wonder because it was such an emotional roller coaster with them getting their second chance plus leaving the throne of Qusay yet again without a King.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Authors website http://www.jennielucas.com/

Behind the Book @IheartPresents

FORBIDDEN: THE SHEIKH’S VIRGIN – Trish Morey (Dark Hearted Desert Men)

Author: Trish Morey
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America/AU: June 2010 UK: May 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back Blurb:

“Bedded, by order of the Sheikh”

Sheikh Rafiq Al'Ramiz left his homeland behind-betrayed by the woman he loved. He's hardened his heart and made his fortune-and now he must return: his country needs him. But he is more powerful than ever, and vengeance is high on his agenda!

Seeing Sera again, he finds the image he's held of a heartless temptress at odds with her drab robes and downcast eyes-but he will take what he's owed! What will this ruthless sheikh do when he discovers Sera's very real innocence?

Review♥♥♥♥♥

After reading the Prologue in Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin by Trish Morey, I knew this book was going to be one big bombshell! In book one learned that King Xavian abdicated when he learned he was really the missing Prince Zafir of Calista (The Royal House of Karades series). This meant then Kareef Al’Ramiz would be the next heir to the throne. However Kareef fell in love with a woman from his past, someone who could not produce an heir. Because of his love for her, he abdicated leaving his brother Rafiq Al’Ramiz the next in line to be King.

Coming home to Qusay was hard for Rafiq because of the memories and the woman he left behind, the woman he loved and who betrayed him by marrying another man. The very same woman named Sera who was now his mother’s companion and living in the palace, the woman he hated! Sera had married for wealth, privilege and status and now she was a widow. On top of it all, his mother the Sheikha wanted him to go into the desert to a village where the women of the village made beautiful fabrics to see if he wanted the fabrics exclusively for his emporium back in Australia. The same business he built from nothing which was a huge success because he enjoyed the challenge. Because of adversity it had shaped him into the man he was today. And Rafiq saw this journey as a way of getting revenge from Sera by taking her along with him. Knowing she was uncomfortable just being around him, pleased Rafiq and feeling her squirm in the vehicle, gave him great pleasure!

Sera was terrified. Remembering back eleven years ago when she loved him, all of the pain came flooding back. The Sheikha said maybe this trip was a way to put the past behind them, a chance to heal. However, sitting next to him, remembering their past love was killing her. And then at an oasis stop, emotions welled up when she held a visitors baby and if that wasn’t bad enough, Rafiq asked way too many questions, making her uncomfortable, making her remember their time spent together when they loved each other. And then Rafiq confronted her about how she had not only hurt him but had humiliated him, and he exploded in anger. She remembered how his father the King and her father demanded she marry Hussein, the Qusay ambassador, the same man her father promised her to years earlier. There had already been one scandal in the King’s family and he wasn’t about to have another.

For both Rafiq and Sera the trip was troubling. On top of that the emotion they were both feeling, remembering the past. So many secrets were revealed the entire “horror” of her marriage. Trish Morey wrote those scenes with such pain and passion she’ll have you weeping, I promise! When Rafiq realized he’d been blinded by his past pain and learned what part his father had played in Sera’s marriage he was shocked.

Just when you think they will get their second chance, the fates go against them. Rafiq wanted Sera to return to Australia and live with him but upon returning to the palace he’s told his brother had abdicated and he, Rafiq would now be King. Everything started to unravel in front of both their eyes when this proud man told her he loved her and wanted her to be his Queen. More secrets from Sera’s past marriage were revealed, horrible things her husband insisted she do, his threats and for Rafiq the enormity of these wrongs against Sera were overwhelming. Could he be King and also have the woman he loved as he wife? Or would he realize his future was with the her not the kingdom of Qusay?

As a wise village woman told him:

"Sometimes we look only with our eyes and we see only that which is right in front of us. Some people have perfect vision but will never see. For sometimes we must look beyond the pictures our mind presents as fact. Sometimes we need to see what is in our hearts. Only then do we see what is really true."

Trish Morey with her Forbidden: The Sheikh’s Virgin’s gave both Rafiq and Sera the second chance they deserved. But it also left a question as to who would be king. It left one to wonder if the youngest of the Al’Ramiz brothers’, Tahir would be found in the desert since his helicopter crashed. Would Tahir become king because it was obvious Rafiq was not giving up Sera the love of his life.


A kingdom torn apart by scandal, a throne left empty' four smoldering desert princes....Which one will claim the crown - and who will they claim as their brides?

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

More About the Book

THE DESERT KING'S BEJEWELLED BRIDE - Sabrina Philips

Author: Sabrina Philips

Line: Mills and Boon Modern and Harlequin Presents


Release Month: UK: July 2009 / North America: August 2009

The S-Factor: Sizzling and Sexy

Back-Blurb:

Kaliq Al-Zahir A'zam cannot believe the audacity of Tamara Weston! This teasing little virgin, who once rejected his proposal of marriage, is now a top model, displaying her body on advertising billboards for all to see.

Kaliq still wants Tamara, so he sees to it that she returns to his kingdom for the assignment of her career—she will model the royal jewels she should have worn as his bride, and deliver to him the wedding night he was previously denied….


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Sabrina Philips has created an amazing and spectacular love story with The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride. It is also her first sheikh book and I’m certainly hoping it’s not her last as it’s exceptional!

Seven years earlier Kaliq and Tamara met when she visited her father in Qwisar. Even though they were chaperoned by the King’s aide, they were attracted to each other. And Kaliq being duty bound even asked her to marry him and she refused. Though Tamara was attracted to him, one gets the impression she instantly fell in love and also realized he didn’t love her so she refused him and returned home to England.

Now seven years later Kaliq has discovered Tamara is a model and doesn’t think to highly of her occupation nor her but he still finds he’s attracted to her and hires her to take his people’s mind of his ailing father, the King. He brings her home to the desert to model the family jewels which were worn by his mother on her wedding day. However, what she doesn’t count on is her feelings of love for him all over again, for that very same honour and duty bound prince.

So when she puts herself and the jewels in danger and her fearless sheikh rescues her she realizes that theirs is a dangerous game and that she wants him very much. However, Kaliq doesn’t believe she is an innocent until the night they make love and he is shocked to the core. It’s obvious he’s not willing to let Tamara return home to England so he asks her to become his “fake” fiancé and travel with him to visit his friend.

