Allegra Sanford has traveled across Europe in order to attend her best friend’s wedding.  A former courtesan, Allegra’s life hasn’t always been easy, but now she is in charge of her own destiny and no one will ever make her do anything she doesn’t want to do again. Seeing Sheikh Shaheen at the train station, however, makes Allegra think a bit more about her decision. He has made it more than clear that he does not want to have anything to do with Allegra, no matter how many times they are together and no matter how much he desires to tie her to him.  Shaheen is adamant about this decision until he gets word of his enemies’ plans to use Allegra, so he deliberately makes her think that he no longer cares.  But cares he does and now it is only Shaheen who can save Allegra, the woman he loves.

Shaheen made me so mad.  I was furious at him for the way he treated Allegra, especially when he was mean to her – I wanted to smack him and shake him and hurt his feelings.  And then I kept reading and suddenly everything about Shaheen fell into place. While I didn’t like his reasoning, I understood him and the way he tried to protect Allegra.  Allegra was an awesome female heroine.  She was smart, witty, strong, independent, and beautiful.  She was exactly what Shaheen needed.

Kismet is a great historical romance; erotic and intriguing all at the same time.  Monica Burns’ talent shines through on every page.  I can’t wait to read more from this author. In fact, I am admonishing myself as to why I have never read Monica Burns before! Kismet is definitely a keeper.