Customer Reviews

For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents)

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When she was 13, Angele was promised in marriage to Crown Prince Zahir. When she was 18 she figured she was old enough and kissed him. He told her she was a child and ignored her. Now she's 23 and her dreams have finally died.

Angele was raised in America with her mother. She was shattered when she started college and found out that her father was actually a womanizing cheater. So once again she found herself shattered to realize the man she was promised to marry was having an affair with another woman. Worse, the picture showed him carefree and happy. And if that wasn't the worst of it, Angele found herself blackmailed with a bundle of pictures showing her future husband and his mistress together, the time frame spanning years. She paid the blackmailers their money to keep the pictures out of the press, but all her final dreams died on the day she saw those photos.

Angele loved Zahir and she always thought he was such an honorable man. She'd put her life on hold, no boyfriends, no dates, she didn't even go to prom because she was already taken and didn't feel it was something she should be doing. She thought Zahir was also honorable and waiting for her. Now that she knows how trapped he was and how happy he would be to be able to marry someone he actually wanted, she decided it was time to let him go. She planned out every detail of giving him his freedom. But before she'll let him go completely, she wants what she'll never have from him, her wedding night.

Zahir had a longstanding happy relationship with the other woman. He knew it was always coming to an end because he would always do his duty and marry Angele. Previously she was just a child and when she became an adult, he never bothered to look at her because he already had someone else in his life fulfilling that position. So he's waited 5 years of her adulthood without actually formalizing their engagement, and telling himself that since they aren't formally engaged, he's not cheating. He'd never cheat on her. Oh, but he also would have been pissed off if she'd found herself someone else, since they weren't formally engaged. Double standard, gotta love it.

His relationship with the other woman is over because he's fanatical about keeping his private life private, and ever since their photo was put in the gossip rags he's ditched her. Of course, she also cheated on him. But now that she was gone, he was finally ready to do his duty and settle down with Angele. He thinks that she's just nervous about the intimacy of their relationship so agrees to have a wedding night with her.

So he's extremely pissed and shocked when she follows through with breaking the not formalized engagement with him. Zahir hates to lose at anything so he sets out to get her back.

This book was interesting. I generally like all Lucy Monroe books, but this was lacking in love.

I really loved the heroine. She was strong, smart, methodical and she stuck to her guns. I would have loved to see her hit the dating scene with a bang. She needed something of a life outside of Zahir.

Now the issue was with Zahir. He could have been great if he'd actually fallen in love with Angele, but it just didn't hold water.

He lies by telling half truths or qualifying all of his answers. So if he says he loved Angele, his qualifying would be, he loved what they did together, or he loved that he could trust her. There's no real truth with him. His courtship of Angele was horrible. His only reason was because he hated to lose, not because he cared about her. The way he set it up in the press was just about appearances and had nothing to do with her. There was a great moment when he finally went to see her, which really helped me out, but was quickly dashed with how fast things moved from there.

Angele never had any time to go out and be her own person. Zahir was never forced to recognize his own failings.

I can believe they'll stay together only because Zahir can finally play kinky sex games with someone without worrying about the world finding out. Angele loves him so she'll do anything he wants. He'll never cheat on her because if he does, she'll leave him, and he'll never be able to do the things he does with her, with other women. That's it.

There is no love.

This was a really promising idea, and an easy read. But it failed in delivering a convincing story of love between these two people.

the hero did not love her. he has strong feelings for the other woman. even he sold his business in the germay. he did not get rid of the picture in his office even after her cheating. this speaks volume. he was a modern man when it was easy for him. the men in the book discussed her as a property, most of all the hero. the hero did see her as property. he did not love her. he told her he love her because the heroine told him to. the heroine is a doormat. she made excuses for the hero for everything.

For Duty's Sake (Harlequin Presents)Dear Ms. Monroe please stay clear of sheikh books--this is not your forte. I am a big fan and thought I could never read a Lucy Monroe book I didn't like--I was wrong. All of the negative reviewers were right on point. Add: I did not like the hero.

Lucy Monroe is an author whose books "turn up" over & over in my Kindle 're-reads' and/or 'favorites' collections. Several of hers are such lifelong "5"s for me - that I really would like to rate this one a 4. But I can't, because my opinion is so different from other reviewers.

