Limecello’s review of The Untamed Sheik by Tessa Radley
Contemporary romance released by Silhouette Desire on 14 Apr 09

Finally! We have Megan Saxon’s story, dear readers. I discovered Tessa Radley’s books when I read Pride & A Pregnancy Secret as part of the Diamonds Down Under series. I loved it, which led me to read Ms. Radley’s trilogy, the Saxon Brides, featuring Joshua, Rafaelo, and Heath‘s stories. And now, The Untamed Sheik tells the story of Megan’s romance. This made me very happy. And, I think we know by now that I’m working my way though the Man of the Month books. (Hopefully I’m given the chance to read the rest of them!)

Megan Saxon is a heroine any girl would like to be. First of all, she’s extremely wealthy, good looking, and comes from a loving family. But she does have three overprotective big brothers, so romance wasn’t always on the books as they kept her from having a love life. Upon some reflection, I don’t feel that I really knew who Megan was, however, it helped that she had cameo appearances in all of her brothers’ stories.

Nevertheless, confident, sassy Megan seemed a lot less sure in the desert. Of course, being kidnapped and lied to will do that to a girl. I like how Megan tried to exact her own little revenge on Shafir. Another enjoyable aspect was learning that Megan was genuinely and truly as nice as she seemed. I also liked that Megan was honest with herself, and knew she was going to find romance, not that she was truly traveling for romance – reading the book will explain that better.

Prince Shafir Al Dhahar, desert sheik is quite the title, and quite the hero as well. Shafir definitely goes in having a set idea of Megan, and I have to say I didn’t like the assumption he made. (Or really the fact that he made them.) However, I did like seeing Shafir squirm, whenever Megan did anything to shatter his wrongly formed opinions about her.

I liked how protective Shafir was, and that he was willing to analyze the situation. Although he seemed unbending, Shafir was willing to consider the facts and amend his opinions. I liked that he got needled by his brothers, and how he interacted with his people. It was clear that although he was a bit ham-fisted (and just wrong) in his initial assumptions and treatment of Megan, he’s a really good guy. Shafir t is capable of handling any and every situation, and possibly more importantly, his people respect him.

Accordingly, for the aforementioned reasons, I didn’t really like the way the book started out. I felt that it was a bit too skewed towards Megan being the evil Jezebel, but I suppose it was necessary for the story. That being said, I really liked the way Shafir and his brothers interacted, and indeed even how the brothers interacted with their father the king. It showed a camaraderie between them and mutual respect, which really helped give background and insight to Shafir as a person. I will say, however, that on the flip side, the “evil boyfriend” story fell a bit flat, and I felt that it rather fizzled out.

The descriptions of the desert were very well done, and it was nice that Megan’s story was something so special. I really like how Shafir and Megan were secluded, and essentially stranded – it really helped bring them together in the short period of time they had. That made the rapid fire emotions much more believable, and I liked how Ms. Radley really expanded on that idea. Megan once wryly considered Stockholm syndrome, which I thought was valid. (And it was a bit of fun in the midst of Megan’s tumultuous thoughts.)

However, even though the close proximity made the building relationship more believable, I don’t know that I can see Shafir and Megan becoming so very attached in such a sort period. It really seemed that Megan ignored the fact that she was kidnapped, and that Shafir thought she was a vile seductress. It just seemed that the events were a bit too extreme to be so easily processed and let go by the characters. While the physical attraction can and does work, the depth of the emotional attachment is something I’m less willing to accept.

Still, I very much enjoyed reading Megan’s story, especially the secondary characters. I wonder what the other prince’s stories will be like, if they’re written, and what sort of heroines they’ll come across and be paired with. I also felt that Megan’s concerns about not being royalty were a realistic and helpful addition to the plot. It gave the story a touch of reality and helped ground it. I’m looking forward both to Ms. Radley’s next book, and the next Man of the Month.

Grade: C+

Summary:
.
Mr. April: Prince Shafir Al Dhahar, desert sheik
.
His Creed: Family…first, last, always
.
His Challenge: One obstinate foreign beauty.
.
The wedding would go on. Prince Shafir would not let Megan Saxon steal away his cousin’s groom-to-be. Stopping her by seduction seemed the easiest plan. He’d simply make Megan fall in love with another man—him.
.
But what would happen if the seducer found himself falling for a woman he couldn’t—by royal rights—truly keep?
.
Read an excerpt here. (Ed. note: Ms. Radley also gets a gold star for having an excerpt up on her site.)

Other books in a related series: