“Doesn’t a romantic comedy set on a 1930s Nevada dude ranch teeming with about-to-be-divorced women owe a certain debt to the era’s big-screen classics? Then again, it’s hard to believe a cinematic version could be any more fun.” — New York Times Book ReviewThe dazzling second novel from the bestselling author of Be Frank with Me, a charming story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities … story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities and complications of friendship and love, set in late 1930s Reno.
It’s 1938 and women seeking a quick, no-questions split from their husbands head to the “divorce capital of the world,” Reno, Nevada. There’s one catch: they have to wait six-weeks to become “residents.” Many of these wealthy, soon-to-be divorcees flock to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch that caters to their every need.
Twenty-four-year-old Ward spent one year at Yale before his family lost everything in the Great Depression; now he’s earning an honest living as a ranch hand at the Flying Leap. Admired for his dashing good looks—“Cary Grant in cowboy boots”—Ward thinks he’s got the Flying Leap’s clients all figured out. But two new guests are about to upend everything he thinks he knows: Nina, a St Louis heiress and amateur pilot back for her third divorce, and Emily, whose bravest moment in life was leaving her cheating husband back in San Francisco and driving herself to Reno.
A novel about divorce, marriage, and everything that comes in between (money, class, ambition, and opportunity), Better Luck Next Time is a hilarious yet poignant examination of the ways friendship can save us, love can destroy us, and the family we create can be stronger than the family we come from.
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I loved, loved, loved this book! The characters with so in aging and interesting with many facets to there personalities. And the story line was very engaging and interesting to follow. But conclusion was not What I expected but then the less very satisfying. The tie to actual history was also very interesting.
The premise of the book is very reminiscent of my favorite movie “The Women”. so many similarities between the Movie, which was based on the play of the same name by Claire Boothe Luce and this book I thought for sure the author would mention it in her acknowledgements. Nope not a word.
I eagerly read this book after loving Julia Claiborne Johnson’s first book Be Frank With Me. This one was just as charming. The book is set in 1938 and Reno, Nevada is the place to go for women looking for a quick divorce. The Flying Leap is a dude ranch that caters to the wealthy soon-to-be divorcees. Ward is a young, good looking guy working as a ranch hand at Flying Leap. His world is turned upside down with the arrival of Nina and Emily to the ranch. A captivating and funny book.
This might be one of my favorite audiobooks. The narrator transports readers effortlessly into the perspective of Dr. Howard Stovall Bennett III, who was known in his youth as Ward. He’s now in a retirement home, looking back on his time working at a divorce ranch in Reno in the 1930s. As the story progresses, we learn he’s the subject of an interview, and I loved the little reminders of his age when he drifted off subject. What a sweet, warm guy–in both timelines.
In the summer of 1938, Ward, a former student at Harvard whose family lost everything in the Crash, is a working ranch hand at the Flying Leap. Hired as eye candy, he does everything from hang up the laundry to serve dinner. He also collects milk from the cow, deals with the horses and a litter of kittens, and takes the ladies out shopping and dancing. All while wearing his cowboy boots.
The Flying Leap is packed with spunky, quirky women, including ‘repeat’ clients such as Nina, who arrives in her own plane (as the pilot). She quickly befriends Emily, an initially quiet woman who will find herself in her time at the ranch. Over a period of six weeks, Ward, Nina, and Emily, form a tight–but fragile–bond.
The story is rich with humor, tragedy, madcap adventures involving ‘borrowed’ costumes from a local production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, a sweet cowboy called Sam, insight into the Depression, and much, much more. It’s a truly unique story about loss, love, friendship, class, and survival.
And there’s a fabulous twist at the end.
A now elderly man remembers his time working at a ranch for women awaiting divorces in Reno in the 1930s, and his voice is just a delight. The little known history of these ranches is wacky and fun, but Ward has a few things to say about human nature as well. Packed with memorable characters and twists of fate, I didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.
Better Luck Next Time is a pleasant read about something most people probably didn’t even know existed–a dude ranch for divorcees. For most of the book, there isn’t so much a plot as descriptions of the antics of the ranch’s guests which, while not laugh-out-loud funny, are often amusing in their outrageousness. I found myself most intrigued by the ranch’s staff and wished they had gotten more of the spotlight. Overall an easy and amusing, if not particularly funny, read.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway. The final edition may differ from that which I reviewed. All opinions are my own.
Women at a Dude Ranch. Not the story line I’d have thought would appeal to me. But, then again, I’ve been wrong so many times before.
