In 1874 the legends of fantastical gold finds were the stuff dreams were made of and the young MacKensie boys were no different than any other young men with gold fever in their veins. Were there more coins out there and if there were, could they find them? All they needed was the other half of the map.

Tilda Muirhead had been tasked with finding home for the children on her orphan train, but the MacKensie boys had their own ideas. Finding them at Two Harts Ranch was just the beginning. An unknown brother turns up and sets his mind on returning Tilda to NYC - but is he really her brother?
Add plenty of excitement, an unbelievable archeological find and more and you will not set this installment of the Golden State Treasures aside before the end, and that will leave you waiting for the next one. An early copy was gratefully received through Bethany House Publishers, Baker Publishing Group and NetGalley. These thoughts are my own and were in no way solicited.

Legends of Gold
by Mary Connealy
Pub Date: June 17, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I finished the first book in the Golden State Treasure book last week, and was so grateful that I could jump right into the next, Legends of Gold. This series is so good!~

This second book is Josh and Tilde’s story and picks up right where the first book left off. We get to catch up with Brody and Ellie and the boys, and also come to know other characters on the ranch better. On that note–definitely do not try to read this book as a stand-alone!
I wished that this story focused a bit more on the treasure hunt, but I know we will get much more of that when the third and final book of the series releases later this year in October. This story gives a lot of background on Tilde’s character and her life, which we find out is very important to the overall story and treasure. The family mystery/drama between Tilde and the family she didn’t know she had also kept me on the edge of my seat.
I highly recommend this book and series!!

Mary Connealy has done it again. As the search for McKenzie's treasure continues, we meet Tilda Muirhead and Josh Hart. This book is filled with enough drama and mystery to keep you reading until the very last page.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

[Thank you to @netgalley and to Bethany House Publishers for my gifted copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.]

I finished the first book in the Golden State Treasure book last week, and was so grateful that I could jump right into the next, Legends of Gold. This series is so much fun!

This second book is Josh and Tilde’s story and picks up right where the first book left off. We get to catch up with Brody and Ellie and the boys, and also come to know other characters on the ranch better. On that note–definitely do not try to read this book as a stand-alone!

I wished that this story focused a bit more on the treasure hunt, but I know we will get much more of that when the third and final book of the series releases later this year in October. This story gives a lot of background on Tilde’s character and her life, which we find out is very important to the overall story and treasure. The family mystery/drama between Tilde and the family she didn’t know she had also kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved seeing Josh’s protective side–so sweet.

I loved the marriage of convenience and found family tropes in this story.

Another lovely Mary Connealy novel. Definitely recommend!

Legends of Gold by Mary Connealy is the second book in Golden State Treasure series. This clean romance if full of surprises and mysteries with plenty of Old West action. The characters are interesting and the plot is complex. Tilda Muirhead, one of the main characters, lived on the streets as a young child, until taken into an orphanage and eventually adopted by an older couple. She works for an orphanage and is in pursuit of two boys who ran away from the orphan train she was in charge of. She follows them to California where they have landed at the Two Hart Ranch that takes in orphans. When Tilda arrives at the ranch, she meets Josh Hart who runs the ranch. She learns that the boys have a map for treasure left by Spanish conquistadors. With the boys older brother and Josh, they have already done some exploring but only have half of the map. The older brother is in pursuit of the other half of the map. Meanwhile Josh is fascinated by Tilda and is very protective of her when a man shows up at the ranch claiming to be her brother who wants to take her back to her unknown family. How will it all work out? Read it and see. Strongly recommended for readers who like a good historical romance.

Mary Connealy never disappoints me. I always enjoy her clean Christian romance stories and all the mysteries and happenings along the way, Tilda arrives at the Two Harts Ranch tracking down the two boys who had been in her charge on the orphan train. They were after a treasure that their father had also tried to find and things get really interesting when all parties involved on the ranch work together to find said treasure. Things continue to amp up when a man who claims to be her brother travels west to find her and bring her back with him. As a woman who was mostly on the streets and had grown up as an orphan, she isn't doesn't trust easily but she is very resourceful and was fun to read about. I'm looking forward to the final installment.

This is second book in the Golden State Treasure series. I was excited for this book to come out as the first book was very good. It didn't disappoint. This book is Josh and Tilda's story. Tilda arrives at Two Hart Ranch looking for two runaway boys from the orphan train. Tilda gets a surprise when someone shows up at the ranch claiming to be her brother. She has always believed she was an orphan and had no family. All is not as it seems. A great book from start to finish. The teaser at the end of the book makes me anxious to read the next installment.

I received this book from Bethany House Publishing via Net/Galley for an honest review. I wasn't compensated in any way.

Legends of Gold is the second book in a trilogy about a family and the possible 'hidden' gold they have a map to. I didn't have the opportunity to read the first book and while not entirely necessary, I did feel like there were moments that I would have liked to have the full picture to. This story is full of family secrets, new romances all happening in the newly developing west of California. A great Christian romance to read and imagine how life would have been when the 'west was young'.

First of all, many thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC granted to me. It took me a little to get imersed in the narrative, but once it was possible to dive in, I could enjoy a lot the story. An interesting info is that I picked this title, one- because I have read the first one from the series; 2- because the release date is actually my Bday (yes, this was an important reason haha) Anyway, it was a great book.

LEGENDS OF GOLD is the second novel in the Gold State Treasure series by MARY CONNEALY. The story takes place on the Two Harts Ranch near Dorado Rio, California in 1874. The Hart family is growing all the time, and when Tilda Muirhead arrives on the scene and becomes involved with the ongoing search for treasure things get interesting, especially when a man claiming to be her brother tries to take her away…….
The story is exciting and the characters interesting- some good and some that keep you guessing……
It is a story about family and belonging, with some sweet romance.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers.The oinions in this review are completely my own.

A mix of family drama, treasure hunt, and smart women in one book or one series. Tilda accidentally gets caught in a situation where she has to dig up for treasure but somehow finds her lost family. And maybe for Tilda, she found that 300 years old artifacts is much more believable than a mysterious brother that suddenly came to the ranch to claim his family back.

This is a POV of a person who reads only the second book of the series. I don’t recommend reading it as a standalone because the story is a continuous journey of the treasure hunt and you may get lost of what was currently happening in the second part of the journey. At first I was overwhelmed with the character's introduction in the beginning but slowly got right on track as the story progressed. Although it is possible to read it, you might get confused at one point and have to revisit the first book synopsis several times to catch up with the story, like I did. And they did kindly explain their past journey in between the story too so if you don’t want to do all those figuring out the plot, you should read the first book first. Personally, I would look forward to reading the third book because of the interesting plot happening there but I might read the first book only if I feel like it.

As someone who reads historical fiction I was left amaze to see a lot of smart women represented in one book. It was refreshing to see women being respected instead of being called a witch every time they show a tiny bit of critical thinking skills. However it was a bit disappointing that the treasure hunt was too short as the story focused more on Tilda’s family drama. But I do understand it was a long quest of the MacKenzie treasure hunt but it feels too short than what I believe compared to the first book. Romance wise, it was short and simple. Avid romance readers might get a bit disappointed but will enjoy the treasure hunt and the dramas.

I just finished this last night. I have to admit I was disappointed in the end. Not in the way it turned out but how quickly it was all wrapped up. I enjoyed the characters and the setting of the story. Tilda was very resourceful but not very trusting. The exact way she should have been after living on the street for so long.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.