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The Scottish Rose

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It began with a letter...that leads to a passion and adventure beyond her dreams...

"I have taken measures to hide Mary's rose chalice...I fear that all in the castle may die for hiding it, but it is our duty to protect this sacred emblem of Scotland."
--Letter written in 1651

Taylor Kincaid hosts a top-rated television series that debunks everything supernatural. So when she finds herself on the Scottish coast-- to claim an out-of-the-blue inheritance and ancient letters telling of royal gold-- she's prepared to explode the local an archway made of stone through which young women disappear. Until a stormy sea sweeps her through the Ladysgate-- and with her, handsome, rugged sea captain Duncan Fraser.

Beyond it lies the Scotland of 1651. It is the land of Taylor's heirloom letters and Mary Queen of Scots' fabled jeweled chalice, The Scottish Rose, emblem of peace. Together Taylor and Duncan must search for it amid the passions and perils of history...or, in a desperate bid to recross the centuries, risk losing each other and the love they've found beyond the gates of time.

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

83 people are currently reading
183 people want to read

About the author

Jill Jones

13 books22 followers
I'm a curious soul with a vagabond spirit, raised by a loving family with a dad heading a geological oil exploration crew in the mid-twentieth century. We roamed like gypsies throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana in search of cracks in the earth's surface that promised black gold. That upbringing instilled in me a love of travel, adventure, and a curiosity about the history and culture of the people of the places where we lived.

After graduating the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Journalism, with a specialty in fiction writing, I spent two years in Europe, an experience that broadened my horizons and opened my young eyes to a wider world than I had ever imagined.

Since those early days, I have lived in many houses, including a 45-foot sailboat; I have traveled to many places, made many friends in faraway countries as well as my own, and written books set in places I found fascinating and intriguing. As you read my books, please know that the research for each was in-depth, and the locale is authentic.

For nearly 25 years, I lived in western North Carolina, in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. I served for 10 years as the director of a local history museum and 12 years as the Director of Marketing & Communications for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. In my work, I traveled and met fascinating people in this region and learned about the unique history and culture of western North Carolina. This experience spurred me to write a different kind of story: Freedom's Edge, an American Trilogy. It is historical fiction about the early immigrants to the South who arrived in America before there was a country called America. Western North Carolina and the Appalachian mountains were among the earliest of the country's frontiers, and my story is an imagining of what the lives early settlers were like, set in the context of the French and Indian War, Cherokee Wars, and the War for American Independence. Because of its length, I have divided the story into three parts: Escaping Yesterday, Surviving the Now, and Fighting for Tomorrow.

I am married with three adult children, seven grandchildren and a cat, and now reside in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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5 stars
134 (42%)
4 stars
94 (29%)
3 stars
73 (23%)
2 stars
10 (3%)
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3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
Profile Image for Teresa.
610 reviews15 followers
November 16, 2018
Still trying to complete my reading challenge for the year, and I will be “reading strategically” for the rest of the month. This was quite entertaining, and more to the point, very fast to read. It has historical fiction, romance, adventure, intrigue, time travel and a deaf orphan successfully adopted by a loving couple. What’s there not to like?

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2018 #13. A book about time travel.

Profile Image for Camie.
958 reviews243 followers
March 5, 2022
Taylor Kincaid, the host of a NYC television show about myths and legends, travels back in time to 1651 Scotland and gets mixed up in a plot to save some of Mary Queen of Scot’s treasured emblems of the monarchy.
Along the way she finds love with another displaced person and an abandoned child and they all try to escape back to a safer time and place.
I can’t pick up a romance novel and then give it a bad rating because it’s not my genre. So 3 stars for this entertaining but very predictable book.
Read for Senior Bookworms Club.
Profile Image for Denise.
7,492 reviews136 followers
November 3, 2021
Hmmm, time travel romance set in Scotland, featuring a male protagonist whose last name is Fraser... now where might I have heard that before?
The obvious aside, though, this is no Outlander - it lacks the epic qualities, stellar writing, compelling characters and sheer complexity of that. There were parts I thoroughly enjoyed, such as Queen Mary's diary, but can't say I cared overly much about the romance and the main conflict between the protagonists was mostly eyeroll-inducing. Various subplots were just too easily resolved. Entertaining enough, but hardly a pageturner.
Profile Image for Deborah Sherman.
433 reviews7 followers
March 13, 2022
In the beginning I really had a hard time getting into this time-travel story as it felt too much like The Outlander Series; even to the last name of the main male character, Fraser. The big difference is that The Scottish Rose concludes in one book instead of having to read numerous books to reach the conclusion.

