Jen’s review of Sheikh’s Desert Duty (The Chatsfield #9) by Maisey Yates

Journalist Sophie Parsons needs a scoop to stop the sale of her friend’s hotel chain. And she’s found it! But being abducted by a sheikh goes way beyond the call of duty… 

Sheikh Zayn Al-Ahmar has a wedding to arrange, a sister to protect and a country to rule. He’s not going to let one woman bring it all down with a headline! Kidnapping Sophie seemed like a good idea, but soon her delectable company puts everything he values at risk.  

Only one mistress can rule Zayn’s heart—will it be Sophie, or his duty?  

I’d heard good things about Maisey Yates, so I wanted to give one of her books a try. While it doesn’t break any new ground, this book is a just-slightly-better-than-average Harlequin Presents.

Sophie Parsons is a columnist at a local newspaper. She needs to dig up some dirt on the wealthy Chatsfield family to help a friend, but while snooping she gets caught eavesdropping on an altercation between James Chatsfield and Sheikh Zayn Al-Ahmar, the ruler of the nation of Surhaadi. Zayn is angry because James slept with his virgin sister, Leila, though no one but Zayn and Leila know she’s also pregnant. Zayn is desperate to protect his family, and he doesn’t want Sophie running off to tell his secrets to the press. There’s only one logical move to make when a stranger has heard some very vague information about your family: kidnap her. (Not how you’d handle it? Well, you’re clearly not a Sheikh.) Zayn coerces Sophie into his limo and half strong arms/half blackmails her into coming back to Surhaadi with him. He promises her she can report on his upcoming wedding, and he also promises to give her a scandal that would damage the Chatsfields. Naturally, the two have to spend time together, and they each realize the other is more than they first thought.

Zayn is pretty much like every other Sheikh hero from the HP line. He’s bossy, he’s concerned about virginity, he is burdened by his “duty”, etc. Nothing new to see here. Sophie is slightly more interesting. She is smart, ambitious, and self-sufficient. Aside from her reaction to her kidnapping (more on that later), she acts fairly believably. I really didn’t see how she thought she could be a hard-hitting journalist since she clearly does not have any aptitude for investigation or interviewing, but she does have an amazing amount of drive and has worked hard for everything she has in life. I also liked that she’s mostly upfront and honest. She does keep some of her motivations secret from Zayn, but only because she’s protecting her friend. When it comes to her feelings and her relationship with Zayn, she’s admirably open.

I think this is why the ridiculous kidnapping thing bothered me so much. Sophie isn’t stupid, but she completely acts that way at first. She shows very little fear when a strange, intimidating man basically forces her to get into his limo. She has no idea what he might do to her, but she’s already fantasizing about how hot he is. I’d describe her as unsettled, not completely fucking terrified, which would be the appropriate reaction. Either commit to the kidnapping and make Sophie have a normal reaction (fear) but make Zayn redeem himself, or find another way to get Sophie to Surhaadi. Moreover, the kidnapping makes no sense whatsoever. What does Zayn hope to accomplish by taking her away? You don’t think she’s going publish the story about her kidnapping eventually, if she really was out for a scoop? And inviting a woman looking for dirt into your home seems much more dangerous than simply letting her go with the vague details she’s already collected. But Sheikhs don’t care for your logic, Commoner!

I also didn’t appreciate the fact that Zayn is engaged. In fact, he’s getting married in a matter of weeks. It’s true he doesn’t love his fiance and they’ve barely met (she doesn’t even appear in the book), but it still seems pretty lousy to start something with Sophie. His fiance is just a plot device, not a real woman with her own feelings and needs. (Ditto for Zayn’s sister, Leila, though at least she does appear in the next book in the series. Maybe the fiance will eventually make an appearance as well?) I wanted Zayn to grovel some more, too. He didn’t do much to make up for stringing Sophie along or for the things he said to her near the end.

If you don’t enjoy the HP line, you’ll find nothing unique in this book. But if you’re in the mood for one, you could certainly do worse than Sheikh’s Desert Duty. That sounds like faint praise, but for a line as homogeneous as the Harlequin Presents can be, slightly-above-average is not too shabby.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

This book is available from Harlequin Presents. You can purchase it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.