Forever Texas (Forever Texas, #1) by William W. Johnstone

Forever Texas (Forever Texas, #1) Reviews

• 
  Debbie

  Based on true events and true history of the King Ranch in South Texas enjoyed reading all about the King Ranch. Won this book on Goodreads giveaways and from the Author Williams W. Johnson
• 
  Molly Krumm

  It was hard to get into and once I did I found it very slow and underwhelming. The characters were very one demensional. I would not recommend this book.
• 
  Barry Medlin

  *Thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Books for this ARC*
  
  I always enjoy a good western novel and this piece of historical fiction did not disappoint! A great read and I’ll be looking forward to the next installment!!
• 
  Abibliofob

  Forever Texas is a brand new series from William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone, we get to follow Regis Royle as he with friends and family is trying to start a cattle ranch. It is a well told story although I found some dubious details about the arms involved. I like it when the details are there. It is maybe not the best book by these authors but we will see when the next installment is out where it will go. Still I found it entertaining as I always do with a western. It usually is rather black and white when it comes to good and evil and the justice system is rather straight forward. I am thankful that @kensingtonbooks @netgalley and #Pinnacle gave me this advance copy and @williamw.j.a.johnstone for writing it. #NetGalley #Kensington #ForeverTexas #WilliamWJohnstone #JAJohnstone
• 
  Elwin Kline

  "It was okay." - 2 out of 5 star rating.
  
  The book opens up with the not so gripping start of a guy on a trip to Corpus Christi to visit a friend... umm, okay. It's funny, friend being the key word, I couldn't help thinking about the popular sitcom TV show Friends, a show literally about everyday life. Except Forever Texas doesn't have Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe to look at, or Ross, Chandler, and Joey to make you laugh. Instead, it has some random guy on a horse you could really care less about, with less backstory than the ingredients list on a candy wrapper.
  
  That is pretty much what you get here. The not so thrilling twist around the mid-way point is when a visit to meet friends, turns into cattle ranching hopes and dreams. I mean, cattle ranching in Texas was a thing for sure back then, but this was just too lackluster and remarkable dull overall to be any sort of fun.
  
  The highlight of this whole book is probably a card game within the first ~25% or so.
  
  When it comes to William Johnstone... from what I've read so far, stick to the Will Tanner series. It's a heck of a lot more fun and actually enjoyable wild west content.
• 
  Daniel

  This was just too spaghetti western for me. I got this because I thought it was historical fiction on the founding of Kings Ranch. But instead I got a pretty basic western. It wasnt bad but I'll have forgotten about it almost immediately after I write this review.
  
  Just Okay.
• 
  Mary

  If you enjoy movies or novels of American frontier westerns, then you will certainly enjoy this epic struggle of men forging a life on the Texas frontier after the Mexican War. Forever Texas is based on the true history of the King Ranch in South Texas. Wiliam Johnston strategically emphasized the real-life ambitions, spirit, and struggles of the fictional owners of the ranch while keeping a realistic theme to portray the times. Johnstone has filled the epic western with plenty of action with apache attacks, banditos from the borders, slave traders, and just plain old wild west outlaws. While I typically do not read this type of novel since there is no romance or psychological suspense involved, I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptive prose and the action-packed details of Forever Texas. I look forward to the sequel to see what happens next at the Royle Ranch. Thank you Kensington and Between the Chapters for this delightful ARC.
• 
  Debbi Smith

  Excellent
• 
  Rob Smith, Jr.

  I thought I would be giving this a better review as I rounded the last quarter of the book, but the ending was extremely disappointing. This is really less of a cohesive book and more of a collection of stories with characters that get connected involving creating and building a ranch. Some chapters connect a bit. Others start as if an unexplained amount of time had passed. I'd write there's a bad "guy" here, but, in the end, that's all rather irrelevant.
  
  The characters are strong as is normal coming from the Johnstone Clan of writers. There are a LOT of characters introduced. Each are so well presented that though each chapter is nearly a story in itself, the stories still work very well.
  
  As a collection of stories, this all would be fine. But this isn't labelled as such. Considering the large amount of writers that the Johnstone stable has corralled, seems to me a collection of short stories, western-wise, is a terrific idea. Moreover, a title of 'Forever Texas' works for a story collection.
  
