Scottish pride, persuasion, and passion—this is Highland romance at its breathtaking best.

Inverness, 1820
Perched on the North Sea, this port town—by turns legendary and mythological—is a place where Highland rebels and English authorities clash in a mortal struggle for survival and dominance. Among the fray is a lovely young widow who possesses rare and special gifts.

WANTED: Isabella Drummond
A true beauty and trained physician, Isabella has inspired longing and mystery—and fury—in a great many men. Hunted by both the British government and Scottish rebels, she came to the Highlands in search of survival. But a dying ship’s captain will steer her fate into even stormier waters. . .and her heart into flames.

My Thoughts:


This sweeping Scottish Historical romance is filled with historical pageantry at it's best.

In the vein of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series this is a can't put down read. I literally read this sweeping romance in two sittings.

The book starts at Inverness, of 1820 and carries our heroine to the highlands to hide from her would be assailants.

There Isabella can not turn away the man she finds on a beach and in dire straits likely dying.

Who is this man actually? Why would he help her other than the fact that she saved his life?

The McGoldrick husband and wife team of authors have once again written a winner.

I gave this book 4.9 of 5.0 stars for storyline and character development.

This book is not to be missed by fans of historical fact woven with mythical Scottish romance.

I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book by invitation from the publisher.

This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
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I loved Isabella and Cinead! The story had plenty of action and intrigue as well as a wonderful love story. I will be sure to look for more Highland Crown books from this author.

I did not realize this was going to end in a semi-cliffhanger. The story was ok, at times it was a little hard to follow because there was so much going on with so many different characters. I’m not sure if I’ll read the next in the series or not but this one was ok for a historical adventure/romance.

I loved Cinaed and Isabella's story! Both have their own reasons for being leery of one another, but running for their lives forces them to have to trust the other. When attraction flairs, their escape takes on a new meaning. Can these two find their HEA while escaping for their lives?

I loved watching these two come together and fall in love. Their adventure to safely added another layer to their romance and I quite enjoyed it. I'm so excited to see what happens in the next book in the series!!

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Isabella and Cinead stumbled upon each other and fall into love under very perilous circumstances. It seems no matter where they turn, the Devil myself is after them, in one form or another. If not for her dedication to duty and skill as a physician/surgeon, there is no doubt Cinead would have ceased to exist, folks. I don’t know about you, but I love it when the leading lady saves the day.

I felt I was immersed into the politics and struggle running rampant in the Highlands right along with this main couple. The romance and circumstances that put them on the run and into hiding seemed to go like them, hand in hand. Normally, I’m jealous and resentment of content that isn’t focused solely on the romance, but somehow the subplots helped cement this main couple’s relationship.

Isabella was strong, courageous, and always tried to do the right thing. Goodness, between her awesome character and Cinead’s always putting her safety before his own, they both deserved not just crowns, but highland halos.

As usual this author keeps her writing engaging and flowing across the pages. She seems to always give me a romantic tale with a likable main couple I can’t help but root for.

Title: Highland Crown, Series: Royal Highlander (Book 1), Author: May McGoldrick, Pages: 320, stand-alone but part of a series, detailed historical backdrop interwoven, tough as nails hero, doctor/surgeon heroine, both on the run, widow heroine, HEA for now, more to come, steamy scenes, perilous situations.

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for this review, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review through NetGalley. While the story was enjoyable and the characters interesting I found the writing style to be a little dense and more on the tell side than the show side.

Cinead has run ships for years, He is known for helping the Resistance in Scotland by smuggling guns, powder and other supplies. Unfortunately, one night, his ship goes aground during a horrible storm and, he is shot trying to get to shore.
Isabella is a trained surgeon, in hiding from English and Scottish both, due to the fact that they believe that she. assisted her husband with the Resistance and, disappeared when he was murdered in their home. She is hiding with the aunt of a friend when she sees Cinead shot, drags him from the beach up to the woman's hut and, surgically removes the bullet from his chest. When they all try to leave, Cinead is shot again and, they all have to make it to his uncle's estate.while keeping him alive.
The story of how these two fall in love during a time of incivility, war and, the inability to trust anyone, is fascinating!

I feel like I say this a lot about books these days, so maybe the problem is with me, but the beginning of this title was better than the end. So much happened during the beginning of the book to keep the plot moving along and then it just seemed to taper off around the middle. After that, the action happened more in spurts. I still found the overall story to be entertaining, and I will read the next in the series.

Highland Crown (Royal Highlander, #1)
by May McGoldrick

BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY ....

