Scottish Highlands: Kilts & Castle Romance
Share
The Scottish Highland romance subgenre peaked in commercial visibility between 2010 and 2018, driven by authors like Karen Hawkins, Suzanne Enoch, and Lecia Cornwall. The formula: a brooding laird in a kilt, a woman from "civilised" England or London, and a remote Highland estate where passion overrides propriety. Most are set in the Regency or Victorian eras (1811–1901), though Hawkins's Mad for the Plaid (2017) adds time-travel mechanics. These are historical romances that weaponise Scottish landscape and tartan as shorthand for primal masculinity — and they deliver exactly what the cover promises.
- Lecia Cornwall published her "Once Upon a Highland" trilogy — Summer, Christmas, and Autumn — between 2015 and 2016, all set in the Scottish Highlands during the Regency period.
- Suzanne Enoch's "Scandalous Highlanders" series launched in 2013 with The Devil Wears Kilts, centring on the MacLawry brothers dragged south to London society.
- Karen Hawkins's MacLean Curse series includes Mad for the Plaid (2017), which combines Highland romance with time-travel paranormal elements.
- Katharine Ashe's How to Marry a Highlander (2014) is part of her larger "Falcon Club" series but functions as a standalone Regency romance set in a Highland castle.
- The Highland romance subgenre surged in popularity in the 2010s, following the success of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and its 2014 Starz adaptation.
- Most Highland romances are marketed as "marriage of convenience" or "enemies to lovers" plots, anchored by the clash between English refinement and Scottish wildness.
Once Upon a Highland Autumn — Lecia Cornwall
A widow, a gamekeeper, and the kind of slow-burn chemistry that makes you wish Regency estates had better heating. Cornwall's third "Once Upon a Highland" entry swaps debutantes for a determined widow rebuilding her life on a Highland estate. The gamekeeper wasn't supposed to be part of the plan — but he's gruff, capable, and entirely too good at making her pulse race. The prose is warm without veering into purple, and Cornwall writes class tension (aristocrat vs. working man) with more nuance than most authors bother with. This one's for readers who prefer wit to bodice-ripping, though there's enough heat to justify the "romance" label. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Autumn Browse more Romance books at PatinaOnce Upon a Highland Summer — Lecia Cornwall
A Scottish laird's daughter returns from London society to find her family's estate in ruins — and the last man she'd choose turns out to be the only one who can help. This is the series opener, and Cornwall leans hard into the "city polish vs. Highland grit" dynamic. The heroine needs a wealthy English husband to save her family; she gets a stubborn Highland warrior who doesn't care about her London credentials. The tension is well-paced, the dialogue sharp, and Cornwall knows how to make a moor feel romantic without resorting to weather-as-mood clichés. If you've exhausted Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove books and want something with more tartan, start here. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Summer Browse more Romance books at PatinaOnce Upon a Highland Christmas — Lecia Cornwall
A snowstorm, a remote castle, and a brooding laird who'd rather be left alone — cozy forced-proximity romance with enough emotional stakes to justify the setup. Cornwall writes holiday romance with restraint, which is rare. The heroine is stranded on Christmas Eve with a Highland laird who's grieving, isolated, and not remotely interested in festive cheer. The emotional arc is the point here — the romance develops alongside his thaw, and Cornwall earns both. The pacing is slower than the other two "Once Upon" books, but if you want a Highland romance that prioritises character work over bodice-ripping, this one delivers. Explore our current copy of Once Upon a Highland Christmas Browse more Romance books at PatinaThe Devil Wears Kilts — Suzanne Enoch
A Highland laird dragged to London society against his will meets an Englishwoman who thinks she can tame him — she can't, but the sparks are spectacular. Enoch launched her "Scandalous Highlanders" series with this one in 2013, and it's the platonic ideal of the subgenre. Ranulf MacLawry prefers wild Scottish mountains to London ballrooms, but family duty hauls him south — where he clashes immediately with a sharp-tongued Englishwoman who finds his kilt-wearing, whisky-drinking, rule-ignoring existence both infuriating and magnetic. The chemistry is volatile, the banter fast, and Enoch knows how to write sexual tension that doesn't collapse into purple prose. If you've read Lisa Kleypas's "Wallflowers" series and want something with more tartan and less decorum, this is your entry point. Explore our current copy of The Devil Wears Kilts Browse more Romance books at PatinaSome Like It Scot — Suzanne Enoch
