Publisher: Harlequin Medical Romance  (2008)

Jay Latimer volunteers for a medical mission in Damhoor but this intelligent, professional woman does not like being ordered to the Ministry of the Interior to have her credentials checked. Her record should speak for itself. When one of these rich arrogant men and his entourage runs her taxi off the road, it's just the last straw and no one is going to push her around --- but first she must take care of the taxi driver now in critical condition from the car accident. Once she stabilizes his condition, there is nothing else to do but stop these arrogant men in their tracks and force them to help her. Does she ever put them in their place! As one of these men assists her, providing every possible medical instrument she could need, working with her side by side, Jay discovers that Malek is not exactly who she thought he was. When Malek sees her spunkiness, a woman spunky and bold enough to see him as a man and not his title, he knows there is something special about this woman. When he sees her proficiency in medicine and her captivating eyes, he knows that she will be his first and only love. Devoted to his country and to medicine, what will he do when, suddenly, he must make a choice? Just as important, what will Jay choose?

THE SHEIKH SURGEON'S PROPOSAL grabs the reader and doesn't let go. The hero/heroine encounter is one reading thrill after another. Olivia Gates writes a romance heroine whom readers can admire ---- a competent, professional woman who also cares compassionately for others. She sees Malek as a man not a title and does not hold her tongue or thoughts. Powerful, rich and royal, Malek is the kind of hero a reader expects in a sheikh romance but he is so much more. Malek respects women and loves women. He truly loves the heroine, not just for her body but for all that she is. Strong, poetic, sensual, smart and innovative, Malek uses his power to do good in the world. He stands up for all those important things whether it be saving a life or the sensual pleasures of life, but mostly Malek is a man who loves with everything he is. When Malek meets Jay, he relishes being seen as a man, a doctor, a person. For the first time, someone doesn't want a favor, someone responds to him naturally instead of dissimulating before his royal position.

Hessuh is Jay's eye into the Damhoor culture. The friendship between Jay and Hessuh makes this romance an open-eyed delight as she explains to Jay some of the intricacies of providing medicine to remote locations and gives both Jay and the reader a framework within which to see the women she meets. THE SHEIKH SURGEON'S PROPOSAL captures Damhoor, intriguing the reader not just for the exotic locale but as a place to be loved. Olivia Gates peers into the culture, breaking stereotypes. Olivia Gates allows the reader to gain a glimpse into both the beauty of the culture and some of the tensions in society as modernity affects residents through her portrayal of the patients living in remote places who cling to traditional ways. Olivia Gates includes a wonderful section about women that makes a sheikh romance accessible to feminists and readers in other cultures and readers who might never consider reading a sheikh romance. Without being preachy, Olivia instead draws the reader into the fullness and the beauty of the location. Reaching beyond the stereotypes of the news and the fantasies of fairy tales, Olivia Gates portrays a unique different image of a different culture that makes Damhoor itself as interesting as her characters.

THE SHEIKH SURGEON'S PROPOSAL is a romance that will appeal to medical and sheikh romance lovers and neophytes as well. The fast paced medical emergency situations are well balanced with visions of more long term care, care that benefit's the public health and society. As a sheikh romance, Olivia Gates creates not only a powerful and emotional hero but also a man completely dedicated to his profession and improving his country. She matches this hero with a heroine any reader can admire for her intelligence, spunk and her dedication to medicine. Olivia Gates takes the reader on an emotional thrilling read with a fast-paced plot, humorous dialogue mixed with a powerful sensuousness for the smells and tastes of Damhoor, the intense emotions sizzling between her characters, and perfectly placed heart-stopping moments of tenderness and beauty. My one word of reading advice is to start this book early because once a reader enters the world of this romance, it won't matter what hour the clock says, one won't want to put this book down! In THE SHEIKH SURGEON'S PROPOSAL, Olivia Gates turns romance into poetry. THE SHEIKH SURGEON'S PROPOSAL is a gem of a romance!