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The Westmorelands #1
Dos mundos diferentes
Delaney Westmoreland no estaba dispuesta a que un pequeño contratiempo la privara del descanso que tanto necesitaba. Lo que no esperaba era que el arrogante jeque con el que se había visto obligada a compartir sus vacaciones fuera a darle un curso intensivo de sexualidad. Desgraciadamente, las palabras amor y compromiso no figuraban en el manual de tan seductor profesor. La primera intención de Jamal Ari Yassir había sido instruir a Delaney en la sensualidad para disfrutar él, pero nada había salido como había previsto. Sin darse cuenta, se había visto atrapado en una pasión irresistible por su sexy compañera de vacaciones. ¿Podría una amante de verano ser la mujer con la que estaba destinado a compartir el resto de su vida?
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
177 people are currently reading
2987 people want to read
About the author
Brenda Jackson
895 books3,592 followersIn 1994, Brenda Jackson’s first novel, Tonight and Forever, was released. Since then she has had more than 100 novels and novellas published (the first African-American author to accomplish such a feat) and has over 3 million books in print.
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Brenda is the first African-American author to have a book published by Harlequin Desire and the first African-American romance author to make the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists within the series romance genre.
In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award—one of the highest literary awards a romance author can receive. In 2013, she was recognized by the mayor and the city of Jacksonville as being a Trailblazer in the literary field.
In 2010, she collaborated with Five Alive Films to turn her Truly Everlasting title into a feature film. Brenda’s 2011 novel A Silken Thread is scheduled to be filmed with Debbie Allen attached as director in 2015.
Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.
A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Brenda is the first African-American author to have a book published by Harlequin Desire and the first African-American romance author to make the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists within the series romance genre.
In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award—one of the highest literary awards a romance author can receive. In 2013, she was recognized by the mayor and the city of Jacksonville as being a Trailblazer in the literary field.
In 2010, she collaborated with Five Alive Films to turn her Truly Everlasting title into a feature film. Brenda’s 2011 novel A Silken Thread is scheduled to be filmed with Debbie Allen attached as director in 2015.
Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
March 6, 2016
Okay, I was originally going to read all 31 books in this series, but after making it through #1, I'm aborting this project.
This book is atrocious.
Delaney is a 25-year-old virgin and pediatrician.
Jamal is an Arabian prince with very woman-hating views.
In an extremely improbable scenario, they fall in love.
It all starts when Jamal first gets a glimpse of Delaney's ass:
Mesmerized. Hypnotized. Suddenly consumed with lust of the worst kind.
An African-American woman had gotten out of a late model car and was bending over taking something out of the trunk. All he could see was her backside but that was enough. He doubted he could handle anything else right now.
The pair of shorts she wore stretched tightly across the sexiest bottom he had ever seen - and during his thirty-four years he had seen plenty. But never like this and never this generous. And definitely never this well-defined and proportioned. What he was looking at was a great piece of art with all the right curves and angles.
Great. Women love being leered at by creepers. It turns out they are both staying at the same cabin for four weeks.
THE MISOGYNY
His jaw suddenly had the look of being chiseled from stone. "In my country women do what they are told."
///
In Tahran there were women readily available for him - women who thought it a privilege as well as an honor to take care of their prince's needs. They would come to his apartment, which was located in his own private section of the palace, and pleasure him any way he wanted. It had always been this way since his 18th birthday.
There was also Najeen, the woman who had been his mistress for the past three years. She was trained in the art of pleasing only him and did an excellent job of it. He had provided her with her own lavish cottage on the grounds not far from the palace, as well as personal servants to see to her every need.
///
He stretched his body, tired of the conversation. It was evident somewhere along the way Delaney had been given too much freedom. What she needed was some man's firm hand of control.
///
His thoughts drifted to Najeen. She would remain his mistress even after he took a wife.... He could not see Delaney settling for that type of arrangement with any man. She would want it all... He smiled. The woman he married would have only one job - to give him children. She could walk around naked all day if she chose to do so. She would be naked and pregnant the majority of the time.
Charming. But he's not the only woman-hater in the book. Delaney has five brothers, and they are all overprotective louts who hound and stalk her constantly, never giving her any privacy and hassling any man who looks at her.
It was a longstanding joke within the family that her youngest brother wanted a wife who he could keep in the bedroom 24/7. The only time he would let her out of bed was when she needed to go to the bathroom. He wanted her in the bed when he left for work and in the bed when he came back home. His wife's primary job would be to have his children and keep him happy in the bedroom, so it wouldn't matter to him if she were a lousy cook in the kitchen. He would hire a housekeeper to take care of any of the less important stuff.
Haha. A joke. If any of my brothers ever expressed these kinds of sentiments about women, they would have gotten such a dressing down that they wouldn't know what hit them. My father would never put up with this kind of disrespectful attitude towards women, and no son would ever hurt my mother like that by saying something in this vein. It would be unheard of.
If you can manage to brush aside the misogyny, which you most likely can't, the book is a hilarious laughfest of bad sex and worse writing.
He watched the sway of Delaney's hips until she was no longer in sight. His nostrils flared in response to the enticing female scent she had left behind, the primitive sultan male in him released a low growl.
