Customer Reviews

The Playboy Sheikh's Virgin Stable-Girl (Harlequin Larger Print Presents)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've read a lot of Harlequin Presents romances. I usually grant them a certain leeway -- after all, I know what I'm getting into when I crack open one of these books.

But this was truly the most offensive, horrifically bad HQ romance novel I've ever read. Heck, it was just a terrible book all around.

The hero is a jerk 100% of the time. From the second he rides into the story until the last page, he says and does nothing redeeming. He throws his weight around as only a true bully would -- demanding obedience from everyone because he is their sheik, cruelly blackmailing a girl into a sexual relationship while mocking all of her moral reservations. How is anyone supposed to like this man -- and how could anyone possibly like a woman who lets this man even touch her?

So, if you like women who fall in love with irredeemable jerks who call them names, then this book is for you. Since I don't, this became the first book I've ever thrown in the trash.

Generally, I like Sharon Kendrick's work. This was so bad I wonder if someone didn't steal her name.

I have read 50% of the book and I had to stop. I don't normally give book reviews but i just had to say, 'THIS IS THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!!'

The hero is demeaning, has lack of respect for females, lack or respect for everyone because he is a PRINCE.

I wonder how this book was released. For a female to write such a book that depicts prejudice and lack of female rights is truly shocking.

This is not romantic, its near slavery and barbaric.

I will never EVER read any other book by this author.

The book gets 1 stars because i could not give 0.

I gave this book a fair try. I love desert stories, Doreen Owens Malek has some goodies, but this was just sad. I mean it, sad, dismal and depressing.

Also, there was a weird submissive slant to the story and when you add in all the horse stuff, I really started to have an 'icky-pony-girls' feeling about this story and since I'm not into that kind of kink it was a complete turnoff.

The heroine was such a doormat and the Sheik was autocratic, selfish and had the emotional maturity of a spoiled teenage boy who's been given to much money and power.

The ending was so quick that I had to check that there weren't some pages missing from my copy.

My recommendation is to give this book a pass or check it out from the library.

You know what you're getting when you read these stories: over-the-top characters and a fun escape from reality. However, there's still some standard of what would make a good storyline and what would be tolerated. I'm seconding the comments that this is probably the worst lead character I've ever encountered in any of these stories and also the first one to go into the trash.

Did someone steal Kendrick's name and create this monster without her knowledge? He was an absolute jerk -- physically coercive and verbally abusive -- up until, what, the next-to-the-last page? Totally offensive storyline. The only thing that disappoints me about this book more than pitiful Eleni is the fact that I finished it. It's rated '1 star' only because the program wouldn't let me leave all the stars blank.

This was by far the worst book that I have ever had the displeasure to read. In fact, I could not even get through with it, I was so disgusted by the misogynistic, arogant, complete jerk of a sheikh Prince Kaliq Al'Farisi. He is overbearing from beginning to end, with no redeeming qualities. He constantly looks down on the 'heroine' Eleni, and goes so far as to insult her and calls her 'lizard'! Eleni simply excuses his behavior and becomes his oh so willing sex slave, which angers me to no end! She simply laid back and let him berate her and frankly I could not find either of them sympathetic or interesting. I waited for Eleni to find her back bone, but she never did. Their 'love' is resolved in the very last three or four pages in a very lackluster fashion and leaves much to be desired. I have no idea what Ms Kendrick was thinking and hopefully she will work harder in future endeavours in creating better H&H - ones that the reader will actually CARE about! I regret that I can not give this rating lower than 1 star. If only there were negative rating options!

This is the WORST ever harlequin book that I've read!!!
Cannot believe it was written by WOMAN!!!!!

I wish they had some other symbol, and not the stars for rating, because giving it 1 star made me so upset.
THIS IS A HORRIBLE BOOK!!!!

I'm hanging my head in shame because I actually enjoyed this book! The hero shocked me into submission! He was such a conceited male chauvinist arrogant jerk that I couldn't tear myself away from it! It cracked me up! I cannot tell you how many times I laughed out loud, but I'm pretty sure that it was not the authors intention for this book to be funny (or was it?)The things the hero said was so ridiculous that it makes you want to keep reading just to see what else would emerge from his mouth. And if you were wondering... the heroine really was a virgin stable girl, lol. Okay, so this book does not deserve an award. If you are looking for political correctness look elsewhere, but If you are a good time Sally, then this book is for you. I really should probably give this book 3 stars and the faint of heart would probably give it 1 to 2 stars, but after reading romance novels for some time now and knowing every in and out of romance land, I get bored very easily, so any book that makes me actually want to pick it back up and finishing it without boring me to tears, gets an automatic 4 stars. Let's just put it this way, it should be in the so bad it's good category.

This book is so bad because the Hero keep calling the Heroine Lizard because her eyes is green. How stupid is that.

As a prince of a desert kingdom, Kaliq has grown up having absolute power over others and having to deal with constant threats to his and his family's life, as well as people who are only interested in his wealth and power. As a result, he is arrogant, cold and very distanced. When he wins a fine race horse in a poker game, the owner's daughter, Eleni, is devastated. She was the one who always took care of the horse and it was the only creature she cared about after her mother's death. When her abusive father loses the horse, she can convince Kaliq that it's in his interest, to take the poor, lower-class girl and let her work in his stable. But once cleaned up, she is quite attractive and he decides to have an affair with her. Both know that their social backgrounds are too different for a lasting relationship and Kaliq's arrogance and unconscious fear of being close to anyone make things even more difficult. But Eleni's pride and courage surprise him time and again and he soon finds that he wants far more than a short affair...

Anyone who thinks about buying this book should first know that it is very far from politically correct and it doesn't follow the formula that no matter what time or place a romance is set in, the hero is a nice modern man who treats women as equals. The characters are products of a strictly hierarchical society and they come from opposite ends of that spectrum. He is often unpleasant and arrogant, which becomes very clear since his - often chauvinistic and egoistic - point of view is sometimes used to show how he sees things. I found this very interesting, convincing and much better than those novels where the worst conflict is a minor misunderstanding between the protagonists. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and the seriousness of the problems they had to overcome and would recommend the book to anyone who is open-minded to romance that isn't just sweet and nice. This is a really good book with interesting characters, a good story and a well-developed cultural background. Congratulations to the author, who dared to write something unusual!

Powerful Prince Kaliq Al'Farisi is used to getting anything he wants. Praise flows easily from the lips of those in his court and his subjects all agree that his latest venture, to have an outstanding polo stable, is magnificent! His search for the finest horses takes the prince to the door of Elena's father, a brutal man who sells both his daughter and his prize horse to the ambitious sheikh.

Elena, however, is unlike any of the women Kaliq has ever known. Unaware of her simple beauty, she is honest and kind, modest and pure, the very antithesis of a servant or courtier in the palace. Kaliq is intrigued and the story of their romance is wonderfully refreshing. The author's vivid descriptions of life in Calista and the thoughts and feelings of a woman of purity were both realistic and surprisingly welcome.