"Terrific Victorian romance"

In 1883 London, Colorado cowboy Will Coffin intercedes and rescues Lady Olivia Xavier from assault of three punks. She thinks the hunk who saved her from Lord Pryce's hired thugs could have been the front cover model of the western dime novels she loves to read.

Lady Olivia hires Will to help her save the brewery that she inherited from her late husband; her unscrupulous rival Lord Pryce will do anything to either destroy or preferably steal her firm. Meanwhile Will has come to England to find his family here. He has no plans to socialize with people he does not understand nor is able to communicate with; yet somehow he and Lady X who speaks a foreign language that sort of sounds like English, communicate through their hearts. Though the lady and the cowboy are in love, their respective social classes are more than just oceans apart.

This is a terrific Victorian romance that focuses on cultural differences between a tea toting English aristocrat and a cow poking American cowboy. The story line emphasizes the Grand Canyonesque gaps that the loving pair must surmount if they want a permanent relationship; a concept both desire and fear. Humor via stereotyping presumptions add to the fun as Olivia cannot understand how he can be gentle instead of a rough hooligan like in the dime novels; while Will struggles with how his English rose can be understanding and kind instead of haughty as he assumed all aristocratic ladies pretend a loftiness that make dudes like him feel like sewage. Fans will enjoy Zoe Archer's superb historical driven by two obviously in love characters that live light years apart in lifestyles.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted January 16, 2006

Summary

To Lady Olivia Xavier, the cowboy who comes to her rescue out of the foggy London dusk could have stepped straight from one of her favorite dime novels. But when she is thrown into his arms, his solid chest and strong embrace assure her he is very real indeed. She needs a helping hand to save her late husband's brewery from an ambitious rival, and something in his gentle touch tells Olivia she can trust this stranger.

As a Colorado cowpuncher, Will Coffin has never before encountered a genuine lady. Especially one trying to stave off three hoodlums with only a reticule. He's come to England to find his family—certainly not for high-falutin' tea parties or any other so-called society trappings. But he is being trapped, all right. With her oh-so-English ways, Olivia has lassoed his heart until all he could think of was becoming...LADY X'S COWBOY.