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The Wrong Bride

(Highland Weddings #1)

Gayle Callen (Goodreads Author)

3.60 · Rating details · 987 ratings · 138 reviews

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 ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 373 pages

Published October 27th 2015 by Avon

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2015 Historical Romance (July - December)

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Aug 07, 2015 UniquelyMoi ~ BlithelyBookish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-have-read, 4-stars, steamy-goodness, avon-addict-reads, first-in-series-trilogy-duet, historical-romance-highlanders, humorous, 2015-reads, series-highland-weddings, author-gayle-callen

Full review now posted...

The Wrong Bride is a great start to the Highland Weddings series as Gayle Callen weaves a tale that makes me wish I could travel back in time and step into Riona’s shoes for just a bit

Blurb…

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 bur ...more

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Nov 28, 2021 Jessica added it

Shelves: historical-romance, highlander-romance, audiobook

This was such a fun kidnapping highlander romance! Hugh was betrothed to Catriona since he was a child and now, the clan is in dire need of her bride price. Hugh decides to take matters into his own hands and kidnap Catriona in the night and force her to finally marry him. Riona is staying with her aunt and uncle and finds herself being carried off into the night by her cousin's betrothed. Riona tries to tell Hugh that he has the wrong woman, but he refuses to believe her and takes her to his cl ...more

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Mar 12, 2016 Zoe rated it liked it · review of another edition

I didn't like the book so much but somehow I wanted to read on. The story reads like the characters are playacting. They did and said what they did and said because the writer wrote them that way. It just felt like one choreographed dance with no spontaneity in it.

But the book has its moments. I thought the book rather bland but I have to give a blank book credit for keeping me reading.
...more

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Sep 28, 2015 Lily (Night Owl Book Cafe) rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, forgrabs, challenge-2015, historical-romance, 2015, highlander

Hugh McCallum has kidnapped the wrong bride. When Lady Riona is awaken in the middle of the night by a Scot that has found his way into the room, the last thing she expected was to be swept away out of her home and into the highlands. Hugh claims that she is his promised wife, due to a contract between their families to ensure peace among their clans, a contract her "father" was refusing to honor. Riona is lived with the highlander that doesn't seem to get it, or refuse to acknowledge the fact that this is all just a case of mistaken identity, but as she grows to understand Hugh - the contract is not the only thing that ends up in jeopardy.
Thoroughly enjoyed Callen's step into the Scottish world. Hugh and Riona were such a wonderful pair to follow through the book and as I watched the two fall in love, something wonderful settled within my heart. It wasn't easy for Hugh and he had some persuading to do, but their interaction was fun and amusing at times. I liked the little twist and a sort of mystery that Callen throws into the book about Hugh, the little boy and Hugh's father. I found Hugh admirable and not at all the brute Riona thought him to be at first. He took the fact that he had an arranged marriage in stride, even if it took him years to get used to the idea. Riona on the other hand, needed some convincing, but watching the attachment towards Hugh grow, gave me all sorts of warm butterflies.

Hugh had never told a woman he loved her before, but he didn't think abject sobbing was the right response. "Riona?"

The story was well done and I found myself enjoying it. I loved Maggie, Hugh's sister and can't wait to see what is in store for her in the next book, especially with the kind of curve ball Callen had tossed at us, setting up book 2 perfectly.

"So ye have to work that hard to win her?" Maggie prodded. "She didn't swoon at the sight of your fine face?"

The only thing I wished was that the part of Hugh and Riona travelling to the Highlands were cut shorter, it took up a good part of the book.
I also wished a bit that Hugh would have stood up for himself instead of living in the shadow of the events his father had created. Since the man was long dead, I didn't see a reason for him to continue living with the lie.

I kept waiting for something to transpire between Hugh and Dermot, the book felt like it was setting up for that, but in the end it never went anywhere and was a bit disappointing.

Overall, for her first Highlander book I thought Callen did a great job. I really liked Maggie and so looking forward to her own book.