Tamara and Kaliq’s love story is breathtaking but like all love stories it’s not just the passion, it’s the secrets they are both keeping from each other because to tell them would make them both vulnerable, revealing too much of themselves. It’s also Kaliq’s problem with her being so independent and a model on top of secrets which cause him to mistrust her. What I loved the most was their few days spent together as a couple on Montez, just being together and getting to know each other.

When the King dies of a heart attack, and Kaliq literally cuts himself out of her life, she makes the decision to follow him because she loves him and gives him the gift of offering to marry him for the sake of his country which would also allow him to become the ruler of Qwisar. I adored Tamara’s courage, her strength, and when she finally realized just the sort of man her sheikh was she was determined to spend her life with him for the wrong reasons than not at all! If you love the sheikh genre, a hot and roller coaster and sexy romance, then The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride is for you!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book from Sabrina’s website:

“This book features a sexy scene in which Kaliq and Tamara play a game of
tennis. It was inspired by the film Wimbledon starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten
Dunst which I adore (though I’m afraid I have no aptitude for tennis myself!)
Furthermore, the 2008 Wimbledon championships themselves were taking place
whilst I was writing the book, and appropriately, it will be the Wimbledon 2009
finals the week that The Desert King’s Bejewelled Bride hits the shelves in the
UK!

One of the first scenes that I envisioned when I was planning this
story is one in which Kaliq feeds Tamara an exotic fruit – part of the reason
why I love Sheikh stories is that it’s not just the experience of falling in
love that’s so thrilling and unfamiliar but the sights, sounds and tastes too.
But the question was, what fruit? I sampled various options (from a section of
the supermarket I’d never explored before!) but after a decidedly un-erotic
attempt at eating a pomegranate, I used my imagination and opted for a fictional
guava fruit instead!” SP

THE SHEIKH’S FORBIDDEN VIRGIN – Kate Hewitt – The Royal House of Karedes

Author: Kate Hewitt

Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern

Release month UK: July 2009/ North America: October 2009

The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back-Blurb:

On her twenty-first birthday, Kalila is pledged to marry the King of Calista. But first she must be delivered to her husband-to-be. Scarred, sexy sheikh Prince Aarif, the king's brother, is sent to escort her. However, willful virgin Kalila tries to escape and Aarif has to catch her. In the desert heat his scorching desire for her ignites—a desire that is forbidden!—and Aarif claims Kalila's virginity, even though she can never be his!

When she walks up the aisle on the day of her wedding, Kalila's heart is in her mouth: who will be waiting at the altar to become her husband?


Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Kate Hewitt takes her readers on an extremely romantic journey through the desert in The Sheikh’s Forbidden Virgin. While reading this exciting adventure, an adventure it surely was, I actually felt like I was in Zaraq, in its markets, the palace and in a desert storm. As for Calista where Princess Kalila is to be wed, the same applied, the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, riding in the desert with the sun beating down and fantasizing of being with a rugged sheikh. The author succeeded in giving me my fantasy and then some.

Kalila had known from a very young age that she would have to marry the future king of Calista. An arranged marriage by her father and Zakari’s father. She had just finished college in London and now she has to return home and to her duty. She mourns the fact that both of her parents married for love and she wants the same for herself. But duty prevails and she must go through with it. She hasn’t seen her future husband since she was twelve years old. Now this future king is due to come and claim her in Zaraq. However, he doesn’t come, he sends his brother Arif who is a very rugged, handsome and aloof prince.

Arif is the brother everyone looks to, the protector and an extremely honourable prince. One immediately senses the attraction between Arif and Kalila, a forbidden one because of course nothing can come of it because she is soon to become the wife of his brother. Arif holds a lot inside, has dreams of a horrible kidnapping which ended in the result of one of his brothers disappearing, never to be found. However, he adores his country and family and is determined to take Kalila home to his brother.

Kalila resists the marriage and escapes by horseback and rides off into a dust storm the day they are to leave. She is confused because first of all she hasn’t heard from her bridegroom and she’s attracted to Arif. Of course Arif follows and they have to spend the night in the desert in a tent. They act on their attraction and in the morning Arif is furious with himself. He can’t believe he has betrayed his brother and the burden is heavy on his heart. However, Kalila is pleased it’s happened even though she’s lost her virginity and is to marry the King. She feels it was precious and sacred.

Once in Calista, still no King, no message and Kalila is more confused. She is lonely and misses her time with Arif. It was such a sad time for them both and really a sad time for this reader because once you read this wonderful book you will be cheering them on and hoping to see them together. Each time they meet or go sightseeing, it’s a battle for them both not to look or touch, it’s heartbreaking.

Kate Hewitt is such a talented author and this sheikh book was a little different from others I’ve read because I felt I could actually live the fantasy. It’s such a sweet romance, even though their emotions for each other were a little rocky at times. The Sheikh’s Forbidden Virgin was a wonderful addition to The Royal House of Karedes series. The author recently stated in an interview “I liked how star-crossed my lovers were – their situation seemed truly hopeless, and yet love prevailed – of course”! Kate Hewitt more than succeed with her goal.


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Reviewed by: Marilyn

WEDLOCKED: BANISHED SHEIKH, UNTOUCHED QUEEN - Carol Marinelli (Dark Hearted Desert Men)

Author: Carol Marinelli
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America: April 2010 /UK:
The S-Factor: Sensual and Sizzling

Back Blurb:

About to lose his kingdom, Xavian is marrying for power—his wedding night will be purely for duty. As he unveils his new queen, nervous and naked, bathed in fragrant oils, he's stunned that she's as beautiful as the desert stars….

This queen deserves a royal bedding worthy of the Arabian Nights…and in her arms Xavian discovers that, though he may not have a kingdom, he has the strength and power of a thousand kings.

But this untouched queen could be his undoing….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Author Carol Marinelli has again charmed me as well as answering my wish for this particular story to be written with Wedlocked: Banished Sheikh, Untouched Queen. It’s an absolutely magnificent love story and the first book in the Dark Hearted Desert Men series.

If you read The Royal House of Karedes in the very last book there was a stranger at the Queen of Aristo’s wedding who noticed a man with eyes so like her new husbands that she was shaken. For she new that her husband and brothers as children had been kidnapped and that the youngest Al’Farisi brother, Zakari was swept out to sea and never found. The brothers never got over their loss nor did the country of Calista.

