World politics in a romance novel. I got a free copy of 'Fake for the sheikh' to write and ARC review and it turned out to be about refugees.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. And yes it is a lot less serious than my other reading material.

The writer took an interesting take by making a South American refugee whose  genuine bit for asylum was denied by the America government the heroine of this novel. It is obvious that the writer hopes that people open their eyes to people from other religions and part of the world and are more tolerant towards each other. I applaud her for that. And also for working real world politics into a romance novel while showing how the public opinion can be played.

What is the story about? A Venezuelan lawyer is working as a lawyer in the US waiting for a decision on her own asylum request when she gets the decision that her appeal is denied and she has four weeks to go back to a country where she will surely be killed. Just at that moment she gets the case of an Arabian king who is also an American citizen and has tax problems. She tried to blackmail him in marrying her so she will get citizenship. He agrees because he has plans that would do with a wife as well.

Let me first rate the romance story: I think it lacks the kind of wooing I would like. If a guy would whip out his personal firehose the first moment I would be in private with him and start rutting that would certainly not create any butterflies with me. But that can be a matter of personal taste. I however fail to see their connection build. I also do not her at all: a lawyer harming her own client by blackmailing him! And he sounds a bit too manipulative. There is also a bit of a loose end with his eye problem.

Factual errors: When you let an immigration lawyer do the ARC of a romance about immigration you might be in deep shit :) I am not an American lawyer though. But: 1) You cannot get the nationality of the European Union. The Brexiteers in the UK might not agree with me but as far as I know the EU still consists of sovereign states. But you could get for instance the nationality of Cyprus - they are easy when you invest enough 2) I always understood that when you get American nationality you have to revoke nobility titles. So being a sheikh and a king even and be American would not work I think 3) The sheikh has three nationalities. Often it is very hard to be able to keep your original when you opt for naturalisation. So far the serious notes :)


Comments

Popular Posts