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La brûlure du désert
Un traité de paix. Un mariage de convenance. Une passion inoubliable.
Le jour où le cheikh Raja al-Somari fait irruption dans son bureau londonien en lui annonçant qu’en tant qu’unique héritière de la couronne d’Ashur, elle seule peut assurer la paix entre leurs deux Etats en acceptant de l’épouser, Ruby est furieuse. Comment ose-t-il exiger d’elle un tel sacrifice alors que sa famille paternelle n’a pas hésité à les rejeter, sa mère et elle, lorsque son père a pris une seconde épouse? Mais peut-elle condamner tout un peuple par égoïsme ? Non. Elle épousera donc Raja, mais à une condition : que leur mariage de convenance demeure platonique. Car cet homme éveille en elle un trouble bien trop puissant et, s’il y a une chose que sa triste histoire familiale lui a apprise, c’est à ne pas croire aux contes de fées…
Le jour où le cheikh Raja al-Somari fait irruption dans son bureau londonien en lui annonçant qu’en tant qu’unique héritière de la couronne d’Ashur, elle seule peut assurer la paix entre leurs deux Etats en acceptant de l’épouser, Ruby est furieuse. Comment ose-t-il exiger d’elle un tel sacrifice alors que sa famille paternelle n’a pas hésité à les rejeter, sa mère et elle, lorsque son père a pris une seconde épouse? Mais peut-elle condamner tout un peuple par égoïsme ? Non. Elle épousera donc Raja, mais à une condition : que leur mariage de convenance demeure platonique. Car cet homme éveille en elle un trouble bien trop puissant et, s’il y a une chose que sa triste histoire familiale lui a apprise, c’est à ne pas croire aux contes de fées…
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
59 people are currently reading
406 people want to read
About the author
Lynne Graham
1,779 books1,452 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Lynne Graham was born on July 30, 1956 of Irish-Scottish parentage. She has livedin Northern Ireland all her life. She grew up in a seaside village with herbrother. She learnt to read at the age of 3, and haven't stopped since then.
Lynne first met her husband when she was 14. At 15, she wrote her firstbook, but it was rejected everywhere. Lynne married after she completed adegree at Edinburgh University. She started writing again when she was athome with her first child. It took several attempts before she sold herfirst book in 1987 and the delight of seeing that first book for sale in thelocal newsagents has never been forgotten. Now, there are over 10 million ofher books in print worldwide.
Lynne always wanted a large family and has five children. Her eldest and heronly natural child is 19 and currently at university. Her other fourchildren, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. She has two9-year-olds adopted from Sri Lanka and a 5- and a 3-year-old adopted fromGuatemala. In Lynne's home, there is a rich and diverse cultural mix, whichadds a whole extra dimension of interest and discovery to family life. Thefamily lives in a country house surrounded by a woodland garden, which iswonderfully private. The family has two pets. Thomas, a very large andaffectionate black cat, bosses the dog and hunts rabbits. The dog is Daisy,an adorable but not very bright white West Highland terrier, who loves beingchased by the cat. At night, dog and cat sleep together in front of thekitchen stove. Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collects everything from oldtoys to rock specimens and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
June 13, 2018
Heroine is the last twig on the royal family tree for a political alliance with the hero's country. Hero was dutiful, honest, and mature about the constraints of an arranged marriage. Heroine was shrill and self-centered, but eventually grew up enough to not freak out when she saw texts from the hero's former mistress.
Her visits to the orphanage were a nice touch, as were the scenes at the oasis.
The opening scene with the hero and his mistress added nothing to this story and rather besmirched the character of an otherwise honorable hero. I would have enjoyed that page time devoted to Hermione, the Jack Russell terrier - rather than some bimbo we never see again.
Her visits to the orphanage were a nice touch, as were the scenes at the oasis.
The opening scene with the hero and his mistress added nothing to this story and rather besmirched the character of an otherwise honorable hero. I would have enjoyed that page time devoted to Hermione, the Jack Russell terrier - rather than some bimbo we never see again.
October 2, 2011
So you're probably waiting with bated breath to find out about this book after the disaster that was Ms. Graham's last book, Bride for Real. So without much more ado, I'll give you the good news: . That was a relief! In fact, the hero was quite unlike Sander Volakis and quite unlike the typical LG hero. Our hero here, Raja, was actually a pretty considerate and nice hero. The bad news is that somehow LG's attempt at the kindler, gentler hero somehow fell incredibly flat and dull. Don't get me wrong, I love the strong and yet considerate hero who is a consummate gentleman à la Annie West's sheikh heroes. And what didn't work here was not so much Raja's characterization but the rather dull and uninspired writing and conspicuous lack of relationship development. Raja did lack the possessiveness and jealous nature that is the hallmark of a Lynne Graham hero, which was a disappointment. I think Ms. Graham did try to convey this and in some parts kind of hinted at it, but it missed the mark because of the lack of interaction between the characters.
Ms. Graham threw in a lot of her usual tools- the opening scene with the greedy but seductive mistress after a bout of hanky panky and the story about the hero having been burnt by love before being two examples. That is okay, it is what we have come to expect from Ms. Graham's books by now. The thing is, both these concepts were introduced in the book but were completely redundant to the story for they never come into play in any significant way in the story or in the development of the relationship. It felt as if the author went down the list of typical themes usually employed, threw it all in there in a fit of uninspired frenzy and then didn't have the energy to tie it all together. The ending was rather abrupt and the "I love yous" at the end seemed like they came out of left field when there was still so much to be worked through. I was waiting to see the moment the hero and heroine fell in love, but I completely missed it.
This entire book consisted of the inner musing by the hero and heroine with very little actual interaction and dialogue between the characters. I understand the utility of employing the inner dialogue as a means of progressing the plot line, but these musings were largely irrelevant and neither helped the reader in understanding the characters' emotions nor helped in conveying any chemistry between the characters. I found myself largely skimming over paragraphs followed by paragraphs of really quite uninteresting narrative. The description of the supposedly exotic settings were also quite uninspired and the love scenes were also quite passionless and insipid.
