This isn’t my usual genre, but I recently read another book about the divorce ranch in Reno. I hadn’t come across this before and found the whole concept intriguing. In the 1930s divorce was scandalous. Reno became known as the divorce capital because women could stay at a boarding house for six weeks and then apply for divorce. They boarded with other women in the same situation and whiled away their time riding, reading or going out in the evenings, usually in a group.

Evelyn has escaped her loveless marriage and the story is mainly about her growth as she finds her road to freedom. The reason for her leaving aren’t revealed until the end. We meet other characters and their backstory also frame the themes explored through the book. It certainly captures this small time capsule and attitudes and I’ve enjoyed the peek into this little known (to me) aspect of social history. It’s well written, quite slow but ultimately rewarding. Clever final twist and all the ends are neatly tied. Not quite a 4* but because it kept my attention and I found it easy to visualise the places and people, 3* us too mean.

Thank you to Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and author, Lucy H. Hedrick for the ARC of Six Weeks in Reno. As a fan of historical fiction, I really enjoyed reading about the history of how Reno became known as the divorce city.

It's 1931 and Evelyn Henderson has decided that she is tired of her loveless marriage to a man who hasn't been employed in several years. Despite the scandal that divorcing in the 1930s will create, she decides to go to Reno where she can obtain a divorce after establishing a six residency. While there she stays at one of the established "divorce ranches" that play host for women in Evelyn's position.

On the train on the way there, at the ranch where she stays and at social events that are planned for the "six weekers", as the women are called, Evelyn meets a myriad of women who are also seeking divorces. Each woman comes with her own story of why she is there. It was interesting to see how Evelyn and some of the other women evolved on the brink of freedom from their married lives.

I did find some of the reading tedious, but feel that Six Weeks in Reno is overall a realistic story of the evolution of Reno as the "divorce city."

In 1931, the mere concept of being a divorcee was utterly scandalous. However, for Evelyn Henderson, societal opinions were of no consequence. After enduring two decades of an unwanted marriage she was encouraged to marry by her family. Evelyn mustered the courage to journey to Reno, Nevada, famously recognized as the divorce capital. There, she resided at the Flying N ranch for six weeks in order to obtain a divorce. It was at the ranch that she encountered other women who, like her, had valiantly defied the stigma of divorce.

The historical context underpinning this book fascinated me, holding an air of intrigue. I found the book's tone particularly appealing, as it skillfully mirrored the style and mindset of the era. The character development had a profound emotional impact on me, further enhanced by the vivid portrayal of Reno's historical setting.

This is a wonderful story of a woman finding her freedom from a loveless marriage in the 1930s. Evelyn sets out to get a divorce from her husband by traveling to Reno Nevada to establish residency to get an uncontested divorce and to get around the strict requirements for divorce in New York. Evelyn meets many other women who are going to acheive the same goal , as well as some Hollywood handsome cowboys.

I greatly enjoyed Evelyns story and her growth in her comfort in herself and respect for other in all stages of life. Evelyn is very much from the upper middle class to upper class in the time of the great depression. With this comes many stereotypes on her part as well as not a great understanding of hardships that others are going through. Also this girl must have been the worst black cloud in this group of “six weekers”. Every bad thing to happen in this book happened to Evelyn or those around her.

I was not a fan of us getting the whole picture as to why she is divorcing her husband until the last 20% of the book. Up until then it was she fell out of love with him because he was not putting in the effort to find a way to support his family in a society that relies heavily on traditional gender standards. Then it’s because he is having an affair with a man.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all. The plot dragged on and on to me on mundane descriptions. I felt like I was living a regular day over and over again with no end to the story. It was just like words on paper. I almost stopped reading the book but made myself finish.

I did not feel a connection to any of the characters.

The description of this book made me think that it would be a lot of character introspection and emotional processing. Instead, vivid descriptions and significant action in every chapter meant that reading it felt like joining a period-adventure in 1930's Reno. I found myself wishing for more backstory on even minor characters and would definitely read a sequel.

I loved how this book takes the reader through the timeframe of the six weeks spent by the women seeking divorces in Reno. It’s an engaging story with realistic characters- a great summer read.

A good period book about divorcees living on a ranch in Reno dyring the sixties for 6 weeks in order granted a divorce after living there people could get a "quickie divorce" ir makes people women especially realize how life has changed amd I for one am thankfully for a no fault divorce state as things do not get dragged out, the book started out slow but the mystery was good and our main gal was interesting and I love a good time period book and this isn't something I had read about before

An unfortunate DNF 😭 I really wanted to love this. The idea was great but the execution just didn’t work for me. Once she got to Reno it became pretty dull & I didn’t really care for Evelyn’s character, she was quite judgy. I also didn’t understand the constant vomiting she did? Is it supposed to be hinting that she had an ED or what?

I was fascinated by the historical story behind this book and found it really intriguing. Six weeks in Reno is all you’d need to divorce your husband - that and someone swearing you had t left the town for that time. I warmed to the main character but did find some things a little clunky. Lots of the ‘warnings’ about the real estate deal felt forced.
Loved the side characters and their stories and felt the women in general were really sympathetic.
Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's 1931 and to be a divorcee is scandalous...it isn't something done in our family; what will the neighbors think; etc. etc. For Evelyn Henderson it doesn't matter what anyone thinks! After 20 years of marriage, most of it with a husband she didn't want to marry in the first place, but her family insisted, Evelyn had the courage to travel to Reno and stay for six weeks in order to get divorced. Staying at the Flying N ranch she meets other women like herself who braved the adversity of being divorced. Mixed in with them were 3 people, two men and a woman who were trying to get these ladies to invest in their resort. This was an interesting novel as we too become involved with each woman, their trials and tribulation and their hopes for a better future. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Evelyn, who has left her twenty-year marriage to seek a divorce in Reno, Nevada, known as the divorce capital.
It was wonderful to read about Evelyn's transformation from a repressed housewife to a woman discovering her identity and desires.
I enjoyed the details and how they immersed me in the book, as well as the details about the city and Evelyn.
I also really liked the book's tone. It was written in the style and mindset of the time.
Again, I enjoyed the character development, which moved me emotionally, as well as the historical setting of Reno.

I was intrigued by the title and the brief description and was able to read this thru NetGalley. This story of Evelyn as she travels and spends time in Reno in the 1930’s in order to receive a divorce from her husband was well written. I enjoyed the growth she experienced as she was exposed to situations that were drastically different from her sheltered life. Some of the story lines were a little simplistic but that certainly made it easy to read.

This is the second book about the divorce ranches in Reno Nevada and I’m here for it!! I’d never heard about it until I read the first. We spent last winter working in Reno and it’s so fun to think about where in Reno everything happened. Women from all walks of life came to Reno as “six weekers” to gain residency to get a divorce for many reasons. Evelyn’s story is no different. A husband who can’t or won’t work and grown children and a desire to have freedom and a better life. She meets other women from other places and realizes that there are worse men and meets a cowboy that shows her there are better men. Such a beautiful novel about an interesting time and place in history.

Thank you for allowing me to read this!

Six Weeks in Reno was a great book. As a history nerd, I always enjoying learning more about the different ways of the world. Learning about divorce ranches has engulfed me in the week I have been reading this book. I loved it.

I enjoyed the daily life and the characters different stories. Beatrice holds a special place in my heart. It kept me gripped and I enjoyed the flip back to moments in her life.

I've learnt a lot and enjoyed this into the dive 1930's Reno.

My only wish is for reactions and what happens when she gets home. How do things go with her children, and her sister?

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC and of course to the publishers. This book was a mix review because I enjoyed learning about the Reno history that I had no knowledge of and I live near there for almost the last 20 years. There was quite a bit of repetition and rambling and the character’s judgement of everything kind of got on my nerves. It was not really my style of writing but it was entertaining enough. I liked the cowboys characters. Ending was bland.

Well thought out and complex, this book is a triumph. Six weeks in reno at a divorce ranch living in close quarters with other soon to be divorcees, what could possibly go wrong..... beautifully told story i was hooked from beginning to end.

Old fashioned read about a bygone era and what women had to do to get out of bad marriages.
Women becoming friends on the long train trip west to spend six weeks (6weekers) in Reno waiting to legally divorce.
Evelyn is a bit prudish for the times and sees/does things she doesn't approve of. And there are some doozys.
a lot of questionable happenings dont really take up more then a page or two & then are forgotton.
Thanks NetGalley.

I never knew that in the 1930's that if a woman wanted a quickie divorce they had to stay 6 weeks in Reno. I found it interesting especially when divorcing was sacrilege back then especially if a woman files for divorce first.

I enjoyed this story and I was invested in the main character and all the other characters too.

The author transported me back to the 1930's and I felt like I was there in Reno. She detailed the scenery, the dust storms and so much more.

Well written and I definitely recommend.

Thank you publisher and netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own and isn't influenced by anyone else

The story was really interesting, with great writing that made it easy and enjoyable to read. However, I thought there were too many things happening on the ranch where the main character lived. It was hard to believe that so many challenges could happen in just six weeks in one place. This made the story seem a bit too dramatic, but overall, I still liked it and thought it was well-written.