///
But something deep within him believed there wasn't anything normal about this. What could be normal about wanting to stick your tongue down a woman's throat to see how far it could go? What was normal about wanting to suck her tongue forever if necessary to get the taste he was beginning to crave?
///
He uses this "advanced kissing technique" called "Ares" on her, which makes her orgasm and then faint. You know. The Ares technique. o.O
Only men with strong constitutions, those capable of extending the peak of their pleasure could use it.
///
"Give me your tongue back, Delaney," he whispered in a low gutteral tone. "Just stick it out and I'll take it from there."
///
Her mouth felt sensitive, raw, and his taste was embedded so deeply in the floor and roof of her mouth that she savored him every time she spoke.
///
She lifted her fingers to her mouth as she remembered the kiss she and Jamal had shared. Her mouth still felt warm and sensitive. It also felt branded. He had left a mark on her that he had not left on another woman. He had given her his special brand of kissing that had been so passionate it had made her lose consciousness.
It's very strange.
Also strange is the scene where Delaney and Jamal get in the hot tub and he starts playing with her vulva and breasts with his feet. HIS FEET. Doesn't this seem fucking weird to you?
Feeling frustrated and disappointed, she was about to close her own eyes when she felt him. He had stretched out his foot and and it had come to rest smack between her legs. Before she could take a sharp intake of breath, he had tilted his toes to softly caress her most sensitive area. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath as his foot gently massaged and kneaded her center in tantalizing precision, slowly through the thin material of her swimsuit.
But he didn't plan to stop there. He lifted his foot higher to rest between her breasts. Then with his big toe leading the pack, he caressed the right nipple through the thin material of her bikini top, and when he had her panting for breath, he moved on to the other breast.
o.O
His erection was a like a radar and guided him unerringly to his destination...
LOL
He also has an extreme problem of not realizing she's a virgin until he's balls-deep inside her, pretty much her fault for not telling him jackshit, but her attempts to start a conversation with him about this are hilariously ignored.
"I'm not a woman who makes a habit of getting into a man's bed," she said softly, feeling the need to let him know where she stood...
"We don't have to use a bed if you don't want. We can use the table, the sofa, or the floor. You pick the place."...
"What I mean is I don't sleep with a man just for the fun of it."
He nodded slowly. "Then what about for the pleasure of it? Would you sleep with a man just for the pleasure it would give you?"
You're not getting it, jackass. She's trying to tell you she's a virgin, you fucking moron.
...and he didn't want to shower. In fact, he wanted to smother in the sexual scent their bodies had created.
He also does bizarre stuff like jabs a hole in her pantyhose with his finger while he's driving so that he can finger her while driving. Why didn't he just ask her to take her pantyhose off? Why didn't he just wait until they got home? I can't help but think fingering a woman through a tiny hole in her pantyhose while you are driving is extremely unfulfilling and frustrating for all parties involved, including the pantyhose. o.O
"The scent of you having a climax. It's a scent that is purely you, private, individual and totally sensual. I wish like hell I could bottle it."
He also has scads of unprotected sex with her. He uses a condom the first two times, but then is like, "Fuck it." and just has tons and tons of unprotected sex with her. They don't discuss it, they don't mention it, they just stop using condoms even though they have boxes of them and KNOW he's engaged to marry another woman and he's going back to Tahran in three weeks and she's never going to see him again. STUPID.
Tl;dr - An extremely bizarre and silly and woman-hating book. This is probably why romance gets a bad reputation. And I can understand older romances being as bizarre and misogynist as heck, but this was written in 2002. So, there's really no excuse.
ZERO REAL STARS, ZERO ROMANCE STARS
This book is atrocious.
Delaney is a 25-year-old virgin and pediatrician.
Jamal is an Arabian prince with very woman-hating views.
In an extremely improbable scenario, they fall in love.
It all starts when Jamal first gets a glimpse of Delaney's ass:
Mesmerized. Hypnotized. Suddenly consumed with lust of the worst kind.
An African-American woman had gotten out of a late model car and was bending over taking something out of the trunk. All he could see was her backside but that was enough. He doubted he could handle anything else right now.
The pair of shorts she wore stretched tightly across the sexiest bottom he had ever seen - and during his thirty-four years he had seen plenty. But never like this and never this generous. And definitely never this well-defined and proportioned. What he was looking at was a great piece of art with all the right curves and angles.
Great. Women love being leered at by creepers. It turns out they are both staying at the same cabin for four weeks.
THE MISOGYNY
His jaw suddenly had the look of being chiseled from stone. "In my country women do what they are told."
///
In Tahran there were women readily available for him - women who thought it a privilege as well as an honor to take care of their prince's needs. They would come to his apartment, which was located in his own private section of the palace, and pleasure him any way he wanted. It had always been this way since his 18th birthday.
There was also Najeen, the woman who had been his mistress for the past three years. She was trained in the art of pleasing only him and did an excellent job of it. He had provided her with her own lavish cottage on the grounds not far from the palace, as well as personal servants to see to her every need.
///
He stretched his body, tired of the conversation. It was evident somewhere along the way Delaney had been given too much freedom. What she needed was some man's firm hand of control.
