Book picks similar to
The Thistle and the Rose by May McGoldrick


historical-romance
romance
historical-fiction
may-mcgoldrick

The Brigand Bride


Miriam Minger - 1990
    Hooded and disguised, she led a series of daring raids against the forces of the Crown--vowing to love no man until the English invaders were driven from her native soil. Hot-blooded Captain Garrett Marshall was entrusted with the capture of the mysterious brigand called "Black Jack." But the sensuous, azure-eyed beauty hidden beneath the bandit's manly garb tested Garrett's loyalty to his King. Inflamed by a desire he could not ignore, the handsome officer would wed his bewitching enemy to save her from the gallows. But first he'd have to quell her hatred...and conquer her heart.

Under the Same Sky


Genevieve Graham - 2012
    A young woman from South Carolina and a Scottish Highlander share an intimacy and devotion beyond their understanding. They have had visions of each other their entire lives. And yet they have never met.Now, with their lives torn asunder, Maggie Johnson and Andrew MacDonnell's quest to find each other is guided only by their dreams— and by the belief in the true love they share.On the Carolina frontier Maggie Johnson’s family struggles to survive. Maggie’s gift of “the sight” and her visions show her a presence she calls Wolf. She watches him grow from a boy her age to a man even as she goes from child to woman.Andrew MacDonald has always wondered about the girl he sees in his dreams. He is able to talk to her through their thoughts and vows that even if he must cross an ocean he will find her. They are thrust into different situations: Andrew fights for the doomed Jacobite cause and Maggie is captured by slavers, then rescued and brought into a kind, loving Native American tribe. They each believe in destiny and the power of the love they have shared forever.

The Guardian


Margaret Mallory - 2011
    But all their trials on the battlefield can't prepare them for their greatest challenge yet: winning the hearts of four willful Scottish beauties. After years of fighting abroad, Ian MacDonald comes home to find his clan in peril. To save his kin, he must right the wrongs from his past...and claim the bride he's long resisted. As a young lass, Sìleas depended on Ian to play her knight in shining armor. But when his rescue attempt compromised her virtue, Ian was forced to marry against his wishes. Five years later, Sìleas has grown from an awkward girl into an independent beauty who knows she deserves better than the reluctant husband who preferred war to his wife. Now this devilishly handsome Highlander is finally falling in love. He wants a second chance with Sìleas—and he won't take no for an answer.

Once a Warrior


Karyn Monk - 1997
    Now Karyn Monk offers her most enthralling romance ever: a tale of a shattered hero fighting for redemption--and fighting for love...Ariella MacKendrick knew her people had only one hope for survival: she must find the mighty warrior known as the Black Wolf and bring him home to defendher clan. But when Ariella finally tracks him down, Malcolm MacFane is nothing like the hero she dreamed he would be.The fearless laird who once led a thousand men is a drunken shell of his former self, scarred inside and out, with no army in sight. Yet Ariella has no choice but to put her trust in MacFane. And soon something begins to stir in the fallen legend. A fire still rages in his warrior heart--a passion that could lead them into battle...a desire, barely leashed, that could brand a Highland beauty's soul.

The Chief


Monica McCarty - 2010
    They are the best of the best, chosen for their superior skills in each discipline of warfare. And to lead his secret Highland Guard, Bruce chooses the greatest warrior of all. The ultimate Highland warlord and a swordsman without equal, Tor MacLeod has no intention of being drawn into Scotland’s war against the English. Dedicated to his clan, the fiercely independent chief answers to no one—especially not to his alluring new bride, bartered to him in a bid to secure his command of the deadliest fighting force the world has ever seen. The treacherous chit who made her way to Tor’s bed may have won his hand, but she will never claim his heart.Although her husband’s reputation is as fierce as his manner, Christina Fraser believes that something softer hides beneath his brutal shell. But the only warmth she feels is in their bed, in glorious moments of white-hot desire that disappear with the dawn. When Christina’s reckless bid to win her husband’s love goes awry and thrusts them into danger on the eve of war, Tor will face his ultimate battle: to save his wife and to open his heart—before it’s too late.

Hearts of Starlight


Audrey Adair - 2017
    She escapes across the sea to the western prairies, unknowing what is ahead of her but intent that she will never again allow a man to dictate her future. He will honor his promises and hold his family together… Callum McDougall, future chieftan of the McDougall clan, is journeying to the North-West Territories to determine what has become of his missing cousin. Once his mission is complete, he will honor the family tradition and return to Scotland to lead his clan. Together in the new world, what will the future hold? Callum and Victoria fight their intense attraction to one another, as Callum must return to Scotland while Victoria vows to remain true to herself. Soon, however, they find themselves unlikely allies in their respective predicaments. With a future continents apart, will they succeed in denying their growing feelings for one another, or will love prevail? "Hearts of Starlight" is a historical romance novel of approximately 57,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Virtue


Victoria Vane - 2017
    As he nears the day to take his vows, he’s sent on a last sojourn into the real world, but what begins as a test of faith becomes a journey to manhood. And a woman who doesn’t know her own heart… Born from the line of two kings, Lady Sibylla Mac William is abandoned by her sire as a child and then ruled illegitimate. Though she lives a happy life under her uncle’s protection, Sibylla craves something more, but never could she imagine losing her heart to the would-be monk who unexpectedly arrives to tutor her brother. Together, they will forge the future of a kingdom… When dark secrets from the past come to light, Alex and Sibylla’s fates become inextricably entwined. Will Alex choose the safe and secure path he knows, or will he reject holy orders to embrace his true destiny… and the woman he loves?

