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Hot Arabian Nights #4
Claiming His Desert Princess
Stolen nights with the secret princess…
Bound to marry for duty, Princess Tahira finds her only freedom in forbidden escapes to the desert. Then one night she encounters a stranger under the stars—adventurer Christopher Fordyce. He's wildly attractive and thrillingly dangerous…an illicit fantasy she can't resist!
Even unaware of Tahira's royal blood, Christopher knows his shameful past makes any future with her impossible. But in the sultry desert heat, desires are uncovered and secrets unveiled, and soon Christopher will risk everything to claim his desert princess!
Bound to marry for duty, Princess Tahira finds her only freedom in forbidden escapes to the desert. Then one night she encounters a stranger under the stars—adventurer Christopher Fordyce. He's wildly attractive and thrillingly dangerous…an illicit fantasy she can't resist!
Even unaware of Tahira's royal blood, Christopher knows his shameful past makes any future with her impossible. But in the sultry desert heat, desires are uncovered and secrets unveiled, and soon Christopher will risk everything to claim his desert princess!
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Marguerite Kaye
254 books347 followersMarguerite Kaye is a prolific historical romance author hailing from Argyll’s West Coast. She is a voracious consumer of books, Scotland’s world-class larder, and the occasional cocktail.
Find out more on her website at www.margueritekaye.com
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Find out more on her website at www.margueritekaye.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 23, 2017
I've given this a B- at AAR, so that's 3.5 stars rounded up.
Claiming His Desert Princess is the final book in Marguerite Kaye’s Hot Arabian Nights quartet of historical romances set in Arabia in the early 1800s. Contemporary romances abound with gorgeous sheikh heroes, but they’re not so often found in historicals, and neither are there that many regency romances set outside England, so the series had a dual appeal for me, and I’ve enjoyed all the books to varying degrees (my favourite is still the first, The Widow and the Sheikh). In this story, however, it’s the heroine rather than the hero who is of royal blood. Christopher Fordyce, who has appeared briefly in the earlier books, is clearly on a mission of some kind, the nature of which has not so far been made entirely clear. Having conceived the idea of him as a kind of cross between Indiana Jones and Lawrence of Arabia (as personified by Peter O’Toole), I’ve been looking forward to his story and finally discovering exactly what he was up to. All is indeed revealed in this book, but I can’t deny that some pacing issues, a rushed ending and a sense of “oh – was that it?” ultimately left me feeling a little disappointed.
English antiquarian and surveyor, Christopher Fordyce, has travelled to Arabia in order to return a valuable ancient artefact to its rightful owner – or at least to the owner’s descendants. He has been in the country for over six months, travelling around trying to trace the origin of a turquoise amulet which was left to him upon the death of his father, and finally believes he has located the key to his quest in the form of the newly opened mines in the kingdom of Nessarah. He visits at night in order to see what progress has been made on the excavations, and is discovered there by a young woman named Tahira who explains she is deeply interested in the history of Nessarah and has begun to make a study of it and the various artefacts she finds. There is an undeniable spark of attraction between them from the very first, and they immediately bond over their shared interest in history and in uncovering the mysteries of the past. Tahira is able to supply Christopher with some interesting snippets of information regarding the mine and its workings and at each meeting, they reveal a little more of themselves to each other which, for Tahira, provides an incredible taste of freedom from the life to which she has been born. For she is keeping one, very important detail from Christopher, which is that she is the eldest sister of Prince Ghutrif, who is the de factor ruler of Nessarah.
Ghutrif is determined to marry Tahira off. She has been betrothed twice before, both times to the Prince of Murimon – but those betrothals ended when her first intended was killed in a fall from his horse, and her second, Prince Kadar (Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride) fell in love with someone else. Tahira is blamed for both these failures to marry, told she has brought dishonour upon her family, and her position at the palace is becoming increasingly difficult to bear. The one bright spot in her life is her nightly meetings with the handsome Englishman who understands her sense of connection with the past, and who truly listens to her and values her opinion. She decides not to disclose her identity to him because then he is bound to insist they stop meeting – and given she has very little time left before she is married, Tahira is reluctant to end their association before she is forced to do so.
