Book Review: Lyon's Bride by Cathy Maxwell

Lyon's Bride
The Chattan Curse #1
Author: Cathy Maxwell
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical ROmance
Released: April 24th 2012
Review Source: Avon
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) "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....

An old friendship is rekindled when the present Earl of Lyon is forced to engage the help of a match maker to find him a wife that he will not be able to fall in love, and she turns out to be his childhood friend. The curse bestowed upon his family has prevented them to fall in love, unless they pay the consequences with their life. This is the reason given by Neal to explain to Thea when she tries to talk him out of this loveless marriage. He is determined and she is skeptic about the whole curse idea, but agrees to help him out. Once the misunderstanding of their estranged friendship is cleared out, the realization of strong feelings arise and the consequences are put in the back burner until it makes its presence known.

The cast of characters is great an Thea's sons gives the light hearted and fun touch to the arrangement. The romance is gradual following the premise of the honorable attributes that they share. Once they finally realize that they can't escape their feelings for each other, the fight to overturn the curse begins. The ending sets the beginning of the sequels using the not so impeccable characters of Neal's brother and the secret behind his sister when they engage in the fight to release the curse's hold and peaking your curiosity for what's to come. Loved the way it flowed and kept you turning pages unstop.