ARC Book Review-Sheik Retold

Sheik Retold
Victoria Vane, E.M. Hull
Vane Publishing
276 Pages
Historical Romance
ASN: B00EV516XU
Authors Website 

Synopsis
**TRADE PAPERBACK EDITION**
The Desert was Never Hotter!
A haughty young heiress for whom the world is a playground... A savage son of the Sahara who knows no law but his own...When pride and passion vie for supremacy, blistering desert days are nothing compared to sizzling Sahara nights...

"There will be inquiries." I choked out. "I am not such a nonentity that nothing will be done when I am missed. You will pay dearly for what you have done."
"Pay?" His amused look sent a cold feeling of dread through me. "I have already paid... in gold that matches your hair, my gazelle. Besides," he continued, "the French have no jurisdiction over me. There is no law here above my own."
My trepidation was growing by the minute. "Why have you done this? Why have you brought me here?"
"Why?" He repeated with a slow and heated appraisal that made me acutely, almost painfully, conscious of my sex. "Bon Dieu! Are you not woman enough to know?"

Pride and passion vie for supremacy between a haughty young heiress and a savage son of the Sahara in this fresh new telling of E.M. Hull's romance classic

My Review

Diana, is a heiress, and has plans for adventure. She was raised practically as a tom boy since her brother raised her when her parents died. Diana doesn't think about consequences or what may happen to her on her planned trip in the desert. On her way to her destination, her group is ambushed and she is captured by  the Sheik Abdul. Abdul is bitter against the English, but when he saw Diana at a ball in France, he knew he had to have her. So now after he manipulated and worked his power so he could have Diana in his clutches, he wonders if what he has done is a smart move, when it might cost him his heart. Diana is outraged when she finds herself kidnapped, and is determined to show the Sheik just who he kidnapped. But Abdul is different from any other man, he is fierce and determined and has a cruel shell, but when the passion flares between them, and she starts to lose her heart, she realizes that he is anything but cruel. He is passionate, gentle, and needs love.

Sheik Retold is a retelling of a story by Victoria Vane by the older tale by E.M. Hull that was written in the early 1900's. I never have read the original, but I was very intrigued by this one. So when I saw this one in Netgalley, I knew I needed to try it out. I do love a solid Sheik romance, and I have to say that Victoria Vane did a stellar job. I was a bit worried it would be so modernized but it wasn't in any way. Of course it did have some pros and cons I liked and disliked, but overall a very solid romance story that held me captive from page one.

The story begins with seeing Diana being her spoiled self. I felt at first she was shallow and didn't care about anyone but herself. Then when she gets captured, so many things she did, I just shook my head and said "girl, don't you know anything, you do not bait a tiger!!!) LOL I had quite a few laughs seeing her growing pains. You see her change though from being stuck up and spoiled, to being more of a heroine that you start to admire. You see how she starts to become more gentle, and even though she still has her spirit, she knows what battles to fight and learns to compromise. Abdul, is one sexy hero, that is a bit damaged in a few ways. He is very bitter against the English, and once you understand the reasons, you become more understanding in the reasons why he treats Diana the way he does. In the beginning you don't know whether you love him or hate him. But once it got about a third of the way through, you see so many good qualities that he tries to hide beneath his tough exterior. There is a bit of intensity throughout the story, and I would say this would rank among my favorites as far as desert sheik romances go. I felt like I was right next to these characters, and all the descriptions felt so real to me.

Overall a captivating retelling of a sheik romance that steals your heart. It  will put you on edge, and pull you magically into this story of a desert setting, with a sexy yet damaged hero, a heroine who is feisty and strong willed, and a love story that will be instilled in your memory!! A ADVENTURE NOT TO BE MISSED OUT ON!!

My Grade 
4 Blossoms 

Heat Rating 
Steamy