This incredible story is about that lost brother, now known as Xavian, the ruler of Qusay, the sheikh playboy who has been promised to Layla, the Queen of Haydar. A very strong Queen, a beautiful woman who rules alone and is a virgin. A woman not to be kept waiting, a proud woman who gives as good as she gets and who almost faints at her wedding because her future husband is so handsome and powerfully built, who oozes sensuality and takes her breath away.

Throughout reading this story one is made aware that Xavian takes his duties seriously and puts his country first. However, he is trouble by the scars on his wrists, he has bad dreams at night, and since the wedding of the Queen of Aristo, he’s troubled because they keep contacting him all of a sudden and it makes him unsettled. Now he is about to marry a woman who is queen of another country and he’s expected to produce an heir and possibly assist her in ruling her country, uniting both lands.

Queen Layla was nervous, it was her wedding day to a man she had been betrothed to since childhood. A man with a reputation of a playboy, a man who would take her on their wedding night. This sheikh, her future husband kept her waiting and she was furious. She just wants the honeymoon over and wants to get back to what makes her comfortable, ruling her country. Let’s just say, you won’t want to miss their time in the desert because it’s just as hot as the desert sun, it’s a complex, beautiful and extremely passionate love story with lots of conflict.

However, it’s a rollercoaster love story because one just knows that it’s going to explode in both of their faces when the King of Qusay finds out he’s been living a lie and the wrong life! When the truth is revealed, it’s devastating for this couple, not just for Xavian but for Layla because she loves her husband and she’s torn on what to do because she also loves her country. You’re happy for him because he’s found his lost family but you also cry for him because he now must step down from being the ruler of his beloved country. He feels cheated for what his so called parents did to him and the son who died, the son and heir to the Qusay throne.

Wedlocked: Banished Sheikh, Untouched Queen was as I’ve said a stunning love story and how author Carol Marinelli tied The Royal House of Karedes and this new series together was incredible. A personal thanks to the author as I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Carol Marinelli's website:

Carol talks about her first sheikh and the last book in the Royal House of Karedes which let to this sheikh's story.

Carol's Dear Reader

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The Sheikh And The Christmas Bride - Susan Mallery

Title: THE SHEIKH AND THE CHRISTMAS BRIDE

Author: Susan Mallery

Line: Silhouette Special Edition

Release month: North America/UK/Australia November 2007

The S-Factor: Simmering / Sweet

Back-Blurb:

From royal nanny to princess bride?Dedicated teacher Kayleen James was determined to safeguard the future of her orphaned students—even if it meant defying Prince As'ad of El Deharia himself! But the seductive ruler stunned her by offering to adopt the three little girls. On one condition…Suddenly As'ad was a single father in desperate need of a nanny, and Kayleen was the only woman for the job. Soon the palace was in an uproar—all because of the spirited redhead. Losing his heart wasn't part of the arrangement, until Kayleen showed the honor-bound sheik what he'd been missing. Could he convince her that she belonged in his exotic desert kingdom as his princess—and his wife?

Review:

Susan Mallery has again charmed her readers with her latest edition to her Desert Rogue series. The heroine Kayleen will warm the reader’s heart with her gentleness, sincerity, innocence and fierce heart. Mallery has the ability to immediately draw the reader into the story with her first chapters when we’re introduced to this lovely teacher in a orphanage who is like a lioness protecting three recently orphaned girls and goes after the leader of a tribe who has come to take the girls back to their camp.

In most of the Desert Rogue series the rulers are trying to marry off their sons and obtain heirs and in The Sheikh and the Christmas Bride, the same applies. King Makhtar has six sons and wants them married and settled. His sons have been raised without the benefit of a mother and their Aunt Lina for the most part has been the “mother figure” in their lives. She is aware that in a neighbouring Kingdom, King Hassan has been very successful in marrying off his sons and daughters. She calls upon her friendship and attraction to King Hassen to develop a plan for her nephew Prince As’ad. When there is trouble at the orphanage she calls upon As’ad to help defuse the situation. She talks him into taking the three girls himself into his protection and suggests he adopts them. Along with bringing the girls to the palace, Lina suggests he brings Kayleen as well as their nanny.

As this story develops, one is immediately drawn to the attraction both As’ad and Kayleen feel for each other. As’ad vows never to love a woman, as it would make him weak. However, he cannot fight his attraction for this lovely redhead and moves in, takes her virginity and then all hell breaks loose.

Kayleen knows what it’s like to be orphaned, rejected both by her mother and grandmother, she’s grown up in a convent and longs to belong, have a family and be loved. When As’ad proposes they marry because of their one night and attraction for each other plus giving the girls stability, Kayleen dares to believe she can have it all. Because of her inner strength, and her love for As’ad she is fierce to prove they can have it all and she is going to show him and claim this prince as her own.

Their journey and discovery is one you won’t want to miss. It’s the perfect holiday read, a wonderful love story and the continuation of the incredible Desert Rogue series. I personally can’t wait for the next book!

Reviewed By: Marilyn

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Fun gossipy tidbit about author: Susan has a soft spot for the sheikh books she writes. For her they are pure escapist fun into a world of sexy, dangerous men just ready to be tamed by loving the right women.

To find out more about Susan and her books you can visit her Website

SCANDAL: HIS MAJESTY'S LOVE- CHILD - Annie West (Dark Hearted Desert Men, Book 4)

Author: Annie West
Line: Harlequin Presents / Mills and Boon Modern
Release month: North America/AU/NZ: July 2010 UK: June 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual

Back Blurb:

Seduction in the sand…….

Speculation surrounding exiled rebel Prince Tahir Al-Ramiz has reached fever pitch! After being spotted causing mayhem in an exclusive Monte Carlo casino, Tahir flew home to Qusay for his brother-s coronation. But when a desperate mayday was received, and the remains of Tahir-s helicopter were discovered the worst was assumed- Until he came back from the dead, with no explanation as to how he had survived!

Now a mysterious beauty has moved into the palace. Rumours of a pregnancy abound- Could it be that this notorious playboy prince’s lost days in the desert camouflaged a secret affair?

Review ♥♥♥♥♥

Annie West has successfully succeeded in creating one of the most charming yet tortured sheikh in Scandal: His Majesty’s Love-Child. It was essential that the final book tied everything together and Harlequin/Mills and Boon couldn’t have picked a more accomplished author than Ms. West to complete the task!

