REVIEW: The Forced Bride of Alazar by Kate Hewitt

The Forced Bride of Alazar by Kate Hewitt is the second book in the Seduced by a Sheikh series. The desert kingdom of Alazar is the backdrop, and the ruling al Bahjat family straddles the line between traditional expectations of the Bedouin tribes and the realities of modern life. Azim al Bahjat, kidnapped as a teenager and thought dead, has returned to claim his rightful place as heir. A marriage arranged with another royal family, the Behwars, means that the beautiful and innocent Johara is destined to be his wife. Strangers forced into a marriage of convenience, can their duty to their country lead to a love match?

I really enjoyed this story! It starts with Azim having just returned to his kingdom. Years of amnesia meant he’d been unaware of his true heritage until he’d seen a story about his brother Malik on the news and those memories had come flooding back. During his time away, he’d been the victim of abuse at the hands of the man who had ‘rescued’ him from the hospital where he’d ended up after his kidnapping. He’s overcome those days, but still suffers lingering migraine headaches, and has never told anyone the details of the years he’d been missing. He has no choice but to marry Johara for the stability of the country. His cold attitude towards her is explained to the reader by his migraine pain, but for her, it’s a bleak sign of a marriage she wants nothing to do with but has no choice about. Though Azim comes across as a harsh man at first, the reasons are well explained and make him an empathetic hero.

Johara is a lovely woman, caught in a web of duty like Azim. She wishes she could be free to pursue her own interests, perhaps go to college and study about her interest in medicinal herbs. She’s lived in France for most of her life with her ill mother, and isn’t looking forward to moving to Alazar, or being a wife to a man she knows nothing about. Their first meeting doesn’t do anything to appease her worries and a brief attempt to run away is aborted before any real harm can befall her. But it makes her realize that she’ll have to make the best of her soon to be new life. The saving grace is that there is a spark of attraction between her and Azim, and it leads to some sensual scenes between them. When she discovers the truth about Azim’s headaches, she doesn’t see him as weak (as he’d feared) but as a man who has a core of strength to survive the abuse he suffered and she is pleased to be able to use her herbal skills to ease his pain.

Though their marriage is forced upon them and wouldn’t have been their first choice, they start to open up to each other. Sharing their thoughts and intimate moments, they come to understand and care for each other. Azim’s worries that the man who hurt him as a child could come after Johara make him sometimes over protective, and there is some conflict in the later part of the story that temporarily forces a wedge between them. But things right themselves soon enough, and they get a lovely happy ending. I really enjoyed how these characters were portrayed, the struggles for Azim to achieve a modern governing approach while still keeping the peace with traditional allies, and the way the romance blossomed between this couple.
 

Book Info:

Publication: Apr 18, 2017 | Harlequin Presents | Seduced by a Sheikh #2

Claimed for the sultan’s pleasure!

Kidnapped decades ago, Azim al Bahjat stuns the Kingdom of Alazar with his sudden return. To secure his position, the ruthless royal must claim the woman who was always intended to be his–even if sheltered yet beguiling Johara Behwar resists…

No matter how secretly thrilling she finds the flashes of heat beneath Azim’s icy exterior, Johara’s every instinct is to run. But Azim will not be denied, and as he shows his virgin bride how intoxicating their wedding night could be, Johara soon finds herself enticed to surrender to the sultan!