Absolutely positively loved this one. A wonderful read by a superb author. There is nothing missing within this story. It has layers, it has emotion, it has plots and characters you will adore. Each moment of this story was captivating to me as well as immersing me within History. I love the way it was written, I like the way this author is so very creative that she draws pictures in words and creates movies in the readers minds. Each and every page you will turn wondering what is next. I was really sad to see the book end. I will keep my eyes out for more of this one. For an absolutely fantastic read buy this book! I was given this book via NetGalley. ALL opinions here are my own and totally voluntary. Regards, Anna

I almost didn't make it through the first chapter of Highland Crown by May McGoldrick but I'm so glad that I did. The first chapter is an attempt to set up the story, but I feel the story would have been better served by just jumping into the tale of Isabella, an unusual woman in Scotland of the 1800s as she's both independent and a trained doctor whose husband allowed her to practice. However, after the brutal murder of her husband, she is forced to flee for her life. Her adventures and meeting with Cinaed, who becomes her love interest are the things of fantasy and adventure. This was a scary time in Scotland and they are spared none of it. Highland Crown is the first of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to the next installment! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this novel for review.

When I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a historical romance, but it turned out to be more of a suspenseful romance. The beginning of the book was great and I couldn't put it down. I loved how Isabella came to find Cinaed and all of the nail biting suspense that followed was great. However, after Isabella and Cinaed connected on a more romantic level the book fell flat for me. At that point it became very political (which I know it is even from the beginning of the book) and boring. I understand why the author left the ending a "cliffhanger" so that you would read the rest of the books in the series, but it felt like the story just ended and there wasn't really any closure. Wish I could say I enjoyed the book more, but I won't be reading the follow up books in this series. **ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own**

I adored this book! I truly enjoyed this wonderful historical romance and I couldn't put it down! Cinaed and Isabella were strong characters that fought for their loved ones and for those in need. Together they embark in an adventure and romance blooms between them. The authors did a wonderful job with the story line including actual historical events and fiction to tell us a story of adventure and romance in the Highlands. The stories will continue with Cinaed and Isabella's story in future books to come, but we will also learn the fate of her stepdaughter and sister. Exciting from the first page to the last. If you have never read or enjoyed historical fiction or romance before, then this novel will make you an instant fan!

I just loved this, the only downside was that this is the first of a true trilogy, and the full story arc is not resolved in this one novel. I was desperate to find out what happens next.

I love the mix of history and adventure and romance in May McGoldrick books, and this first book in a new trilogy didn’t disappoint. Mrs Isabella Murray Drummond is hiding in a crofters cottage next to the sea in the village of Duff Head in the Northeast corner of the Highlands. Her doctor husband has died whilst tending to injured radicals, and she has had to flee for her life with her stepdaughter and half sister, Morrigan and Maisie. Isabella is also a qualified doctor, who had attended university and practised as a physician in Wurzberg, she married a much older man to provide for herself and her sister, and he brought them all back to Edinburgh. On the run for her life, as both the radicals and the British army have placed a huge bounty on her head, she is hiding in the home of an old woman, Jean, whose nephew John Gordon, has agreed to help the three women. Because she is the hunted one, she has been separated from her sister and stepdaughter..

One evening a ship, The Highland Crown, runs aground on the rocks. The villagers want the vessel as salvage, so they try to kill the survivors from the shipwreck.. In the struggle for the ship, they shoot the captain Cinaed Mackintosh. He has managed to torch the cargo, before being shot, and the villagers are enraged.

Isabella watches with horror, and her doctors training revels against this violence. She managed to pull Cinaed from the sea and deals with his wound, despite Jean’s protest. They are discovered by one of the villagers, and are forced to flee for their lives, they travel to Edinburgh after evading capture by the evil British officer Ellis Hudson., assisted by a mysterious band of Highlanders, and end up at the home of Cinaed..’s kinsman Searc Macintosh.

Cinaed has felt rejected by his clan and his mother, at the age of 7 he was forced to leave the clan, and sent to Searc, he was then apprenticed to a ship. He has made his way alone since then, buying the Highland Crown and transporting cargo from the colonies, he also carries weapons for the radicals occasionally.

Searc is a fixer, one of the most powerful men around, with fingers in all the intrigues in the city. He works with all sides including the British. His house is not safe, and Isabella and Cinaed masquerade as husband and wife, so that Searc will protect her too. Isabella tends Cinaed, who has been shot again, and Jean poses as their servant.

As he recovers they are both drawn to each other, they discover the house is being watched by an unknown band of Highlanders. Cinaed is formally introduced to the locals, who very confusingly, treat him as a hero. He is focused on saving Isabella and reuniting her with Maisie and Morrigan. He ignores these strange signs and continues to plan to save them all.

As they try to eliminate the threat Hudson poses to Isabella, find Maisie and Morrigan, and save John Gordon who has been captured by the British, they fall in love with each other, and Cinaed decides to marry Isabella in truth if she’ll have him. On the way they learn a lot more about themselves, and Cinaed discovers secrets about himself and his family. They mystery is not entirely solved, we need to wait for book 2 and 3 for that.

I absolutely loved the use of real history and fiction in this book. The plot was exciting and pacy, and very satisfying The relationship between to two main characters is lovely. So nice to see an older heroine, capable and competent. Their connection develops very well, and was pleasingly free of misunderstandings and lack of communication. They are both admirable characters it was easy to like and root for. It was lovely to see Cinaed’s protectiveness not result in hobbling Isabelle’s actions. All in all a most satisfying romance and book. Can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Highly recommended.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads.

I adored this book! I loved the main characters SO MUCH and rooted for them to be together from the moment they met. The backstory of why everyone was after both characters was told so wonderfully that I was just as in love with their history and the world surrounding them as I was the characters themselves.

“Highland Crown” by May McGoldrick was an ARC that I received from St. Martin’s Press. All opinions are my own. Not that anyone cares because no one reads my blog, but whatever. Anyway, if you’re reading this, there are some spoilers, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The beginning of the book was really good. Isabella is a rare female doctor on the run for her life because her hubby got mixed up in some Scottish revolt and the English are out to get her. Apparently, the Scottish rebels also want her dead because she “knows too much,” so it’s better to just kill her than, I don’t know, help save her life in appreciation for treating dozens and dozens of injured rebels after a failed attempt to overthrow the English government
(or something like that). This is not the best plot, but I was willing to overlook this because the story (at this point) was pretty fast paced and there were some sparks flying around between Isabel and our hero, Cinaed.

Cinaed is a ship captain whose ship crashes close to where Isabelle is hiding out with this old lady, Jean. She finds him on the beach and saves his life even though Jean thinks it would be more prudent to throw him back into the ocean (she’s totally serious about this). Anyway, the villagers in Jean’s village are P.O.’d because they didn’t find any valuable spoils from the shipwreck. So this one guy goes over to Jean’s house for one reason or another, and when he stumbles upon Isabella and Cinaed, Cinaed gets trigger happy and kills him. So now we are ALL on the run, which means that Isabelle is now TRIPLE on the run since the English, Scottish rebels, AND Jean’s neighbors ALL want her dead.

I should have just quit at this point, but there was a juicy moment or two between Isabelle and Cinaed that had some potential, so I chugged on.

Except, Jean had to tag along with Isabelle and Cinaed since there was a dead villager at her house. So she’s basically the third wheel. Not too much hankypanky when grandma’s in the car too. They end up at Cinaed’s uncle’s house, where the story proceeds to fall flat on its face.

Cinaed is supposedly worried about his crew and getting another ship and dealing with his lost cargo. None of this is taken care of and he just kinda hangs out and starts telling us about how much he suddenly loves Scotland and his countrymen (even though he had just spent the preceding 20+ years in Canada. Why the sudden change of heart??? His ship was just wrecked and he was SHOT by onlookers who were MUCH more worried about collecting shipwrecked valuables than saving lives. I don’t see how something like that can inspire love and loyalty, but that’s just me). It’s as if the story completely lost its focus at the halfway point. Isabelle is supposed to be looking for her sister and stepdaughter (and that’s what drives her through the first half of the story). By the time they get to the uncle’s house, this has become a secondary issue.

They finally get it on, but the story is so blah at this point that hankypanky is blah too. The authors don’t spend much time developing the romance. It kinda just happens and well, there are no fireworks. Maybe some (damp) sparklers. Cinaed has Isabella pretend to be his wife so that his uncle would protect her too. Then he’s like, let’s do this for real, and she’s like, lemme think about it cuz my life is kinda complicated right now. And he’s like mmmm okay. Then they make out a little but don’t spend much time together. Then suddenly she’s all like “YO THAT’S MY MAN” even though she was just like, “ummmm I’m not sure.” OHHH. And let me explain what I mean by “damp sparklers.” After they finally get it on, Isabelle starts BAWLING ABOUT HER DEAD HUSBAND. I mean, DAMN! Way to completely kill the mood.

Then, Isabelle runs into the Scottish rebel who ordered her death and he's super embarrassed basically says, “sorry, my bad!” and POOF, Isabelle is down to TWO sets of people who want her head. Honestly, it’s really just the English who want her dead because the supposedly angry villagers are completely MIA. Oh, and when she tells us the English want her head, she really means this ONE English lieutenant who has it out to get her. No one else, including his superiors, have ANY control over him. Also, no one else seems to be looking for her, just his random lieutenant.

The last half of this book was a complete mess. Unrelated plots and subplots popping up all over the place! A ton of unresolved loose ends (in addition to those that will be explained in the next book, which I will not be reading). This book gets 2 stars from me (and only because the first half held such promise!).

New author for me, will definitely be reading more by them. Loads of historical fact, great characters with great chemistry. Highly recommend

I know that I have said this in the past, but I am a huge fan of anything to do with Scotland. When I read the blurb for Highland Crown, I knew that I needed to read this book. It was set completely in Scotland. Plus, I was intrigued by Isabella. A female physician in Regency England was unheard of. I needed to read this book. I am glad I did because it was fantastic!!!

Like I mentioned above, Isabella was an anomaly in Regency England. In that era, women were expected to be seen and not heard. An educated woman was rare. Even rarer was a woman physician. It was refreshing.

The prologue was poignant. I wasn’t familiar with how Scotland was treated in Regency England. So, I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as Sir Walter Scott said it was. The regret and sadness were tangible. It also gave a great introduction to Isabella’s character.

I liked Isabella. She had to be strong to become a physician in an era where woman were considered property. When her husband was killed and a bounty placed on her head, she did what she had to. She wanted to make her that Maisie and Morrigan survived. Separating from them was her way to ensure that they wouldn’t be killed or hurt. Of course, that put her on a crash course with Cinaed.

I fell a little in love with Cinaed everytime he appeared in the book. He was brave. What he did when he was injured showed that. The guy had two gunshot wounds and he still killed two people. Impressive. He had a vulnerable side also. He was hurt over being cast out of his clan when he was 9. He didn’t know what he did to deserve that, but 21 years later, it still weighed on his mind.

I liked that Isabella was older than Cinaed. In the grand scheme of things in the book, it was a small blip. But for me, it was refreshing. I liked that Isabella was older. She wasn’t easily disturbed by things that would send a younger girl into a faint. She also wasn’t a virgin. So the sex scenes weren’t all about her being eased into sex. Instead, they went at it.

The secondary characters brought depth to the book. Auld Jean, Searc Mackintosh, Sir Walter Scott, John Gordon, and Lieutenant Hudson were amazing. Lieutenant Hudson scared the crap out of me. He had one train of thought and that was to get Isabella.

The romance between Cinaed and Isabella took a while to kindle. Which was OK with me. I wasn’t expecting them to fall in love while Cinaed was injured. I did get a small sense of Instalove after he was on the mend. It didn’t bother me. I actually expected it because of the era that the book took place in.

I thought the sex scenes were great. They were not graphic. Just enough was written to get my attention. Then I had to use my imagination for the rest.

The end of the book was great. I loved how Isabella’s storyline ended. It was what I expected. But, it was Cinaed’s storyline that threw me for a loop. There was a twist in the plotline that I didn’t see coming. It shocked me as much as it shocked Cinaed. With that plot twist, came the cliff hanger. I have said in the past that I do not like cliffhangers. But in this case, I do. It did what it was supposed to. It is making me want to read book 2. I need to see what Maisie and Morrigan’s stories will be!!

I would give Highland Crown an Adult rating. There is sex (not graphic). There is violence. There is no language. There are triggers. They would be the death of a spouse, abandonment, and war. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Highland Crown. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

This was a fast paced romance filled with peril and adventure. At times I felt that there was too much adventure and wished things would slow down so that the characters would have a chance to have a real conversation, I loved both of the main characters especially strong and competent Isabella. I would have really loved more of her backstory and more about the difficulties of being a female doctor at the time. With British soldiers needing to be defeated every few pages there was not a lot of time for development. This book sets up the rest of the series and, while I ended up enjoying it, I doubt I will continue onto the next book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I truly enjoyed this wonderful historical romance. It was very fast paced and I couldn't put it down.! Cinaed and Isabella were strong characters that fought for their loved ones and for those in need. Cinaed is the captain of the Highland Crown. Due to the weather he loses his ship and some of his crew and is washed upon the beach of where Isabella is hiding. Isabella is a trained physician who, due to her first husband's political activities she is on the run. It is when she is in hiding that she encounters an injured Cinaed. She is determined to save his life even if she is risking being discovered. Together they embark in an adventure and romance blooms between them. Cinaed is a very sweet and honest man who will do anything to protect Isabella. We are also introduced to an array of secondary characters that play an important roles in the lives of Cinaed and Isabella.
Both authors did a wonderful job in mixing in actual historical events and fiction to tell us a story of adventure and romance in the Highlands. The series will continue, according to the Authors Note, with two more books. The stories will continue with Cinaed and Isabella's story, but we will also learn the fate of her stepdaughter and sister.