The Dark Hearted Desert Men was a spin-off from the Royal House of Karedes series. Of these four devastating sheikhs who would be king and would they find love? However, let’s not forget the authors who had a hand in writing this sexy series……Carol Marinelli, Jennie Lucas, Trish Morey and Annie West…..bravo!

Tahir Al’Ramirz was larger than life…..at a very young age he was exiled from his country by his father, a cruel and abusive man, more than abusive one will learn while reading this particular book. His father not only brutally beat him he also sent his thugs to also do the job. He also betrayed his wife with a string of mistresses. Tahir had never been able to please his father no matter how hard he tried. He was a loner and self-contained. He was dark, handsome, sexy, rich and had a different woman on his arm weekly. He had long ago given up caring what his family was up to until he received a call from his oldest brother that he was needed at home. It was on this journey over the desert, flying a helicopter in a dust storm that his plane went down.

Annalisa was keeping a promise to her father. She had promised to go into the desert and take his telescope to view a comet he named after her mother. She would make sure that the comet got the recognition it deserved! Yearly, she and her father had spent time camping in the the desert when she was not working as his medical assistant as he was the village doctor. Now she really had no one with the exception of a few aunts and cousins. So out to the desert she went and was to return home in a few days with a camel caravan. Then the most amazing thing happened while bathing in the oasis, the most incredible man appeared on the horizon wearing a tuxedo, staggering down the dunes. He was bleeding, had a bump on his head and he was the most handsome man and had the most incredible blue eyes. It was obvious to Annalisa that he was in need of medical assistance.

For them both their time spent in the desert was emotional; Annalisa missed her father but was looking forward to when she returned home she could travel, see the world and then go to university. Tahir’s wounds needed to be healed but he also needed to come to terms with his past and his nightmares and his feelings for this sweet young woman who had become his caretaker. As Tahir’s wounds healed, temptation was off the charts for them both. They actually liked and respected each other but the attraction was like a magnet for them both and then out in the desert camp, under the stars they made love many times and Annalisa lost her heart and virginity and Tahir for the first time in his life really enjoyed himself, he felt at peace. However, he knew the caravan that would take them home was soon to come and he needed to make a clean break, not to give her any hope and so he was curt, dismissive but made sure she knew that if she’d become pregnant, she needed to contact him.

Annalisa returned home and Tahir was hospitalized and then he was told he was to be King as he brother Rafiq didn’t want the throne. A shock yes, but a greater shock Annalisa had to face when she found out she’s was pregnant. She wandered the streets after receiving the news and fate steps in again when she accidentally meetsTahir’s mother the Sheikha who invited her to be a guest and stay at the palace.

Tahir was a fierce leader and stepped into his responsibilities as if he was born to lead. Annalisa’s stay at the Palace made him aware that’s she was more than a pretty face, she was different from and not the typical Qusay woman based on her European heritage and her involvement in her father’s profession. Talk about tension in the palace both sexual and emotional for them both. They complimented each other in so many ways and while reading this final story I could see hope for their relationship even though it took this tortured alpha some time to see reason.

Scandal: His Majesty’s Love-Child was a roller coaster romance with extreme tension leading the heroine from innocence to mature awareness and the hero from feeling tortured to feeling content. Annie West more than deserves high praise for writing such a beautiful contemporary and ending the series on such a high!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Author's website


Behind the book

TO TAME A SHEIKH (Pride of Zohayd) – Olivia Gates

Author: Olivia Gates
Line: Silhouette Desire
Release month: November 2010
The S-Factor: Sensual

Back Blurb:

He would possess her!

He’d noticed her across a crowded room, and in that instant Sheikh Shaheen Aal Shalaan wanted her. With just a few words, Shaheen had his mystery woman in his bed, where she awakened passions he’d long denied.

Then the sheikh discovered his lover’s true identity. She was Johara, his childhood friend, now fully blossomed into a vision he could not do without. But his lineage demanded he take a wife of the throne’s choosing. Anything else would have catastrophic results. Yet how could he turn away from the woman who carried his baby?

To Tame A Sheikh—Book One PRIDE OF ZOHAYD trilogy—Nov 2010
To Tempt A Sheikh—Book Two PRIDE OF ZOHAYD trilogy—Feb 2011
To Touch A Sheikh—Book Three PRIDE OF ZOHAYD trilogy—Aug 2011

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Recently, author Olivia Gates was quoted in an interview saying she wanted to write this triology, Pride of Zohayd for years. To Tame a Sheikh was everything Gates desired it to be and more for this reader as her desert prince and his once childhood friend Joharea were truly magnificent characters and lovers. Their love story was “most intense, romantic, and a devoted love story.” It was magical to read!

As a child, Zohara Nazaryan and her family resided in the palace in the kingdom of Zohayd as her father was the royal jeweler. Her brother had been best friends with the King’s youngest son, Prince Shaheen. From the moment Zohara had set eyes on this older young man, she loved and adored him. And then as he grew older his distanced himself from she and her family and she never understood why.

Shaheen had advised his father he would accept an arranged bride but he also promised a friend before leaving, he would attend a party. Johara knew the man she had always loved was going to attend a party in his honor and she wanted to see him as it had been twelve long years. Then their eyes locked, he sought her out but for some reason he didn’t recognize her but he wanted her with such intensity, it sizzled off of the pages. He took her to his room, took her virginity and made love taking both of their breath away. In the morning she left and Shaheen had no idea of her last name or how to contact her.

Eight weeks earlier, Johara’s dreams came true when she laid in the arms of the man she had adored and loved. Now she was back in Zohayd to help her father as he was going to retire. And then they saw each other and Shaheen realized he absolutely couldn’t marry another woman, that this woman of his heart, the woman he had always loved even as a young girl but never admitted it was the woman he wanted permanently in his life. And then things changed for them both as well as the royal family. They found out that the royal jewels were fakes and of course suspicion was placed on Johara and her father. Even his older brother believed she was involved and his middle brother, well in the end believed she and her father had no involvement.

Reading about all three desert sheikhs makes me NOT want to wait for their stories if they are going to be anything like To Tame a Sheikh. It’s obvious that each brother is going to be strong, handsome, unusual and when he finally finds that special woman to love, he’ll fall hard.  Personally, I can't wait!

Johara’s and Shaheen’s journey was not an easy one because not only were facing the jewelry scandal that could take down their country, Johara was pregnant the family eventually learned plus the fact that the entire Zohayd tribal council were counting on Shaheen marrying one of their own. If he didn’t, it would cause a major war but he wouldn’t hear of it as he worshiped, adored and loved Johara and was determined to marry her and keep his child.

Would they get their second chance? Would the mystery behind the fake crown jewels be unraveled? If you believe in miracles, then believe in this love story, because with the support of family, they get their second chance along with the last few chapters setting the scene for the upcoming books in the series. To Tame A Sheikh was an incredible and extremely moving royal love story.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the book:

“I’ve been dreaming of it for a very long time. I’ve been wanting to write this trilogy ever since I was writing my first sheikh trilogy for Desire, THRONE OF JUDAR.

This trilogy takes place in the neighboring allied kingdom of Zohayd, and the heroes are the half-brothers of Aliyah, the heroine of the final chapter in JUDAR’s trilogy, THE DESERT KING.

But I had to write five books in between to get here, so I was very anxious to start this book. Then when I did, the characters came alive, and defied my plans for them. My original plot was filled with conflict and doubt. But even though it was reasonable to doubt each other with all the evidence, the characters laughed at my logic. THEY knew each other, would never doubt one another, and I should butt out.

The result was the most intense, romantic, devoted love stories I’ve ever written. So far, I’ve gotten amazing reviews for it, and I’m thankful for and thrilled with each word of praise for those two exceptional lovers. I hope everyone else who reads their story will think the same.” O. Gates

KING OF THE DESERT, CAPTIVE BRIDE - Jane Porter

Title: KING OF THE DESERT, CAPTIVE BRIDE

Author: JANE PORTER

Line: Harlequin Presents – Desert Kings
(book 2) Mills & Boon Modern Romance

Release month North America: May 2008; UK / Australia: March 2008

The S-Factor: Simmering & Sweet



When Sheikh Khalid Fehr rescues innocent Olivia Morse from the hands of his country's enemies, he guarantees her freedom by announcing she is his betrothed….
Khalid has vouched for Liv with his honor… and this desert king is determined that his new wife will fulfill her marital duties, by his side as his regal queen…and as his captive virgin bride!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

In Jane's the Sheikh's Chosen Queen (book 1) you were introduced to King Sharif Fehr and his wife Jesslyn. Jesslyn was friends with Sharif's two sisters who were killed when they were all three on a trip. The family was devastated, especially his brother Khalid Fehr, who now resides in the Great Sarq Desert.

Khalid has never gotten over the loss so when he reads a post on the Internet from a brother who lives in the US, looking for his sister, Khalid's heart twists. After some research and investigation, he finds out she's been arrested and is now in a prison. Determined to free her, he stakes his honor, his familes as well to obtain her pardon. However, from the moment of Olivia Morse's release, everything goes wrong and so in order not to have Olivia returned to prison, Khalid states that she is his fiancé and they are to be married. All sorts of questions arise with the government and his family.....is she a thief, a drug smuggler, and why would he want to marry when he's always told his family never!

Their journey actually begins in Cairo and then a wonderful river trip on the Nile, sights one dreams of seeing; history, color, artifacts, temples, bazaars, foods.....a dream come true for Olivia who is a travel agent from a small southern town. It's a journey of exploration for them both.....trust, yearning, fear, the unknown factor if Olivia will be able to marry or go back to prison.

For Olivia is not just the adventure, it's finding out about herself, it's about falling for a man she doesn't understand, it's about honor, family and in the end love. It's a romantic adventure as only Jane Porter can write to exotic ports and places with an incredible honor bound sheikh, Khalid Fehr you'll adore!


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Reviewed by: Marilyn

CHOSEN BY THE SHEIKH - The Sheikh and the Virgin\Kept for the Sheikh's Pleasure- Kim Lawrence and Lynn Raye Harris

Author: Kim Lawrence and Lynn Raye Harris
Line: Harlequin Presents
Release month: UK/ USA: OCT 2010
The S-Factor: Sizzling and Steamy

Back Blurb:

The Sheikh and the Virgin by Kim Lawrence Prince

Tariq Al Kamal furiously forbids his brother to marry an unsuitable woman. Then Tariq whisks Beatrice away to his desert home where he becomes intent on seducing her. What he doesn't realize is she isn't his brother's intended—she's an innocent who's about to become his bride!

Kept for the Sheikh's Pleasure by Lynn Raye Harris

King Zafir bin Rashid al-Khalifa does not care for surprises. Especially ones that involve the reappearance of his ex, Dr. Genie Gray! Now Zafir has the power to make all the rules—and what he wants is a willing Genie in his bed….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

The Sheikh and the Virgin by Kim Lawrence was quite an interesting royal to read because Prince Tariq Al Kamal had an agenda which was to make sure his brother didn’t end of with a woman he disapprove of, a very unsuitable woman. However, what he didn’t know was that Beatrice Devlin had an agenda which was to make sure her friend and Tariq’s brother got their happy ending and in the end would get married.

Beatrice was a fabulous heroine, she was fierce and loyal to her friends Emma and Khalid and she appealed to Prince Tariq even though he fought it. And then he summoned his brother home and sent him off on an assignment which resulted in Khalid getting hurt and he fought for his life. Still Tariq was determined that Beatrice and Khalid not be together. He wanted to pay her off, but she wouldn’t have a thing to do with his offer.

Beatrice was an incredible heroine, she had spirit and beauty. She had also been alone most of her life and when Khalid was hurt she was torn if she should send for Emma. And then Tariq misunderstood her loyalty to Khalid and agreed that she loved his brother and they should marry. Talk about a mess because it was obvious that Tariq wanted Beatrice for himself. And then quite by mistake Tariq found out his brother loved Emma and they were married.

The chemistry between Tariq and Beatrice was sizzling and he wanted to make Beatrice forget his brother. However, he went about it in the wrong way, he made love to her and realized he loved her, this poor young woman who was so alone, had been alone with no family. Could he make a life with her, marry her? You’ll just have to read The Sheikh and the Virgin to find out the lesson Tariq and Beatrice learned and that was home was where they both were, together.

Kept for the Sheikh's Pleasure by Lynn Raye Harris was a most unusual and amazing sheikh romance. Immediately, I could imagine King Zafir on his Arabian horse or in his desert tent with the woman he once knew so intimately, Doctor Genie Gray. They very same woman who had been kidnapped, the same woman whose heart he had destroyed because of a secret.

