The Sheik Retold

The Sheik Retold - E.M. Hull, Victoria Vane
"The Desert Was Never Hotter...

Pride and passion vie for supremacy in this steamy re-telling of E.M. Hull's romance classic.

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 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 Government has no jurisdiction over me. There is no authority 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?"

My Thoughts:



This book was a beautiful re-telling of E.M. Hull's classic tale The Sheik (published in 1919). I haven't read that book but I have seen the classic Silent film from 1921. I loved that movie, how could I not with Rudolph Valentino in it? I would actually recommend not reading E.M. Hull's book and/or watch the silent film until you've read this one, because it allows you to be surprised by the plot points. In this version of the tale, gone are the rape scene, the animal cruelty, and Diana stays true to character throughout the book.

Diana Mayo:
"Then I hope to Heaven that one day you will fall into the hands of a man who will make you obey."

The protagonist Diana Mayo is a headstrong and independent woman who speaks her mind, but she's also young and beautiful. She's had a pretty "cold" existence, partly to do with her half-brother, Aubrey, and his selfishness. She's admired by many men, but none of them has stirred her emotions. She's longed for the desert for years and finally sets out to experience what she's always longed for. She travels to the French Algerian desert to be free and be her own person. But not everyone wishes her well and she gets captured by a famous and mysterious Arabian sheik.
“Please!" I cried. "Will you stop toying with me and just get the business over with!"

He laughed and then ran his tongue across my belly. "But that is not my wish, ma chère. No indeed. It is my desire to make you bask in what you most despise. You wished to be a boy, but I intend to teach you the untold delights of being a woman.” 

The Sheik:
"It was at once the handsomest and cruelest face I had ever seen."

The sheik is the powerful, dark and handsome Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan who seduces her but also forces her into submission. She challenges him to be his equal and not submit to his every need and want. In many ways they're alike and as the book goes on we see them be changed by each other. Without spoiling too much, I loved seeing how they fell in love with each other. In this re-telling the bedroom door is thrown wide open, it's an erotic romance after all, and I really felt it worked to this books advantage. You come to understand the characters even more because of it.
"I told myself I was only too weary to fight him, but the truth was that his all-out sensual assault had made me a victim of my own senses - of my own suppressed nature. And now awakened, I was starving for more."

I think the less you know of this book the more you will enjoy it, so I will stop here. I will say that [a:Victoria Vane|5319795|Victoria Vane|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1357748509p2/5319795.jpg] weaves a wonderful erotic Historical Romance, true to its characters and the world they inhabit. You will be transported and revel in the sweepingly seductive setting. Highly recommended read for readers of alpha males, independent female characters and romances of equals falling in love who also challenge each other.

You can watch the trailer here

Arc courtesy of [a:Victoria Vane|5319795|Victoria Vane|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1357748509p2/5319795.jpg]. This book is set for publication September 13th 2013 August 30th 2013.