Lyon's Bride by Cathy Maxwell

Lyon’s Bride is the first book in Cathy Maxwell’s historical romance series, The Chattan Curse. These books center around a curse cast upon Charles Chattan in 1632 when he broke the handfast to Scottish lass, Rose Macnachtan, to return to England and marry a Sassenach. Rose was so in love with Charles that she believed he’d return to her, and even kept watch for him on his wedding day. When Charlie didn’t return, so great was her grief that Rose ended her life. And thus, so great was her mother’s grief, that she placed a curse on all Chattan males:

Watchers of the threshold, Watchers of the gate,
open hell and seal Chattan’s Fate.
When a Chattan male falls in love,
strike his heart with fire from Above.
Crush his heart, destroy his line;
Only then will justice be mine.”

The curse has held true through the generations, and death has, without fail, found each male of the line who falls in love. The curse is well known within the family, and no matter what they've tried, it has not been broken. This brings us now to London, 1814, and the story of Neal Chattan and Thea Martin.

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.

This is my first taste of Cathy Maxwell's writing, and I quite enjoyed it! This world she's created is definitely intriguing, and Lyon's Bride is sweet, it's poignant, it's sexy, and nicely sets the stage for the stories to come!

Up next is Harry's story. He'll travel to Scotland in hopes that the witch who cursed his family so long ago is still alive and willing to set his family free. After meeting him in this first book, I have to say, I'm thrilled that I have his story in my hot little hands and can dive right in!

3.5 stars

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

To purchase the books in this series: