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The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar

by Susanna Carr (Goodreads Author)

3.33 of 5 stars 3.33 · rating details · 91 ratings · 29 reviews

Jeweled veil weighing heavily on her head, Zoe Martin waits for her sheikh husband-to-be. The shame of her adoptive family, orphan Zoe has endured six years of being kept as a slave—now she's been sold into marriage…to a man known as The Beast!

Being discarded to the sheikh has one bonus—this could mean freedom! Zoe must play along with the three-day—and three-night—ceremon...more

Paperback, 192 pages

Published August 7th 2012 by Harlequin (first published June 15th 2012)

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Great Sheikh Romances

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Aug 03, 2012 Sara HarlequinJunkie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites-shelf, top-pick

Reviewd: HarlequinJunkie Romance Reviews

The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar will put you through an emotional ringer as it leads you on a beautiful journey of perseverance, hope, trust and true love.

American teen Zeo is forced to move to Jazaar to live with her relatives when she is orphaned. At 15 Zoe is suddenly thrust in an oppressive male dominated society where her family considers her tarnished as she is not Jazaari born. Her rights and ambitions are stifled and her only escape from the cruelty...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please visit Reader's Edyn at:
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Review:

This was my first Susanna Carr book and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. I have a bit of a soft spot for sheik stories anyway. They seem to always have the coolest things and everything at their disposal. Makes them very hard to resist and when waging a battle of love and war, how can they not come out the victor? So obviously this is a story involving a sheik, but it has a li...more For full review including excerpt and dialogue highlight, please visit Reader's Edyn at:
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Review:

This was my first Susanna Carr book and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it. I have a bit of a soft spot for sheik stories anyway. They seem to always have the coolest things and everything at their disposal. Makes them very hard to resist and when waging a battle of love and war, how can they not come out the victor? So obviously this is a story involving a sheik, but it has a little more to it than that.

Nadir needs a wife, fast. He was married once before, but rejected his “wife” before the ceremony festivities ended. His youth and anger caused him to handle the situation in a bad way, saddling him with the nickname The Beast. But time has passed and he still needs to marry. Negotiations are bad with this tribe so he agrees to marry a woman of their choosing in the hopes of strengthening ties. But the tribe has another plan and sends him a bride that is less than suitable … especially for a sheik.

Zoe is an outcast. Raised by her parents in Texas, one American, the other from Jazaar, she is returned to the tribe following their deaths with nowhere else to go. Her American ways are unacceptable and she is constantly abused, humiliated, and punished in an effort to purge the American out of her. Years of broken promises and beatings have caused her to mistrust men. Her only chance of escape back to the states is to marry a man and sneak away from him as fast as she can, so she agrees to the marriage with Nadir. But she has another secret to hold on to – at least until there is no chance Nadir can throw her back to the wolves.

Short of explaining the whole book, I had better stop there. I enjoyed that these two were kind of outcasts in their own way. Zoe being raised American with independent tendencies and ideals. Nadir with his Westernized ways of thinking and plans to bring Jazaar into the new world. Although the two think they couldn’t be more ill-suited for one another, they end up complimenting each other in many ways and soon love blossoms. But the two still have a long way to go. Zoe, with her mistrust of men, struggles to let go of her plans to escape to America and constantly second guesses Nadir’s intentions. And Nadir is not perfect either. He believes himself to be modernized in his way of thinking, but really is stuck in the ways of his ancestors with a lot of issues still. And he thinks he knows exactly whom Zoe is running away too as well. Both have several misconceptions about the other and only blatant honesty will allow their love a chance.

I enjoyed my time spent with these characters because they each had a lot of growing to do. Nadir, with his ideal of self, has to come to grips that he is not quite as modernized as he had thought and it takes Zoe for him to realize it. And Zoe who believes that her chance at what her life should have been was ripped away with her parents’ death. She has to find a way to open up to Nadir to see that her dreams can still come true and Texas doesn’t necessarily have to be a part of the equation for that to happen. The key to the character growth was that even though they both made a lot of changes, they both remained true to self, who they were, and what they stood for. That is a huge deal for me when reading. I have read some pretty hard core sex scenes lately, so this one to me was tame, but still descriptive enough to be sexy and tasteful. For those of you who enjoy romance with a bit of spice and characters who realize that happiness isn’t always found where you thought it would be, you are sure to enjoy this read. At less than 200 pages you will fly through it and enjoy the time you spent reading it. I can honestly say that I will be reading Susanna Carr again.

