The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: Available Now!
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin Presents Extra
Author’s Website: http://www.maiseyyates.com/
My Source for This Book: eHarlequin
Part of a Series: Yes, Kings of the Desert (sequel to An Accidental Birthright)
Series Best Read in Order: Works well as a standalone.
Steam Level: Hot

Official Blurb:

Princess Isabella was certain of three things…

She desperately didn’t want to marry the sheikh to whom she was betrothed…

There was more to the darkly handsome, dark-hearted desert stranger escorting her back to the altar than met the eye…

And, having kissed that stranger once, she was never going to be the same again…

We met Princess Isabella very briefly in An Accidental Birthright, also released this month from Harlequin Presents.  Raised knowing from a young age that love would play no part in the arranged marriage that she’d been groomed for since birth, Isabella has never known any freedom.  From what to wear, where to go, what to eat, she’s never been allowed to make her own decisions. Two months before her arranged political marriage to a man she’s never even met, she escapes to Paris, desperate for even the smallest taste of freedom and a chance to discover who she really is before falling back into a role that dictates she live to please everyone but herself.

Her freedom is very shortlived, however, when the sexy Adham appears on her hotel doorstep, sent by her sheikh fiancée to retrieve her before she can cause a scandal that will shame him and put their political alliance at risk.  Adham wants absolutely nothing to do with the spoiled principessa, whose “poor little rich girl” attitude makes his blood boil. Unfortunately for Adham, it’s not only anger that he feels for the runaway princess, but also a fierce attraction that he must fight, for she is destined for his brother…

What worked for me:

• While I’m not a big fan of virgins in contemporary romances, I was perfectly fine with Isabella’s inexperience. Every aspect of her life had been dictated for her since she was an infant, and there’d been no chance for her to have any life experiences. I really enjoyed seeing her experience all of her firsts (yes, including that first) with Adham, especially since he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her at first.
• Adham was absolutely delicious!  Having seen his parents assassinated as a child, he wants nothing to do with love. In addition, he’d spent time as a war prisoner, so he had no patience for Isabella’s “poor little rich girl” bit since in his eyes, she had no idea what true suffering was. Watching him slowly come to care for Isabella, and to begin to sympathize with her troubles was incredibly romantic, and I loved the sexual tension between the two. He knew that she was absolutely forbidden to him, not only because she was engaged to his brother, but because she was to be the future ruler of his people, and he was constantly at war with his sense of personal honor as he fought his attraction to her.
• The ring. *dreamy sigh*
• I really liked the twist that resulted in her betrothal to Adham rather than his brother, and Adham’s insistence at keeping her at arm’s length.
• The sexual tension was delicious, and the love scenes were beautiful.

What didn’t work for me:

• I did have a small feeling that Isabella’s main attraction to Adham was due to the fact that she had absolutely no experience with men, and he was the first man to really pay attention to her rather than her title.  While this didn’t detract from the story a great deal, I still wondered at times if she’d have felt that way about any man had he been in Adham’s place, at least at first.

As with any Harlequin Presents, there’s a lot of avoidable angst, but I really do love a Poor Little Rich Girl story. Add to that Adham, with his intense code of personal honor and his struggles to avoid falling in love with her, and I was in melodrama heaven.

This is only the second Maisey Yates book that I have read, but from my experience with both this and An Accidental Birthright, I can confidently say that I will be reading more of her in the future.  A very cheerful 5/5 Stars, highly recommended for fans of Sheikh HP novels.

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