The Wrong Bride: Highland Weddings

Gayle Callen

Oct 2015 · Highland Weddings Book 1 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this eBook

USA Today bestselling author Gayle Callen creates an unforgettable story of mistaken identity and irresistible attraction in this first in a wonderfully engaging series set in the Scottish Highlands.

Shaken from sleep during the night and bundled off to the Highlands by a burly Scot, Riona is at first terrified, then livid. Hugh McCallum insists they were promised to each other as children to ensure peace between their clans. The stubborn laird refuses to believe he's kidnapped the wrong Catriona Duff. Instead, he embarks on a campaign of slow-burning seduction.

At first, Hugh cares only what their marriage can do for his people. Now he's starting to crave Riona for her own sake, but her true identity jeopardizes his clan's contract. And unless she chooses to risk all to be his bride, he'll lose the only thing he prizes more than the lands he's fought so hard to save—the passionate marriage they could have together.

Ratings and reviews

I received a free copy of this book from InstaFreebie in exchange for a review. When Riona is abducted in the middle of the night by Scot Hugh MacCallum, she is terrified, angry and confused. Why would anyone want to steal her away from her uncle's house after all? She is neither wealthy nor particularly cherished, so the likelihood of anyone paying a high ransom seems remote. When MacCallum explains that he is kidnapping her because they have been betrothed since childhood and now her father is refusing to honor the agreement, it becomes clear that he has mistaken her for her cousin whose name is also Catroina Duff. Additional evidence suggests that Riona's uncle never had any intention of marrying his daughter to the young laird, so he sent her away on an unscheduled trip and tricked Riona into sleeping in his daughter's room to lure MacCallum into abducting her instead so that he would breach the betrothal agreement and forfeit the lands he put up as his stake. Unfortunately, however, MacCallum doesn't believe Riona and thinks she is simply rebelling against an arranged marriage, much as he did when he first learned he would not be allowed to select his own spouse. And Riona is the lone Duff in a clan full of hostile MacCallum's. How can she convince Hugh that there really are two Catroina Duffs and that he abducted the wrong one without reigniting a clan war? How can Hugh convince Riona to go through with the betrothal? Can Riona continue to resist Hugh? After a 10 year absence, can Hugh return with a reluctant bride and show his people that he is not the impetuous youth he was and that he is now ready to be clan chief? The premise of the story felt a little contrived and far fetched, but once it got going, this book was a quick read with some unexpected elements near the end. While the notion of two women with the same exact name living in the same house seems a bit ridiculous at first, I could easily sympathize with her plight of not knowing who to trust when she first arrives at the castle. I thought Cullen also did a particularly good job depicting the extremely precarious balance of power and shifting loyalties that accompanies a transition of power within a clan. Overall, I enjoyed this book and am likely to read more from this author if I come across something, but it won't be at the top of my reading list.

Great courtship in the wilds of Scottish highlands. I wish that I had been kidnapped& taken

Too wordy but good story

About the author

After a detour through fitness instructing and computer programming, Gayle Callen found the life she'd always dreamed of as a romance writer. This USA Today bestselling author has written more than twenty historical romances for Avon Books, and her novels have won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers' Best Award, and been translated into eleven different languages. The mother of three grown children, an avid crafter, singer, and outdoor enthusiast, Gayle lives in Central New York with her dog, Uma, and her husband, Jim the Romance Hero. She also writes contemporary romances as Emma Cane.