(print copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.)
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Aug 08, 2012 Amy Jacobs added it

Shelves: books-i-own

I am having a really hard time trying to figure out how to put the thoughts in my head about this book into some sort of review. Was the writing good? Yes. Was the story plot good? Yes. Was it my cup of tea so to speak? No.

I have always tried to stay away from the Harlequin books that feature stories from far away lands for the simple fact that it throws me into culture shock. I should be able to adjust to it since I do read paranormal and they are really out there sometimes. I just have a hard...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, non-erotic

The clashing of culture and customs create quite the conflict in this very emotional tale. An American woman faces the challenge of surviving a harsh and unforgiving country and grasps at any opportunity to escape. But ducking the surprising bonds of love turns out to be harder to break than the heroine thought, especially if they’re real.

Ms. Carr set up the whole vehicle for strife and distrust right from the very beginning. It was easy to accomplish because Zoe has been abused, humiliated and...more The clashing of culture and customs create quite the conflict in this very emotional tale. An American woman faces the challenge of surviving a harsh and unforgiving country and grasps at any opportunity to escape. But ducking the surprising bonds of love turns out to be harder to break than the heroine thought, especially if they’re real.

Ms. Carr set up the whole vehicle for strife and distrust right from the very beginning. It was easy to accomplish because Zoe has been abused, humiliated and treated like dirt for many years and is stuck in a country that looks down upon her. What I liked about Zoe is that she wasn’t broken. Not yet at any rate. She still had hopes and dreams but she played them extremely close to her chest. She had to for self-preservation’s sake. She gambles with her life and although in the beginning it seems like she had lost, her journey was just beginning.

Nadir is a man who straddles both worlds. He understands duty and tradition but he’s also expected to bring his country into the modern age with technology and business. That’s hard to do when what he’s trying to do is a lie based on the fact that his countrymen don’t support his methods. It takes a man of extreme focus and determination pared with ruthless actions and business savvy to make it work. The author created a man that readers can root for because he doesn’t wear blinders. Sure he resorts to Neanderthal ways every now and again, that’s to be expected and makes for some hot spicy scenes with Zoe. But it’s his willingness to listen to Zoe, eventually, proved that he might not have been wearing blinders but had instead a version of rose colored glasses. It took Zoe’s impromptu intervention to show him how much her input should be valued. It’s at that point in the book that he became a true hero in my eyes.

Fortunately, the author did not go into any graphic detail regarding Zoe’s treatment by her uncle. The descriptions were heartbreaking enough. And her cousin Fatima is no Strawberry Shortcake either. I find it amazing that women can survive and rise above such treatment given half the chance. Nadir gave Zoe that chance and that made reading this story bearable. I found this book hard to read at times. I mean, I’m an American woman and I don’t have to censure what I say, what I wear or how I walk. To be expected to be less than what I am at all times would eventually break me. The thought is depressing. Putting myself in the heroine’s position was a very uncomfortable place to be and that’s a credit to the author’s writing. If her writing was any less stark or tight, my emotions would not have been affected. They were, in a big way.

The most beautiful part of the story was when I realized that both Nadir and Zoe were falling in love. What one did for the other because they wanted to, needed to, spoke volumes of how far both of them had come by the end of the story. As with most types of these books, the ploy of overhearing part of a conversation that leads to one more piece of drama before it all gets resolved and everyone gets their happily ever after was utilized effectively. I was a bit shocked as to the source. For some reason I thought he would have understood or at least respected that Nadir was actually, finally, happy. I kind of hope that he gets his own feisty heroine someday, then he’ll understand.

