It was a boastful wager, a bold flirtation meant to win a proposal from the most eligible officer in His Majesty's Royal Dragoons. They were torn between pride and passion. Not only that, but it blends both real and fictional people and places together in a colorful tale full of intrigue, gruesome fight scenes, and of course an enemies-to-lovers, forced-marriage romance.

Most people coming to this book now will undoubtedly be familiar with Outlander and will know how that whole fracas is going to go down, but what I love about this telling of this part of history is that this book was published several years before Outlander. It's 1745 in Scotland, and Bonnie Prince Charlie is about to start his attempt at the throne. This book has a few villains you love to hate, but the main conflict isn't exactly a person. Luckily, I'm interested in that history, but I can see how others might get tired of it. There are lots of little history lessons sprinkled throughout this book. Since I knew that before I got to the end, I was saved from giving into a screaming fit of frustration.

This book breaks one of the cardinal rules of romance: it doesn't have an HEA-but that is because, like a paranormal, the story continues in the next book in the series with the same couple.

Bestselling, award-winning author Marsha Canham sweeps us into the turbulence and romance of Scotland's quest for freedom in a saga of two born enemies whose lives and destinies are irrevocably bound to the fate of an empire.

He had no choice but to carry his reluctant bride off to the Highlands, to a world of ancient blood feuds and a brewing rebellion-a world where fiery passion and breathtaking courage would prove that even legendary warriors could lose their hearts. Alexander Cameron may have won the highborn English beauty in a duel, but not even the lure of long-forgotten desires could keep him from his meeting with destiny. How was the spoiled and pampered Catherine Augustine Ashbrooke to know the handsome stranger with the brooding midnight eyes would see through her plot and make her the pawn in a dangerous game of his own? United by a reckless game of chance.

The pride of lions by marsha canham