Mr. & Mrs. Smith meets Outlander in this action-packed Scottish romance where a marriage of convenience leads to secrets that could be deadly. 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. And beautiful Lady Evelyn Pierrepont would be the perfect match. But there’s more behind the English lass’s … Pierrepont would be the perfect match. But there’s more behind the English lass’s calm demeanor than she’s letting on, including a smoldering allure not even John can ignore.
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. Yet the more time Evelyn spends with John and his boys, the fonder she grows of their little family, and the last thing she wants to do is put them in danger. As alliances shift and enemies draw closer, soon everything they hold dear is at risk: their lands, their love, and their very lives.
Lords of the Highlands series:
The Highland Duke
The Highland Commander
The Highland Guardian
The Highland Chieftain
The Highland Renegade
The Highland Earl (Lords of the Highlands Book 6) by Amy Jarecki is an awesome Scottish romance. While book 6, it can be read as a stand alone.
Well written and well crafted with charming, engaging and realistic characters. From the first page I was hooked as I followed John Erskine, the widowed Earl of Mar, with two small sons, and who needs to remarry as quickly as possible. And the beautiful, rich, and feisty Lady Evelyn Pierrepont.
Action packed with Evelyn and sensual interactions, danger, spies, turmoil, betrayal, innocence, a marriage of convenience, treachery and challenges. Readers will be on the edge of their seats, as Evelyn and John, transverse the highland countryside, learning the extent of the betrayal that could prove deadly for John. If they can’t find the truth, before it’s too late, John, could lose his lands, his sons, his wife, his love and his life.
Another keeper by Amy Jarecki! WOW, what an exciting and intriguing story of love, treason, with a climatic HEA. A must read for fans of Scottish Romance, Historical Romance, where, history meets fiction.
#NetGalley, #TheHighlandEarl,#AmyJarecki
Rating: 5
Heat rating: Mild
Reviewer: AprilR
Let’s see, an English Lady who believes in Prince James and the Jacobite cause (a spy).
A widowed Scottish Earl known as “Bobbin”John, who is a member of Parliament, a confidante of the English Queen Anne, still trying to get out of his dead father’s debt and needs to marry a woman with a substantial dowry. A dishonest Duke, Spanish gold and a French spy. Don’t forget this is also a very good romance.
If this doesn’t keep your nose in the book, I don’t know what will.
A free copy from Netgalley 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.
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.
4.5 Stars
“In this moment, there’s no place I’d rather be than in your arms.”
Newly widowed and debt ridden, John Erskine, the Earl of Mar, is in search of a bride and stepmom to his two young sons. After meeting Lady Evelyn Pierrepont, the Earl feels as if she is a good fit for his family. But Lady Evelyn has secrets that could cost him more than just the loss of his position in the Queen’s court.
Lady Evelyn Pierrepont is an activist for the common people. Tired of seeing how her father uses his power and influence over the servants and those less fortunate he deems beneath him, Evelyn does everything she can to offer aid. On a chance meeting, Lady Evelyn becomes the confidant of a Frenchman who professes to share her disregard for the Queen’s policy and the other gentry within parliament and offers her a way of furthering their cause…become a spy for the Jacobites.
What starts as a marriage of convenience quickly becomes one filled with passion, but only within the confines of Eve and John’s bedchamber. Each of them suspects the other of keeping secrets, and misunderstandings and lack of communication could cost these lovers the ultimate price…treason’s death at the hands of the hangman or worse.
Amy Jarecki has written a fast paced Highland adventure filled with intrigue and romance. While this is the 6th installment to the Lords of the Highlands series, it may be read standalone. I found The Highland Earl impossible to put down! Loved and highly recommend!
*Received ARC via NetGalley for honest review*
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.
Book: The Highland Earl by Amy Jarecki
Series: Lords of the Highlands, Book #6
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Reviewed by: Barb Massabrook (of)
1)Tartan Book Reviews
2)Purple Tulip Book Reviews
3)Celtic World of Historical Book Reviews
4)Celtic Barb’s Tartan Book Review Blog
Heat Rating:
Book Rating: 5/5 Stars/Kilts
The Highland Earl by Amy Jarecki
April 1713
Scottish, John Erskine was recently widowed with two young sons Thomas and Oliver. The Earl of Mar, who is also The Secretary of State of Scotland. Plus his boys needed a mother to care for them. Though John is still healing from a broken heart and promises never to love another wife. It was just too painful and shattered his tender heart into pieces. He couldn’t go through this heartbreak again. John has also been the subject of some negative press being in Queen Anne’s cabinet for many years. He being mocked by the pubic being called Bobbin’ John to belittle him.
John feels the English, Lady Evelyn Pierrepont, would be a perfect mother figure for his sons, the beautiful young woman would be a perfect Countess. Yet unfortunately she does not feel the same. As she feels he is just like her greedy, cruel father. Evelyn has no wish to marry this Scottish Earl who is the catch of the season for unmarried noble women. Yet her father who is taken by the Earl’s title and position at court gives her no choice. The one thing in Evelyn’s favor: is to be able to spy on her own husband under his own roof. Yet she begins to question perhaps she was totally wrong about the Earl of Mar?
The more time Evelyn shares with her new husband John and his young son’s the more she cares. Could this be love? Soon she realizes affiliation and partnerships change and the ones she had considered friends are actually her foes. These enemies might actually ruin the Earls reputation and his life including his boys. Will he ever be able to forgive, forget and move on with his traitorous wife? Can he ever trust her around his children or had she ruined their future happiness where he must send her away?
An action packed book that readers don’t want to miss!
Lords of the Highlands series:
The Highland Duke
The Highland Commander
The Highland Guardian
The Highland Chieftain
0The Highland Renegade
The Highland Earl (will release on June 25th)
All can be read as stand alone books but I definitely recommend to read them all.
Amy Jarecki pens another nail biting, riveting, fast paced, page turning, romantic adventure, in her sixth book of her Lords of the Highlands series. A book I totally got swept away in, that had me gasping with delight! My favorite book recipe, is weaving true history with a fictional romance. I loved that this author researched and used a true member in history and his wife, a swoon worthy hero and archer, risk taking, heroine.
This book has all the elements that historical romance readers love. It is awe inspiring, action-packed-novel, filled with extraordinary plotting, phenomenal storylines, mystery, suspense, treason, treachery, intrigue, espionage, betrayal, heartbreak, duplicity, deception, forgiveness, trust, faith and naturally love. An emotional book that I couldn’t put down! I absolutely loved John and Eve’s story – a book I will never forget!
Another stunning setting with brilliant multi dimensional characters, especially the young son Oliver, who is an absolute heart string puller! This included magnificent dialogue, and captivating plotting that was absolutely incredible! This book included detailed storylines that took my breath away. I can’t recommend this exhilarating book, The Highland Earl by Amy Jarecki enough!
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author and Grand Central Forever publishers for a fair and honest review. I voluntarily agreed to read, review, blog and promote through netgalley. All words, ideas and thoughts are my own.
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This was an absolutely-delightful, romantic romp. It had all the essential elements that make for a great, historical romance read. The story line was interesting, and the characters were complex and rich with life. I enjoyed this book immensely!
#TheHighlandEarl #AmyJarecki #NetGalley
I got this book audiobook on Audible. I love that hear Dave gillis voice reading Scottish Highlander books it brings the book to Life his voice is so awesome!
Amy Jarecki has once again brought her storytelling skills to the forefront to make you laugh, cry, mad, and swoon over a hunky, sexy Highlander and the woman he just has to love!
Amy Jarecki, you ROCK!!! This is book 6 in the Lords of the Highlands series. Amy Jarecki has another five star read with this book. Fall back in time and get lost in London and the Scottish Highlands in 1712. The story involves heartache to overcome, spies, betrayal, evil traitors, and two small boys to love. Travel down the rocky road to love with John Erskine, the Duke of Mar, and Lady Evelyn. The characters are well written and easy to loathe or love. I highly recommend this book and give it five stars!!!
From the ballrooms of London to the wilds of Scotland the Earl of Mar and Lady Evelyn Pierrepont embark on a journey towards love and a happily ever after with a few major bumps in the road. Amy Jarecki never disappoints with her writing and The Highland Earl is no exception. A definite must read but a word of caution – be prepared to be swept away in this delightful tale!!
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!!
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 captivating book.
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.
4.5 Stars!! If you like older, still fit & handsome man with a younger woman, than you would like this. There is a lot of mystery, a little romance & a little ‘oh my gosh, what’s going to happen now!?’! Plenty of surprises too! I really enjoyed this book! I highly recommend it too! It’s a standalone book but it’s the 6th book in the series! I’m planning on reading the series since this was the first book I’ve read from it! I hope the other books are as good as this one! Next book definitely needs to be about the ship captain Keenan Cameron!!! I really liked him!! Ha! Anyway, great book & I highly recommend you read it, even if you haven’t read any of the other books in the series!
*I received this book to read and review at no charge from the publisher and I gave my honest opinion.*
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.
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.
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.
4-5 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.*
John Erskine, Earl of Mar, inherited a pile of debt from his father. The estate had been mismanaged for years and everything needed repair. John had been working to repair the damage caused by his father, but he couldn’t pay the debt off. The only reason he was a member of Queen Anne’s council as Secretary of State for Scotland, was because the money he received for the position allowed him to stave off his creditors. Now, he’s recently lost his beloved wife and he has two young sons to raise. John is almost the same age as his father was when he died and he has vowed that he will not, absolutely WILL NOT, leave the same kind of mess for his sons. Even though he deeply mourns his wife, he decides to marry an heiress in order to put his estate to rights and pay off his father’s debts. He’ll never love again, but he’ll honor and respect a new wife.
Lady Evelyn Pierrrepont, the oldest daughter of the Duke of Kingston-Upon-Hull, is appalled at her father’s dealings, his smuggling and the way he treats the servants. She’s learned a lot about him in the last year – and none of it was good. So, when she was offered the opportunity to make a difference, she gladly took it. She’d do her part to support Prince James and help the common people by spying on her father’s dealings and providing the information to the cause. Her mission was coming along nicely until she received a marriage proposal from the Earl of Mar. She certainly didn’t want to marry him – he was just like her father! But – she has no choice – her father has already made all of the arrangements.
Evelyn’s spying garners even more and better information once she is married, but she has begun to respect her new husband and is reluctant to continue. Then, things go dreadfully awry and she, John and the children are all in great peril. Can they escape the wicked Duke of Argyll? They barely manage to escape London, then they trek across the mountains in the Highlands, cross an ocean, confront a villain all while being chased by the English dragoons. There is definitely never a dull minute in this exciting fast-paced story.
I thoroughly enjoyed the read. Were there problems with the book – Goodness yes – a number of them. It always makes me a bit nuts when an author gets the basics wrong – something as simple as the banns being called but they are going to marry in a week – nope. However, I still enjoyed the read.
This is the sixth book in the series, but it totally stands alone.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.