with two strong-willed characters pitted against each other!
It’s Scotland in 1746, the day of the Culloden Battle, in which the English redcoats overran the Scottish highlanders, striking the decisive blow against Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hope of freeing Scotland. On this day, Brody MacCauley is the last surviving man of his clan, in hiding with a few other deeply injured soldiers. A local pastor brings them food and finds a way to free one of the men–by accepting marriage to Megan MacMurray, second daughter of a nearby lowland laird.
Faced with an arranged marriage to an abusive English nobleman, Megan will do nearly anything to escape her doom, right down to marrying someone else quickly before her father’s arrangements can be finalized. She believes in the highlanders’ fight and has her own warrior heart to match her flaming red hair. When she sees Brody’s name on the list, she remembers the boy who teased her mercilessly when they were children. She also remembers that he seemed to be inclined toward her older sister, but that doesn’t matter. She doesn’t actually want their marriage consummated, she just wants to escape her fate and save the life of one highlander. She chooses Brody.
Brody is prepared to protect his new wife, whom he’s loved since he was a young teen, but she defies him at every turn. Megan is independent and impetuous, always one step ahead of him…or more accurately, stepping in a slightly different direction. He’s constantly scrambling to protect her while trying to care for his remaining injured warriors and keep himself out of the British eye.
Will Brody and Megan confess their love for each other before the redcoats figure out who Lady MacMurray’s new husband really is? Will they ever be safe, or relegated to living a life of masquerade?
Masquerade Marriage is the first novel I read on my Christmas present, my pretty Kindle. Thanks to the author for providing me with a digital copy of the novel. (As always, the opinions are mine alone). It didn’t take more than a few pages to get past the fact that the main character’s name is the same as my dog, Brody. In all, I loved this book far more than I expected to.
Anne Greene delights in writing about wounded heroes and gutsy heroines in both her historical and suspense novels. She’s a graduate of the University of Texas, Dallas, cum laude, with a degree in Literary Studies. Anne loves to travel and has visited twenty-nine countries, including three communist ones. Her love of sailing, horseback riding, history and art, as well as her Plano Police Academy training and her military life, often migrates into her books. Anne’s highest hope is that her stories transport the reader to awesome new worlds and touch their hearts.
(If you’d like a chance to win a copy of this novel, swing by International Christian Fiction Writers tomorrow and leave a comment!)
