One look at the synopsis for Better Luck Next Time would easily make one believe this is a new take on Clare Boothe Luce's 1936 play The Women (given movie treatments in 1939, a musical in 1956 called The Opposite Sex, and then again in 2008). While both book and play deal with the pampered lives of soon-to-be divorcees and feature a dude ranch in Nevada, the play had cutting commentary about women's power struggles while this book is a sweet story of a handsome young man and two very different women.

Story: Ward is an educated Tennesse boy whose family fell on hard times during the depression. He set out to work on the Hoover Dam project and ended up being hand picked to work a dude ranch for wealthy divorcees who are 'vacationing' in Nevada for 6 weeks in order to obtain a residency and then immediate divorce. When the vivacious Nina and shy but sweet Emily join the ranch, everything changes for Ward. He soon becomes embroiled in the two women's lives as he learns lessons in life and love from the fellow ranch hands, the divorcees, and the ranch owners.

At first, I thought this would be The Women - retold from the perspective of "Buck" the ranch hand. But it soon became clear that The Women was about, well, women. This book is all about Ward and the push-pull he has with Nina and Emily. Nina is a wild free spirit and Emily is a mother mourning a bad marriage and straddled with a very unsympathetic teen daughter. Other characters include the bohemian owners and fellow ranch hand Sam. Along the way we meet several other quirky divorcees but for the most part, we follow Ward. So although the setting is the same, book and play are very different (though admittedly I wish there was an "America's sweetheart" aspect in Emily and a vixen in Nina, as the play had). The play had far more interesting characters and dynamics but this book has far more sweetness, humor, and heart.

The story is told as if we are watching an elderly Ward is being being interviewed by an unknown person about his recollections of the time he was at the dude ranch. It can be a bit disconcerting at first but the story does flow into his memories nicely to create the tale of his time at the Flying Leap ranch. Since the ranch is isolated (as are the pampered divorcees) there isn't that much milieu of the Great Depression in which this sits. It's a nicely intimate story about Ward, Emily, and Nina.

Because this is Ward being interviewed at the end of his life, we get a full story of what happened after Ward left the ranch and became a doctor. I particularly liked that aspect at the end because it filled out the story in places where it was really needed. It is a bit of a bittersweet tale and a slow start became much more engrossing by mid way through the book. You may not like any of the pampered wealthy protagonists but the book has heart and a lot of character in its fluid storytelling.

I listened to the audio book version and enjoyed the narration. The narrator did an excellent job with creating distinct characterizations - especially considering most of the cast is female but told from a male point of view. I highly recommend the audio version for that reason.

In all, by the end, it felt like a very enjoyable and filling read and was a fun and heartfelt look at a 1930s dude ranch. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

I really enjoyed this look back on the life of dude ranch work turned doctor. The stories he told about the divorcees who visited the dude ranch were very entertaining and made the reader want to know more about their lives.

I absolutely love the ending, even though I kind of predicted it as the book concluded.

I am reminded of Fried Green Tomatoes when listening to this book. I'm not sure if it is the manner of the narration or simply the location (Whistler) Ward lives in at the end of his lfe.

The narrator was perfect. He had the accents down very well. He made you believe the various characters were different from the teller of the stories.

Memories are sparked while Ward looks at an old photograph from Flying Leap Ranch in Reno, Nevada. Ward starts into a story about his life working at a divorce ranch and about the other people in the photograph. He takes you through his relationships with the staff and the women who went through there. There are some return customers such as Nina and others who are at the divorce ranch for the first time such as Emily. Ward befriends them and helps them while becoming their soundboard, driver and much more. During so, Emily learns to stand up for herself. This is a charming story of friendship, love and heartbreak. The character development was great as each character was flawed and grew throughout the story. I love how the narrator sounded like Ward would and it really sounded like you were listening to an older gentleman telling you stories from his past. The ending I thought was perfect for the story. I recommend this book if you want a fun easy historical fiction read.

I chose this audiobook, not having read anything by this author before, expecting it to be a story about a friendship developed between two women. Instead, it is a story told in 'oral history' fashion by an old man in a nursing home, recalling one summer at a Dude Ranch for divorcee's, in which he learned the lessons of a lifetime.

I loved this book. The narrator was perfect. The story was intriguing and heartbreaking. I've already recommended it to friends, before I was even finished.

Hilarious, entertaining and heartwarming, this story begins with some country twang and a voice straight out of the Wild West. I loved listening to David Aaron Baker narrate this quirky story of a divorce ranch in Reno in the 1930s, where wives could book a 6 week stay at the Flying Leap ranch in Reno to establish themselves as residents of Nevada and qualify for a quickie divorce. While they are there, the ranch has plenty of activities (and cowboys) to entertain them and they meet lots of women in a similar situation to commiserate with.. sounds like the perfect way to get over a divorce! The story is told through the eyes of Ward, a young ranch hand who had to leave medical school to work after his family lost everything in the Great Depression and learned a lot about life from some very spunky ladies, including Nina, an amateur pilot, and Emily, a kind young lady who has finally worked up the nerve to leave her cheating husband. I was surprised by the ending, and thoroughly enjoyed the both the light and serious parts of this story!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Harper Audio for allowing me to listen to this story in exchange for an honest review.