The Sheikh's Unwilling Wife

The Desert Princes #2

by Sharon Kendrick

It's been five years since Alexa set eyes onGiovanni de Verrazzano—five years since shewalked out on their pretense of a marriageand took with her a precious secret.

Since discovering that he is the son of apowerful desert ruler, Giovanni isdetermined that Alexa resume her role ashis wife and accompany him to his desertkingdom. But how will this proud Italian, ofKharastani descent, react when he discovershe has a son?

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Marriage, Contemporary Romance, Mills and Boon

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

I 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!

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow....having gone from Exposed: The Sheikh's Mistress which had a sheikh who sleeps around with women he treats like garbage but judges heroine for taking topless photos because maybe she's given up her "greatest virtue" aka her hymen, I wondered if the double standard would be any less vicious when applied by an Italian hero. At least heroine wasn't actually a virgin here, which these heroes who are so obsessed about DO NOT DESERVE, but she was a pathetic doormat who "loved" an emotional abusive monster. This hero needed deep therapy...he was actually pathological in his double standard.

His mother was used and discarded by his sheikh father (g-d forbid any blame should accrue to the father) and had affairs to fill her needs so hero sleeps around with many, many women (who are those women? Can they tell how much he despises them? If he was so traumatized by the men his mother slept with, how about he reacts by treating women respectfully and waiting himself until he chooses a bride to commit to? Oh, that would be crazy.). Then he meets heroine and because she doesn't jump right into bed, marries her assuming she's a virgin. When he discovers on his wedding night that she isn't, he turns the sex act itself into a cold and abusive treatment so heroine can be left feeling like less than nothing every time they sleep together, and berates and attacks her constantly for being a whore and lying (even though she never told him she was a virgin and they never discussed it at all). After 3 months she leaves and keeps her baby a secret, to protect her child from such an abusive environment. I had no problem with this secret baby. She needed a divorce and a restraining order. And there is one of the book's fatal flaws..
1) Instead she spends 5 years faithful to the memory of his abusive love, while he cheats repeatedly and freely rather than end the marriage. But no mention of his behavior during their 5 years apart, just how great it is that she hasn't been with anyone else so maybe he can believe she isn't a total Ho. He goes on and on about the women he sleeps with who run after him, but can't seem to connect his own behavior with women to his expectations of heroine.

2) instead of continuing to protect her son from psycho dad, heroine follows him to a foreign country where women have no rights. Didn't she ever see Not Without My Daughter? She's all worried that hero can get custody because he can show she wasn't a virgin...uh, that's not how 21st century courts in England work. Heroine's story would have yielded a divorce and supervised visitation for the psycho hero!

3) hero never loved heroine at all and never will. Even reflecting on the stakes being raised now that he has a son, and pretending to see her point that his view is archaic (he hasn't softened...just is trying to manipulate her back into bed), he notes that he lost nothing but a lying bride when she left the first time. He had no problem moving on for 5 years, just reminded himself that she was nothing to him.

It was a hymen he was looking for, not a woman. His description of how he treats women is abysmal. He really had the mind set towards women of a rapist and it's very hard to believe that he wasn't a violent sex offender against women--he is written exactly as a criminal profile would be written. At very best, he is a cheater who even after he accepts heroine's love will constantly cheat because he never once considers his own sexual behavior with other women to be relevant to his worth or values, or to his relationship to the heroine. Giovanni doesn't believe his sexual relationship with all these "whores", even while he's a married man, reflect on him at all. He's aware of women's sexual needs from his childhood, but is contemptuous of women for having the same physical needs he has and indulges freely. Since heroine wasn't a virgin so she could prove her value that way, she did it by offering him unconditional love in the face of brutal emotional abuse and threats against her child, and even though he is psychotic and incapable of loving someone else, their HEA comes because he can now accept and use her love for the rest of his parasitic life.

