This is the second book in this series I have read, and I think I liked this one more! If you haven't read the first I really suggest you read it before this one. This book is follows Maisie, whom we thought was just a nice, quiet girl in the first book, but shows us that she is an activist and quite the badass in this one. She meets Niall at a rally after he saves her from being caught at the rally and he turns out to be her friends brother.

Soon after, Maisie and Niall are separated following the events that happen in book 1. How they reconnect and the events that surround that are really entertaining to read and play around the historical events that actually took place. Historical figures are fictionalized in a really interesting way as well.

The story of Maisie and Niall's love is set against the background if the English subjugation of the Scottish people. Maddie is a quiet unassuming heroine saved by a true war hero after a political protest. However, Maisie is more than she seems as she is a founding member of a women's reform group. This book had a strong heroine, passionate hero, and lots of intrigue. My only complaint is the book is short. It is a don't miss read. This review is for an ARC from Net Galley.

The Royal Highlander series is a trilogy but only the first two have been published. I was going to wait until the third one comes out, but this series is too good to be put on hold. Author May McGoldrick masterfully wove fiction into history with very little artistic license, meaning she stuck to facts as close as possible.

Moving on to Book 2, please remember that this is a true trilogy which means you need to read Book 1 before you read Book 2 – “Highland Jewel.” Skipping book 1 or cheating by reading its Cliff Notes will not do either. You cannot do shortcuts when reading history because… well, it’s history. Missing one battle will ensure that you will not understand why the war was won to use an expression.

“Highland Jewel” follows Maisie Murray, the half sister of Isabella. Described as sweet and docile by her family and friends, Maisie is in reality very forward thinking and fierce in supporting women’s suffrage.

Together with her friend her friend Fiona, Maisie founded the Edinburgh Female Reform Society right after the Peterloo Massacre and she is proud to carry the banner for universal suffrage.

That put both in the crosshairs of the authorities. Things got more complicated when Niall Campbell, an officer with the Royal Highland Regiment entered Maisie’s life. The trio of Maisie, Niall and Fiona brought center stage the political turmoil besieging England and Scotland during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Because of their different ideologies, Maisie and Niall elevated the trope enemies to lovers into a different level. Finding their happily ever after is a quest in itself.

Highland Jewel by May McGoldrick is one epic adventure. I followed young women as their lives were taken from them. They were used like ploys for other people's gain. Each woman fought for her own freedom. Strong, clever, and vibrant women who are unforgettable. A lady sold and forced by her own mother to marry a cousin. A man so vulgar and deadly. Torn apart from her young son, both are taken away. Their destinies are just reuniting. Another man finds out what his military career forced him to do. Peeling away from it, will cost him everything. Hope, love, and sacrifice are strong themes throughout this read. It was all so captivating. I could not stop reading this novel. May McGoldrick has caught my full attention. I love her characters. The count down for her next brilliant story has started. Overall, this is a historical tale all should read.

Social justice is always a draw for readers, but reform by women in a day when women are to be silent also adds that cup of danger. And finally set it in Scotland and I am hooked! I love to watch Maise’s story unfold as she takes the risks and Niall must come to the rescue!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I haven't read the first in the series but didn't feel as if I had missed anything.
It's packed with danger, intrigue, betrayal and history, I couldn't put it down. It's exciting and engrossing. The characters are intense to say the least. Maisie was my favorite, she is a great role model for Morrigan.

This book took a very very long time for me to get going. I had high hopes with the quick start, but the immediate jump back to the past and then the slow burn of I think he hates me no really he loves me (which, honestly until we started to get his POV I really didn't believe he was falling in love with her). The suffragette storyline was significantly more interesting at points than the relationship between the Niall and Maisie.
I did like the pulls into the overarching storyline with the Son of Scotland and wrapping our pair closer to them...but it almost felt too easy for him to be accepted - almost as if we were highlighting how different her sister's husband of convenience was versus her real love.