Ms. Graham did try to put together a feisty, strong and independent heroine. I got that it was what Ms. Graham was going for, but again, totally failed. Instead, our heroine just comes across as being a petulant and immature child. I guess that is excusable given that the heroine was only 21 years old, but she was still annoying.
Overall, this book just felt tired and uninspired, like the book was written by a very exhausted and over-used writing machine on automaton. The book lacks the passion and spark that Ms. Graham's books are famous for. This book should receive praise, however, for the lack of the highly offensive, outrageous story line that is sure to enrage and offend readers. And I find that it is really a sad state of affairs when this is the only aspect that this book has to recommend itself.
Overall a disappointment. 2.5 Stars.
Ms. Graham threw in a lot of her usual tools- the opening scene with the greedy but seductive mistress after a bout of hanky panky and the story about the hero having been burnt by love before being two examples. That is okay, it is what we have come to expect from Ms. Graham's books by now. The thing is, both these concepts were introduced in the book but were completely redundant to the story for they never come into play in any significant way in the story or in the development of the relationship. It felt as if the author went down the list of typical themes usually employed, threw it all in there in a fit of uninspired frenzy and then didn't have the energy to tie it all together. The ending was rather abrupt and the "I love yous" at the end seemed like they came out of left field when there was still so much to be worked through. I was waiting to see the moment the hero and heroine fell in love, but I completely missed it.
This entire book consisted of the inner musing by the hero and heroine with very little actual interaction and dialogue between the characters. I understand the utility of employing the inner dialogue as a means of progressing the plot line, but these musings were largely irrelevant and neither helped the reader in understanding the characters' emotions nor helped in conveying any chemistry between the characters. I found myself largely skimming over paragraphs followed by paragraphs of really quite uninteresting narrative. The description of the supposedly exotic settings were also quite uninspired and the love scenes were also quite passionless and insipid.
Ms. Graham did try to put together a feisty, strong and independent heroine. I got that it was what Ms. Graham was going for, but again, totally failed. Instead, our heroine just comes across as being a petulant and immature child. I guess that is excusable given that the heroine was only 21 years old, but she was still annoying.
Overall, this book just felt tired and uninspired, like the book was written by a very exhausted and over-used writing machine on automaton. The book lacks the passion and spark that Ms. Graham's books are famous for. This book should receive praise, however, for the lack of the highly offensive, outrageous story line that is sure to enrage and offend readers. And I find that it is really a sad state of affairs when this is the only aspect that this book has to recommend itself.
Overall a disappointment. 2.5 Stars.
October 10, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. I found I really liked both the H and h. She was young and strong (even if she didn't do well in the desert). The royalty thing was really played down, and the H came from a tight, happy family which I thought made for a nice change. The passion was there and you felt the bond between them. I did think the h realization of love was a little silly but it did not really make a big impact on the story as a hole. I also like the way the H was not over the top aggressive...made for a nice change. He was strong and confident...and I loved that he had a healthy, close relationship with his father. I thought the H came across as rather mature instead of all high end ALPHA.
The ending was rather flat and uninspired, but I got the point.
Overall 3.5, but rounded up for the different/unique H.
The ending was rather flat and uninspired, but I got the point.
Overall 3.5, but rounded up for the different/unique H.
December 6, 2011
The heroine Ruby is just an ordinary girl until her world is turned upside down when she is visited by the hero Raja and informed that she is heir to a country and must also marry him. Ruby has never been acknowledged by her father and his family, who were royalty and leaders of a small eastern country, so she never knew she was actually a princess. She is shocked to learn that in order for her father's country to be at peace with the neighbouring country - the one that Raja is leader of - she must marry Raja. Raja has always known that he would one day have to sacrifice his own freedom for duty to his country. Upon meeting Ruby, even though she is rather headstrong and impetuous, he immediately desires her and realises being married to her wouldn't be a hardship. Ruby doesn't want to marry Raja but after gathering information about the state of the country of her birth she agrees, on the condition that it be a marriage in name only. However she did not realise how much she would desire Raja, and how easily he could make her give in.
I was pretty hesitant about reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Lynne Graham's books, but her last one put me off. I'm not really sure what to make of this book; I did enjoy it but there is a lot in this book I didn't like, at all.
The start of the book is the hero getting out of bed with another woman, and while it is generally accepted that romance heroes, particularly those in Modern/Presents, are experienced and 'playboys' THIS scene just slapped you round the face with this fact. It cheapened the book and was quite distasteful.
At times the writing felt a little purple prose-y, and there is way too much internal monologuing - the hero and heroine barely talked. There is too many romance novel clichés used in this book, I'm not even going to mention them as I fear I will be here all day, but it's frustrating. Lynne Graham can do much better than this.
You may think I'm being a little petty here but I have an issue with authors trying to crowbar 'cool' words into their books where they are just not needed - in this book the use of the word "sexts" felt just, well, awkward, this isn't a book about teenagers (In her last book she used the word "shag" a lot, this further cements my point).
I nearly gave this book two stars. What saves this book is the two characters and particularly the hero. The hero felt very mature and a bit more gentle than most of the more recent Modern/Presents heroes. The heroine was also quite likeable in her feistiness.
Overall, this is not a bad book. It is enjoyable but it isn't quite there, to make it up to Lynne Graham's quality of old.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
I was pretty hesitant about reading this book. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Lynne Graham's books, but her last one put me off. I'm not really sure what to make of this book; I did enjoy it but there is a lot in this book I didn't like, at all.
The start of the book is the hero getting out of bed with another woman, and while it is generally accepted that romance heroes, particularly those in Modern/Presents, are experienced and 'playboys' THIS scene just slapped you round the face with this fact. It cheapened the book and was quite distasteful.
At times the writing felt a little purple prose-y, and there is way too much internal monologuing - the hero and heroine barely talked. There is too many romance novel clichés used in this book, I'm not even going to mention them as I fear I will be here all day, but it's frustrating. Lynne Graham can do much better than this.