Once into the book it was easy to get caught up into the lives of the characters. It is a very interesting account of the time and history of Scotland in the 1650s. Taylor Kinkead finds a local captain to take her to Ladysgate. She is tossed overboard and swept through the gate. Duncan Fraser comes to her rescue but he too is swept through the portal. They find themselves in 1651 prior to Cromwell's siege of Dunnottar Castle where they both have taken up refuge.

The plot centers around Mary Queen of Scots and the Honours of Scotland, which include the crown, scepter and sword. But, there is another item separate from the Honours of Scotland, a chalice called the Scottish Rose. It is Mary Queen of Scots' wish that they would be united when peace was reached.

The Author's imagination along with her extensive research into the legends surrounding the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish Rose, and the mythical Ladysgate brought an intriguing mix to the story. It's a great mixture of history, romance, and fantasy.
Profile Image for Patricia.
2,958 reviews17 followers
June 20, 2017
Doggone. Another new author. Another strike out. Not squeaky clean so this is a DNF. I was initially so intrigued by the idea of two people traveling back in time at once--not something I have read often before in time travel fiction. Ah well. There are more books in the world.
Profile Image for Erin.
24 reviews
November 9, 2016
Love story

I love time travel/ love stories....I love happy endings...this had all three. I enjoyed it so much, I barely took a break.
Profile Image for Chrissy McNeill.
89 reviews
November 10, 2016
Timeless love

I love anything to do with time travel! This is a great story, with likeable characters. A joy to read
Profile Image for Kate.
2,318 reviews1 follower
August 3, 2024
"IT BEGAN WITH A LETTER ...
" 'I have taken measures to hide Mary's rose chalice...I fear that all in the castle may die for hiding it, but it is our duty to protect this sacred emblem of Scotland.'
"~~Letter written in 1651

"Taylor Kincaid hosts a top-rated television series that debunks everything supernatural. So when she finds herself on the Scottish coast -- to claim an out-of-the-blue inheritance and ancient letters telling of royal gold -- she's prepared to explode the local legend: an archway made of stone through which young women disappear. Until a stormy sea sweeps her through the Ladysgate -- and with her, handsome, rugged sea captain Duncan Fraser.

"THAT LEADS TO A PASSION AND ADVENTURE BEYOND HER DREAMS ...

"Beyond it lies the Scotland of 1651. It is the land of Taylor's heirloom letters and Mary, Queen of Scots' fabled jeweled chalice, The Scottish Rose, emblem of peace. Together Taylor and Duncan must search for it amid the passions and perils of history...or, in a desperate bid to recross the centuries, risk losing each other and the love they've found beyond the gates of time."
~~back cover

The author says: "The Scottish Rose began with a journey to the northeastern coast of Scotland where I allowed my imagination to wander those desolate moors and rocky seacoasts until it was captivated totally by the ruins of Dunnottar Castle and the legend of lo0yalty and courage I discovered there. After reading the historical accounts of the clever rescue of the royal regalia of Scotland from under the noses of Cromwell's besieging troops, I decided to take both my contemporary hero and heroine back in time to play a role in that event. According to my research, there were heroes of the day whose names never made the history books. What if ...they weren't from that time? ...the hero and heroine in The Scottish Rose discover a 'secret from the past' -- a priceless chalice purported to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots -- and another, far greater treasure: a love as timeless as forever."
~~back cover

A very enjoyable time travel novel, based securely in historical accounts. Like Outlander, the main characters are thrust back in time to a period of high drama in Scotland, and must negotiate the happenings and superstitions of the era. Hair-raising in places (and what would a Scottish historical novel be without hair-raising danger?!), it's also a charming love story based on 21st century people thrust in the 17th century, with all the dilemmas that ensue from that juxtaposition.
Profile Image for Flor.
31 reviews2 followers
May 25, 2020
I read a little over half of this book when I stopped. I liked how it started, knowing about the characters, a few moments where their moods changed from a sentence to the next would take me out of the story, but still interesting. About halfway it started to happen more and I didn't like it at all. What really set me desbelief is a spoiler so spoiler alert....

They were living together for three months, and I mean the same chamber, so you can't hide anything really of how you are feeling, your body functions and all that. They finally have sex and they don't really communicate after, so they assume things very quickly. A month goes by and Duncan suspects Taylor might be pregnant because he knows about these things and since they've had sex she hasn't had her period , and they share a chamber so she can't hide when she gets it either. Seriously??? Before they had sex they had shared a room for three months and it is mentioned how Taylor atleast doesn't have to worry about getting her period because of her condition and Duncan is right there and after they have sex he's just noticing this? Seriously? It took that and in the next page another abrupt mood change on his part that had me finally giving it up. I glimpsed the last pages to see how they would get back to their future because I did find that interesting, but I was very done with the book.
So it started out being a three and then it slowly kept going down. The story was promising, but the writing was not what I like.
Profile Image for Bettye McKee.
2,188 reviews156 followers
July 18, 2017
A fine time-travel story

Taylor Kinkead is on a quest for material for her television show, Legends, Lore and Lunatics in which she debunks the legends and lore as superstitious nonsense. In Scotland to learn more about her inheritance from her great-great-aunt, she hears about a local legend, Ladysgate, where those who pass through its portal are never heard from again.

Taylor finds a local captain to take her to Ladysgate. In rough water, she is thrown overboard and swept through the portal. Duncan Fraser comes to rescue those on the boat, but he too is swept through the portal. In short, they find themselves in 1651 just as Cromwell's men come to lay siege to Dunnottar Castle where Taylor and Duncan have taken refuge.

The story centers around Mary, Queen of Scots and the Honours of Scotland: the crown, scepter and sword. However, there is another item that should accompany the Honours of Scotland, a chalice called the Scottish Rose.

37
160 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2017
This is a fantastic time travel romance and would recommend it for anyone who enjoys this type of genre.
Taylor Kincaid, an American news reporter, is the long lost relative of Lady Agatha Keith. Taylor journeys to Scotland to claim her inheritance as well as to produce a report for her programme. While filming a sudden storm happens and Taylor is thrown overboard and goes through 'Ladysgate' and ends up in 1650's Scotland at the time of history when Cromwell is fighting the Scots. Following her into the past is Duncan Fraser. Together Taylor and Duncan become embroiled into the plot for hiding of the Scottish honours and Mary Queen of Scots Scottish Rose chalice. They play the part as husband and wife and find a young orphan boy who is deaf and is neglected by the villagers of Stonehaven who think that he is the son of a witch. They befriend the boy who comes to trust them. Months later once their quest is completed they are able to return to their own time, bringing the boy with them. They have only been gone 2 days but can the romance which has developed in the past continue now they are back in their own time.
Profile Image for gp12309.
28 reviews
June 18, 2017
Wonderful read!

