Review: AN UGLY DUCKLING COMPLEX HEEOINE & EXOTIC HERO
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2014
A heroine with an Ugly Ducklings complex meets a memorizing blue eyed Sheik & neither is ready for their exotic temptations!Olivia Percy is a fierce environmental activist for the Johari turtles is at the Great Palace of Bagestan to give the fundraiser speech for her boss, who became sick. No problem, except Aly thinks she is the ugliest female here, with her salmon colored dress, that is too big the boob department & also getting up in front of people, terrifies her. Her whole childhood her cruel & unloving dad told her she was ugly, so she is always not her genuine self. Plus this pantie dropping, devil inspired beard Adonis with amazing blue eyes, keeps staring, probably to call security & have her removed.Sheik Ari al Najimi is the Cup Companion to the Sultan of Bagestan, so he is at the fundraiser because is also the environmental czar. He sees this itsy bitsy woman is the ugliest dress he has ever seen, who seems to be hiding with in herself & is shocked that she is Dr. Percy. Ari thought that this intelligent & proud environmentalist would have a more commanding presence. When he meets her, Aly stick her foot, then her whole leg, into her mouth & Ari is kinda charmed by this pixie. As he introduces her to the fundraiser, she trips up the stairs, sends her boss' speech flying across the stage, looks into his memorizing blue eyes & burned inside out.Since her boss needs surgery, Aly is on her own for the trip to observe the Johari turtles, look for their nests, protect them, record the info & see if she can find out way they are dying out. Ari is furious that this hungry eyed pixie is about to travel across the dangerous gulf alone & makes her go aboard his sailboat with him or he was going to sink her boat. She is not happy because she wants him so much, that she is rude to distance herself. Ari wants to show her that she is desirable & then maybe he can get lost in her. The sexual tension is so high that one or both of them is going to explode. With misunderstandings on both sides, sneaking around, dangerous situations & a building need of unexploded passions makes their sail across the high sea an exotic & tempting adventure. Will Ari help remove her scales from her eyes & show her how beautiful & rare she truly is? Can Aly believe that he loves her & not pity her? How can they save the Jodari turtles for extinction? When will Ari realize she is other half?This my first Ms. Seller romance & I did enjoy the exotic locale & the high seas adventure. Aly is a woman who had "UGLY" bashed into her brain by her father, because she SAW him for what he was, a con man. Women of today have a distorted vision of their bodies & so called perfect image. I found FLAWS more desirable & interesting, but I am an old crusty lady & no one listens to me. Ari was a man divide between his 2 different cultures, but he would of been happier to just embrace & blend them into his own world. I loved the phone call from his mom & how she kick the dumb out of his head. There was a lot of sexually tension & a buildup of passions, but Ms. Seller choose to keep the bedroom door closed. I prefer to let the characters unleash & explore their decadent sides, but the closed door worked for this story. Ms. Seller wrote a romance with great characters in exotic seas, fighting to protect baby turtles & I had a HOOT on the ride with them. I give this book a score of 3 fingers up & 6 toes.NetGalley ARC given for my honest review.