You may think I'm being a little petty here but I have an issue with authors trying to crowbar 'cool' words into their books where they are just not needed - in this book the use of the word "sexts" felt just, well, awkward, this isn't a book about teenagers (In her last book she used the word "shag" a lot, this further cements my point).
I nearly gave this book two stars. What saves this book is the two characters and particularly the hero. The hero felt very mature and a bit more gentle than most of the more recent Modern/Presents heroes. The heroine was also quite likeable in her feistiness.
Overall, this is not a bad book. It is enjoyable but it isn't quite there, to make it up to Lynne Graham's quality of old.
Originally posted at http://everyday-is-the-same.blogspot....
March 25, 2012
I am not a fan of Mills & Boon sheik stories but I do like the author very much so decided to give this book a try. Just like all the other sheik authors, this was a plot used so many times....over and over again ....just change the character names/places and voila!!!!.....the gorgeous zillionaire sheik meets an ordinary English virgin, takes her away to his kingdom and fall in love.....and I wonder why suddenly so many of the authors are using pets as heroine appendages....I mean...a pet rabbit and now a cute dog!!!!!!
I kind of liked the hero, sheik Raja al Somari from Najar has to marry a princess from Ashru, the neighbouring country, to ensure peace between his and that country.....he’s an alpha male but he comes across positively in terms of his response to the heroine’s behaviour... (see more on this next...) not overbearing as most of sheik characters are....read....cruel, self-cantered, and egotistical before falling under the heroine’s spell!!!!!
Now, Ruby Sommerton, the discovered lost princess, is another story....talk about an immature, sulky and at times so idiotic I want to slap her!!!!! I mean from going to not wanting to do anything with the princess and marriage proposal because of what her father, the now dead sheik from Ashru, did to her poor mother and ignoring his child’s life, she then, after googling everything about her country is filled with a sudden conscience that she will now do everything possible to help in rebuilding her backward kingdom!!!!!! A 21 year old princess!!!!!!!!!
So many clichés.....I felt as if I had read this story before, just couldn’t remember their names!!!!!!!!!
It’s not a total horrible book....there are some parts that I liked but overall I have read much better books written by Lynne Graham. It’s definitely not on my favourite bookshelves, where I have most of the author’s books.
I kind of liked the hero, sheik Raja al Somari from Najar has to marry a princess from Ashru, the neighbouring country, to ensure peace between his and that country.....he’s an alpha male but he comes across positively in terms of his response to the heroine’s behaviour... (see more on this next...) not overbearing as most of sheik characters are....read....cruel, self-cantered, and egotistical before falling under the heroine’s spell!!!!!
Now, Ruby Sommerton, the discovered lost princess, is another story....talk about an immature, sulky and at times so idiotic I want to slap her!!!!! I mean from going to not wanting to do anything with the princess and marriage proposal because of what her father, the now dead sheik from Ashru, did to her poor mother and ignoring his child’s life, she then, after googling everything about her country is filled with a sudden conscience that she will now do everything possible to help in rebuilding her backward kingdom!!!!!! A 21 year old princess!!!!!!!!!
So many clichés.....I felt as if I had read this story before, just couldn’t remember their names!!!!!!!!!
It’s not a total horrible book....there are some parts that I liked but overall I have read much better books written by Lynne Graham. It’s definitely not on my favourite bookshelves, where I have most of the author’s books.
April 27, 2018
Leaving original rating though I probably should take a star.
The opening scene with the H leaving after a session with his current mistress is not my idea of a perfect opening for a romance novel, but then apparently there are people who like that.
Anyways, the H wasn't a jerk (not by HP standards) and tried to be nice and sweet but failed to charm me, instead of just ignoring the sexts from the OW he should have blocked and erased them.
I didn't like the h either, she was the kind of childish that annoys me.
In the end nothing outstanding in Harleyland.
The opening scene with the H leaving after a session with his current mistress is not my idea of a perfect opening for a romance novel, but then apparently there are people who like that.
Anyways, the H wasn't a jerk (not by HP standards) and tried to be nice and sweet but failed to charm me, instead of just ignoring the sexts from the OW he should have blocked and erased them.
I didn't like the h either, she was the kind of childish that annoys me.
In the end nothing outstanding in Harleyland.
February 28, 2012
This book was more fluff than normal for the HP line. Sweet fluff. Enjoyable but nothing that really stands out. It was different from LG's usual stuff. The hero was basically nice throughout. The heroine was sort of weakly feisty. The plot was not real solid. It had a lot of potential to be a lot more. This is one that suffered from lack of space. The scenes that were there were really good but by themselves could not tell a well rounded complete story. There either needed to be a bunch more scenes of the same length or shorten what was there so more story could be told. Not bad but sort of cotton candyish. Nothing that anyone is going to be offended with but no one is going to remember it forever either. Hmm...
October 16, 2011
This was a typical but enjoyable HP. Raja needs a Royal wife for peace and he finds Ruby but she isn't interested after all she grew up normal after her father rejected her and her mother but well you know she agrees to a platonic marriage for the sake of peace of the country she was born in.
Then we have the typical drama. Ruby was a feisty heroine and she often posed many awkward questions to Raja.
Enjoyable read.
Then we have the typical drama. Ruby was a feisty heroine and she often posed many awkward questions to Raja.
Enjoyable read.
February 22, 2025
H would have been written in 2025, yes that robotic he was.
August 17, 2012
Tenemos al principe Raja,que es super atractivo.Yo creo que uan de las cosas que mas me encanta de Lynne Graham es la descripcion fisica de sus personajes,principalmente los masculinos...son tan guapos y a la vez los describe que casi ,casi me los imaginoco completamente.Raja no es excepcion.