Genie Gray couldn’t believe she was seeing Zafir again after all of the years of separation when she loved him in college until she found out he was promised to marry another woman. And then he asked the most unthinkable thing of her, to return home with him and to become his mistress. Even though she knew his culture was different, it didn’t help one bit and it destroyed her, she felt betrayed. Now she was forced to be in his company again and it was evident he wanted her back again, in his bed. What really hurt was that she after all of years between them desired him, possibly still loved him.

Zafir had lost so much, his brother, his father, his first wife and a divorce from his second wife. He was alone and now he was king. So much responsibility and first and foremost was his need to unite his country. He was shocked to see Genie Gray again after ten years, the one woman he believed understood him, the woman who refused him. She was in Bah’ shar on a dig and had been captured and presented to him as a gift. And still after all of these years, he wanted Genie in the most intimate way. And so he kept her in his tent and then took her to his palace.

Genie had learned at a very early age from her mother what loving a man could do, especially when that man wasn’t able to return that love. How was she going to resist Zahir because she knew if she gave in she would be hurt all over again and she suspected after being around him that she was still in love with him. However, leaving wasn’t an option because the sheikh who presented her as a gift would be offended and Zafir needed his sheikhs to all unite. So he offered Genie an incentive, a dig in the ruins of the old temples at Al-Shahar and she accepted.

Talk about a roller coaster of a reunion, one steeped in sensual tension, old memories, old hurts and they could keep their eyes or hands off of each other. And while reading this beautiful romance, I felt that I was in the desert and at the palace with Zafir and Genie. This romance was brilliantly written, very descriptive and very emotional.

Zafir knew it was wrong to keep her with him but she brought some normalcy into his life with all of upheaval going on around him. She made him remember how he used to be when he was a student studying architecture and made him feel not so alone in the world. As for Genie, it was shear torture because she still wanted and needed him even though he had hurt her so badly those years ago. However, she was keeping a secret as well, a secret which was revealed about her childhood and the reason why she had refused him all of those years ago.

Kept for the Sheikh's Pleasure was a beautiful second chance love story, yes hurtful at times to read because they both wanted each other more than life itself and for all of the pain and sorrow they both had to experience to get that chance. In the end, this desert lord moved heaven and earth to get his queen in the most unusual way, thanks to the extremely talented romantic story teller, Lynn Raye Harris.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the book with author Lynn Raye Harris:

Author Lynn Raye blogging at the Jaunty Quills about Kept for the Sheikh’s Pleasure

SECRET SHEIKH, SECRET BABY – Carol Marinelli

Author: Carol Marinelli

Line: Harlequin Medical/ Mills and Boon Medical Duo with Jessica Matthews

Release month UK: September 2009 / North America: August 2009

The S-Factor: Sexy

Back-Blurb:

Hot-shot surgeon Karim Zaraq is prince of a desert kingdom. Karim knows he must find a wife and produce an heir, but this playboy wants one final fling before royal duty beckons.

Pretty midwife Felicity Anderson has no idea who Karim really is, but her one night with the sexy surgeon has turned her world upside down—suddenly she's pregnant!

With Felicity carrying the kingdom's hopes, Karim must marry her. But Felicity won't say "I do" unless the prince can prove it's for love.

Review: ♥♥♥♥

Secret Sheikh, Secret Baby was a very intense and sexy sheikh love story written by the very talented Carol Marinelli. It was also my first Harlequin Medical romance and I was very impressed that due to its nature it was not boring but very interesting as the heroine was a midwife and the hero a sheikh prince and surgeon.

They meet at an orientation in London where Felicity Anderson is attending in order to determine if she wants to accept a position already offered in the Middle East or accept a position in one of the most modern and beautiful hospitals located on a private island, ruled by a royal family the Kingdom of Zaraq. The royal prince and surgeon Prince Karim is overseeing the recruitment for his hospital and university.

Karim and Felicity meet in the most interesting way when he slips inside the presentation and immediately they sense each other, through site, smell, and sexual attraction. What’s so very bizarre is that Felicity has recently broken off with her boyfriend because of sexual problems and after a year, she cannot have a relationship, even though she has been through therapy. So, this immediate attraction to a stranger, a man who makes her feel things she’s never felt before are frightening yet exciting. As fate would have it, they are brought together after the conference due to an auto accident and then the fateful night they spend together before they both go their separate ways.

Karim is a man bound by honour to his King (his father), his brothers and his country. His first love is his profession as a surgeon but due to the illness of his father, he will be to any lengths to serve his country. He has also been a playboy but that is soon to end as his father wants him to marry and produce an heir since his brother’s wife is barren. However, he can’t seem to forget his one night with Felicity and wonders if he’ll ever see her again in his country.

Like Karim, Felicity has been honor bound to her mother and sister. She has accepted all financial responsibilities for her sister’s illness and her mother’s bills. She is determined to make a success of her life in Zaraq and when she finally gets there and starts orientation and later being a midwife, she realizes she has made the right decision. Only there are a few problems……upon arrival she finds out the man she spent the night with is a prince and heir to the throne, that she’s pregnant with his baby.

When Karim is told he’s the father of Felicity’s baby, his entire personality changes. He accuses her of lying, he put together a deceitful plan for the good of his brother and for his country, and he demands marriage and takes her into the desert. There in the desert, they learn quite a lot about each other and all Felicity wants is the man who she grew to love in London, the sensitive and caring man.

This royal family would do anything for their country, I mean anything and that was what I found so interesting, the difference in cultures and what lengths they would go to in order to keep peace and structure for their country and King. It was indeed a hurtful scheme which would hurt Felicity. Thanks to a friend she escapes and returns home. But Karim can’t escape and be at peace until he realizes what’s important in life and he doesn’t realize it until it’s almost too late.

The Secret Sheikh, Secret Baby was an excellent look into a royal family, the desert, its customs, the difference between the East and the West and most of all, forgiveness. It’s an intense love story, with intense characters, in a beautiful desert kingdom with lots of sexual tension as only Carol Marinelli can pen.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the Book from Dear Reader:

Carol Marinelli states, “I love writing about instant attraction. More than that, I love the whole idea of two people who have never met before, who know nothing about each other, and suddenly they click!”

