My First Romance!

I grew up in a house of books. And I could read anything--from the usual color-and-picture books in the early years, Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley series, Christopher Pike, hell, even porn. My parents were firm believers in letting us decide which we liked to read and which we wouldn't waste time on. Now, being that everything was within reach (yes, including porn and erotica), I didn't experience ever having to read any book in secret for fear of either parent screaming at me, "Bad! Bad!" Nope. Nothing like that.

Nevertheless, I read my first romance quite late--around fourteen, if I'm not mistaken. I think when it comes to books, first love never dies. Mine is Violet Winspear's The Sheikh's Captive.

Since then, I've had a liking for sheikh romances. I know, I know. Of all the romances around (historical, contemporary, paranormal and a bunch of others that I surely don't know), sheikh-themed romances are pure escapism. First off, they always take place in fictional countries. Then of course, the absence of the geopolitical, hell, let's just stick to good ol' real political repercussions that come with a romance,  an actual relationship with a guy from a society that believes in keeping women hidden and silenced behind veils and walls. Believe me, I find it really hard to suspend disbelief that the heroine in these novels easily gives up her life  (unveiled!) in exchange for apparent poetry and jewels. Hey, maybe that's it. The bling. Ka-ching!I don't think I'd ever turn down sapphires. Or libraries. Yeah. Definitely libraries. With glittering sapphire walls and shelves.

As a kid of fourteen back then, I already knew there was something seriously off (that's putting it mildly) about twenty-year-old Diane Ronay going all Stockholm for the Sheikh Khasim ben Haran--the man who's been dreaming of exacting revenge from her grandfather Philippe since he was thirteen (he's around thirty-five in the novel). This guy threatens her with rape, locks her up, enjoys threatening her and (!) will only let her go if she falls in love with him!

I KNOW. WTF.

Clearly, I hate this book. But it's soo freakin' bad that it's inevitable to just love it (isn't there only a thin line between love and hate?). I do get the appeal of a commanding, confident, even threatening hero as Khasim but it isn't something I'd ever wish on myself.  Perhaps this is why sheikh romances are the ultimate romantic escape--it's something you won't ever want in real life. In fantasy, because it is fantasy, you can indulge on things you normally would regard as unthinkable. Maybe it's in secret fantasies where our desires are unshackled, and we're able to live it, though precariously, at least, until the last page is turned.

Good God, I hate being profound, or even attempt being one. Sheesh.

If you're looking for sizzling sheikh sex in The Sheikh's Captive, I have to say unh-unh. There's none of that here. There are two forced kisses, one of them even suggesting how close they were to doing the deed, but that's it. Diane does try to get away from Khasim twice, but I think she'd have been more effective if she'd poked him in the eyeballs. No. She didn't do anything like it. Not even close. Sigh.

Still, The Sheikh's Captive is a keeper, for the simple reason that it's my first. :-)