The Sheikh’s Secret Baby was a story that I had some difficulty reading. When I read the synopsis of this story I found it intriguing but once I started reading the story I couldn’t relate to the characters. From the moment that Zuhal was introduced I totally disliked him I thought he was arrogant jerk. He felt like he had a right to make a woman feel like a cheap woman that he was a god gift to women. I totally wanted to strangle him every time that he opened his mouth. I felt so bad for Jasmine because she didn’t deserve to be treated in such a bad way. I’m glad that in the end that Jasmine finally stood up for herself and left Zuhal to raise their child.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I usually love books about foreign cultures. But this book, I honestly wanted to kick Zuhal and Jasmine just seemed like a wimp. Very odd she wasn't good enough to marry then bam it's ok. Not my cup of tea. 2.5 stars

Hero was too cruel for me and never felt he had any true feelings for heroine.I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sheikh’s Secret Baby by Sharon Kendrick was a classic Harlequin read. Sheikh Zuhal wants Jasmine Jones back in his bed. He can’t get their affair out of his head, even as he knows she is not the woman needed for someone like him. He has responsibilities and expectations to fulfil and Jasmine Jones is not the woman he is expected to marry. And yet, he can’t stop wanting her.

Zuhul left Jazz devastated. She loved him, even as he only saw her as his mistress. So, she walked away when he broke her heart and left her, but she also had a secret she never intended to tell him about. Now he is back in her life and she can’t keep her son away from him anymore.

Suddenly Zuhul finds himself wanting what he could never have. Even so, it could not be love, right? It is just sex. But the more time they spend together, the more things get complicated. Can Zahul and Jazz find a middle ground and admit what they feel, or will they lose everything?

Happy reading.

Zuhal couldn’t believe Jasmine/Jazz lived in this small cottage. The woman who had loved the sparkle and buzz of city life. Jasmine was one out of Zuhal’s lovers who really lit his fire. Sparks had flown between them from the start and it seemed a pity not to taste their explosive chemistry with a trip down memory lane. They had conducted their affair as adults. No relationship meant more than sex to Zuhal Al Haidar. But he could be excused for breaking his own rule. Destiny was leading him down an unwanted path- a path which had altered his whole future. Jasmine had been the sweetest lover he had ever known. They had been apart eighteen months maybe Jazz had someone else. Jazz had recently completed a radical lifestyle change and moved out of the citylock, stock, and barrell. Thta didn’t mean she had to look like some kind of hermit when someone knocked at her door. Especially since Jazz had discovered nothing but friendliness from the locals since moving here. She wanted to feel nothing for him but how could she when just seeing him made her heart clench with longing and her body quiver with long suppressed lust? Zuhal Al Haidar was a sheikh and royal prince. Second son of an ancient dynasty which ruled the oil- rich country of Raurastan, which diamonds had been found and world class racing horses were breed. Jazz had given him her body and heart although he only wanted her body and she had to accept that. There hadn’t been a day that went by that she hadn’t thought of Zuhal. She thought she’d never see him again as he had cut her out of his life completely. That's what she had to remember. Zuhal was surprised to see wariness and something else in Jazz. He didn’t recognize this woman. He had met her when she was a manager for the Grantchester Hotel London Boutique where he was staying. She asked how he had found her. He wasn’t familiar with jazz’s unwelcoming attitude and bold question. Zuhal had taken Jazz’s virginity even though she had been a divorced woman when he met her. Jazz’s fear was growing within her. She had been certain that the course she had taken was the right one but now she felt doubt. Jazz wouldn’t tell him about her soft furnishings business or the plan for designing baby clothes which she hoped would someday provide her a living. Zuhal said his brother was missing and presumed dead since last year. He found himself freely talking about it in a way he wouldn’t have done with someone else. Even though Kamal was king he never lost his love of recklessness. One morning Kamal had taken off on his horse into the desert alone according to a stable hand a bad storm had came up and Kamal or his horse had never been found. Now Zuhal must rule in his absence as Kamal can not be declared dead for seven years. Until the seven years were up Zuhal would be named Sheikh Regent. Than Darius began to whimper and jazz tells Zuhal they have a son named Darius. Zahul than demands to see his son. Jazz’s ex husband- Richard- had said he wanted to wait to have sex until their wedding night. Richard had felt safe. But their wedding night had come and gone. Finally he told Jazz he preferred men and than they divorced. Jazz had to remember zuhal had all the wealth and power and she had none. Later that evening Zuhal came back with a document in his hands for Jazz to sign away all her rights to Darius for a large amount of money. Jazz told him in no uncertain terms she would not give up her son. So instead Zuhal had his people get a home befitting Darius in London. Even jazz was to get new clothes to hit in. Jazz hated her body’s response to a man who had proved just how cold and heartless he could be.
Excellent book. It had been a while since I had read a good romance with a sheikh in it and I really loved this one. It was a fast fun read with just enough angst u=in it. I really loved Jazz and Zuhal together and how they interacted. I loved how Jazz know stood up to Zuhal and said what she felt she had to whether he liked it or not. She didn’t back down unless she felt it was the best for Darius. No matter how she felt inside. She would no longer just go along just with what Zuhal wanted her to. I thought Zahul rathe cold when finding he has a son. It seemed like appearances mattered more to him and Darius was just an insurance he had an heir if he didn’t produce another heir. But than he was foreign and all about royal bloodlines and such. I loved the ending. I loved the plot and pace of this book. I read this in one setting I didn’t want to put it down. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I highly recommend.

I grew up reading harlequins. I loved the authors who had great dialog, hot steamy romance and tall, dark and handsome men. Ms. Kendrick's writing usually checks all my boxes but this book...……..

Its the usual story, tall, dark handsome and billionaire playboy finds a beautiful girl seduces her and when she starts to get in too close tosses her out. Of course harlequin heroes always find a virgin and for all they have a playboy status leave the seeds of their loving behind without a backward glance.

Now that he is the ruler of his desert kingdom he decides that while he needs to marry he can scratch an itch that has never gone away in the interim. Imagine his surprise when he arrives at Jasmine's door and hears the wail of a child.

For all this story is an old tried trope it falls short of delivering on romance. I am disappointed that an old favorite author would want her romance readers to believe that sex equals romance.

The Sheikh's Secret Baby (Secret Heirs of Billionaires)
by Sharon Kendrick

I feel horrible writing this review. This author has always been such a fantastic read for me. So now, I am feeling guilty to write a review that just is not good. I could not like the hero or the way the book was so centered on a physical relationship instead of being centered on a story. I did not enjoy the hero at all, vain, arrogant, cold. Each and every piece of this one was a difficult one for me. While I can say it is an okay read if you need one, it is not one I can say was good or enjoyable for myself. Definitely not one I can say is a keeper. So trying to be fair, the only thing that salvaged this book was the writers ability to write otherwise I was very disappointed. I was given this ARC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed here are my own. Regards, Anna

The experience of the clash between two cultures diametrically opposed is very evident in this story.
Jasmine is a single mom struggling to find make ends meet, finds herself in the crosshairs of Sheikh Zuhal. Tossed back and forth physically between England and Razrastania, and emotionally put through a wringer, it’s no wonder neither one can find a firm foundation as far as what the future might hold. It takes time and circumstances for these two to mature and reach a consensus.
I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I read it but did not like the over the top arrogance of the male lead. I did however like the fact that the female lead got a backbone. Who wants to be angry reading a romance.

Jasmine Jones' first mistake was falling for a wealthy guest of the hotel that employed her. When Sheikh Zuhal unceremoniously dumps her - basically informing her that she's good enough to bed, but not good enough to marry - she is devastated. Then she discovers that he left behind a souvenir. A year later, he decides to look her up again, because, he could use some of her brand of relaxing him, he finds her living in what he considers squalor, and he hears the cry of a baby. How dare she raise the son of a Sheikh in these conditions?

Jazz refuses to go with him back to his country, knowing she would likely lose all rights to her son by doing so. He sets her up in a nicer home with bodyguards, then visits at his whim. Can she continue to resist his advances? When paparazzi find her and endanger their son, Zuhal makes the case for taking her to his country where he can protect them both. Can Jazz stay true to herself, even as he pressures her - finally - to marry him?

Sharon Kendrick has long been a favorite author of mine. This book, however, was not her best, in my opinion. The male lead was WAY too enamored with his position, and more focused on his need for a proper (read royal) wife than he was on how that might affect his relationships with the mother of his son or, in the long run, his son. I really didn't like him AT ALL for most of the book, and almost didn't finish the book because of it. He kind of turned the corner, though, about 75% of the way in and most of that was because the female lead finally stood up for herself.

This was no a romantic read. It pretty much was about their physical relationship.

The hero was cold, a jerk and unfeeling. I never throughout the story felt that he really cared for or loved the heroine. My goodness he comes back because he missed the good sex (not her mind you just the sex). And he didn't redeem himself at all till the last page pretty much, way too late in my book.

And then there is the heroine. She was a weak character and didn't really stand up for herself. She fell in love with him because he was great in bed (sorry that's what I picked up from the story).

This was not a romance IMHO. The storyline was weak and sad. And can I say the dialogue was lacking as well, for both characters. It was also a struggle to finish. Not an HP I would recommend, sadly.

This hero was a bit to arrogant for me to like him much and it wasn't until the last pages that he starts acting more or less like a normal man. Jazz is a little bit of an idiot but she was more in control of her feelings and emotions. These two had a great sex life before she got pregnant but our hero had dumped her before she even new that. So two years later he shows up because he missed the sex, not her and he expected her to just welcome him into her life. I just didn't like this story very much, it wasn't romantic and he wasn't sexy or fun to be with. It wasn't a total bore and I didn't finish the whole book.

A hard book to review. On the one hand the book kept my interest and entertained me the whole way through. On the other hand there was quite a few things in the book that really bugged me. Before I start in, I should say that I've enjoyed the majority of the books by SK that I've read, and I wouldn't judge her writing based on this book. I found the H unlikable, I wondered why the h claimed to love him after their affair and his behaviour up until the end was grade A($$), so no redeeming qualities to make me root for an HEA together. Throw in that the h, Jazz, was pretty much a door mat with only the occasional back bone and her dialogue (both inner and verbalized) just didn't work. Her back story was also not very believable (even in HPland). Overall, not SK's best book, but it did entertain. *I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and this is my voluntary and honest review.

I'm usually a big fan of this author but the playboy alpha male v. door mat female character story line has got to go. As a long time Harlequin reader (30+ years) please, please, please come up with some new plot lines.

I will tell you what I did not like about this book (and I am a huge fan of this author's) -the hero. I can not stand a man who uses a woman for his own pleasures-the whole time they were together in the past he told her he was looking for a wife for his kingdom. What does he do when he discovers he has a secret baby by her? Tells her he will still look for a wife! Pompous ass.

No, seeing him change to a good husband did not redeem this hateable character.

Zuhal is a charmer, ‘my bedroom ,’ he clarified unsteadily. ‘It is connected to your apartments through this passageway , which is unseen by anyone else and which only the King is permitted to use. But I grant you my permission to use it any time you wish, Jazz.' I liked this book, but there were times I wished Jazz had more backbone, she lets her man get away with a lot.