Sold to the Sheikh

Australian supermodel Charmaine has had enough with men in her life. Although she portrays a sexy siren in advertising campaigns, in reality she's been celibate for a while and has no plans to change that fact. So when she meets arrogant Prince Ali at a horse race, she flatly and rudely refuses to go out to dinner with him - ever. Eleven months later, Charmaine is auctioning herself off for charity, when Prince Ali bids five million dollars for a dinner date with her. While on the dinner date, the handsome Prince makes another proposition - he'll donate five hundred million dollars for a week's worth of Charmaine's time - in his house, in his life, and in his bed. Charmaine, who lost her little sister to cancer and has been quite devoted to funding cancer research since then, decides the offer is too good to pass up and accepts.Prince Ali had been fascinated with Charmaine ever since he saw her in a television commercial. Even after she quickly turned him down for a dinner date, he's still intrigued by the curvy blonde beauty. So intrigued that he's willing to donate half a billion dollars to her favorite charity for a week spent with her. He's not just desiring one week with her though; the plan is to make her fall in love with him! Charmaine is guarding a secret very close to her heart, and he knows that she has to release whatever has troubled her so in the past to have a future - with him by her side!This book is different from the types I usually read, but I still enjoyed it. Parts of Charmaine's story were so like my life, it was painful to read about it. I could completely understand her resentment, her simmering anger, and her inability to form close attachments to the opposite sex, once her entire story came out in the last twenty or so pages of the book. Ali, I liked a bit less. He was very arrogant, annoyingly so at times, and too much of a know-it-all for my tastes. He was okay, but I liked the character of Charmaine a lot better. What didn't work for me: The profuse physical descriptions of a certain part of Ali during the first love scene, which seemed a bit too hokey for me. Ali and Charmaine thinking they were in love with one another after such a short period of time was a bit too over the top for me, too. The fact that both of the characters were more angry with each other than anything put me off a bit, too.Still, the book was pretty good, especially if you want something to read that's a bit more spicy than your usual fare. Miranda Lee can write, and write well, there is no doubting that. So if you're looking for a passionate, quick read, this may be the one for you.