This review was originally posted on Night Owl Book Café

...more

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Oct 27, 2017 Sarah (needs a break from reviewing) rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction-romance, library-books, urr-2017-new-year-s-challenge

I read this as a buddy read with my buddy, Nenia, whose review is here.

Read for the URR 2017 New Year's Reading Challenge prompt 'Scottish/Highlander Romance'

27/10 - I didn't think much of this one. The 'she's lying because she doesn't want to face the responsibility of an arranged marriage' story line lasted way too long and Hugh's persistent disbelief of Riona made it impossible for me to warm to him. Riona's non-stop thoughts of how to get Hugh to believe her and who of his clan she could swe ...more

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Nov 07, 2015 Dorine rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: those who love Scottish historical romance

Shelves: historical, favorites, scottish, seer, print, romance, stolen-bride, arranged-marriage

THE WRONG BRIDE by Gayle Callen is an exceptional stolen bride story that includes a hero who will convince the reader of his value right along with his intended bride. If you love Scottish historical romance, don’t miss this one! Recommended Read!

Soon to be Highland Chief, Hugh McCallum kidnaps his betrothed from her home in Great Britain. Lady Riona Duff is frightened at first, then enraged at the man who claims they have a marriage contract arranged by their fathers. The contract was drawn be ...more

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Jun 04, 2015 Caz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-contemporary-and-other, romance-pre-1800s, aar

I've given this a B- at AAR, so 3.5 stars.

The Wrong Bride, the first in a new series from Gayle Callen, is one of those books that’s hard to grade. It’s well-written, the author allows time for her romance to develop and there’s a nicely sensual undercurrent to many of the interactions between the central couple; but it’s the sort of book I had no problem putting down when I had to, rather than one that compelled me to keep reading and ignore everything else around me while I did.

We jump right I've given this a B- at AAR, so 3.5 stars.

The Wrong Bride, the first in a new series from Gayle Callen, is one of those books that’s hard to grade. It’s well-written, the author allows time for her romance to develop and there’s a nicely sensual undercurrent to many of the interactions between the central couple; but it’s the sort of book I had no problem putting down when I had to, rather than one that compelled me to keep reading and ignore everything else around me while I did.

We jump right into the story on the opening page, as Catriona (Riona) Duff is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by a hand over her mouth and an intruder in her bedroom telling her that she’s his betrothed and must go with him. She quickly realises that struggling will be to no avail and tries to talk the man out of his intent, insisting that she’s nobody’s intended bride – but he will have none of it. Once they are underway, the man introduces himself as Hugh McCallum, chief of Clan McCallum and informs her that her father, the Earl of Aberfoyle, had betrothed her to him when she was just a baby, as a way of putting an end to the enmity between their clans, and that her dowry is payment for the shared land rights which were agreed at the time of their betrothal. But when Hugh had called on the earl in London, the man had tried to renege on the deal, leaving Hugh little alternative but to resort to desperate measures.

Riona is stunned, and tells Hugh that she is not the earl’s daughter but his niece, and that his betrothed is her cousin, whose name is also Catriona Duff – but of course, he doesn’t believe her, thinking her just as duplicitous as Aberfoyle.

The journey from London to the Highlands is long and arduous, and even though Riona is constantly on the look-out for a means to escape, she eventually realises it’s not going to happen, contenting herself instead by throwing sharp-tongued remarks at Hugh whenever she can. Once arrived at Larig Castle, however, Riona begins to see a different side to her abductor. His reception by the clan after an absence of ten years is not an especially cordial one, and there are many among the men who appear to distrust him. At first Riona sees this as an opportunity – if she can win one of the powerful clansmen to her side, then perhaps he will help her to escape. But the longer she resides at Larig, the more she comes to realise just what the revelation of her true identity will mean for Hugh and for his clan; no peace with the Clan Duff, no influx of cash from her dowry… and Hugh will be blamed for the resulting hardship.

The love-story unfolds at a leisurely pace, but that makes sense considering the fact that Hugh and Riona’s relationship gets off to such a terrible start. It’s not surprising that Riona resents Hugh and insists on insulting and needling him whenever she can, and one of the best things about the book is the way in which the author slowly reveals the truth about him. The romance is sweetly sensual, and there is a real sense of Riona’s slowly falling in love at the same time as she is coming to know Hugh for the caring, honourable man he is. He cares deeply for his clan and his family, and will do whatever it takes to keep them safe and happy, even if it means appearing in a less than favourable light himself.

The early eighteenth century setting allows the author to explore some of the political and social issues of the time; the continuing support for “the King over the Water”; the disrespect shown to Scottish MPs in parliament (of which Hugh was one); the problems Hugh encounters in persuading his tenants to adopt more modern farming methods – and I always appreciate that in an historical romance. It doesn’t have to be a history lesson; I just like to feel that the word “historical” is justified.

Ms Callen is also able to make use of a number of traditions that surround marriage in Scotland, one of which is that of “bundling” – whereby a betrothed couple could sleep in the same bed and spend time talking and getting to know each other, but they remained clothed and the woman’s legs would be tied together so as to prevent them having intercourse. Hugh has to spend so much of his days working hard, training with his men and looking over his lands that the only time he can spend with Riona is at night – and as he has promised not to take her before she consents to the marriage, he avails himself of this particular custom. That doesn’t prevent them doing a bit more than just talking, however, showing Riona how close she is to succumbing to Hugh’s gentle seduction.

While I don’t normally like stories built on misunderstandings, the premise does work, and the author has set up Hugh’s initial distrust of Riona so that his refusals to believe her protestations that she’s not his betrothed are plausible. The central characters are likeable and well-drawn, although Riona’s insistence on sniping at Hugh goes on for a little too long, and the revelation that leads to Hugh’s being finally accepted by all is a little too pat for my taste. The resolution to the problem created by the fact that Hugh has fallen for the wrong woman is also a little too easily come by, and the ending does feel somewhat rushed. Overall, though, The Wrong Bride is a solid and enjoyable read, and I certainly appreciated the use of an historical setting that’s slightly different to the norm. ...more

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Mar 29, 2016 Helen 2.0 rated it it was ok

Shelves: romance, bodice-ripper

I really wish The Wrong Bride had more general plot. This book was so slow paced it threatened to put me to sleep. For a book of around 350 pages, remarkably little happened until the very last 40 pages or so.

We start with Riona being kidnapped in the middle of the night by a stranger who claims she was promised to him in a contract settled by her father. However, Hugh McCallum has accidentally kidnapped his intended betrothed's cousin, Riona, who shares the same name. That's the premise that k ...more

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Oct 07, 2015 Andrea rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015, georgian-romance, scotland

The Wrong Bride was a cute, fast-paced story. I enjoyed it, but...the entire "wrong bride" bit could have actually been solved if Hugh McCallum actually opened his ears and listened to what Riona *repeatedly* told him, which was he had the wrong bride. Lack of communication is a big, bookish pet peeve of mine. The real bride was actually her cousin, same name, same home, same room, which is what led to the wrong bride being stolen. I told you it was cute.

Though I wasn't overly wowed by The Wron ...more

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Dec 15, 2015 Caz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-pre-1800s, audiobook, audiogals

I've given this a C+ for narration and a B- for content at AudioGals.

The first in a new series by popular author Gayle Callen, The Wrong Bride is an entertaining story that revolves around the idea of mistaken identity. While I at first thought the whole thing was going to turn out to be one of those stories that turns on the Big-Misunderstanding-which-could-easily-have-been-cleared-up, Ms Callen manages to make the misconstruction in this book plausible so that I wasn’t constantly yelling (in m ...more

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Aug 17, 2015 Mary - Buried Under Romance rated it really liked it

Shelves: kidnapped-wrong-person, hero-refuse-to-believe-heroine

This is not a bad story, for all that the hero and heroine get to know each other and fall for each other despite that he kidnapped the wrong bride. However, the frustration at the hero not believing the heroine's claims - when she gave very good evidence and has no logical reason to lie about this - annoyed me greatly. ...more

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Jun 06, 2015 Aoi rated it did not like it

Shelves: hf-scotland, dnf

DNF
A over-bearing, stubborn and brainless hero that best belongs in the 90s.

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Jul 25, 2017 Ouadi Imane rated it really liked it

Very highlander-ish- everything was on point altho the romance dragged a little bit at first but again that's understandable seeing as he kidnapped her , will most definitely check other books this author wrote ...more

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Jul 23, 2021 Tatianna Bluel rated it it was ok

Just meh.
The hero is a huge idiot. Literally kidnaps the wrong girl, and doesn’t piece it together until the end. Like she talks, at length, about having too many siblings and bel dude does not do the math *at all*.

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Sep 05, 2015 AnnMarie rated it it was amazing

The Wrong Bride by Gayle Callen is the first book in her new series Highland Brides.

Catriona Duff is staying with her uncle in London while her parents take her sister abroad to hopefully help improve the consumption she is plagued with. During her stay she finds herself being kidnapped by a highlander and taken to his castle in Scotland.

The highlander is Hugh McCallum. Years earlier his father and Catriona's make a contract that brings peace to their feuding clans. McCallum's prime land is sha

The Wrong Bride by Gayle Callen is the first book in her new series Highland Brides.

Catriona Duff is staying with her uncle in London while her parents take her sister abroad to hopefully help improve the consumption she is plagued with. During her stay she finds herself being kidnapped by a highlander and taken to his castle in Scotland.

The highlander is Hugh McCallum. Years earlier his father and Catriona's make a contract that brings peace to their feuding clans. McCallum's prime land is shared with the Duffs and in exchange Catriona is betrothed to Hugh which will ultimately seal a peace treaty between the clans. When Hugh visits Catriona's uncle to claim his bride after his father's death, he is furious to learn that the man has no intention of sticking to his part of the contract. In desperation Hugh returns in the night and kidnaps her.

The problem is that she is the wrong Catriona Duff! Her uncle, knowing that Hugh might resort to something like this, sends his daughter, with the same name, to the country, and gets his niece to sleep in the vacated room. Hugh knows he has the right room, but has no idea that he has the 'Wrong Bride'.

The story follows where Catriona tries to get Hugh to believe she isn't the woman betrothed to him, at first it's purely because she wants to be free from him. Later on though, when she realises that she may have feelings for him, she is desperate for him to believe her because the dowry he is expecting from their marriage won't be, and all that he had planned to use it on to help the clan would be impossible. Hugh won't believe her though, and he is more and more flummoxed when he thinks she has feelings for him yet still won't own up to her true identity.

I loved this story. I couldn't read it quickly enough to find out Hugh's reaction when he finally realises he has the wrong Catriona. Would he end up having to wed the correct Catriona, who I might add knew nothing about the contract. Would she marry Hugh when she found out the truth. Would she feel betrayed by 'our' Catriona for falling for her betrothed? What would our Catriona do if she had to give up Hugh. I couldn't see how the story would end, and was very happy with the way the author decided things should go. All of the characters in the story were well developed and connected, and we get a teaser at the end of the book about two of the other characters becoming betrothed. We will get their story in the second book in the series and I very much look forward to reading it. Gayle Callen has definitely made my list of authors whose books I must read.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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May 30, 2016 kris rated it it was ok

Hugh McCallum kidnaps Catriona Duff from her Uncle's house after said Uncle refuses to honor a long-standing betrothal between the Duff and McCallum clans. Except he takes the wrong Catriona Duff. OOPS. After whisking her away to Scotland, they canoodle and fall in love!!

1. Riona is pretty much like "NOPE" from the get-go. The first few chapters were kind of a delight, actually, seeing her resourcefulness and intelligence at work as she figured out what was going on. Except it isn't until the 50 ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 Danielle marked it as dnf

Shelves: arc

Not really feeling the set up and can't seem to get into this one :( DNF for now, may come back to it later... ...more

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Oct 06, 2019 Golden Time rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-next, i-love-the-cover, i-love-this-author, ebook, 2019

There are those things that I like about this book and things that I wouldn't care about that there's nothing that I hate or dislike therefore the 4 stars, but reading and finishing book 2 of this series first didn't help me compare the two books' stories. I love the second book more but this one is also enjoyable. ...more

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Nov 30, 2021 Nadine rated it did not like it

DNF at 50%

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Apr 16, 2022 Alice rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance-erotica, audibook

3.5 stars. Overall a fun story, enjoyed listening to this. I might pick up the others in the series (they don't seem to be available on audio so might not be for a bit). ...more

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Jul 16, 2017 Izzie d rated it liked it

A good story. I liked it, you felt for the poor 'wrong bride' kidnapped, impossible situation, how can she prove who she is?
When certain things happened I thought the ending was obvious and it took the characters a lot longer to figure it out. ...more

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Jan 23, 2020 Sandi aka Maudley rated it really liked it

Shelves: hist-rom

Enjoyable first novel in a new series. Looking forward to reading the next one.

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Jul 14, 2015 Pam rated it really liked it

A new Highlander romance is always something to look forward to, and I truly enjoyed this start to a new series. Who can resist an angry groom who kidnaps the wrong bride? It is a fun trope and I am looking forward to more in this series.

Hugh McCallum is returning to his homeland to take his rightful place as laird of the McCallum clan. He grew up elsewhere when his mother took his sister and him away from their abusive father. Now that his father has died, he is ready to claim the bride promise A new Highlander romance is always something to look forward to, and I truly enjoyed this start to a new series. Who can resist an angry groom who kidnaps the wrong bride? It is a fun trope and I am looking forward to more in this series.

Hugh McCallum is returning to his homeland to take his rightful place as laird of the McCallum clan. He grew up elsewhere when his mother took his sister and him away from their abusive father. Now that his father has died, he is ready to claim the bride promised to him years ago and travel home. Unfortunately Sir Duff is not willing to let his daughter go so easily and reneges on the contract, prompting Hugh to take matters into his own hands and abduct his bride.

Catriona Duff is also known as Riona, she and her cousin share the same name. Her cousin Cat was betrothed to Hugh when they were children as their fathers wanted to make peace between the clans. Unfortunately when Huge went to claim his bride, Cat’s father switched things around and sent her away, only to have Riona sleep in Cat’s room the night that Hugh kidnaps her to take her to his highlands, let the fun begin.

This is a fast, fun read that has combined humor and romance into a witty story that is set in the beautiful highlands of Scotland.

Riona is an interesting woman, on the outside she reminds you of someone who comes from a nice family but in reality she had an unhappy upbringing. She was the caretaker of her sister who was ill, and then when her parents took her sister away, she stayed behind with her uncle who was not a nice man. The only saving grace was her cousin, Cat. No one ever put her first in her life; she was lonely and did not have much confidence in herself. However, she gained more each day she was away from her uncle and with Hugh and his clan and I liked seeing her grow.

Hugh is a wonderful hero; he wants to do what is right for everyone by honoring the contract with the Duff’s and also return to his people to guide them toward a bright future. I like how he takes everything to heart and really wants to do well and he is patient and kind with Riona. I do think that his listening skills need help since he never wanted to believe he made a mistake and it took a long time for him to finally believe, but I suppose he was focused on his duties and his growing affection for Riona. Not to mention that if the truth came out, he would lose her.

I enjoyed these two together, of course Riona wanted nothing to do with him at first, but the Scottish traditions are more lenient and they often spent long periods of time together which made for the growing attraction between them, and some interesting nights of bonding. I enjoyed the secondary characters that rounded out the story; Samuel and Alasdair are great friends of Hugh, loyal and often funny. Later in the story we meet his sister Maggie who has her own interesting story that involves Owen, Riona’s cousin and Cat’s brother, I will look forward to reading this tale. All in all this is a nice historical romance set in one of my favorite places, the highlands of Scotland.

Review at: Ramblings from a Chaotic Mind

Copy from the publisher for an honest review ...more

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Nov 16, 2015 Melody May (What I'm Reading) rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, historical, edelweiss, avonaddict, avon

Rating 3 1/2 Stars

Posted on What I'm Reading

I received an opportunity to read The Wrong Bride by Gayle Callen. Actually, it's an interesting read. We have Hugh McCallum who kidnaps his intended, because her father wouldn't honor the agreement. However, the Earl of Aberfoyle is a tricky man and had decided to put his niece in his daughters room instead of a guest room. Which Hugh kidnaps the wrong woman. Now here's the kicker both girls are name Catriona. The Earl's actually daughter goes by Cat Rating 3 1/2 Stars

Posted on What I'm Reading

I received an opportunity to read The Wrong Bride by Gayle Callen. Actually, it's an interesting read. We have Hugh McCallum who kidnaps his intended, because her father wouldn't honor the agreement. However, the Earl of Aberfoyle is a tricky man and had decided to put his niece in his daughters room instead of a guest room. Which Hugh kidnaps the wrong woman. Now here's the kicker both girls are name Catriona. The Earl's actually daughter goes by Cat will his niece goes by Riona. Now here's my theory on this whole situation. I truly believe that the Earl and his brother have been on this plan to break the contract between the Duff and McCallum clan's and wasn't planning to honor it all. This is just my theory, and I could be totally wrong, because it never went into detail why the two girls were named the same. To me it's just odd and leaves me to my conspiracy theory. Let's move on from my thoughts on that.

Anyway, we have Riona trying to tell Hugh, he got the wrong girl. Hugh being slightly stubborn and hardheaded, not believing he made mistake. His goal is to make Riona fall in love with him even though he has kidnapped her. Honestly, how does one get over being force a prisoner and decided to fall in love with the guy. Yes, there is syndrome call for it, but we aren't going to touch that either. So, at the beginning of the story Riona believes he's this ogre of a man, an attractive one, but still an ogre. She wants to see all the negatives, but he tries to show her he can be a decent guy. By the way, isn't the easiest task, since he kidnapped the girl. Anyway, they both fall for one another. YAY, and they live happily ever after. No, they have to work for it, and there's the issue of the contract between the two clans that needs to be repair. Secrets of the past are reveal, that shed new light on Hugh in the eyes of the clan.

Overall, The Wrong Bride is an interesting read. There are some slow parts, but it's still good read. Actually, I want to see how the Duff and McCallum clans are able to solve contract problem, because that's not solve by the end. It's not a cliffhanger, but leads into the next story with Owen (cousin of Riona) and Maggie (sister of Hugh). Now those two have history and I'm dying to know what went down in the past. So, if you are in the mood of kidnapping the wrong person and heading to highlands of Scotland, The Wrong Bride is right up your alley.

Copy provided by Avon via Edelweiss. ...more

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Oct 29, 2015 Gaele rated it really liked it

Shelves: avon, avon-addicts, historic, edelweiss, reviewed, 2015-historic-romance-challenge

The first in a new highland romance historical series, The Wrong Bride is a wrong-place wrong-time situation gone horribly, or not so, awry. Catriona (Riona) is visiting her paternal uncle’s home, staying in her cousin’s room. Her cousin, also Catriona, is sent off to the country by her father, in anticipation of some forceful means of collecting on a bridal contract. See, years ago, her uncle entered into a contract for his daughter’s hand in marriage to Hugh, the son of the McCallums, an abutt The first in a new highland romance historical series, The Wrong Bride is a wrong-place wrong-time situation gone horribly, or not so, awry. Catriona (Riona) is visiting her paternal uncle’s home, staying in her cousin’s room. Her cousin, also Catriona, is sent off to the country by her father, in anticipation of some forceful means of collecting on a bridal contract. See, years ago, her uncle entered into a contract for his daughter’s hand in marriage to Hugh, the son of the McCallums, an abutting landowner. Now, as the time for the deal is coming Duff has arranged for his own daughter’s safety. Rebuffed and angry, Hugh returns to capture his bride, taking Catriona from the room he knows is hers. Unfortunately, the girl in the chamber is not the promised one, and our story takes flight.

