Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Brilliance Publishing for the digital copy of this book and audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I’m not sure why I requested this book about a “divorce ranch” other than the title intrigued me, and I love reading historical fiction. I knew from a lot of previous reading that Reno was THE place to go for a “quickie” divorce. I had no idea that the six-week requirement used to be six months and that it changed in the early 1930s.

It is because of this loosening of requirements that the protagonist of the story, Evelyn, has decided to make the trip, divorce her husband, and start a new life. She has spent 20 years with her husband and was one of those women who stayed with him as long as she did because of their two children. Her husband lost his job some years prior (even before the Great Depression started), and their family has been living with Evelyn’s well-to-do parents the past ten years.

Evelyn meets some women at the divorce ranch who are leaving their husbands for various reasons: infidelity, domestic violence, and other reasons. These six-weekers become roommates and friends as they await their divorces. Many of the women are enjoying the freedom that they haven’t felt in years, just like Evelyn. The book proceeds with their stories, which are a bit repetitive and monotonous, interspersed with some of the excitement of being in the wild wild west of Nevada.

Overall, I enjoyed this book for the most part. From other reviews I’ve read, it’s apparent that the author did her research into the history of Reno with accurate details. I always appreciate it when I hear from locals who confirm the writer didn’t play fast and loose with details. Sarah Naughton is the narrator of the book, and I especially liked the tone of her voice. It made the listening experience enjoyable, even when dealing with some unsavory conduct by men in the novel. I would definitely listen to something narrated by Naughton again.

An historical fiction of women learning independency. The women stay for six weeks in a hotel in order to gain a divorce in Reno, Nevada. The women come together and form friendships and try to invest in new developments. With the relaxation of the Reno residence requirement for divorce going from 6 months to six weeks, Evelyn has finally decided to take the train to Reno. She seeks to file for divorce from her husband of 20 years who has all but given up on finding employment and is also harboring secrets within their marriage. Evelyn meets several other women on her journey who are all seeking divorce for different reasons- infidelity, domestic violence, etc. These women become roommates, friends, and companions as they navigate their first taste of freedom in Reno. Much of the story highlights the day to day life of the women which swings vastly between the monotony of living the same life just in a different place and the excitement of life out west. There was a repetitive emphasis on the classic east coast versus Wild West that I couldn’t shake. This portrayed the east coast women as high class, snobby, and fashionable. The women in Reno were salt of the earth, brothel owner with a heart of gold, or Native Americans. This was definitely an interesting book and educated me on the divorce aspect in older times. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

i remember that episode of mad men where [spoilers for mad men ahead, btw] betty goes to nevada to get a divorce, and never really understood the idea [end of mad men spoilers].

this book kind of picks it up from there, and really concentrates on the rights of (white, rich) women in the 1930s. our protagonist is otherwise headstrong and knows what she wants- she wants her career back and she wants a divorce for a ~secret~ reason that's very easy to infer. she meets a bunch of other women who also temporarily move to Reno for different reasons.

i really liked this book. it has this traditional angle where the protagonist has extremely good reasons to do all the things people in her circles don't. i think that was brave, even if i was a bit squeamish about her thoughts. it was well-written and fast paced, and kept me interested throughout.

3.75 stars

This book is a novel about a woman going to Reno for 6 weeks to establish Nevada residency so that she can divorce her husband. You meet the other temporary residents as well as Reno's permanent residents and the odd relationships and transactions that exist between the two. There are various sub-plot lines, but the real goal of the narrator is to make it through the 6 weeks to get a divorce, so really you're just spending the 6 weeks with her.

Based on the cover and subject matter, I expected this to be fairly pulpy, but I was impressed by the complexity of the characters. The narrator is a wealthy woman who is leaving her husband for a variety of reasons that don't seem nearly as good as most of the other woman's reasons. You don't fall in love with the main character, but you do end up understanding how she made her choices and having empathy for the limited choices women have during this time.

The other characters in the book are interesting and have their own arcs. Just like in real life, not everyone has a happy ending, Also like in real life there are lots of scenes that exist a bit more for world building and atmosphere creation than plot advancement. That's ok and I really enjoyed that element of the book, but I can imagine people calling it a bit slow moving since the narrator's own arc is much more of an observer than anything else.

This is actually the third book I've read about divorce ranches in the last year, so I'd say this is a topic that's of interest to me. (The other books I read were Rowan Beaird's novel The Divorcees, and April White's nonfiction The Divorce Colony.) All of them books are, but this was the most fun to read, since it blended a story with a lot of context and description of the world of Reno during this time. I felt like the narrator was my guide taking me around the area and it was a fun way to consume the info.

My biggest criticism of this book is that in the final chapter the narrator outlines her conclusions in an almost academic way, which harkens back to Hedrick's background as a non-fiction writer. Without that I would give this book 4 stars, but I found it to be quite distracting and take me out of the book.

Thank you to Brilliance Audio for an advance review copy of this book., My opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 Stars rounded up

Set in 1931 USA, this story is a great example of the difficulties women faced when wanting to remove themselves from bad marriages. This is a topic I haven't read about before, so this was an informative story for me and a perfect way to learn about this time in history. It's a story of friendship, deceit, strength, and resilience. It's thought-provoking, empowering, engaging, and a great example of the challenges faced not only by women wanting to escape from sometimes life-threatening marriages, but also the hardships communities faced as a result of the Great Depression and severe dust storms. I enjoyed the romance aspect, which is mostly clean. I was not ready for this story to end - I have so many questions and I hope there's going to be a sequel!

I started out reading the novel, but I couldn't find time to read it and I was so invested in the story that I ended up switching to the audiobook. The narration is excellent and really brings the story to life.

Thank you to NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing, and the author for an ARC for review. All opinions are my own and my review is left voluntarily.

How much can a life change in six weeks?

For the women who traveled to Reno to acquire uncontested divorces that were denied them in their home states in Depression Era America, six weeks changed everything. I have always found the idea of these "Divorce Ranches" fascinating. I have seen novels about the topic, but this was the first I've read and I wish I had jumped into another one because I struggled my way through the audio version. It was hard for me to connect to the main character as she was the least interesting in the novel. I can't for the life of me understand why she was the POV this story was told through.

Exploring The Biggest Little Town in the World by day and dancing with cowboys at night reawakens feelings long since thought lost, and the newfound freedom sparks new perspectives for these women. Seeing some of these women blossom with new possibilities was my favorite aspect of the novel. The ability to cuts ties with an abusive or untrustworthy spouse was a life changer for women in the 1930's that is taken for granted today. Reno began crawling out of the financial ruin of the Great Depression thanks to the influx of these "Six Weekers" and gambling.

The story is told through Evelyn's perspective. She is a former model (of which the reader is reminded ad nauseam) driven to divorce her husband who refuses to work and engages in secret behavior. Her husband is listless and prone to bouts of depression. She arrives at the Flying N Ranch where they provide rooms and meals to divorce seekers for the required six week stay in an attempt to keep their ranch open amid plummeting beef prices. Being inside her mind was not for me. I found her to be superficial, judgmental, but worst of all she's boring. I thought every other character in the novel was more interesting. I longed for the scenes that contained groups of characters because Evelyn's POV was tiresome.

There were many ways this could have gone wrong at the end, but the author gave this an ending I appreciated.

The narration and writing style here are just ok. I understand that this is the author's first foray into fiction as non-fiction is her usual genre. There may be some growing pains here. Kudos for giving a look at this important moment in history though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for providing an Advance Listening Copy for review. All opinions are my own.

There are some books that feel like an observation of another time like tapping into the brain of someone who lived it, and this is one of them.

The story of Evelyn and her journey to + life in Reno while seeking a divorce in the 1930s is complex and gives great perspective on the struggles of her and the other women.

Six Weeks in Reno would make a great book club choice, and there are tons of questions/conversation topics that can be pulled from this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advanced copy!