Written by the author of the delightful Be Frank With Me, this is a book about friendships and love and a dude ranch in Reno where soon-to-be divorcees retreat while fulfilling the 6-week residency requirements of the 1930’s courts. Based on just such a real-life boutique dude ranch, the story captures us as the women mourn, celebrate, or plain ignore their upcoming divorces. Six weeks of togetherness in the desert.
The cowboys are fake; they are more like hosts serving the needs of their patrons. The women are mostly wealthy, of course, some at the ranch on a second or third visit. It’s a story about women at a very trying time who find themselves in a summer-camp environment. What could go wrong?
Johnson’s writing is smooth and witty; her characters quirky and recognizable. Her premise seems outrageous, but, as it turns out, these places did exist. Read her comments for more fun information. Wonder what she’s got up her sleeve for her next book? Always a treat!
Julia Claiborne Johnson has such a gift for snappy dialogue and screwball comedy. The writing here shines as brightly as an Ernst Lubitsch film with just as much heart.
A dude ranch in Reno for rich ladies wanting a quickie divorce during the great depression of the 30’s. Yes, they really existed. This story is full of laughs, sadness, tenderness, wisdom, and awe. It’s also full of rule breakers, kind hearted, eccentrics and some inconsiderate characters. Excellent read.
I thought that this book came across as a love story for a time long gone. Back in the 1930s, when the wealthy wanted a divorce, they went to Reno, Nevada. There, once you were in residence for six weeks, you could get what today we’d call a “no-fault” divorce. Back then, if you wanted to get a divorce elsewhere, it could get messy; blame had to be place on someone, and disgrace was sure to follow. In Reno, they called this the divorce trade. Businesses grew to provide support for women who wanted divorces. In this book, we get to meet a group of women who take up residence at The Flying Leap, a dude ranch where these women can spend their six weeks in a clean and welcoming place that could also provide friendship, entertainment, shopping expeditions, and more.
We meet Dr. Howard Stovall Bennett II, when he was in his early twenties and working as a cowboy and all-around helper at The Flying Leap. He tells the story of the ranch, as well as some of the ladies who took up residence there. In specific, we get to learn about Nina O’Malley, a repeat divorcee and airplane pilot, and Emily Sommer. Both women are wealthy and used to being treated well. They form a fast friendship during their time at the ranch, but things don’t always go quite like they’d like.
The story is told 50 years after the fact by Howard, Ward, as he reminisces. We learn of his relationship with the women, particularly with Emily. He also tells of why he worked at The Flying Leap, and what he did afterwards. He’s a man with a conscience, and he took things seriously. He also learns of a big secret from the 30s that offers him a way of touching the future.
I enjoyed reading this book; it was fun and light-hearted with a serious undertone. It read quickly and easily and was thoroughly entertaining. It’s an ode to what once was. It’s hard to say if we’re better off now when divorces are relatively easy to get or not. In any case, it’s good to look back and remember what had been.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reaction to reading this book.
Better Luck Next Time was such a fun read! I had no idea that Reno, Nevado, was known as the capital of quickie divorces in the 1930’s. The story takes place at the Flying Leap Dude Ranch in Reno where women of means can come to establish residency for six weeks in order to be eligible for a divorce. Divorces were not readily available at that time in history so readers are likely to judge the pampered women who were able to access this option. During their time at the ranch they go on horseback rides, shopping, and gambling. The title of the book is aptly named from a line the judge tells them when he strikes his gavel to announce a new divorcee, “Better Luck Next Time.” I love how the story is told from the point of view of the 25-year old hardworking ranchhand named Ward. No one at the ranch knows Ward’s backstory or that he is trying to re-invent himself after his family lost everything. Although some of the women look down on him, he becomes sympathetic to their plight saying “I might not have had a set opinion of right and wrong of divorce when I got to Reno, but the things our ladies went through before they came to us won me over to the necessity of it. Better to risk frying in hell than to suffer through a living one.” His opinion makes the reader a little more sympathetic too. We soon discover that Wade is retelling this story from later in his life while looking at an old group photograph from his days at the ranch. Most of the stories he shares are about his adventures with two of the guests, Nina and Emily. Nina is a returning customer to the ranch and is unapologetically fearless and flawed. She becomes best friends with the quieter Emily, who she takes under her wing. Nina commandeers both Emily and Wade into some of her crazy stunts, which provide a great laugh for the reader. All in all everyone is having a grand old time until Emily’s daughter arrives at the ranch and tries to get her parents back together. Around the same time, Ward also gets some bad news from back home. I won’t spoil the ending, but I can’t wait to talk about this book when it comes out in January 2021. Thank you to Julia Clairborne Johnson, netgalley and Customer House for the ARC. I hope Julia will write more stories about the ladies who came through the Flying Leap.