I've been on the receiving end of some very negative responses to reviews. One person suggested that I needed therapy :). So I get that people can have strong reactions that differ markedly from those of other readers. And one of the companion books to this - "Hired: The Sheikh's Secretary Mistress" makes me want to cringe and hide based on the title, but is actually one of my very favorite Lucy Monroe books. It exemplifies the best, for me, in showing how true love grows and is embodied in a couple where the girl is not a doormat and the guy is not a domineering a@%#$...and real love can be sexy and interesting and overcome problems.

So..I do not understand, giving all respect to other reviewers, how they perceive that the hero does not love the heroine. To me, the story is all about his growing/unfolding within his very restricted life, to understand how he *does* love her...and her growing, with her love for him beginning years before, to understand what true love is. It is not how many jasmine bouquets he sends to the office, not how he behaved before he was w/ her (even tho that hurt)...it is wanting the best for the other person, despite the cost to yourself. This book "shows" that truth rather than "tells" it in the typical shallow romance novel fashion.

And, um, I've been married 25 years monogamously to a wonderful guy, and I didn't see anything "kinky" going on here. Can I be graphic? One or two scenes of very light mutual "hang-on-to-the-bedposts/okay-pretend-to-tie-me-to-the-bedposts" does not constitute kinky to me. If it does to you, don't read this book. I'm just saying.

Lucy Monroe takes us back to her exotic world of handsome sheikh's and the woman that they love in her thrilling novel, For Duty's Sake.

Angele bin Cemal has wanted to marry Crown Prince Zahir it seems her whole life. Considering that they were betrothed when she was only 12, that isn't far from the truth. Her youthful infatuation has grown into a woman's love but when pictures of Zahir with another woman are sent to her it has her rethinking this whole marriage deal. She goes to Zahir with a deal she wants one night with him and she will let him out of the marriage bargain.

Crown Prince Zahir has always known he would honor his pledge to Angele. Even though it had over ten years since he made that pledge in his mind he still sees her as that young girl. Until she confronts him at a party, Zahir realizes he is facing a very grown up and angry woman. He can't believe what he is hearing that she wants one night in his arms and then will walk away.

Zahir agrees to Angele's demands but secretly he has plans to win her heart and never let her go. Will these two head strong people be able to put their hurt aside and find an unparallel love?

For Duty's Sake is an absolute compelling story of love and second chances. Zahir and Angele are both willing to fight for this relationship after they realize its depth and power in their lives. I just love Lucy Monroe's Sheikh's series just when I think I have read my favorite another one comes along. You won't be sorry to pick up this delightful book.

Angele bin Cemal and Sheikh Zahir bin Faruq al Zohra had been promised to each other since she had been a young girl. Zahir had been photographed with a German actress Elsa Bosch. In fact, the photos had been sent to her residence in the United States. What a cruel thing for someone to do. It made me wonder if it was Elsa herself. In the end, it was a blackmailer. Angele had always cared for Zahir from afar and wondered if she should just give him up so that he could be with the beautiful and curvy actress and find happiness. Because in the photographs they looked very intimate and happy. Maybe she and Zahir wouldn't wed but she would ask him to share one intimate night together before she gave him up!

Since Angele had been eighteen, she had been in love with Zahir. She had not cared if people understood or believed that such a young innocent girl was capable of that emotion. She'd just known what she felt and it was not a crush. As each year passed, it had grown deeper. In fact at a state dinner they had attended tohgether, while strolling in the gardens she had asked him to kiss her. Instead of doing so, he had told her she was too young and had kissed her on the forehead. Talk about awkward. On top of that, there was the fact that her father was not faithful to her mother. It was an embarrassment to her family and to their country. Therefore, as she sat looking at the pictures of Zahir and Elsa "lip locked", she knew deep in her heart that she could not allow Zahir to be held to the contract. The contract which had been brokered by men who had never given love between the two people involved even a thought. His lack of love for her demanded his freedom. Personally, I thought what a lovely and noble gift she was giving him.

Angele had been treated as the favored niece by the King of Jawhar. Now they were both, along with the wedding guests, attending his brother Amir's and Grace's wedding. A marriage which was based on love. Both of his brothers had found love with women not all together suitable. However, it was not the same for him. His bride had been set by an agreement between Zohra and Jawhar and he honored his duty and the contract. Angele had refused the request to be apart of both weddings and Zahir assumed it was her way of demanding he formalize the engagement between them. It was obvious she was tired of waiting and he realized the time had come to do his duty. On top of that Zahir had spoken to Angele's father and told him he would not marry a woman whose farther appeared in the tabloids, Her father patched things up with her mother and had not been featured in the press for five years. Thus proving he took his daughter's future seriously. Zahir vowed he would never be unfaithful even though his marriage would be a loveless one on his part. His future bride's stubbornness gave him hope for their future together and he realized so did her love for him as well..

Angele slipped away from the wedding and approached Zahir in his private office. She blurted out that she knew about Elsa. In fact, it was then revealed to the reader, that twice she had paid the blackmailer in order to avoid a scandal for Zahir. This fact he was unaware of because he thought it was Angele who had seen the pictures in the tabloids. However, during their discussions Zahir told her his five year relationship with Elsa was over and assured he was not like her father. He also assured her he did not consider himself "stuck" and he had been a young adult when the agreement had been made and that he chose his future. Because Angele loved Zahir so much, she wanted him find happiness like his brother's, he deserved to have it. She could do no less for the man she loved with her entire heart.

Angele and Zahir continued to argue about duty, honor, responsibility and a marriage that should take place, a marriage their families agreed to but this stubborn young woman held firm. She actually asked him if he had loved Elsa. The answer to the question was he refused to discuss it. Then she told him she wanted the wedding night she would never have and he realized she loved him. Back and forth they argued and then he agreed after all of his brother's marriage celebrations were over he would give her that one night and he sent to her room the dress that his grandmother wore on her wedding day. That was a huge surprise and I wondered why he would do such a sentimental thing like that for a woman he wasn't going to end up marrying?

Zahir was furious, with Angele, because after an evening of making love, which he enjoyed immensely, he was sure she would agree to their royal engagement and future wedding. How could she have left him like this, putting out press releases, giving letters of explanation to the Kings, calling her father? How could she after all they shared? Damn her for doing this to him. He was shocked and so angry with her. After hours of explanation to his father, her father, and the Kings, he came up with a plan. One that had me laughing so hard because in the end, I was sure this proud sheikh would fall hard. He wanted his father to put out a "royal" press release stating that he Zahir, future King would "woo his future wife". His father laughed at him and his answer back was "you doubt my ability to woo one innocent woman after witnessing his skills at negotiations with world leaders?" Angele's father died laughing and his response was "a woman is not a world power." With that Zahir said, "no, but one day your daughter will be married to one." I thought, good luck with the wooing, Zahir. lol

For Duty's Sake, clearly showed Lucy Monroe's sense of humor and I couldn't wait to continue along with Zahir's and Angele's journey at finding happiness. After he found the blackmail pictures she left behind for him, he knew Elsa had not only betrayed him with a lover, now these picture and the lengths that Angele would go to protect him, proved to him how much she loved him. First, he would deal with the blackmail and then the courtship, because Angele would take her place as his Queen by his side because she truly loved him. She was honorable, stubborn and would make him a perfect queen. From a distance, the courtship began with gifts and flowers and all the while, he thought of her. Finally, he personally came to see her and was shocked at her appearance. He was even more shocked when she agreed to marry him because she was carrying his heir. Could this get anymore complicated? She had conditions for their marriage. After I read them I realized they reflected back on both of their childhoods convcerning fidelity and how their children would be raised. It made complete sense to me.

In the end, they were both full of surprises. Zahir's feelings about her love for him and how it would be positive for their marriage. Her thoughts on her pregnancy and how Zahir' negotiated everything. Moreover, of course, their upcoming "quickie" wedding. However, it all worked out in the end with both mother's doing the wedding planning. There was also the fact that world leaders would soon be attending a summit in Zohra. Which meant their wedding would take place in two months time and would be a "political" event. The surprises continued to come with her future husband continuing the courtship. I began to wonder could he possibly be falling in love with her?

The ending chapters were amazing and Lucy Monroe made sure that anyone reading For Duty Sake would realize Angele was Zahir's treasure. There was also the fact that he was an old fashion man. Because on the fateful night when they first made love, he had actually considered her his wife. In the end, their lovemaking changed and I understood why because Zahir needed his future wife to trust him. To me it seemed like they had a real chance for a successful and happy marriage. That was until he took her on a business trip with him to Europe. Could their love survive the fact that she saw him having lunch with a female instead of attending the meeting her told her about on his schdule?

Love is about trust and Angele trusted her future husband and in the end realized, he cherished her. Oh, I cannot begin to convey how much I've loved this Royal Brides series and this book was no exception. How Zahir discovered his love was amazing to read and so was their beautiful royual wedding. It was just the perfect ending, to a perfect royal romance thanks to the brilliant Lucy Monroe.