"Better Luck Next Time" by Julia Claiborne Johnson is a poignant and humorous novel set in Reno, Nevada in 1938. The story follows wealthy women seeking quick divorces and the staff of the Flying Leap dude ranch where they stay during their residency period. The novel explores themes of friendship, love, and family through the eyes of ranch hand Ward, who thinks he has the clients figured out until two new guests arrive and upend everything.

Johnson's writing is beautiful, and she does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of the time and the landscape of the Nevada desert. The characters are well-developed and complex, and the plot moves at a steady pace with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Overall, "Better Luck Next Time" is a charming and entertaining read that is recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction with well-drawn characters and a strong sense of place.

Not your typical historical fiction novel, a story about a man telling his life on a divorce ranch in Reno in the 1930s. Before this novel, I had never heard about divorce ranches. This was a very interesting topic for me. Very character driven, and written like the main character is answering questions from an interviewer. Very enjoyable and interesting!

*Thank you @netgalley @bibliolifestyle @customhousebooks @harperaudio @williammorrowbooks
for the hardcover copy and audiobook. Review not posted to Amazon because less than 4 stars.*

I was excited for this book because the summary sounded so interesting. I did not like the narrator and the story lines and events felt a little silly and contrived. That said, I think a traditional historical fiction fan would love this book so I will be sure to recommend it.

I had high hopes for this one as my great aunts loved Reno and this story just reminded me of something they would have loved. The narrator was perfect this story. It did take me awhile to get into this one, yet once I did the female friendships were the highlight of this one. The rest of the story left me wanting a bit more. 3.5 rounded up to 4 for the excellent narrator!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Honestly wasn't sure about this book, sounded like a hit or miss kind of book but it was really interesting right from the start!

I enjoyed the narrator, and I liked the premise of the book. It was a new setting in history for me and I found it so intriguing. But somehow this book just didn’t work for me. It was fine, but fell flat from the potential I thought it started with.

I love historical fiction, and, with the current plethora of WWII stories, was excited to see this story about a divorce ranch in Nevada in 1938, when divorces were done, ahem, differently than they are now.

This is a slow-moving story with some eye-rolling drama; it is alternately serious and funny, entertaining and "can we get on with it already..." There are a number of characters I had trouble keeping straight, but our main character is the narrator, Ward, a retired physician telling his story about when he was a 24-year old cowboy at the Flying Leap dude ranch for divorcing ladies. I thought Margaret could have played more of a role in the story and I loved Sam, although we don't get nearly enough of him in this story either.

The narrator of the audiobook did a great job. If you don't have as much trouble keeping characters straight or have a copy of the book, I recommend listening to this 3.5 stars rounded up.

I want to thank the author and Netgalley for gifting me the audiobook. This story was fascinating! I had no idea people would go to Rena to get divorced fast. Since I first started reading this book I have watch a few old movies from the 30's-40's and they mentioned driving to Reno to get a divorce and now I know what they mean. This is a great little historical read (with fictional people of course). I enjoyed all the characters, I really enjoyed the narrator. He did a wonderful job. I would highly recommend this book and audiobook! I think the authors writing is poetic, I highlighted a couple of lines that just really hit home. The main parts were about how the main female love interest talks about her 13 year old daughter. And how she described the joy of having a child and how children bring you such joy when they are born to how hurtful they are when they are teenagers.

Thank you to the publishers and author for an opportunity to review an advanced listening copy of Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson. Please see my full review on Instagram at the link below.

I recently finished the audiobook version of BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME by Julia Claiborne Johnson. The narrator of the audiobook was perfectly paired and chosen to be the character Ward, who also serves as the story’s narrator. The voice actor truly enhanced not only the book experience, but also the likability and reader connection to the character of Ward. So if you are a fan of reading books in various formats, the audiobook format of this newly released novel was a great addition, allowing you to enjoy the book while exercising, driving, or cleaning!

As always with historical fiction, I love getting to learn new things and/or have a new awareness of forgotten events, places, or people. This particular novel revealed the fabled divorce past of the city of Reno, Nevada— “the divorce capitol of the world” who made an industry out of “migratory divorce.” Women were able to get a divorce from their spouses after they had stayed in Reno to establish their residency there (6 months at the start of the 1900’s and then eventually lowered to a mere 6 week requirement in the 1930’s to help stave off the throes of The Great Depression). Women also didn’t have to jump through a plethora of hoops to prove significant grounds for divorce, with a multitude of options available without proof, versus the limited options of other states. Eventually decades later most states became “no-fault divorce” states effectively ending Reno’s reign. Another key advantage to Reno’s “divorce tourists” was the ability to quickly remarry again — some even did so on the same day — due to not having the stringent pre-marriage requirements of most states . Various businesses thrived like casinos and vacation ranches pivoted off this venture, and in the case of this novel it centered around the Flying Leap Dude Ranch where women could stay and entertain themselves vacation style while waiting for the ability to receive their divorce. Many Hollywood celebrities were part of the famous Reno divorced crowd including Myrna Loy and Rita Hayworth, the former included in this book with a cameo. What might even be the most ironic and fitting person to go for a “Reno Cure” was Barbara Vucanovich, the first woman in Congress for the state of Nevada. For some women their Reno stays were also their first tastes of independence, freedom, and being on their own. Many films and TV series have showcased Reno’s infamous divorce status, such as Reno, The Misfits, The Women, His Girl Friday, The Awful Truth, and Mad Men. By the way, men did indeed also take advantage of the Reno divorce, but the number of women who did vastly outnumbered them—this specific novel focuses on women divorcees in particular.

However, although this interesting bit in our nation’s history may be the foundation of the novel, the heart of it is the love stories that are front and center. Although, it does have a more traditional love story between one of the male and female protagonists, I would argue the true love story that outshines them all is the newly formed best friends relationship of Nina and Emily. Just like Reno, although there are detours and roadblocks to the traditional happily ever after ending, it still ends in a heartwarming and seemingly ‘just right’ way. Throughout the audiobook, it is also easy to became attached to the ‘dude ranch cowboy’ Ward, the story narrator, and the listener will stay enrapt and invested to find out where his life story leads and who he is recounting his memories to and addressing in this interview-like book style.

Julia Claiborne Johnson’s book cover will draw you in but her story will fully capture you until the end in this newly released historical fiction work.
#juliaclaibornejohnson
#betterlucknexttimebook

I loved the setting of this book and the fact that it is historical fiction not set in WWII. I went in with high hopes and while I found the women's stories interesting I found myself wanting just a little bit more. The pace was a little slow, and the narration by Ward just seemed like it removed me from the women's stories which was what I wanted most of.

In response to the Great Depression, Nevada did two things to turbocharge it's economy: legalize gambling and reduce the waiting time to grant a divorce from the national standard sixth months to "only" six weeks. Luxury ranches sprang up in response to this, catering to wealthy women who wanted to end their current marriage.

Better Luck Next Time is a love story set in one of these commercial monuments to the end of love. Not surprisingly, it isn't always a happy story, but I really enjoyed several things about it. First, the characters are all well drawn, complex, interesting people who I enjoyed getting to know and learn about. Second, the narrator is a smart, folksy, friendly man telling this story from the end of his life, which gives the story an air of wisdom, nostalgia, and slight melancholy. Finally, one of the messages of this book is that love is hard to find and keep so grasp it when you can, but even if you can't hold it, life does go on. That's a message that is both positive and sad, poignant and true, and one I can get fully behind.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Better Luck Next Time was a different adventure for me when going down a historical route. Mostly because every time I dive into a historical book, ARC or not, it's mostly around a war. So, I'm not going to lie - this was different and I was really excited to take the chance to dive into it.

Since I've never been married, divorced, or wanted to go to a camp with people - this intrigued me. Yeah, I went to summer camp for soccer back in the day but that doesn't mean I wanted to. Or that I liked it. That being said, this was pretty interesting to see the couples go through what they went through.

Each character was pretty unique and brought something fun and different to the group. Yet, I kind of felt bored while listening to the book. I wouldn't necessarily say it was a slow paced book through and through but nothing really excited me either. It was still enjoyable to see who was going to stay together or not towards the end though.

In the end, I'm happy that I got the chance to dive into something new.

Pretty cute little audiobook and David Aaron Baker does a fabulous job of narrating. His range of accents are excellent and my most favourite voice was for the character Sam who had a lovely southern drawl. Lots of laugh out louds in this book and such an interesting setting on a divorce ranch in the 1930s, something which I had no idea existed. Quite enjoyed all the side characters and what an ending! A fun, quick read that is definitely something different.

A sincere thanks to #NetGalley, #HarperAudio, and Julia Claiborne Johnson for the audiobook ARC copy in exchange for a fair review. I could not believe my luck when I saw that I was granted an ARC of this novel, the first Barnes & Noble Book Club pick of 2021, and rushed to listen to it. It was the perfect choice for a relaxing Sunday afternoon as the story with its colorful cast of characters and Depression-era Old West setting of Reno came to life through the rich narration of David Aaron Baker. The story of Howard "Ward" Bennett, a 24-year old Cary Grant doppelganger and ranch hand at the Flying Leap, a dude ranch for soon-to-be divorcees camping out in Reno for a quickie divorce, is told first-hand by himself, through recollections relayed to a stranger 50 years later. The entirety of the book takes place one life-changing summer at the ranch when Ward meets the beautiful, slightly older pair of fast friends, Nina and Emily. Several other characters are introduced to create an ensemble of friends and family-like members who take the place of Ward's own absent family. The re-telling of memories is a mix of entertaining, madcap episodes which grows more poignant as Ward's narration reaches the end of summer. The style of an elderly gentleman relaying and reliving his life's best memories is charming and the ending is a treat. Happy to recommend this book, which takes one far away from the troublesome events of 2020 (and 2021), albeit for a few short hours.

Such a good audiobook! I loved that this wasn't your average "romance" novel, there was a lot more depth to it and allusions to modern day society and divorce culture. This was the first novel by this author I have read/listened to, and now I really want to go read more by her! Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

The audio is a breath of fresh air that I greatly enjoyed. The writing isn't the typical historical fiction and I appreciated that. The narrator is entertaining and engaging which is essential when listening to an audio book. The story made me laugh and I found it delightful. Julia executed a lovely book that can be distinguished as something refreshing within the genre. Thank you for an early audio version to enjoy.

Set on a Reno ranch for divorcing women, we meet a cowboy and a slew of ladies waiting to divorce their husbands. Told from the cowboy's perspective as he's an old man looking back. You come to love the characters and feel as if you are on the ranch too. I loved the audiobook version of this book, finding times to escape to the ranch. The ending while I was able to predict it in the last half of the book, was still satisfying.

Picture it - Reno, 1938. Twenty-four-year-old Ward works at The Flying Leap, a ranch where wealthy women stay to establish their Nevada residency so they can get a no-questions-asked divorce. Fifty years after leaving, the now-retired doctor is approached by an unnamed interviewer with a photo from the ranch who wants to know the story behind it. The book unfolds through flashbacks as Ward (now Howard) explains what happened over the course of six weeks that summer that changed his life.

Johnson's tale of a unique slice of history I knew nothing about is a lot of fun. The women staying at the ranch are a fabulous group of characters who will have you laughing out loud, and Ward's commentary on the lessons he learned from them and his life on the ranch is poignant. He becomes entangled with two women in particular - Nina, an independently wealthy thrice-divorced adventurer, and Emily, whose escape from her cheating husband is the riskiest thing she's done in her life - whose fast friendship and hijinks are propel the story. Johnson's writing is pithy and funny - I alternated between reading the ebook and listening to the audiobook and enjoyed them both. Listening to the narrator was like hearing a cowboy tell stories around a campfire.

Better Luck Next Time (which references something said to the divorcées) has heart, humor and a whole lot of secrets, but it also goes deeper than you might expect to touch on societal issues like gender roles and class disparity. While the women visiting the ranch only stay for six weeks, they make marks on each other and the staff forever.

If you're looking for a good escape (and let's face it, who couldn't use one this week?!), give this book a try. I'd love to see it made into a movie or TV series, bringing The Flying Leap and all of its colorful visitors to life.

Thanks HarperAudio, NetGalley & the author for an audiobook to review.

I had never even heard of a divorce ranch before this book! It was so incredibly interesting and propulsive and I recommend this to historical fiction readers widely.