What do you think?
Rate this book
One Night with the Sheikh
The searing attraction between Sheikh Xavier Al Agir and Mariella Sutton is instant and all-consuming. When a storm leaves Mariella stranded at the Sheikh's desert home, passion takes over... It's a night she will never forget. But, having always yearned for a child of her own, she plans on having one more night with the Sheikh...to conceive his baby...
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
29 people are currently reading
481 people want to read
About the author
Penny Jordan
1,125 books666 followersPenelope Jones Halsall
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
aka Caroline Courtney, Annie Groves, Lydia Hitchcock, Melinda Wright
Penelope "Penny" Jones was born on November 24, 1946 at about seven pounds in a nursing home in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the first child of Anthony Winn Jones, an engineer, who died at 85, and his wife Margaret Louise Groves Jones. She has a brother, Anthony, and a sister, Prudence "Pru".
She had been a keen reader from the childhood - her mother used to leave her in the children's section of their local library whilst she changed her father's library books. She was a storyteller long before she began to write romantic fiction. At the age of eight, she was creating serialized bedtime stories, featuring make-believe adventures, for her younger sister Prue, who was always the heroine. At eleven, she fell in love with Mills & Boon, and with their heroes. In those days the books could only be obtained via private lending libraries, and she quickly became a devoted fan; she was thrilled to bits when the books went on full sale in shops and she could have them for keeps.
Penny left grammar school in Rochdale with O-Levels in English Language, English Literature and Geography. She first discovered Mills & Boon books, via a girl she worked with. She married Steve Halsall, an accountant and a "lovely man", who smoked and drank too heavily, and suffered oral cancer with bravery and dignity. Her husband bought her the small electric typewriter on which she typed her first novels, at a time when he could ill afford it. He died at the beginning of 21st century.
She earned a living as a writer since the 1970s when, as a shorthand typist, she entered a competition run by the Romantic Novelists' Association. Although she didn't win, Penny found an agent who was looking for a new Georgette Heyer. She published four regency novels as Caroline Courtney, before changing her nom de plume to Melinda Wright for three air-hostess romps and then she wrote two thrillers as Lydia Hitchcock. Soon after that, Mills and Boon accepted her first novel for them, Falcon's Prey as Penny Jordan. However, for her more historical romance novels, she adopted her mother's maiden-name to become Annie Groves. Almost 70 of her 167 Mills and Boon novels have been sold worldwide.
Penny Halsall lived in a neo-Georgian house in Nantwich, Cheshire, with her Alsatian Sheba and cat Posh. She worked from home, in her kitchen, surrounded by her pets, and welcomed interruptions from her friends and family.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
November 16, 2019
I thought the hero, Xavier, was wonderful and really made the book worth reading. The funny thing is that I actually started the book preferring Mariella over Xavier (still liked him though). He'd mistakenly assumed Mariella to be as loose and shallow as her sister so was rather hostile towards her in the beginning. But as the misunderstanding resolved itself his compassionate and responsible nature became apparent, proving to Mariella by example that not all men are douches. Ah, the healing love of a good man. It can do wonders. LOL
Mariella was definitely the flawed and damaged one of the two. Her abandonment issues were simply getting the best of her.
Mariella was definitely the flawed and damaged one of the two. Her abandonment issues were simply getting the best of her.
July 22, 2018
4.5 stars
KC already did a great job reviewing , so I won't bother much. And BTW, she probably recommended me the book, she gave me a list of the good PJs because I had such a bad luck with a couple of them that I had avoided PJ like the plague. After I read one of her recs I gave some other PJ books a chance, but I can't remember if this one was on the list if it was then thank you KC!
So, the story is about Mariella going to the desert kingdom for work but seizing the chance to go and nag the rich Arabian for impregnating and abandoning her little sister. She takes the little niece because the little sister is working on a cruise. She only has a name and address of the man her sister hates so he must be the niece's daddy.
Instant lust when H and h meet. He thinks she's the baby's momma and they hate each other while being hot and bothered and having some feelings of betraying the sister/cousin. You know what happens with this kind of misunderstandings. But you can tell how much he lost it, poor guy.
When things are cleared he feels bad about his behavior but also means she's not a harlot and he's considering what never had (marriage). She, on the other hand, wants a baby now that the sister has taken the niece away so she goes to seduce the H to get pregnant on purpose!! She lost me a bit when he was trying to propose and she gave him the I-just-wanted-sex-no-strings-attached speech.
After a page of separation, everything gets in order for an HP HEA. BTW, both the cousin and sister are superficial awful people that will ruin the baby's childhood so she can become an HP heroine in the future. Oh, and I loved the French aunt.
KC already did a great job reviewing , so I won't bother much. And BTW, she probably recommended me the book, she gave me a list of the good PJs because I had such a bad luck with a couple of them that I had avoided PJ like the plague. After I read one of her recs I gave some other PJ books a chance, but I can't remember if this one was on the list if it was then thank you KC!
So, the story is about Mariella going to the desert kingdom for work but seizing the chance to go and nag the rich Arabian for impregnating and abandoning her little sister. She takes the little niece because the little sister is working on a cruise. She only has a name and address of the man her sister hates so he must be the niece's daddy.
Instant lust when H and h meet. He thinks she's the baby's momma and they hate each other while being hot and bothered and having some feelings of betraying the sister/cousin. You know what happens with this kind of misunderstandings. But you can tell how much he lost it, poor guy.
When things are cleared he feels bad about his behavior but also means she's not a harlot and he's considering what never had (marriage). She, on the other hand, wants a baby now that the sister has taken the niece away so she goes to seduce the H to get pregnant on purpose!! She lost me a bit when he was trying to propose and she gave him the I-just-wanted-sex-no-strings-attached speech.
After a page of separation, everything gets in order for an HP HEA. BTW, both the cousin and sister are superficial awful people that will ruin the baby's childhood so she can become an HP heroine in the future. Oh, and I loved the French aunt.
June 16, 2019
"One Night With the Sheikh" is the story of Mariella and Xavier.
Actually, this book suffered from not bad leads, but just terrible communication skills between them.
Both have shitty siblings who sleep with one another, get pregnant and abandon each other. The h, who is a successful and loving career woman takes care of her beloved niece, while her sister goes off to work and drown in her misery. She takes it upon herself to trace the baby's father, assuming the H to be him. Therefore, the h and H get trapped in a sandstorm, where they both have a case of mistaken identity- the H thinks the h is her gold-digger sister who is a callous mum (as she doesn't breastfeed and stuff), the h thinks the H is his tomcat cousin (who abandoned her pregnant sister). They almost have sex. Sandstorm ends.
The ahole siblings get married, and take the baby away in one of the most painful scenes in HQN books. The h and H LOVE their niece, and it was heartbreaking to see the callous and ignorant parents taking them away. The h then makes the decision to deliberately get pregnant, seduces the hero, and the rest of the story is very predictable. Everything is magically resolved.
Again I repeat, the MC's were strong, passionate and likable. Their circumstances, impulsiveness and siblings were not.
Safe
2.5/5
Actually, this book suffered from not bad leads, but just terrible communication skills between them.
Both have shitty siblings who sleep with one another, get pregnant and abandon each other. The h, who is a successful and loving career woman takes care of her beloved niece, while her sister goes off to work and drown in her misery. She takes it upon herself to trace the baby's father, assuming the H to be him. Therefore, the h and H get trapped in a sandstorm, where they both have a case of mistaken identity- the H thinks the h is her gold-digger sister who is a callous mum (as she doesn't breastfeed and stuff), the h thinks the H is his tomcat cousin (who abandoned her pregnant sister). They almost have sex. Sandstorm ends.
The ahole siblings get married, and take the baby away in one of the most painful scenes in HQN books. The h and H LOVE their niece, and it was heartbreaking to see the callous and ignorant parents taking them away. The h then makes the decision to deliberately get pregnant, seduces the hero, and the rest of the story is very predictable. Everything is magically resolved.
Again I repeat, the MC's were strong, passionate and likable. Their circumstances, impulsiveness and siblings were not.
Safe
2.5/5
April 14, 2013
This is the third of the "desert" books I have read by Penny Jordan, and, once again, it's more getting hot and steamy in the desert. This time, the action centres around Mariella, a woman who Ray Mears would utterly despair of, being as she makes bad decision after bad decision, before ultimately ending up in a survival situation in the desert with a baby in tow. Fortunately, she is saved by sexy Sheikh Xavier who puts her up for the duration of the sandstorm in his Oasis. Now, at this point the plot gets complicated - Mariella, who is looking after her half-sister's baby believes that Xavier is the baby's father who has purposely abandoned the baby and her mother. Xavier believes that Mariella is the baby's mother and a woman of loose morals. There's plenty of confusion with the only consistent element in the story being the couple's mutual attraction and wild desires.
When Tanya turns up, however, this time married to the baby's father, you'd think all would be resolved. Well, think again. There's still another five chapters of that Mills and Boon to fill so it's time for another bad decision on Mariella's part. This time, now that she's babyless (baby has gone back with Mum) she decides she needs (and I mean NEEDS) a baby of her own. So, it's off back to the oasis to get Xavier's help again. Poor old Xavier; one almost feels sorry for him - but don't worry - it's a Mills and Boon and there's a happy ending in there somewhere. Even if it's only poor old Xavier getting saddled with Mariella who has decided her future lies in baby-making.