A Scottish lord who refuses to marry and an English miss who agrees — until meddling family forces them into a fake engagement that turns inconveniently real. This is book two in Enoch's MacLawry series, and it's tighter than the first. Munro MacLawry has watched three brothers get dragged into matrimony and has zero interest in joining them. Enter an Englishwoman who's equally committed to staying single. The fake-engagement-to-real-feelings arc is a romance staple, but Enoch executes it with enough wit and physical chemistry to justify the trope. The Highland-vs-England cultural clash is less pronounced here — Munro's already half-domesticated by London — but the banter holds up. Explore our current copy of Some Like It Scot Browse more Romance books at PatinaMad for the Plaid — Karen Hawkins
A time-travelling Highland warrior cursed to wander centuries meets the one woman who might save him — if she doesn't throttle him first. Hawkins's MacLean Curse series adds paranormal mechanics to the Highland romance formula, and Mad for the Plaid (2017) is the clearest example. A kilt-wearing Scotsman unstuck in time clashes with a modern(ish) heroine who's sceptical of both his curse and his arrogance. The time-travel element is lightly sketched — this isn't Outlander-level worldbuilding — but Hawkins writes witty, physical chemistry and knows how to pace a romance so the emotional beats don't feel rushed. If you've exhausted Enoch and Cornwall and want something with a paranormal hook, this one's your gateway. Explore our current copy of Mad for the Plaid Browse more Romance books at PatinaHow to Marry a Highlander — Katharine Ashe
A Victorian lady fleeing scandal, a marriage of convenience with a Highland stranger, and a castle full of secrets that might destroy them both. Ashe's 2014 entry is technically part of her larger "Falcon Club" series, but it functions as a standalone Highland romance. The heroine is running from a shadowy past; the hero is a Highland laird who offers marriage in exchange for respectability. The tension is less "enemies to lovers" and more "strangers forced into intimacy," and Ashe handles the emotional stakes with care. The prose is denser than Enoch or Cornwall — Ashe writes historical romance with a literary bent — so expect slower pacing and more interior monologue. If you want a Highland romance that prioritises emotional complexity over banter, this one's worth the commitment. Explore our current copy of How to Marry a Highlander Browse more Romance books at Patina The Highland romance formula works because it's efficient: tartan, sexual tension, and a moor shrouded in mist. These seven deliver exactly that, with enough authorial variation to justify reading them as a set.Where can I buy secondhand Highland romance novels in Sydney?
Patina Paperbacks stocks rotating preloved copies of Highland romances — Lecia Cornwall, Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins, and Katharine Ashe — and ships Australia-wide from Sydney. Our Romance collection holds over 1,000 secondhand titles, and we restock weekly as new donations arrive.
Are Lecia Cornwall's "Once Upon a Highland" books part of a series?
Yes — Cornwall wrote three interconnected Highland romances published between 2015 and 2016: Once Upon a Highland Summer, Once Upon a Highland Christmas, and Once Upon a Highland Autumn. They share the same Regency-era Highland setting and feature recurring secondary characters, but each functions as a standalone romance with a complete emotional arc.
What's the difference between Highland romance and Scottish romance?
Highland romance is a subgenre of Scottish romance that specifically centres on the Highlands — remote estates, clan dynamics, kilted warriors, and the cultural clash between English refinement and Scottish wildness. Scottish romance can include Lowlands settings, Edinburgh society, or modern Scotland, but Highland romance leans hard into the moors-and-tartan aesthetic popularised by Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.
Is Suzanne Enoch's "Scandalous Highlanders" series connected to her other books?
The "Scandalous Highlanders" series (The Devil Wears Kilts, Rogue with a Brogue, Mad, Bad, and Dangerous in Plaid, Some Like It Scot) follows the MacLawry brothers and is self-contained, though Enoch's written over 30 Regency romances. If you've read her "Lessons in Love" or "With This Ring" series, expect similar wit and banter but with more tartan and less London ballroom politics.
Does Karen Hawkins's Mad for the Plaid require reading the earlier MacLean Curse books?
Honestly, no. Mad for the Plaid is the third book in Hawkins's MacLean Curse series, but it's written as a standalone — the time-travel curse and romantic arc are self-contained. If you've read The Princess and the Peach or Sleepless in Scotland, you'll recognise recurring family dynamics, but Hawkins doesn't punish new readers for skipping the earlier entries.