Review: A nice entry in the sheikh subgenre
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2011
A Good Book Alert ReviewCinderella and the SheikhGenre: Contemporary RomanceRating: 4 StarsCinderella and the Sheikh is a fun contemporary romance with a spunky, likable heroine dealing with a hero trying to seduce her for a intriguing reason.Summary:When Libby Fay took a job at the Hotel Scheherazade, the last thing she ever expected was a marriage proposal from a wealthy heir to the throne of the North African country of Abbas. Little does she realize that her new prince, Sheikh Rasyn Al Jabar, sees her as a means to an unexpected end: disqualifying himself for the throne.Review:The sheikh sub-genre has a long tradition in romance fiction. Indeed, the sub-genre itself in many ways preceded many of the mile stones that formed the basis of the modern romance publishing juggernaut. It's easy to see the attraction of a story centered around an exotic, wealthy handsome dark-eyed stud sweeping a woman off her feet.With that lengthy tradition and the accompanying expectations that accompany this type of romance novel, hooking the reader ultimately depends on successfully engaging the reader with the chemistry between the leads and providing plausible hurdles for their relationship.While Cinderella and the Sheikh doesn't present a scenario that is shockingly different from what one might expect, it does give us a very likable hero and heroine. The hunky hero, Rasyn, is a nice mix of hunky, seductive, and thoughtful. The heroine, Libby, is spunky without ever crossing the line into obnoxious, an all too common occurrence with this type of character. Rasyn and Libby have a convincing chemistry that makes for convincing intimacy. The author balances attention between the hero and heroine well.The scenario underpinning the plot, beyond providing justification for an unlikely pairing, also does a lot to add a lot of depth to the hero. In addition, it avoids a boring perfect hero (after all, the guy is rich, handsome, and royalty) by giving him a bit of a tortured soul without descending into plot-drowning angst. Ultimately, the reader enjoyment of the story will depend if they can buy Rasyn's motivation and plan. Admittedly, at times, I did wonder if there wasn't a more straight-forward solution to the hero's problem, but the author did a good job of smoothing out my concerns through the use of cultural elements.Though this story is hardly a deep exploration in cultural differences, the author did make skillful use of cultural differences to provide some nice dramatic highlights in the course of the novel and keep the plot momentum going.The author has a nice, crisp style and does a good job of painting the requisite scenes in the mind's eyes without overwhelming. The intimate scenes are passionate without being crass.It's a relatively quick read at around 43,000 words, but this is near the size of many of the typical category romances. However, it was a satisfying read, and the plot felt complete as written.While Cinderella and the Sheikh doesn't radically redefine the romance genre, it does provide a nice, entertaining tale that contemporary romance fans are sure to enjoy.