At her first royal ball, Evelyn saw him talking to her father. "Truly he might possibly be the most striking man she'd ever seen. It was all she could do not to openly gawk. No, she'd never met a man such as he. Beautiful, yet masculine. His face youthful, yet sophisticated and wise. The inability to put her finger on what made the earl more alluring caused her to stare more." It was the first time she has seen John Erskine, the Earl of Mar and Secretary of State for Scotland. Of course with her current occupation of spying and helping the cause of the Jacobites, which supported her passion to end the power of the aristocracy, she thought him another priviledged peer.
Amy Jarecki is a master at creating a story with all of the elements of a dazzling Scottish romance that will take your breath away! An arranged marriage, a simmering passion that explodes, suspense that will keep you intrigued, secrets that will come out and a road to love that winds it way to the end.
There is so much more I can say, but I will leave you with words of wisdom. If you enjoy reading stories that will grab you from the first page and hold your attention until the end, this one is for you! Have enjoyed this series so much and although this can be read as a standalone, I encourage you to read them all!!

I absolutely love this story. Eve is wonderful. She is passionate about her causes and fierce and loyal to those she loves. John is awesome and maddening in turns. They make an absolutely stunning pair. The author has used her vast knowledge of historical facts to ensnare us in the politics of the time and take us on a wild ride of love and intrigue. You will be delighted at every turn of the page.

I always love Amy Jarecki's books and I am happy to say I love this one just as much as the previous books.

I love the story and it kept me reading. Actually, it kept me reading late into the night because I just couldn't put it down.

I do highly recommend this

Scottish/English history of the end of Queen Anne's reign is packed with spying, intrigue, political maneuvering and treason. This time in history is the setting for Amy Jarecki's exciting and steamy series. This is the best story so far. It takes us to Queen Anne's inner circle of government and the delicate line the Secretary of Scotland must balance.

John Erskine, Earl of Mar, is the Secretary of Scotland whose reputation is Bobbin John because his support of Scotland seems to facilitate. He's newly widowed with two young sons and deeply in debt left from his father. This is the man balancing his beloved Scotland from being raped by England's rule and trying to provide the best care for his clan. He is forced to solve his debt problem by marrying an English heiress. Lady Evelyn Pierrepont is beautiful and will be snapped off the marriage mart if he doesn't act quickly. He enters into a marriage contract with her father, the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, thinking her father has discussed this with his daughter. He has his work cut out for him when he discovers she's shocked to discover she's about to be married to a Scottish statesman she's just met.

Lady Evelyn is the oldest daughter of Hull's three daughters. She's just turned into her majority and entered society. She has a stout heart for the wrongly and mistreated common man. Her father is rich by mistreating and underpaying his servants. He has no loyalty to those in his service when they get sick or aged. He also is a smuggler who avoids paying duties to the crown. His latest shipment would drive down the prices of Scottish goods hurting the people. This enrages Evelyn so's influenced by Mr Claude Dubois, Emissary from the French King Luis. He's convinced her to spy on her father to help the Jacobite cause and English downtrodden. Dubois is over joyed when he finds his information can now come from Erskine's household through Evelyn, especially when in reality he's gathering information for the French invasion of England. With this persuasion Evelyn goes through with the marriage seeing a loveless future albeit one useful to the cause.

Wow what a love story packed full of prejudgement, spying, treason, running for their lives and passion. This story is woven with political intrigue and so much steam. It is the best story Amy Jarecki has penned yet. As events unfold Evelyn discovers she misjudged John and John discovers such intelligent passion in his new bride. They forge a strong union to aid Scotland's future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced readers copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

With two young sons to care for and a large estate to run, John Erskine, the widowed Earl of Mar, needs to remarry as quickly as possible. The beautiful Lady Evelyn Pierrepont would be the perfect match and mother for his sons. She’s a duke’s daughter so she can teach his son’s about court life and manners. But there's more behind the Evelyn’s demeanor than she's letting on, there’s a feisty lass with a smoldering allure not even John can ignore. I love this feisty English woman, she doesn’t know who to trust and before we know it we find out she’s been trusting the wrong people and their very lives are in danger. They are declared traitors and on the run trying to prove their innocence. The story is wonderful it’s filled with Highland magic, romance with a lusty Earl and two find lads who keep life interesting. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

With two young sons to care for and a large estate to run, John Erskine, the widowed Earl of Mar, needs to remarry as quickly as possible.
Evelyn has no desire to wed the rugged Scottish earl, but at least she'll be able to continue her work as a spy-as long as her husband never finds out.
I have read this author's work before and found this particular title to be one of the best I have read. The characters are well drawn and engaging and the story is engrossing. There is intrigue and romance.
I gave this newest title 4.65(rounded up to 5) of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization.
I received a complimentary digital ARC of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

From start to end, this story was filled with intrigue, suspense, danger, secrets and of course, romance and passion. I love it that the hero's character, John Erskine, is based on an actual historical figure and even though the author took liberties with his story, it was so well written, I didn't mind at all.