[Kati · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be completely honest in why I hated this book: The "Hero" Giovanni was an emotionally, mentally, and borderline-physically abusive ass. Alexa, the love-interest, fell into the typical abused-woman mindset: If she could just love him enough, be good enough, he'd change his abusive ways & love her back. Not to mention she states that her son's having a Dad in his life is MORE important than HER having peace in HER life. IE: an abusive dad is better than no dad at all. In the mean time Gio states again & again that without HIS presence in their lives, Paolo (the boy) will probably grow up to be a worthless criminal, because Boys HAVE to have a Dad in their lives to turn out well, and Alexa continues to go for it. The author continues this theme all the way to the end, where she has Alexa discover a vital piece of Gio's childhood that "explains" his whole view of women, puts it into context, and gives Alexa that final bit of insight into Gio's disturbed mind to help him become a GOOD man & husband, rather than an abuser.

IT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN THAT WAY in Real Life, Ladies!!! Seriously!! A guy who calls you a SLUT for having had a previous partner, is NOT a guy you should continue lusting after!! A guy who calls you LOOSE & MORAL-less because you enjoy his touch, and how that's supposed proof of your slut-status, is a guy you need to run far, far away from!

Gio does all this to Alexa, as well as shoving her against walls, grabbing her arm in an hard grip to keep her from moving away from him, threatens her with loss of her child if she leaves him, tells her that her refusal to share his bed is why he's so mean to her, victim-blames, slut-shames, and acts in every way like a man who should be locked away from women, not the hero of a romance novel.

I'm going to do something with my copy of this book that I NEVER, EVER do to a book: I'm going to rip it to shreds & bury it in the trash can because NO novel should advocate that an abusive relationship is ok and a woman should "stand by her man" until he has that elusive change of heart.

For what it's worth, were this simply a matter of sexual preferences regarding D/s in the bedroom, I wouldn't feel strongly against it, but this isn't a D/s relationship, this is an abusive relationship, advocated as ok in the form of a romance novel.

Very, very much disliked this novel. Read it if you must, but don't accept that this is a loving, romantic relationship being portrayed by this author.

[Deasy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like Gio type, which demand they wife have to be virgin otherwise, he have conclusion that she's a slut and then intimidating her with his words.... It only need 1 person to make someone not virgin. no need many men ...:(.. and maybe she did it because many reason...
I mean when we love someone, then we have to accept they past... the important is that the present and the future to grow our love...

[Nenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wish I could give this zero stars. This story was disgusting and I'm more than happy to purge my mind of it.

[Caro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Siglo veintiuno y al protagonista le agarra una chiripiorca (?) porque la protagonista no es virgen.
Sólo continué leyendo para amargarme cada vez más, no me gusta un pensamiento tan arcaico, sobre todo porque la heroína no es promiscua, pienso que es un argumento que podría haber funcionado en los noventa, pero ahora es obsoleto.
Ella le oculta que tuvo un hijo con él y, sinceramente, no sentí que hubiera hecho mal, porque el héroe es un tarado enfermo que definitivamente no se merecía una virgen sino un psiquiatra.

[Dewi · Rating 1 out of 5]

seriously? the H is a 1st class a-hole and the h is a bonafide fool, imo.

[Amara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This "hero" sucks donkey balls. What a dick. No grovelling, which isn't usually something I demand, but in this case, this fucker needed to suffer.

[Cady Lorenzana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't understand why Giovanni left or should I say became cold with Alexa? Okay, given that she was not a virgin. But I can't find a deeper reason...ugghhhh. And the last part, why? why Giovanni doesn't have a line that he said he loves Alexa? ><

[Ana Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's amazing (and disappointing) to see women who in the 21st century still have that mentality and write that bunch of sexist garbage!

[Kalyee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled to finish this book.


The H is mean and shallow. I'm a fan of jerk Heros, and having read reviews of the book I was expecting him to be cruel. However his actions weren't so much the issue as his personality. He wasn't a nice guy who made bad decisions, he was just petty.

