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Bound to the Desert King #2

La cenicienta del jeque

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From making the royal bed... to carrying the royal heir!

It's the day of the royal wedding, and everyone who's anyone is in attendance - except the bride! Refusing to let being jilted disrupt his kingdom, duty-bound, cold-hearted Sheikh Zufar commands timid maid Niesha be his stand-in queen. Their marriage is coolly convenient, but behind closed doors their chemistry burns fiercely...and Niesha's shock pregnancy will test Zufar's iron control more than he could ever have imagined!

156 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2018

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Maya Blake

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5 stars
111 (29%)
4 stars
116 (31%)
3 stars
105 (28%)
2 stars
30 (8%)
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10 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Ivy H.
856 reviews
September 4, 2018
This was a fabulous, sweet and enjoyable romance novel with wonderful MC's until the author ruined it with the dumbest, most unsatisfactory plot twist in the final chapter ! My 3 star rating is given only because of how much I'd enjoyed the first 90% of the story.

I've been postponing the writing of this review because I needed to calm myself down a lot so that I'd avoid writing a ranty review. But, now that I'm actually typing it, I realize that it's gonna be slightly difficult. I hated what happened in the final chapter and it was obvious that the only reason for such a moronic plot twist was so that the H's useless, manwhore, playboy younger brother would be able to get his own novel. I was utterly disappointed when Maya Blake ruined Zufar's ( the H ) character arc by turning him into a wuss who abdicates his throne at the end. I know... I know...King Edward abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson and that's a grand old love story but I don't want to read a romance novel where a king abdicates so easily and then goes on to be coronated as the king of his wife's country ! It seemed as a huge sellout to me and it was unbelievable because it seemed inconsistent with Zufar's character arc. He'd been a loyal and proud king who was totally devoted to his kingdom, so his decision to abdicate seemed so shocking.

Good points:

1. I liked the MC's. The heroine Neisha was a sweet little Mary Sue who finally got the prince she'd been fantasizing about. Zufar was the proud, stoic H who married the chambermaid of his runaway fiancee ( the heroine from the more enjoyable novel Sheikh's Baby of Revenge ) because he ... had to have a wife since all the important guests and dignitaries had already arrived for the wedding ( ? ) Lol.

2. Great sexual chemistry between the MC's.

3. Lovely development of the MC's relationship. I also enjoyed seeing how the meek, little former maid became a stronger, dignified and beloved queen.

The plot twist really got me so angry because it accompanied the even dumber discovery that the former maid heroine was actually the long lost princess of a neighbouring country ! Then, when she had to go and play queen in her kingdom, the H decided that he would rather abdicate his throne and go play Mr. Queen. My initial reaction was:



Then, I thought to myself that the author would resolve this all in a wonderful way without the H's abdication, since he is supposed to be a grand conventional alpha male H who is supposed to have his heroine and his throne too. Right ? On the plus side, I suppose it can be seen by some, that the H's abdication is a sign of his true love for the heroine.

Safety: No cheating. No OW and no OM.

This is the H, Zufar:




This is the heroine, Neisha:

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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Treece.
521 reviews151 followers
March 20, 2019
Rating: 4 1/2 stars

A thrilling, modern retelling of Cinderella, the Goose Girl, along with elements of Beauty and the Beast.

A hero that is dominant, loyal and honorable to a fault who unknowingly rescues a heroine that meets all the best check marks and takes us to another level of feminine strength, dignity and resilience. Maya Blake knows how to soar above the old skool HPlandia traps into a fresher, engaging reboot while maintaining the entrancing heart and voice of HP.
Profile Image for Jen - Reviews.
436 reviews31 followers
September 9, 2018
Well I wasn’t expecting the big finale! Loved the heroine, loved the hero half-way through. Couldn’t believe the sacrifice he made for her. Very enjoyable.
Profile Image for Debbie DiFiore.
2,747 reviews317 followers
September 26, 2018
Very unique story

I was so excited reading this because it is really a Cinderella story which are my absolute favorite type of stories. But it's also about the power of love. Good and bad. The hero's father loved his wife so much, he let her make him and their children miserable because she wasn't capable of loving anyone except herself. She sounded cold and just awful. And the hero had only seen the down side of love and refused to let himself love until Neisha. He fought against it too. But she loved him so much at the end and He her that they were both willing to give everything up just to be together. I just loved how it all came together. I am very impatient to read the other stories in this series but I have to wait until they come out and I am so disappointed. It is definitely worth reading.
Profile Image for Rgreader.
734 reviews54 followers
March 6, 2022
Sheikh's Pregnant Cinderella is the perfect romance to escape reality. I did forget about what's going on in the world as I read it.

A few negative issues I had with the book...1) The heroine is not a version of Cinderella. Cinderella was abused by her stepmother and stepsisters and this heroine experienced none of that. I read expecting that trope to appear and was annoyed the HP title generator got it wrong. 2) I didn't feel the hero growing to love the heroine. During their honeymoon, he pushed her away emotionally then abandoned her when he thought she would abandon their marriage. Why abandon her like that when he, the more experienced in sexual relationships, didn't build a deep communication relationship with the heroine??? I did like that he finally admitted loving her but I didn't see it build in little gestures. 3) The heroine was pregnant and no description of the heroine and hero behaving as parents in the epilogue. After all the drama, seeing them interact with their child would have been a lovely finish.
Profile Image for Isa Centeno.
300 reviews49 followers
November 24, 2020
No esperaba mucho de éste libro pero diré que lo amé con todo mi corazón, es uno de esos libros que no esperas pero que aceptas encantada.

Zufar es un rey al que han dejado plantado en el altar luego de que su prometida decidiera escaparse el mismo día de la boda con el hermanastro que lo envidia con todo su ser. Solo hay una persona que vio todo y sabe los detalles de lo sucedido: Niesha, una simple criada huérfana que estuvo en el lugar y momento equivocado.

La cosa es que El reino ha sufrido muchas cosas últimamente: La muerte de la Reina, la abdicación de su rey y la posterior coronación de Zufar por lo que la cancelación de la boda no entra dentro de los planes del rey así que le ordena a la criada, Niesha sustituir a la novia y casarse con él.

Obvio Niesha estuvo enamorada de Zufar desde que era adolescente y lo ha stalkeado pero se supone que ya superó su enamoramiento por lo que se sorprende cuando pasa de tener más ideas claras a enamorarse de él.

Por otro lado, Zufar miente a Niesha sobre la duración de su matrimonio y al final llegan a un acuerdo de pedir el divorcio luego de 5 años de matrimonio y muchos hijos de por medio.

Todo va viento en popa hasta que sale a la luz la verdadera identidad de Niesha que resulta ser la última heredera de un país que ha tenido su trono abandonado por 20 años así que todo se complica cuando es presionada para tomar el trono y asumir sus responsabilidades como regente activo.

¿Cómo podría sobrevivir un matrimonio a distancia donde los dos necesitan regir países diferentes?

Zufar es claro: Quiere a su esposa en su cama cuidando a sus hijos en SU país pero a vida no es tan simple ¿O si?

Así que cuando la amenaza de un divorcio inminente se cierne sobre ellos, Zufar tendrá que tomar decisiones difíciles si no quiere perder a su hijo y al amor de su vida.

Decir más seria mucho spoiler pero quedé encantada con la historia, es una de esas que te hacen suspirar porque muchas veces ni en los propios libros vemos un amor tan desinteresado como el que existe entre Niesha y Zufar.
Profile Image for SassyLeg.
547 reviews
May 11, 2019
3.5 stars
Good plot line and characters.
H was left at altar and now needs to merry to prevent instability in his country.
Heroine is a maid that is in the wrong (right) place at the wrong (right) time.
Marriage of convenience but with the purpose to produce an heir.
H soon falls under her spell but fights against the feeling.
She is an orphan and cannot remember her past: shy and vulnerable but also with the dignity and sass of a real queen.
Their passion is sizzling - love scenes are well written. Characters' story and motivations are well developed.
A praise for the epilogue - an additional ⭐️ for the H's choice!
Profile Image for Ishara.
559 reviews9 followers
October 20, 2018
Sheikh's pregnant Cinderella tells the story of Zufar, the jilted bridegroom from the previous book. An enjoyable read with some great plot twists but the insta-transformation of the heroine from an overwhelmed stuttering servant to a regal queen in 2 weeks seemed a bit far fetched. Then to discover that she is in fact a long lost heir was just OTT. Zufar put duty above everything else so his sudden abdication seemed out of character. Maybe it's just me but the last few chapters ruined an otherwise terrific book.
Profile Image for Chris.
1,316 reviews38 followers
November 5, 2020
Quite sweet and easy to read story. I was a little disappointed because the ending was really rushed and somehow anticlimactic if you take into consideration the way Zufar acted.
1,508 reviews51 followers
August 16, 2018
A fantastic romantic read with a heroine who might just teach our hero a lesson or two even though she starts out as his maid, a few twists and turns and a good plot line makes for a wonderful read.
231 reviews3 followers
January 27, 2022
Zufar is the king of Khalia and is about to get married, but his bride runs off with another man, so he chooses the maid, Neisha, as his substitute bride. He intends to marry her and produce an heir for his kingdom, all the while guarding his heart from love as he had seen what it had done to his father, loving Zufar's mother, who hadn't loved his father or her children in return.

Neisha grows from a shy, timid woman to a kind, regal queen. She also has a mysterious past, in which she is an orphan, but can't remember her family. She eventually finds out that she was born a princess in a neighboring country and has to make the decision to rule there as queen or fight for her marriage to her aloof, reserved husband.

This book was just okay. Zufar was cold and aloof throughout almost the whole book. I didn't feel much chemistry between the main characters. It was really only the last 30 pages or so where you got to know his feelings for Neisha, which didn't seem very realistic. And it was only the last 10-15 pages where he let those feelings show for her.

There was only 1 smex scene between them (the few in the epilogue were off page) and it was okay. I realize this is a Harlequin romance, but I've read far steamier smex scenes in other Harlequin books.

Overall, it wasn't a bad read. I just didn't feel any chemistry between Zufar and Neisha and there was very little romance between them. It would have been better to get his pov more throughout the book and see him gradually warming up to her. I can't understand romances where the H has to act cold and aloof throughout a book and then only realize in the last few pages how much he loves the h and doesn't want to lose her. 🤷‍♀️ I'm all for angst, but I'd like some romance and the Hero to warm up a lot earlier in the book.

If you like sheikh romances, give the book a try, but it just didn't do it for me. Still, the writing was good.

Profile Image for Lynn Brooks.
3,531 reviews45 followers
September 20, 2018
The wedding will go on! With the second book in the Bound to the Desert King quartet, Maya Blake picks up right where the royal wedding was thwarted, to continue the story from Zufar's point of view. The connection and likability of Zufar and Neisha was very strong and I enjoyed their story very much. Her past being discovered was quite an interesting twist! Looking forward to the continuation of the quartet!

Sheikh Zufar al Khalia is set to wed when to his shock and dismay, his intended bride and future Queen has disappeared, and rumor has it that it was voluntarily! He won't let this snafu and plot for revenge on an outsider's part ruin his plan to strengthen his country, so he picks the closest woman and demands she ready herself to be his Queen!

Chambermaid Neisha Zalwani is quite taken aback when her King insists she has to marry him instantly. He woos her into thinking it's only temporary until he finds his intended, but it doesn't take her long to discover that he means it to be a permanent marriage ... and honestly, by that point, she's not regretting it all that much. The chemistry between the two of them is off the charts!
Profile Image for TheMadHatter.
1,561 reviews35 followers
September 29, 2018
I read book one in this series and really wanted to know how it went for the jilted prince left back at the altar so I had to come and pick up book 2 - great marketing ploy!!