Loved this book! Great story, captivating characters. Believable adventure. I want to read all of her books now. Ms Jones writes like I would write....if I wrote...Since I don't, I will enjoy her stories. Thank you Ms. Jones!
Profile Image for Michelle Grayce.
216 reviews18 followers
August 23, 2017
Was good story. But would love to have known more about the family . Lady Agatha.
Profile Image for Liz.
395 reviews2 followers
March 14, 2020
Time travel, historical fiction, and romance. Even though the romance was old fashioned it didn't stick to all the bad habits.
3 reviews
March 23, 2025
Go back in time

Delightful & clever, & romantic. Also, very sweet & interesting. I enjoyed it tremendously & am pleased to recommend it!
Profile Image for Lisa Wadler.
Author 5 books45 followers
April 1, 2025
twist on time travel romance

Without spoilers, first time I’ve read a time travel romance with both our hero and heroine traveling in time.
Very well done!
Profile Image for Jan.
708 reviews17 followers
July 14, 2016
An American T.V. reporter, Taylor Kincaid, who likes to delve into and debunk supernatural stories of the past, comes to Scotland to find new material. Taylor has also been informed she has been left an inheritance. She is young and vivacious, and as she is unable to produce children she has thrown her whole life into her work. She meets her Aunts lawyer who is unscrupulous and ends up betraying her, however, in the meantime she is fascinated with the story of the "Ladysgate", the story goes that people pass thru into the past and never return. Cutting to the chase, she ends up going thru this gate, a gallant young Scotsman follows and they find themselves back in 1651, they have to keep to their wits to stay alive, however, along the way Taylor learns that the Scottish Rose, is not a myth, and she finds herself playing a part in history, and also the story of her own ancestor. Escaping back into the present, Taylor and her Scottish love bring a young boy they have saved and live as a family in her old ancestral home. Nice story.
Profile Image for Mirta Trupp.
Author 8 books185 followers
November 28, 2016
I was hooked as soon as I read that the “The Scottish Rose” promised romance, time-travel, adventure and danger. The author’s imagination, coupled with extensive research and commendable writing skill, prove to provide the reader with an enchanting story. The legends surrounding the Honours of Scotland, the history and lore of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the mythical Ladysgate were all intriguing. I hesitate to give out a five star rating due to a few details, such as the subplot of the attorney and the inheritance (although I did enjoy tracing the character’s genealogy). Here, some of the narrative was a bit tedious and other storylines seemed either cliché or a bit too easily resolved. I can’t label this a Clean Read, but at least we are spared the bodice-ripping and rape scenes so often found in time travel, historical fiction. All in all, I enjoyed the captivating plot- the magic, the mystery and the history.
Profile Image for Elaine.
Author 29 books29 followers
November 5, 2016
Taylor, a famous NY television personality, would never have believed that she would be left a precious inheritance in Scotland. Her adventures took her back in time where she played an important role in Scottish history. Romance and time travel is an intriguing mix of emotions that lead Taylor to a new life.
Interesting facts about Scottish history, especially regarding Mary Queen of the Scots . It looked like the author did a lot of research.
A book that will keep you reading to find out Taylor's Fate!
Profile Image for Kim.
48 reviews2 followers
October 22, 2016
Great read

This was definitely different from most time travel books. I loved it. As always, with a good book, it ended too soon. The story is complete, but I never wanted it to end. The story and the characters were thought out very carefully.
Profile Image for Freya.
324 reviews2 followers
November 7, 2008
Aside from the Outlander series, this is my favorite time travel novel. But why are ladies always jetting back in time to Scotland?
Profile Image for Carrie.
898 reviews
April 6, 2012
It was very stereotypical and predictable but other thatn that it was a very cute story. I wish she had found it when she went back to the cave but other than that I enjoyed the ending
226 reviews10 followers
February 17, 2014
This is probably the most frightening time-travel romance I have read.

A lively story that imprints well into the mind.
Profile Image for Diane Horne.
682 reviews6 followers
April 24, 2017
The Scottish Rose by Jill Jones

Five..It was a different time travel novel..A lot of history is involved, plus the storyline which was well rounded..Passion was brief..But it was a good ending
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews

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