Taking place in the 1700's, when Queen Anne reigns over England, Scotland and Ireland, her brother Prince James living in exile while the Jacobites plot to make him take his rightful place as King, the Earl of Mar, John Erskine, The Secretary of State of Scotland, is looking to find a wife with a dowry that he needs to pay off his father's debts and mother to his two young sons, Thomas and Oliver. He decides that Lady Evelyn Pierrepont is the perfect choice!

There is more to Lady Evelyn Pierrepont than meets the eye, though!! She's very adept with a bow and arrow AND she's a spy! It doesn't take long for her to fall in love with John but she knows that he will never stop loving his dead wife. There is much danger and misunderstandings in their way before they can get their HEA but it will all have been worth it in the end.

Simply put, I loved and enjoyed this story, the characters are fascinating and complex, John's young sons are a delight and I adored Evelyn's dog, Brutus, the old Corgi:)

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This is another exciting and thrilling addition to the Lords of the Highlands series that will have you turning the pages as fast as you can just to see what will happen next, it has the usual spies and danger with the I'm not going to fall in love because I really don't like my other half, oh but wait aspect, but really this is what makes this book unputdownable especially when you get into it, and you will.

I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest opinion

The Highland Earl is the sixth book in Amy Jarecki's Lords of the Highlands series. Haven't read the first five books? No problem - I didn't read them either, and this one stood alone perfectly well. There is one problem, however... I have apparently been missing an awesome series and now have to go buy the first five and catch up!

Lady Evelyn Pierrepont is the daughter of an English Duke. However, she isn't just a Lady - she is also a staunch Jacobite supporter who spies on her father for the cause! While at a ball, Eve's father introduces her to an incredibly attractive man, John Erskine, the recently widowed Earl of Mar. The Earl of Mar has an unfortunate nickname, Bobbin' John, due to his apparent inability to vote along party lines consistently. Eve's father promises his daughter in marriage to John, without her consent. She must do her duty to her father, like it or not. John, due to his father's bad management, needs her dowry funds to take care of his Scottish estate, and he needs a stepmother for his two young sons. They marry, with both parties having deep secrets they keep from each other.

I just loved the relationship between Eve and John. Though attracted to each other, there wasn't any insta-love here, which made it a lot more realistic. The same was true about Eve's relationship with her two new stepsons. While the younger child was very open, the older one was not so agreeable. There was much distrust between our two leads, and they had to learn to be open in order to move forward. This book had me both smiling and crying. There was quite a bit of action here too, both of the steamy and swashbuckling kind. It was very interesting to find that the leads were based on real people. Don't miss out on this exciting story!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Lady Evelyn Pierrepont while at a London ball notices a handsome Scottish lord John Erskine also known as the Earl of Mar while talking to one of her dearest friends Mr. Dubois. Evelyn is intrigued by John but doesn’t think anything of it until he proposes marriage in name only. Evelyn is quite reluctant against it but her father the Duke goes ahead with the marriage contract anyway despite Evelyn’s protestations. Evelyn and John’s marriage is not perfect filled to the brim with secrets the biggest one being is Evelyn is really a spy for the Jacobite cause. Evelyn is asked to spy on John for the cause which she feels compelled too since she really doesn’t trust him either. Of course as Evelyn gets to know John more the spying becomes less important especially since her heart is involved. What will John do when he finds out what Evelyn is truly up to and a spy? Will John be able to protect her while also trying to save her from countries but most of all from himself?
What a rollicking action filled suspenseful story filled with wonderful settings, mysterious dealings and great characters! Sure at times the circumstances are a bit too shady and hard to figure out which does cause many questions about the Jacobites and who or what they are exactly. Even some missions aren’t fully explained especially in Evelyn and John case or even Mr. Dubois whose real purpose in deceit is a bit confusing. Still it isn’t a terribly difficult read and when focusing on the romance instead of the spy angle makes for an enjoyable one at that. Evelyn the beautiful naïve innocent spy really has the perfect cover. Yes she is a Duke’s daughter and spying on dear old dad is easy but never really explained since her actions carry unforeseen consequences until she almost loses John or gets blamed for something. John the angry Scottish earl really married in haste and really should of courted Evelyn to find out her true nature. Even their relationship seemed very much embroiled in physical lust and desire rather than love so the believability of it is lacking and not real. Still the story is fun and the author knows how to deliver a nice romance story with an actual historical figure blending it with fiction but making it feel quite real.

Her heroes are braw, her damsels are daring and your heart is engaged!

This Regency read has the setting of all the makings of a civilized society, but… when underpinned with the turbulence of its time, the characters have the opportunity to show what they truly are made of.

Evelyn, Lady Mar, is a young woman who is emotionally challenged when she finds out her father leads a path of greed. She, then, is encouraged, by Monsieur Dubois, who lives his life in duplicity, to spy on her own father and prevent him from reaping the rewards of his schemes. However, Dubois, too, is a schemer who dups many.

As Dubois’ spy, she marries John, the Earl of Mar, a widower of only a few months. He has worked for the Crown for years. He’s known as Bobbin’ John for a reason which I’ll let you ferret out as you get into the story. The earl marries for two reasons: He has two young children who need a mother and he needs the dowry which comes with his titled wife to pay debts his father left on the property when he passed away. This marriage has all the markings of a marriage of convenience – Evelyn has easy access to spy for France through Dubois. In so doing, she thinks to support Scotland and the Jacobites.

Matters of the heart arise, taking this marriage of convenience toward an engaging emotional journey. Will Dubois’ conniving for his King and his own pocket destroy Evelyn’s marriage? Will John’s loyalty to family and home take center stage verses the Crown? Can John love another when his heart belongs to his dead wife?

If you like your Regency reads with fewer steamy scenes (I do), dangerous encounters and more character development, this story is an easy choice. Jarecki always writes a well-balanced story, one full of entertainment.

Amy Jarecki is a new author for me and I wasn’t disappointed! I absolutely loved this story and thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. This story was very different from anything I’ve read in a historical setting. I do enjoy a good marriage of convenience. Evelyn is a fantastic heroine-fierce, brave and head strong. I love that she was not afraid to put her neck on the line for what she believed in. John is the perfect balance to Evelyn’s heroine. Slightly misunderstood, but fiercely loyal and protective of those he loves. These two were amazing together. They had chemistry from the start and it continued to grow as the story progressed. This book was perfectly sexy and romantic with a dash of intrigue and suspense-perfect formula for a book. I will definitely be checking out more by this author.

Another great read from Amy Jarecki. I've read all the books in this series and this was one of my favourites.
I loved the time frame this novel takes place in. The struggle to put who the Scottish believed to be the True King on the throne, it was a time where you had to keep a lot of your beliefs secret. Lady Evelyn Pierrepont was more than just a lady, she was a spy. She had a cause to believe in and would do what needed to be done to help it succeed.
The Earl of Mar, a recent widower, is in search of a wife to help care for his two sons and to clear off the debt that was left from his father. He has been working as the Secretary of State of Scotland, directly with Queen Anne and has done his best for his beloved Scottish people.
Though Lady Evelyn was not looking to become a wife, she married the Earl of Mar because it would offer her opportunities to spy on someone directly associated with the Queen.
However, things do not go as planned. Danger and misunderstanding ensue.
This book was a delight from beginning to end. I loved both the h & H, as well as his two sons and we cannot forget about the elderly Corgi, Brutus.
One thing I love about Amy Jarecki is how she takes real people from history and gives them a place in her stories.
I was given an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

4.5 Stars! The fact that Evelyn is a spy was what initially intrigued me and had me picking this one up! It did not disappoint. This historical romance has the slowest burn during this marriage of convenience. I enjoyed watching both characters get to know each other, and how Evelyn's relationships with John (the Earl of Mar), and his sons develop. All the twists and turns and connections between different characters kept me guessing the whole way. I loved the use of the historical era in this one also, and that's not just because I have a thing for highlanders. Haha. Although this is one great highlander, who is as caring as he is hot. Don't get me wrong he has his faults, but he figures it out. Evelyn is definitely a match as a caring woman, even if she is a little on the naive side but it works for this story. If you like highlanders, romance, historical romances, I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you so much to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Highland Earl by Amy Jarecki is book 6 in The Highland Earl Series. This is the story of John Erskine, the Earl of Mar and Lady Evelyn Pierrepont. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Evelyn learned of her father the Duke of Kingston-Upon-Hull, wrong doing and is trying to make things better by spying on him and reporting back to who she trusted. John is a widower with two boys and has been trying to rebuild his inheritance after his father almost ruined everything. John had taken a job as the Secretary of State for Scotland and member of Queen Anne’s cabinet to earn money and to help the Scottish caused. John decided to marry to help raised the much needed money to help him and the boys, which leads him to pick Evelyn. Evelyn is upset at first that her father has chosen to marry her off but soon it is showing to help her spying. But Evelyn starts to have feelings for John and his boys then they end up having to go on the run to clear John's name.
This was a great exciting read! Loved it.

Evelyn, the English heroine, tries to even the playing field by spying for what she thinks is a good cause. But things are sometimes not as they appear, including her new arranged marriage husband, who turns out to be much more than just a verra handsome Scottish face.

John hasn’t completely gotten over the loss of what he considered the perfect, docile wife. He’s still in love with her and doesn’t want to let down the walls around his guarded heart. He’s got two young boys to raise though so has no choice but to secure a nuturing, wealthy wife so he can climb out of a mountain of debt his father passed along to him.

These two get thrown into a melting pot of lies, deceit, and life threatening betrayal. Surrendering to one another is the only way they will survive to defeat their enemies. With back and forth relationship angst, true love eventually conquers all. It just takes time, patience, a carefully laid out plan, and a willingness to put everything on the line for one another.

I liked the fact Evelyn tried to right wrongs she saw happening around her. Though she had to do so covertly, she was fighting for social justice in her own, privileged way. It took awhile for John to allow himself to think of Evelyn in more ways than just a means to his future and a warm bed at night.

Title: The Highland Earl, Series: Lords of the Highlands (Book 6), Author: Amy Jarecki, Pages: 384, stand-alone but part of a series, afraid to love again widow hero with two sons, much younger virgin heroine, thinks she’s doing the right thing leads to trouble, still in love with his dead wife,

Book 1 - The Highland Duke (Akira & Geordie), Pages: 384, 3/28/17

Book 2 - The Highland Commander (Magdalen & Aidan), Pages: 384, 6/27/17

Book 3 - The Highland Guardian (Reid & Audrey), Pages: 368, 12/19/17

Book 4 - The Highland Chieftain (Mairi & Dunn), Pages: 352, 7/31/18

Book 5 - The Highland Renegade (Robert & Janet), Pages: 384, 1/8/19

Book 6 - The Highland Earl (John & Evelyn), Pages: 368, 6/25/19

(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. There is no affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley)

The Highland Early by Amy Jarecki
Lords of the Highlands #6

Lady Evelyn Pierrepont at 21 years of age and bred to marry someone of her own status realizes that she will marry strategically rather than as a result of falling in love but she had hoped to at least be consulted or given a choice. John Erskine, Earl of Mar, is recently widowed with sons 5 and 9 years of age. He needs money to get out of debt and knows he needs a stepmother for his sons BUT he never plans to fall in love again. With their upcoming nuptials and no love in sight the two really have what amounts to a convenient if not emotional marriage.

In some ways I am sure this is more realistic of weddings that took place in the 1700’s than those written with flowery prose and love in abundance. The age difference of 16 years seemed to also be in keeping with the times. I could see how Evelyn became entangled in spying for a cause she believed in though I am not sure that her ability to sneak around would have been as easy as it was made in the book. The physical relationship of the two was much easier than communicating, sharing and really getting to know one another. In fact, there was more misunderstanding than understanding for a large portion of the book.

I am not sure how believable the story is overall but it was a fun way to spend the day today. I enjoyed watching John and Evelyn work their way to a happy life together...eventually.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Forever-Grand Central Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Lady Evelyn Pierrepont is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull and supporter of the Jacobite cause. She spies on her father and reports her findings to Claude Dubois, a French national who supposedly has contact with Prince James while he is in exile.

John Erskine, the Earl of Mar, Secretary of State for Scotland and member of Queen Anne’s cabinet is still grieving the loss of his beloved wife Margaret. But his father’s crushing debts will push him prematurely out of mourning, he needs a proper wife to mother his young boys and one with a substantial dowry to clear the debt. Though she is 16 years his junior, Mar decides that Lady Evelyn would be the perfect wife for him.

After a bit of a rocky start, they marry and Eve continues her spying, but she begins to question Dubois’ loyalties. When she is set up to be caught, Mar tries to intervene and is labeled a traitor. This sets into motion a wild and unpredictable quest to clear his name and maybe get a second chance at love.

This was a well written book with a lot going on: spying, lies, secrets, betrayal, steamy love scenes, wonderful secondary characters, action, adventure and a surprise cameo from Aiden, Marquis of Tullibardine!! I did like the interaction between Eve and Mar, it was not insta-love and I liked that they took time to get to know each other, I felt the emotions felt; anger, hurt and forgiveness, were very realistic and well done. I also like that Ms. Jarecki uses actual historical figures for her characters and gives the reader in-depth facts about the real person and how she worked the events of their life into her story. Honestly, I did not get the whole "Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets Outlander" feeling - the beginning was sort of like True Lies, but definitely not Mr & Mrs Smith.

This book is the sixth book in the series, but it can definitely be read as a stand-alone title, which I am happy to recommend.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the Publisher.*

The Highland Earl continues a series I have been completely in love with (Check out my previous reviews)! In this story, we have John, the Earl of Mar and Evelyn, the eldest daughter of a Duke and a spy in her spare time. John and Evelyn enter a marriage of convenience: he needs her dowry and someone to be a stepmother to his two boys and her father likes having his family tied to someone with a prominent position in the Queen's cabinet. Evelyn had no say at all. But her spy handler, Mr. Dubois, convinces her this is a perfect opportunity for her to gather more intel for the cause.

Evelyn is smart, but she is also a bit naive. While she has been spying on her father, that is relatively low risk for her and doesn't require much risk. She is also the daughter of a well off Duke and has lived a pretty privileged life, so she is a bit daft when it comes to certain things and tends to not believe others would seek to hurt her. John was only recently widowed and sees Evelyn as a means to an end. She can give him more heirs, her dowry will eliminate his father's debts, and his boys need a stepmother. But he vows he will never love again.

As naive as Evelyn could be at times, I really connected with her. She is a young woman who wants to make a difference for something she believes in deeply. We should all be this passionate about a cause! Also, she knows this is a marriage of convenience, but she is a 21 year old woman who had secretly wanted love. But, she preserves. She enters the marriage and makes plans to adjust to her new life while still fighting for what she believes. She even slowly begins to grow into her roll as stepmother and has a few interactions with the boys that brought tears to my eyes. She takes ownership of her mistakes and seeks to make amends. We should all be as kind and goodhearted as Evelyn.

They are married fairly early on the story, so they jump right to the steamy times! While these two might not really understand each other or know each other well, they are compatible in the bedroom! The Highland Earl combines deep emotion, danger from the British, accusations of treason, and a man and woman trying to get to know the person they married in the mists of it all.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

John Erskine is the Earl of Mar, and he is also the widowed father of two sons. Thanks to a mountainous debt due to his father, John's estate is suffering and he needs to remarry as soon as possible. John is familiar with the Duke of Kingston-Upon Hull and the fact that he happens to have a young, very beautiful, marriageable daughter. This young woman is Lady Evelyn Pierrepont and she would make just the perfect countess - while affording the opportunity to wipe away John's debts.

Evelyn is certainly not keen on marrying the rugged, handsome Earl. She is working hard as a spy for the Jacobites and feels the earl is too much like her father when it comes to his political leanings. The fact that the earl is part of Queen Anne's council is rather despicable to Evelyn. However, she most honor the wishes of her father and thus prepares to become John's bride. Will she be able to continue as an effective spy? Furthermore, what of his sons, Thomas and Oliver? They only just lost their mother three months previously. She knows it will not be easy for her to jump right in as their stepmother.

It actually does not take long at all for Evelyn to blend right in with John and the boys. The fact that she plans on furthering her activities just might place the family in danger. This is something Evelyn never expected could happen.

The Highland Earl is certainly not a simple romance, a story of a man and a woman marrying for convenience and trying to create a love match in the process. What happens here is that, while they learn about one another, Evelyn's work, and also that of John's, comes to cross purposes and changes the entire flavor of this book. Yes, the aspect of espionage truly makes this story fly.

It is of great interest as to how Evelyn became a spy to begin with, as she was just twenty-one years of age. Her knowledge of her father's activities greatly influenced her to seek to make changes, or make whatever mark she could to right the many wrongs she has seen her father and others do.

While Evelyn seeks to remain loyal to those she answers to, she cannot help but be drawn to John and even begins to doubt some of the rumors she has heard about him. When the family is faced with grave danger the couple are afforded the opportunity to see where their marriage could go - that is, if they survive.

What an exciting read by Amy Jarecki! I have read the first five books in this series and am really glad to have read this entry. This romance by Amy Jarecki is the sixth book in the Lords of the Highlands series. Each book in the series can be read as a standalone novel. This delightful story has a lot to offer and I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion.