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Highland #3
Highland Treasure
"HIGHLAND TREASURE" When Mary Maclaine's beloved Ian Campbell was murdered, she never expected to love again. Lonely and fearful of becoming a burden on her family, she accepted a proposal of marriage from Lord Ewan MacCrichton. But even her gift of Second Sight could not foretell Ewan's plan to use her for his own evil means -- or that her sworn foe Black Duncan Campbell would prove to be her salvation.
Duncan blamed her for his brother Ian's death, yet he appeared when Mary needed him most, with a proposal that startled them both. Only Duncan could protect her from Ewan
Duncan blamed her for his brother Ian's death, yet he appeared when Mary needed him most, with a proposal that startled them both. Only Duncan could protect her from Ewan
381 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1998
32 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Scott
172 books382 followersAmanda Scott, USA Today Bestselling Author and winner of Romance Writers of America’s RITA/Golden Medallion (LORD ABBERLEY'S NEMESIS) and Romantic Times’ Awards for Best Regency Author and Best Sensual Regency (RAVENWOOD'S LADY), Lifetime Achievement (2007) and Best Scottish Historical (BORDER MOONLIGHT, 2008), began writing on a dare from her husband. She has sold every manuscript she has written.
Amanda is a fourth-generation Californian, who was born and raised in Salinas and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Mills College in Oakland. She did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in British History, before obtaining her Master’s in History from California State University at San Jose. She now lives with her husband and son in northern California.
As a child, Amanda Scott was a model for O’Connor Moffatt in San Francisco (now Macy’s). She was also a Sputnik child, one of those selected after the satellite went up for one of California’s first programs for gifted children. She remained in that program through high school. After graduate school, she taught for the Salinas City School District for three years before marrying her husband, who was then a captain in the Air Force. They lived in Honolulu for a year, then in Papillion, Nebraska, for seven. Their son was born in Nebraska. They have lived in northern California since 1980.
Scott grew up in a family of lawyers, and is descended from a long line of them. Her father was a three-term District Attorney of Monterey County before his death in 1955 at age 36. Her grandfather was City Attorney of Salinas for 36 years after serving two terms as District Attorney, and two of her ancestors were State Supreme Court Justices (one in Missouri, the other the first Supreme Court Justice for the State of Arkansas). One brother, having carried on the Scott tradition in the Monterey County DA’s office, is now a judge. The other is an electrician in Knoxville, TN, and her sister is a teacher in the Sacramento area.
The women of Amanda Scott’s family have been no less successful than the men. Her mother was a child actress known as Baby Lowell, who performed all over the west coast and in Hollywood movies, and then was a dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet until her marriage. Her mother’s sister, Loretta Lowell, was also a child actress. She performed in the Our Gang comedies and in several Loretta Young movies before becoming one of the first women in the US Air Force. Scott's paternal grandmother was active in local and State politics and served as president of the California State PTA, and her maternal grandmother was a teacher (and stage mother) before working for Monterey County. The place of women in Scott’s family has always been a strong one. Though they married strong men, the women have, for generations, been well educated and encouraged to succeed at whatever they chose to do.
Amanda Scott’s first book was OMAHA CITY ARCHITECTURE, a coffee-table photo essay on the historical architecture of Omaha, written for Landmarks, Inc. under her married name as a Junior League project. Others took the photos; she did the research and wrote the text on an old Smith-Corona portable electric. She sold her first novel, THE FUGITIVE HEIRESS - likewise written on the battered Smith-Corona in 1980. Since then, she has sold many more books, but since the second one she has used a word processor and computer. Twenty-five of her novels are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820). Others are set in 15th-century England and 14th- through 18th-century Scotland, and three are contemporary romances. Many of her titles are currently available at bookstores and online.
Amanda is a fourth-generation Californian, who was born and raised in Salinas and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Mills College in Oakland. She did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in British History, before obtaining her Master’s in History from California State University at San Jose. She now lives with her husband and son in northern California.
As a child, Amanda Scott was a model for O’Connor Moffatt in San Francisco (now Macy’s). She was also a Sputnik child, one of those selected after the satellite went up for one of California’s first programs for gifted children. She remained in that program through high school. After graduate school, she taught for the Salinas City School District for three years before marrying her husband, who was then a captain in the Air Force. They lived in Honolulu for a year, then in Papillion, Nebraska, for seven. Their son was born in Nebraska. They have lived in northern California since 1980.
Scott grew up in a family of lawyers, and is descended from a long line of them. Her father was a three-term District Attorney of Monterey County before his death in 1955 at age 36. Her grandfather was City Attorney of Salinas for 36 years after serving two terms as District Attorney, and two of her ancestors were State Supreme Court Justices (one in Missouri, the other the first Supreme Court Justice for the State of Arkansas). One brother, having carried on the Scott tradition in the Monterey County DA’s office, is now a judge. The other is an electrician in Knoxville, TN, and her sister is a teacher in the Sacramento area.
The women of Amanda Scott’s family have been no less successful than the men. Her mother was a child actress known as Baby Lowell, who performed all over the west coast and in Hollywood movies, and then was a dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet until her marriage. Her mother’s sister, Loretta Lowell, was also a child actress. She performed in the Our Gang comedies and in several Loretta Young movies before becoming one of the first women in the US Air Force. Scott's paternal grandmother was active in local and State politics and served as president of the California State PTA, and her maternal grandmother was a teacher (and stage mother) before working for Monterey County. The place of women in Scott’s family has always been a strong one. Though they married strong men, the women have, for generations, been well educated and encouraged to succeed at whatever they chose to do.
Amanda Scott’s first book was OMAHA CITY ARCHITECTURE, a coffee-table photo essay on the historical architecture of Omaha, written for Landmarks, Inc. under her married name as a Junior League project. Others took the photos; she did the research and wrote the text on an old Smith-Corona portable electric. She sold her first novel, THE FUGITIVE HEIRESS - likewise written on the battered Smith-Corona in 1980. Since then, she has sold many more books, but since the second one she has used a word processor and computer. Twenty-five of her novels are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820). Others are set in 15th-century England and 14th- through 18th-century Scotland, and three are contemporary romances. Many of her titles are currently available at bookstores and online.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 3, 2019
I adored this book! Honestly chuff and pinkie were adorable and so strong willed!! Reete cheeky little kids,!.loved it!
January 2, 2020
DNF @ 100 page mark
This book was incredibly hard to read. It was so bogged down with dense descriptions on irrelevant details that I felt my mind was going to explode from trying to keep it all straight. Add in the fact that the author tried to add be “authentic” in using words and phrases from the time period in every sentence and it was a struggle to read. I have read many historical romance books and several have been Highland romances so I’m familiar with much of the common “lingo” authors use for this type of book. Even with that background, I made it to the 100-page mark and was still struggling. At that point I decided to give up since I realized there were several hundred more pages of the same. Waaaaay too long. The dialogue was also very stilted.
In addition, I wasn’t a fan of the heroine. First, since the author made such an effort to bog down the sentences with Scottish phrases in an effort to be authentic, you’d think they’d also make an effort to make the heroine authentic to the era. A female of that time period well versed in law and legal matters? Unlikely. I’m not saying she can’t be smart but she would have been prevented from studying those things by the men. Secondly, she had a ridiculous background. She supposedly had six sisters and a couple brothers. All, I repeat ALL, of them died. Plus some other relatives and her beloved. Seriously?! A couple pages were dedicated to what happened to her whole family and it’s just tragedy after tragedy. At some point it gets a little ridiculous to have a character have that much tragedy in their background especially when it didn’t seem to really affect her behavior. It was also weird that the only death she really even seemed to care about was the death of her "beloved" Ian. I didn't find anything that showed that it was more than a from-afar-love on her part that would make it such an impact on the heroine (over all the other deaths in her life) which added to the strangeness of the situation.
Definitely skip. I doubt I’ll read any other the author’s other books as the style of writing is way too dense for an enjoyable story.
This book was incredibly hard to read. It was so bogged down with dense descriptions on irrelevant details that I felt my mind was going to explode from trying to keep it all straight. Add in the fact that the author tried to add be “authentic” in using words and phrases from the time period in every sentence and it was a struggle to read. I have read many historical romance books and several have been Highland romances so I’m familiar with much of the common “lingo” authors use for this type of book. Even with that background, I made it to the 100-page mark and was still struggling. At that point I decided to give up since I realized there were several hundred more pages of the same. Waaaaay too long. The dialogue was also very stilted.
In addition, I wasn’t a fan of the heroine. First, since the author made such an effort to bog down the sentences with Scottish phrases in an effort to be authentic, you’d think they’d also make an effort to make the heroine authentic to the era. A female of that time period well versed in law and legal matters? Unlikely. I’m not saying she can’t be smart but she would have been prevented from studying those things by the men. Secondly, she had a ridiculous background. She supposedly had six sisters and a couple brothers. All, I repeat ALL, of them died. Plus some other relatives and her beloved. Seriously?! A couple pages were dedicated to what happened to her whole family and it’s just tragedy after tragedy. At some point it gets a little ridiculous to have a character have that much tragedy in their background especially when it didn’t seem to really affect her behavior. It was also weird that the only death she really even seemed to care about was the death of her "beloved" Ian. I didn't find anything that showed that it was more than a from-afar-love on her part that would make it such an impact on the heroine (over all the other deaths in her life) which added to the strangeness of the situation.
