An ancient curse proclaims them to be fated but it's not quite as simple as that. The hero was in love with another when his fated bride is found but he selflessly put aside his own happiness to save his people from starvation. As the clan he leads is in a famine when the previous bride refused to wed the laird. The hero travels to England and the second he sees the girl he's to marry, he instantly doesn't think fate is all that bad. The heroine lives in constant fear that her mothers madness will consume her so she desperately seeks a husband before her secret comes out. She fights the hero tooth and nail because a, she doesn't believe in the curse, and b, she's afraid of her own feelings. But when the madness begins to affect her, she has no choice but to go to Scotland to seek out a cure. This book was a roller-coaster. I spent the fight 2/3rds of the book hating the heroine. She was stupidly stubborn and selfish and possessed absolutely no regard for anyone but herself. The hero was unrelenting in his pursuit of her and wouldn't ever take no for an answer but finally it all builds and builds inside of him and he snaps at. He tells her she's selfish and while she's complaining she has to wed a hot, Scottish laird, people are dying. After that confutation, the whole story changed. She recognizes her faults and tries to be better though she still doesn't believe in the curse, she's willing to see the man for what he is. At some point I began to believe her. It's a little crazy that she's expected to go a foreign land and wed a stranger all because of a birthmark. When she doesn't instantly marry him, every single thing that goes wrong in the whole village is blamed on her. She gets yelled at and threatened so much that it's the hero who actually defends her. The curse is real but they're let it consume their lives and when she does marry him, the villagers begin to understand that not everything can be given to them. That sometimes bad things happen to good people. I absolutely loved the chemistry between the characters when it isn't until almost the end that it's even hinted at deeper feelings. The hero still cares for the girl who turned him away and the heroine's still reluctant to marry him. I didn't really like that aspect but overall it's an engaging story because it makes you feel for the characters. ( )

The title "The Night Before the Wedding" is a bit misleading, but I still enjoyed Debra Mullins latest historical about sacrifice, a brawny Highland chief, and the spoiled English bride he must marry to save his clan. There's a curse involved too, which just makes it jucier.

Catherine is many things: the daughter of a wealthy businessman, an heiress, beautiful, spoiled, oh...and she's pretty sure she's going mad! Her mother committed suicide at a fairly young age after going mad and Catherine has begun hearing voices since her eighteenth birthday. So now she and her father are working at finding her a husband with two special traits: he must be titled(for her father), and he must be someone who would care for her even if she does go mad (for Catherine). It's just too bad that none of the men she's considering are the one she keeps dreaming about.

Gabriel MacBraedon, Earl of Arneth, Highland Laird, has tried everything he can think of to break the curse...without success. The only option left is for him to find the latest Farlan daughter, the one who bears the mark, and marry her. Never mind that he already gave his heart to another, never mind that she's a spoiled brat who thinks mostly of herself, and never mind that she still makes his loins burn...he has no choice left unless he's willing to see his people starve.

Gabriel was a wonderful Highland hero; strong leader, sexy lover, kind to animals and women, yadda, yadda, yadda. Catherine, on the other hand, was a spoiled, selfish, teenage-acting, 18-year-old who I never particularly warmed to throughout the story. She did eventually learn to think of others, but it took drastic examples of want and privation...what a witch! The attraction between these two, though, was as hot as any Debra Mullins writes; and that's very good indeed.

I never really figured out exactly which era the story was set in, although if I had to guess it would be late regency, early Victorian. None of that really affected the story, but Catherine's insistence in disbelieving a curse would have been much more plausible the later the era...know what I mean?

In any event, the title "The Night Before The Wedding" must refer to the fact that Catherine had already picked out someone to marry...even though there was no actual engagement. Or maybe it referred to the events that occurred prior to the planned wedding of Gabriel and Catherine...I'm not sure. It was still a book I didn't find hard to finish and as I normally like Debra Mullins writing, I'll just note this one as 'not her best work, but still readable'. Works for me! ( )

This was an okay read, entertaining enough, not great ( )

The characters were not developed enough for me to believe that they could even stand to be in the same room together let alone want to be together. This was my first Debra Mullins and sadly may be my last. Not something that I would recommend! ( )