A review by lisajo85
Lady X's Cowboy by Zoe Archer

5.0

She was an independent widow frustrated by the rules of London society. He was a cowboy from Colorado seeking his past and contemplating his future. The differences between them were limitless, but their passion was undeniable.

Lady Olivia Xavier has been a widow for over two years when this story begins and she is successfully running the brewery her husband left her after his death. One night on the streets of London, Olivia is attacked and then rescued by none other than American cowboy Will Coffin. Will is basically a drifter in London, looking for any clues about his past. He is desperately seeking the identity of his birth parents, who died when he was younger. But seeing the beautiful Lady X has distracted him from his original quest.

Olivia is fascinated by Will from the first moment she meets him. The man is a real-life cowboy - straight out of the pages of the dime novels she loves to read about cowboys and Indians. She knows society would never accept any association between the two of them, but Olivia can't help the attraction she feels towards this stranger in a Stetson.

Olivia also realizes Will is a man with nothing to lose. So she asks if he would help protect her brewery from the mischievous Lord Percy. Percy wishes to buy her brewery, but Olivia has refused every attempt. Olivia is worried Percy's attempts to scare her into selling are becoming more serious and dangerous with each passing day. Will, never one to abandon a woman in distress, quickly rushes to her side as her protector.

Lady X's Cowboy is nothing but surprises. It is a fun ride from the first page to the last. If I'm going to pick a historical romance to read, Regency and Westerns are probably two of my favorites, but put the two together? Well, that sounds like an interesting challenge for any author...one that Archer is more than capable of pulling off.

From chapter one, Archer had created a world that I knew I would enjoy immensely. It was charming, funny and just beautiful storytelling. I was completely blow away by the quality of her writing. She would have a strong western accent from one character and quickly switch to the heroine's dialogue of formal English. Let's just say I was impressed. The characters were so strongly different right from the start I found it hard to believe that one person wrote them. And they were absolutely delightful to read about. Lady X was a truly fierce, independent woman way ahead of her time. The way she would 'spit' in the face of society was fascinating. She walked a fine line...keeping herself in good graces with those around her, but never too careful as to follow society's rule to the point where it made her unhappy.

Will was even more charming. Everyone tried to perceive him as the dumb American cowboy, but he was anything but. His dialogue was colorful and his manners were adorable. You could not have asked for a better hero. He was the muscle to protect her during the day...and he was the intellectual and sensual individual to keep her company at night. The only question was: Could they overcome their differences and society's disapproval to live happily ever after?