The Sheikh's Baby Scandal

August 1, 2016
Marinelli (The Surgeon’s Miracle Baby) sets this insipid contemporary romance in both London and the fictional Middle Eastern country of Zazinia and fills it with the sort of guilty-pleasure fantasy clichés normally associated with the romance novels of previous generations. Felicia is a powerful and talented woman who specializes in advising men on the proper ways to fix their careers and lives. She works for each man in the guise of his assistant, is paid a generous salary, and spends however long it takes extricating her clients from each scandal du jour. Crown Prince Sheikh Kedah of Zazinia is one such powerful man. His foreign education and his father’s seeming preference for his younger brother put his title in jeopardy. At the advice of a friend, he hires Felicia as one of his personal assistants, and of course the sparks fly. Shallow characterization and reliance on tired stereotypes are the final nails in the coffin of this throw-away read. With little to recommend either of the shallow main characters, the only enticement of the story is the occasional brief glimpse at how the ultra-wealthy might live.