seriously romantic: the bride chooses a highlander by adrienne basso

i don't know what it is about 14th-century highland romances, but i love them. there's something about the setting, the time period that really appeals to me. all the alpha posturing by the clansmen should put be over the edge, but it rarely does. i think because the heros are usually super progressive and the women they fall in love with are always so clearly ahead of their time. it's funny to me that sometimes that same progressiveness will drive me batty in a regency romance, but in these renaissance-set novels i have no problems with it. 

anyway, the bride chooses a highlander finds katherine mackenna with the unusual chance to make her own choice for a husband. when she chooses hamish drummond, she's determined that they get along pleasantly enough and it should all work out for the best. when she finds him in another woman's arms at their betrothal celebration, she's quickly disabused of that notion. electing to run away, she quickly falls into the hands of aiden mctavish, who bears a grudge against her family. 

against his brother's orders, he takes katherine prisoner, and when she escapes it's his brother, lachlan who must deal with the consequences. from the moment these two characters appear on the page together, it is clear that they fit one another perfectly. lachlan is calm and steadfast and katherine fiery and headstrong, but the way these two characters can speak openly with each other, it's just perfect. they have to navigate clan politics and rivalries, and their own disparate upbringings to make things work, but they have the commitment to do it. and how it all comes to pass is just lovely.

**the bride chooses a highlander will publish on december 18, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/kensington books (zebra) in exchange for my honest review.