The h was a classic HQ doormat. 50 pages in and I had to force myself not to skip over all her quivering, yearning, doe eyes. Not only does she never stand up for herself, she never really even verbally spars with the H. All their arguments were like

Hero- "I'm commanding you to do this"
Heroine- "No."
Hero-" You will obey."
Heroine-" Ok"

*eyeroll*

Not only did I not connect with any of the angst the h was supposed to be feeling, but I didn't ever get the impression that the H actually loved the h. Wanted her sexually? Sure. Felt possessive of her, like a teenager with his first sports car? You betcha. But not love. He didn't seem to know her, or care about her, or even want to know her. He liked that she was beautiful, and was mad that she lacked a hymen.

You ever read those HQ books where the h gets like the tiniest scar on her cheek, and half of society shuns her for being "ugly"? The H kinda reminded me of the type of character who would easily shun someone for the slightest deviation from his standards.

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have liked a lot of SK’s books but this awful - simply awful. It’s not a romance. Because Alexa isn’t a virgin, Giovanni insults her and treats her like shit. Giovanni is an abusive, nasty jerk who never accepts his mistakes. He is unfaithful while the heroine stays faithful for five years. At the end, she does all the running and he does nothing to make up for his awful behaviour. She is an idiot doormat. There is literally no romance here at all.

This is not what a romance novel should be presenting as normal or desirable behaviour. I am very disappointed.

[MaryD · Rating 2 out of 5]

No... just no....

Giovanni had *no* redeeming characteristics at all. As Alexa says "So therefore a woman who’s not a virgin must be a slut — because there’s never any room for grey in your world, is there? Only black and white! Always bending reality to suit your vision of it!" And he proves it by how he treats the woman who once loved him. Even when she realizes why he acts the way he does it still doesn't excuse his actions.

[Viszed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este es el SEGUNDO LIBRO de la serie "Príncipes del desierto" de Sharon Kendrick. La historia empieza cuando nuestro protagonista masculino, Giovanni, después de enterarse que el padre que nunca conoció es un sultán decide buscar a su aún esposa Alexa para que le acompañe a la boda de su medio hermano. Descubriendo en este encuentro que Alexa había tenido un hijo suyo.



Comencé el libro porque siempre me llaman la atención las historias donde uno de los protagonistas descubre una paternidad que ignoraba, ya que con esta premisa tengo un drama del que me gusta asegurado.

Es el primer libro que leo de esta saga y a pesar que en la historia hay referencias al libro anterior no te sientes perdida, pues aunque aparezcan otros personajes ya establecidos, no son relevantes en la historia, pues todo gira en torno a los vaivenes de la pareja protagonista.

Fue una historia corta; entre las cosas que puedo rescatar es que la mayor parte de sus hechos MANTIENEN COHERENCIA. He leído otros libros con premisas parecidas, pero siento que esta historia en particular tiene ciertos aires frescos en sus bases.

SPOILER

El machismo es muy frecuente en esta clase de historias, remarcando la nacionalidad del protagonista masculino para reafirmar el porqué de su carácter. No pienso hacer ninguna queja basándome en el feminismo, porque creo que una novela puede valerse de diferentes elementos para contar una historia, queda en el lector reflexionar sobre el proceder de los personajes. Es así que me pareció muy interesante que el motivo por el que la relación de Giovanni y Alexa terminara fuera que el no pudiera soportar enterarse en la noche de bodas que Alexa no era virgen, como el lo había supuesto. Este hecho destroza a Giovanni, llevándolo a los celos obsesivos lo cual destruye su relación. Me parece paradójico y un buen acierto por parte de la autora que al hombre que buscaba a la mujer perfecta según sus estándares, siendo el un hombre lleno de prejuicios que califica a las mujeres en blanco y negro, le sucediera lo que más temía, enamorarse de una mujer "manchada" según su punto de vista.

A primera vista esto descalificaria como persona a Giovanni, pero la historia no es tan simple, AL MENOS AL PRINCIPIO. El ser humano a pesar de no ser perfecto tiene la tendencia de siempre buscar la perfección en los otros. En el caso de Giovanni se nos muestra que debido a la vida libertina que había llevado su madre, más la sociedad en la que se había educado, le hicieron creer que la pureza de una mujer va intrínsecamente ligado a su virginidad. Hasta ahí la historia se presta para muchos análisis interesantes, pero lamentablemente se queda en eso nada más.

La trama del hijo ocultado al padre no pasa de un problema inicial que va perdiendo fuerza según avanza la historia, y hablando de historia, esta se reduce al viaje de una pareja separada a la boda del hermano de este, pues es en ese lapso de tiempo en el que se desarrolla todo. Si bien los conflictos se van resolviendo según la comprensión y empatía que los protagonistas van desarrollando en este viaje, sentí que la historia tuvo un desarrollo y conclusión muy rápido, como si a la escritora le hubieran dado un límite de palabras y se apurara a concluirla, es por eso que le termine dando un 2/5 estrellas, por las expectativas que me causo su inicio y lo insatisfecha que me dejo su conclusión.

[rrbookverse · Rating 3 out of 5]

No había leído sobre un héroe tan sinvergüenza en mucho tiempo. Así es Giovanni de Verrazzano, el protagonista de este libro. Es implacable y con creencias anticuadas. Siempre empeñado en salirse con la suya a pesar de la inocencia de la protagonista Alexa.
La historia contiene trama del libro anterior “Para placer del jeque”, pues asisten a la boda del hermanastro de Giovanni y también conoce a su padre, el jeque.
No puedo decir mucho más de este libro, solo que me gustó el final.

📖: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥: ⭐️⭐️

[Kristal Enid · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just did not liked this book. In another time maybe I would have like this book but not now. I think in real life I as a woman don’t appreciate being treated as such.

1. Did I liked the resolution? Meh, predictable.
2. Had a good plot-twist? No.
3. Where Characters personalities relevant? No at all.
4. Did it had Intelligent dialogue? Noup
5. Did the Story had coherence? Meh, more less.
6. Would I read it again? No

[Lucé · Rating 1 out of 5]

The word terrible is not enough to describe my opinion of this book. I believe this is the worst “hero” I’ve ever read in over 40 years of reading romance novels. What were you thinking, Sharon Kendrick?

[Yan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoying characters who didn't seem to know what they want.

[Sandra R · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by one of my favourite authors and I'm afraid I almost put it down and did not finish. But I did push though and finish in the end and I was pleased I did, because the second half was much better than the first.

Usually stories about concealing children from the fathers do not bother me, but this couple were married and that did not sit well with me. Especially since the reasons were not fully explained until the second half. However it was well written and steamy and emotional.

It did feel like an old fashioned M & B, with the hero dominating to an extreme and that fact might not sit well for a lot of today's readers. Sharon Kendrick is STILL an auto buy for me !!

[Jesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Head to Jesha is a Bookworm by Clicking the Photo for a Book Review

Talk about a toxic relationship. I felt like they were no real resolution between the two main characters.

[RomLibrary]

He left her because she was not a virgin. It's been five years since Alexa set eyes on Giovanni de Verrazzano--five years since she walked out on their pretense of a marriage and took with her a precious secret. Since discovering that he is the son of a powerful desert ruler, Giovanni is determined that Alexa resume her role as his wife and accompany him to his desert kingdom. But how will this proud Italian, of Kharastani descent, react when he discovers he has a son?

[KA Timbuktu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovey book. My fist romance read. I devoured it or rather the book devoured me in my early 20s. Wasn't much of a reader then in fact it was my first full read so this book, which I borrowed from a friend when I was dead bored, played a fundamental role in my love for reading books. I never read any romance since then only recently got to read Beautiful Bitch also a book from a friend. So I'd say I'm not much of a romance reader but then I wanna tap into black romance.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan of the Hero. Makes the story hard to complete even when it is written well. I like the author normally

[Amber Meller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring and dull not much to expect other the fact there might have been a secret prince involved.

[Tonya Warner]

AUTHOR: Sharon Kendrick

[Vikki Andrews]

good