The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar is a book that entertains and takes a reader on a journey filled with emotions and feelings. The finale was peaceful, romantic and true to all time-loved happily ever after endings. The dialogue is insightful, the romance scenes were wonderfully done and although harsh at times, the story is compelling. It’s a quick tale but well worth taking the time to read.
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Jun 19, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was a great departure from the normal type of book I read. I've always found the whole idea of Middle Eastern culture in romance novels off-putting with the arranged marriages and lack of women's rights. I do admit that I like reading books with alpha males, but I don't like it at all when it's the culture imposing the male's dominance. But, since I was asked if I'd be willing to read this book, I read the synopsis and the premise intrigued me enough to give it a try: An American woman...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Booklover rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dead-child-miscarriage-abortion, divorce-separated-reunion-2nd-chanc, love, misunderstanding, secrets-past-tragedy-abusive-childh, seduced-seduction, sheikh

Very Good Sheikh romance,adored Zoe & Nadir,Zoe is a survivor,she suffered so much but she did not break,both are strong,sweet,caring persons and both have been betrayed by people which has thought them never to trust anyone.The story starts out with a wedding which is based on lies,deception,mistrust and both Zoe-Nadir have their own reasons for entering the marriage.

Nadir's few thoughts and actions made me very angry but as time passes by he redeems.Few small gifts that Nadir gave to Zoe l...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Marquetta (LoveToReadForFun) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemp-rom, for-review, harlequin

It's been a long time since I've read a Harlequin Presents novel. I mean decades long time. I don't know why I stopped. Maybe I thought I needed something steamier. What was I thinking? The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar surprised me with its steaminess and sexy sheikh, Nadir.

What I liked about this book is that it a well-written story that I could read in one sitting. The plot, the characters, the backdrop of the country of Jazaar made this story engrossing and compelling. In the last 10 years, we v...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Mitch rated it 4 of 5 stars

More Harlequin! And another good one with "The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar" by Zoe Martin. This emotionally charged story was a little more intense than the usual Harlequin books I have been reading. Yes, the expected corniness is there, but not as much as one would expect.

The following may or may not contain spoilers.

This tale is set in the exotic middle east, where Zoe, basically an American prisoner, is forced into an arranged marriage by her adopted family. Nadir, who is royalty, does not expe...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Lisarenee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Notes: Received a copy of the book from the author.

My Synopsis:
Zoë Martin was desperate to get away from her uncle. She'd been raised in the US and when her parents died her uncle Tareef came and collected her and took her back to Jazaar with him. He'd promised to look after her, but instead had stolen her inheritance, abused her when she rebelled, and made her a servant in his household. Her only possible escape was to marry and attempt to escape on her honeymoon. She thought it was a good plan...more Notes: Received a copy of the book from the author.

My Synopsis:
Zoë Martin was desperate to get away from her uncle. She'd been raised in the US and when her parents died her uncle Tareef came and collected her and took her back to Jazaar with him. He'd promised to look after her, but instead had stolen her inheritance, abused her when she rebelled, and made her a servant in his household. Her only possible escape was to marry and attempt to escape on her honeymoon. She thought it was a good plan until she met her betrothed--Sheikh ibn Shihab Nadir, aka The Beast. A nickname he'd earned two years ago when he rejected his previous bride.

Sheikh Nadir had agreed to the marriage to Zoë for political reasons. Her family's tribe was a highly respected and influential one. The marriage was to ensure good relations between Nadir's family and the tribe. He had rejected a bride from the tribe two years ago and this was his way of making amends. His plan was to marry her, consummate the marriage, and then send her away in the Sultan's palace never to lay eyes on her again.

Falling in love was never part of either of their plans.

My Thoughts:
This was a fun book. Zoë was in an impossible situation doing what she can to get out of it. Before she'd come to live with her uncle she had dreams and aspirations of becoming a doctor like her parents. Now she's just looking for a way out. Her husband-to-be is thought to be a little too modern in his thinking and making her his bride was meant to be an insult. Nadir had entrusted the picking of a wife to the tribe and instead of picking a Jazaari bride suitable for a sheikh, they chose an outcast from the tribe--Zoë. Things could have gone very bad for Zoë and she could of found herself in an even worse situation than before, but thankfully Nadir wasn't just forward thinking when it came to business dealings.