Definitely skip. I doubt I’ll read any other the author’s other books as the style of writing is way too dense for an enjoyable story.
May 29, 2020
I keep diving into my shelf of “Haven’t Read Yet” books and this week was Highland Treasure by Amanda Scott. I normally keep to just Lynsay Sands in the romance genre, but this one was outstanding. Scott’s portrayal of the historical aspects of the time, including the events and public figures of the time, only added to the tension and suspense of the story rather than distracting from it.
The story focuses on Mary Maclaine, who finds herself in a bind after promising to marry Lord Ewan McCrichton. Ewan proved himself false in his affections to her and she ends up being rescued by Black Duncan Campbell. Campbell is the brother of her former lover and blames her for his brother’s death. Despite all of these complications, Mary and Duncan find themselves growing closer and learn to understand each other, all while keeping her away from McCrichton.
I love Mary Maclaine’s character. She is a powerful character who has learned how to control her emotions in the patriarchal society she finds herself in. In fact, only her husband Duncan can drive her past that control. This tells me a lot about their relationship because to me, when someone can drive you past that, it means you care about what they think rather than being able to let it slide. The trust they build and the conversations they have are very real and powerful, showing two mature, thinking adults.
If you like romance, but still with logical, mature characters, this is a great book to read! I think I’m going to have to look into some of her other books now that I’ve got a taste!
The story focuses on Mary Maclaine, who finds herself in a bind after promising to marry Lord Ewan McCrichton. Ewan proved himself false in his affections to her and she ends up being rescued by Black Duncan Campbell. Campbell is the brother of her former lover and blames her for his brother’s death. Despite all of these complications, Mary and Duncan find themselves growing closer and learn to understand each other, all while keeping her away from McCrichton.
I love Mary Maclaine’s character. She is a powerful character who has learned how to control her emotions in the patriarchal society she finds herself in. In fact, only her husband Duncan can drive her past that control. This tells me a lot about their relationship because to me, when someone can drive you past that, it means you care about what they think rather than being able to let it slide. The trust they build and the conversations they have are very real and powerful, showing two mature, thinking adults.
If you like romance, but still with logical, mature characters, this is a great book to read! I think I’m going to have to look into some of her other books now that I’ve got a taste!
October 9, 2021
This is, arguably, the best of the series. Well written and filled with a sense of place and time, like the other installments are, this book does something even better than the others in the Highland series. I felt the relationship between the heroine and hero really grow and change. Likewise, you felt the growth of both of those characters as they changed each other (admittedly, I think the flawed hero grew more, but both had their journey). the secondary characters are mostly interesting and well thought out. We see a few from previous books, which is always fun too.
This book is also a very good mix of both adventure, mystery and romance.
This book is also a very good mix of both adventure, mystery and romance.
August 3, 2021
I wasn't sold on the events of this story line. They seemed somewhat far-fetched to me, but I loved Pinkie and Chuff. The entire book could have been about them, and I would have been far happier. Mary and Duncan were not bad characters, you understand, but they didn't have the appeal that Pinkie and Chuff managed. Ewan and Allan were believable villains, but also did not have the same appeal.
March 10, 2015
Outrageously Blunt Hero...Loved Him!
I really liked this story. It's the first Amanda Scott novel that I've read in a very, very long time. I've been reading for over twenty years, and have read thousands of novels. As far as I can remember I've only read one other AS novel in the past, and which one that is, I couldn't say. While I enjoyed this story, I was a little disappointed when I realized it is set in the 1700's. I was really in the mood for a medieval period Highland romance; you know, one with sword wielding, claymore toting Highlanders, who are always involved in one clan war or another. This story is definitely not one of those. This book is set in 1745, when Scotland was firmly under the control of English rule and laws against Highlanders carrying arms abounded. In other words, it was way too civilized for me. LOL Nevertheless, the story that unfolds is extremely engaging. Amanda Scott is a seasoned author, so as you might expect this book is extremely well written, beautifully edited, and is peopled with a cast of fully developed characters.