I thoroughly enjoyed Highland Jewel, the second book in Royal Highlander series by Mary McGoldrick; a fantastic historical romance. Maisie spends her time secretly writing speeches for the Female Reform Society and attending forbidden protests. Niall is a retired officer of the 42nd Royal Highlanders and just wants to find a peaceful life with his sister and nieces. Maisie and Niall's story is full of drama, humor, sexy bits, action and cover to cover suspense. I enjoyed reading Highland Jewel and look forward to my next book by May McGoldrick.

Ms. McGoldrick wrote a wonderful story that is not to be missed. She provided a tale rich with interesting (old and new) characters, a swoony romance, political intrigue, and Scottish history. I recommend Highland Jewel to other readers and look forward to the next book, Highland Sword, in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I understand this is a historical romance but it was also filled with a lot of political history and the combination of the two was just too much for me. The parts between Niall and Maisie were pretty so there was not much of a development of their relationships. I might have been at a disadvantage that I had not read the first book in the series and was so confused at the beginning few chapters as I was not sure who the book was about and it was like three separate stories until I got farther in the book and could see the connection and who was the h and H.

That said, I did like the romance that there was and when we finally got to Scotland and Niall was trying to find out who was "helping" him and Prinny against Carolilne, it got pretty interesting. I really want to read what happened with Isabel during the part in the book that we don't see so I will be reading the Highland Crown.

Can I just say this story was amazing? After the first in this series, it was thrilling to continue on with the descriptive narrative of this fabulous author team in another top of the charts historical romance.
The opening brings us into the mind of Princess Caroline of Brunswick -Wolfenbuttel contemplating her marriage to her first cousin, the English Prince. Her son Cinaed, only four is ripped away from her for his journey to Scotland to the land of his father.
We begin in the past, go forward and then go back to find out what happened to lead our heroine Maisie and hero, Niall to where they are now. It holds everything and more that are the key ingredients to a successful story. True historical happenings with a twist entwining intrigue, suspense, political unrest along with unrest of the people, spies, the Queen and her son along with Maisie, her sister Isabelle who is tied to Cinaed and Maisie's best friend Fiona, sister to the man she falls in love with Niall.
I could go on and on about this book, but truly it is one you need to read because once you start, you seriously cannot put it down. I have to say both books in this series are truly inspired and I cannot wait for more!

Highland Jewel has been on my must-read list since I read Highland Crown. I usually don’t get excited for 2nd books in series. They can be used as a filler book, or the characters aren’t as good as book 1. I have very rarely read a series where book two not only keeps up the pace from book one but exceeds it. Highland Jewel did that.

Highland Jewel’s plotline was fast-paced and well fleshed out. There was no lag in the plotline, which surprised me. There was also no dropped storylines, which thrilled me to no end. What I liked is that the author took the storyline back to before the events in Highland Crown. She was able to make a believable storyline for Maisie while keeping true to the events in Highland Crown. I loved it!!!!!

Maisie surprised me. The picture the author painted of her in Highland Crown was turned upside down. I would have never expected her to be a crusader for women’s rights. What stunned me even further was that she was doing this in an era where women had zero rights. Her passion for what she did carried off the pages. I didn’t understand why she didn’t come clean to her sister and her husband with what she was doing. It puzzled me for most of the book. But a crucial scene with Archibald answered that for me.

I loved Niall. I liked how he had an open mind. When he opened up to Maisie and explained that his parents raised him like that, I started to love him. For a man in that time to think as he did was amazing. He might not have agreed with what Maisie and his sister did, but he supported them. I did feel bad that he was pressured to do what he did. But, he ended up getting the last laugh in the end. Loved it!!

The romance between Niall and Maisie was bittersweet. I loved watching them fall in love. That scene in the coffee house was terrific. Just two people talking and getting to know each other. Their forced separation brought tears to my eyes. What Maisie had to endure, and because of what Niall was forced to do, it made their reunion bittersweet.

While Highland Jewel can be read as a stand-alone book, I would advise reading Highland Crown first. That way there is no confusion when the book goes back to eight months previously, right before the events of Highland Crown.

