www.castlepublishing.com Category:  Romance Publisher: Castle Publishing ISBN-10:  0615118232 Type: Fiction Pages: 291 Copyright: Jun 1 2000 Anwar was an Egyptian prince, Amber is a young English girl. They meet and unexpectedly fall in love--something neither of them is prepared for, or desires! How do you make love work when everything in the world conspires against you? Anwar ibn Nazeer was arrogant and self-assured. A prince of one of the noblest families in the Middle East and trained all his life to rule by the laws of the Qu’ran, Anwar was a man to be feared and respected, though not often loved. He’d spent his first forty-three years content with all his position and wealth offered him. Then, when he volunteered to do a favor for a friend, he turned a corner and found himself staring into the emerald eyes of a destiny he’d never anticipated. Amber, a young girl from a middle-class English family, was a lovely and flirtatious child model whose parents allowed her far more freedom than most children her age ever have. She’d never been warned that love could wear many faces, or that passion and desire could come upon you suddenly and rule your life therafter. Anwar and Amber were separated by more than age. They were separated by custom, religion, race and culture. Despite this, they became first adversaries, then friends and eventually lovers. Although Anwar had spent many years in England, his true home was the desert, and the laws, customs and religion of his own people were as much a part of him as his soul, and Amber was as different from an ideal Muslim woman as anyone could imagine. Their struggle to create a world of their own—a safe place for their love—is a part of this story, but the heart of it is their intense and enduring love and passion for one another. Excerpt This evening I walked through the woods alone, but not lonely, for you were with me every step of the way. The leaves are just beginning to change color. The Autumn will soon be upon us. This seasonal change excites my senses as I revel in the richness of its shades. By the time you return to me, there will be much for you to see, for us to share. The summer is dying, the world prepares for the coming winter. It is a time to think on the promise of a spring yet to come, in a year unknown and uncounted. How many years lie ahead of us, Kara? I look at your youth, I feel old, yet you say that is not the way you see me. When you touch me the enchantment of your love transforms me and I feel twenty again, but once you have gone, the mirror tells me the truth. You say we should not count the time before we met, our time should be measured from our first meeting. That way, we are both the same age. Then our next counting should be from the moment we became lovers. There is a wonderful logic in your simplistic view of the world. (Anwar to Amber in a letter)

Road to Romance
Kahramaan is a story of two cultures clashing and blending. Anwar and Amber are from two different worlds—he from the Middle East, a prince of an affluent family who has grown up in unimaginable riches but with heavy responsibility in the commerce of his country, and she a simple young girl in England, sheltered from the harsh realities of life. The middle- aged Anwar spends much of his time in England and for pleasure plays piano in a production, helping the young people with their musical performances. There he meets a very young Amber whose eyes speak to him in an astounding way. They fight and anger each other constantly until Anwar realizes that he is in love with the girl. The cultural differences now become the wall that separates Anwar and Amber. Having professed their desire for each other, they must now consider how to deal with their growing love considering that Amber has yet to reach the age of consent. They spend time in both of their worlds trying to find a place for their unique relationship to fit in. It’s an uphill battle, the conclusion of which dangles to taunt the reader. Anwar and Amber’s relationship continues in the second installment in this series, BEYOND SAQQARA. Rhonda Collins and Sandra McLaren have together built a passionate story of personal conflict involving two people who are worlds apart. They have taken a difficult scenario—an older man and younger woman from different cultures—and forced them to cope with the obvious and more subtle problems associated with their relationship. They didn’t choose to love each other and now that love is tested beyond anything either of them thought possible. I found KAHRAMAAN a well written story and enjoyed being immersed in this unique world of Anwar’s and Amber's. Plan on reading at least the second book though, as this book stops part way through their relationship, and while there is satisfaction in reading just KAHRAMAAN, readers should be aware that the story is only partly told here. ~sue

Addicted to Romance
Rhonda Collins & Sandra McClaren Kahramaan Contemporary - Mainstream Love Story Castle Publishing 2000 Heat Index: Room Temperature Kahramaan is the first part of a three-part novel that chronicles a very different sort of love story. Note I didn't say romance, because Kahramaan breaks many of the conventions that romance publishers adhere to. It is not traditional in any sense of the word. In it, the couple face many challenges, including an extreme age gap, and differences in their culture, and religion. Amber is an English school-girl who is very nearly an emancipated adult. She helps support her family through her modeling, and is interested in the arts, especially singing and Opera. That is how she meets Anwar. Anwar is an Egyptian prince, who is in England representing his family's business and diplomatic interests. In his spare time he helps out in the children's Opera company, using his concert pianist level talent and knowledge of music. When he and Amber first meet they do not like each other much. She thinks he's mean, and he thinks she flirts and flaunts herself in front of the boys, which offends his Islamic beliefs. It isn't until Anwar's first wife (who is disabled)makes an astute observation that he realizes that he is in love with Amber. It is a longing that is totally inappropriate to western eyes, given their respective ages, but something that would be accepted in his world. Eventually, Anwar and Amber give in to their desire for one another, but there is a long road ahead of them in their relationship. The extreme differences in philosophy are difficult for them to resolve. While I was reading Kahramaan, I had many questions and problems with the story, along with some good reactions too. Thus the So-So rating. The authors' writing style combined with the story reminded me of a really good foreign film, and also brought to mind such classics as Lolita. While the age difference is extreme, the fact that Amber is so independent of her parents made this more palatable to me. The authors do a wonderful job of showing the paradox of the poetic and the savage which has marked Arab culture through the personality of the hero. I found myself fascinated by the political intrigue and the danger in Kahramaan. Anwar's brother would like to see him dead. Whether he will succeed or not remains to be seen. The tension between the two is heightened by the fact that, in public, Anwar must maintain an air of solidarity within his family. Most of my problems with Kahramaan center on Anwar. Because this is only the first part of a three part book, his behavior towards the end of Kahramaan is still not very heroic, in my opinion. Anwar is very insecure about his appearance - he is not a handsome man. He also has a difficult time believing that Amber could love him. By the end of this part, he still has much growing to do as a character, and isn't very admirable, except that he doesn't go as far as he knows he could go, given his upbringing. He restrains himself from crossing certain limits. The part of me that is fascinated with Arabic culture realizes this, but the western-independent-minded-female-that-I-am was still more than a little disturbed by his actions at times during the story. That is why I wouldn't classify this as a romance, but rather a mainstreamish 'love story'. If you demand that your heroes stay within certain limits and always do the honorable thing, then I wouldn't recommend Kahramaan. If, however, you want to read something that is challenging with many layers to the characters and deep issues to explore, then this story about the clashes of two diverse cultures might be for you. As for me, I would like to read the rest of the saga - if only to see how Anwar changes, and if his nasty brother gets what's coming to him. Phoebe Imel, Addicted2RomanceBooks.com Reviews