Christopher is keeping secrets as well, ones which clearly relate to a painful past that he refuses to discuss. All he will tell Tahira is that returning the amulet to its rightful place means that he will finally be able to shake off the yoke of the past and face the future with a clean slate. This is the weakest part of the story, because I found it difficult to believe that Christopher had imbued an inanimate object with such power over his life. The major part of the reveal as to his reasons and why he is running from his past does not come until around two-thirds of the way through the book, so it’s difficult to say more without spoilers, so I’ll just say that it revolves around Christopher’s sense of self and identity following a discovery made after the death of his father. He believes the amulet to have been a bribe and that the only way he can live with a clear conscience is to return it. But it feels like a flimsy plot device, and didn’t make much sense to me.
The writing flows smoothly, and the author’s descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of the desert and the bazaars and souks are as evocative as always, but the first two thirds of the book are fairly static, consisting mostly of a series of night-time meetings between Christopher and Tahira in which they continue their search for artefacts, interspersed with glimpses into the monotony of Tahira’s life in the palace harem, or of Christopher’s attempts to track the provenance of the amulet. His wanting to make Tahira’s wishes come true – sliding down the dunes, riding across the desert at night, swimming in an oasis – is sweet, and their clandestine meetings provide plenty of opportunity for things to become fairly heated between them, although Christopher refuses flat out to ruin Tahira and leave her with the consequences of their actions. It’s all very well done, in particular the parts that show very clearly just how limited Tahira’s choices are, but it’s somewhat repetitive until the point at which we are made privy to Christopher’s motivations. The pacing picks up from around there, but I can’t help wishing that Ms. Kaye had chosen to ‘drip-feed’ Christopher’s story throughout rather than saving all the explanations until the back end of the book.
Marguerite Kaye is one of my favourite authors and she always writes with intelligence, researches her subjects well and creates a strong sense of time and place in her stories. However, I suspect that maybe Claiming His Desert Princess is a victim of my own high expectations – I liked it, but I wanted to LOVE it, and I didn’t quite make it that far. Nonetheless it’s a solid read with a nicely developed romance and at the very least merits a qualified recommendation
Claiming His Desert Princess is the final book in Marguerite Kaye’s Hot Arabian Nights quartet of historical romances set in Arabia in the early 1800s. Contemporary romances abound with gorgeous sheikh heroes, but they’re not so often found in historicals, and neither are there that many regency romances set outside England, so the series had a dual appeal for me, and I’ve enjoyed all the books to varying degrees (my favourite is still the first, The Widow and the Sheikh). In this story, however, it’s the heroine rather than the hero who is of royal blood. Christopher Fordyce, who has appeared briefly in the earlier books, is clearly on a mission of some kind, the nature of which has not so far been made entirely clear. Having conceived the idea of him as a kind of cross between Indiana Jones and Lawrence of Arabia (as personified by Peter O’Toole), I’ve been looking forward to his story and finally discovering exactly what he was up to. All is indeed revealed in this book, but I can’t deny that some pacing issues, a rushed ending and a sense of “oh – was that it?” ultimately left me feeling a little disappointed.
English antiquarian and surveyor, Christopher Fordyce, has travelled to Arabia in order to return a valuable ancient artefact to its rightful owner – or at least to the owner’s descendants. He has been in the country for over six months, travelling around trying to trace the origin of a turquoise amulet which was left to him upon the death of his father, and finally believes he has located the key to his quest in the form of the newly opened mines in the kingdom of Nessarah. He visits at night in order to see what progress has been made on the excavations, and is discovered there by a young woman named Tahira who explains she is deeply interested in the history of Nessarah and has begun to make a study of it and the various artefacts she finds. There is an undeniable spark of attraction between them from the very first, and they immediately bond over their shared interest in history and in uncovering the mysteries of the past. Tahira is able to supply Christopher with some interesting snippets of information regarding the mine and its workings and at each meeting, they reveal a little more of themselves to each other which, for Tahira, provides an incredible taste of freedom from the life to which she has been born. For she is keeping one, very important detail from Christopher, which is that she is the eldest sister of Prince Ghutrif, who is the de factor ruler of Nessarah.
Ghutrif is determined to marry Tahira off. She has been betrothed twice before, both times to the Prince of Murimon – but those betrothals ended when her first intended was killed in a fall from his horse, and her second, Prince Kadar (Sheikh's Mail-Order Bride) fell in love with someone else. Tahira is blamed for both these failures to marry, told she has brought dishonour upon her family, and her position at the palace is becoming increasingly difficult to bear. The one bright spot in her life is her nightly meetings with the handsome Englishman who understands her sense of connection with the past, and who truly listens to her and values her opinion. She decides not to disclose her identity to him because then he is bound to insist they stop meeting – and given she has very little time left before she is married, Tahira is reluctant to end their association before she is forced to do so.
Christopher is keeping secrets as well, ones which clearly relate to a painful past that he refuses to discuss. All he will tell Tahira is that returning the amulet to its rightful place means that he will finally be able to shake off the yoke of the past and face the future with a clean slate. This is the weakest part of the story, because I found it difficult to believe that Christopher had imbued an inanimate object with such power over his life. The major part of the reveal as to his reasons and why he is running from his past does not come until around two-thirds of the way through the book, so it’s difficult to say more without spoilers, so I’ll just say that it revolves around Christopher’s sense of self and identity following a discovery made after the death of his father. He believes the amulet to have been a bribe and that the only way he can live with a clear conscience is to return it. But it feels like a flimsy plot device, and didn’t make much sense to me.
The writing flows smoothly, and the author’s descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of the desert and the bazaars and souks are as evocative as always, but the first two thirds of the book are fairly static, consisting mostly of a series of night-time meetings between Christopher and Tahira in which they continue their search for artefacts, interspersed with glimpses into the monotony of Tahira’s life in the palace harem, or of Christopher’s attempts to track the provenance of the amulet. His wanting to make Tahira’s wishes come true – sliding down the dunes, riding across the desert at night, swimming in an oasis – is sweet, and their clandestine meetings provide plenty of opportunity for things to become fairly heated between them, although Christopher refuses flat out to ruin Tahira and leave her with the consequences of their actions. It’s all very well done, in particular the parts that show very clearly just how limited Tahira’s choices are, but it’s somewhat repetitive until the point at which we are made privy to Christopher’s motivations. The pacing picks up from around there, but I can’t help wishing that Ms. Kaye had chosen to ‘drip-feed’ Christopher’s story throughout rather than saving all the explanations until the back end of the book.
Marguerite Kaye is one of my favourite authors and she always writes with intelligence, researches her subjects well and creates a strong sense of time and place in her stories. However, I suspect that maybe Claiming His Desert Princess is a victim of my own high expectations – I liked it, but I wanted to LOVE it, and I didn’t quite make it that far. Nonetheless it’s a solid read with a nicely developed romance and at the very least merits a qualified recommendation
July 18, 2022
This was corny but I knew what I was getting myself into.
November 4, 2017
All of these 'Hot Arabian Nights' books are fantastic reads. The characters are well drawn as individuals - eccentric perhaps, but also reflecting their social class and culture during the nineteenth century.
In this tale a princess, unwed in her early twenties but awaiting the day she will be married off, risks her name to have some minor freedoms while she can. As she is interested in excavating buried mineworking villages, she meets a British antiquarian and adventurer. They can meet in the empty desert at night, but for how long? This is an adult romance.
The depth of research and environmental detail is marvellous. By showing us the exceptions to the wealthy classes of the day, the author gives us far more interesting characters and situations. More!
I was sent an e-ARC by the author for Fresh Fiction.
This is an unbiased review.
In this tale a princess, unwed in her early twenties but awaiting the day she will be married off, risks her name to have some minor freedoms while she can. As she is interested in excavating buried mineworking villages, she meets a British antiquarian and adventurer. They can meet in the empty desert at night, but for how long? This is an adult romance.
The depth of research and environmental detail is marvellous. By showing us the exceptions to the wealthy classes of the day, the author gives us far more interesting characters and situations. More!
I was sent an e-ARC by the author for Fresh Fiction.
This is an unbiased review.
March 13, 2017
Claiming His Desert Princess is the fourth and final book in the Hot Arabian Nights series by Marguerite Kaye. I have had the pleasure of reading the first 3 books and although you definitely don't need to read them in order to fully enjoy or understand this one, at some point I hope you will read them too. Like this one, they are all fabulous stories that I cannot recommend enough.
Christopher Fordyce is professionally a surveyor. His supposed midas touch helps him to discover ore, water, fertile soil, you name it, he can generally find it. But his true love is archaeology. It isn't that, or his job that finds him in Arabia though. He is looking for closure on something very painful in his past, something that to him, is shameful, closure that can only be found by finding the owner of a precious necklace and giving it back to them.
Princess Tahira is unhappy with her life, and she is definitely unhappy that she is considered a shame on the family because two betrothals her brother arranged for her led to no marriage. In order to earn respect again she must marry a man of her brother's choosing, this time going past the betrothal to the actual marriage. She feels trapped and smothered. She wants adventure, and lately that adventure comes from sneaking out from the palace and visiting a turquoise mine that her brother is having readied for mining. She can only sneak out at night, which is handy because it's the easiest time to get close to the mine undetected.
On one of her forays she comes across Christopher, in him she finds a kindred spirit, and she also finds him absolutely gorgeous. She loves that he is an archaeologist as it's something that absolutely fascinates her. She can't let on to Christopher that she is of royal blood, so to him, she is just Tahira. A woman with an ogre of a brother that is forcing her to wed. Also a woman that longs for adventure and wants to help Christopher find the origins of the necklace he has, and to help him return it to it's rightful owner.
Their adventure is one that she hopes will sustain her throughout the years when she is married and once again 'owned' by a man. What she doesn't bargain on is the force of her feelings for him. Their attraction is absolutely mutual, and on their many evenings together Christopher does all that he can to help Tahira's dreams become a reality before she is trapped into a loveless marriage. He doesn't count on their attraction to each other being so strong, and they find themselves in many a passionate moment. Passionate moments that mustn't lead to fully making love because Tahira must be a virgin when she marries. Can they resist the final joining though??
They know that they have no future together, and although they think they can just enjoy this amazingly exciting interlude with each other, what will happen when it comes to the day that they have to say goodbye. Will Christopher be able to let Tahira go, to marry a man he knows she doesn't love, doesn't even know? Will he find out that she is a Princess, and how will he act if/when he finds out? And what of the necklace, will he be able to find it's rightful owner, give it to them and get the closure he desperately needs?
As I mentioned earlier, I have loved every book in this series, and after each one I have thought that the next one couldn't possibly be as good as the last. But I am happy to say I was wrong. Every book, this one included of course has been an amazing read. So full of passion, forbidden love, and all set in such a beautiful time and place. The author's writing skills easily puts you amongst the scenery, being able to see the beauty of the area, the gorgeous clothes, and even the stinky breathed camels! This book and the whole series took me away from the grey climes of the UK into the heat and beauty of Arabian Nights....heaven!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers' Copy of this book.
Christopher Fordyce is professionally a surveyor. His supposed midas touch helps him to discover ore, water, fertile soil, you name it, he can generally find it. But his true love is archaeology. It isn't that, or his job that finds him in Arabia though. He is looking for closure on something very painful in his past, something that to him, is shameful, closure that can only be found by finding the owner of a precious necklace and giving it back to them.
Princess Tahira is unhappy with her life, and she is definitely unhappy that she is considered a shame on the family because two betrothals her brother arranged for her led to no marriage. In order to earn respect again she must marry a man of her brother's choosing, this time going past the betrothal to the actual marriage. She feels trapped and smothered. She wants adventure, and lately that adventure comes from sneaking out from the palace and visiting a turquoise mine that her brother is having readied for mining. She can only sneak out at night, which is handy because it's the easiest time to get close to the mine undetected.
On one of her forays she comes across Christopher, in him she finds a kindred spirit, and she also finds him absolutely gorgeous. She loves that he is an archaeologist as it's something that absolutely fascinates her. She can't let on to Christopher that she is of royal blood, so to him, she is just Tahira. A woman with an ogre of a brother that is forcing her to wed. Also a woman that longs for adventure and wants to help Christopher find the origins of the necklace he has, and to help him return it to it's rightful owner.
Their adventure is one that she hopes will sustain her throughout the years when she is married and once again 'owned' by a man. What she doesn't bargain on is the force of her feelings for him. Their attraction is absolutely mutual, and on their many evenings together Christopher does all that he can to help Tahira's dreams become a reality before she is trapped into a loveless marriage. He doesn't count on their attraction to each other being so strong, and they find themselves in many a passionate moment. Passionate moments that mustn't lead to fully making love because Tahira must be a virgin when she marries. Can they resist the final joining though??
They know that they have no future together, and although they think they can just enjoy this amazingly exciting interlude with each other, what will happen when it comes to the day that they have to say goodbye. Will Christopher be able to let Tahira go, to marry a man he knows she doesn't love, doesn't even know? Will he find out that she is a Princess, and how will he act if/when he finds out? And what of the necklace, will he be able to find it's rightful owner, give it to them and get the closure he desperately needs?
As I mentioned earlier, I have loved every book in this series, and after each one I have thought that the next one couldn't possibly be as good as the last. But I am happy to say I was wrong. Every book, this one included of course has been an amazing read. So full of passion, forbidden love, and all set in such a beautiful time and place. The author's writing skills easily puts you amongst the scenery, being able to see the beauty of the area, the gorgeous clothes, and even the stinky breathed camels! This book and the whole series took me away from the grey climes of the UK into the heat and beauty of Arabian Nights....heaven!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers' Copy of this book.
July 2, 2018
I’ve never read anything by this author before but was drawn to it by the description. It’s rare to come across a C19th romance set in an Arabian kingdom and I found this novel extremely enjoyable. Princess Tahira doesn’t want to be a commodity sold off in marriage and is pleased that her first two betrothals have fallen through, but her brother doesn’t intend that she remain unwed for very much longer. Tahira tells herself that she doesn’t want to marry because her sisters need her and she made a promise to her dying mother to look after them but that doesn’t explain why she escapes from the family harem to indulge her passion in history and archaeology. On one of her quests she bumps (literally) into surveyor Christopher Fordyce – her life will never be the same again. Recommended read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
March 18, 2017
I was looking forward to Christopher's story and Marguerite didn't disapoint.
Christopher and Tahira had made appearances in the other 3 books and I was interested to see how they might get their HEA. Both enjoyed and had an interest in archeology. Tahira had to make her trips secretly away from the palace guards and relatives and this lent an unusual setting to the story in that most of the hero and heroines encounters happened at night. Christopher had talents in surveying which helped him have a realistic income and knowledge of the area.
The romance was tender and respectful of each of the characters positions. In book 3 the hero and heroine worked together to ensure a successful horse race, in this book they worked to solve Christopher's dilemna. We had a bit more interaction with the secondary characters and learnt about their hopes and wishes so the final denouement was partially expected and happy making.
I enjoy the fact that Marguerite's stories are realistic and we know alot about the characters motivations. I shall look forward to reading the whole series but especially this one again. Marguerite's pinterest boards are always interesting and I loved the visualisation of Christopher and the appearances of the little sand cat.
I was lucky enough to be given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Christopher and Tahira had made appearances in the other 3 books and I was interested to see how they might get their HEA. Both enjoyed and had an interest in archeology. Tahira had to make her trips secretly away from the palace guards and relatives and this lent an unusual setting to the story in that most of the hero and heroines encounters happened at night. Christopher had talents in surveying which helped him have a realistic income and knowledge of the area.
The romance was tender and respectful of each of the characters positions. In book 3 the hero and heroine worked together to ensure a successful horse race, in this book they worked to solve Christopher's dilemna. We had a bit more interaction with the secondary characters and learnt about their hopes and wishes so the final denouement was partially expected and happy making.
I enjoy the fact that Marguerite's stories are realistic and we know alot about the characters motivations. I shall look forward to reading the whole series but especially this one again. Marguerite's pinterest boards are always interesting and I loved the visualisation of Christopher and the appearances of the little sand cat.
I was lucky enough to be given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
March 3, 2017
As always I am in utter awe of the wonderful gift and talent displayed in Marguerite's writing, another beautifully written book I have had the honour to receive as an arc. The story has all you can expect every emotion portrayed and felt by the characters shines through I felt as though I were immersed with in the kingdom as an invisible bystander cheering the hero and heroine on their journey, I highly recommend to all who love romance and historical novels and maybe if you have a love for Arabian Knights in general also give it a try when released very soon it will not disappoint, thank you Marguerite for another amazing book xxx
March 5, 2017
I received an advance review copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This is the last volume in the series of the Hot Arabian Nights tetralogy. You don't need to read the others in which to follow this story. If you have read the stories about the Armstrong Sisters by this author, you may find this adds to the story. This book also has a very pretty cover.
The hero and heroine of this story Christopher and Tahira are both caught in the actions of their parents/families and their own views about fidelity and marriage. They are also culturally different (all the better, as I like exploring different cultures) but their love for an early form of archaeology shines through as a shared passion.
Initially meeting accidentally and then clandestinely we get to know them as they dig in some underground tunnels in Nessareh, Tahira, the Princess in question's home city. Both hide who they really are but it is in the confines of the tunnels that they explore each other in mind as well in body as much as their beliefs allow.
I liked the morality actually of both Christopher and Tahira they stuck to their moral ideals as much as possible factoring in human nature and desires. I also like their academic interests in the tunnel digs, the country and the fact that Christopher had a job. Sayeed the sand cat was interesting too.
I did not enjoy so much the long wait to find out what the reason for Christopher trying to return the amulet and what his difficult past was as it was obvious who his father was if you read the acknowledgments at the beginning. Also, why mention the amulet and his birth mother if we are never to learn why the family had it and why it was given to him as a baby? This was entirely unresolved apart from confirming his adoptive parents' obvious love for him. I did also confusingly think of the archaeology as Egyptian it was just how it read to me.
The conclusion was satisfying however as Christopher gained a kind of strength from finishing his task and is able to cleverly attempt to reunite with Tahira in a way that honours them both. They were actually a rather sweet couple in a good way.
Not my favourite of Marguerite Kaye's books but still a good three and a half to four star read.
This is the last volume in the series of the Hot Arabian Nights tetralogy. You don't need to read the others in which to follow this story. If you have read the stories about the Armstrong Sisters by this author, you may find this adds to the story. This book also has a very pretty cover.
The hero and heroine of this story Christopher and Tahira are both caught in the actions of their parents/families and their own views about fidelity and marriage. They are also culturally different (all the better, as I like exploring different cultures) but their love for an early form of archaeology shines through as a shared passion.
Initially meeting accidentally and then clandestinely we get to know them as they dig in some underground tunnels in Nessareh, Tahira, the Princess in question's home city. Both hide who they really are but it is in the confines of the tunnels that they explore each other in mind as well in body as much as their beliefs allow.
I liked the morality actually of both Christopher and Tahira they stuck to their moral ideals as much as possible factoring in human nature and desires. I also like their academic interests in the tunnel digs, the country and the fact that Christopher had a job. Sayeed the sand cat was interesting too.
I did not enjoy so much the long wait to find out what the reason for Christopher trying to return the amulet and what his difficult past was as it was obvious who his father was if you read the acknowledgments at the beginning. Also, why mention the amulet and his birth mother if we are never to learn why the family had it and why it was given to him as a baby? This was entirely unresolved apart from confirming his adoptive parents' obvious love for him. I did also confusingly think of the archaeology as Egyptian it was just how it read to me.
The conclusion was satisfying however as Christopher gained a kind of strength from finishing his task and is able to cleverly attempt to reunite with Tahira in a way that honours them both. They were actually a rather sweet couple in a good way.
Not my favourite of Marguerite Kaye's books but still a good three and a half to four star read.
December 2, 2017
Read my review on RomanceJunkies.com by clicking on the link below. It is also posted in full.
http://romancejunkies.com/reviews/cla...
CLAIMING HIS DESERT PRINCESS is the fourth book in the HOT ARABIAN NIGHTS SERIES, and it did not disappoint. This is Christopher’s story, along with Princess Tahira, and their chemistry was immediate. Although they both had secrets they didn’t feel comfortable revealing to each other, the reader gets to know them a little at a time.
Christopher is in turmoil, since the last nine months he’s been searching for something regarding his amulet that will bring him peace and set him free. Tahira and Christopher are the central characters, and Tahira’s royal family plays an important role too. It’s interesting to see Tahira and her sisters’ interactions and what they think of their brother, the prince, who is ruler. Tahira’s feelings toward her brother are almost always negative, and it taints her younger sisters’ perceptions as well. Tahira’s sister-in-law, who is married to the prince, is difficult to like, but she does impart much wisdom to Tahira. The question is, will Tahira heed it?
The descriptions were vivid regarding the palace; the location where Christopher sets up camp, and the mine area had me forming pictures in my mind. The story is filled with family and friends, and lots of references to mining and the desert. The romance is fully developed and has a nice flow, the book rich in history. There’s wonderful closure and a happily ever after on several fronts. An epilogue would have been the icing on the cake, though. I enjoyed the historical note, which was a nice bonus and shed some light on the time period the book was set in–1815 in Arabia.
Marguerite Kaye is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I always look forward to reading what she is up to next!
http://romancejunkies.com/reviews/cla...
CLAIMING HIS DESERT PRINCESS is the fourth book in the HOT ARABIAN NIGHTS SERIES, and it did not disappoint. This is Christopher’s story, along with Princess Tahira, and their chemistry was immediate. Although they both had secrets they didn’t feel comfortable revealing to each other, the reader gets to know them a little at a time.
Christopher is in turmoil, since the last nine months he’s been searching for something regarding his amulet that will bring him peace and set him free. Tahira and Christopher are the central characters, and Tahira’s royal family plays an important role too. It’s interesting to see Tahira and her sisters’ interactions and what they think of their brother, the prince, who is ruler. Tahira’s feelings toward her brother are almost always negative, and it taints her younger sisters’ perceptions as well. Tahira’s sister-in-law, who is married to the prince, is difficult to like, but she does impart much wisdom to Tahira. The question is, will Tahira heed it?
The descriptions were vivid regarding the palace; the location where Christopher sets up camp, and the mine area had me forming pictures in my mind. The story is filled with family and friends, and lots of references to mining and the desert. The romance is fully developed and has a nice flow, the book rich in history. There’s wonderful closure and a happily ever after on several fronts. An epilogue would have been the icing on the cake, though. I enjoyed the historical note, which was a nice bonus and shed some light on the time period the book was set in–1815 in Arabia.
Marguerite Kaye is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I always look forward to reading what she is up to next!
Read
March 8, 2017Miniseries: Hot Arabian Nights
March 29, 2017
I’ve never read anything by this author before but was drawn to it by the description. It’s rare to come across a C19th romance set in an Arabian kingdom and I found this novel extremely enjoyable. Princess Tahira doesn’t want to be a commodity sold off in marriage and is pleased that her first two betrothals have fallen through, but her brother doesn’t intend that she remain unwed for very much longer. Tahira tells herself that she doesn’t want to marry because her sisters need her and she made a promise to her dying mother to look after them but that doesn’t explain why she escapes from the family harem to indulge her passion in history and archaeology. On one of her quests she bumps (literally) into surveyor Christopher Fordyce – her life will never be the same again. Recommended read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
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April 2, 2017"Kaye ends her Hot Arabian Nights quartet with a satisfying tale of forbidden love amid hot desert sands and starry nights. Readers will enjoy the unique setting and inner workings of harems..." (RT Book Reviews).
Miniseries: Hot Arabian Nights
Miniseries: Hot Arabian Nights
April 4, 2017
Christopher Fordyce, surveyor and antiquitarian, has been crisscrossing Arabia for six months while searching for the answer to the mystery of an ancient amulet he carries. Finally, he thinks mines recently re-opened in Nessarah may contain the answers he seeks. Searching at night, he comes upon another person at the mine who's also searching, a beautiful young woman named Tahira. They strike up a friendship based on their mutual interest in archeology. However, soon that friendship blossoms into more but each has a secret and can't act on their feelings for each other. Tahira is a royal princess, the eldest royal princess, whose brother, the crown prince, is seeking a marriage for her, again, after two failed engagements. Christopher is the bastard son of a duke brought up by loving adoptive parents who kept the amulet given to them by the duke when they adopted Christopher as it belonged to his birth mother's family. Constrained by their own cultural norms, neither would act on their feelings for the other. As the danger increases with the opening of the mines, the two of them found the source of the amulet at the same time Tahira's brother found her a fiance and time has run out for the two star-crossed lovers. Christopher then realizes that he must risk everything for the woman he loves despite the differences between them since both know now.
I've read every book in this series and Christopher Fordyce was a shadowy figure in all of them. He slipped in and out of all the other countries without much explanation. Here, we find out all and what a story it is! From his father's "youthful indiscretion" with a 16-year-old girl of the noble class who died in childbirth to Tahira's own loss of her mother when she was just 10 years old and then forced to "mother" her own younger sisters in a culture that didn't give women much freedom, each found managed to overcome cultural restrictions and find each other.
My only real criticism is the lack of backstory for Christopher's birth mother since so much is made of it. Then there is the amulet itself and its story in Christopher's birth mother's family. What a story it would make! It's a loose end to this story. Otherwise, it was a great story with fully fleshed characters and a plot that moves along nicely.
I was given this book for an honest review by the author and I have tried to do so.
I've read every book in this series and Christopher Fordyce was a shadowy figure in all of them. He slipped in and out of all the other countries without much explanation. Here, we find out all and what a story it is! From his father's "youthful indiscretion" with a 16-year-old girl of the noble class who died in childbirth to Tahira's own loss of her mother when she was just 10 years old and then forced to "mother" her own younger sisters in a culture that didn't give women much freedom, each found managed to overcome cultural restrictions and find each other.
My only real criticism is the lack of backstory for Christopher's birth mother since so much is made of it. Then there is the amulet itself and its story in Christopher's birth mother's family. What a story it would make! It's a loose end to this story. Otherwise, it was a great story with fully fleshed characters and a plot that moves along nicely.
I was given this book for an honest review by the author and I have tried to do so.
April 5, 2017
This is the last in the series but can be read as a standalone a great addition to the series.I really enjoyed this one it held my interest and i did not want to put it down.
April 17, 2017
My copy is a printer's error, as the cover is put on upside down and backwards.
In spite of this, I was able to read the story.
Set in 1815 Nessarah, Arabia; Christopher Fordyce is on a personal quest
when he encounters Princess Tahira.
Christopher and Tahira had me picturing actors: Brendon Frazier and Rachel Weis
from: "The Mummy."
In spite of this, I was able to read the story.
Set in 1815 Nessarah, Arabia; Christopher Fordyce is on a personal quest
when he encounters Princess Tahira.
Christopher and Tahira had me picturing actors: Brendon Frazier and Rachel Weis
from: "The Mummy."
April 18, 2017
The last in this series set in the marvelous setting of Arabia. I've read all of the books and have enjoyed each and every one of them. They each stand alone but treat yourself and read them all as I found each of them to be very interesting and fast reads. This one is just the final jewel in the crown of these four stories. I loved it!!! I just plan to keep reading whatever Ms. Kaye writes!
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April 18, 2017Gotta think some thoughts on this one. I'm iffy on sheikh romances at the best of times, but I wonder if some of my reaction to this story is due to the heroine, rather than the hero, being from the Arabian peninsula... anyway...
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