///
His thoughts drifted to Najeen. She would remain his mistress even after he took a wife.... He could not see Delaney settling for that type of arrangement with any man. She would want it all... He smiled. The woman he married would have only one job - to give him children. She could walk around naked all day if she chose to do so. She would be naked and pregnant the majority of the time.
Charming. But he's not the only woman-hater in the book. Delaney has five brothers, and they are all overprotective louts who hound and stalk her constantly, never giving her any privacy and hassling any man who looks at her.
It was a longstanding joke within the family that her youngest brother wanted a wife who he could keep in the bedroom 24/7. The only time he would let her out of bed was when she needed to go to the bathroom. He wanted her in the bed when he left for work and in the bed when he came back home. His wife's primary job would be to have his children and keep him happy in the bedroom, so it wouldn't matter to him if she were a lousy cook in the kitchen. He would hire a housekeeper to take care of any of the less important stuff.
Haha. A joke. If any of my brothers ever expressed these kinds of sentiments about women, they would have gotten such a dressing down that they wouldn't know what hit them. My father would never put up with this kind of disrespectful attitude towards women, and no son would ever hurt my mother like that by saying something in this vein. It would be unheard of.
If you can manage to brush aside the misogyny, which you most likely can't, the book is a hilarious laughfest of bad sex and worse writing.
He watched the sway of Delaney's hips until she was no longer in sight. His nostrils flared in response to the enticing female scent she had left behind, the primitive sultan male in him released a low growl.
///
But something deep within him believed there wasn't anything normal about this. What could be normal about wanting to stick your tongue down a woman's throat to see how far it could go? What was normal about wanting to suck her tongue forever if necessary to get the taste he was beginning to crave?
///
He uses this "advanced kissing technique" called "Ares" on her, which makes her orgasm and then faint. You know. The Ares technique. o.O
Only men with strong constitutions, those capable of extending the peak of their pleasure could use it.
///
"Give me your tongue back, Delaney," he whispered in a low gutteral tone. "Just stick it out and I'll take it from there."
///
Her mouth felt sensitive, raw, and his taste was embedded so deeply in the floor and roof of her mouth that she savored him every time she spoke.
///
She lifted her fingers to her mouth as she remembered the kiss she and Jamal had shared. Her mouth still felt warm and sensitive. It also felt branded. He had left a mark on her that he had not left on another woman. He had given her his special brand of kissing that had been so passionate it had made her lose consciousness.
It's very strange.
Also strange is the scene where Delaney and Jamal get in the hot tub and he starts playing with her vulva and breasts with his feet. HIS FEET. Doesn't this seem fucking weird to you?
Feeling frustrated and disappointed, she was about to close her own eyes when she felt him. He had stretched out his foot and and it had come to rest smack between her legs. Before she could take a sharp intake of breath, he had tilted his toes to softly caress her most sensitive area. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath as his foot gently massaged and kneaded her center in tantalizing precision, slowly through the thin material of her swimsuit.
But he didn't plan to stop there. He lifted his foot higher to rest between her breasts. Then with his big toe leading the pack, he caressed the right nipple through the thin material of her bikini top, and when he had her panting for breath, he moved on to the other breast.
o.O
His erection was a like a radar and guided him unerringly to his destination...
LOL
He also has an extreme problem of not realizing she's a virgin until he's balls-deep inside her, pretty much her fault for not telling him jackshit, but her attempts to start a conversation with him about this are hilariously ignored.
"I'm not a woman who makes a habit of getting into a man's bed," she said softly, feeling the need to let him know where she stood...
"We don't have to use a bed if you don't want. We can use the table, the sofa, or the floor. You pick the place."...
"What I mean is I don't sleep with a man just for the fun of it."
He nodded slowly. "Then what about for the pleasure of it? Would you sleep with a man just for the pleasure it would give you?"
You're not getting it, jackass. She's trying to tell you she's a virgin, you fucking moron.
...and he didn't want to shower. In fact, he wanted to smother in the sexual scent their bodies had created.
He also does bizarre stuff like jabs a hole in her pantyhose with his finger while he's driving so that he can finger her while driving. Why didn't he just ask her to take her pantyhose off? Why didn't he just wait until they got home? I can't help but think fingering a woman through a tiny hole in her pantyhose while you are driving is extremely unfulfilling and frustrating for all parties involved, including the pantyhose. o.O
"The scent of you having a climax. It's a scent that is purely you, private, individual and totally sensual. I wish like hell I could bottle it."
He also has scads of unprotected sex with her. He uses a condom the first two times, but then is like, "Fuck it." and just has tons and tons of unprotected sex with her. They don't discuss it, they don't mention it, they just stop using condoms even though they have boxes of them and KNOW he's engaged to marry another woman and he's going back to Tahran in three weeks and she's never going to see him again. STUPID.
Tl;dr - An extremely bizarre and silly and woman-hating book. This is probably why romance gets a bad reputation. And I can understand older romances being as bizarre and misogynist as heck, but this was written in 2002. So, there's really no excuse.
ZERO REAL STARS, ZERO ROMANCE STARS
March 16, 2021
To be honest, I'm shocked that this has such high ratings. Sure, it's your classic Harlequin, but it's so insta-love and cringey at times. There are some weird scenes in here that just didn't do it for me. One, he does something sexual to the heroine while she's sleeping and runs away before she wakes up, so she thought she dreamed it. She never learns that that interaction was real. Then, she tells him not to touch her with his hand, so he does some...things...with his foot. Um what. The story was fun, but not something I loved or really cared about while I was reading. I honestly did a double take when she said she was in love with him because I was like, ALREADY!? They didn't even talk about anything substantial and had barely spend any time together. This just wasn't the romance for me.
March 27, 2009
This book was so great. I was so happy to finally read a book where the sheikh wanted a woman of color, particularly an African American woman. Usually the sheikh books have blonde heroines. It was also good because of the dialogue and interactions between the characters. This book mainly takes place in the cabin where they are both staying, so the focus is on the developing relationship between Delaney and Jamal. The sexual tension is volcanic, but there is also tenderness and respect between them. I don't usually like books where the h/h meet and decide to have a fling, but this was so well-done I loved it. And you know that they are really in love and won't be able to walk away from each other long term. Another great thing about this book is Delaney is about to start her final residency to be a doctor. I dearly want to see more romance novel heroines who are highly educated and are in a specialized profession, particularly science. For some reason, it seems as though it's a bit taboo to have heroine who is more educated and has a strong career in comparison to the hero. I think that's totaly sexist. But I digress. This is a wonderful, short, but sweet, Sexy as all get out, feel good read. I highly recommend it for readers who like sheikh books but want to see a different take on the sheikh romance.
July 19, 2007
Where Can I Get A Desert Sheikh?!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed the instant, heated attraction between Laney and Jamal. Although, it was definitely a bit unrealistic, who cares. That's what romance is supposed to be! You know everyone falls in love instantly, gets married in a matter of weeks, and all the black women have long, silky hair and a slim figure, and the men are gorgeous and built well in all the right places. All I want to know is where can I get me a desert sheikh, who will denounce his thrown and alienate his people just for me (if necessary), OKAY!!! Looking forward to reading more about the Westmoreland family.
I thoroughly enjoyed the instant, heated attraction between Laney and Jamal. Although, it was definitely a bit unrealistic, who cares. That's what romance is supposed to be! You know everyone falls in love instantly, gets married in a matter of weeks, and all the black women have long, silky hair and a slim figure, and the men are gorgeous and built well in all the right places. All I want to know is where can I get me a desert sheikh, who will denounce his thrown and alienate his people just for me (if necessary), OKAY!!! Looking forward to reading more about the Westmoreland family.
July 17, 2019
Quick fun read that I am so glad I was able to get my hands on. It was exactly what I wanted for a quick weekend escape read. I'm looking forward to making my way slowly but surely through this entire series.
Where you can find me:
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Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @MonlatReader
Instagram: @readermonica
Facebook: Monica Reeds
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
July 29, 2013
Uuuuuuggggghhhhhh!
I was delighted to discover a romance where the "desert prince" lusts after a black woman. I waited till Sunday morning, so I could have a free afternoon of vicarious romancing.
Imagine my surprise when in the very first chapter the heroine is described as "sassy." Really? Of all the words to describe a black woman. Sassy? But that was a minor thing. I was willing to forget it, no one's perfect.
But then in the same chapter, the african-american heroine tells the love-interest that he doesn't "look american." WTF does American look like?
She then tells him "You speak our language quite well for a foreigner." Is that supposed to be a compliment? Especially since the English language, by all rights, belongs to... ya know... the English.
Still, relatively minor issues. It would have been ok if the sex scenes had been on point. They weren't.
I understand that Delaney is a virgin and as such is incapable of referring to a penis as a penis or a vagina as a vagina (because virgins are like that.. right? right?) But the wordly Prince Oddly-Sexually-Unaware-For-A-Guy-With-A-Full-Time-Mistress refers to his junk as "the area between his thighs."
Seriously, there are dozens of terms for penis if you're feeling shy. Manhood. Turgid length. Love stick. Just to name a few. But between Delaney and Prince My-Ding-A-Ling, the phrase "area between his/her thighs" was used four times.
There's a lot to dislike about this book. It hits all the "badly written romance" tropes. The virgin who apparently decided to bring multiple sets of see-thru lingerie on what was going to be a solo vacation to a remote cabin. The master of seduction has mastered a form of seduction so powerful that it can make a woman blackout just from kissing! The heroine falls in love with the hero in a single week. Hero intends to use condoms but, whoops! the sex is so powerful that it doesn't occur to him til too late. Hero and heroine are separated by worldly forces, afterwhich heroine discovers that she's pregnant. Hero has a feeling that heroine might be carrying (in most instances where I've seen this, the hero's feeling is the result of loving the heroine sooooo much that it forms an almost psychic connection. In this case, Allah, God of Islam, makes his first and only appearance just to tell Prince Forgot-To-Use-A-Condom that Delaney was preggo. Bravo.)
Also, for some weird reason, the hero kept mentioning Delaney's scent. Her feminine scent. He kept sniffing at her. Literally inhaling her scent. At one point he says "your scent gave you away." It came off as creepy and gross. Stop that. Don't do that anymore.
I'm trying to remember if I rated Shades of Gray one star or two, because this was about as bad as that. Maybe slightly less bad.
I was delighted to discover a romance where the "desert prince" lusts after a black woman. I waited till Sunday morning, so I could have a free afternoon of vicarious romancing.
Imagine my surprise when in the very first chapter the heroine is described as "sassy." Really? Of all the words to describe a black woman. Sassy? But that was a minor thing. I was willing to forget it, no one's perfect.
But then in the same chapter, the african-american heroine tells the love-interest that he doesn't "look american." WTF does American look like?
She then tells him "You speak our language quite well for a foreigner." Is that supposed to be a compliment? Especially since the English language, by all rights, belongs to... ya know... the English.
Still, relatively minor issues. It would have been ok if the sex scenes had been on point. They weren't.
I understand that Delaney is a virgin and as such is incapable of referring to a penis as a penis or a vagina as a vagina (because virgins are like that.. right? right?) But the wordly Prince Oddly-Sexually-Unaware-For-A-Guy-With-A-Full-Time-Mistress refers to his junk as "the area between his thighs."
Seriously, there are dozens of terms for penis if you're feeling shy. Manhood. Turgid length. Love stick. Just to name a few. But between Delaney and Prince My-Ding-A-Ling, the phrase "area between his/her thighs" was used four times.
There's a lot to dislike about this book. It hits all the "badly written romance" tropes. The virgin who apparently decided to bring multiple sets of see-thru lingerie on what was going to be a solo vacation to a remote cabin. The master of seduction has mastered a form of seduction so powerful that it can make a woman blackout just from kissing! The heroine falls in love with the hero in a single week. Hero intends to use condoms but, whoops! the sex is so powerful that it doesn't occur to him til too late. Hero and heroine are separated by worldly forces, afterwhich heroine discovers that she's pregnant. Hero has a feeling that heroine might be carrying (in most instances where I've seen this, the hero's feeling is the result of loving the heroine sooooo much that it forms an almost psychic connection. In this case, Allah, God of Islam, makes his first and only appearance just to tell Prince Forgot-To-Use-A-Condom that Delaney was preggo. Bravo.)
Also, for some weird reason, the hero kept mentioning Delaney's scent. Her feminine scent. He kept sniffing at her. Literally inhaling her scent. At one point he says "your scent gave you away." It came off as creepy and gross. Stop that. Don't do that anymore.
I'm trying to remember if I rated Shades of Gray one star or two, because this was about as bad as that. Maybe slightly less bad.
April 1, 2021
2.5 stars. Man oh man I wanted to rate this one higher, but there was one particular scene that I wasn't okay with. I'm going to continue the series because I'm really interested in where Brenda Jackson is going to take these characters.
Delaney's Desert Sheikh is the first in Brenda Jackson's Westmorelands series which is a series that I've been meaning to start for a while. It's an extremely short book so I was expecting the characters to fall in love quickly. The insta love trope didn't necessarily bother me; however, I wish that we would have gotten a little more interaction between the two characters. It would have made the connection just a tad more realistic. There is also a specific scene that technically isn't consensual and I wasn't a big fan of it especially since it wasn't addressed at all in the later parts of the book. There's a lot to take into consideration with this scene including expectations and standards of romance novels at the time that this was written. It doesn't excuse the scene, but it helps readers understand how and why the scene was included. There was clearly an attraction between the two and I rather enjoyed their banter, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking about that specific scene.
Quite frankly, I love what Jackson was able to do with character development in this book. Jamal had a certain perspective of the role a woman should play in the life of a man and Delaney challenged him every single step of the way. She refused to be subservient or agree that the role of a woman in a relationship should be simplified to catering to every need of her partner while being okay if he makes the decision to take on mistresses. Delaney makes Jamal reconsider a lot of things that he would have traditionally done. They had a lot of strong moments as characters, but also some weaker moments. If this book would have been just a little longer, I think that the chemistry between the two characters could have gone better and more smooth.
Ironically, there isn't really much to discuss about this book without giving away too many spoilers. Everything happens rather quickly. There are appearances from Delany's older brothers so I'm anticipating that readers will have the opportunity to see them in later books. To be completely clear and transparent, this book is a little on the dated side. There are still books coming out in The Westmoreland series so naturally I'm 100% positive that Jackson has done a great job with those. If you read this book, don't let it turn you away from exploring the rest of the books in the series.
Delaney's Desert Sheikh is the first in Brenda Jackson's Westmorelands series which is a series that I've been meaning to start for a while. It's an extremely short book so I was expecting the characters to fall in love quickly. The insta love trope didn't necessarily bother me; however, I wish that we would have gotten a little more interaction between the two characters. It would have made the connection just a tad more realistic. There is also a specific scene that technically isn't consensual and I wasn't a big fan of it especially since it wasn't addressed at all in the later parts of the book. There's a lot to take into consideration with this scene including expectations and standards of romance novels at the time that this was written. It doesn't excuse the scene, but it helps readers understand how and why the scene was included. There was clearly an attraction between the two and I rather enjoyed their banter, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking about that specific scene.
Quite frankly, I love what Jackson was able to do with character development in this book. Jamal had a certain perspective of the role a woman should play in the life of a man and Delaney challenged him every single step of the way. She refused to be subservient or agree that the role of a woman in a relationship should be simplified to catering to every need of her partner while being okay if he makes the decision to take on mistresses. Delaney makes Jamal reconsider a lot of things that he would have traditionally done. They had a lot of strong moments as characters, but also some weaker moments. If this book would have been just a little longer, I think that the chemistry between the two characters could have gone better and more smooth.
Ironically, there isn't really much to discuss about this book without giving away too many spoilers. Everything happens rather quickly. There are appearances from Delany's older brothers so I'm anticipating that readers will have the opportunity to see them in later books. To be completely clear and transparent, this book is a little on the dated side. There are still books coming out in The Westmoreland series so naturally I'm 100% positive that Jackson has done a great job with those. If you read this book, don't let it turn you away from exploring the rest of the books in the series.
April 1, 2009
Another Brenda Jackson delight. I really enjoyed the interaction between the hero and heroine. It was nice for there to be so little emphasis on the interracial element. This was probably amplified by the fact that they were alone a vast majority of the time. Look forward to reading the books about her super hot brothers.
December 20, 2015
DNF at 25%
I didn't like the writing style and couldn't stand the characters
I didn't like the writing style and couldn't stand the characters
September 3, 2010
*** 4 1/2 stars ***
This was a really good sheik book!
This was a really good sheik book!
May 3, 2015
It's hard to review this book because it was just too silly. I've never read a sheik-themed romance so I have no idea how this addition conforms to or subverts that sub-genre. I will say that the mediocre writing and laughable plot made this difficult to enjoy, even as a reader with a high tolerance for purple prose and romantic silliness. Sample line: "One night he had thrust her into an orgasm just from gnawing on her lips." In the first half of the book, our hero and heroine are thrown together in an isolated cabin and spend a few days sparing before falling into bed, and quickly into love. The aftermath of their meeting is squeezed into the rest of the book and we're introduced to Delaney's overbearing brothers, the absurdly named protagonists of the rest of the series. On the positive side, the first sex scene included one of the best examples of actively seeking consent that I've ever read in a Harlequin, or just in a romance novel. That is why this is getting 2 stars instead of one.
Otherwise, this contains so many cliches and unrealistic dialogue and situations and totally irritating actions and assumptions from our hero and heroine. Magic virginity, subconsciously not using birth control, bringing a dozen pieces of lingerie on a rustic vacation, Unattainable bad boy falls in love against his will because you were so patient...this book had it all. It didn't seem like Jackson had done much research on the Middle East. For example, at one point Jamal is fixated on how Delaney, like all Western women is into movie stars and implies that women outside the West don't watch movies. I'm also not a fan of arrogant alphas, and Jamal is a classic example of that. I've heard many of my favorite contemporary novelists cite Jackson as an influence, but this was a big disappointment.
Otherwise, this contains so many cliches and unrealistic dialogue and situations and totally irritating actions and assumptions from our hero and heroine. Magic virginity, subconsciously not using birth control, bringing a dozen pieces of lingerie on a rustic vacation, Unattainable bad boy falls in love against his will because you were so patient...this book had it all. It didn't seem like Jackson had done much research on the Middle East. For example, at one point Jamal is fixated on how Delaney, like all Western women is into movie stars and implies that women outside the West don't watch movies. I'm also not a fan of arrogant alphas, and Jamal is a classic example of that. I've heard many of my favorite contemporary novelists cite Jackson as an influence, but this was a big disappointment.
February 16, 2015
I saw this on the Goodreads 100 Best Romances list and was intrigued enough to read it -- wanted to see how a book with this title had broken free of the bodice-ripper genre enough to land on a list with the likes of Jane Eyre, Outlander, Thorn Birds and anything (everything!) by Judith McNaught.
I think it must have been purely the statistics, as the character and story development did not even remotely compare. The eye-rolling factor was just too high for me. From the character names (esp her brothers -- Dare, Stone, Chase, Storm and Thorn??) to everything being done "huskily" to the silly tongue thing, this just didn't fit my bill of Romantic or even Sexy.
So it's back to the list (hope springs eternal), this time with a more critical eye to what's on there!
I think it must have been purely the statistics, as the character and story development did not even remotely compare. The eye-rolling factor was just too high for me. From the character names (esp her brothers -- Dare, Stone, Chase, Storm and Thorn??) to everything being done "huskily" to the silly tongue thing, this just didn't fit my bill of Romantic or even Sexy.
So it's back to the list (hope springs eternal), this time with a more critical eye to what's on there!
June 27, 2011
Story: GOOD
Intimacy Level: GOOD
Enjoyment: VERY GOOD
I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE giving this book less than 5 stars. Its really good and man o man o man, I read it and love it, you just have to read it, words can not express how good this book was as and well written and the family now that's a family I would love to call my own but mines are prefect the way they are.....
Jamal and Delaney's story was pure pleasure to read. This book long ago introduced me to Brenda Jackson. This is only the beginning as the brothers and cousin's stories are just as good.
http://www.romancenoveljunkies.com/So...
Intimacy Level: GOOD
Enjoyment: VERY GOOD
I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE giving this book less than 5 stars. Its really good and man o man o man, I read it and love it, you just have to read it, words can not express how good this book was as and well written and the family now that's a family I would love to call my own but mines are prefect the way they are.....