MAJESTY MISTRESS.....MISSING HEIR - Caitlin Crews

Author: Caitlin Crews

Line: Mills and Boon Modern /Harlequin Presents

Release month: UK: May 2010 USA: Oct 2010

The S-Factor: Sizzling, Sorrowful

Back Blurb:

Sheikh Tariq bin Khalid Al-Nur is as treacherous and formidable as the desert land he wants to rule. But he cannot take the throne of his country until he marries. Why, then, has he not wed? Tariq cannot rid his dreams of ordinary but bewitching Jessa Heath!

Jessa knows she and Tariq have unfinished business. What if she were to take control and allow herself the one night he's offering to put their passion to rest? But Jessa is treading dangerous ground! It would only take that night to reveal the secret she has so desperately kept hidden….

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Majesty, Mistress……Missing Heir was an extremely enjoyable romance to read by author Caitlin Crews. However, it was also one of the most emotional romances I’ve also read. In fact, I still have a lump my throat. It was a royal roller coaster romance, one you will definitely not want to miss!

Sheikh Tariq was now the King of Al-Nur and had once been a playboy living in London. Now as king of this desert country he was expected to marry and produce an heir. However, in order to move forward with his life he must get the woman he left five years earlier out of mind. Jessa Heath! What this proud, sexy and extremely handsome king did not know was he had fathered a child, a son.

Jessa had finally come to terms with everything that had happened after her lover had abruptly left her pregnant and alone without a word when he had to return to his country as its ruler. She did not have the opportunity to tell him five years earlier that she was pregnant. He as well, did not say goodbye because she had gone away for a few days when he was called home. Alone, with no job only her older sister and brother-in-law, Jessa had a lovely baby boy which in the end she gave up for adoption because emotionally she wasn’t able to raise him. Now, after five years of no communication who should return on her doorstep but the very man who broke her heart, the very man she hadn’t realized was a billionaire and royal sheikh until he abruptly left and she read the headlines. Why she wondered was he now here in England and demanding to see her? It was to have one more night with her to get her out of his system?

As soon as one learns how they met, how hot their chemistry was, how emotional their relationship was five years earlier plus the fact that Jessa was keeping horrible secrets from Tariq I knew this was going to be an emotional mess and in the end they would both get hurt. Emotional doesn’t even begin to describe this “second chance” romance and I warn you to have a box of tissues handy because you’ll need it.

After angry words, tension and more, Tariq finally talked Jessa into meeting him for dinner. However, when he sent a car for her, she wasn’t aware that dinner would not be in York, it would be in Paris. The sensual tension was like a powder keg ready to explode. However, Jessa knew she was done for and decided to take charge and the upper hand in their one night of wild passion. It was obvious one night wouldn’t be enough and then Tariq saw the stretch marks on Jessa and knew she had lied to him, had deceived him. However, he was not without blame and it all came tumbling out with one exception. Jessa was keeping the secret of who had adopted her son, because she knew who they were. However, she loved her son and would do anything to protect that secret.

Days, weeks go by as they spend time together in Paris, wonderful and passionate time together and then the bomb was dropped when Tariq realized who had adopted his son and he demanded to see him. All I can say was personally I drenched the pages of this book with my tears. I ached for his loss, for Tariq’s pain as well as for Jessa because it was so very obvious they realized they loved each other. They had both lost their parents at an early age and especially for Tariq family would mean everything. I agonized for this couple and wondered how they would survive this mess that had been created by both of them due to the choices they had both made.

Majesty, Mistress…Missing Heir was a compelling story about the battle waged between passion, reason, desire and love. For me Tariq is one hero I will long remember.

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

Behind the book:

Caitlin talks about her book at I(Heart)Presents

THE SHEIKHS LOVE-CHILD - Kate Hewitt

Author: Kate Hewitt

Line: Mills and Boon Modern and Harlequin Preseents

Release month UK: July 2009 and North America: July 2009

The S-Factor: Sizzling

Back-Blurb:

With butterflies fluttering in her stomach, Lucy Banks has arrived in the desert kingdom of Biryal—with a secret!

Seeing Sheikh Khaled—the man who once loved and left her—in his sumptuous royal palace, Lucy is blown away by his barbaric magnificence: he's king of the desert and his eyes are blacker and harder than before. He's not the man she once knew. She wants to run away from his overwhelming masculinity, but they're inextricably bound forever…for he is the father of her son.

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Kate Hewitt has yet again written a very intense and beautiful love wtory in The Sheikh’s Love-Child. It’s a wild as the desert and so intense at times one will find themselves holding their breath and want to pound some sense into both Sheikh Khaled and Lucy Banks.

Four years earlier the final blow was given to Sheikh Khaled, his knee was in shattered and at some time in his life he might be wheelchair bound so he leaves his beloved rugby team and his lover behind without a word to return to his country and the desert. It’s obvious reading about their past that their relationship was fast and furious and very intense and it’s also left behind a woman with a broken heart, one that never had a chance to tell him they had a son, not matter how hard she tried to reach him.

Now, Lucy Banks finds herself on a plane with the English rugby team as their physiotherapist flying to Khaled’s country Biryal for a rugby match. She not only has a responsibility to the team but to tell her ex-lover they have a son and is scarred to death to see and tell him about Sam.

He has changed…..he’s intense, brooding, angry and dark but he’s still has the power to hurt her. Their first initial meeting is horrible as he doesn’t give her the time of day. I promise anyone who reads this, prepare yourself because time after time one will definitely feel the pain they both inflict on each other. The only time they seem to agree is concerning their son and it was so sweet to read about their first meeting and watch this dark sheikh soften while around his son.

Like all love stories and especially this particular one, there are so many secrets and issues to get past, it becomes overwhelming at times. Sometimes the only way is to forge ahead and forgive and let the past go. Their attempt is to have a marriage of convenience for the sake of their son. But at what cost?

I can only say when they both finally come to terms with their past and I also mean abandonment issues, trust, they way they were raised and the way they can move forward, have a box of Kleenex on standby as it’s quite a spectacular ending as only Kate Hewitt can pen!

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Reviewed by: Marilyn

The Desert Prince's Proposal by Nicola Marsh

Title: The Desert Prince’s Proposal
Author: Nicola Marsh
Line: Harlequin Romance
Release month: July 2008
The S-Factor: Sweet
Back-Blurb:

Time is running out for Prince Samman! In order to be crowned king, he must marry, but he has rejected all his advisors' suggestions. Then he is captivated by a unique pair of honey-colored eyes, and chooses Bria as his bride!

Bria Green is an intelligent, independent, modern woman. When Samman tells her she'll agree to his proposal within a week, Bria's sure the powerful prince won't get his way!

But in the scorching heat of the Adhara desert, Samman's heady kisses may change Bria's mind….

Review:

Nicola Marsh whisks her readers off to the desert with her latest Harlequin Romance, The Desert Prince’s Proposal!

Bria Green has worked hard in order to cement her position as one of Australia’s most talented architects. Rather than relying on daddy’s money and spending her whole life socializing, partying and shopping, Bria’s decided to study hard and work every hour God sends in order for the world to see her as a woman in her own right. But whilst her career may be growing in leaps and bounds, her love life has been going from bad to worse.

But when she encounters a gorgeous man at the airport, Bria’s romantic luck seems about to change. But just when it seems that their relationship is developing into something deeper, Bria gets a job in the Middle East and thus has to leave her new man behind.

In the desert kingdom of Adhara, Bria is left breathless by the beauty of her surroundings. But her awe turns to shock when she realizes that the man she left behind in Australia, is none other than Adhara’s desert prince, Samman!

And the shocks just keep on coming when Samman announces that he’s looking for a convenient wife – and Bria is the perfect candidate.

Tender, romantic, warm-hearted, sassy and feel-good, The Desert Prince’s Proposal is a classic Sheikh romance that sparkles with plenty of wit, humour and charm! Don’t miss the latest page-turner by talented romance writer Nicola Marsh!

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THE SHEIKH'S CHOSEN QUEEN - Jane Porter

Title: THE SHEIKH’S CHOSEN QUEEN

Author: JANE PORTER

Line: HARLEQUIN PRESENTS ( The Desert Kings)

Release month North America: April 2008 UK: January 2008

The S-Factor: Sensual and Sweet

Back-Blurb:

When Jesslyn knew him in London, Sharif Fehr was a playboy prince, and their romance was carefree and fun.Now Jesslyn has been summoned to the desert land that Sheikh Sharif rules. The intervening years have proved harsh and cruel, and Sharif has grown used to his word being law. No one dares challenge him—except Jesslyn! But for all her sweet insolence, Sharif is sure of one thing: Jesslyn will obey his ultimate command and submit—to becoming his wife and queen!

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

Yet again, Jane Porter mesmerizes her readers with a magnificent and magical “sheikh” story, part of The Desert King series. It’s a bit of a reunion love story as nine years ago, Jesslyn and Prince Fehr were lovers in every sense of the word. They were brought together by a tragedy when Fehr’s two sisters and Jesslyn were in a horrible accident and the sisters were killed. The other tragedy was that Jesslyn was not only left with their loss but injuries which would affect the rest of her life, probable infertility.

Your heart will break as you take the jour4ney with them…..you’ll meet his three sweet girls, his horrible and meddling mother and watch from the sidelines as secrets, lies and manipulation unfold.

Jesslyn walked away nine years ago from the love of her life, Sharif Fehr. Why? His mother hated her, told her he was to marry and that she was not fit to love and be his wife due to the fact she could never give him children. So she walked, still secretly hoping he could come after her. He did not, he married another and had three beautiful girls and now he’s a widower and needs Jesslyn’s help with his girls. Sharif realizes something is dreadfully wrong with the children and knows that Jesslyn is a teacher not living far from his palace. He “demands” she come to the palace, teach the girls and hopefully help them to adjust to their life without their mother. Sharif also has an agenda, one you’ll learn about when you read this incredible book.

You’ll love Sharif, his lack of understanding of how to be the father his girls need and how Jesslyn helps to heal and bring this family together through love and determination. It’s an exceptional romantic and sweet story as only Jane Porter can write with promises of more to come in her next release, Captive Bride.


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The Sheikh’s Chosen Queen is Jane’s take on The King and I (per her newsletter).

Reviewed by Marilyn

THE SHEIKH AND THE PREGNANT BRIDE - Susan Mallery

Title: The Sheikh and the Pregnant Bride

Author: Susan Mallery

Line: Silhouette Special Edition

Release month North America: and UK: March 2008

The S-Factor: Sweet & Sexy

Back-Blurb:

Maggie Collins had come to the exotic kingdom of El Deharia to restore Prince Qadir's antique car…not to get married. The no-frills mechanic had been burned by love before, and marriage—even to a seductive sheik—didn't top her agenda. But then Qadir made her an offer she should have refused.It was meant to be a temporary engagement…until Maggie discovered she was pregnant. Now Qadir was honor-bound to give Maggie and her child the protection of his name. He never expected her to sweep him off his feet.Would there be a royal wedding after all?

Review: ♥♥♥♥♥

When it comes to sheik books, Susan Mallery is at the top of the list. Her latest March release The Sheik and the Pregnant Bride I think is my favourite of all her Desert Rogue series.

Maggie Collins was not only lovely, she was full of spirit, sass and on top of everything else a top notch mechanic especially in restoring expensive top of the line cars. Maggie had grown up without a mother and was extremely close to her father who owned an auto body shop. Her father had been hired by Prince Qadir of El Deharia to restore his vintage car but upon Mr. Collins death and mountains of bills to pay, Maggie comes in her father’s place. From the moment they meet they are both drawn to each other not in a sexual way but one of friendship, trust and they just plain like each other.

Prince Qadir's father the King has a specific mission and that’s to marry off each of his sons. The King is constantly parading eligible young women in hopes of marrying off his sons and having grandchildren. Prince Qadir has no plans to get married so he comes up with a plan, he wants to hire Maggie to be his girlfriend and then pretend to be his fiancé. Everything back fires because they both develop more than a friendship; they develop a passionate relationship, one that knocks them both sideways. Maggie not’s sure how to feel about the relationship.

As for experience, Maggie has only known one man, Jon a boy she grew up with in Colorado, dated in high school, they had a short intimate relationship, more to ease the pain of being alone, especially after her father passed away. Now Maggie finds herself pregnant with Jon’s baby and on top of everything else, Jon is in love with someone else and Maggie’s extremely attracted to Qadir. It becomes an emotional mess for all people concerned!

This was such a fun story to read….and I adored Maggie. She actually reminds me of the author, Susan Mallery. She is charming, has quick wit, and gives as good as she gets. Prince Qadir was a fabulous character as well and you will love to see him brought to his knees by the lovely Maggie.

If you love sheikh books then you will not want to miss reading Susan’s The Sheik and the Pregnant Bride.

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This particular book is one of Susan's personal favorites.

Reviewed By Marilyn