Romancing the Scot is a good fit for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a focus on romance, mystery, and the exploration of trust and loyalty in the face of danger and adversity.

May McGoldrick popped onto my radar when they took part in the Historical Romance Retreat. It was a delight to meet them in person, so when this book popped up on NetGalley, I requested it instantly and I accepted an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is the first in the series, and will appeal to fans of Outlander because of the setting and politics. We also get a glimpse into the legal system of the time. It is heavy on action, and the suspense kept me turning the page. As the four star rating indicates, I really liked it and enjoyed it a lot!

That being said, the book focused more on the action and suspense, as well as the history, and less on the romance than I would have liked. There were also a few elements that required suspension of belief such as her inability to ride side saddle - odd considering her father being in the calvary and her being at court and then at camp with him. The romance was generally believable, but I'm curious how they will resolve any conversations about politics in the future, since they come from such different backgrounds.

In general, I quite liked this book and would recommend it to fans of Outlander, Scottish romance, and historical romance with attention to historical details. Happy reading!

This was my first book in the series and by this author. I thought it was pretty decent. Highland romances are not typically my thing but I enjoyed this one. It did feel a little formulaic but it was great for passing a Saturday afternoon.

Historical romances are some of my favorite. Throw in some mystery and heat and you’ve got Romancing The Scot. This book was set in the 1800’s and the two characters, Grace and Hugh, are on opposite ends of the war. Hugh is a Lord Justice in Scotland (kind of like a judge) and Grace is Irish. Her father had fought the English at Waterloo and was gravely injured, leaving only Grace to care for him. His death, however, is not due to his injury (first major gut wrenching moment). Running from killers, Grace finds herself being helped by street urchins who help her hide…in a gondola box that ends up sealed up and on its way to Scotland by ship.

Cue Lord Hugh…who finds the gondola he bought and received holds a now almost dead Grace (second major gut wrenching moment…and we are only in Chapter 2!). Hugh is immediately struck by this woman, reminding him deeply of the wife and sweet child he recently lost while he was fighting the war. He tries not to get attached to, still unknown, Grace, but the attraction is too great.

Grace tries to hide her identity when she gets better, for fear of her life. Getting her strength back has her spending time with Hugh, and really growing feelings for him. Still guarding herself, Hugh wants more, but it too much of a gentleman, worrying she has someone at home she doesn’t “remember”.

Eventually the charade must come to an end and the two find out each other’s secrets. Watching the journey they take to get to the end point had me reading this whole book in two days (and it’s a longer book!). A new to me author, but I’ll definitely be checking her out after this one!!

I was unable to review books for quite a while and was unable to review these. I apologize for this and have only gotten back into reviewing again.

Hugh Pennington—Viscount Greysteil, Lord Justice of the Scottish Courts, hero of the Napoleonic wars—is a grieving widower with a death wish. When he receives an expected crate from the continent, he is shocked to find a nearly dead woman inside. Her identity is unknown, and the handful of American coins and the precious diamond sown into her dress only deepen the mystery. Grace Ware is an enemy to the English crown. Her father, an Irish military commander of Napoleon’s defeated army. Her mother, an exiled Scottish Jacobite. When Grace took shelter in a warehouse, running from her father’s murderers through the harbor alleyways of Antwerp, she never anticipated bad luck to deposit her at the home of an aristocrat in the Scottish Borders. Baronsford is the last place she could expect to find safety, and Grace feigns a loss of memory to buy herself time while she recovers. Hugh is taken by her beauty, passion, and courage to challenge his beliefs and open his mind. Grace finds in him a wounded man of honor, proud but compassionate. When their duel of wits quickly turns to passion and romance, Grace’s fears begin to dissolve…until danger follows her to the very doors of Baronsford. For, unknown to either of them, Grace has in her possession a secret that will wreak havoc within the British government. Friend and foe are indistinguishable as lethal forces converge to tear the two lovers apart or destroy them both.
This was a decent story, more about fighting than romance or real relationship building. I did like both characters. There were some points where the book lagged a little, but overall not a bad book.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Having read other books about the Pennington family it was fun to see how the high justice and oldest brother gets swept away by a girl hidden in a hot air balloon basket.

It was a fun mystery to read. I can't wait to read more about this amazing family.

I didn't necessarily hate "Romancing the Scot" but I didn't necessarily like it either. It just seemed like there was too many things that this book could have done without. With that being said, there was a lot of action and romance that kept me wanting to continue reading. This was an overall good book to read.

Romancing the Scot is a very well written story. I enjoyed the Characters and the love story. I am looking forward to read next book. Thanks to Netgalley, for the ARc copy. My opinion is my own.

This was a fantastic tale of supposed amnesia and a desire to change ones status quo. I appreciated the chemistry between the couple and was happy that they got their happy ending. The journey was intense and action packed.

Another May McGoldrick hit! I love their historical romances and loved the connection to their series. Sexy, emotional and great characters make this a hit for me.

The plot of this story was interesting, with unexpected twists and turns, starting with Grace transporting herself inside a crate. I really enjoyed this historical romance. Grace and Hugh went from distrustful almost-enemies, to friends, to lovers seamlessly.

I discovered May McGoldrick after reading <i>Sweet Home Highland Christmas</i> in an anthology. It was by far the stand-out of all the stories, and the characters from <i>Romancing the Scot</i> made a cameo appearance, so I really wanted to go back and read this book. It started off great, exciting and emotional, and I really liked both lead characters, but honestly, I found most of what lay in between the beginning and the end to be rather boring and repetitive.

This was a pretty fun book to read. It was heavy on the history, which I thoroughly enjoy. I have never read anything by this author before, so I was pleasantly surprised to have discovered May McGoldrick. I look forward to future titles. Since this is a romance novel, I will give the heat level a 3.5 and the love scenes were tastefully written.
I felt the characters were well thought out, though there were times I felt like the romance between the two main characters was a little bit forced. I can't say that turned me away from the book and it certainly wasn't a big enough deal to make me want to put it away. It was a fantastic way to spend a weekend. I found myself pleased with the ending, which is surprising because I rarely enjoy endings of any kind--happy or otherwise.

Hugh be still my beating heart what a man what a gentleman..... swoon. This book was really well written its super clever and the author has a way of making you feel the book feel what the characters feel and you go through everything with them.

What an amazing read! This story starts out with a dramatic beginning involving Grace and her father and it continues to expand when Hugh finds her in his crate.

Grace's character is fully developed and compassionate. Her life experiences enable her to impact Hugh and help him in a way no one else had been able to. On the flip side Hugh needs saving in a big way and watching him change was very rewarding for this reader.

I truly enjoy ready books by Author May McGoldrick they are rich with detail and always complicated enough to keep me coming back for more. The relationship between Grace and Hugh is one of these types of complications. When reading the book, I wonder how the author could possible turn this story around so they could have a HFN or HEA but true to form they create an unexpected twist to the story that made this reader extremely happy.

Fabulous read. I enjoyed this book. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was excited to read this story after being introduced to Hugh and Grace at the end of the short story Sweet Home Highlands from the Christmas in Kilts collection. We found out that Hugh met his wife when she arrived by ship in a box which sounded very intriguing.

Hugh is shocked to find a beautiful woman near death in one of his shipments for his air balloon, he is immediately drawn to her and can't help but want to know the truth about her, especially when a priceless diamond is discovered sewn into the bodice of her dress. Once she recovers, Grace pretends to have lost her memory to give herself time to figure out who she can trust since her father was an enemy to the English crown and was murdered. Hugh has his own past that he is trying to escape and takes risks with his life.

Lots of action, mystery and romance in an overall sweet story with a great hero and heroine. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series about the Pennington family.

ARC generously provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written, enjoyable story. Loved Hugh and Grace together. Had suspense, humor, romance and a HEA.

If you’ve read the book blurb above, the only thing left for me to say is the reason why you need to read it, or not.

Let me say right away that I highly recommend you get it because it is fast paced and filled with action, but the main reason you’ll like this story are its complex characters. Both are very well developed and both are very likable. Both had a lot in common, but it’s their differences I enjoyed reading about.

I also appreciated the smart and intriguing plot which literally had me glued to the pages.

I believe that this story checked a lot of boxes for me, from sweet and sensual romance to mystery plot, I enjoyed all of it.

Melanie for b2b