Raja es un hombre que haria cualquier cosa por su pueblo y con el fin de que no se inicie una guerra,busca a Ruby una princesa que nunca fue reconocida como tal para un matrimonio de conveniencia del cual ella en un principio se niega,renegando sus origenes.Ya que su padre la abandona a ella y a su mama por esta no poder darle mas hijos varones.En su pueblo las hijas no tenia validez.Que crueldad! Que seria de la humanidad sin nosotras las mujeres???
Tenemos a Ruby que esta super aburrida de su vida y de la soledad de la misma.Ademas tiene un trauma debido a su padrastro bastante machista y aprovechado, es asexual.No hay manera de que le llame la atencion el sexo,ni los hombres.Aunque ha tenido sus relaciones pero no ha llegado a la intimidad.Esta es una de las razones por la de su negativa a casarse con Raja.Claro que por el bien de su pueblo y de los dos paises accede a casarse no sin antes llegar a un acuerdo con Raja,en el que el matrimonio seria solo de nombre,ya que le explica que tiene un problema referente al sexo y este acepta pero con sus dudas porque encuentra demaciado atractiva a Ruby.
Ademas aunque Ruby es medio tonta con respecto a sus sentimientos hacia Raja,es bastantante infantil a su vez es tan tierna y mas cuando quiere adoptar una pequena.Awww de mas esta decir que Raja me mata.Que hombre!!!!! A pesar que no quiere sentir nada de amor debido a una mala experiencia amorosa que si que ha sido una experiencia fuerte,no deja de tener sus momentos tiernos y es tan dulce con Ruby.
Raja es un hombre que haria cualquier cosa por su pueblo y con el fin de que no se inicie una guerra,busca a Ruby una princesa que nunca fue reconocida como tal para un matrimonio de conveniencia del cual ella en un principio se niega,renegando sus origenes.Ya que su padre la abandona a ella y a su mama por esta no poder darle mas hijos varones.En su pueblo las hijas no tenia validez.Que crueldad! Que seria de la humanidad sin nosotras las mujeres???
Tenemos a Ruby que esta super aburrida de su vida y de la soledad de la misma.Ademas tiene un trauma debido a su padrastro bastante machista y aprovechado, es asexual.No hay manera de que le llame la atencion el sexo,ni los hombres.Aunque ha tenido sus relaciones pero no ha llegado a la intimidad.Esta es una de las razones por la de su negativa a casarse con Raja.Claro que por el bien de su pueblo y de los dos paises accede a casarse no sin antes llegar a un acuerdo con Raja,en el que el matrimonio seria solo de nombre,ya que le explica que tiene un problema referente al sexo y este acepta pero con sus dudas porque encuentra demaciado atractiva a Ruby.
Ademas aunque Ruby es medio tonta con respecto a sus sentimientos hacia Raja,es bastantante infantil a su vez es tan tierna y mas cuando quiere adoptar una pequena.Awww de mas esta decir que Raja me mata.Que hombre!!!!! A pesar que no quiere sentir nada de amor debido a una mala experiencia amorosa que si que ha sido una experiencia fuerte,no deja de tener sus momentos tiernos y es tan dulce con Ruby.
December 12, 2011
This was my first experience reading a Harlequin Presents. I was curious about the line having heard so much about it but never having read for myself. I am a fan of sheikh stories in general, so it looked promising. I thought the story had a lot of potential, and I liked the hero and heroine. But I found the story high on internal monologue and low on character development. I was also surprised at the degree of head-hopping, including changing point of view in back-to-back sentences within a paragraph, though I did eventually get used to it. Overall, the novel had entertainment value and was a fast read.
October 9, 2011
It was an okay read,did not enjoy it as i had expected,but i was glad did not find any shockers like previous book with cheating child n all.........,the ending was quiet abrupt
Okay read
Okay read
March 30, 2014
2.5 stars
The story had loads of potential and could have been a promising story, but I am sorry to say when it came down to it just didn't do it for me. I didn't really feel it at all. And it wasn't just one thing that I didn't feel it was most of it I wasn't feeling it like the characters, the relationship, the story, and the chemistry, and it could have been so much more than it was, but it just feel flat in my opinion.
Plus it just felt like an unbelievable love story or that's the feeling I got when I was reading. I couldn't really understand why the fell in love or how they fell in love. Just there really was no reasoning behind it and no development of their relationship to indicate that they were heading in that direction, though in all Presents they head into that direction and I know going in there they are going to fall in love and be in love and live happily ever after so I expect that going in and find that no surprise, however I want to believe it and believe story and their development of the relationship to get to that foregone conclusion. And when that doesn't happen then I feel let down and don't believe it and unsatisfied. So I want some semblance of realism and not this zero to sixty kind of relationship where either they hate each other or just lust after each other then magically fall in love. That doesn't please me or make me happy. And that was exactly what this book did.
Not only was the believability off for me, but I also wasn't feeling the chemistry between the pair. It said they wanted each and wanted to rip each others clothes off, but at same time I didn't feel it. They just didn't fit together and have those sparks flying like I expect in a Presents novel. I even questioned whether they wanted each other because for me the attraction wasn't there even though it was told to me it was.
Though I will say that Ruby has never wanted a guy like she wanted Raja and doesn't know what to do about that so that was something, but still not convincing especially considering her issues about her feminity and just her negative opinions about sex after her stepfather practically lusted after her when she was 14 so I could understand her wariness with me. But it became a non-issue as soon as she met Raja and quickly forgotten that she had this fear of sex. It just went out the window, and that was kind of unbelievable too especially since this issue when kind of deep for her, but it was just brushed off and there was no real struggle at all even though this was quite an issue for her. I would have liked to see that struggle and had Raja help her, since she was attracted to him and wanted him, through this issue and help her get over her aversion to male bodies and her sexuality like she had been all her life, but it didn't happen, but I would have liked to seen it. It was almost two easily dealt with and with no sequence, which made me wonder why this issue was even presented. Okay, maybe to explain why she was still a virgin and why she was wary of men, but that could have been handled in another way instead of the issue of her stepfather possibly assaulting her, but luckily didn't. I was just expecting this to be more of an issue than it was especially since it was present. So, wasn't pleased with that and just felt it was too easy for Raja to bed her.