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.
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 to LibraryThing for an advance reader’s copy. All comments and opinions are my own.
I enjoyed this feel-good entertaining story about wealthy women in the 1930s who stay at a ranch in Reno for six weeks, which qualifies them for residency status and enables them to get a quick divorce. Narrated as a series of often humorous recollections by Ward, one of the young ranch hands, I found myself looking for excuses to read just one more chapter. Memorable characters, clever dialogue, romance, and a poignant surprise ending make this a literary winner. I highly recommend Better Luck Next Time!
Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson is the story of a cowboy, Ward, who works on a small dude ranch in Reno, Nevada. It is on this dud ranch where ladies who wish to divorce their husbands take up residence for the requisite six weeks of residency before they can legally file. It takes place in less than the six weeks of one such residency in 1938. The few men on the ranch are strictly warned to stay away from the women guests. This was not a bordello. It was, however, emotionally charged, simply because of the women’s’ situation. There were two women: Nina and Emily. Emily was a quiet, shy woman who had driven herself the 200 miles from San Francisco and Nina was anything but. She had flown her airplane from St. Louis. The story is told from the viewpoint of Ward, 50 years later, when a man approaches him with a group photo from that time. Ward approaches the story fairly, telling it as he saw it.
Ward was an excellent character, both as a young man and as an old one. He had excellent manners, was well-read, and was a hard worker. He had goals in his life and he worked toward them always. Nina was a strong-willed woman to whom life had dealt a bad hand. She had been trough several divorces but his was the most difficult: she loved him still, and he her. She assumed the responsibility of Emily’s daughter when her father dropped her off at the ranch in an attempt to convince Emily to stop the divorce. She was full of teenage attitude and refused to treat her mother decently. Emily, as it turned out, had strength of character beyond what anyone would have assumed, especially the reader. This was a story nicely told, with twists and turn, which emulated real life, yet surprised the real-life reader. There are no stories as good as real life and this might be the exception, although I am certain these things happened in reality somewhere in Reno, although maybe not all at once. A well-written, thought-provoking novel with its ups and downs, full of fabulous story telling and rich and real characters, fully worth the read. I heartily recommend it.
I was invited to read Better Luck Next Time by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #betterlucknexttime
The witty, wonderful 1930s divorce ranch novel you didn’t know you needed. The perfect balance of insight and escapism — this one’s going to be big.
The book opens with Dr. Howard Stvall Bennett III, in 1988, being interviewed. He’s given a picture that shows him at twenty-five surrounded by ladies. The good doctor, went by the name, Ward, since his father was referred to as Big Howard.
The Flying Leap, was a ranch in Reno back in the 1930’s, owned by Max Gregory and Margaret, who catered to wealthy women seeking to divorce their husbands. Some of the ladies were repeat customers. There were the two ranch hands, Ward & Sam. The ladies were required to stay for six weeks to establish residency, then they could file for divorce.
Little by little a story is revealed where two of the ladies take center stage, Emily Sommer & Nina O’Malley. The two ladies became fast friends upon meeting, and both held a little bit of rebel in them. One more so than the other, Emily for driving her car from San Francisco to Reno and Nina, a pilot, who flew her plane.
Sam & Ward were tasked with chores around the ranch, along with fetching the ladies to and from the airport, accompanying them to town, or serving their meals. Ward took the job at the ranch because he had to leave Yale following his parents losing everything during the Great Depression. There is strict rules that the men are to adhere to, and not mingle with the women.
Despite Ward coming from a well-to-do family, the ladies do not view Ward in the same light as from where they come from. Ward is sometimes dragged into going along with Nina and Emily, and along the way he falls in love and starts to envision a life together. A dream that was shattered, by a child, who was determined to keep her parents together, and a realization that it was never going to be.
The ending was profound, because it shows how people will judge others based on their assumptions, jobs, and grammar. It, also shows, that being wealthy doesn’t equate to happiness. Ward is a very likeable character, who had suffered many obstacles, and I was glad for the twist of hope at the very end.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.
Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson is a highly recommended appealing, comedic novel set in Reno, Nevada in 1938.
