While vacationing in England, Professor Isabelle Landers is persuaded to follow a robin through the garden where she opens a gate to step into 1870 Arizona Territory. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, she is transported to save the life of outlaw, Raphael Sinclair.

Burned before by a cheating ex-husband, Isabelle is wary of relationships. As a matter of fact, she lives by Murphy’s Law; if bad things are going to happen, they will happen to her. While reading a book about lawmen and outlaws of the Old West, she is fascinated by tintypes of the outlaw, Rafe Sinclair. Feeling a familiarity to the man, she has memorized every bit of information she can find on the man. When she steps through a garden gate into 1870 Arizona, she is kidnapped by the brave Chaya and taken to the encampment where Rafe is healing, and it is with equal measures of fear and fascination to meet the man who has held her interest for so long. When the Shaman proclaims he has waited long for her to come and clear Rafe’s name, she is confused as well.

Rafe knows nothing of the time portal and sci-fi talk the woman talks of. All he knows is, despite being dressed like a man, he desires her with a vengeance. When his blood brother, Chaya, brings him the book she had in her possession, he is confused that the date says 2007 instead of 1870. In the book, Rafe reads of a Cavalry raid on the Indian camp and his death at the hands of the soldiers; chilling speculation whether he was killed by firing squad or not. It will take Rafe and Isabelle working together to clear his name, if they don’t run out of time.

Isabelle and the Outlaw is a fast paced, compelling story from beginning to end. I was able to form an instant connection to Isabelle and to Rafe as well. Loretta C. Rogers brought the lawless 1870s to vivid life as she grabbed my attention and drew me right into the fray. I was compelled to follow Rafe and Isabelle as they set out to clear his name, falling in love along the way. Isabelle is a woman I was able to relate to; her experiences with a cheating ex-husband gained her much empathy from this reader. She is strong, smart and though she doesn’t think love is for her, she falls hard for the hero before she meets him. She does not become a doormat, however, she gives as good as she gets, gaining more admiration from me. Rafe is a tried and true alpha male who has been in deep undercover for so long he has forgotten some of the softer side of life. His attraction to Isabelle is immediate and profound; the chemistry grows more intense as they spend more time with each other. If you are a fan of action packed Western romance with read hot love scenes and relatable characters, you must read Isabelle and the Outlaw. You will not be disappointed.

Reviewed by: Scarlet