Thea Martin was bred for nobility. As a daughter of a duke she had her future mapped out for her since birth. Growing up in the emotionally cold home Thea wasn't interested in a marriage like her parents, she longed to marry for love. When Thea was a young woman she fancied herself in love with a servant and ran off towards her happily ever after. Regrettably, her husband had thought the duke would come around and they would be set financially. Unfortunately for Thea the duke and later her brother refused to acknowledge her and she was disinherited. When Thea was later widowed she was left to raise her two sons without a father or a means to raise them. Thea decided to trade on her noble birth and became a matchmaker.

Neal Chattan, Lord Lyon was bred for aristocracy. He too was raised in a cold, unfeeling home along with his two younger siblings Harry and Margaret. As the first born male Neal knew he would need to marry to continue his line but he would never marry for love. Love would be his undoing and lead to his untimely death. The Chattan curse had been stealing Chattan men's lives that fell in love for over two hundred years. When Neal resolved it was time to marry he did so in a detached way. Neal approached a friend who would introduce him to a reputable matchmaker of the ton. This matchmaker would find him a bride from a respectable family who would make an excellent mother, and whom he could never like.

New York Times Best Seller Cathy Maxwell's first installment of The Chattan Curse Series, THE LYON'S BRIDE gives readers a superior foundation of the Chattan curse. The author's striking details of Seventeenth Century Scotland transports readers to a time of mythical beings and witches. The story continues to enchant readers when the matchmaker and Neal finally meet. When Thea and Neal are formally introduced are equally taken aback to come face to face with their dear childhood friend. Thea is shocked and baffled that Neal would want a wife he couldn't like. Thea needs the money so she sets out to do as Neal has asked but she begins to struggle not to fall in love with a man determined never to love.

THE LYON'S BRIDE is a perfect beginning to Maxwell's trilogy giving us just a piece of the mystery to hold us captive until October when book two, The Scottish Witch hits the shelves.

Book Summary

"When a Chattan male falls in love, strike his heart with fire from above . . . "

They call him Lord Lyon, proud, determined–and cursed. He is in need of a bride, but if he falls in love, he dies. His fervent hope is that by marrying–and having a son–without love, perhaps he can break the curse's chains forever.

Enter beautiful Thea Martin–a duke's headstrong, errant daughter and society's most brilliant matchmaker. Years ago, she and Lyon were inseparable, until he disappeared from her life without a word. Now she is charged with finding Lyon's bride–a woman he cannot love for a man Thea could love too well.

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