But still the chemistry just didn't feel right and just kind of had me raising my eyebrows at it. Just something was off. I guess I just felt there was a lack of hot passion or passion period, which reflected in the love scenes. I wanted more passion.
The love scenes felt a little rushed too which didn't help my view with the lack of chemistry. It just felt like one big summary of actions going from here there and there until the moment of culmination. It was all just physical. I felt no emotion at all coming from either one of them at that time. I know sex isn't always like that in real life or in fantasy, but still I would like to see some emotion in the scene. It doesn't have to be love persay. It could be simple as passion or relief at finally giving into their attraction to one another, but none of that was here. It felt almost mechanical at times, which isn't a good thing in romance where people, as well as myself, are expecting some hot love scene here or there that gives this feels and hikes up the blood pressure, but again it didn't happen here, and just felt so stilted and unmemorable, which was a shame because it could had so much potential and lots of passion. C'mon a scene in where they had been kidnapped because some people feared their marriage and bringing two countries together and knew they had to stop the marriage in any way possible so they kidnapped them and left them in the desert (though he wasn't suppose to be there and decided to go with her when she made an emotional appeal in the plane of not leaving her alone). Then they are alone and stranded in the desert with no hope of escape for awhile until people came to look for them. And aside from themselves and a tent while trying to fight their ,supposed, attraction to one another then finally giving in to and having a hot desert night. Sounds hot right? But really wasn't because again like I said it was very mechanical and just physical. I guess the real issue was that I felt no connection between the two that was probably the big problem so if I didn't feel that connection with them then I wouldn't feel the love scene or think it was hot. That was a big issue for me.
The second love scene was after their rescue and during their "wedding night", which she didn't want to partake in because she felt the only reason Raja had sex with her in the desert was the consummate their marriage so it would hard for her to get a divorce and not because he really wanted her so she was fighting with him about that, but he ruthless seduced her, and again it kind felt like the first love scene. It was a summarized scene of the mechanics of their physical coupling with no real connection to it. It was emotional and flat.
So that was another aspect of their relationship I didn't enjoy. I didn't enjoy most of their relationship to be honest like I stated above. There was just so much off to it, and at no way felt real. There just was no connection between the two throughout the whole book.
It could have been so much more than it was with so much potential with the premise. The premise was this ordinary girl, whose father was royalty in a desert nation who happened to abandoned her and her mother after Ruby's mother couldn't have children anymore and her father needed a male heir so he had to marry again to get his son and basically cut Ruby and her mother out of his life completely and pretended they never existed at all. So he wasn't a father and like he did Ruby was determined to forget that side of the family so she had nothing to do with the desert nations. Problem was this desert nation needed her in order to ensure peace among them and a neighboring nation and stopping the warring between the two the only catch was there needed to be a royal wedding between Ruby's country and Raja's country, and Raja was meant to be the groom while Ruby's cousin was set to be the bride. Unfortunately, the cousin was killed in a plane crash and there were no other single female heirs in Ruby's family so she was it. Ruby was the only option despite the fact that she hadn't been raised to be royal or learned royal protocol or knew anything about the desert nation where she was born. Ruby was just an ordinary girl not royalty. So when they came knocking at her door telling her she needed to take her position on the thrown and marry Raja. She refused. The Raja came about to convince her to take the job and be his wife and he would do so in anyway possible so to ensure peace between their nations. He considered it his duty and would not fail. He even deceived her by going along with her plan which was they would marry, but it would be a platonic relationship and then when the nations saw that she wasn't giving him male heirs then they would free to divorce. That was her plan. His was, he was going to sleep with her because he wanted her and he would not divorce her, but he agreed to the plan so she would agree to be his wife. And that was the setup.
Sounds promising right? But it just didn't go off that way. It was flat like I said and didn't really dig deep and go deep beneath the surface in my view. Then it was like they were in love suddenly, but it didn't make a lot of sense.
Also I felt there wasn't really a lot of angst going on. And what angst was presented just felt very shallow and barely even there. Ruby didn't protest too much. And even when she did it was half-hearted and she really just made it too easy for Raja, and he didn't deserve it. He should have a harder time at winning her, but that wasn't the case. Again it just felt like a brush off and he overcame what she threw his way, which was barely anything. And I would have liked to see Raja have more of a struggle and more of angst between his feelings and longing for her. It was there a little bit, but not enough where I was feeling his pain and longing over not having her in his arms or whatever. There just wasn't a lot of friction there which I would have like and preferred to seen, which makes romance novels work and creates those intense emotions that going on during their journey. Again this didn't happen there. It was surface angst and emotions and that was it. Therefore, the feelings didn't come out or compelled me into rooting for this love story or liking this love story at all. I need that raw emotion for me to enjoy it.
If that wasn't all and if you couldn't already tell from this review, I didn't like the characters that much. I felt Ruby was too much of a pushover with her issues kind of getting glossed over and not really resolved or dealt with or even presented. I mean Raja found out about them and didn't like what he learned about her stepfather and wanted to hurt him, but other than that there wasn't much consequence to it like I said above. I would have like to see more of her struggle there and not give into Raja so quickly, or I felt it was too quickly it was a little ways until the first love scene, which was unsatisfying like I stated above. Just I didn't with Ruby at all and I didn't like her much. She felt very flat and more of a surface character not a 3-D one. I didn't feel her at all or root for her or anything. I kind was like "eh so what?" And that's not good with a heroine, who you want to be likable, but Ruby not so much. Also I felt like she didn't deal with her being fatherless her whole life either that should have been dealt with. Yeah, it was stated and she said it bother her and it influenced her idea about men and what they wanted and what they did with women, but other that it was kind of swept under the rug like the stepfather issue. I don't exactly what I wanted to happen, but something to show it still bothered her halfway through or she felt some way where she overcame it, not that she could ever overcome that after twenty plus years being fatherless, but still just I needed something more.