This was really sweet and I now really want to read book 3 and 4 so I can see what happens to the other siblings - again....great marketing ploy by having characters that cross-over across books.

I liked the two leads in this, I liked the twist at the end (although these over the top coincidences about identities typically annoy the crap out of me - so that bit annoyed me, but I liked how the prince dealt with it in the end - it was enough to make me overlook the annoying coincidence). The only downside is that I wanted more of the cross-over story. I wanted a meeting/epilogue between the two half-brothers or a re-meeting of their partners. I hope closure for that comes in book 3 and 4.

By definition, I rarely give these books anymore than 3 stars as I, at best, like them but they are never life changing books that push me over that reading pleasure edge :-P (and unfortunately these days most end up as 1 or 2 stars) - but this one was quite a pleasant surprise. 3 Stars it is :-)
Profile Image for Dawn Livingston.
937 reviews43 followers
November 18, 2018
This was an odd book and I still don't know what to think of it. I know enough to say I liked it but I'm not sure that I really liked it. So maybe this rating should be something like 3 1/2 stars.

The main obvious difference is that the hero is not pushed into something he really, really doesn't want. He's not angry, smoldering. He's more laid back because he's in control. Such a strange hero. Most of the heroes are angry, brooding, moody, etc., but not this one and I kind of liked the change of pace.

The twist toward the end was a good and surprising one, helped make the book for me.

I think this is a distinctive enough romance novel to be put on your To-Read list. Especially if you're a fan of the romance novel. Even if you're not you might want to read this one. This is a book I would be willing to re-read at some point. It was a nice change of pace, something different in a genre that is pretty samey, though I guess you could say that all genre's are generally samey.
Profile Image for Ayushi Saran.
84 reviews
July 19, 2024
it was going good, until she suddenly discovered that she is a lost princess...

look, i don't mind the "powerful women" status here, but it just didn't suit and till the end, we have no clue if she was even able to handle her council, or anything, we have no clue of anything, plus the ml abdicating the throne was just hilarious tbh. He literally married a stranger, a maid no less for the honour of that throne, abdicating it was so stupid, i cannot even begin to describe .. and no, it's not the stupid people do for love, it's plain stupid
Profile Image for Mattie.
1,990 reviews8 followers
July 30, 2024
It was ok, but wouldn't want to re-read.

It felt like there were two different heroine's, the first half she was weak, couldn't control herself, not great posture, no friends, she cried uncontrollably and was described as plain and not very attractive.
Then second half all of sudden she's beautiful, she moves like a Queen and everyone loves and adores her.

The connection between hero and heroine was ok. He abdicated his throne for her and became her King. P.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
57 reviews
September 22, 2018
Quite good

Liked this book even though I was very sceptical at first. The h was made to look very servile, ignorant and weak. That turned out to be very untrue. The characters were also much more westernized than you normally see in a Sheikdom style book. But the interactions between the H and h were everything I enjoy. I may read again.
Profile Image for Veda.
346 reviews3 followers
August 26, 2018
Didn't realize this was a part of a series about a royal family, so need to find book one. The book had more little twists and turns then I expected, and I totally enjoyed the journey I was taken on.
Profile Image for Ceila Garcia.
Author 1 book2 followers
July 15, 2023
Estaba pensando en dejar 4.7 estrellas, pero éstos protagonistas me encantaron. Me gustó que no le dieran tantas vueltas a "Me quiere" oh "no me quiere", como otros libros de este género. Y éste hombre sucumbió más rápido al corazón.
Profile Image for Caro.
440 reviews13 followers
November 20, 2023
Encontré por azar está novela y me estaba gustando mucho, sobre todo el personaje femenino de la chica huérfana,sola , pobre que llega a casarse con alguien opuesto a ella.ya no me gustó cuando resultó que la chica también pertenecía a cierta realeza...así que una pena,no estuvo mal,es una historia corta pero nada más.
Profile Image for Al.
543 reviews6 followers
Read
August 22, 2020
They started out as a King and a chambermaid. I did not expect that ending
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews

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