This wasn’t the book I thought it was going to be, and I’m glad for it! This book is reminiscent of True Grit, with a cast of fun + quirky cast and a 14 year old girl as a main character. It has the traditional western setting I love so much, but with a softer hand to it. The beginning is a bit slow, but keep reading to find: Adventure on the wagon trail, mystery, found family, and humor. Sandra Dallas wins again.

“Tough Luck” in the newest historical novel by Sandra Dallas who is the master at immersing readers into a slice of history and leave them attached to unique but relatable characters.

“Tough Luck” focuses on Haidie and her brother Boots who set off to find their dad who had set off to strike it rich many years before. The tale takes us from the Midwest to Colorado and the colorful people they meet during their travels. Like the cliché goes, it’s not the destination but the journey as “Tough Luck” is a great example of that.

The timing of the book is 1863 but because we’re in Colorado the Civil War and slavery are only secondary in the plot. The novel moves at a lively pace with vivid descriptions and plenty of humor.

Fans of Sandra Dallas are absolutely going to love Haidie who has a lot of gumption but also a big heart. This is an excellent story about women surviving (without men needing to rescue them).

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this great read.

Tough Luck
by Sandara Dallas
Pub Date: April 29, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
For fans of Paula Gillette!
Filled with vivid period detail, colorful characters, and the irreverent voice of our scrappy heroine, Tough Luck celebrates both the tenacity of youth and the persistence of the heart in the great American West.
Each year, I look forward to Sandra Dallas's new book. I am thrilled to have been chosen to read this advance copy.
This is one of my favorite Sandra Dallas books now. This is an adventurous story with great characters. Haidie was my favorite but Jake Crowfoot was a close second, and I bet you’ll see why when you get a chance to read it.

I highly recommend this book!

What a wonderful story that took me to the "Wild West" with real cowboys and Indians in 1863.
This novel is about two orphans who breakout of an orphanage to search for their father who left the family to claim his fortune.
The journey of Haidie and Boots is challenging and they encounter many enemies and danger.
But... they also find friendship, love, assistance and life lessons all within the time it takes to complete the goal of getting to Colorado.

This is such a fun read and I totally loved this trip back in history!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read and write my own review of this ARC.
Well done!

Haidie's mother just died and her brother, Cleet., has sold the farm so that he can pursue his dream of being a gambler. Cleet takes Haidie and their little brother to an orphanage since their father left to go search for gold in Colorado. Haidie comes up with a plan to escape the orphanage with Boots and go to Colorado to find their father. She first goes to Omaha with a man named Jake who transports goods throughout the west. Jake then helps Haidie and Boots find a good person to travel with to Colorado. They join a wagon train and while Haidie pretends to be a boy, to keep her and Boots safe, she learns a lot and befriends a pair of sisters who are also on their way to Colorado. Once they make it to Colorado, Haidie comes to learn that trusting people can be difficult, but can also be the thing that saves you. Another wonderful novel by Sandra Dallas.

I really enjoyed this western/pioneer tale from Sandra Dallas! Haidie and her brother Boots head west to find their father after their mother dies. They join a wagon train and meet all kinds of interesting characters along the way. They experience loss and tragedy and defeated dreams, but they do so with spunk and determination. If you enjoy tales of the American west during the time of the pioneers, this book will not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas.

A solid 5 stars to this sweeping tale of the old west during the gold rush. Specifically, 1863 Colorado. Haide, Boots and Cheet are "orphans," having been abandoned by their father as he sets out prospecting for gold. When their mother dies, Cheet puts Haide and Boots in an orphanage where they are abused. Haide manages to escape with Boots and they set out to find their father whom they are sure is living in the lap of luxury with all the gold he has surely found.

Their trip is just such a fun journey. The people they befriend, the people that try to do them harm, you feel like you're on the trip with them. I had to keep reading to see how it all ends up. Some things that happen I expected but there are some twists that kept me guessing.

I highly recommend this book.

Hadie has always taken care of her brother since her mother died. She is still taking care of him in an orphan home where here older brother dumped her after he sold their farm. Hadie knows she has to get out of there and find her Pa who has set out for the Colorado territory to find gold. And she does just act through a little lying and some good luck.

Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas I am unsure which genre this novel is placed in or age group expected to read but it could be read by a child of 8 or an adult of. 80. There is some entertainment value for all. Even though there are rough times life always turn out fine for the main characters with Sandra Dallas. Thank you Net Galley.

Tough Luck by Sandra Dallas
Although I wasn't sure if I would like this novel, 8 thought I would give it a try because I liked many of the author's previous novels. I'm so glad I stuck out the slow beginning because Tough Luck turned out to be a knockout! Engaging characters take you on a journey across the unsettled country to get to the Colorado territory with the main character Haidie being a girl disguised as a boy. Their trials make us see how easy we have it now and what was involved in settling our country to make it what it is today. A great read!
Thank you to the author publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Searching for Father

Set in the year of 1863 and the gold mine rush, this tale has character. The characters in the story are colorful, humorous and sometimes dangerous.

Two children are put in an orphanage by their older brother when their mother dies. They escape and go to search for their father who disappeared two years ago while searching for Gold in Colorado.

As the story reads, we learn of the fierce love and protection Haidie has for her younger brother Boots, and the lengths she will go to protect him and to find their father. They have dreams of a rich father with a gold mine. What they find is not so much but it is a mystery that deserves solving and Hailie has some help from a few friends they meet along the way.