The storyline with Cinaed was continued into this book. It is essential to keep that storyline in mind because everything that happens in the latter half of the book centers around it. Cinaed’s mother is discussed more, and the real reason she sent Cinaed away is revealed.

The storyline involving Fiona was intriguing. She was part of the same feminist movement that Maisie was. I did raise my eyebrows when she was arrested and held. I had a feeling why, and my feeling was right.

The end of Highland Jewel was exciting. I loved how Niall and Maisie’s storyline ended. Talk about giving me a heart attack at one point. I almost hyperventilated!! The storyline with Cinaed and his mother took an exciting turn, as did the storyline with Fiona. The lead into Morrigan’s book was excellent!! I can’t wait to read it.

No one writes historical romance like the McGoldricks! Five stars is not enough for this excellent series. Highland Jewel is the second story and we learn more of the history of Scotland and England in the 1820's during a time of political unrest. Scotland is being raped and crushed by the English and it's people are rising up to be heard even while being arrested and killed by the British crown.

Niall Campbell is a newly retired Lieutenant in the 42nd Royal Highlander Regiment. He is tired of suppressing rebellion and killing people in the name of England when he realizes it's only for power and riches for the Crown and rich lords. He comes home and discovers his widowed sister Fiona and her best friend Maisie Murray are in the thick of the rebellion in Edinburgh as founders of the Female Reform Society. He rescues Maisie as she's about to be cut down by a British soldier. He knows full well the horrors that await women in political prison. He finds himself saving her several times from arrest. They fall in love during their interactions as he tries to protect her and his sister.

Niall finds a way to support a wife and is engaged. He's offered a job by Sir Rupert Burney and his former commander who are in town to root out and arrest the radicals for the crown. He turns it down as he's done with working for the crown. His happiness is ripped away from him when Sir Rupert Burney arrests Fiona and blackmail him into working for them for her release. He has to act as the crown's spy, capture and kill Cinaed MacKintosh (Highland Crown hero)who is Queen Caroline's son before she married the Prince Regent who's now King. Niall is part of a company in a secret meeting between the Queen and Cinaed. I won't give away the spoilers but where do Niall's loyalties lie? Do Niall and Maisie ever get married? Will Fiona be freed and reunited with her two young daughters? You'll have to read and see! This story kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to read through the night never knowing what would happen next!

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

“Cinaed Mackintosh is my sister Isabella’s husband. I can’t let you do it. I’ll not let you kill him.”

Highland Jewel is the second in the Royal Highlanders series that follows three women. In the first, readers learn that Isabella's husband was killed by British soldiers as they ransacked their house thinking it was a den of traitors. While the first is more of an after the fact, this story brings us back to the beginning and follows Isabella's sister Maisie. We learn about the build up to the impetus that led to the three women (the daughter of Isabella's husband) having to run for their lives. While I wouldn't say it would be absolutely necessary to read the first before this one, like I said, this story gives us the background story glossed over in the first, having knowledge about Cinaed (Isabella's love interest) would certainly help as the connecting thread between the series is not only the women's connection but the tumultuous time period in Scotland and how Cinaed is tied up in it.

Lieutenant Campbell was far too bossy and interfering for her to harbor any illusions about.

Niall is the brother of Maisie's bestfriend Fiona and comes into the picture as he rescues Maisie during a public protest that gets broken up by British soldiers. Niall was a solider in the Black Watch, so Maisie is distrustful of him at first but Niall does a sweet job of breaking down her walls. He listens to her and admires her will and mind, which her family has no idea about as they just look upon her as a pretty empty headed girl. I was a little confused by Maisie and Isabella's relationship as I thought they read to be closer in the first but here we see them as pretty distant and not knowing one another at all. Maisie purposefully keeping her actions, like starting a chapter of the Female Reform Society, from Isabella didn't competently feel true to me. As Fiona becomes the catalyst for angst between Niall and Maisie and they are kept apart, I missed that friendship, too.

The back of their hands brushed. Her fingers were cold, his hand was warm . She wondered what it would feel like to entwine her fingers with his, to absorb the heat.

