Good book that grabbed my attention from the start. When Texas rancher Jake hears that his English cousin, Edward, is about to marry, he rushes to London to stop the wedding. During a recent visit to Texas, Edward compromised the daughter of a powerful politician. Jake vows to haul his cousin back to Texas to marry Faith, who is expecting his child. The scene at the church is fantastic, with Jake dragging Edward out by his collar.

And the bride? Surprisingly, Caroline is relieved at the interruption. She had not wanted to marry the philandering Edward in the first place, but was forced into it to save her family from financial ruin. Unfortunately, with the public interruption of the wedding, Caroline is now the focus of rumors and gossip.

Jake feels guilty about the damage done to Caroline's reputation. His only option, as he sees it, is to marry her himself and take her back to Texas with him. He and Caroline are practical people, and each sees the benefits of their approach. But both have been burned by relationships gone wrong and decide that a marriage in name only is the way to go. I liked seeing them get to know each other. They quickly become friends, and Caroline looks forward to her new life in Texas. Neither expected the sparks of attraction between them, and do their best to ignore them.

But Jake is carrying some baggage from his previous relationship and worries about trapping Caroline in a life she isn't comfortable in. The more time he spends with her, the more he can't stop thinking about her, and he starts regretting his insistence on no intimacy. But he promised, and he won't go back on his word. Unknown to him, Caroline's feelings have also deepened, but she believes her feelings aren't returned. There are several instances where misunderstanding or misinterpreting the other's words prevents them from being truthful about the way they feel.

I loved their arrival in Texas. Jake is happy to be home, and Caroline is fascinated by her new world. There is a bit of a hiccup when Jake's little sister is less than welcoming, but it doesn't take long for Caroline to win Nellie over. Jake and Caroline's feelings for each other continue to grow, but both fear rejection and keep quiet. A dangerous storm and some straight talk from a friend wake them up to possibilities, but can they overcome their insecurities enough to take the risk? I loved the ending, and the epilogue provided a great glimpse into their future.

The secondary characters were great. Caroline's aunt and uncle took in Caroline and her brother, Frederick, after their parents passed away. The love is there, but both are oblivious to the realities of life, wrapped up in their own hobbies. Frederick arranges Caroline's marriage to Edward, seeking to capitalize on Edward's need to marry. Jake's aunt and uncle (Edward's parents) are good people who are horrified by Edward's actions. I liked how they supported Jake's desire to return Edward to Texas. Jake's little sister, Nellie, has some understandable issues at first. I enjoyed watching her relationship with Caroline develop. Faith, the woman compromised by Edward, reminds me of Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun. She isn't shy with her opinions and stands up for herself. Edward was an entitled jerk at the beginning of the book, with no thought to how his actions affected others. A surprising twist at the end showed that even he was redeemable.

The Old West and Victorian England collide when Cowboy Jake breaks up Lady Caroline's wedding-only to save her honor, he must wed her himself.

Review: Laurie Robinson is always a must-read for me, and this book didn't disappoint! I love the Victorian England/Western mash as it leads to some interestering and amusing situations for our couple. Caroline and Jake come from two very different worlds but as they get to know each other, the distance between them fades. The back and forth between them is natural and flirtatous and concudes into a very satifying romance. Five Stars

I read this and a bunch of other historicals back to back, so unfortunately this one did not really stick out to me, it just blurred with the rest I have read recently.

The Cowboy’s English Lady by Lauri Robinson was an interesting and different read. Jake Simpson, a Texas cowboy, arrives at the church just as his cousin, Edward and a beautiful lady named Caroline, are to marry, and grabs his cousin by the scruff of the neck and drags him out of the church. As he explains to his distraught aunt and uncle, Edward left a lady, Faith Drummond, in Texas, with child and he had come to take him back and see that he did the right thing. Sadly this is not the first trouble with a woman Edward has had so his parents understand and cooperate with Jake. He had meant to return immediately but felt he had to speak to Caroline with an apology. What he found confounded him. She was little more than a pawn of her brother who was marrying her off to Edward for money. The more Jake got to know her the more he liked her an abhorred her situation. They finally determined to marry, a marriage of convenience, so that Caroline could come to Texas and take his ten-year-old sister in hand and eventually return her to Englush Society. Things kind of went sideways from there, as early as on the ship returning them to America.

