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Desert Men of Qurhah #3
Seduced by the Sultan
"Kiss me, if you are so daring."
When Cleo Churchill's travels land her in the path of Khaled bin Aziz, Sultan of Jhurat, she's instantly transfixed by his warrior physique, commanding presence and intense eyes. But what would a sultan want with an ordinary girl like her?
Cleo is exactly what Khaled needs--a convenient, yet beautiful bride to unite his warring country. He'll offer her diamonds and riches but nothing more.
Yet as their marriage plays out in the darkness of the night, the passions unearthed threaten to consume them both!
When Cleo Churchill's travels land her in the path of Khaled bin Aziz, Sultan of Jhurat, she's instantly transfixed by his warrior physique, commanding presence and intense eyes. But what would a sultan want with an ordinary girl like her?
Cleo is exactly what Khaled needs--a convenient, yet beautiful bride to unite his warring country. He'll offer her diamonds and riches but nothing more.
Yet as their marriage plays out in the darkness of the night, the passions unearthed threaten to consume them both!
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
48 people are currently reading
459 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Kendrick
1,224 books454 followersI was told off as a child for making up stories—little did I know that one day I’d earn my living by writing them!
To the horror of my parents, I left school at sixteen and held a bewildering variety of jobs: I was a London DJ (in the now-trendy Primrose Hill), a decorator and a singer. After that I became a cook, a photographer and, eventually, a nurse. I waitressed in the south of France, drove an ambulance in Australia, saw lots of beautiful sights but could never settle down. Everywhere I went I felt like a square peg—until one day I started writing again and then everything just fell into place. I felt like Cinderella must have when the glass slipper fit!
Today, I have the best job in the world, writing passionate romances for Harlequin. I like writing stories which are sexy and fast-paced, yet packed full of emotion—stories that readers will identify with, laugh and cry along with.
My interests are many and varied—chocolate and music, fresh flowers and bubble baths, films, cooking and trying to keep my home from looking burglarized! Simple pleasures—you can’t beat them!
I live in Winchester, one of the most stunning cities in the world, but don’t take my word for it—come see for yourself! I regularly visit London and Paris. Oh, and I love hearing from my readers all over the world…so I think it’s over to you!
To the horror of my parents, I left school at sixteen and held a bewildering variety of jobs: I was a London DJ (in the now-trendy Primrose Hill), a decorator and a singer. After that I became a cook, a photographer and, eventually, a nurse. I waitressed in the south of France, drove an ambulance in Australia, saw lots of beautiful sights but could never settle down. Everywhere I went I felt like a square peg—until one day I started writing again and then everything just fell into place. I felt like Cinderella must have when the glass slipper fit!
Today, I have the best job in the world, writing passionate romances for Harlequin. I like writing stories which are sexy and fast-paced, yet packed full of emotion—stories that readers will identify with, laugh and cry along with.
My interests are many and varied—chocolate and music, fresh flowers and bubble baths, films, cooking and trying to keep my home from looking burglarized! Simple pleasures—you can’t beat them!
I live in Winchester, one of the most stunning cities in the world, but don’t take my word for it—come see for yourself! I regularly visit London and Paris. Oh, and I love hearing from my readers all over the world…so I think it’s over to you!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 5, 2014
Enjoyable story about the mistress who falls in love with her Sheikh lover who knows that her love is doomed because he is duty bound to wed another for sake of country.
This is the best and last of a 3 book series.
This is the best and last of a 3 book series.
December 22, 2018
At first I thought my prediction skill was very good but then I realized I have already read this before, a couple years back. So decided to read again and I’m very glad I did. Because I loved it.
It had a different story setting and atmosphere than most book. The story exclusively concentrated on the couple. Catrin was one hell of a heroine. Once she realized her error, that she had had become a textbook mistress, it was almost like reinventing herself and in that process Murat fell in love with her again. The obstrucles in their path was real and I felt for both of them. I was soothed with the fact that he apologized for the wrong he did. And she didn’t immediately agree to marry him.
No epilogue which was the only disappointment for me.
Recommended.
It had a different story setting and atmosphere than most book. The story exclusively concentrated on the couple. Catrin was one hell of a heroine. Once she realized her error, that she had had become a textbook mistress, it was almost like reinventing herself and in that process Murat fell in love with her again. The obstrucles in their path was real and I felt for both of them. I was soothed with the fact that he apologized for the wrong he did. And she didn’t immediately agree to marry him.
No epilogue which was the only disappointment for me.
Recommended.
March 3, 2014
Enjoyable read about a crown prince and his true love, and the challenges that they face. Cat is devastated when she finds out that her lover Murat is about to end their relationship. Murat knows he must put his duty first and that means marry a suitable princess bride. After Cat learns about it, she decides to let Murat go but now it is Murat who is reluctant to marry out of duty.
