Rating 3.5 stars
I had a problem with the hero, who was so focused on duty that he broke the heroine's heart first when they were teens which led her to marry a man older than her and who abused her and now almost a decade later when the woman he married under contract is dead, he goes to her again. He hasn't contacted her in a decade, knows that she is pariah because of her divorce and even when he learns what she went through, hides what she is to him because she is not suitable as a queen. I honestly felt the heroine was too welcoming and forgiving when it came to the hero.2nd-chance-at-love category-romance harlequin-silhouette ...more5 s Susan4,528 107

Good book. Rafiq is dealing with a lot of guilt over his wife's death. He ends up going to see Maysa, the woman he gave up because of his duty to marry another. She had been forced to marry another man who abused her until she escaped and fulfilled her dream of becoming a doctor. She is back in Bajul, but looked down own by many because of that divorce. They are still attracted to each other but still must hide their relationship. Rafiq really irritated me through most of the book. He shouldn't have felt guilty over his wife's death because it was caused by her own choices. There were other things also that would come out later. He also was far more worried about appearances than he should have been. As the king he should be able to influence attitudes and he didn't even seem interested in trying. I did the respect he had for Maysa and all that she had accomplished. By the end his attitude seemed to have changed enough that he was worried about how a revelation would affect her rather than himself. I loved his final solution and the way he went about it. It was definitely worth doing.

I d Maysa much better. I loved her explanation of her life after her marriage, how she escaped and the way she made her dream come true. I loved her strength in coming back to Bajul and devoting her time to caring for the poor. Her insistence on Rafiq going with her so he could see what was happening was her way of forcing him to look outside the box. She was still attracted to Rafiq but had issues from her marriage that made things more difficult for her. I appreciated the way that he had the patience to help her through those issues. As much as she loved him she knew he wasn't going to risk the backlash of a public relationship. I really d the way that she had the backbone to stand up to him and let him know she wanted it all or nothing and then to stick to her guns. Her surprise at the end was fantastic and I loved her reaction. 2013-books-read category-romance romance3 s Jen - Reviews366 26

I wasn't sure whether to rate this 3 stars or 4. I settled on 4.
There were a few reasons. Firstly the love scene, when it finally happened, was fantastic - tender and respectful and passionate. Secondly I d that the heroine, Maysa, is strong and independent. I also Rafiq the hero. I could understand his predicament.

When Rafiq and Maysa were teenagers and in love they had their first experience of romance and physical love. But it was not to be. Rafiq's future as the crown prince was already mapped out including his marriage. Maysa's future was also arranged for her in the form of a horrible, abusive shit of a man.

Ten years later she has divorced her husband and Rafiq is a widower - and the king. Their coming together is fraught with problems and so many secrets are revealed before the end of the book that my head was spinning. The one thing I didn't was that they decided to get married barefoot and forced all their guests to be barefoot to at the ceremony. Really? A royal cpuple? And their guests? Some things are just too ridiculous!

the-sheikhs2 s TiaAuthor 6 books134

The whole story was disappointingly sad. I mean the hero wasted all that times being married to a tramp, who went around sleeping with various people while the love of his life, the heroine was married off to an abusive man because the hero refused to speak up for her, and wed her instead. When they finally get together, it's just a huge waste of life..2 s shms1,258

This left me disappointed, becuase the blurb promised much.

The tussle of duty over love is one of my favourite tropes. Yet this story which started well, failed to pull me in and create some emphathy for their dilemma. At times the story line felt forced, by the multiple revelations with too much thrown into the mix. It just left me cold.

Above and beyond all of that and for all his Royal 'hotness', compared to the admirable h, the H comes across as a total wimp.hqn1 Nikki1,977 7

Gotta say this heroine kicked ASS! She was smart, didn't whine or complain, went through loss and trials and still was awesome! Hero sorta didn't deserve her, even if he is a king of stuff. A lot of nutty behind the scenes stuff happened that was all very convenient in the end. But overall quick and fun. Dorel3,986 35

This is the 1st book I read by Kristi Gold
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