In Defiant in the Desert (Desert Men of Qurhah #1) by Sharon Kendrick, Sara Williams is determined to not to marry the Sultan of Qurhah and is willing to do anything to escape a marriage which was arranged when she was just a child. To escape her fate she flees to London but is soon tracked down by Suleiman Abd al-Aziz, the sultan’s most trusted advisor and the man 
whom she is attracted to. Her only escape from this marriage is ruination, so she sets about seducing her achingly handsome but unmovable escort.
Suleiman Abd al-Aziz made a promise to bring Sara back home to the Sultan. Honor and duty makes his attraction for Sara forbidden but how long can he resist her knowing that she wants him too..??
I love desert romances and was really looking forward to this one because it also had the theme of forbidden love.
A major part of the story takes place in UK and therefore I don’t know if this can be called a desert romance strictly. Suleiman who had a difficult childhood was a great hero and compromised a lot to make Sara happy. He was not the typical alpha I-am-always-right kind of hero but I liked that about him. Rather than forcing Sara to set her priorities according to his wishes, he was willing to change for her.
Sara started off great and I loved that she was an independent feisty career woman but as the story progressed I started loosing my cool with her stubbornness. Independence is a great thing but she needed to stop pushing Suleiman away every time he tried to come close and make some compromises too. The romance was quite good with all the fireworks.
Overall Defiant in the Desert is a well written forbidden romance with the appropriate steam factor. If you can’t handle independent feisty heroines and prefer alpha heroes then this book may disappoint
Book Info:
Published November 19th 2013 by Harlequin Presents (Book 3193) | Series: Desert Men of Qurhah #1
When only scandal will do
Sara Williams’s hand in marriage was bought and paid for when she was a child to cover a debt the size of a small country. She knew her wedding day would come, but now an independent career woman, Sara is determined never to marry anyone! Her only escape from this marriage is ruination, so she sets about seducing her achingly handsome but unmovable escort.
Middle Eastern diplomat Suleiman Abd al-Aziz has the honor of delivering Sara to her desert destiny the bed of her sheikh fiance But with his charge so sexy when she’s angry, and definitively forbidden, Suleiman’s iron will is tested to the limit