Forbidden: The Sheikh's Virgin (Mills & Boon Modern ) [Paperback]

After reading the Prologue in Forbidden: The Sheikh's Virgin by Trish Morey, I knew this book was going to be one big bombshell! In book one learned that King Xavian abdicated when he learned he was really the missing Prince Zafir of Calista (The Royal House of Karades series). This meant then Kareef Al'Ramiz would be the next heir to the throne. However Kareef fell in love with a woman from his past, someone who could not produce an heir. Because of his love for her, he abdicated leaving his brother Rafiq Al'Ramiz the next in line to be King.

Coming home to Qusay was hard for Rafiq because of the memories and the woman he left behind, the woman he loved and who betrayed him by marrying another man. The very same woman named Sera who was now his mother's companion and living in the palace, the woman he hated! Sera had married for wealth, privilege and status and now she was a widow. On top of it all, his mother the Sheikha wanted him to go into the desert to a village where the women of the village made beautiful fabrics to see if he wanted the fabrics exclusively for his emporium back in Australia. The same business he built from nothing which was a huge success because he enjoyed the challenge. Because of adversity it had shaped him into the man he was today. And Rafiq saw this journey as a way of getting revenge from Sera by taking her along with him. Knowing she was uncomfortable just being around him, pleased Rafiq and feeling her squirm in the vehicle, gave him great pleasure!

Sera was terrified. Remembering back eleven years ago when she loved him, all of the pain came flooding back. The Sheikha said maybe this trip was a way to put the past behind them, a chance to heal. However, sitting next to him, remembering their past love was killing her. And then at an oasis stop, emotions welled up when she held a visitors baby and if that wasn't bad enough, Rafiq asked way too many questions, making her uncomfortable, making her remember their time spent together when they loved each other. And then Rafiq confronted her about how she had not only hurt him but had humiliated him, and he exploded in anger. She remembered how his father the King and her father demanded she marry Hussein, the Qusay ambassador, the same man her father promised her to years earlier. There had already been one scandal in the King's family and he wasn't about to have another.

For both Rafiq and Sera the trip was troubling. On top of that the emotion they were both feeling, remembering the past. So many secrets were revealed the ntire "horror" of her marriage. Trish Morey wrote those scenes with such pain and passion she'll have you weeping, I promise! When Rafiq realized he'd been blinded by his past pain and learned what part his father had played in Sera's marriage he was shocked.

Just when you think they will get their second chance, the fates go against them. Rafiq wanted Sera to return to Australia and live with him but upon returning to the palace he's told his brother had abdicated and he, Raif would now be King. Everything started to unravel in front of both their eyes when this proud man told her he loved her and wanted her to be his Queen. More secrets from Sera's past marriage were revealed, horrible things her husband insisted she do, his threats and for Rafiq the enormity of these wrongs against Sera were overwhelming. Could he be King and also have the woman he loved as he wife? Or would he realize his future was with the her not the kingdom of Qusay?

As a wise village woman told him:

"Sometimes we look only with our eyes and we see only that which is right in front of us. Some people have perfect vision but will never see. For sometimes we must look beyond the pictures our mind presents as fact. Sometimes we need to see what is in our hearts. Only then do we see what is really true."

Trish Morey with her Forbidden: The Sheikh's Virgin's gave both Rafiq and Sera the second chance they deserved. But it also left a question as to who would be king. It left one to wonder if the youngest of the Al'Ramiz brothers', Tahir would be found in the desert since his helicopter crashed. Would Tahir become king because it was obvious Raliq was not giving up Sera the love of his life."

"A kingdom torn apart by scandal, a throne left empty' four smoldering desert princes....Which one will claim the crown - and who will they claim as their brides?"