A Slip in Time


Kathleen Kirkwood - 1998
    As he grapples with clan rivalries and divisiveness within his own family, he is confronted with a startling discovery — a beautiful woman from a distant future, delivered through the portals of Time and into his bed . . .A VICTORIAN LADYSwept up in the summer social rounds, Julia Hargrove accompanies her aunt and cousins on an excursion to Scotland, to an ancient castle which has hosted no visitors for two decades — until now. Rumors abound of unusual occurrences at Dunraven Castle — occurrences that are centered in the bedchamber Julia now occupies, where a rugged Highland warrior materializes from the past . . .DRAWN IRRESTIBLY THROUGH THE PORTALS OF TIMEWhat mysteries does Dunraven hold? What secret opens the temporal door, allowing Julia and Rae to reach across the centuries to claim a few stolen moments and nurture a blossoming love? But how long can the rules of Time be broken before the door shuts forevermore?

An Earl for the Archeress


E. Elizabeth Watson - 2017
    Robert of Huntington seems like any other young philanderer and Mariel, fleeing a cruel father, trusts no man. Yet Robert proves to have a softer side that threatens her resolve to remain alone and unattached. When Robert bests a young woman at a tourney, his curiosity deepens when he realizes she is the daughter of the ruthless Beast of Ayr. And when he learns that Mariel’s father conspires with the Sheriff of Nottingham Robert is compelled to protect her. Even if it means lying. Even if it means the only way he can save her is by marrying her. He’s willing to lose everything to guard the Scottish wildling who has pierced his heart.

Charming the Highlander


Janet Chapman - 2003
    When a plane crash strands brilliant scientist Grace Sutter on an icy mountaintop in Maine, she finds herself alone in the wilderness with the only other surviving passenger -- Greylen MacKeage, a sexy, medieval warrior who's been tossed through time to find the woman he's destined to love. Forced together to survive the harsh, wintry landscape, neither expects the fierce passion that flares between them. But Grace is not used to letting her heart take control, and Greylen will settle for nothing less than her heart's surrender....

A MacKenzie Clan Gathering


Jennifer Ashley - 2015
    Since Ian and Beth are the only ones in resident at Kilmorgan at the moment, Ian decides he must find the art and the culprits before the family shows up for Hart's birthday gathering. With Inspector Fellows and Beth, he investigates, though Ian is somewhat worried by Beth's late husband's brother, a retired missionary, who decides to visit. Does John Ackerley hold the "cure" to Ian's madness? And can Ian discover what has happened to Hart's treasures, and who is targeting the Mackenzies before the enemy strikes again?Return to Kilmorgan Castle to visit the Victorian branch of the Mackenzie family, and catch up on the brothers and friends, their children, and their lives.

Charming the Shrew


Laurin Wittig - 2004
    In order to take his place as heir to the chiefdom of Culrain, he must choose a wife within the month or have one chosen for him. Angered by his family's decree, Tayg delays the inevitable by volunteering for a mission for the king that takes him deep into the Highlands. Preoccupied by his marital obligation, the brooding warrior sets out with no hint of the fateful encounter that awaits him...Catriona MacLeod is known throughout the Highlands as the Shrew of Assynt, thanks to her razor-sharp tongue and her unwillingness to yield to her five brothers. When she's told that her eldest brother has promised her hand in marriage to a man she has good reason to hate, she flees into the Scottish wilderness, determined to seek the king’s intervention in her plight. When she reluctantly joins forces with a handsome traveler, she cannot anticipate the treacherous plot that will soon embroil them—nor the passion that will ignite between them.

To Seduce a Highlander


Kerrigan Byrne - 2012
    She’s a refugee with a dangerous secret that could cost her life. Outnumbered by thousands, he’s fated to die in battle like so many Berserkers before him. Could the strength of their love defy destiny?Connor – (Highland Shadow)He’s a mercenary Laird who fears nothing but the darkness inside him. She’s a noble beauty from two of the most prominent families in Scotland, sold to the highest bidder. He mistakenly rescues her from a fate worse than death, but now she’s his captive. They must battle their pride and their explosive attraction to each other in order to defeat a common enemy who threatens the clan’s survival.Finn – (Highland Stranger)He’s a nameless bastard, stalking the Highlands bent on revenge and murder when he stumbles on an infant deserted in the snow. She’s a desperate woman who’s lost everything, including her dignity.They are three of the world’s Unwanted. On a snowy Solstice night, their tale becomes one of blood and vengeance, of love, redemption, and forging the bonds that make a family.Note: This book was previously published as Unleashed.

The Governor's Daughter


Jerri Hines - 2016
    Cathryn finds Lieutenant Jake Pennington the most aggravating, maddening man she has ever met...a man Cathryn soon admits she is in no hurry to see leave. But fate has other plans for her in a world she is ill prepared to enter. She descends into a place where love and betrayal go hand and hand, where greed and treachery are second nature, but moreover the threat her father believes he has sent her is awaiting her arrival. When fate tears her apart from her Lieutenant, Cathryn finds herself desolate and alone. Soon, Cathryn makes fateful decisions that will send her back to her home. A home far different than the one she left. A war rages. Soon, she discovers her life is in danger and the only one that can save her is the one who left her heartbroken. Author's Note: This book was previously published with Whiskey Creek Press as The Judas Kiss and The Promise under the Tides of Charleston Series.

A Gentle Feuding


Johanna Lindsey - 1983
    But never could she give herself completely to the handsome and dangerous laird Jamie MacKinnion - the most feared man in the Scottish highlands.The captive prize of Jamie's sword, Sheena struggles in vain to escape the desire awakened by his touch. And though pride insists she hate her dashing enemy, Sheena's heart begs her to yield...and to surrender to Jamie's passionate love.