I really love powerful alpha males and virginal heroines so I could not help but like this book but I wish that the epilogue would include a cute royal baby.
I really love powerful alpha males and virginal heroines so I could not help but like this book but I wish that the epilogue would include a cute royal baby.
September 27, 2014
Decent read but forgettable. Things I liked: great opening line, interesting depiction of the psychology and impact when a woman gives up work to become a man's plaything and accepts so much less than she deserves and hero who clearly loves heroine (his POV and tears at her loss were very moving). Things I didn't like: fine for heroine to be a virgin but inexplicable for her to jump into bed with hero the first night they meet. I hate that romance novels replace morality with virginity. Also, really silly when virgin heroine still isn't a suitable virgin. It also upset me that he used her for a year as a sex toy but fell in love only after a year when she finally became defiant? Also, hero's dialogue was so treacly and his love talk "my little pussy cat" was unappealing. I didn't connect as a great read for me but it was moving.
July 9, 2014
Sharon Kendrick's work is usually a 3 star for me but this one was fantastic! I enjoyed it very much. It has a depth to it that I really loved and both hero and heroine were very likeable. The internal struggles of both characters were quite intense and I found myself quickly reading in order to get to the end of the book to see how it would all pan out.
April 11, 2014
“You’re nothing but a rich man’s whore!”
I picked this up because of that first line - I have a weakness for dramatic first lines. If you can capture my attention in that sentence, I will buy your book. Add into it the whole sheikh fantasy (and yeah I can be a sucker for that) and I gave in. This book, while dramatic, didn't live up to its potential and I had a really hard time buying into the HEA.
Catrin, or Cat to Murat, is a Welsh lass who met and became involved with Murat years ago, but she is realizing that she’s lost a part of herself in being with him. Murat missed the feisty gal she used to be. By the time we enter the story, Cat has been his mistress for a few years and finally gets that she’s let herself be completely consumed by Murat and his wishes, changing everything about herself to please him.
That is what intrigued me and what ultimately left me wanting - to be a mistress, take the stand and pull back is a great idea in theory, but I didn’t quite buy into Cat’s strength to pull it off. As a reader, I didn't feel like I'd really seen that feisty side of her, and when the story begins, she seemed to be so in love, so easily be consumed by him. I felt that Cat was meek - that's just her personality. Murat on the other hand, has a forceful personality (which you expect from a sheikh lol), but it completely overpowered Cat and I wasn’t able to completely buy into his love for her. All the right moves are made to get the characters to their HEA, but I didn’t feel it. It’s wrapped up nice and neat, but it’s such a messy premise I almost wished it hadn’t been. But, it’s an HQP, so that’s not going to happen.
If you like HQP, you may enjoy it - I didn't hate it, I was just left wanting more.
I picked this up because of that first line - I have a weakness for dramatic first lines. If you can capture my attention in that sentence, I will buy your book. Add into it the whole sheikh fantasy (and yeah I can be a sucker for that) and I gave in. This book, while dramatic, didn't live up to its potential and I had a really hard time buying into the HEA.
Catrin, or Cat to Murat, is a Welsh lass who met and became involved with Murat years ago, but she is realizing that she’s lost a part of herself in being with him. Murat missed the feisty gal she used to be. By the time we enter the story, Cat has been his mistress for a few years and finally gets that she’s let herself be completely consumed by Murat and his wishes, changing everything about herself to please him.
That is what intrigued me and what ultimately left me wanting - to be a mistress, take the stand and pull back is a great idea in theory, but I didn’t quite buy into Cat’s strength to pull it off. As a reader, I didn't feel like I'd really seen that feisty side of her, and when the story begins, she seemed to be so in love, so easily be consumed by him. I felt that Cat was meek - that's just her personality. Murat on the other hand, has a forceful personality (which you expect from a sheikh lol), but it completely overpowered Cat and I wasn’t able to completely buy into his love for her. All the right moves are made to get the characters to their HEA, but I didn’t feel it. It’s wrapped up nice and neat, but it’s such a messy premise I almost wished it hadn’t been. But, it’s an HQP, so that’s not going to happen.
If you like HQP, you may enjoy it - I didn't hate it, I was just left wanting more.
June 5, 2021
Heroine is young, naive, virgin welsh girl with a sad past that meets gorgeous sultan and accepts a no strings affair. She becomes his mistress, that is a kept woman he will never marry, as he told her clearly. Since her life up to that moment has been a total mess, with a alcoholic mother and a little sister to look after, she accepts willingly and is happy to live a life of luxury and sex with her sultan. But one year later she finds out he’s getting engaged and suddenly she understands the depths of her fall. She’s in love with him and knowing that he’s planning to marry she is furious and wants to leave him. He tries to keep her with him for another weekend and she accepts, then he asks her to go to Italy with him and that’s where I lost her. Because I liked her until that moment. I could understand why she accepts a relationship without a future because she wants to feel free for once in her sad and difficult life. And I appreciated that she refused to stay with him when he was getting engaged. She was strong and proud. Then she went to Italy but left after one day because her mother was ill, and left the sultan. It was ok. She was ok. He was the usual chauvinistic pig that thought only for his pleasure without caring for others. He deserved to be dumped. Then the sultan goes to wales to see her once again, and leaves after declaring all his love to her. She sends him to his country, and doesn’t tell him she loves him. I appreciated this. The hero eventually change his mind and the constitution of his country and brings the heroine back to be his bride. I liked this book because the hero was not a jerk. He was duty bound to marry a princess and he told the heroine in the beginning, so he didn’t deceive her, she accepted but then fell in love with him ( I don’t know what those heroines find in those pigs who treats them with less care than their sport cars... meh) and i liked that he was the one to look for her and eventually he made a great grovel, so the book was good and I recommend it. This is my favorite SK book.
March 7, 2014
Seduced by the Sultan explores how a hookup can turn into a romance. It's executed brilliantly.
What I liked- the prose. It was engaging, intense and compelling.
The heroine- she was ordinary, sweet but strong without being irritating.
The hero- he was wealthy, alpha, powerful and a bit bad still a little saintly. He actually cried! Hope that won't be a trend:(
The epilogue was a nice touch but I wish scenes of parenthood featured prominently.
What I didn't like- the trashing of tradition. The heroine embraced being modern and was hurt by it. Her being a mistress didn't leave her in a secure relationship.
Overall this was an engaging read.
What I liked- the prose. It was engaging, intense and compelling.
The heroine- she was ordinary, sweet but strong without being irritating.
The hero- he was wealthy, alpha, powerful and a bit bad still a little saintly. He actually cried! Hope that won't be a trend:(
The epilogue was a nice touch but I wish scenes of parenthood featured prominently.
What I didn't like- the trashing of tradition. The heroine embraced being modern and was hurt by it. Her being a mistress didn't leave her in a secure relationship.
Overall this was an engaging read.
June 4, 2021
What this sultan wants, he gets!
Catrin Thomas was an ordinary girl from the Welsh valleys when she was swept into a steamy affair with sexy Murat, a desert sultan! But when she discovers his aides are brokering a marriage to a suitable virgin bride, she leaves, heartbroken.
With an entire kingdom at his command, Murat's furious that Catrin is the one person to defy him—whatever she thinks, she will be by his side again.
Only, Murat will find this Catrin isn't the sweet, amenable plaything of before—but a formidable woman! Smart, feisty and tantalizing him at every turn
Catrin Thomas was an ordinary girl from the Welsh valleys when she was swept into a steamy affair with sexy Murat, a desert sultan! But when she discovers his aides are brokering a marriage to a suitable virgin bride, she leaves, heartbroken.
With an entire kingdom at his command, Murat's furious that Catrin is the one person to defy him—whatever she thinks, she will be by his side again.
Only, Murat will find this Catrin isn't the sweet, amenable plaything of before—but a formidable woman! Smart, feisty and tantalizing him at every turn
July 11, 2018
3.5 stars
January 19, 2021
Giving this two stars because...well, it was too sad! And, it’s not the first, or second or third book I’ve read that has the heroine unsuitable to be a bride to the Sheikh/Sultan. The problem with this type of of plot is that, in the end, this huge problem that was tearing the heroine apart is solved with just the click of a finger and bam!, she’s now acceptable. I didn’t like how torn up the heroine was from the beginning of the book, forever afraid of being permanently replaced, not being good enough for the royals- but I love you Sharon Kendrick! Maybe I just don’t fair well with books about mistresses who yearn for love in the end, it’s just so, anti-climatic when after everything they go through, they are ‘rewarded’ with a position above mistress and words of love and marriage and suddenly, they are worthy. I never buy that, never.
December 5, 2022
I picked this up because of nostalgia for younger me, and because I was wanting an undemanding easy read.
It is that, but it is also rather forgettable, and is mostly set in London, so hardly any desert or language etc. I did like that she reinvents herself when she realizes she's been too intent on being the perfect mistress, trying to figure out what she wants.
It is that, but it is also rather forgettable, and is mostly set in London, so hardly any desert or language etc. I did like that she reinvents herself when she realizes she's been too intent on being the perfect mistress, trying to figure out what she wants.
June 24, 2020
It's actually enjoyable to read. The hero, Sultan, was a pretty romantic guy and the heroine was so good and I like that she could stand up for herself and not just willingly agree to everything the hero said.
July 26, 2019
Fell on the creepy side and the some racial fetishy stuff. The woman was a dishrag.
March 23, 2020
Es una linda historia para superar un bloque lector
March 26, 2024
3.5⭐️
Es un libro corto y entretenido. Fácil de leer, aunque lo sentí un poco lento
Es un libro corto y entretenido. Fácil de leer, aunque lo sentí un poco lento
March 15, 2015
C’est un petit Azur que j’ai eu plaisir à lire !
Grâce à un bon rythme, l’auteur nous entraîne facilement dans son récit et donne envie de tourner les pages, même si l’on devine les péripéties à venir.
Les héros sont plutôt bien décrits, vivants mais je ne les ai pas trouvés attachants. Certains éléments de l’histoire ou des personnages secondaires ne m’ont pas parus plausibles. J’ai d’autant plus trouvé absurde la grosse allusion au Prince William et son épouse ainsi que la comparaison entre les personnages principaux et le couple princier. Dans le genre elle aussi a de la chance d’être avec un prince aussi connu… Ca m’a plutôt fait rire !
Néanmoins faisant parti d’une série que je n’ai pas lue en entier, je ne peux pas le comparer aux autres romans de la série.
Grâce à un bon rythme, l’auteur nous entraîne facilement dans son récit et donne envie de tourner les pages, même si l’on devine les péripéties à venir.
Les héros sont plutôt bien décrits, vivants mais je ne les ai pas trouvés attachants. Certains éléments de l’histoire ou des personnages secondaires ne m’ont pas parus plausibles. J’ai d’autant plus trouvé absurde la grosse allusion au Prince William et son épouse ainsi que la comparaison entre les personnages principaux et le couple princier. Dans le genre elle aussi a de la chance d’être avec un prince aussi connu… Ca m’a plutôt fait rire !
Néanmoins faisant parti d’une série que je n’ai pas lue en entier, je ne peux pas le comparer aux autres romans de la série.
June 20, 2014
I really did love it. I stayed up reading it last night, but i couldn't rate it a 5, since I was thrown off by the flashback. It ended up being a quick one, so i didn't mind it after all. I would've liked to know his thoughts a little more when he started to realize he loved her. I also would've liked to know what the hell had gotten into him overall a good book.
Want to read
October 31, 20194.5 stars. I really liked this book. I usually take a paperback when I have a bath (tablet + clumsy girl + water = disaster waiting to happen), and when I come out I usually put the book to the side for the next bath. However, when its a good book that has me hooked I keep reading to the end, and this book was one of those books. I enjoyed the self realization that the h Cat came to, when she figured out she had become a doormat. I liked her journey to rediscovering herself and exerting her opinion. Overall, a good story.
August 11, 2016
This is a story of how a woman redefines herself to be accepted and when she finds herself in love she realizes she must be herself or she will lose herself. It has all the elements of a good romance novel: passion, love, romance, doubts, ........ I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good quick romance story!!!
Read
January 12, 2016"Kendrick's final Qurhah romance is a tearjerker starring a doomed, arrogant king and unsinkable heroine. The love story is commanding, the lush settings superb, the dialogue richly enhancing and the lovemaking blazing in this desert fairy tale (RT Book Reviews)".4 1/2 stars
Miniseries: Desert Men of Qurhah
Miniseries: Desert Men of Qurhah
November 2, 2016
I'm glad Murat took care of her when she was sick and helped her mother. I was really surprised that he took care of her when she was sick. However, I'm glad that she stuck to her guns and refused to be his mistress after he married....that was plan bs and selfish on his part to even ask. I did enjoy the ending alot.
November 13, 2016
Loved it!
One of my favorite books,the love between the hero and heroine was painful beautiful because they could not be together, but love finds a way! Loved this story, would recommend this book to all romance readers.
One of my favorite books,the love between the hero and heroine was painful beautiful because they could not be together, but love finds a way! Loved this story, would recommend this book to all romance readers.
April 1, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Great book, hard to put down!
Great book, hard to put down!
March 26, 2014
Nice read....luv the hero....and loved the end the way hero proposes and redeems himself in the end...but I found heroine little meek...apart from that must read...
March 30, 2014
loved it .. it was heart warming to see the sultan change the law so thy they can be together ..
Read
January 12, 2016received 4 1/2 stars @ RT Book Reviews
Miniseries: Desert Men of Qurhah
Miniseries: Desert Men of Qurhah
April 15, 2014
I usually love her books but this one was lacking for me.
August 10, 2014
A roller coaster of a read!!! fabulous
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews