ARC Review: Highland Jewel (Royal Highlanders #2) by May McGoldrick

Title: Highland Jewel

         Royal Highlander 2

Author: May McGoldrick

Release Date: September 24, 2019 (ARC Version)

Published By: St. Martin’s Press

Category: Historical – Romance – Scottish

Type: Digital – Paperback – Audio

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May McGoldrick Website

Blurb: 

A REBEL AT HEART
Maisie Murray’s sweet, docile exterior masks the courageous spirit of a firebrand determined to champion women’s suffrage with like-minded friends. But fighting for her principles has swept her directly into harm’s way—and into the arms of a man she cannot resist.

A WARRIOR BY BLOOD
A trained officer with the Royal Highland Regiment, Niall Campbell has spent his life serving the Crown. Battle-weary and searching for peace, he nothing to do with trouble—until he meets Maisie. But unless Niall and Maisie can find a way to stand up to the destructive forces that threaten to divide them, long-buried secrets and political schemes are destined to stand in the way of the glorious love they’ve found…

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Favorite Lines:

“I’m not blushing,” he grouched. He wasn’t blushing. “If you knew me, you’d recognize that I don’t blush. What you see is the heightened color of justified aggravation.”  ~  Niall

“I’m not blushing. I don’t blush. What you see is . . .: She put the cup down. “The warmth from the tea.”  ~  Maisie

Excerpt:

          “Do you truly believe that a person must suffer abuse and poverty to recognize it in the world?”
          “For most people.”
          “Exactly how much suffering must a person endure in order to be qualified to raise her voice in protest?”
          This time, he said nothing. 
          “The prejudice that enslaves a woman makes little distinction between the poor and the rich. We have many obligations and few choices. We are controlled completely by the men in our lives.”She took a breath and forced herself to maintain a reasonable tone. 
          His silence gave her all the encouragement she needed. 
          “The men in our lives,” she repeated. “Our fathers, our brothers, and our male relatives. Later by our husbands. All across Europe, a woman’s sole purpose in life is to serve men. From a very young age, we are trained to find a husband. Society and the Church direct us to produce an heir—or for our bodies to labor in the fields, depending on which social strata we were fortunate enough to be born to—and then to spend the rest of our lives silently carrying out the wishes of our master.”
          He didn’t contradict what she said, so she continued. 
          “Whenever the Crown decides to levy taxes, women of property must pay taxes, just as men do. But we, in contrast, have no say in how that money is spent. Laws are made by the men in Parliament for all to obey. And yet no female is allowed to hold a seat in Westminster. Reason and justice dictate that everyone should take part in the making of those laws.”
          Maisie could see that they were drawing stares from passersby, and they started down the wider but more crowded sidewalk of South Bridge. 
          “Do you believe that women and men are the same?”
          There was no hint of admonishment in his tone. It was simply a question. She also noticed that she had taken his arm without thinking, and it felt as natural as breathing. 
          She considered his question for a moment. “I believe that men and women have different tendencies. Whether they are natural or learned, however, I can’t say. But what I see in the world is that women are more loving and nurturing, and we have higher moral standards. Would you agree with that?”
          “I would.”
          “Good. Because I believe that women should have a voice in our own government because of those differences. Women bring something to the service of the state which is very different from that which can be brought by men.”She stole a glance at his face and found him listening intently. “It’s only logical that when equal citizenship is extended to women, including the vote, the tone of public debate will be elevated for everyone. When government is more interested in nurturing than in punishing, a nation becomes stronger.”
          These words were similar to those she’d been writing in her articles and speaking in their small gatherings. This was the first time she’d ever said them to a man. At least Niall didn’t run away screaming or go searching for a constable. 
          “You were looking for a short answer, and I delivered a lecture.”
          He shook his head and smiled. “I’m impressed.”
          “By what I said?”
          “And by you.”
          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 sidewalk and the street were coated with snow, and the effect of the streetlamps was magical. She was only about a block away from the house. She wished Infirmary Street were miles away. 
          “Tell me, when was it that you realized you’d become an activist?”
          She stopped. Her corner was in view. She didn’t want to go any closer. She didn’t want to leave him. “When I was old enough to learn about representative government, and when I realized that I had no voice in it.”
          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. 
          She motioned toward her house. “I’m afraid I have to walk from here alone.”
          “You don’t trust me to come to your door.”
          She didn’t want Niall to know of her brother-in-law’s edict. If a battle were to be fought between these two men, Archibald would be the worse for it. She couldn’t do that to her sister. 
          Maisie said the first thing that came to her mind. “I think it’d be best if we didn’t cause any reason for rumor or gossip.”
          “Because I wouldn’t be considered a suitable caller?”
          “That’s not what I meant.”The last thing she wanted was to hurt his feelings. And the deep furrow in his forehead conveyed clearly that he was offended. “I just feel that there’s no point to it. You’re not a suitor. I don’t accept callers with that purpose. I don’t have visits from gentlemen. This is not who I am. All I’m trying to do is to save both of us the headache of being interrogated over something we’re not.”
          She brushed her fingers against his, and his hand immediately wrapped around hers. Maisie stood perfectly still. Never had a man held her hand in this way. 
          “How did you explain me to your sister the last time?”
          “You’re the brother of my friend. There was nothing else that needed to be said.”
          “How would you explain me if she looked out a window and saw us standing here?”
          Maisie glanced in that direction. That was certainly a possibility. “I’d say you’re my friend.”
          His thumb gently caressed the back of her hand. His eyes met hers, and she felt a delicious twist deep in her stomach. “I like that. I’ve been promoted.”

Highlight:

          Shyness overtook her again. She began to slide her hand from his grasp, but he gently pressed his other hand on top. 
          “I’ve already shared my deepest, darkest secret,” he whispered. “Don’t you think it’s time that you confessed as well?”
          An eyebrow arched, and the corner of her lips quirked playfully. She looked up at him from under her lashes. “That was your deepest, darkest secret? Really?”
          “What self-respecting Highland warrior admits to writing poems and stories for a pair of wee nieces? An officer needs to be seen as hard as shoe leather. Do you think that bruiser out there would have given way if he had any idea that I’m a custard?”
          “You have a point.” Her smile bloomed. 
          “But I know that you’re a writer, as well. You’re educated and well read. You’re an idealist and reformer and . . .”He lowered his voice. “A radical who espouses universal suffrage. But you live in a household that supports those same causes. So why the secrecy?”
          The smile disappeared from her face, and she pulled her hand out of his grip. She leaned back in her chair. “What do you know about the political positions of my family?”
          Niall understood her question and, considering the times they were living in, he was glad she understood that not everyone was to be trusted. “You know that I’m no informer. What I said was simply from observation.”
          “You’ve been in my home only once.”
          “True, but I’ve seen the flyers and handbills at Fiona’s house. Some of the information obviously came from the weavers’organizing committees here in Edinburgh. I know you wrote those flyers. You’re not a weaver. That tells me you’re getting your information from someone else. Someone close to you. Someone in your family.”
          She frowned as she considered his words. 
          He had more information, but Niall wasn’t willing to share it with her. It would be too distressing. Several times while dining with old friends in the officers’mess recently, he’d heard references to names of possible radicals in the city. Niall always listened for fear of hearing Fiona’s name. This past week, however, he’d heard a belligerent windbag of a lieutenant with the 10th Hussars mention Dr. Archibald Drummond as someone who was clearly in league with the “troublemaking weavers.”Niall had paid close attention to the conversation, knowing he was Maisie’s relation. But nothing more was said. 
          “My family knows nothing of what I do. I want to keep it that way.”
          “And why is that?”
          She took a deep breath before replying. “Expectations. I am what they expect.”
          “What do you mean?”
          “I mean that they see me in a way that suits them. To my family, I am a docile, mindless young woman who is meandering through life until the right man comes along and takes her off their hands.”
          “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
          Niall realized that was the wrong thing to say as her hand fisted on the table. 
          “I was only joking.”
          “I don’t find it amusing.”
          “Then why allow it? Your family should know you better than anyone. Why should you pretend to be someone you’re not?”
          Maisie paused a moment, and he could see it was difficult for her to talk about this. 
          “So that I don’t need to compete,” she said finally. “A long time ago, I grew tired of the constant comparisons. With my sister. And then with Morrigan. By allowing them to see me this way, I don’t have to live with the daily disappointment of knowing that whatever I do, it won’t be good enough. Important enough.”
          Niall still didn’t understand. He grew up with only one older sister. There was no element of competition between them. What Maisie was describing was completely foreign to his existence. His confusion must have been obvious. 
          “My sister, Isabella, is fourteen years my senior. My mother was the second wife. By all accounts, she was a young, pretty woman from Wurzburg who had no family. I don’t know how they met, but she died in childbirth. A nurse was brought in and later, as I grew older, a governess. They raised me.”
          “It’s obvious that they did a fine job with you.”
          “Thank you. But whatever my accomplishments were in those years, they weren’t enough. My father’s attention was completely fixed on his older daughter, his favorite. With good reason, of course. Isabella is brilliant. They had a shared interest in medicine. She was on her way to becoming a pioneer in a profession where women aren’t allowed.”She picked up her teaspoon and stared at it. “Early on, I realized that no command of languages, no ability to recite a passage of prose or poetry, no proficiency in music or art, no clear expression of my own thoughts had a chance of impressing anyone in that household. So I stopped trying. I no longer attempted to share my accomplishments. I kept my opinions and interests to myself. And when we moved to Edinburgh, after my father’s death and my sister’s marriage, I continued on in the same way.”
          Niall considered her words. Fiona had explained to him that Maisie lived a life that was fairly detached from her sister’s husband and his daughter. But this existence that she described lacked affection. 
          “But your sister, Isabella,” he began. “After meeting her, I would have thought she cares for you, deeply.”
          “She does care for me. She loves me. She always has. And I love her in return. But she was also a product of our father’s single-mindedness. Isabella’s life was arranged to study, to learn, to practice. She never had much of a childhood. By the time I was old enough to understand, I could see that she had no room in her life for any of the youthful fancies that other young women enjoyed.” She placed the spoon next to the plate and looked up. “She was twenty-eight years of age when she married Archibald. He was a widower, fifty-four years old. She did that in part for me, to secure some kind of future for me. I have no complaints whatsoever when it comes to my sister. I don’t blame her for anything. Her life has always been hectic. Her days have never been her own. I love her, and I know she loves me. So I try not to make her life more difficult. I don’t want her to worry.”
          “Don’t you think what you’re doing now could add considerable worry to her life?”
          “It would if she knew. That’s why she mustn’t know. But at the same time, I owe it to myself to live my life the way that best suits me. Perhaps it’s the rebel in me.”She placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her clasped hands. “Which brings me to this moment and to you, Lieutenant Campbell.”
          He waited as Maisie studied his face in silence. He didn’t know if she was trying to brand his features into her memory, or if she was trying to decide whether she liked what she saw or not. 
          She reached across the table and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. “I was directed by my brother-in-law not to see you again. Not to speak to you. Not to encourage any correspondence between us. What do you say to that?”
          He brought her fingers to his lips. “I’d say, Maisie Murray, that I’m very much taken with the rebel in you.”

Review: 

Maisie is quiet and docile for all outward appearances, but inside lurks a woman full of passion and intent on aiding the fight for freedom and equality. In a time where anyone outspoken is branded a traitor and hanged, Maisie must carefully strategize the best ways to bring about more support without outing herself or placing others in harm’s way. A bit naive to the danger, she continues to make appearances at rallies and very nearly gets caught. If it weren’t for the handsome stranger who appears at her side to rescue her, she would have been cut down on the street. When she discovers the identity of her champion is none other than Fiona’s brother, she fears he will out her and her secret activities. Together she and Fiona founded the Edinburgh Female Reform Society. Her family has no clue what she’s been up to and would likely put an end to her fight. But something unexpected happens and before too long, she finds trust and love within the arms of Niall. Unfortunately, his past as a successful soldier brings their future plans to a screeching halt. Maisie suddenly finds herself alone and at a loss. Fear of discovery forces Maisie into hiding and a brutal attack on her home forces her into a new home surrounded by strangers. When Niall shows up and shocks Maisie with his unexpected appearance, she is sure she knows what he is about. But Niall has another purpose and he’s in need of some luck if he’s going to be able to pull it off without getting those he loves caught up in the crosshairs. Maisie has only to trust in him.

