4 strong stars for this creative offering from Dallas ~

This was a joy to read. Historical fiction with humor. Takes place during the civil war. Features two kids, 11 and 14, whose 18-yr old brother sells their ranch for $950 of gambling money and puts his younger siblings in an orphanage. Their mother passed on and their father has been missing for several years. The older brother Cheet (appropriately named) figures he’s in charge and doesn’t hanker to splitting the money with his younger siblings. He assumes his father is dead and not coming back. The young ones don’t believe it and want to find him.

To me the funniest part of the novel was the language — think Gomer Pyle, “by golly” which is the closest you’ll see as far as cussing goes. Their terminology for every day circumstances had me chuckling out loud. The nuns at the orphanage were “married to Jesus” and they didn’t see any advantage to that as His brides toiled harder than most and did without necessities. The two kids that are put in the orphanage are Boots, the 11 yr old boy, and Haidie, a female, who passes as a boy for the entire novel ask we follow their journey to Colorado from the southern midwest in search of their father, after running away from the orphanage. The people they meet along the way are characters who add a lot of wit and meat to the novel.

Sandra Dallas is an author who I’ve enjoyed since 2002 when our book club read the Persian Pickle Club, a copy I still have in my personal library. I’ve read several of hers in the past and not been disappointed. The Chili Queen is one of my all time favorites.

Her wit, humor and relatable characters will always have me a devoted fan.
Treat yourself to this her newest, releasing on April 28, 2025

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #sandradallas.com

1863. Fourteen year old Haidie Richards and her younger brother Boots are dumped in an Illinois orphanage by their oldest brother after their mother passes away. Determined to reunite with their father who has gone to Colorado to mine gold, the siblings adventure begins when they run away from the orphanage. Disguised as a boy, Haidie and Boots eventually join a wagon train and journey through the Wild West and into Indian country. Wild adventure and eccentric characters abound throughout Tough Luck.
I loved the audiobook and the narrator Joel Richards gives a terrific performance. I’ve been hooked on Westerns since I watched Gunsmoke and Bonanza as a kid, and I loved every minute of this novel.
Highly recommend!

It is 1963 in Smoak, Illinois. Haidie Richards is 14, her older brother Cheet is 19 and her younger brother Boots is 10. Their father left 4 years ago for Colorado territory to strike it rich in the gold mines. They have not heard from him after they received 3 letters. Their mother died so Cheet sold the farm, kept the money and put Haidie and Boots in an orphanage. After a while, Haidie decides that it was time for her and Boots to run away and try to find their father. Haidie gets her hair cut short so she can pass for a boy to make traveling easier. They join a wagon train for the journey across the planes to Denver, Colorado. These kids have a lot of adventures along the way and meet a lot of different characters, some good and some bad! I knew from the very first page that I was going to love this book and I did. I highly recommend this wonderful book that leaves you smiling at the end.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this wonderful book that is a real page turner.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Apr. 29, 2025
“Tough Luck” by award-winning journalist-turned-author Sandra Dallas is a delightful Western about a fourteen-year-old girl and her brother who venture across the American West in order to be reunited with their father after the death of their mother.
Haidie is the main character, a young girl who, after the death of her mother, was left in the care of her older brother, Cheet. Cheet, being true to his name, abandoned Haidie and her ten-year-old brother, Boots, to an orphanage. Delightfully spunky and resilient, Haidie and Boots escape the orphanage and make their way West, running into a variety of eclectic characters along the way. Haidie was charming and likable and, combined with her dedication to her brother, Boots, there was no way I wasn’t cheering for her.
I am not a Western fan, normally, but I did enjoy the historical feel of Dallas’ novel, with saloons and gambling dens and mule-pulled covered wagons, and there was almost constant adventure, all experienced through Haidie’s eyes. I would not have enjoyed this novel as much if it weren’t for the kind yet brave protagonist.
Throughout the novel, Haidie and Boots’ ultimate goal is to be reconnected with their father, who abandoned them to find gold in Colorado. It was not clear at the start if they would be reunited or not and how it would go, but Dallas made sure that this plot line was concluded in an engaging and satisfying way. Of course, there are several plot lines that exist outside of this one, as Haidie and her brother meet a variety of other characters on their travels, and each one was brought to a successful conclusion, with no unanswered questions.
If anyone was going to turn me onto reading Westerns, Sandra Dallas seems to be the author who could do it. Dallas has written eight Western novels and has won many awards for her fiction and non-fiction works, and there’s no question that she has the talent. “Tough” is gritty and endearing with a smooth flow, tight plot and powerful characters.

Mary is the young main character at the center of this book. She was tough and a great hero for this book. It was written very well and I. was rooting for the characters throughout. This remained me of some of my favorite books when I was younger and I was just entertained.

Sandra Dallas is the author that got me back into reading in 2020. I have read 3 of her books now and they are always so good. Tough Luck made me laugh and cry. It’s a beautiful story with adventure and schemes. I love Haidie! Reading this story from her point of view was so fun. She made me chuckle.

Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Publishing for an early copy of Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas

Author Sandra Dallas has crafted a thoroughly uplifting and satisfying "cozy Western" that pits the smarts of the young, female Haidie Reynolds against pretty much every obstacle as she escapes an orphanage with her younger brother and sets out to find their father in the Colorado mining fields during the fever of the Gold Rush era.

When Haidie's mother dies, her older brother claims the family land and places Haidie and younger brother Boots in an orphanage. Through wits and courage, the Reynolds children escape the "better than most" orphanage and end up under the watchful eye of a kind man moving goods to Omaha.

The characters that Haidie (dressed as a boy to avoid complications) encounters all leave deep impressions on her and pave the way for Haidie to come to understand people at both their worst and their best. The choices Haidie makes in her search for her father are carefully weighed and reflect a young woman truly coming into her own.

Told in Haidie's own voice, Tough Luck is a totally engaging read with characters that remain with the reader long past the last page.

4.5 stars which I will gladly round up because I could not put this book down.

Tough Luck captures your undivided attention from the first to the last page.

This book is not my normal genre and I dont what I was expecting but from the first paragraph I was hooked.

It is the 1860's in Colardo, families are moving west and the gold rush is upon us.

Haidie and her brother Boots have escaped from an orphange and are their way to find their dad who went west and never came home.

Haidie in order to get jobs and not be recognized dresses as a boy and this girl is smart, funny , determined and nothing will stop her and Boots getting West.

They join a wagon train and they meet all sorts of people including villians, are attacked by the Indians and life is hard on the trail.

You cant help but love the characters in this book and you feel like you are on the journey with them.

I highly recommend you grab a copy of Tough Luck and settle in for an adventurous ride.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the privilege of reading and reviewing Tough Luck,

Another good one from Sandra Dallas. Cheet Richards puts his fourteen year old sister Haidie and their brother, seven year old Boots, in an orphanage when their mother died. Cheet had sold the farm and was planning to make his living as a gambler. Unfortunately the orphanage was not a good place for Haidie and Boots, so they escaped with plans to go the Denver, Colorado, where their father had gone hoping to find gold. Along the way they meet an interesting group of travelers that help them make their way. Things are not what they expected when they arrived in Denver but Haidie's "street wise" friends, and her cleverness get them through. Both humor and the cruel reality of life on the frontier are in this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and for not requiring a positive review.

After their father left and their mother died, Haddie and Boots were left with only their older brother, Cheet.

Cheet sold their home, put his brother and sister in an orphanage, and took off with the money.

Haidie had plans, though. She was going to find her father. They were not going to stay in the orphanage. She and Boots escaped and found a man going west that would take them with him.

He was a kind man, but some of the others they met along with way definitely were not.

We travel with Haidie and Boots as they learn how to survive during this time period, and also find out about their father.

An enjoyable, uplifting read with wonderful characters. You will LOVE Haidie.

Sandra Dallas always gives us a great story.

Enjoy the ride and the fun - remember, it was the Wild West!! 5/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 53%

From the description, I thought Haidie would be older, but she is 14 in the novel. I was trying to push through the book, because a heist style revenge plot sounds fun. However, at 53% Haidie and her brother Boots are still trekking across the prairie to get to Colorado to find their dad. It also felt like nothing much had happened.

There are lots of misspellings that are intentional in the characters speech, but they were in how everybody talked so I couldn't tell if they were to portray an accent or to portray little to no education. They were just annoying and unnneccessary to me ("Hoor" instead of "whore"; "buffaler" instead of "buffalo").

All the characters also felt very one dimensional. I never felt attached to any of them and never felt like there was any growth happening either.

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.

Review goes live May 12

I enjoyed this story. At times I was frustrated by how the main character knew how to do everything or could pick up on things faster than you would expect. I enjoyed learning about the different characters introduced throughout the book.

Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas

Haidie Richards and her younger brother, Boots, grabbed my heart and didn't let go. When we meet them, Haidie is fourteen and her brother, Boots, is ten. Their father left them years ago and now their mother has died. Haidie's scoundrel of a brother, Cheet, sells her parents' farm, pockets the money and puts Haidie and Boots into an orphanage. Thank goodness the orphanage doesn't seem to be too horrible but it's certainly not a place where Haidie and Boots belong.

Haidie is a hard worker. She kept her parents farm going more than her brother Cheet ever did. Boots is a hard worker, too, and the siblings are loyal to each other in a way their father and older brother never were. Haidie is going to break herself and Boots out of the orphanage so they can go find their father in Colorado. Surely he never meant to leave them forever and would want them with him now that their mother is dead. For this to work, Haidie chops off her hair and presents herself as a boy since no one would want to take on a boy and a girl. Off Haidie and Boots go, with an orphanage ex worker, to make their life better.

Haidie and Boots meet some terrible people and find themselves in some deadly situations but the highlight of the story, for me, is all the good, decent people they meet. Even the two old ladies on a wagon train (not even thirty years old but to kids they seem ancient) turn out not to be the witches they seemed to the kids, at first. It's going to take a lot of help and work to get Haidie and Boots out of their numerous fixes but with the friends they have made, hope is on the horizon. I kind of hated to leave these characters and would loved to follow them around some more.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

4 great character stars

Sandra Dallas is a Colorado writer that I love to read! This one did not disappoint with great memorable characters, a Western setting, gambling, horse thieves, mining for gold, a wagon train, and a satisfying ending.

We meet Haidie and Boots right after their mother's death. Their father left years ago to make his fortune in the Colorado gold mines. Older brother Cheet sells the family farm and puts his younger siblings in an orphanage. Cheet is off to be a riverboat gambler.

It doesn’t take long for Haidie to formulate a plan to escape the orphanage and head west to find their father. She takes Boots, and they are accompanied for a while by a young woman. They decide it will be easier for Haidie to pass as a boy, so she chops off her hair and dresses as a boy.

They have quite a few adventures along the way. They meet some truly good people and some scoundrels! Haidie and Boots work hard, loading wagons, driving mules and oxen, and fighting off Indians along the way to Colorado.

In the end, they have to count on their new friends to help right a wrong in a clever game of deception.

I enjoyed this foray into the old west and rooted for these characters!

I have read many books by this author, and she doesn't disappoint, this one was a page turner.
As I was reading, I felt like I was watch a movie, and was drawn in. What an excellent job the author did of placing the right people at the right time in the right place!
The children are delightful, loved Haidie, so resourceful and yet compassionate!
We travel with Boots 10, and Haidie 14, from their escape from the orphanage to the Gold Hills of Colorado. How they get there is a real adventure, and we are there every step of the way.
If you like justice, in a round about way, we do get it here, and wow what a journey for answers, but the people put in their path, although unconventional are awesome!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and was not required to give a positive review.

An absolute romp through the west with a 14-year-old spunky girl on a quest to find her father in Colorado. There are so many hilarious moments and sayings and misunderstandings that it is worth reading for those moments alone. Fabulous characters!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review.

Completely captivating. This book takes readers on one big adventure in 1863 with characters that are high spirited.

Haidie was 14 years old and Thomas, known as Boots, was a couple of years younger. They were living on a farm when their father, Manley Richards, decided to take off to search for gold. Their mother, Mary, was sick and died leaving them with their older brother, Cheet (much like a cheat). He decided to sell the farm, keep the money and abandon his two siblings, Haidie and Boots, in an orphanage.

Not long afterwards, Haidie had enough. She was taking Boots and escaping the dreadful conditions to find their Pa in Colorado. They made it to Fort Madison and headed towards the Colorado Territory where they last heard from their Pa a few years ago.

It was whirlwind for two younguns to find their way across the American Frontier. This is a time when danger was surfacing in the country with the Civil War, Indians warriors, unexpected wild animals and gunfighters. Haidie and Boots had to be ready for everything coming their way while I kept thinking it would be nearly impossible to find their Pa not knowing exactly where he was located.

The story was very well written pulling you right into the early 1860s like walking into a museum and imaging the past. I didn’t expect to learn so much from a couple of kids that were totally brave with their search and belief that their Pa was still alive and well. The reader got to know Haidie and Boots fairly well with a few others they came to trust on the journey. I kept wanting to root for them to achieve their goals. It was unforgettable.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of April 29, 2025.

Tough Luck is a wonderful piece of historical fiction about the American West in the years of the Civil War. I was entranced from the very beginning. It’s just a feel good story.
Their mother’s body is barely in the ground when Haidie’s and Boot’s older brother sells the farm and puts them in an orphanage. But Haidie has no intention of staying put and before long, they’ve escaped and are heading west, looking for their pa who left years before to look for gold in Colorado.
Haidie is such a wonderful main character! Sharp as a tack, a hard worker, brave and determined to watch over her younger brother. There’s a picture of her by the dictionary definition of spunky. On the way west, she is lucky to meet up with some kind hearted souls, even those that initially seem suspect.
Westerns aren’t a genre I seek out. But this is much more a coming of age story. It’s a reminder of how fast young people had to grow up back then. Dallas does a great job of painting a picture of life traveling the prairies as well as the conditions in the western towns. The story was entertaining and moved at a brisk pace. There’s the perfect blend of humor and warmth. The ending was fun, if a bit saccharine.
This would work well as a YA book as the book is never overly dark and doesn’t try to go too far into deep themes.
This is the second book I’ve read by Sandra Dallas and I’ve enjoyed both so much I need to seek out her other works. I recommend this for fans of Paulette Jiles.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas is a delightful read!This story tells about Boots who is ten and his sister Haidie who is fourteen.The story takes place at the time of the gold rush and their father has gone off to Colorado to find a goldmine..After their mother dies their older brother Cheet (whose name fits well) puts them in an orphanage.If you loved True Grit or the writing of Paulette Giles you will love this novel.You will laugh at their exploits.You will meet wagon train masters,card-sharks,spinster sisters(who aren’t even thirty years old).mule skinners and other western characters.There are bad guys and good guys! You will love this exciting book of western adventures!I can’t wait to read it over again!Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read this ARC!

The book read younger than I thought it would. I still enjoyed the characters. Haidie had to grow up fast, her younger brother Boots and her were dealt a bad hand in life but she really rose to the challenge and became a very strong young woman.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.