Rescued by the Sheikh (Desert Brides) by Barbara McMahon (Harlequin Romance Feb. 2008)

Romance of Solitude and Sharing --- can love bring life to the desert?

Barbara McMahon's Rescued by the Sheikh is a short romance that maximizes the exotic location with a richness in description that touches hearts, revealing the inner values of the hero and heroine. Rescued by the Sheikh is a romance of a man and woman, each encircled and comfortable in solitude, who reach beyond themselves and find that love is worth sharing.

Lisa Sullinger takes an excursion from the the archeological dig in Moquansaid where she has been photographing artifacts. Exploring the harsh visual contrasts of the desert for her next book, she stumbles and hurts her ankle. Sheihk Tuareg al Shaldor discovers her as a fierce sandstorm strikes. Taking her to his desert tent and then to his palatial home, Tuareg protects her and gets medical care for her ankle. As Lisa's accident brings an unexpected entry into the world of Tuareg's family's life, will she also find a place in the sheikh's heart? When their two jobs conflict, hers to support the archeological dig and his to shut it down to begin dam construction and flood the dig area, will the sparks fly or will the conflict somehow open their hearts to one another's inner values?

Lisa lost her parents at an early age. Independent and used to doing alone, Lisa has always dreamed of having a family. When faced with the reality of Tuareg's extended family and history, can she open up her heart before it is too late? Tuareg's heart was broken when his beautiful wife Nura died suddenly. Lisa is nothing at all like Nura with her elegant beauty and jet-setting personality. With his love of the desert, family and home, can Tuareg open his heart to love again? Although neither can replace their past loses, can they find love again in their hearts? Drawn together by the inner solitude of their hearts, will Lisa and Tuareg somehow find that the very solitude that kept them apart from others somehow opens their hearts to one another?

Barbara McMahon sees the desert landscape through the eyes of her photographer heroine, giving this exotic-setting romance a rich and dynamic depth. The reader and indeed the hero see Lisa's heart through her eyes and her choices of photographic subjects. The conflict between ancient and modern Moquansaid, between the archeological dig and the dam construction, opens up Tuareg's heart for the reader at the same time as it presents a conflict between the hero and heroine.

Rescued by the Sheikh creates a rich inner and outer space with parallels between the heart and the landscape. Emerging from such depth, the ending comes a little too fast. The reader feels Tuareg's mourning for Nura almost to the end, giving depth rather than using it as a mere plot device. Nevertheless, a bit more space given to the hero's changing feelings and his evolution would have made this romance an stunning romance on all levels. Likewise, the conflict between the dam and ancient history adds a nice dimension to this sheikh romance and yet the intriguing twist towards the end may resolve a bit quickly. This romance would have benefited from the publisher allowing a bit extra in the page count or to slate it as the first book in mini-series, allowing future development of the rich threads Barbara McMahon established. As is, however, Barbara McMahon's Rescued by the Sheikh is a good lose-yourself exotic romance read after a long work day or for a comfortable afternoon read. Hopefully, the character of Tuareg as well as the future significance of the archeological finds will reappear in a future romance to give the reader another glance at his life with Lisa and Moquansaid.

Mini-Challenge: New to Me:  Author new to me. 

AKA Merri
Family Challenge Team: The Spine Breakers with my dh Glenn AKA Phaedrus