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Series · historical romance

The MacLean Curse

by Karen Hawkins

The MacLean Curse series by Karen Hawkins has 6 known books (6 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with How to Abduct a Highland Lord (2007).

Books
6 known books (6 novels)
Published
6
First published
2007
Status
completed
Shelved under
Romance , Historical Fiction
Start here: How to Abduct a Highland Lord (2007) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of How to Abduct a Highland Lord
How to Abduct a Highland Lord (2007)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. How to Abduct a Highland Lord

    Novel
    The MacLean Curse begins with How to Abduct a Highland Lord, published in 2007, the first of the series to be followed by To Scotland, With Love. It launches Karen Hawkins's premise that no MacLean can find happiness in love until fate forces the match, following the first of the cursed clan's siblings and cousins.
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  2. To Scotland, With Love

    Novel
    To Scotland, With Love is the second book in The MacLean Curse, published in 2007 at 384 pages, continuing the family curse premise as another MacLean sibling fights -- and eventually succumbs to -- the pull toward an unlikely match.
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  3. To Catch a Highlander

    Novel
    At 385 pages, To Catch a Highlander was published in 2008, the third book in The MacLean Curse, following another cursed MacLean cousin toward the match fate has apparently already chosen for them.
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  4. Sleepless in Scotland

    Novel
    Between To Catch a Highlander and The Laird Who Loved Me, The MacLean Curse continued in 2009 with Sleepless in Scotland, keeping to Karen Hawkins's premise of a generations-old curse that only fate can break.
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  5. The Laird Who Loved Me

    Novel
    Between Sleepless in Scotland and Much Ado About Marriage, The MacLean Curse continued in 2009 with The Laird Who Loved Me, the fifth of the interconnected Highland romances following the cursed MacLean clan.
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  6. Much Ado About Marriage

    Novel
    Much Ado About Marriage (2010) is the longest book in The MacLean Curse by page count at 400 pages, and though published last, it is the prequel explaining the curse's origin -- best read to understand how the family's fate began.
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Key facts about The MacLean Curse series

Our list has 6 books in The MacLean Curse series. Since all 6 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with How to Abduct a Highland Lord, since it opens the publication order in 2007. To Scotland, With Love is book 2, from 2007. To Catch a Highlander is book 3, from 2008.

Sleepless in Scotland is book 4, from 2009. The Laird Who Loved Me is book 5, from 2009. Much Ado About Marriage is book 6, from 2010.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2007 and 2010, while their length runs from 352 to 400 pages. That is a run of 3 years.

Karen Hawkins has 42 books on our list. Additionally, they write The Abduction and Seduction, The Talisman Ring and Just Ask Reeves, plus 6 more series. We shelve the books under historical romance.

About The MacLean Curse

The MacLean Curse follows the Scottish MacLean clan, cursed generations earlier so that no MacLean can find happiness in love until fate forces the match -- a premise Karen Hawkins uses to power five interconnected Highland romances plus a prequel. How to Abduct a Highland Lord (2007) and To Scotland, With Love (2007) launch the series, followed by To Catch a Highlander (2008), Sleepless in Scotland (2009) and The Laird Who Loved Me (2009) as successive MacLean siblings and cousins each get their turn fighting -- and eventually succumbing to -- the family curse. Much Ado About Marriage (2010) closes the series as a prequel explaining how the curse began, also doubling as book zero of Hawkins' companion Hurst Amulet series, since the amulet at that series' center is the object the curse becomes entangled with.

Much Ado About Marriage began life as Hawkins' actual first written manuscript, published in 2000 under the pseudonym Kim Bennett as One Lucky Lord for Love Spell's Wink and a Kiss line; Hawkins revised and re-released it in 2010 to explicitly tie the MacLean Curse's origins into the newer Hurst Amulet series.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in The MacLean Curse series?

Six: How to Abduct a Highland Lord (2007), To Scotland, With Love (2007), To Catch a Highlander (2008), Sleepless in Scotland (2009), The Laird Who Loved Me (2009), and the prequel Much Ado About Marriage (2010).

What is the MacLean curse?

A generations-old curse on the Scottish MacLean clan preventing any MacLean from finding happiness in love until fate itself intervenes -- the premise driving each book's central romance.

Is Much Ado About Marriage really a rewrite of an earlier book?

Yes -- it began as Karen Hawkins' first manuscript, published in 2000 under the pseudonym Kim Bennett as One Lucky Lord, before she revised and re-released it in 2010 as the MacLean Curse prequel.

Is The MacLean Curse connected to Hawkins' Hurst Amulet series?

Yes -- Much Ado About Marriage, the MacLean Curse prequel, also serves as book zero of the Hurst Amulet series, since the amulet central to that series becomes entangled with the MacLean curse's origin.

Is a seventh MacLean Curse book planned?

None has been announced as of August 2026; the series appears complete.

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