And Raja. Oh my goodness. Didn't like him at all. Didn't feel him. Didn't feel like he redeemed himself enough in my eyes. His declaration of love didn't feel real nor did him saying he loved. Didn't believe it. Do I think he cared about Ruby? Yes. Did I think he was in love with her yet? No, though he might have been heading that direction, but I don't think he was yet even though he told Ruby he was. I honestly didn't like him from page one when he stepped out of his mistress's bed and basically had this attitude where I have to marry because it was my duty, but maybe after I did my duty then I could come back to my mistress. That's was a big red flag in my book and made me not have respect for him. I get he was an alpha male and alpha males tend to be playboy or are sex machines in this book until they meet the one then only that one will do, and I'm used to those types of characters in Presents and usually they don't bother me because they do wind up redeeming themselves in the end so I like them plus you get deep beneath the surface of these alphas so I know what makes them tick and what there pain is and just see them hurting so it would be easier to swallow and like them and look past the past behavior. But with Raja that wasn't the case. I didn't like him, which was probably a big reason I didn't like the book. He was manipulator in order to get Ruby to do what he wanted while planning to do the complete opposite of her plan and seduce her anyway making him the scoundrel that he was. In the beginning, he didn't try to understand her or her point of view all he was concerned with was doing his duty to his country. Granted it was the right reason to do it in order to stop the war and garner peace among the nations, but other that just he wasn't the hot alpha male that I could swoon worthy. He was just too arrogant for words. And to top it off his mistress sends him x-rated text messages and he doesn't erase them. Really? He couldn't do that little thing. He didn't have to read them just erase them so Ruby didn't find them, though as she did find them which you could have predicted. Or he could have changed his number not keep the messages in his memory so Ruby could find him. What was wrong with him? So he didn't thrill me, and I didn't see him falling in love with her in this book. Wanting her, sure, but that was it. I feel he just wanted the physical with Ruby and that was it. Though even the wanting and attraction part was kind of hard to believe as well, or I should I didn't feel it even though the words were on the page. I couldn't root for him to get his happily after because frankly I didn't care if he did or not. So again not my favorite male character.
And a last note on the book was that I was kind of bored by it, and found myself skimming it at times just to get through it. Again just the whole story I wasn't feeling for all the reasons I stated above. It just didn't work on so many levels. And a big part of it was that it didn't go deep enough and it lack emotions that are needed for romance novel. Plus the whole back and forth wasn't there for my liking, which creates the tension and friction and intense emotions between the characters, it was just very surface level and unbelievable.
Again just wasn't feeling this book, and enjoyed it less than I was expecting especially since the back blurb seemed very interesting to me and made me want to read it. Lately it seems that I either love Lynne Graham books or I really don't like them and there isn't any in between. I don't what it is or why I feel that way, but just sometimes they miss the mark for me. Though I have liked more of Graham's books then I didn't so I won't give up reading her novels especially since I've a lot of them still to read and hopefully I will like them better than this one. I want to like them because like I said I do enjoy a majority of the books. I just wanted to feel a little bit more and just feel more realism with the relationship along with more intense emotions going on. So hopefully I'll have luck with the next one.
The story had loads of potential and could have been a promising story, but I am sorry to say when it came down to it just didn't do it for me. I didn't really feel it at all. And it wasn't just one thing that I didn't feel it was most of it I wasn't feeling it like the characters, the relationship, the story, and the chemistry, and it could have been so much more than it was, but it just feel flat in my opinion.
Plus it just felt like an unbelievable love story or that's the feeling I got when I was reading. I couldn't really understand why the fell in love or how they fell in love. Just there really was no reasoning behind it and no development of their relationship to indicate that they were heading in that direction, though in all Presents they head into that direction and I know going in there they are going to fall in love and be in love and live happily ever after so I expect that going in and find that no surprise, however I want to believe it and believe story and their development of the relationship to get to that foregone conclusion. And when that doesn't happen then I feel let down and don't believe it and unsatisfied. So I want some semblance of realism and not this zero to sixty kind of relationship where either they hate each other or just lust after each other then magically fall in love. That doesn't please me or make me happy. And that was exactly what this book did.
Not only was the believability off for me, but I also wasn't feeling the chemistry between the pair. It said they wanted each and wanted to rip each others clothes off, but at same time I didn't feel it. They just didn't fit together and have those sparks flying like I expect in a Presents novel. I even questioned whether they wanted each other because for me the attraction wasn't there even though it was told to me it was.
Though I will say that Ruby has never wanted a guy like she wanted Raja and doesn't know what to do about that so that was something, but still not convincing especially considering her issues about her feminity and just her negative opinions about sex after her stepfather practically lusted after her when she was 14 so I could understand her wariness with me. But it became a non-issue as soon as she met Raja and quickly forgotten that she had this fear of sex. It just went out the window, and that was kind of unbelievable too especially since this issue when kind of deep for her, but it was just brushed off and there was no real struggle at all even though this was quite an issue for her. I would have liked to see that struggle and had Raja help her, since she was attracted to him and wanted him, through this issue and help her get over her aversion to male bodies and her sexuality like she had been all her life, but it didn't happen, but I would have liked to seen it. It was almost two easily dealt with and with no sequence, which made me wonder why this issue was even presented. Okay, maybe to explain why she was still a virgin and why she was wary of men, but that could have been handled in another way instead of the issue of her stepfather possibly assaulting her, but luckily didn't. I was just expecting this to be more of an issue than it was especially since it was present. So, wasn't pleased with that and just felt it was too easy for Raja to bed her.
But still the chemistry just didn't feel right and just kind of had me raising my eyebrows at it. Just something was off. I guess I just felt there was a lack of hot passion or passion period, which reflected in the love scenes. I wanted more passion.