What I liked about this book is that Ms. Carr did not sweep some of the issues of the Arab world under the rug for the sake of the romance, but brought them to light. Abuse of woman does happen, with women having little or no rights to prevent it. We've all seen the stories. Ms. Carr, however, delicately balances the romance with a dose of reality. While Nadir seemed a little too westernized and modern for his people, he was still a little bit backward in his way of thinking. Zoë and Nadir had to try to blend two distinctly different cultures and beliefs together to make their marriage work. I'm glad that in the end Zoë didn't have to sacrifice her dreams to be with her husband or choose between the two.

Overall, I gave this romance a 3 1/2 out of 5 roses. I liked both the main characters and how Nadir did his best to try to accommodate Zoë while dealing with a world (Jazaar) not yet ready to join the modern ways of thinking. I also liked how Nadir didn't leap to conclusions or act before he got all the facts. I loved the relationship the two shared and how he ended up respecting and seeking out her opinion on matters. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating-too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

To see more of my reviews please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com I'd greatly appreciate it. :)(less)

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Sep 05, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-hp-challenge, sheikh-royalty, abused-woman, category-romance, contemporary-romance, forced-arranged-convenient-marriage, from-the-library, harlequin, harlequin-presents, orphan-poor-relation

This is a very nice effort by a debut HP author. It felt fresh and new. The sheikh actually acted as if he were a person from another culture in that he denied the heroine the right to a further education and etc. He wasn't really an ass though and he fell for her pretty rapidly. Also she wasn't a virgin and her circumstances were realistic. How many young women have been used and lied to just to get them in bed? The plot was pretty tight and the focus of the story was fairly firmly on the coupl...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Stella rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, for-review, romance

As I’ve already confessed, I’ve come a long way from my snob bookish upbringing where romance novels weren’t permitted reading material, and I’m very glad that I gave The Tarnished Jewel of Jazaar a fair chance despite the typical Harlequin cover and characteristic title, it is a little gem of a well written and captivating story that I enjoyed a lot.

Zoe is a strong and determined heroine who despite pretending to be humble and obedient young woman to fit in with the expectations of the Arabic w...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: abused-heroine, betrayal, fiesty-heroine, opposites-attract

Nadir knows the instant he sees Zoe in her jeweled veil that the tribe doesn’t believe he will go through with the arranged marriage, but he will do anything to mend the turmoil ruling his tribes, even if it means accepting an unworthy bride. Zoe is completely unlike the type of wife a Sheikh would have on his arm, she is outspoken, headstrong, and full of passion which draws Nadir in immediately. As the honeymoon begins, Nadir’s plans for Zoe change and he finds himself falling for his newly we...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Susan (susayq) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, harlequin-presents, sheikhs, 2012books, category-romance

This was really good. It had the right combination of angst and romance. Towards the end when Zoe was considering giving up her dream cause she realized she loved Nadir, I was kind of mad at her. She had spent the ENTIRE book planning her escape; never mind the fact that she kept putting it off to spend more time with him. It was the fact that her dream of going to school and being a doctor was that important to her. Unfortunately, she overheard a conversation between Nadir and his brother that...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Laura (Kyahgirl) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-contemporary

1.5/5; 2 stars; C

I thought this author had a decent writing style and was competent in that respect, I would read her again if she wrote a different style of story. My problem was with the subject. This book was given to me by a friend and I thought I'd read it to compare to the old Harlequins I was weaned on. In today's world, I can't enjoy the desert sheik fantasy. All I can think of is women in houses with the windows blacked out, women being stoned to death for the crime of being raped...thi...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, harlequin-presents, read-in-2012, heat-level-r, job-prince-king-sheikh-sultan, location-fictitious-country, location-mexico, location-usa, rating-4-stars, trope-arranged-convenient-marriage, trope-childhood-trauma, trope-orphan-hero_heroine, trope-past-traumatic-relationship, trope-royalty-nobility-aristocracy, trope-ruritanian-romance