Duncan and Mary have a mutual history of sorts. Mary was involved with Duncan's younger brother, Ian. Duncan and his family were very much against the relationship because Mary is a member of a clan that had a history of rebellion against the English throne. Duncan, on the other hand, is a Campbell, a clan that firmly supported English rule and worked to enforce the laws imposed by the English upon the Highlanders. In addition to not approving of Mary's familial connections, Duncan was of the opinion that she had bewitched his brother, because no matter how hard he tried, Duncan could not keep Ian away from her. When Ian died, both Mary and Duncan were devastated, and each grieved in his/her own separate manner.
Now one year later, Mary is betrothed to marry another man, Ewan, who turns out to be completely different than she thought. By the time Mary discovers her fiancé's real reason for wanting to marry her; he has her exactly where he wants her, imprisoned within the confines of his keep. When Mary realizes that she will not be allowed to leave she enacts a plan to escape. Once she flees she finds herself in a situation where she is forced to accept Duncan's protection in order to avoid Ewan's attempts to get her back. Eventually Ewan tries to force Mary to honor her promise to marry him by appealing to the courts (the courts, really? See what I mean when I say the story is too civilized?! LOL) In an attempt to thwart Ewan's machinations Duncan suggests a marriage of convenience between himself and Mary.
Duncan has his own reasons for suggesting the marriage as he too is trying to avoid a forced union between himself and a woman that he does not like. Duncan's father believes that Lady Serena would be a perfect bride for Duncan. She's beautiful, well dowered, and from an influential family. Duncan, however, cannot stand Serena and has absolutely no intention of marrying her. This fact he makes painfully clear over and over again to all and sundry. LOL Nonetheless, because of the politics involved, there is still some concern that he may find himself maneuvered into marriage with the despicable female. Honestly, Duncan was not overly concerned about being forced to marry Serena; rather he wanted to avoid the unpleasantness that was sure to arise when the question of his marrying her finally came to a head. His main motivation for suggesting a union between himself and Mary; however, was simply that he wanted her for himself.
Duncan is a wonderful hero, but he has a ghastly temper. His anger is very easily and quickly aroused and is quite fierce. Furthermore, he is the most outspoken hero I can remember ever encountering. Duncan is blunt, to the point of being rude. He doesn't hold any punches and says exactly what he thinks. I thought it was hilarious how brutally honest he was when he refuted the nasty Serena's claims that they would wed. At one point she said something about when she was Countess of Balcardane...to which Duncan's response was something along the lines of "you must be planning on killing my mother and marrying my father, because that's the only way you're going to be Countess of Balcardane!" ROTFL
In any event, Mary is the complete opposite of Duncan, at least on the surface. She too has a temper, but for the most part she portrays an image of calm serenity. She also has a wonderfully soothing effect on Duncan. Just having Mary around makes Duncan feel calmer and more in control of himself. They truly made a wonderful couple!
The story that unfolds is very entertaining and involves a beautiful romance between two likeable people. It made me LOL at times because of the interactions between the two. Duncan is such an alpha male; he's used to giving orders and being immediately obeyed, a trait that Mary does not respond to well. Duncan loves his Mary so much that he is willing to try and change; it's a change that Mary does not expect to happen, although she does appreciate Duncan's efforts. LOL FYI this is not a clean romance. There are a couple of post-marital love scenes. However, these scenes are minimally descriptive and do not include the use of any crude language. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a romance with a wild claymore wielding Highlander! LOL Happy reading!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2022
I loved this story. It was an emotional and suspenseful roller coaster. A real page turner that I couldn’t put down except for meals and Jeopardy. The characters were fully drawn chapter by chapter. You couldn’t guess what would happen next, so you held on to your seat for the next part of the adventure. I’d recommend this book to anyone who loved both mystery and romance.
May 12, 2019
Liked this one better then the previous.
October 3, 2013
This book took a very very long time to progress to exactly where we all knew it would end. And when the end was finally coming I felt as if the author tried to cram quite a few big events into the last 6 or so chapters. The whole middle of the book was just kind of a boring blah blah, but the last few chapters the author throws in several events that should have been spread out a bit more.
December 6, 2014
This is the third in a trilogy, but I had no problem reading it as a one-off. This is historical fiction with a healthy dash of bodice-ripping, and proved the perfect quick and easy read. Set in the Highlands of Scotland in the 1750s, recommended if you like your heroes dashing and your heroines in perpetual need of rescuing.
January 26, 2010
Cheesy historical romance
March 5, 2016
Lovely book -- an earlier one of Amanda Scott's, but just great. Wonderful heroine, ghastly villian.
December 7, 2012
I enjoy Amanda Scott's early work, especially the Highland series. More of a story and less 'hot drama'.
May 25, 2014
Very good. I liked the part where Duncan's father was making sure that the foal was being well looked after.
October 27, 2015
The story was good, but the romance was sorely lacking.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews