The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free (at some point).
Kindle freebie on May 19, 2020 (currently $3.82 at Amazon as of writing this post)
Overall rating 4.13 with 212 ratings and 92 reviews
All-American Cowboy by Dylann Crush
Series: Holiday Texas #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on July 3, 2018
Genres: Western Romance
Pages: 416
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Holiday, Texas is known far and wide as the most celebratory town in the South—and no shindig is complete without one of its founding members. It's a real shame the last remaining Holiday is a city slicker, but what's that old saying about putting lipstick on a pig...?
Beck has no intention of being charmed by some crazy Texas town, but the minute he lays eyes on his grandfather's old honky tonk—and Charlie Walker, the beautiful cowgirl who runs it—he finds himself wishing things could be different. Life's gentler in Holiday. Slower. More real than anything he's ever known. And when he looks into Charlie's eyes, Beck may finally discover what it's like to truly belong.
I decided to read some Western romances and started out with this Holiday Texas series because it is one of Sophia’s favorites. I was going to get it at the library and then it popped up as a freebie. I do like this genre but All-American Cowboy didn’t go well for me. Everything felt too predictable, start to finish. There is nothing else wrong; it just didn’t get me connected. I think the quirky form of humor, similar to what is in cozy mysteries, is not my favorite.
Charlie, her best friend Darby, and her family were all what I thought they would be. I liked Charlie and her spirit but didn’t understand why or how she was so attracted to Beck. From the beginning, it was pretty clear what would happen at the end of the summer.
Beck was terribly naive for his age, but he had limited connections in his life except for his father. His father was not a good one. But Beck just went along assuming everything would be fine when he was not being straight with Charlie and having been run over by his father in the past. He also just wanted Charlie to leave everything in her life and all her family and friends for him, when he had almost nothing to leave behind to be with her. I didn’t really like him very much.
The supporting cast was excellent, although barely developed, and I would like to see more of Charlie’s brothers. I can only hope I was having some first book in the series syndrome which rarely happens in any romance genre.
These are only Kindle freebies I get, or ones through author newsletters which anyone can sign up and get for free. I don’t include things like Kindle Unlimited or Prime Free Reading (I do have it). Both Tantor and Audible have occasional free audios (to anyone) and I do include those. Since I one-click on 1-2 freebies a day or probably at least 5 a week, I came up with this feature to make sure I start reading them.
So I have thought about doing a Thrifty Thursday Challenge someday. For now, what I think would be fun is if you have read and reviewed a freebie, link up to your review (Goodreads, blog, facebook or wherever) below.
Add your review link here:
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- Sunday Post – 19 January 2025 @caffeinatedreviewer.com @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - January 19, 2025
- 🎧 Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan @DervlaMcTiernan#AoifeMcMahon @HarperAudio #LoveAudiobooks - January 18, 2025
- Read-along & #Giveaway:On the Edge by Ilona Andrews @ilonaandrews @ilonaandrews.bsky.social @reneeraudman @AceBooksPub @acebookspub.bsky.social @TantorAudio @tantoraudio.bsky.social #Read-along #GIVEAWAY @victoria7401.bsky.social - January 17, 2025
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Sorry this was disappointing, Anne.
It’s just tough when you don’t like the characters. You just knew what would happen also.
Oh too bad. Although the author has a perfect name for a romance author! Kind of like “Karen Slaughter” is perfect for a thriller author.
Oops, Karin. I hate spelling names wrong.
Well I review 2 more western romances today and they are both great.
[…] You can link up to the first post of the day HERE […]
better luck with the next one.
Today is all western romance freebies and I really enjoyed 2 of 3.
[…] You can link up to the first post of the day HERE […]
Sorry to hear you didn’t like this better. On the bright side at least it was free.
Yes the reviews today are all of freebies and the next 2 were very enjoyable.
Ah, bummer! Well, at least you liked the other cowboy romances and it was a freebie. Personally, I like the second one best of the three in the series and yes, her brothers are great.
Well I have read and enjoyed several of your recs in the past month. These were all freebies. I didn’t include the one I DNFd which is Do or Die Cowboy. I had high hopes for that one since it was romantic suspense but I didn’t like it at all. I rarely DNF. There are so many great ones and more I’d like to read.
Nice review. Bummer this one didn’t work out.
Well you or someone else might like it I think Sophia liked it ok. The next 2 were really good though.
Sorry this one didn’t work for you. Sure has a sweet cover:)
It was just too cliche. I suppose you could say that about every romance but I just wasn’t connected to this one. It is a great cover. Sophia likes this series so it could just be me.