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Forbidden to the Desert Prince
The wrong royal brother? Or her soul mate? New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates thrills with this emotional desert romance!
She was promised to one man…
But has always desired another!
Ariel Hart thought she was free from her arranged marriage to the sheikh. But fifteen years after a coup deposed the royal family, Prince Cairo, her betrothed’s brother, appears…demanding she uphold the bargain!
Cairo’s allegiance to his brother is his driving force. If the sheikh wants his promised bride, Cairo will deliver her. But the forbidden desire between them threatens everything. Her plans, his honor, the future of a nation. Can they resist a need that burns hotter than the desert sun?
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
Read all The Royal Desert Legacy
Book 1: Forbidden to the Desert Prince
She was promised to one man…
But has always desired another!
Ariel Hart thought she was free from her arranged marriage to the sheikh. But fifteen years after a coup deposed the royal family, Prince Cairo, her betrothed’s brother, appears…demanding she uphold the bargain!
Cairo’s allegiance to his brother is his driving force. If the sheikh wants his promised bride, Cairo will deliver her. But the forbidden desire between them threatens everything. Her plans, his honor, the future of a nation. Can they resist a need that burns hotter than the desert sun?
From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
Read all The Royal Desert Legacy
Book 1: Forbidden to the Desert Prince
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published November 29, 2022
23 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Maisey Yates
1,175 books3,003 followersNew York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard.
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 6, 2022
3.5 stars.
Forbidden Love is the main trope that fuels this angsty second chance romance.
Maisey Yates' MCs had shared a special bond from the time they met as little kids, right up to when they're viciously separated as young teens, 15 years ago when the H was 14 and the heroine was 13.
Ariel, the heroine, was a little American girl when her opportunistic father had betrothed her to the H's older brother, Riyaz, the heir to the middle eastern throne of Nazul.
Her biggest problem with this betrothal, as the years passed and she grew into adolescence, was that she was drawn, as if by some unknown force, to her betrothed's younger brother: the H, Cairo.
And the young H, was equally attached to her.
He was the only one who could put a smile on the face of the sulky little American girl and these two were inseparable, during her family's annual visits to his country.
Even as an innocent adolescent, growing into puberty, the H knew that she was the centre of his world and his secret wish was to marry her one day, even though he knew that was forbidden and impossible. He'd even had a special endearment for her, always calling her ya amar, which means "my moon" or "my most beautiful".
This is the heroine, Ariel:
This is the H, Cairo:
Their childhood bliss was destroyed when the heroine's traitorous father betrayed the H's family, by working with the villains who engineered a bloody coup d'etat. The H's parents were killed, his brother was imprisoned in the dungeon and he was believed to have died in the desert.
When the story begins, the H (who's finally managed to overthrow the illegitimate regime and free his brother), returns for the heroine. He's still drawn to her and wants her for himself, but he's long relinquished all hope of that ever being a possibility, because "honour" dictates that she's returned to the new King (aka his brother) who's requested her presence.
After having grieved the H's "death" for many years, the heroine is shocked when he turns up outside the door of her Paris apartment.
She's relieved to see that he's alive but she's also scared because this cold, aloof and unyielding guy is nothing like the boy she'd loved. This man is unpredictable and might even be vengeful, even though she'd played no part in her late father's evil plans.
The H is single-mindedly determined to fulfil his brother's request and bring her back to Nazul. Duty is, as always, more important than insignificant little things like love. But, his commitment to his duty doesn't prevent those old feelings (which he'd long thought to be dead) from developing again.
There was a bit of "middle lag" in the storytelling, where both MCs are obviously hot for each other but at an impasse because she doesn't want to marry his brother and he's convinced that that's the only way for the injustices of the past to be balanced.
That bit of logic seemed to escape me, because the daughter of the guy who brought bloodshed and suffering to a kingdom, ought not to be the ideal bridal candidate for the position of future queen.
In any case, it's their close forced proximity and all the hero's little "queenly" lessons, that eventually broke down the barriers between the MCs, leading to the very unplanned and trainwrecky consummation of their relationship.
But even before that happened, the H had already been burning up with jealous possessiveness, at the thought of her being his sister-in-law and had even wished she could go away to some place where neither he nor his brother, would find her.
But after their relationship is consummated, the H gets a priest to marry them, because he's now determined to do whatever it takes to prevent his brother from insisting that the terms of the betrothal are kept.
Things are further complicated by the presence of an OW whom the H's brother seems to be obsessed with, even though she says that she's in love with the H. That drama will probably play out in a future novel but it's important for future readers to know that Cairo was never in love with the woman and thinks of her in a sisterly manner.
The OW (Brianna) is very nice and never tried to break up the MCs relationship, but I did kinda feel sorry for her, after hearing that she still thinks she's in love with Cairo but can't understand why she's so tangled up with his bossy, alphahole older brother.
Their book is one that I'm definitely looking forward to.
The story would've been more angsty if the H's brother hadn't had a woman of his own to be with, because the author would've had to put all 3 characters through the ringer before any HEA could have been achieved. But I guess Maisey Yates figured she'd be killing 2 birds with 1 stone by providing an intriguing love interest for the H's brother.
There's a certain issue that the H needs to address, in order to assuage his guilt for what had happened 15 years ago to his family. He's unable to allow himself to be truly happy with the heroine, until he knows that his older brother still loves him, trusts him and doesn't blame him for anything.
The epilogue was just average but I've noticed that that tends to be the case when there's a second book in the duology and the author doesn't want to reveal too many specific details about the future. The MCs do have a baby daughter in the epilogue, though.
Safety: No significant OW and no OM, even though the heroine is betrothed to the H's older brother. The MCs were separated twice. The first separation happened when they were 13 and 14 years old and lasted for 15 years. They were just innocent kids and had never even kissed or hugged, even though they were close.
The H wasn't celibate during that time, because he always believed that the heroine was forbidden to him, since she'd been betrothed to his brother. The heroine was celibate. The second separation was just about a month or so and both MCs were celibate.
Forbidden Love is the main trope that fuels this angsty second chance romance.
Maisey Yates' MCs had shared a special bond from the time they met as little kids, right up to when they're viciously separated as young teens, 15 years ago when the H was 14 and the heroine was 13.
Ariel, the heroine, was a little American girl when her opportunistic father had betrothed her to the H's older brother, Riyaz, the heir to the middle eastern throne of Nazul.
Her biggest problem with this betrothal, as the years passed and she grew into adolescence, was that she was drawn, as if by some unknown force, to her betrothed's younger brother: the H, Cairo.
And the young H, was equally attached to her.
He was the only one who could put a smile on the face of the sulky little American girl and these two were inseparable, during her family's annual visits to his country.
Even as an innocent adolescent, growing into puberty, the H knew that she was the centre of his world and his secret wish was to marry her one day, even though he knew that was forbidden and impossible. He'd even had a special endearment for her, always calling her ya amar, which means "my moon" or "my most beautiful".
This is the heroine, Ariel:
This is the H, Cairo:
Their childhood bliss was destroyed when the heroine's traitorous father betrayed the H's family, by working with the villains who engineered a bloody coup d'etat. The H's parents were killed, his brother was imprisoned in the dungeon and he was believed to have died in the desert.
When the story begins, the H (who's finally managed to overthrow the illegitimate regime and free his brother), returns for the heroine. He's still drawn to her and wants her for himself, but he's long relinquished all hope of that ever being a possibility, because "honour" dictates that she's returned to the new King (aka his brother) who's requested her presence.
After having grieved the H's "death" for many years, the heroine is shocked when he turns up outside the door of her Paris apartment.
She's relieved to see that he's alive but she's also scared because this cold, aloof and unyielding guy is nothing like the boy she'd loved. This man is unpredictable and might even be vengeful, even though she'd played no part in her late father's evil plans.
The H is single-mindedly determined to fulfil his brother's request and bring her back to Nazul. Duty is, as always, more important than insignificant little things like love. But, his commitment to his duty doesn't prevent those old feelings (which he'd long thought to be dead) from developing again.
There was a bit of "middle lag" in the storytelling, where both MCs are obviously hot for each other but at an impasse because she doesn't want to marry his brother and he's convinced that that's the only way for the injustices of the past to be balanced.
That bit of logic seemed to escape me, because the daughter of the guy who brought bloodshed and suffering to a kingdom, ought not to be the ideal bridal candidate for the position of future queen.
In any case, it's their close forced proximity and all the hero's little "queenly" lessons, that eventually broke down the barriers between the MCs, leading to the very unplanned and trainwrecky consummation of their relationship.
But even before that happened, the H had already been burning up with jealous possessiveness, at the thought of her being his sister-in-law and had even wished she could go away to some place where neither he nor his brother, would find her.
But after their relationship is consummated, the H gets a priest to marry them, because he's now determined to do whatever it takes to prevent his brother from insisting that the terms of the betrothal are kept.
Things are further complicated by the presence of an OW whom the H's brother seems to be obsessed with, even though she says that she's in love with the H. That drama will probably play out in a future novel but it's important for future readers to know that Cairo was never in love with the woman and thinks of her in a sisterly manner.
The OW (Brianna) is very nice and never tried to break up the MCs relationship, but I did kinda feel sorry for her, after hearing that she still thinks she's in love with Cairo but can't understand why she's so tangled up with his bossy, alphahole older brother.
Their book is one that I'm definitely looking forward to.
The story would've been more angsty if the H's brother hadn't had a woman of his own to be with, because the author would've had to put all 3 characters through the ringer before any HEA could have been achieved. But I guess Maisey Yates figured she'd be killing 2 birds with 1 stone by providing an intriguing love interest for the H's brother.
There's a certain issue that the H needs to address, in order to assuage his guilt for what had happened 15 years ago to his family. He's unable to allow himself to be truly happy with the heroine, until he knows that his older brother still loves him, trusts him and doesn't blame him for anything.
The epilogue was just average but I've noticed that that tends to be the case when there's a second book in the duology and the author doesn't want to reveal too many specific details about the future. The MCs do have a baby daughter in the epilogue, though.
Safety: No significant OW and no OM, even though the heroine is betrothed to the H's older brother. The MCs were separated twice. The first separation happened when they were 13 and 14 years old and lasted for 15 years. They were just innocent kids and had never even kissed or hugged, even though they were close.
The H wasn't celibate during that time, because he always believed that the heroine was forbidden to him, since she'd been betrothed to his brother. The heroine was celibate. The second separation was just about a month or so and both MCs were celibate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 19, 2023
This was an OK read for me and I normally tend to like this type of storyline of forbidden love.
The story felt stilted and choppy and I was not fully engaged with either character.
I did like the older brother that was put into the palace dungeon for 16 years and his life coach Brianna,now those 2 are interesting.
The story felt stilted and choppy and I was not fully engaged with either character.
I did like the older brother that was put into the palace dungeon for 16 years and his life coach Brianna,now those 2 are interesting.
November 23, 2022
I don’t like manwhore H!
Read
November 2, 2022Contemporary Romance, Multicultural & Interracial Romance
Miniseries
The Royal Desert Legacy (Book #1)
Miniseries
The Royal Desert Legacy (Book #1)
July 6, 2024
First of all it was boring and even if I had nothing to do I struggled to end it. I fell asleep twice in an afternoon and I don’t take naps anymore. The plot is quite common, the heroine is promised to the hero’s older brother and he has to take her to meet him. The hero and the heroine met when she was 12 and he was like 14 or some and there was this tender feeling bar attraction that, let me tell you, I found spooky since a 12 yo girl is quite a child and more than once it’s said that there was a strong attraction between them. Eek. The heroines father betrayed the hero’s family and caused a massacre of his family and his bothers imprisonment for 15 years. Now the heroine is 28 and the hero’s brother has been rescued and wants his bride to be. But of course in three days the hero and the heroine rekindle their attraction, have sex and even get married. Thank the fugg for loyalty to his brother. Luckily the brother has already found another more suitable match so everything is ok in the end but the book drags with a lot of dialogue and very few angst and chemistry. What made me rate one star was that the hero has been a manwhore and I don’t begrudge him this, after all I would have found a bit weird if he had been celibate because of a lil girl with pigtails and pimples. But the heroine became a socialite, very famous and partying and having fun with the ton of Hollywood and she is not only a virgin but also never been kissed because you know, no one could ever compare to the hero. Ok, so I know lynne Graham made the best of clumsy old spinsters who on the wrong side of 20s still haven’t had sex, but this, this was a bit much. I know that it’s a hp and it’s fiction but I want my books, even when they are cheap and short and easy, to have some semblance of consistency and reliability and no, a girl in her late 20s that doesn’t belong to some cult that doesn’t allow their women to touch other men and is all the time at parties, is beautiful, is friendly and has not some mental issue that prevents her from touching other people, is not possible in this world and in many others unknown by me that has not even kissed one single guy. I remember being a girl and not a very partying one but I even had some kisses stolen by some overeager guys so I can’t imagine how this girl has never even had some guys groping her or kissing her. Nope. Not at all. It’s science fiction not romance and unacceptable according to everyone’s standards. Only because she had to be super committed to an ex manwhore who is repeatedly said had more women he could remember. Yuck and eek. Sorry, not my thang. So one star it is.
priority
November 30, 2022She was promised to one man…
But has always desired another!
Ariel Hart thought she was free from her arranged marriage to the sheikh. But fifteen years after a coup deposed the royal family, Prince Cairo, her betrothed’s brother, appears…demanding she uphold the bargain!
Cairo’s allegiance to his brother is his driving force. If the sheikh wants his promised bride, Cairo will deliver her. But the forbidden desire between them threatens everything. Her plans, his honor, the future of a nation. Can they resist a need that burns hotter than the desert sun?
But has always desired another!
Ariel Hart thought she was free from her arranged marriage to the sheikh. But fifteen years after a coup deposed the royal family, Prince Cairo, her betrothed’s brother, appears…demanding she uphold the bargain!
Cairo’s allegiance to his brother is his driving force. If the sheikh wants his promised bride, Cairo will deliver her. But the forbidden desire between them threatens everything. Her plans, his honor, the future of a nation. Can they resist a need that burns hotter than the desert sun?
January 20, 2023
An okay read
This is the 1st book in the series and it was ok, some chapters were very long and boring and the last few chapters were short. The h was promised to marry the H’s brother, but they had feelings for each other. Her father sold out the royal family causing them to be killed, the brother imprisoned and the H to run away and live a secret life. The H gets the country back, frees his brother and marries the h. There’s a lot of angst and drama. I hope the next book is better. Okay epilogue.
This is the 1st book in the series and it was ok, some chapters were very long and boring and the last few chapters were short. The h was promised to marry the H’s brother, but they had feelings for each other. Her father sold out the royal family causing them to be killed, the brother imprisoned and the H to run away and live a secret life. The H gets the country back, frees his brother and marries the h. There’s a lot of angst and drama. I hope the next book is better. Okay epilogue.
December 26, 2022
What an incredible story about retribution and revenge. At least that was how it started for Cairo. He has to avenge his parents death and the incarceration of his older brother. Ariel was the one person who could redeem him but he fought that all the way. It was only after he realised that he would lose Ariel that Cairo declared his love for her.
December 18, 2022
Ok story, interested to see how brother’s story is told. Seems like a pretty troubled soul. I really used to love this authors HP stories, now I find her stand alone books better, especially her Cooper Ridge Series.
Read
November 2, 2022Contemporary Romance, Multicultural & Interracial Romance
Miniseries
The Royal Desert Legacy (Book #1)
Miniseries
The Royal Desert Legacy (Book #1)
December 25, 2022
Love it
June 22, 2024
I liked the story. It was a bit longer than needed! But still good!
June 22, 2024
Loved this book!
July 1, 2024
Good book good series
August 17, 2025
I usually love this author’s books but this was disappointing. Slow and ponderous in places. The characters never fully came to life and I hated the man-whore aspect of the hero’s past. MY writes well but in this instance I found the language - particularly in the dialogue- to be wooden and laboured.
It won’t stop me reading more of her books.
It won’t stop me reading more of her books.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews