The Marriage Contract

De: Cathy Maxwell

Narrado por: Virginia Leishman

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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

okay

Hard not to compare to Outlander, just alright. i would probably read more if it were a series.

Very interesting story.

Proxy marriage must have been very popular in early 1800’s England. This the second book I’ve listened to in the last month that was based on proxy marriage. What is really surprising is that you could end up married without even knowing it! Imagine. Nice to know it is no longer legal in England. Surprisingly, it is still legal in the U.S. in four states: Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Montana. There are certain restrictions but it is legal. Well, whether it is legal today or not the whole premise of this story is based on a proxy marriage that the groom doesn’t know about. The consequences are very interesting and funny as he gets his mind around the fact that his sister has again arranged his life without his permission. The wife is a delightful woman and you feel that if he would only put his anger aside, perhaps things aren’t as bad as he thinks. The rest of the book deals with him finally putting his objections to the side. The other side of this story deals with Scotland’s ever present fight to be an independent country from England. Their right to self rule. What is surprising is that it took until 1999 for the Scots to finally get their right to self rule and their own Parliament. They never got their own king back but self rule without monarchy is preferable in today’s world. Loved the plot. The performance was good also.

Decent storyline

The story was easy to listen to except for the inhales and sounds of the narrator’s drying mouth. I don’t know why people keep trying to compare it to Outlander-it has nothing to do with time travel, it’s just based in Scotland.
There are a few parts where the reader must infer what the writer is trying to imply as not enough information or details are given. I can usually see stories in my mind by their descriptions, not so with this one.

Good

It’s nice little story. I found myself chuckling a few times. She’s a strong female character in a unique way. He did make some inroads towards growth so that was nice.
I do agree with others the ending is a bit contrived so I suggest you stop reading when you are happy enough.
As for comparing authors this isn’t lit class and Outlander isn’t Hamlet and this isn’t Lord of the Rings but I was entertained.
The narrator does need a drink of water but she far from the worst.

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.