As you travel the long and dangerous journey west with a wagon train you will marvel at the abilities of this young couple of siblings. A gambler, two sisters and a dog feature well into their story. You will be reading this until the last page.

I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Thanks to Sandra Dallas for writing a great story, to St. Martin’s Press for Publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary copy to read and review.

I had read 'Where Coyotes Howl' by the author and when I saw that she had written a new book, I had to read it. This book is just as unforgettable, and one I will never forget. I've never seen so many lies told in one book, and while there are some harrowing events, there is much more humor. The book takes place during the Civil War but the war is peripheral to this story.

Haidie Richards is the main character, and we experience this story through her eyes. Her father had left years before to go out West to prospect for gold and they had not received a letter in several years. After her mother died, the oldest brother, Cheet, took almost everything from selling their house and land, and put 14-year-old Haidie and 10-year-old Boots in an orphanage. Then he took off. Cheet was a good name for him.

Haidie and Boots hated the orphanage. Haidie convinced the matron at the orphanage that her brother had sent for them, and they were lucky - they got spots on a wagon train going west, and Haidie the girl became Haidie the boy. A young woman who worked at the orphanage went with them. Then they were all on the way to Colorado via wagon train. Haidie and Boots are looking for their father without much information other than what was in his letters.

The Gold Rush has slowed a bit but is still going strong in some parts of Colorado, which was a territory then. The possibility of becoming rich was a draw for many would-be prospectors and other people who saw an opportunity to make money from the influx of people. Overnight, a new boon town could spring up - hotels, restaurants, gambling establishments, stables, laundries, and houses for ladies of easy virtue. People were pouring in every day.

This is a delightful book and I recommend it to anyone. I laughed my way through almost all of it. I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

I really enjoyed Sandra Dallas' last book (Where Coyotes Howl), so I was excited for the opportunity to review Tough Luck. Like Where Coyotes Howl, it is set in the Fronteir West, specifically in Colorado in the 1860's. A brother and sister go through incredible circumstances of living in an orphanage, living on the wagon trail, joining wagon trains, and searching for their long lost father in Colorado.

Sandra nailed on the head a child's ability to think the best of their parent, even if that child has experienced abandoment or neglect for that parent. These kids always thought the best of their father and thought that he had the best circumstances possible, even though a reader without rose colored glasses can see the true picture. The kids have quite the adventure finding their dad and helping him once he is found.

Overall I found the novel engaging and a great read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. A review, especially positive was not required.

The year is 1863 when fourteen-year-old Haidie and her little brother Boots are deposited into an orphanage after the death of their mother. Haidie is a renowned liar and plans to run away to Colorado to find her Pa who was in the gold rush. To make traveling and finding work easier, she dresses like a boy. As soon as their journey starts, these two children meet and pick up traveling buddies who become as close as family. They also cross paths with murderers and horse thieves, causing problems and delays. With them, we travel the prairies on a wagon train, hunt some buffalo, encounter Indians, and visit the gold mines of the old west. The imagery was well done. The characters in this book are hilarious and so fun to read about. They had me chuckling throughout the book. Also, the pacing is quick, so it feels like constant action. It was a great read.

While I dearly love Sandra Dallas this book was a little over the top for me. Two siblings traveling across most of the country looking for their dad who had been gone for years.

In a nod to TRUE GRIT, the author's latest histfic novel is set in Colorado in the 1860s. The gripping tale uniquely captures the burgeoning American West, as a brother and sister follow their father to the hopeful land of gold mining. A winner!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I was thrilled to be able to read and review this book since I have read and enjoyed previous books by this author. This book focuses on two young orphans Haidie ( a young girl about 14 years old who disguises herself as a boy to be able to work) and her younger brother “ Boots” ( who she is very protective of ) , who travel to Denver from the Midwest to look for their father in 1863. The story is about their adventures in traveling, the people that they encounter, the good and the bad and everything in between., this story is loaded with fascinating characters, the story flows beautifully, the writing is very descriptive, I felt like I was with Haidie throughout the story. I would highly recommend this story, it was an easy , interesting read , I like the fact that in this story and in her previous books, Ms Dallas focuses on women of all different ages who encounter difficulties but are determined to persevere and ultimately succeed

Two orphans, a brother and a sister escape the orphanage to find their father who is trying to strike it rich in Colorado in the 1800's. Haide disguises herself as a boy so she and her brother Boots can get jobs on a wagon train headed West.

This was such a delightful story, with humor and surprises along the way. I love Dallas' books and this one is no exception. The characters were a real treat, people you wish you knew and could visit. The descriptions along the way were very visual for me and I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and enjoy this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Each year, I look forward to Sandra Dallas's new book. I am thrilled to have been chosen to read this advance copy.
This is one of my favorite Sandra Dallas books now. This is an adventurous story with great characters. I felt like I was along for the ride since the storytelling is so good. I highly recommend this book!

I give it 4 stars for the characters alone! Haidie was my favorite but Jake Crowfoot was a close second, and I bet you’ll see why when you get a chance to read it.

This was a lighter read after several fantasy books lately. Not really based on a specific historical event but still a quick, easy read. I’m looking forward to reading more of the author’s books!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.