Niall is fuming when he discovers the blackguards who tried to enlist him into their nefarious schemes have turned the tables on him; now blackmailing him to carry out their orders. He had plans for a future with Maisie. He was finally going to be free of the death and destruction which plagued his military career. Wanting only a quiet, happy life with Maisie and their future family, he has now been completely derailed and unsure if a future with Maisie is even possible. Hope now barely hanging by a thread, he concocts a plan that just might allow the best outcome possible if he can convince others of his intentions. Maisie showing up before he has a chance to speak his mind ends up working in his favor. But her presence throws a bit of a wrench in his plans – until he ends up married to her. He still has a huge undertaking to pull off and letting Maisie in on the plan isn’t an option. He just prays everything will work out the way he’s desperately hoping it will. If it doesn’t, they could all well die very soon.

Good grief! And the story just gets better! I was wondering how the writing team of May McGoldrick could possibly continue to run with the fast-paced, thrilling read that was book one, but dang! Did they ever! Picking up prior to where book one, HIGHLAND CROWN began, much of the events prior to Isabella’s exile are explained. In the first story, Isabella has already been forced from her home and into hiding. Much of the events leading to such circumstances were explained, but not in great detail. Now, with book two, the reader is allowed to travel back in time and experience everything that happened. HIGHLAND JEWEL begins with an accounting of why Cinaed was abandoned by his mother, then directly to where the first book left off. Following Niall’s unexpected reappearance, the book then travels back to the months prior to the attack on the house at Infirmary Street. I was extremely happy to be able to have a clearer understanding of what took place and everything that led to such a horrific ordeal. Even though a bit of the events were being retold, the telling was created in a way that nothing seemed repetitive. Given that this was all happening through the eyes of Maisie and Niall, rather than Isabella, the information presented as a fresh accounting. In truth, given their very different perspectives, it actually was new. I remained engaged and just as eager to turn each page as I had been in the previous book. Not only was Maisie quite a surprise in her alteration from book to book, but we are also reunited with Cinaed and Isabella. Their transformation was inspiring – both trusting one another implicitly; operating together almost as if two halves of a whole; projecting nothing but love and respect for one another. I loved that their union had progressed to something so powerful when next they appear.

There was a bit of a shift within this book as far as the intimacy between Niall and Maisie. Whereas book one has very little description, the joining within this story was more descriptive. I wouldn’t call it raunchy by any means, but their union was born more of desperation and then having been separated and unsure if they would ever again be together – their circumstances always leaving a bit of doubt and fear that each time could be the last. Also revealed in quite a bit more detail is Cinaed’s mother and finally, her appearance. There is literally just as much, if not more, occurring within these pages as the first tale. May McGoldrick had no problem what-so-ever reeling me right back in and capturing my attention through the books entirety. The bar was set high with HIGHLAND CROWN. I was a bit worried given how wonderful it was, but they met that bar easily with this second installment of the ROYAL HIGHLANDERS series. I very much enjoyed how they were able to expand on events within the previous book, keep every character true to self, and bring something completely new to this story with the love between Maisie and Niall. I knew I would be jumping into a book that continued on the journey begun in the previous book and was thrilled to see all of the former characters once again spring to life. Isabella and Cinaed remain my favorite. How could they not with so much time and emotion invested in them? However, I was very nearly as enchanted with Maisie and Niall’s story and excited that theirs was a completely different path from the previous book. 

My advice with this author stands. If you have yet to experience this wonderfully told, beautifully crafted world, interwoven with history and fiction, you are doing yourself a disservice. Do yourself a favor and jump into this series. I promise there will be no regrets. However, this is a series that definitely needs to be read in order. A reader would likely make it through book two without book one just fine, but the absence of knowledge in doing so would be a tragic mistake. Guaranteed to enchant, captivate, and inspire, the ROYAL HIGHLANDS series has thus far been one of the best in HR I have ever come across; truly giving new meaning and life to the genre.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/St. Martin’s in exchange for an honest review.