Marriage Lottery #10 Kidnapped Bride by Caty Callahan is a sweet romance that’s absolutely charming.
10 out of 10 stars. I laughed so hard I cried.
When I was growing up, there was a scandal (2008) regarding a romance author who wrote a bunch of kidnapped bride novels which she apparently plagiarized. Her name was Cassie Edwards. What I learned from this scandal was that there is an entire demographic of women who love kidnapped bride novels. Who knew? So I was wondering what to expect from this novel, but I gave it a go because thus far I have loved every novel written by Caty Callahan.
Shannon Sullivan is a young woman who has spent most of her life with her Aunt Brenda. She was a surprise child. Her parents had already raised all of their kids and then little Shannon came along, so she was conveniently shipped off to a spinster aunt. Even though she turns eighteen she doesn’t enter the lottery because she loves living with Aunt Brenda. Their life is perfect. Already I like the heroine. Then her aunt dies and she’s all alone. So of course she decides to enter the lottery.
On Lottery Day she is stopped on the road by two teenage boys. They are faking a broken wheel to kidnap her and she is completely clueless. Before she knows it, she wakes up in a strange house surrounded by strange men and she is absolutely terrified. But the boys’ father, Shane Black, quickly allays her fears. He had no idea what his kids were plotting and in this post-apocalyptic world kidnapping a woman is an immediate death sentence. So it’s not like Shane can just send her home. What if she tells someone? His kids are dead. And probably him too.
Over the next four days, Shannon becomes very attached to those two boys, who are so desperate for a mom. She also becomes attached to Shane, a widower who has done his best to raise his sons right and now finds himself an unwilling accomplice to kidnapping. When the Brennanmen show up looking for Shannon, Shane is not home. It’s Shannon who comes up with a believable story then rushes to tell Shane before the Brennanmen can reach him in the field.
What Shane didn’t plan for is that now the Brennanmen expect Shannon to go home. Trevor and Owen are not ready to let her go and neither is Shane. They’ve all gotten used to having a woman around the house and Shannon is special. But Shane is terrified that if she gets angry with him she’ll tell and his kids will be judged. That means they can’t be a part of Shannon’s life. That’s a pretty good setup right there. Two people in love who are torn apart because of circumstances.
10 out of 10 stars. I don’t want to give away the ending because it’s very sweet. This is NOT a Cassie Edwards’ type kidnapped bride. It’s a sweet romance about good intentions gone awry.
Leave a Reply