The love scenes felt a little rushed too which didn't help my view with the lack of chemistry. It just felt like one big summary of actions going from here there and there until the moment of culmination. It was all just physical. I felt no emotion at all coming from either one of them at that time. I know sex isn't always like that in real life or in fantasy, but still I would like to see some emotion in the scene. It doesn't have to be love persay. It could be simple as passion or relief at finally giving into their attraction to one another, but none of that was here. It felt almost mechanical at times, which isn't a good thing in romance where people, as well as myself, are expecting some hot love scene here or there that gives this feels and hikes up the blood pressure, but again it didn't happen here, and just felt so stilted and unmemorable, which was a shame because it could had so much potential and lots of passion. C'mon a scene in where they had been kidnapped because some people feared their marriage and bringing two countries together and knew they had to stop the marriage in any way possible so they kidnapped them and left them in the desert (though he wasn't suppose to be there and decided to go with her when she made an emotional appeal in the plane of not leaving her alone). Then they are alone and stranded in the desert with no hope of escape for awhile until people came to look for them. And aside from themselves and a tent while trying to fight their ,supposed, attraction to one another then finally giving in to and having a hot desert night. Sounds hot right? But really wasn't because again like I said it was very mechanical and just physical. I guess the real issue was that I felt no connection between the two that was probably the big problem so if I didn't feel that connection with them then I wouldn't feel the love scene or think it was hot. That was a big issue for me.
The second love scene was after their rescue and during their "wedding night", which she didn't want to partake in because she felt the only reason Raja had sex with her in the desert was the consummate their marriage so it would hard for her to get a divorce and not because he really wanted her so she was fighting with him about that, but he ruthless seduced her, and again it kind felt like the first love scene. It was a summarized scene of the mechanics of their physical coupling with no real connection to it. It was emotional and flat.
So that was another aspect of their relationship I didn't enjoy. I didn't enjoy most of their relationship to be honest like I stated above. There was just so much off to it, and at no way felt real. There just was no connection between the two throughout the whole book.
It could have been so much more than it was with so much potential with the premise. The premise was this ordinary girl, whose father was royalty in a desert nation who happened to abandoned her and her mother after Ruby's mother couldn't have children anymore and her father needed a male heir so he had to marry again to get his son and basically cut Ruby and her mother out of his life completely and pretended they never existed at all. So he wasn't a father and like he did Ruby was determined to forget that side of the family so she had nothing to do with the desert nations. Problem was this desert nation needed her in order to ensure peace among them and a neighboring nation and stopping the warring between the two the only catch was there needed to be a royal wedding between Ruby's country and Raja's country, and Raja was meant to be the groom while Ruby's cousin was set to be the bride. Unfortunately, the cousin was killed in a plane crash and there were no other single female heirs in Ruby's family so she was it. Ruby was the only option despite the fact that she hadn't been raised to be royal or learned royal protocol or knew anything about the desert nation where she was born. Ruby was just an ordinary girl not royalty. So when they came knocking at her door telling her she needed to take her position on the thrown and marry Raja. She refused. The Raja came about to convince her to take the job and be his wife and he would do so in anyway possible so to ensure peace between their nations. He considered it his duty and would not fail. He even deceived her by going along with her plan which was they would marry, but it would be a platonic relationship and then when the nations saw that she wasn't giving him male heirs then they would free to divorce. That was her plan. His was, he was going to sleep with her because he wanted her and he would not divorce her, but he agreed to the plan so she would agree to be his wife. And that was the setup.
Sounds promising right? But it just didn't go off that way. It was flat like I said and didn't really dig deep and go deep beneath the surface in my view. Then it was like they were in love suddenly, but it didn't make a lot of sense.
Also I felt there wasn't really a lot of angst going on. And what angst was presented just felt very shallow and barely even there. Ruby didn't protest too much. And even when she did it was half-hearted and she really just made it too easy for Raja, and he didn't deserve it. He should have a harder time at winning her, but that wasn't the case. Again it just felt like a brush off and he overcame what she threw his way, which was barely anything. And I would have liked to see Raja have more of a struggle and more of angst between his feelings and longing for her. It was there a little bit, but not enough where I was feeling his pain and longing over not having her in his arms or whatever. There just wasn't a lot of friction there which I would have like and preferred to seen, which makes romance novels work and creates those intense emotions that going on during their journey. Again this didn't happen there. It was surface angst and emotions and that was it. Therefore, the feelings didn't come out or compelled me into rooting for this love story or liking this love story at all. I need that raw emotion for me to enjoy it.
If that wasn't all and if you couldn't already tell from this review, I didn't like the characters that much. I felt Ruby was too much of a pushover with her issues kind of getting glossed over and not really resolved or dealt with or even presented. I mean Raja found out about them and didn't like what he learned about her stepfather and wanted to hurt him, but other than that there wasn't much consequence to it like I said above. I would have like to see more of her struggle there and not give into Raja so quickly, or I felt it was too quickly it was a little ways until the first love scene, which was unsatisfying like I stated above. Just I didn't with Ruby at all and I didn't like her much. She felt very flat and more of a surface character not a 3-D one. I didn't feel her at all or root for her or anything. I kind was like "eh so what?" And that's not good with a heroine, who you want to be likable, but Ruby not so much. Also I felt like she didn't deal with her being fatherless her whole life either that should have been dealt with. Yeah, it was stated and she said it bother her and it influenced her idea about men and what they wanted and what they did with women, but other that it was kind of swept under the rug like the stepfather issue. I don't exactly what I wanted to happen, but something to show it still bothered her halfway through or she felt some way where she overcame it, not that she could ever overcome that after twenty plus years being fatherless, but still just I needed something more.