Yes,the story is quite frankly ridiculous, but somehow it works. The characters ooze passion and no-one writes a sex scene like Penny Jordan. I found myself smiling all the way through, even though the desert romances aren't my favourites of her stories. (I prefer the even more ridiculous office-based romances!) In short,this is a very enjoyable tale of debauchery in the desert. Download it now!
When Tanya turns up, however, this time married to the baby's father, you'd think all would be resolved. Well, think again. There's still another five chapters of that Mills and Boon to fill so it's time for another bad decision on Mariella's part. This time, now that she's babyless (baby has gone back with Mum) she decides she needs (and I mean NEEDS) a baby of her own. So, it's off back to the oasis to get Xavier's help again. Poor old Xavier; one almost feels sorry for him - but don't worry - it's a Mills and Boon and there's a happy ending in there somewhere. Even if it's only poor old Xavier getting saddled with Mariella who has decided her future lies in baby-making.
Yes,the story is quite frankly ridiculous, but somehow it works. The characters ooze passion and no-one writes a sex scene like Penny Jordan. I found myself smiling all the way through, even though the desert romances aren't my favourites of her stories. (I prefer the even more ridiculous office-based romances!) In short,this is a very enjoyable tale of debauchery in the desert. Download it now!
June 8, 2012
Bu ayki Harlequin Clasics serisinin ilk hikayesi Şeyhli bir hikaye idi..Genelde Şeyhli hikayeleri pek sevmesem de severek okudum...
Şeyh Xavier Al Agir ile Mariella Sutton'un hikayesidi ..Mariella at resimlerini çizen bir ressamdı..Babaları ayrı kız kardşi Tanya ile birlikte yaşıyordu..Tanya sevdiği adam tarafından hamile iken terkedilmişti...Rastlantı sonucu yeğeninin babasının Zuran Şeyhi Xavier olduğunu öğrendikten sonra daha önceden oradan gelen teklifi değerlendirmeye karar verir...Amacı bunun hesabını ondan sormaktır..
Ama Şeyh ile karşılaştığında onun uzun zamandır rüyalarında gördğiğ şahin bakışlı erkek olduğunu görür:))
Tavsiye ederim..
Şeyh Xavier Al Agir ile Mariella Sutton'un hikayesidi ..Mariella at resimlerini çizen bir ressamdı..Babaları ayrı kız kardşi Tanya ile birlikte yaşıyordu..Tanya sevdiği adam tarafından hamile iken terkedilmişti...Rastlantı sonucu yeğeninin babasının Zuran Şeyhi Xavier olduğunu öğrendikten sonra daha önceden oradan gelen teklifi değerlendirmeye karar verir...Amacı bunun hesabını ondan sormaktır..
Ama Şeyh ile karşılaştığında onun uzun zamandır rüyalarında gördğiğ şahin bakışlı erkek olduğunu görür:))
Tavsiye ederim..
August 8, 2025
Sono entrata nel loop Sahara
July 18, 2024
My first (and last) Mills & Boon 😆
January 8, 2020
I HATE giving a paperback romance another one-star rating, but I feel like I'm honestly pretty easy to entertain, and this.............did not succeed.
When I discovered there was a whole genre of sheikh romance I was shook, baffled—I needed to know what this was and why it existed and why it was so popular??? I sadly didn't find this out in One Night with the Sheikh, because it doesn't really matter that our hero, Xavier Al-Agir, is a sheikh at all (his name is Xavier, and he was raised in France). It means nothing to the story, seriously; it's just about these two people who really, really hate each other as soon as they meet but also they're super, super attracted to each other and eventually they have sex but our heroine Mariella's daddy issues get in the way and she takes off afterwards...but obviously they get married in the last five pages. So it's your typical will they-won't they schmaltz, except they're in a desert sometimes.
I wasn't enthusiastic about this ride not (thank God) because of any overt racism (a lot of implied/subconscious racism though? Ohhh baby you know it), but because the writing is very, very bad, with characters shouting exposition at every turn with very little personality, and also because I found the portrayals of pregnancy and parenthood deeply uncomfortable. It is fine for a single woman to want kids. It is not fine to purposely seduce a man while not on birth control in order to get pregnant and never tell him (!!!!!!). Xavier also sucks but he definitely sucks less than Mariella. Holy shit.
Anyway, I think I'm going to stick with vampires as my romance genre specialty..........but wow.