  I can't recommend this as an actual book to read as a one-off. I guess there is a second to come to make more sense of many, many loose ends left. I hope there is, because there's are a lot of good characters and the semblance of a story to better plot.
  
  I can recommend just as a series of stories, well written with good characters. I have no idea which, if any, might continue into a second installment. Especially is ghost writers are switched out.
  
  This is the second really quirky Johnstone novel I've read in the past two weeks. Each clearly written by different ghost writers. Both nabbed through Net Galley. Of the 200+ Johnstone books I've read, this and the new Will Tanner entry, 'Violent Storm' are loosely written and lacking cohesive focus. As the 20th anniversary of Johnstone's death approaches, these two are dim oddities I hope aren't precursors of what is to come. So happy to write there are rays of light as the outstanding other new Jackals entry, 'Dead River'.
  
  Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 5 out of 5 points.
• 
  Vicky

  This book is based on the King Ranch in Texas. I found parts of it interesting, but a lot of it too violent and gory for my tastes. Plus, it’s part of a series and didn’t reall conclude. Still, that was the way of the old west in the 1850s. Violence was (and still is in some places) a way of life.
  
  The book centers around the Royle family – Regis and Shepley — and their friends as they move from a prosperous steamship franchise to an 18000 acre ranch in southern Texas. To survive and prosper, they have to face down slave traders, Apaches, outlaws (banditos), and vengeful Mexicans. It’s full of action (a lot), adventure, violence, and even some compassion as the Royle family struggles to survive in this land.
  
  Recommendation: If you love westerns, you’ll enjoy this one. Not one of my favorites as I haven’t read a western since sharing Zane Grey with my dad years and years ago. But it is a good story with vivid writing.
  
  Disclaimer: Thanks to Kensington Publishing Corp. and the Between the Chapters Bookclub for my copy. #ForeverTexas. I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
  
  
  
• 
  Lady

  Wow I just loved this book. I absolutely love western books and this one was just out of this world. The story line was utterly brilliant and I could not put this book down. I was definitely binge reading it, I couldn't get enough. I can tell you there was a very late night as I just needed to know what was going to happen next. I just loved all the action and adventure in this story. I became emotionally involved in the story and the characters. I just loved all the twists and how I never knew what was going to happen next. This will be a very exciting series of books and I just can't wait to read more books by this amazing author. I really do recommend this book to all those western/ cowboy fans and all those who love intense action that you don't see coming. It was a very thrilling fast paced novel that you will not be able to put down.
  Only the highest of praise to the author and publishers for creating such a gripping story-line that im positive you will love just as much as I did.
• 
  Al

  It's 1852. The wounds of the Mexican War are healing. Regis Royle, co-owner of a steamship fleet, has made it out alive, relatively unscarred and with enough profit and foolhardy ambition to envision a new life in south Texas. With the help of his crack-shot kid brother Shepley, his glad-handing riverboat partner Cormac Delany, and his old friend, raw-edged former Texas Ranger Jarvis "Bone" McGraw, Regis is laying claim to the prime jewel in a magnificent rolling prairie: the Santa Calina range teeming with wild mustangs, cattle, and eighteen-thousand acres of lush promise.
  But all dreams have a price. For Regis, it's hell to pay--and the fire is coming at him from all directions. On one side of the border, it's banditos. On the other side, the Apaches, slave traders, and outlaws have Santa Calina in their sights. And none of them are going to walk away from the bloody battle.
  The brothers Royle and their partners have the most to lose--including their lives. They made a pledge to themselves to build the greatest ranch in America.
• 
  Mary Ann

  Talk about an intense book! I hadn't read a western for a while and I thought I would change up my usual reading material so I chose Forever Texas. It was a serious book with odd humor and period-specific language that took a little getting used to.
  
  Regis Royle has a vision of building a huge ranch in Texas. He partners up with a few select men who he trusts and can rely on, and sets out to work toward his dream. Regis finds the perfect tract of land, but there are lots of people (Indians, bandits, vengeful people) who constantly fight him for the land.
  
  Fortunately Regis is able to gather great group of men to help him, including his little brother Shepley who ends up causing a ton of problems for everyone and Bone, a Texas Ranger with a ton lf experience. I loved that each man has a purpose and contributes something that makes him valuable. The trials and situations they endure definitely give me a new respect for pioneers!
  
  Forever Texas felt longer than 360 pages to me because of all of the details included. The extra information made it easier to visualize the places and situations, but it made the book drag in places for me. I realize that there will be another book in the series so the story was left open to be continued, but I would have liked a little more closure in this one.
  
  I will keep an eye out for the next book because I am invested in the characters and their story now. The author made sure that the reader was familiar with each man's history and their personalities and this drove me to stick with the story and want to know more.
• 
  Bobbi Wagner

  I loved reading this book. This is an author that I have read in the past but this is my favorite yet. This is a story that is full of adventure and action. If you look closely you might even find some romance in there as well. This is a well written story about Regis and his determination to start a ranch on property that many do not want him to have especially one family. I enjoyed how fast paced and engaging this story is. The characters are connectable and really made the story pop. I enjoyed the twists and turns that had me coming back for more. This is a story that is hard to put down and you don't want to miss what happens. I enjoyed the authors writing style as well as their attention to details that made this story realistic. I really enjoyed reading this book, easy and entertaining. I highly recommend this book.
• 
  Katie Avalos

  Let me preface this by saying that westerns aren't my usual genre. I entered the give away on Goodreads because this was listed as historical fiction. Which I guess it is. I found the "based on real events" part intriguing as well. But the book itself I did not finish. I could not get into it. The repeated use of dated, not historically accurate terminology and the shoot out for the sake of a shoot out in the first chapter nearly did me in, though I understand those are tropes which are completely hard wired into the western genre. It was the completely awkward, frankly annoying dialog that made me tap out completely. Thanks, Goodreads and Kensington for the free book, but I have to turn this one loose.
• 
  Kris McPeake

  I'm between a 3 star and a 4 star on this Texas frontier story with a man's dream of owning land and ranching. There is a she devil, gringos, Indians and plain old bad people who want nothing better then to claim it as their own while killing or maiming whomever they can. Its a very tough hard life but the main man Regis has heart and tries to look out for his brother, friends and hired hands. This is not unlike times now with those who want control and will do anything to get it. Things never change.
• 
  Elizabeth Langrell

  Thank you to Kensington Publishing, Between the Chapters book, and Goodreads for this ARC.
  
  I love Historical Fiction set in the South. I haven’t read many true Westerns and this book would be just that. There was plenty of action in this novel and if I’m being honest I was hoping for some resolutions to some of the situations in the storyline. It ended in a cliffhanger. It was an enjoyable read, just not my preferred genre. There was not enough romance for my taste but I figure I wasn’t the target audience.
  I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review this book.
• 
  Bill Hooten

  William Johnstone is one of my 3-4 favorite western writers, and I was not disappointed with this volume. It has all the ingredients that a good western should have -- good guy(s), really bad villain (and this one was female), conflict, and a story that goes the way that you want it to, most of the time. This was historical fiction, as has been mentioned in other reviews; based on the events around the start of the King Ranch. I look forward to the next volumes in this series. If you like westerns, you will probably like this one; if you don't, you probably won't.
• 
  Nolan

  I wasn’t overly impressed with whomever in the Johnstone clan and/or their ghost writers who wrote this story. There are some parts that are interesting, but overall, it has a lot of worthless filler. Regis Bones is a steamboat shipper, decides to become a cattle rancher. Gets an old friend, Bones, an ex-Texas Ranger to be his partner and Forman. Gets his younger brother Shepley Royle, "the idiot" to also be a partner and to help out. Buys some land in southern Texas that might not even be his to own. The end leaves you hanging for a second book of the series.
• 
  Jimmy

  First off just to let you know, I recieved Forever Texas from the author in a drawing on Goodreads. I have never read anything from Mr. Johnstone before and I am really happy to add Forever Texas to my bookshelf, I look forward to the next book Lone Star Legacy to come out so I can pick up on the continuing trials and tribulations of the Royle Ranch as it is being started in Texas. Mr. Johnstone gave us a well written story with interesting and believable characters, Forever Texas was a good read for me, that left me wanting more.
• 
  Doug Yonce

  Another excellent entry into the Johnston legacy of western novels. The research in this one is evident as a picture of the American Spirit is painted in the characters and adventures. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.