Jake, as has been shown, has a strong personality. He believes in doing what is right, and he does it. The ranch is his life and he has no time for a wife. Caroline is a friendly, intelligent, and outgoing woman who immediately fits into the life on the ranch seamlessly. Both Jake and Caroline are harboring feelings for one another but are keeping mum about it for the sake of the other. It is entertaining to watch their relationship unravel and morph into something more. This was a good story, a little different than most about the English aristocracy, and about nineteenth century cowboys, for that matter. A good read.

I was invited to read The Cowboy’s English Lady by Harlequin-Romance. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #HarlequinRomance #LauriRobinson #TheCowboysEnglishLady

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this due to the poor writing and editing. There was a sudden POV change in the middle of the first chapter, and it was so jarring it took me out of the story immediately. Jake's POV is also littered with folksy sayings meant to express how mad he is about something, but it just came across as a Disneyfied version of a cowboy. The writing style was also choppy and full of fragments that any good copyeditor should have caught and was borderline unreadable.

It's an enjoyable romance, with an Englishwoman nearly marrying a suitably despicable man, under presser from her equally problematic (for different reasons) brother. She's rescued from this fate by a stranger from Texas, and of course they quickly realize that there are sound reasons why they should get to know each other better. It's a good time!

This book starts out well, but it gets bogged down in the negotiations that lead to the marriage. IMO, the marriage of convenience trope is supposed to be about the marriage, not the courtship and engagement. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Thank you to Harlequin Books for a chance to read an ARC of this book! 🖤

4⭐️ more weddings need to be interrupted, actually... | tropes: slow burn, marriage of convenience, western | low steam | digital

Overall Thoughts 💭:
I'm in a western era right now, so seeing a mix of my new love of cowboys with my English historical favorite tropes is everything! This book was a sweet journey with Jake and Caroline. I loved seeing them go from awkward acquaintances under the worst of circumstances, to friends, to married and yearning, to finally deep in love. Each character had their arcs, which I appreciated. I loved seeing Caroline find a home and more purpose in his life, and I liked seeing Jake find purpose outside his duties and allow himself to want and love. I love marriages of convenience; it's my favorite trope because it allows for such delicious yearning, and that was delivered here!

It started off interesting, with a cowboy walking straight into a church to break up his rakish-ne’er-do-well cousin’s wedding to a sweet, but broke, English lady who has basically been pawned to a ducal heir for money.

The majority of the story takes place in England, with Jake and Caroline building on their friendship, salvaging her reputation (he did break up her wedding!), and agreeing to a “marriage of convenience” with the couple moving back to Texas.

It’s a pleasant enough story. I was hoping that the high stakes would carry on past the first 25% of the book, but everything slowed down quite a bit. I was waiting for the story to pick up the pace a bit, to bring back the stakes from the beginning of the book. But alas, it was not meant to be.

A fine enough 3 stars.

I really love a marriage of convenience where the MCs fall in love but don't know how to tell the other one. It makes for the most delicious tension and some top notch pining. Lauri Robinson writes time periods and locales that we don't always see, but the crossover between a Texas fella and a British lady is a niche microtrope that I LOVE. Jake storming in to stop his cousins wedding as the story opener drew me in immediately but I stayed for the sweet, tender, slowburn between Jake and Caroline. Who happens to be his cousin's ex fiancee, but that's neither here nor there!

This book was amazing! If you love western romances then you will love this book! The Roman e is so cute and I loved the relationship that developed through the book.

Lady Caroline Evans and her brother were raised by their aunt and uncle after their parents passed away. She is going to marry a man who she does not love for her family and money. She has long ago given up on hope.

Mr. Jake Simpson was born in London. When he was younger his family moved to Texas and started a ranch. Now he is back in London determined to take his cousin back to Texas to right a wrong.

What Jake didn’t account for when he stormed into a wedding to drag his cousin back to Texas was Lady Caroline and her reputation. Now the only way out of this mess is to marry Lady Caroline himself and take her back to Texas with him, so she can avoid the scandal and gossip. Will this only be a marriage in name or will they actually develop true feelings for each other?

I absolutely loved this book!! Jake and Caroline’s love story was so sweet, delightful and entertaining!! I instantly liked both Jake and Caroline’s characters and the secondary characters were just as wonderful. I enjoyed reading how they both started as friends and both finally realized they both wanted a real marriage. I highly recommend this book!!

A delightful and heartwarming story! While I enjoyed it overall, I found myself wishing there was more time spent in Texas, as the sections set in England felt a bit repetitive with all the social events. Despite that, I would definitely recommend this book to others.