Highland Romance: Kilts, Clans & Castles
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- Scottish Highland romance is a historical romance subgenre typically set between the Jacobite risings (1715–1746) and the Victorian era (1837–1901).
- Lecia Cornwall's "Once Upon a Highland" series includes Once Upon a Highland Summer (2015), Once Upon a Highland Autumn (2015), and Once Upon a Highland Christmas (2016), all published by Avon.
- Suzanne Enoch's "Scandalous Highlanders" series launched with The Devil Wears Kilts (2013) and continued with Some Like It Scot (2015), centred on the MacLawry siblings.
- Katharine Ashe's How to Marry a Highlander (2014) is part of her "Falcon Club" series, blending Highland settings with secret society intrigue.
- Common tropes include marriages of convenience, enemies-to-lovers dynamics, fish-out-of-water English heroines, and lairds forced to navigate London society.
- The subgenre surged in popularity following Diana Gabaldon's Outlander (1991), which reintroduced 18th century Scotland as romance territory.
Once Upon a Highland Autumn — Lecia Cornwall
A gruff gamekeeper romance with slow-burn tension and an estate falling apart at the seams.
Cornwall sends a determined widow to a crumbling Highland estate where the only man who knows how to fix it is the taciturn gamekeeper who wasn't supposed to make her pulse race. The setup is classic — propriety versus practical need — but Cornwall writes banter with enough snap to keep the predictable arc from feeling stale. The Highland setting does heavy atmospheric lifting: mist, stone walls, the smell of heather. If you're here for yearning glances over a shared hunt, this delivers. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Autumn. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Once Upon a Highland Summer — Lecia Cornwall
A returning prodigal daughter, a family estate on the brink, and the last man she expected to want.
Cornwall's series opener drops a London-polished laird's daughter back into her childhood home just as the money runs out. The plan: marry a wealthy Englishman. The problem: the estate's new steward is Scottish, stubborn, and absolutely not part of the plan. Cornwall writes smart heroines who know what they need and heroes who respect them enough to make it complicated. The mass market format means this copy has lived a life — creased spine, probable foxing — but that's half the charm of a preloved bodice-ripper. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Summer. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Once Upon a Highland Christmas — Lecia Cornwall
Stranded-in-a-snowstorm romance with a brooding laird who really, really wants to be left alone.
Cornwall drops her heroine into a remote Scottish castle on Christmas Eve with a Highland laird whose entire personality is "go away." The forced proximity writes itself — snowdrifts, crackling fires, one bed — but Cornwall threads in enough emotional stakes to keep it from feeling purely formulaic. This is cozy winter reading with a bodice-ripping edge: tartan, tension, a hero who thaws slower than the snow. The mass market copy we stock has that satisfying paperback heft, the kind you can tuck into a bag for a train ride. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Christmas. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
The Devil Wears Kilts — Suzanne Enoch
A Highland laird dragged to London against his will meets an English miss who's absolutely his match.
Ranulf MacLawry doesn't do England. He's a kilt-wearing, mountain-preferring laird who gets hauled south by family obligation and immediately locks horns with an English woman who finds his entire Scottish existence ridiculous. Enoch writes combative chemistry — the kind where insults are foreplay — and she's smart enough to let both characters be right about each other's flaws. The "Scandalous Highlanders" series hinges on sibling dynamics, so if you like your romances in multi-book family sagas, Enoch delivers. Explore our current copy of The Devil Wears Kilts. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Some Like It Scot — Suzanne Enoch
Two people determined to stay single, one very meddling family, and exactly the disaster you'd expect.
Munro MacLawry has watched three brothers fall into matrimony and he's not interested. The English miss he's paired with agrees: marriage is a trap. Naturally, their families have other ideas. Enoch writes this one with a lighter touch — it's less brooding, more banter — and the central tension is less "will they" than "how long can they pretend they won't." If you've read the earlier MacLawry books, this pays off sibling threads; if you haven't, it still works as a standalone enemies-to-lovers romp. Explore our current copy of Some Like It Scot. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
How to Marry a Highlander — Katharine Ashe
A marriage of convenience in a Highland castle, with secrets on both sides and actual espionage woven in.
Ashe layers her Highland romance with the "Falcon Club" series' ongoing intrigue — a secret society, a heroine fleeing scandal, a hero who's not quite what he seems. The marriage-of-convenience trope gets sharper when both parties are hiding things, and Ashe writes smart enough to keep the reveals landing. The Victorian setting (rather than Regency, despite the description's slip) shifts the tone slightly: less ballroom glitter, more gothic estate atmosphere. If you want your bodice-rippers with a side of espionage, Ashe is your author. Explore our current copy of How to Marry a Highlander. Browse more Romance books at Patina.
Highland romances live or die on atmosphere — the mist, the tartan, the crumbling castles — and these six deliver the full misty-moorland experience. Whether you're here for slow-burn gamekeepers, combative London lairds, or marriage-of-convenience intrigue, the formula holds: propriety versus passion, England versus Scotland, and a hero in a kilt who's absolutely worth the 300-page wait. As of April 2026, Patina's Romance shelves hold rotating preloved copies of Cornwall, Enoch, Ashe, and comparable Highland authors — all the tartan and tension you need, shipped Australia-wide from our Sydney base. Shop all Romance books at Patina Paperbacks →
Where can I buy secondhand Highland romance novels in Australia?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of Scottish Highland romances, including series by Lecia Cornwall, Suzanne Enoch, and Katharine Ashe. We're Sydney-based and ship Australia-wide, with free shipping over $29. Browse the full Romance collection to see what's currently available.
What authors write the best Scottish Highland romance series?
Lecia Cornwall's "Once Upon a Highland" books and Suzanne Enoch's "Scandalous Highlanders" series are both solid multi-book bets if you want interconnected family sagas set in Scotland. For single-title depth with espionage threads, Katharine Ashe's "Falcon Club" series (which includes How to Marry a Highlander) layers in more plot complexity. Honestly, if you liked Diana Gabaldon's Outlander but want shorter, standalone-ish arcs, any of these three will scratch that itch.
Are Highland romances historically accurate?
Mostly vibes over facts. Most Highland romances borrow the aesthetic — tartan, clan rivalries, misty moors — without deep historical rigor. Authors like Cornwall and Enoch prioritize emotional stakes and chemistry over, say, accurate depictions of post-Culloden land clearances. If you want bodice-ripping atmosphere with a Highland backdrop, you'll get it. If you want a dissertation on Jacobite politics, look elsewhere.
What's the difference between Regency romance and Highland romance?
Regency romance (think Jane Austen territory, 1811–1820) centres on English ballrooms, strict social codes, and witty banter in drawing rooms. Highland romance shifts the setting north to Scotland — often 18th or 19th century — and trades politeness for wildness: kilts, rugged landscapes, clan loyalty, and heroes who don't give a damn about London's rules. The emotional beats are similar (marriage plots, class tension, slow-burn chemistry), but Highland romances lean harder into physical passion and outdoor drama. Cornwall, Enoch, and Ashe all write books that blend both: English heroines meet Scottish lairds, propriety collides with freedom, and tartan gets involved.
Do I need to read Highland romance series in order?
Not usually. Cornwall's "Once Upon a Highland" books and Enoch's "Scandalous Highlanders" series each focus on a different sibling or estate per book, so you'll catch recurring family names and inside jokes if you read in order, but every book has a standalone romantic arc. Ashe's "Falcon Club" series has more interconnected espionage threads, so reading in sequence helps with the overarching mystery. That said, if you grab a mass market copy from Patina's shelves and it's book two, you'll still follow the romance just fine.