When I discovered there was a whole genre of sheikh romance I was shook, baffled—I needed to know what this was and why it existed and why it was so popular??? I sadly didn't find this out in One Night with the Sheikh, because it doesn't really matter that our hero, Xavier Al-Agir, is a sheikh at all (his name is Xavier, and he was raised in France). It means nothing to the story, seriously; it's just about these two people who really, really hate each other as soon as they meet but also they're super, super attracted to each other and eventually they have sex but our heroine Mariella's daddy issues get in the way and she takes off afterwards...but obviously they get married in the last five pages. So it's your typical will they-won't they schmaltz, except they're in a desert sometimes.
I wasn't enthusiastic about this ride not (thank God) because of any overt racism (a lot of implied/subconscious racism though? Ohhh baby you know it), but because the writing is very, very bad, with characters shouting exposition at every turn with very little personality, and also because I found the portrayals of pregnancy and parenthood deeply uncomfortable. It is fine for a single woman to want kids. It is not fine to purposely seduce a man while not on birth control in order to get pregnant and never tell him (!!!!!!). Xavier also sucks but he definitely sucks less than Mariella. Holy shit.
Anyway, I think I'm going to stick with vampires as my romance genre specialty..........but wow.
August 3, 2015
Must be something about the desert, sand, and men so hot they raise the temperature up several degrees.
I understand that when a woman's biological clock starts ticking we do crazy things but I'm not sure I liked how Mariella went about scratching her urge. Xavier was very arrogant but also vulnerable. Mariella had her share of issues, too. The pairing was decent.
I didn't have a problem with the story overall. It was a solid read.
I understand that when a woman's biological clock starts ticking we do crazy things but I'm not sure I liked how Mariella went about scratching her urge. Xavier was very arrogant but also vulnerable. Mariella had her share of issues, too. The pairing was decent.
I didn't have a problem with the story overall. It was a solid read.
January 14, 2020
Ugh.
I can't even. My least favorite plot device.
The searing attraction between Sheikh Xavier Al Agir and Mariella Sutton was instant and all consuming. When a storm left Mariella stranded at Xavier's desert home, passion soon took over.... It was a night she would never forget!
But having always yearned for a child of her own, Mariella planned just one more night with the sheikh--to conceive his baby....
As a mother, I find it very difficult to believe that any mother would leave a four month old baby (regardless if it's family) with her sister to work on a cruise ship. Sister then presumes it would be ok to take infant child to middle-eastern country where men have more paternity rights than mothers to work on commission art.
I love a good Harlequin Presents and I love Penny Jordan generally, but this one jumps the shark a bit for me. I just had a hard time thinking any of it was believable. Although these books are normally escapes to exotic locations, this one just raised my blood pressure. Tanya, Mariella's sister, was selfish and Mariella completely lost her marbles. In the end? Typical of all Harlequin Presents novels, everything is tied up in a neat little bow - but its a box of explosives just waiting to happen.
I'm a glutton for punishment, I'm a sucker for Harlequin Presents books though, so Possessed by the Sheikh is already on hold at the library for me.
Sheik's Arabian Night Series
My Ratings:
5*****I loved this book, consider it an all time favorite
4**** Thoroughly enjoyed the book and will recommend it
3*** I liked it well enough,
2** Brain Candy - It was okay. Writing mediocre, will
keep/re-read if part of a series
1* didn't like/possibly not finished.
I can't even. My least favorite plot device.
The searing attraction between Sheikh Xavier Al Agir and Mariella Sutton was instant and all consuming. When a storm left Mariella stranded at Xavier's desert home, passion soon took over.... It was a night she would never forget!
But having always yearned for a child of her own, Mariella planned just one more night with the sheikh--to conceive his baby....
As a mother, I find it very difficult to believe that any mother would leave a four month old baby (regardless if it's family) with her sister to work on a cruise ship. Sister then presumes it would be ok to take infant child to middle-eastern country where men have more paternity rights than mothers to work on commission art.
I love a good Harlequin Presents and I love Penny Jordan generally, but this one jumps the shark a bit for me. I just had a hard time thinking any of it was believable. Although these books are normally escapes to exotic locations, this one just raised my blood pressure. Tanya, Mariella's sister, was selfish and Mariella completely lost her marbles. In the end? Typical of all Harlequin Presents novels, everything is tied up in a neat little bow - but its a box of explosives just waiting to happen.
Sheik's Arabian Night Series
My Ratings:
5*****I loved this book, consider it an all time favorite
4**** Thoroughly enjoyed the book and will recommend it
3*** I liked it well enough,
2** Brain Candy - It was okay. Writing mediocre, will
keep/re-read if part of a series
1* didn't like/possibly not finished.
