The Marriage Contract

By: Cathy Maxwell

Narrated by: Virginia Leishman

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

When Anne Burnett is forced into a proxy marriage with Aidan Black, a dashing Scottish laird with a reputation for unpredictability, traveling to the wilds of 19th-century Scotland to meet him is only a small concern. Her biggest worry is how to inform her new husband that he is married.

Falling in love with his castle and the fierce loyalty Aidan inspires in his people, Anne finds her greatest challenge is yet to come: somehow she must find her way past her husband's proud exterior and convince him to consummate their marriage. Virginia Leishman's captivating performance of this sweeping love story captures every breathless insight into the mysterious wonders of love.

Cathy Maxwell writes clever, engaging romances that find the many answers to the question, "Why do people fall in love?"

©2001 Cathy Maxwell (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Maxwell mixes humor with meticulous characterization to create memorable stories." (Publishers Weekly)

Great book

Lovely book to listen to. About 9 hours of just simply listening!!!

good book

I did not care for the narrator in this book. i thought the scottish voices were good but the english were , well, american sounding. I also prefer differences in mail and female voices and did not get that in this book. but the story was pleasant enough, the narration does not kill the book. I have about 20 mninutes left so have not gotten to the epilogue but overall it is not a book i regret spending a credit on. I like the lengthy reads, they feel much more worth the money.

Storyline Is Great - Narrator is Just Meh

I did like the storyline of this book; however the Narrator sounded as if she had a piece of candy in her mouth the entire time. I tried to block it out but when you are listening with earbuds, it is quite obvious. I didn't care for the graphic nature of the sex scenes but it is rare to find a book anymore without it.

Did I miss something?

The story overall - a variation on Outlander - chugs along ok at first until an unexplained jump occurs. The hero up until this point is only seen as nasty to his bride. One minute he is making her clean out horse stalls and then without further plot or character development, the bride declares her love for the guy!

It just doesn’t work.

Also, the Scottish clan folk are written as rustic simpletons.

A good listen

I enjoyed the story from beginning through the end. The narration was good but sometimes it was hard to differentiate between a male character and a woman

Good Story but...

The story was good. The characters were fine. The narrator was okay. Maybe it's just me, but I noticed the narrator's mouth movements a lot. It was a turnoff for me, not enough to not finish the book though.

Excellent story

I loved the story because it kept so close to historical events, and with my Scottish heritage and ancestors who fought in those wars, I love to read about what the Scottish people endured during that time in history. The narration for the male parts was poor. It sounded like an old man or a witch so it is very distracting, particularly in the steamy parts. But otherwise I loved it.

I loved it

Good performance. Good story. Kept my interest throughout the story. I recommend this. That’s all I have.

Good story

I didn’t mind the narrator’s voice or reading, but I could hear her swollen and lick her lips. It drove me crazy throughout most of the book.

The story was a good Scottish/English historical romance. Sometimes it’s hard to find one that isn’t corny or gets boring. I found this one never got boring nor was it corny. I recommend it, but wouldn’t read again.

Good story but the lips smacking was terrible

this was a great story but the sound of her licking her lips and smacking them was to much.