I really enjoyed that this book was a bit of a departure for the standard HP contract marriage trope. The heroine is using the marriage to run away (literally) from a restrictive culture that she'd only been introduced to as a teenager after her parents died. I liked that she was using the marriage as much as the hero was. But, I still feel like the heroine had to make the majority of sacrifices in their relationship. (view spoiler)...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Dalia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed reading the story of Nadir and Zoe. It was well written and captivating. They enter an arranged marriage each one with his own agenda. Zoe plans to escape jazaar & run away from her husband. For politicals reasons, Nadir is forced to marry the bride chosen for him, but plans on leaving her in a palace in the mointains, and returns to his life. Zoe is always plotting her escape, it is fun to watch them grow to love and trust each other.

Despite her disappointing & abusing life in...more

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May 06, 2013 Gege86 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow, what can I say to describe this one, it literally put a big fat goofy smile on my face. loved it a lot. A loooooooooooooooot.
The hero is called the beast, but believe me he's anything but. And the heroine was sooooo adorable.
After this novel I'm going to read everything there is for this author, amazing writing style with a very romantic flare.

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Aug 19, 2012 Jennie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: the-sheikhs

I probably would have enjoyed this book had I not felt it could be used as a propaganda tool for George Bush's pretend war on terror. My beef was not with the book itself but with some reviewers who seemed to take this as what is reality in the Arab world. It's not. And let's be honest, unfortunately, violence against women is rife in the West.

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Aug 22, 2012 Lenore Kosinski rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: harlequin

I actually wasn't sure how I was gonna feel about this from the way it started out...sometimes the...uhhh...stereotypes?? of desert kingdoms can get tiring. But Nadir and Zoe really grew on me. It was fun to watch them grow to love and trust each other and learn from each other.

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Jun 22, 2012 Lidia rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm tired to read story when the woman at end must rethink dreams and hopes also if the man is as one as Nadir . It's true that arabian culture have rule that we not can understand so this story seem a fairy tale but still this is romantic and cute.

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Mar 16, 2013 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

The description didn't appeal to me, but I had to read the book as it was sent to me for judging and I really liked it. Both characters, I thought, were plausible in their attraction to and interest in each other and in their hesitations.

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Oct 04, 2012 Shawn Baker rated it 3 of 5 stars

I thought it was a little slow in the beginning and put it aside to read other books, upon picking it back up I was pretty interested it this time for some reason maybe it was getting to the heart of the matter. Anyway it was worth reading in the long run, happy ending and all.

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Dec 07, 2012 Tanya Mayes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: harlequin-presents

I really enjoyed reading this book. The Ups and Downs. All the drama was great. I love how the writer took them from an arrange marriage to them falling in love.The strength of Nadir and Zoe was powerful. With love so much can be accomplished.

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Aug 01, 2012 Harlequin Books added it · review of another edition

Shelves: largeprint, 2012

Miniseries: Beasts of the Desert
Category: Classic Romance

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Jul 18, 2012 Jacqueline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Great read an orphaned child taken in by a part of her family for her inheritance and treated as a slave then forced into marriage, but it couldn't be worse then the life she has been living could it???

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Aug 01, 2012 Harlequin Books added it

Shelves: harlequin_presents, 2012

Miniseries: Beasts of the Desert
Category: Classic Romance

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Oct 06, 2012 willaful marked it as dnf

Shelves: not-my-cuppa

Okay book but the set-up made me squirmy.

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Jun 25, 2012 Tracy's Place added it

3.75 out of 5

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Jul 31, 2012 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review to come

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May 22, 2013 Nikky rated it 3 of 5 stars

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About Susanna Carr

Susanna Carr has been an avid romance reader since she read her first Harlequin at the age of 10. She has written sexy contemporary romances for several publishers and her work has been honored with awards for contemporary and sensual romance.

Susanna Carr lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she isn’t writing, Susanna enjoys reading romance and connecting with readers online. Visit...more

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