The Lawmen & Outlaws series brings us historical westerns. Wyoming in 1874 is the setting for a lively tale as Jack Sterling is aboard a stagecoach when it's attacked.

STERLING'S WAY has taken him into several gunfights so he weighs the options as he talks briefly with the town's new preacher and a young woman. They arrive in Brown's Point mercifully unscathed, and Kristen Marsh, who was travelling unchaperoned, has already decided to start a whole new life.

The rugged scenery and handmade buildings are less formal than Boston, and Kristen stows her purse inside her corset. She intends to take up a position at the schoolhouse, but the town has been going through a drought and she just hopes there will be enough work. Sterling meanwhile has his own beef with the town banker, who has been acquiring deeds in the gunman's home town in Kansas. He's come up to Wyoming to get matters sorted out, as far as his family's deeds go anyhow. Even if it means starting trouble.

Life is still rough at this time, with Indian raids, mules for transport and outlaws. I enjoyed seeing the busy life people led and the hard work that was required of everyone.

The dance hall girls rooming in Kristen's boarding house assure her that all they do is dance, and they seem as eager to broaden their horizons as Kristen herself. Maybe they can teach one another useful skills. The male characters are just as genuine, with the preacher's grown grandson Patrick Godsend taking a shine to the new lady in town, who seems more respectable than those saloon girls. Kristen's hiding a past however - and how long will it be before the past catches up to her?

I had a good time with this historical romance, in which the characters chop and change and the action comes from unexpected quarters. The lively story of rugged men and determined women by Sarita Leone is fast-paced enough to keep you reading. STERLING'S WAY is great fun for fans of sweet western romance.