Series: Armstrong Sisters #2, Princes of the Desert #3
Published by Harlequin on July 19th 2011
Genres: Historical Romance, Regency Era
Narrator: Julia Franklin
Pages: 288
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
ISBN: 0373296533
Seduction in the sand...Dark-hearted Sheikh Prince Jamil al-Nazarri commands his kingdom effortlessly...less so his difficult little daughter! Exasperated, he hires an English governess, hoping she'll instill some much-needed discipline...
Lady Cassandra Armstrong is the most unconventional governess Jamil has ever seen! With her ravishing body and impulsive passion, Cassie is as innocently alluring as she is forbidden. Famous for his unshakable honor, the reticent sheikh's resolve is about to be tested...as his feelings for Cassie are anything but honorable!
Summary
Sheikh Prince Jamil al-Narazzi, a widower and a single father, is obligated to conceive an heir. He has one daughter, who is wild and untamed and spoiled. Jamil is being pressured by his council to marrying a princess that would bring him territory and gold. But the last thing that Jamil desires is another wife. He is devoted to his people, and his duty and honor. But his first concern is his daughter. So he hires a English lady to be her governess. Lady Cassandra Armstrong is visiting her sister in Arabia, and she receives an opportunity to be a governess and get away from her troubles from recovering from the scandal of being jilted. Cassie, even though she is enjoying her sisters company, needs a change in life. And being a governess to a lonely little girl is just perfect. When she arrives, she finds the prince to be arrogant yet gorgeous and sensual. Even though they share a vibrant passion, Jamil doesn’t believe in love and Cassie craves it. In order to truly be together, Jamil will need to overcome his past and Cassie will need to learn understanding and patience.
Plot and Story Line
The Governess and the Sheikh was a treasure I found through my library archives and I snatched it right up. I was looking for a quick listen, and this was a quirky one. I haven’t read a Sheikh romance in a while, and I was craving this setting and Kaye did a brilliant job with getting me fascination with the time period (which is regency era) and having the setting in Saudi Arabia. Even though its the last in the trilogy, you can read it out of order, although I am eager for the previous book which is Cassie’s sisters story. Now first off, I want to get the negative parts out of the way so I can talk about what I really liked about this one. Now I am not sure if it was the narrator or the heroine, but she was so dramatic!! Whew, it has been a while since I have read a heroine so dramatic and there were some parts that I just burst out laughing because she was a bit silly at times. However I did admire her tenacity and courage she has. I did feel sympathy for this character, being burned by love is never easy and the author handled this aspect pretty well. Now as for Jamil, he is one sexy Sheikh Prince and he was quite mouthwatering. I doubt I could have resisted his sensual appeal. Jamil is a prince and has a commanding presence. But he is an enlightened Sheikh. He is trying to get his people to slowly become more open to the latest century and not in the old days. Jamil had a tough childhood, his mother he never saw again once he turned five years old and his father beat pain and humiliation into him so he would be a leader. He doesn’t believe in love, only passion. So he acts like a typical male that has no idea what love is until its almost too late. But boy did I enjoy his groveling moments. He really has to work to regain the trust in Cassie (which he deserves in some ways) Now the setting is what I truly loved. It was a interesting twist to see a English lady adapt to life in Arabia, where their customs are so different especially when it comes to women. But Cassie loves this country and their customs, she is fascinated by their culture and their language, so she actually fits in pretty well considering. The romance is high in desire, and other aspects are slowly developed. They build a trust with each other and the ending is probably the best parts of the book!! I loved the twist there, the suspense and danger and seeing these two finally come together that the whole book builds up to! Quite perfect.
The Narration
This narrator wasn’t too bad!! She was a bit high strung at times, so it came out as a bit more dramatic than I think the author intended. But I did like the way she portrayed Jamil and the setting—those aspects were just right!!
The Cover
A decent cover, and I like the sensuality of it. It has soft tones that are appealing, I do like the backdrop though—with the baths that a Sheikh prince would have in his palace.
Overall View
The Governess and the Sheikh is a charming tale of two opposites that delve deep into the matters of sensuality, desire and discovery of the matters of the heart!!
Renee, I a big fan of Marguerite Kaye and have read several of her more recent books. I also have a number of her older books sitting on my TBR pile. Her latest series features sheikhs as well.
oh really? that is awesome. I do like that she writes quite a few sheikh romances especially since they aren’t as common as they used to be. Thanks for stopping by Carol!! Happy reading.
Great review! I always love discovering completely new HRs from you!! ♥
haha oh goody!!! I hope you get to try this author out soon.
I love the setting of this one. I’ll have to check this author out. Great review!
oh yes, the setting was one of my favorite things about this book.
I’ve never read a sheikh story, although I think they were a thing in the past. I’m glad you did enjoy this, even if the heroine (or narrator) was a bit too dramatic.
oh they are fun to read…but different. They definitely used to be way more popular than currently, but Harlequin has been bringing them back. Love it.
I haven’t read a sheik story for a while and look, three. I’ve read one other book by this author and loved it so I’ll have to mark these.
oh yay!!! She is a great author right? I really love her style. I think you would really enjoy this one.
I always liked sheiks
Yum! Sheiks do definitely have a certain appeal, Renee. But I think I’ll pick up the e-book rather than the audio version, that way, the story will only be as dramatic as my imagination makes it based on the writing 😉