REVIEW: Sheikh’s Pregnant Cinderella by Maya Blake

In Sheikh’s Pregnant Cinderella (Bound to the Desert King #2) by Maya Blake, when Sheikh Zufar learns that his bride-to-be has left him, he orders timid maid Neisha to be his queen. Knowing she can’t go against royal orders, she does her duty. Yet, the longer she stays married to the cold-hearted Sheikh, the harder she finds it not to fall in love with him. But when she discovers things about her past, will she walk away from Zufar in order to do what’s right or will she convince Zufar that love is worth fighting for?

”Time is of the essence,” he growled, without raising his deep voice. “I suggest we begin preparations immediately.”
“Your Highness, this…this will be highly unprecedented,” Marwan said.
“I should hope so, or there would be something seriously disturbing with my reign,” Sheikh Zufar stated without looking the old man’s way. “But make no mistake. This wedding ceremony will happen. She is the one who will take Amara’s place,” he uttered with a finality that drove a bolt of fear down Neisha’s throat.

Having really liked the first book of this series where the hero was a minor secondary character, I couldn’t wait to read this book and find out how things went down when it came to his bride-to-be going off with another man and needing to find a way to save face. Will Neisha be a compliant bride, even though she doesn’t want to marry him? However, it was from the moment the hero and heroine come face-to-face for the first time where this story really takes off and had me reading quickly, determined to discover how Neisha would act when it comes to the hero’s demands. Really, it’s his way or the highway (which means facing consequences for disobeying an order). Yet, I liked that she stood up to him, even though – in the end – it feels like she has no choice but to agree to be his bride.

As for the dialogue, it was attention-grabbing and intense due to the main characters back stories, especially that of the heroine, because she doesn’t know much about her past and learning everything she does about herself is a shock and leads to big decisions needing to be made. Will the heroine choose her destiny over her future with the hero? Moreover, I really liked the heroine. She’s strong and brave in having faced so much in her past and I liked how she handled everything she goes through in this story, which wouldn’t be easy to deal with since the hero is such a cold-hearted jerk that doesn’t deserve her. However, in saying that, I did warm up to the hero and begin to like him, especially when it comes to him helping the heroine discover more about her past, even though he doesn’t want to see her hurt, if she learns things that aren’t easy to hear.

”I get the impression there wlll be a few conditions along our journey through life.”
“You drove a hard bargain when we met. I learned from the best.”
His hands framed her face, his thumbs caressing her cheekbones as he stared deeply into her eyes. “Even back then, without knowing why, I knew I couldn’t let you go. You were in my heart, in my blood, and I didn’t even know it.”
“But you know it now?”
“Without doubt or regret.”

Overall, Ms. Blake has delivered a really good read in this book where the chemistry between this couple was strong from the moment they meet and gets stronger the more the heroine fights the hero; the romance was wonderful and made me happy that Zufar did something totally unexpected in choosing Neisha to be his bride after what happened; and the ending had me loving the decision the hero makes because Neisha is the one for him and he can’t let her go. However, it was the epilogue that wrapped this story up nicely because the hero loves showing the heroine how much she means to him. I would recommend Sheikh’s Pregnant Cinderella by Maya Blake, if you enjoy the enemy to lovers trope, the blackmail trope, the opposites attract trope or books by authors Natalie Anderson, Kate Hewitt, Jennie Lucas and Heidi Rice.

Book Info:

Publication: September 1st, 2018 | Harlequin Presents | Bound to the Desert King #2

From making the royal bed… to carrying the royal heir!

It’s the day of the royal wedding, and everyone who’s anyone is in attendance – except the bride! Refusing to let being jilted disrupt his kingdom, duty-bound, cold-hearted Sheikh Zufar commands timid maid Niesha be his stand-in queen. Their marriage is coolly convenient, but behind closed doors their chemistry burns fiercely…and Niesha’s shock pregnancy will test Zufar’s iron control more than he could ever have imagined!