Needing Hugh to understand and believe the truth, Riona is relentless in trying to get the bullheaded Hugh to listen to her: sure their names are the same, but she knows that the dowry he expects, so desperately needed for his ability to help the clan, won’t come, and she wants little more than to return home. But, Hugh’s plans for the clan, and his determination to do right by them, combined with his protectiveness, and despite his inability to listen, show him in a new light: one that doesn’t include crazed kidnapping highlander.

With his realization of the truth however, a whole new set of questions are asked, and Hugh has decisions and doubts: will Riona, the one he has come to care for, take him, even if the contract was not for her. Well-developed characters who showed solid growth and growing connection, even as circumstances truly thrust the two together. While the “mystery” of the wrong bride was instantly apparent to everyone BUT Hugh, the fun in this story is in his slow realization of the fact, and the author’s choices for resolution.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
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Mar 26, 2021 Rachel rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hugh kidnaps Riona from the bedroom of her cousin who is not home at the time. To me, she does not try that hard to stop him, but okay, I kept reading. As soon as she gets to talk to her captor, Hugh, she knows immediately that the woman he meant to kidnap was her cousin, Cat. His plan was to kidnap Cat to force the honoring of a betrothal agreement between his clan and hers, but he has never met her so he doesn't know what she looks like. So Riona is kidnapped from her uncle's house in London a ...more

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Aug 17, 2015 Leone (She Reads too Much Romance) rated it liked it

I think that this year has not been great for historical romances. Personally I have struggled to find a novel that is an equal balance of both historical fiction and of pure romance. Sadly I did not find those traits buried within the pages of this book. Once again I felt like I was reading nothing beyond historical fiction.

For the most part the author did a fairly decent job at maintaining my attention. The plot proved to be interesting and since I stuck with the story I was able to discover a ...more

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Nov 12, 2015 Carra rated it really liked it

Shelves: edelweiss

Historical romance fans will love this first book in Gayle Callen's Highland Weddings series. I normally don't read much historical romance, but when I do I carefully choose one based on the synopsis when one catches my eye. The Wrong Bride did just that, and I'm very happy to report that it turned out to be a captivating story with intriguing characters and a plot that kept my interest from start to finish.

I liked Riona's fiesty attitude, and the fact that she was willing to fight back and try ...more

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Oct 21, 2015 Gladys Gonzales Atwell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nerdgirlofficial

*The book has been provided by the author/publisher for an honest review.

Oh I do so love me a good historical romance and Gayle Callen’s new book The Wrong Bride is no exception. This steamy bundle of entertaining words captured my heart right from the beginning. Even though Riona was being kidnapped by a Scottish brut, it still grabbed me!!

Gayle has a wonderful way of introducing you to her characters through their inner monologue and it surely does not leave you lacking. The characters, Gayle ...more

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Nov 02, 2015 Edwina " I LoveBooks" "Deb" rated it liked it

ENJOYABLE ROMANCE!!

Laird Hugh McCallum has come to kidnap his betroth Catriona Duff, but wait there are two Catriona Duff's cousins with the same name. Of course Hugh kidnaps the wrong one. Two brothers one a Earl decides to give there two daughters the same name. One goes by Riona and the Earls daughter is called Cait.
No matter how much Riona tells Hugh he has made a mistake he won't listen. He believes The Earl Riona's uncle is trying not to honor the betrothal agreement made between the McCa ...more

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About Gayle Callen

Gayle Callen

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USA Today Bestselling author Gayle Callen writes historical romances for Avon Books. Her twenty-second novel, The Wrong Bride, was published in November 2015.

Gayle’s novels have won the Holt Medallion, the Laurel Wreath Award, the Booksellers’ Best Award, and finaled in the National Readers Choice Awards. She was a nominee for RT Book Reviews Magazine’s Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her books have bee ...more