February 6, 2018
I am not a big fan of the "dogs in heat" approach to romance stories.
The leads first notice each other as a piece of juicy meat. They get on with Doing IT. Never mind if they are still perfect strangers to each other, and have strong reasons to dislike each other.
Now that, sex is done with and out of the way, they start to explore each other like civilized humans.
So here the conflict is over a scandalous affair and a child as a result of it. The younger siblings are the reckless ones with the affair. The older siblings, that is the hero and heroine are the ones who are doing the cleaning up.
So they meet with distrust and outrage in their attitude towards the other. But fall into bed in record time. And then she discovers, the guy is good father material after all. So let me try and have another child out of wedlock with this guy !! Never mind letting him know her plan.
The poor hapless guy is left floundering. She of course comes back after getting pregnant and declares undying love.
Not my cup of tea. Barely 2 stars.
The leads first notice each other as a piece of juicy meat. They get on with Doing IT. Never mind if they are still perfect strangers to each other, and have strong reasons to dislike each other.
Now that, sex is done with and out of the way, they start to explore each other like civilized humans.
So here the conflict is over a scandalous affair and a child as a result of it. The younger siblings are the reckless ones with the affair. The older siblings, that is the hero and heroine are the ones who are doing the cleaning up.
So they meet with distrust and outrage in their attitude towards the other. But fall into bed in record time. And then she discovers, the guy is good father material after all. So let me try and have another child out of wedlock with this guy !! Never mind letting him know her plan.
The poor hapless guy is left floundering. She of course comes back after getting pregnant and declares undying love.
Not my cup of tea. Barely 2 stars.
February 26, 2018
This book was really good, but had one serious flaw. The hero made assumptions about the heroine, and it took forever for him to realize his assumptions were wrong. This particular trope is tired, where the hero assumes the heroine is a slut just because the hero is sexually attracted to her. But the two characters did have a red-hot instant connection, and the heroine more than made up for the hero's flaws.
February 16, 2020
Didn't care for this one at all.
August 8, 2020
Me ha encantado ambos están heridos pero son fuertes y se complementan
January 26, 2021
Πόθοι στην άμμο (Αραβικές Νύχτες) - Penny Jordan, Σειρά Χρυσά, νούμερο 1179
February 20, 2022
Not as cringe worthy as I thought it would be. Not a bad concept, except the guy was too petty and the lady was too baby-crazy…like that’s just a lot. So yeah, it was okay.
June 25, 2024
Penny Jordan is not a favorite author. The story was too long and filled with empty words if you ask me.
August 11, 2008
note to me - sandstorm
not-so-literary-quote-but-means-something-to-me#216573
Hazily Mariella noticed that the red geraniums she remembered tumbling from the urns in the outdoor courtyard had been changed to a rich vibrant pink to match the colour of the flowers of the ornamental vine softening the walls of the courtyard. p162
[comment: geraniums remind me of my childhood]
not-so-literary-quote-but-means-something-to-me#216573
Hazily Mariella noticed that the red geraniums she remembered tumbling from the urns in the outdoor courtyard had been changed to a rich vibrant pink to match the colour of the flowers of the ornamental vine softening the walls of the courtyard. p162
[comment: geraniums remind me of my childhood]
June 8, 2021
The searing attraction between Sheikh Xavier Al Agir and Mariella Sutton was instant and all consuming.When a storm left Mariella stranded at Xavier's desert home, passion soon took over.... It was a night she would never forget!
But having always yearned for a child of her own, Mariella planned just one more night with the sheikh--to conceive his baby....
But having always yearned for a child of her own, Mariella planned just one more night with the sheikh--to conceive his baby....
March 9, 2012
I knew it was a mistake to open a Harlequin romance like this since the 2nd page. God help me, I have around 10 like this in my Calibre - a fact I don't appreciate at all.
I would dearly want to give this one 1 out of 5 stars, but I just never gave any book that low rating, so 2 stars it is.
I would dearly want to give this one 1 out of 5 stars, but I just never gave any book that low rating, so 2 stars it is.
April 28, 2013
Far better than falcon's prey and her other book "one night with the sheikh"...by this book I like to believe she had improved her style a bit...so it was not completely bad...or it could be that I became used to her writing standards....
October 8, 2016
Not her best work. Takes place in fictional Middle East country. The decisions made by the characters in this story left more questions than answers and both Maribella and her sister made a few immature, selfish decisions.
September 5, 2010
Great book :)
April 4, 2017
It is about two people who think will never find true love, whose afraid of letting themselves fall. It is a good book. No dramas or dilly dally. An easy and relaxing read.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews