The Sheikh's Chosen Wife

Hot-Blooded Husbands #2

by Michelle Reid

She can save her marriage--by getting pregnant!

A year has passed since Leona left her husband, Sheikh Hassan ben Khalifa Al-Qadim. She misses him very much, but what was the point of staying when she'd failed to deliver the one thing Hassan needed--a child and heir?

When Hassan tricks her into returning to him, Leona is furious and puzzled. Why does he want her by his side again and back in his bed?

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Harlequin Romance

187 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Hi, my name is Michelle Reid and I’ve been writing for Harlequin Mills & Boon for the last twenty years, and the crazy part about it is that I only realised it had been twenty years while updating this page!

So, hang on for a minute while I take this huge milestone in....

Twenty years with almost forty books published or in the pipeline ... I know it isn’t a great average when compared with some authors but it sounds pretty good to me!

So what was I doing twenty years ago before I wrote books? Well, I did the all of the usual things, like growing up and attending school, finishing at secretarial college, which I hated, then spent the next several years wandering aimlessly from job to job. Eventually I met my husband, we married and produced two daughters who then grew up and between them presented us with two gorgeous grandsons and one beautiful granddaughter. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Somewhere in between my girls growing up and the grandchildren arriving on the scene, I started writing. To this day I don’t know why, unless it was a natural progression from my never being without a book close by—often several—because books have always been an important part of my life for as far back as I can recall.

So, I started to write, by hand at first, scribbling short stories in notebooks which never saw the light of day. At some point I discovered Mills & Boon Romance books and that was pretty much it for me. I’d found my new love, as in reading romantic fiction and inevitably writing it too.

So twenty years on and almost forty books on, here I am still writing and still loving it!

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 2 out of 5]

H/h are reunited after a one-year separation. Seems the h hasn’t conceived after five years of marriage and this is becoming a personal problem for her and a political problem for the H who is heir to a mythical Middle Eastern Kingdom. The heroine is trying to be noble and let the H go rather than stand by and watch him take a second wife for the intent of having children.

The H/h are still very much in love and even though the H has to kidnap her to his yacht to get her back, they have lots of sex interspersed with lots of conversations. There is a bit of palace intrigue, a cameo by the H/h and their children from The Mistress Bride, and not one, but two, miracles at the end of the story.

I usually love marriage in trouble stories, but this HEA didn’t require any changes from the H/h – just one of the miracles the author supplied at the end. All that angst seemed for naught rather than a growing/learning/intimate journey to a HEA.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some beautiful elements to the story, especially the love between the couple, which was palpable. No other HP author writes love from a hero's POV the way Michelle Reid does. It was nice to see a man unafraid to express his love publicly, and refreshing that his father accepted heroine (the antidote to Gold Ring of Betrayal). I love how Hassan, despite his jealousy, never questions Leona's fidelity. There were some nice angsty moments where Hassan says something horrible and then felt Leona's pain and felt awful, and those are always my favorite HP moments.

What I didn't like! and ruined the story's impact for me, were some of the plot miracles.. First, the miracle baby. Five years without conceiving, then it happens the first night they are together. Why not follow through with the story and go the IVF route. Let's see hero tear up the contract for the second wife with heroine still infertile, not when heroine is already pregnant. Second, the miracle recovery by the father on learning of the pregnancy. Melodrama and brought me out of the story as scene was so unreal so was jarring to me. Also, I don't read a lot of sheikh romance so have never had to read about a second wife plot. It was interesting to me and I like a cruel hero but when they meet up and Hassan tells Leona he already took a second wife, that brief moment where he let her believe that was just horrific. He loves her so much that her lack of trust angered him (and yet he keeps her in the dark and doles out info to her so because of that her enemies have weapons to shock her with.) I was annoyed by the paternalistic attitude. But liked the love. .

[Jasbell76 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago, and I rated with 4 stars 🌟. I finished to reread it today, so I will give it just 4.5 🌟
I still like it a lot, but the rushed ending with one and a half pages didn't like me.
Hassan is really sexy and crazy in love with Leona, but I think the author left the end of the book in that way because she was going to let the readers know about the main characters in the the next book which I think is Ethan's love story (I didn't like that one 😬, and neither Raquif's story 😫).

[Lynn Raye Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I know it's kinda old skool, but I loved it anyway. The tragedy of Leona and Hassan's love! Sob!!

Leona can't have children. Hassan must have an heir and he's being pressured to do something about it. But Hassan wants Leona, and Leona wants Hassan to divorce her and put his country first. They emote all over the page. I was glued. GLUED.

[KC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hassan and Leona bickered so much throughout the book, which was a real buzz-kill. I also didn't understand Leona's hesitation in using any means necessary in achieving her dream. Modern science to help her and Hassan conceive. She made an already emotionally and politically charged dilemma worse by resisting Hassan's efforts to find a solution. Hassan was willing to try both IVF and adoption, but conceded to himself that these couldn't be options. He and Leona weren't willing to displease the traditional, tribal elders who were pivotal allies to the ruler of Rahman. I understand they weren't a normal couple who could do as they wished, but the optimistic in me still believes they could have tried other options. Hassan was rich and resourceful enough to make it happen.

With all this said, I did like how deep their love for each other was and how each was willing to make a sacrifice for the other's happiness. They were in a difficult impasse, but happily all ended well in a dramatic yet abrupt ending.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed second chances romance

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Sheikh's Chosen Wife" is the story of Leona and Hassan.
An year ago, Leona Frayne heartbreakingly left her husband Sheikh Hassan ben Khalifa Al-Qadim when she was unable to provide him with an heir, and he is pressurized to take a second wife by his council!
Now, as she designs houses with her best friend Ethan, Hassan comes back filled with jealousy.. and kidnaps her!!
A couple SUPER in love, remaining faithful and confessing their love/devotion/craving for one another is rare in HQN romance and Im so happy to read it here! Also caring and understanding FIL and friends, as well as evil which was exposed quickly- this was an entertaining read and would have been a 5 star if not for the drama in the end.
Enjoyed it!
Safe
4/5

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 Stars! ~ Leona’s scared witless when she and her father’s business partner, Ethan are abducted. And then she’s furious to discover that it’s Sheikh Hassan ben Khalifa Al-Qadim, her estranged husband, who has kidnapped her. Hassan had reluctantly given Leona this year away but now there is unrest in the sheikhdom, and Leona is at risk. Releasing Ethan, Hassan keeps Leona on his yacht and makes her promise to return to him for the remaining months of his father’s frail life. Leona knows that once Khalifa dies, Hassan must divorce her. She cannot give him the heir that he needs, and the other ruling families are eager for him to take a second wife. Hassan will not divorce Leona, as she is his other half but will he bow to the pressure and take another wife as is his right, or will he give up his right to be Crown Prince.

Another emotionally powerful love story by Ms. Reid. Hassan’s love for Leona runs deep and he will not give her up. Leona knows that he will lose everything if she stays and they do not have a child. Both Hassan and Leona are incredibly passionate characters whose love for one another wars with duty and responsibility. The secondary characters were richly developed as well. It was a pleasure to meet again Raschid and Evie from the The Mistress Bride and to meet Rafiq and Ethan who will have their own stories. Hassan and Leona’s love story will remain with me for some time, and I’m sure I will be reading this one again and again.

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read category romances in a fair while I think, because I've forgotten how wild, outlandish, and over-dramatic they sometimes could be.

This is definitely in the over-the-top camp, full of amazing angst (that really got the blood pumping), over-the-top jealousies, over-the-top medical reasons, not to mention people who think that they know what is best for their loved one (such as the H not telling the h any of his machinations and plans until they're well underway and she was unable to back out, or having her kidnapped in lieu of having her kidnapped by his enemies. Or the h running away in the first place, because rather than talk it out, she'd rather accept her infertility, leave her husband to find someone else so that he could have his son, but then likewise, become insanely jealous if ever the notion of him taking a second wife is raised. Oh, and let's not even mention the final death bed scene, where she produced her positive pregnancy test so she could wrench her father-in-law from the jaws of death. /facepalm).

And yet, I loved the sheer insanity and passions through it all.

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this was so over-the-top, melodramatic, angst ridden and deliciously satisfying! Hassan and Leona were fabulous characters and their love was so well displayed and real that one was drawn right into the story despite the requirement to suspend disbelief at all stages of the story. MR can write up a storm and her stories of hot, angst married couples are always delicious. A really delightful, escapist romance.

[Janie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Turns out I've already read this before! XD .. Back in 2011. No wonder the plot sounded so familiar. T__T

[Tmstprc · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a marriage in trouble story. Absolutely in love, outside pressure pulling them apart.

[Soma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written and enjoyable book. I loved how they were so in love with each other. Neither denied it, the hero did not fight it like so many other heroes do. He owned it and refused to give up on their relationship.
The book offers the H's POV and you get a front row seat into his feelings and how he plots to move heaven and earth to keep the woman he loves.

[iamGamz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about a couple's struggle with infertility. As Sheikh of his kingdom, Hassan went against his people's wishes by marrying Leona, a British red head. Complicating matters, Leona learns that due to problems with her ovaries she may never be able to conceive.

This puts a strain on the marriage and causes Leona to leave her husband. At the beginning of the book, they have been separated for a year. Hassan realizes that he has to take matters into his own hands if their relationship is to ever be fixed.

I love how Hassan fought for his marriage. There was never any doubt about these two loving each other. It was the politics if the country that tore them apart.

I enjoyed this book and really likes the H/h.

[RomLibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A year has passed since Leona left her husband, Sheikh Hassan ben Khalifa Al-Qadim. She misses him very much, but what was the point of staying when she'd failed to deliver the one thing Hassan needed--a child and heir?

When Hassan tricks her into returning to him, Leona is furious and puzzled. Why does he want her by his side again and back in his bed?

[Jena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful writing. This was a super emotional love story about a passionately in love marred couple dealing with infertility. He’s a prince, and he might be made to bring in a 2nd wife. This was a total angst fest.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

#favorito #recomendo
------------
==>Re-read November 28, 2016
==>Read October 9, 2012

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very emotional love story, great chemistry and the writing was superb!

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally find the old Harlequin novels amusing, especially those written back in the 1960's when (or so these books would make it appear) every woman wanted a bossy, manipulative man to swoop in, marry them, and then apparently control every aspect of their lives. This book is no different. An English woman marries a sheikh of unknown origin and then decides they won't suit, returns to England, and asks for a divorce. So he, being a manly man(or a hot-blooded husband per the inside cover), kidnaps her and holds her hostage at his sheikhdom until they of course realize how madly in love they are and then live happily ever after. What I find troubling about this novel, besides the kidnapping and hostage-holding, is that it was written in 2002, not 1967. I'm kind of surprised that there is an audience left willing to eat this sort of novel up. At this point, yes, we all want some man to swoop in and carry us off to his palace, but maybe we could sit down and have a pleasant chat before being locked away until we obediently submit to his wishes. It seems that love might be greater when you have a choice of whether or not to bestow it.

[Esra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arap şeyhleriyle ilgili okuduğum ilk hikayeydi bu ama çok beğendim... Vay be şeyhler böyle mi oluyormuş dedim yani yalan değil.. Eğer böylelerse tutmayın beni Katar'a kuzenimin yanına taşınacağım acilen :D Neyse.. öhömm.. Bu kitap biz de serinin ilk kitabı olarak mı çıktı acaba yoksa evie ve raschidin hikayesi de çıktı mı çıktıysa adı ne onu da okumalıyım.. Rafiq'in hikayesini de bekliyorum çok sevdim onu da :)

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful passionate read. One hot sexy sheihk very much in love with his barren beautiful wife and determined to be by her side till death. One wife determined to leave her husband so he can take a second wife and start a family; not realizing that they need each other to be happy. Under intense plotting and sly comments from cabinet officials can they believe in their love enough to stay together?

[MaryD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leona has left her husband, Sheikh Hassan ben Khalifa Al-Qadim, because in the 5 years they've been married, she has not conceived the heir he needs to remain ruler of his country. He is determined to have her back- no matter what it takes.

I just couldn't get into this. When they were not fighting, they were "in bed"- constantly for both. It also grated on me that they didn't *communicate*!!! It just got too wearing to read.

[Cady Lorenzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Children are a precious gift from Allah,' Hassan interrupted, dark head sombrely bent over his task. 'But so is love. Very few people are fortunate enough to have both, and most only get the children. If I had to choose then I would choose, to have love.'

I love this book. So nice Evie and Raschid (From the Mistress Bride) here too

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

MR created a great series of HPs with strong characters with equally strong storylines. The interconnecting stories in this series have been very satisfying. Kleypas has been doing this with great success over the years and it is fantasic to see MR do the same

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

Michelle Reid is a favorite author when I want a quick read. I did not enjoy the characters or storyline of this book. But, I encourage readers to try her other books which are great reads.

[Fanniny Moreno Zavaleta · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
For me, it was tiresome reading about them rowing for the same thing over and over again. I almost stop reading but the second wife stuff saved it and I kept on reading. In the end I cared more about the secondary characters like Rafiq, the older Sheikh and Ethan.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

They constantly had the same dialogs and the same fights. After the first 50 pages, it just becomes so exhausting.
But you could see that hero really loved the heroine and he was so sweet to her after the first 40 pages when he stopped being bully and tyrant.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need a moment to review this one

[❤SanaReads❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good story I first read it in 2008

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as angsty as other MR books have been. I think if the Hero's POV hadn't been included that may have helped. There weren't any surprises!