The majority of the story takes place in the past, with going back to explain how Maisie is at the place she is and why she distrusts Niall. Around the 60% mark is where the story catches up and we get to the present time. I liked this as it helped fill in a lot questions I had and we get to actually see Maisie and Niall fall in love. However, I did think the romance took somewhat of a backseat to the political drama going on. The authors do such a great job melding true history with their fictional story. The intrigue with Cinaed, the Scots wanting freedom, spy rings, and a Queen, were absorbing. The placement and tie-ins with the three women are very well done and although you have to pay attention and keep some characters straight in your mind, I thought how everything and everyone was brought together was inspired.

He stared into her face, and for the first time, Maisie felt like he was seeing her, who she really was. Not the outer shell of a young and reasonably pretty woman. And she saw him too. Niall Campbell was a man who wasn’t intimidated by talk of equality or of women fighting for their rightful place in society.

This series is shaping up to remind me of Grace Burrowes' Captive Hearts and Marsha Canham's Highland, the historical intrigue can eclipse the romance at times but it's interesting and still highlighted with sweet and sexy moments. I can't wait for Morrigan's story, the daughter of Isabella's husband, and to read about her hardened heart captured by a hero.

What duty did a man owe to a king and a government that had forgotten the people, he thought. Not only forgotten. Conspired against, stealing their rights under the pretense that their actions were for the good of all.

I loved the romance in this book between Maisie and Niall. I love how fierce Maisie and Fiona were fighting for their cause. I really did love Niall. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

3.5 stars!

This is the second book of the Royal Highland series. Maisie is Isabelle’s younger sister (we met Isabelle in the first book Highland Crown) and a rebel in her own right. We see who Maisie is and her efforts to bring light to the oppression of the nation during a turbulent time in the history of the UK. It overlaps with the start of Isabelle’s story but not so much since the sisters lived far more separate lives at the beginning despite being in the same house. I was just a little disappointed to not know how Maisie and Morrigan reached Mackintosh lands from Edinburgh. Maybe in Morrigan’s story?
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Anyway we have Niall who is almost perfect (which is so not good), but thankfully his flaws come out. Smart, brave man that he is, a good match to Maisie.
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So really, the flight of Maisie and Morrigan after being separated from Isabelle should’ve been in here too (downgraded by half a star because of that). The reunion with Niall would’ve been better with it.
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Oh well.
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So the overall arc of the story continues here and you can feel the climax of that coming in the 3rd installment which I can’t wait to read!
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Thank you @stmartinspress for the review copy of the book. I enjoyed it!

This story opens with Princess Caroline of Brunswick preparing to marry George, the Prince of Wales. She is sending her son, Cinaed James Stuart, from her secret marriage into hiding with his father’s people. It breaks her heart to leave him, but for his own safety, she must let him go, but swears she will see him again.
26 years later, Maisie Murray has been at Dalmigavie Castle for 4 months, her sister Isabella is married to Cinaed and has been branded an enemy to the crown, so they are in hiding along with Isabella’s step-daughter Morrigan Drummond. Maisie mourns her life in Edinburgh, she worries for her friend Fiona who was taken by soldiers 5 months ago, but more than anything, she misses Niall, Fiona’s brother and the man she fell in love with. So when she sees him arrive at the castle with a group of men, at first she is elated, but soon her joy turns to horror and she knows why he is here…
8 months earlier, Maisie had been leading a secret life, her family members are consumed in their own lives and are largely unaware of her activities, which suits Maisie perfectly. She and her friend Fiona, a widow with two young daughters, have started a chapter of the Female Reform Society, and actively protest in favor of suffrage and liberty for the people. She and Fiona know the new laws are meant to suppress the people, and they are careful not to cross the line, but they refuse to back down. They are speaking at a gathering when soldiers attack the crowd – they try to run, but Maisie is trapped, but thankfully saved by a man in the crowd. Once it seems safe, Maisie runs from her rescuer and meets up with Fiona, only to learn the man who saved her is Niall Campbell, Fiona’s brother and a former soldier.
Niall has resigned his position as a Lieutenant in His Majesty’s army, after the wars Niall was sent to Ireland and he has had enough pain and death. He returns to Scotland, unsure of what he wants to do with his life and it seems like the Army is not ready to let him go, he is approached by several people wanting him to work with them, but he declines them all. He wants a peaceful life and after spending time with Maisie, knows he wants her to be a part of it. But just went it seems like all his hopes and dreams are falling into place, all hell breaks loose and to save his sister, he has to enter into the battle waging between the king and queen of England. And sadly, the first casualty in that war will be his relationship with Maisie.
This was a very interesting story and personally, I felt like this was more of an Historical Fiction novel than it was an Historical Romance – in fact as a Historical Fiction, it is a 5 star read – but it is billed as a Historical Romance and it really is light on the romance. I was fascinated by the story and team McGoldrick did a wonderful job with relating the turmoil and political tension of the time, as well as keeping the reader on point with the various undercurrents of intrigue threaded throughout the story. Maisie and Niall will get a HEA, but the story is far from over…
This is the second book in the series and I would highly recommend reading the books in order – this is not a stand-alone book and parts of the story overlap with the first book, but to really understand the intrigue you need to read the first book.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

Highland Jewel (Royal Highlander #2)
Author: May McGoldrick
Format: Kindle epub
Tissue warning: no
My reviewer rating: 5 of 5
Published: September 24, 2019
Available for purchase!


Thank you, Netgalley, for my digital copy of Highland Jewel in exchange for my honest-to-goodness review of this novel by May McGoldrick. I loved Highland Crown, so I was very excited to see what came next.

Such an authentic historical romance, to me. I just love these. Maisie is a strong and fearless woman in a time where that is just not proper. Niall is my typical story-love interest.

This story keeps up in the timeline of Highland Crown and does not disappoint the reader in that Ms. McGoldrick continues to weave a wonderful story. This is book 2 of the series, but the reader does not *have* to have read the first book, although it would greatly help put some of the pieces together in the timeline and with a little bit of the setting's history. But, knowing Cinaed and the other characters from book 1, it was extremely helpful and satisfying to hear more in book 2.

I love how Maisie leads a double life. She is a spitfire who knows how to win a crowd. A natural leader.

Niall is revered by his war companions and also a natural born leader. So when these two finally come together is very refreshing.

I definitely recommend this series.

3.5 stars. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. We see events that were experienced in Highland Crown from a different perspective. So I definitely recommend reading that book first.

Maisie, frustrated with the injustice and persecution of the people of Scotland, forms a chapter of the Female Reform Society with her sister, not by blood, Fiona. In doing so, she meets Fiona’s brother Niall, and falls in love. After circumnstances force them to part, they reunite months later in Scotland and find their happy ending.

This was an interesting second book to the series, however, I felt it moved the overarching storyline of Cinead and his being the heir to the throne along, but left Maisie and Niall’s relationship in the dust. I felt no connection to them as a couple and was surprised at the abrupt ending.

Looking forward to Morrigan’s book, but hoping that the romance and chemistry between the two main characters takes front and center strange.

Thank you to SMP for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Maisie Murray and her friend Fiona are members of the Edinburgh Female Reform Society where she carries the banner for universal suffrage. Fiona’s brother, Niall Campbell a hero of the wars who comes to their rescue when a protest turns violent and he meets Maisie. Maisie and Niall grow closer and she soon finds Niall has her heart, but he’s forced to leave. He has no other choice he’s sent on a mission in exchange for his sister's freedom. They meet again Niall’s has a new name, but the same love for Maisie. Highland jewel is a complex love story filled with twist and turns with a true hero and a strong heroine who fights for a cause she deeply believes in and the man who believes in her. I loved this excellent book and I voluntarily wrote a review.

Wonderful Scottish historical romance, Niall and Maisie's story is full of deep emotions, but got a little too into the political side of the story line. While it was an integral part, it was just a little too much for me and seemed to drag on in some parts.