And Raja. Oh my goodness. Didn't like him at all. Didn't feel him. Didn't feel like he redeemed himself enough in my eyes. His declaration of love didn't feel real nor did him saying he loved. Didn't believe it. Do I think he cared about Ruby? Yes. Did I think he was in love with her yet? No, though he might have been heading that direction, but I don't think he was yet even though he told Ruby he was. I honestly didn't like him from page one when he stepped out of his mistress's bed and basically had this attitude where I have to marry because it was my duty, but maybe after I did my duty then I could come back to my mistress. That's was a big red flag in my book and made me not have respect for him. I get he was an alpha male and alpha males tend to be playboy or are sex machines in this book until they meet the one then only that one will do, and I'm used to those types of characters in Presents and usually they don't bother me because they do wind up redeeming themselves in the end so I like them plus you get deep beneath the surface of these alphas so I know what makes them tick and what there pain is and just see them hurting so it would be easier to swallow and like them and look past the past behavior. But with Raja that wasn't the case. I didn't like him, which was probably a big reason I didn't like the book. He was manipulator in order to get Ruby to do what he wanted while planning to do the complete opposite of her plan and seduce her anyway making him the scoundrel that he was. In the beginning, he didn't try to understand her or her point of view all he was concerned with was doing his duty to his country. Granted it was the right reason to do it in order to stop the war and garner peace among the nations, but other that just he wasn't the hot alpha male that I could swoon worthy. He was just too arrogant for words. And to top it off his mistress sends him x-rated text messages and he doesn't erase them. Really? He couldn't do that little thing. He didn't have to read them just erase them so Ruby didn't find them, though as she did find them which you could have predicted. Or he could have changed his number not keep the messages in his memory so Ruby could find him. What was wrong with him? So he didn't thrill me, and I didn't see him falling in love with her in this book. Wanting her, sure, but that was it. I feel he just wanted the physical with Ruby and that was it. Though even the wanting and attraction part was kind of hard to believe as well, or I should I didn't feel it even though the words were on the page. I couldn't root for him to get his happily after because frankly I didn't care if he did or not. So again not my favorite male character.
And a last note on the book was that I was kind of bored by it, and found myself skimming it at times just to get through it. Again just the whole story I wasn't feeling for all the reasons I stated above. It just didn't work on so many levels. And a big part of it was that it didn't go deep enough and it lack emotions that are needed for romance novel. Plus the whole back and forth wasn't there for my liking, which creates the tension and friction and intense emotions between the characters, it was just very surface level and unbelievable.
Again just wasn't feeling this book, and enjoyed it less than I was expecting especially since the back blurb seemed very interesting to me and made me want to read it. Lately it seems that I either love Lynne Graham books or I really don't like them and there isn't any in between. I don't what it is or why I feel that way, but just sometimes they miss the mark for me. Though I have liked more of Graham's books then I didn't so I won't give up reading her novels especially since I've a lot of them still to read and hopefully I will like them better than this one. I want to like them because like I said I do enjoy a majority of the books. I just wanted to feel a little bit more and just feel more realism with the relationship along with more intense emotions going on. So hopefully I'll have luck with the next one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2019
Started out great. I don't want to give away the book. It was like he doesn't love her then poor he loves her.
March 23, 2020
This was almost good enough to make a 4, but I have a high bar for LG.
June 24, 2024
Great read!
This was a great quick read! I love Ruby and found myself laughing at her interactions with Rajad lol. Lynne Graham never disappoints.
This was a great quick read! I love Ruby and found myself laughing at her interactions with Rajad lol. Lynne Graham never disappoints.
July 19, 2025
Letto solo per il club del libro. Scorrevole ma banale. Quello che mi aspettavo da un harmony.
March 29, 2015
A decent novel from Graham, although different from a lot of her stuff. The heroine is spunky and likeable but I do wish there had been a longer opposition before agreeing to his proposal. Some mild steaminess and hot scenes, but what makes the book work well is genuine sweetness toward the end and how the love they feel for each other comes across convincing. The hero is gentler throughout than most of her books and, while he's likeable, he just doesn't stand out. Not many funny moments and I prefer a bit more drama and tension in my Harlequins, but overall this one was a quick read without any annoyances attached.
June 16, 2021
Sheikh Prince Raja al-Somari knows that sacrificing his freedom for the good of his country isn't a choice; it's a duty. But he's going to have to use more pleasurable tactics to convince his new bride.…
A day ago Ruby Sommerton was an ordinary girl, going to work and gossiping with her flatmate, now she's found out she's a princess and waits nervously in the bedroom of the Prince's desert palace!
Raja's new bride has a lot to learn about being a royal, most enticingly of all…how exhilarating nights with her new husband can be—and that an heir is top of his agenda!
A day ago Ruby Sommerton was an ordinary girl, going to work and gossiping with her flatmate, now she's found out she's a princess and waits nervously in the bedroom of the Prince's desert palace!
Raja's new bride has a lot to learn about being a royal, most enticingly of all…how exhilarating nights with her new husband can be—and that an heir is top of his agenda!
December 7, 2011
I am a fan of Lynne Graham's romances, but this was an average story to me. Parts from Raja's point of view did not seem realistic... And Ruby kept changing her mind on each page...
June 3, 2012
short and sweet read.. Loved the characters but i felt bits and pieces were a little out of place.. like how easily he told her he loved her i was completely blindsided.. I thought it would be a more gradual process.
October 30, 2011
LG never disappoints!! She is one of about a handful of current serial romance novelists I read.
January 7, 2012
2.75*
It was very cute, but very predictable :D that's why I like this Harlequin stories you know from the start what's going to happen, it's very restful :D
It was very cute, but very predictable :D that's why I like this Harlequin stories you know from the start what's going to happen, it's very restful :D
November 2, 2011
Lynne does Sultan stories really well and this doesn't disappoint. Ruby had loads of spunk and a perfect match for Raja. Very evocative setting too. Recommended
October 30, 2011
this book IS better than some of this author's more recent efforts, but i miss the l graham of 15 years ago!
December 25, 2011
This book is one of the reasons I always pick up this author's books, this was a really great story from beginning to end. Enjoyed it immensely.
No typos/editing issues noted.
No typos/editing issues noted.
October 1, 2012
LOVE This Novel kept me wanting more and more.....Praise to Lynne Graham!
August 28, 2014
Oh my god! This heroine was such a hateful evil bitch I wanted to slap her silly! Poor hero he deserved so much better! :(
March 13, 2015
I didn't like the female character at all. Not keeping this book around to read again.
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