If wealthy women wanted a quick divorce, Reno, NV, was the answer. As the self proclaimed “divorce capital of the world” women were required to live in the state for six weeks to establish residency and then they could be granted a divorce. The Flying Leap dude Ranch catered to women who needed a place to stay while waiting those six weeks. Ward Bennett, 24 (almost 25), has been working as a cowboy on the ranch where he chauffeurs the women into town or to and from the airport, takes them on trail rides, and helps serve them meals. A good looking young man, he is there as eye candy and to offer the women a listening ear and supportive attitude. His employers and the clients have no idea he actually came from a privileged background in Tennessee and attended Yale for a year, but his family fell on hard times and lost everything in the Great Depression. When Emily, who drove herself to the ranch from San Francisco, and Nina, who is there for her third divorce arrive and become roommates, the two become inseparable friends and rope Ward into acting as their personal assistant, driver, and participating in some of their antics.
The story is told by Ward in 1988. Dr. Howard Stovall Bennett III (Ward) is now retired and living in a retirement home. When he is asked to identify himself and others from a picture at the Flying Leap, he consents to having the anonymous interviewer record the conversation and thus the story begins of that six weeks in 1938 when Emily and Nina were at the ranch. Of course, life is complicated and a stay at the Flying Leap was an emotional time for the guests but Emily and Nina were memorable. I utterly enjoyed the story presentation as a first person recorded narrative by Ward looking back over time. It allows us to see the events that happened fifty years ago through his perspective and experiences. Ward is a keen observer and honest storyteller as he relates the events in 1938 but also tells stories of this life in the fifty years after that. He is an extremely likeable, charming character. The women were less genial characters as they all tended to be self-centered and self-absorbed, but they are at the center of the impulsive adventures instigated by Nina.
I enjoyed the writing immensely and flew through the pages of Better Luck Next Time. The novel is well-paced and the plot is well-executed. After living in Reno for years, I completely understood the setting and the descriptions so the novel took on a life for me quickly. The story takes a more poignant turn as it progresses and Portia, Emily’s daughter shows up. Ward is a well-developed character and we know some of what makes Emily and Nina tick, but since this is through Ward’s eyes, they are enigmas at times. The ending was absolutely poignant, touching, and heartbreaking while still providing a measure of hopefulness.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Custom House/HarperCollins via Library Thing
A young man’s family loses everything in the depression and he goes to work at a ranch for women who must live in Reno Nevada for 6 weeks to obtain divorces. He gets to know them and learns their stories. Fraternization is prohibited. He learns what is important in life and money doesn’t always bring you happiness. This was a free book given to me by the publisher but this does not influence my review
An unexpectedly captivating novel, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME by Julia Claiborne Johnson was full of interesting characters and situations.
Told from Ward’s perspective, looking back from the present to his time working at the Flying Leap, a dude ranch outside Reno, Nevada in the 1930’s. The Flying Leap catered to women with money looking for a “quickie” divorce while staying at the ranch to fulfill the six-week residency requirement. When a reporter brings him a picture of the women form a specific time, Ward starts to reminisce about that specific time and Nina and Emily, who basically changed his life.
Nina was such a fun character, and I loved her spirit, especially in the way she pulled Emily out of her shell and got her to try new things making her more independent and open to the world around her. Ward was also interesting, and his interactions with both women, and the others on the ranch helped us to get to know him.
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME was a read full of heart and, as we neared the end, bittersweet. A story of life, love, and friendship, it also shows how decisions, both made and not made, can affect more than just the life of the person making them. With everything going on at the end of 2020, combined with the holidays, I found this to be a pleasurable escape to cozy up with.
Thank you to the publisher and The Book Club Girls for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#betterlucknexttime #juliaclaibornejohnson #thebookclubgirl #bookclubgirls #harpercollins #williammorrow #customhousepublishing
Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson is an interesting historical fiction that takes the reader (well at least this reader) to a place I have never been before: a “divorce ranch” located in Reno, Nevada in the 1930s. I will let the reader find out more about the concept of the ranch. (Maybe I am the only one that didn’t know that Reno was known for “quickie divorces” at a time when divorce was difficult and most certainly frowned upon.)
I enjoyed learning the stories of Emily, Nina, and Ward. Their characters were endearing, I think, even more so because of their flaws and imperfections. I enjoyed seeing their reflections, growth, and changes. I also enjoyed the satisfying ending.
A memorable and unique read that kept me interested throughout.
4/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.