Jamal and Delaney's story was pure pleasure to read. This book long ago introduced me to Brenda Jackson. This is only the beginning as the brothers and cousin's stories are just as good.
http://www.romancenoveljunkies.com/So...
February 21, 2010
This book was awesome. Had to buy it on Ebay the first time I read it. It was worth the cost.
April 19, 2011
I feel terrible reading these trashy novellas, but Brenda Jackson hooked me with the Westmoreland family and now I want to read about each of them - I'm making good progress. The books are short entertaining reads that are great breaks from the more serious literature I like to read every now and again. This story of an interracial love affair was quite intriguing. I really liked Delaney's character as well. This was my first novella by Jackson that featured a female as the main character. I give this book 5 stars because it was well written, the plot was interesting and I really liked the characters.
March 21, 2019
Good god this book is really dated and so over-sexed that it made me laugh. Like you know tightening loins etc. I mean it was laughable and then don't even get me started on the sexism. I don't think "sheikh" books are sexy and the word exotic is bandied about far too easily. The heroine for being a doc doesn't give a whit about safe sex and then hell what about consent? The hero touches the heroine when she is sleeping. Good god this was one OMG! What am I reading book.
August 27, 2011
LOVED IT
November 23, 2016
Jamal the Sheikh and Delaney the independent western woman.
Did not care for Jamal in the beginning. He's quite the conservative neanderthal and makes no bones about his having a mistress that he intends to keep even when he marries. But don't worry, his opinions will change drastically by the end of the book!
It's a fun story. A bit corny at times and I honestly thought it had been written earlier than 2002. For a physician in training, Delaney was a wee bit obtuse about some things. Jamal's change of heart was pretty quick and OTT, but romantic none-the-less.
The audio reader, Sean Crisden, was good and does an interesting accent for Jamal.
Delaney and Jamal show up for a month of quiet, solitary relaxation at a cabin owned by her cousin and his friend... at the same time. He likes his women biddable and meak, she has no interest in a quick fling. But of course they can't resist each other ; )
He has a mistress but lets her go when he returns to his country. She is the usual 26 year old virgin that this author favours.
Did not care for Jamal in the beginning. He's quite the conservative neanderthal and makes no bones about his having a mistress that he intends to keep even when he marries. But don't worry, his opinions will change drastically by the end of the book!
It's a fun story. A bit corny at times and I honestly thought it had been written earlier than 2002. For a physician in training, Delaney was a wee bit obtuse about some things. Jamal's change of heart was pretty quick and OTT, but romantic none-the-less.
The audio reader, Sean Crisden, was good and does an interesting accent for Jamal.
Delaney and Jamal show up for a month of quiet, solitary relaxation at a cabin owned by her cousin and his friend... at the same time. He likes his women biddable and meak, she has no interest in a quick fling. But of course they can't resist each other ; )
He has a mistress but lets her go when he returns to his country. She is the usual 26 year old virgin that this author favours.
January 22, 2017
This was pretty awesome!!
I've been putting off this series for a long time..well mostly because I knew one day I'd finish most of Diana Palmer's and I'd need something to read..THE TIME HAS ARRIVED!
Such a lovely story story between Delaney, the pediatrician from US and Jamal the desert sheikh.
Their chemistry is palpable, and though Jamal initially has archaic conservative ideas, falling in love makes him more open minded and a bit obsessive.
Very hot sex scenes and no angst.
I loved the mild breeding undertones..and the promise of so many other books to come. (Thorn and Tara)
Safe read
3.75/5
I've been putting off this series for a long time..well mostly because I knew one day I'd finish most of Diana Palmer's and I'd need something to read..THE TIME HAS ARRIVED!
Such a lovely story story between Delaney, the pediatrician from US and Jamal the desert sheikh.
Their chemistry is palpable, and though Jamal initially has archaic conservative ideas, falling in love makes him more open minded and a bit obsessive.
Very hot sex scenes and no angst.
I loved the mild breeding undertones..and the promise of so many other books to come. (Thorn and Tara)
Safe read
3.75/5
February 11, 2011
This was my first time reading anything from Brenda Jackson, and I must say it was 5 of the most romantic books I have read. The stories were easy to read and I enjoyed the romance that shared amongst the brothers and there women. Good and clean a good break from the hood, erotic sexy books I have been reading.
August 3, 2012
This was an amazing love story. I loved it so much and the relationship she had with her brothers was the icing on the cake for me. I'm glad Jamal didn't put his responsibilities before his heart. Happiness is priceless and love is rare. That is what I got out of this story.
December 7, 2010
I love this story and it's characters.
December 9, 2010
One of my all time favorite books! So romantic :)
February 6, 2011
A beautiful love story!!!!
December 23, 2014
This was a really good romance. I am looking forward to more by Brenda Jackson.
April 25, 2011
From the first sentence I knew the Desert Sheikh was going to be scorching!
“This was the first time he had been between a pair of legs and not gotten what he wanted.”
And yeah, I was right. The foreplay began at the word One and didn’t let up until the final line. Yowza baby! I was digging it, very hot and surprisingly sweet at the same time.
I am unfortunately a bit more grounded in reality so the whole five days it took them to fall in love was a bit of a stretch. Not buying it, sorry. This is an erotic romance in the truest sense of the word. If you are looking for some compelling, deep, heart wrenching tale of a love that will never die you are probably going to be disappointed. However if you are looking for something that makes you shift a little closer to your significant other because thing are a rumbling…this is the book for you.
Story is solid, but not entrenched. The book is all about the foreplay, the tease, and then the holy mother look out below copulation. Post coital bliss is marked with life changing decisions and finally a sweet reunion. You know what is going to happen, it is cookie cutter and text book but that doesn’t mean you don’t get the warm fuzzies when you put it down.
HOT and Sweet, that is my take. Not on my must read list but not is the slush pile either.
“This was the first time he had been between a pair of legs and not gotten what he wanted.”
And yeah, I was right. The foreplay began at the word One and didn’t let up until the final line. Yowza baby! I was digging it, very hot and surprisingly sweet at the same time.
I am unfortunately a bit more grounded in reality so the whole five days it took them to fall in love was a bit of a stretch. Not buying it, sorry. This is an erotic romance in the truest sense of the word. If you are looking for some compelling, deep, heart wrenching tale of a love that will never die you are probably going to be disappointed. However if you are looking for something that makes you shift a little closer to your significant other because thing are a rumbling…this is the book for you.
Story is solid, but not entrenched. The book is all about the foreplay, the tease, and then the holy mother look out below copulation. Post coital bliss is marked with life changing decisions and finally a sweet reunion. You know what is going to happen, it is cookie cutter and text book but that doesn’t mean you don’t get the warm fuzzies when you put it down.
HOT and Sweet, that is my take. Not on my must read list but not is the slush pile either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2018
I managed to get 2 1/2 hours into this book before I could go no further. The book had a few good things going for it such as it was a Sheikh! novel with a heroine of color, the narrator put on a passably enjoyable accent and the heroine was very well educated and... Well that's about it.
Delaney is a virgin (because of course she is) and Jamal is a lust addled foreigner with little patience for "western" women. He's slept around A LOT and has picked up quite a few skills (and probably STD's). Once when he was 21 a woman in Greece taught him a very special form of (mouth) kissing that makes a woman orgasm and faint. Luckily for our heroine she's the first lady he's ever wanted to perform this skill on o_O.
At first Delaney is not willing to give up the goods. But then one morning she wakes and realizes she's in love with Jamal and IS going to sleep with him. Despite the fact that he doesn't believe in love, monogamy or educating women. All things she supposedly values.
At this point the book stopped being laughably bad and became unenjoyable. The adventure was fun while it lasted though.
January 4, 2016
The good:
- Interracial, intercultural romance, huzzah! I love that culture was more of a sticking point than skin color as it matches my own experience.
- The sex was alright. Not amazing, but alright.
The not-so-good:
- Not once did I buy that Delaney is a newly minted doctor. Why would a doctor be so (rightly) skittish about her virginity, then throw all caution to the wind when it came to birth control? And why are only babies mentioned with condoms and not STIs?
- Her five brothers introduced all at once. I get that the series has to go on, but grah.
- I didn't buy the sacrifices she made at the end. Why run away from so much hard work?
An okay bath read but nothing amazing.
- Interracial, intercultural romance, huzzah! I love that culture was more of a sticking point than skin color as it matches my own experience.
- The sex was alright. Not amazing, but alright.
The not-so-good:
- Not once did I buy that Delaney is a newly minted doctor. Why would a doctor be so (rightly) skittish about her virginity, then throw all caution to the wind when it came to birth control? And why are only babies mentioned with condoms and not STIs?
- Her five brothers introduced all at once. I get that the series has to go on, but grah.
- I didn't buy the sacrifices she made at the end. Why run away from so much hard work?
An okay bath read but nothing amazing.
July 22, 2016
Il était donc temps que je lise ce temple de la littérature !
Que dire ? Que c'est très objectivement un 1 étoile, mais que j'ai tellement levé les yeux et halluciné sur la plupart du livre qu'il fallait bien que je salue cette performance par une 2ème étoile !
Bref, mon 1er et dernier cheick, je ne comprends pas que se soit un genre apprécié. Aucune crédibilité et un mec en robe ne me fait pas du tout rêver !
Que dire ? Que c'est très objectivement un 1 étoile, mais que j'ai tellement levé les yeux et halluciné sur la plupart du livre qu'il fallait bien que je salue cette performance par une 2ème étoile !
Bref, mon 1er et dernier cheick, je ne comprends pas que se soit un genre apprécié. Aucune crédibilité et un mec en robe ne me fait pas du tout rêver !
September 21, 2015
Tiene casi un 4.5/5 y yo le pongo un 2 x)
Demasiado precipitado, demasiado tópicazo, demasiado "chica conoce a príncipe y se enamora", él es un tanto machista, ella un tanto cínica... no sé, es muy novela romántica para gente que busque un libro fácil, corto, directo, rápido y pasteloso.
Demasiado precipitado, demasiado tópicazo, demasiado "chica conoce a príncipe y se enamora", él es un tanto machista, ella un tanto cínica... no sé, es muy novela romántica para gente que busque un libro fácil, corto, directo, rápido y pasteloso.
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