I’m not usually a historical fiction girlie but the premise for this book drew me in. I enjoyed spending time with the two main characters but was surprised by the last act of the book. I really expected it to go a different direction and I’m a bit disappointed in how it ended.

Did you know there were divorce ranches that women went to in the 1950’s!? I sure didn’t. So when I saw this book was based on such a ranch, my interest was piqued and I had to check it out.

It was extremely interesting to learn about the history of these ranches and the purpose they served for women seeking divorce at that time. The book also shows just how difficult it was for a woman to divorce and how uncertain their futures could be; how little prospects they had.

As has been happening lately, this was another narration where I found the narrator’s voice soothing and my mind would start wondering. I can’t say I can blame that on the narration entirely however. There wasn’t much in this story that really grabbed me, aside from a glimpse at the history of these ranches. The depth of the relationships these women who were communing together in these homes must have had with one another, never really came across. It could be because the main character was trying to keep everyone except Greer, at an arm’s distance. Either way, the story fell flat for me because I never became invested in the women, their relationships and situations. It was all a bit too on the surface for me and never really went deep enough. There were a couple times towards the end where the story started to grab me, but the grip didn’t last. For a situation with characters who were surely fraught with emotions, the story just didn’t make me feel anything.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio & Rowan Beaird for an audio galley of The Divorcées in exchange for an honest review.

This was not an author I was familiar with so this was familiar with, but I liked the cover art and the synopsis, so I took a gamble. Sadly, the gamble didn't pay off.

I DNF'd this book roughly halfway through.

This was perhaps one of the most boring audiobooks I've ever tried to listen to. I listen to 300+ audiobooks per year, so that's pretty bad.

I tried to give it a fair shot. I was ready to DNF much earlier than halfway through, but decided to try to stick it out in the hopes that it would get better. Sadly, it did not. I'm not willing to give more of my time to a book if it hasn't gotten better by the halfway mark. It could have been the most spectacular book ever in the second half, but if that's the case, the author has to hook the reader MUCH quicker.

So, my review is based on the first half of the book.

There were too many characters that have zero depth. It was hard to identify with any of them because we were only given surface level info on each. Again, it was BORING, which made it very hard to listen to. It just seemed to drag & I lost interest very quickly.

I usually don't like to comment on an author's exact writing style in my reviews because I'm not an author, so I don't feel I have expertise in that area and maybe what I didn't like about it is what the author was going for. But, in this instance, I'm going to comment on it. This felt like a very unseasoned author's writing. One of that where I question - WHO read this & actually enjoyed it enough to think it was worthy of publishing? Sorry, not sorry. It was bad.

Sadly, I likely won't ever pick up anything by this author again and I definitely will not recommend it.

Copied from Goodreads:
2.5 ⭐ rounded up
The premise of "The Divorcees" was interesting and inventive. Set largely in a Nevada divorce ranch, this piece of historical fiction follows Lois, an Illinois housewife who is seeking a divorce in 1951. We also learn about the other residents and the conditions which brought them to the ranch. The premise is solid, but the execution left much to be desired. The protagonist is very one-dimensional and the climax of the book feels misplaced. I think it could have been much better if we saw more of Lois' post-divorce life and her growth. Perhaps more importantly given it's a historical novel, were the anachronistic slips. For instance, casino poker chips were described as ridged plastic. I'm fairly certain that even in 2024, casinos do not use plastic poker chips. A quick Google search confirmed this. Lois' mother also receives a medical treatment that was not widely available until long after her demise (which we learn about as the books starts). I'm sure there were other mistakes, but these stood out to me. This novel is Rowan Beaird's debut, so some degree of error is likely. However, the copyeditors should have identified these errors. I hope that Beaird's next novel is better edited.

TW: physical and sexual abuse, gambling, drowning, substance use, death, cancer

The Divorcees will be released in the U.S. on March 19, 2024. Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audio ARC given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really was excited for this one. Sadly, it fell flat. The cover & description had me ready for excitement but this book was simply boring. The writing felt very “beginner”. The MC was very petty and didn’t seem to have any happiness at all.

Thank you for this arc.

The Divorcees was a fun read with some strong woman vibes and themes as well. I had to Google if divorce ranches were truly a thing, and sure enough they were! Women, with few options to leave marriages, would go to Reno to get divorced but had to stay 6 weeks in order for the divorce to be granted. While at the ranch, the women support each other, talk about their experiences and have a little fun. This book also has a fun twist and 2 of the divorcees have a plan to be independent in their futures!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. There were some really good parts of this story, but also some drawn out parts that I didn't find necessary. I did enjoy the narration.

Debut novel from Rowan Beaird. To be honest the cover image and title had me interested before reading the actual storyline.

Following the life of Lois as she attends a divorce ranch, she meets an interacts with women from similar but unique paths. Lois is a character who struggles to make friends and was repressed in her marriage. Now in a ranch full of women she’s trying to fit in and figure out her next steps. In comes Greer, the exciting and mysterious new divorcee who mildly stirs things up at the ranch. The two engage in petty crimes and Lois ends up duped by her new best friend by the end of the story.

I must say I found this read a bit bland. While I loved hearing about casino life in the 50s, the rest seemed slow going and I wouldn’t say it’s rooted in the historical fiction genre as there wasn’t a ton of content setting the stage of the time in my opinion. While it was an easy and quick read, it wasn’t a book I found myself enamored with and I really didn’t enjoy the brash ending.

This book started out great- it is entertaining as it follows several women at a divorce ranch in Nevada at a time when divorce was still taboo. Unfortunately, the last quarter of the book is hugely disappointing.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.*

The Divorcées is Rowan Beaird's first novel. It is a piece of historical fiction that takes place in 1950s Reno, Nevada.

While I knew on some level that divorce was legal in Nevada before it was legal anywhere else I had never considered what it might have meant for women fleeing marriages and what that would have meant for towns in Nevada that would have had a transitional short-term population of women waiting out residency requirements in order to procure a divorce.

That is the background for the story of Lois, a woman who has left her marriage not because of abuse, but because she was simply miserable. Though she came from money, she was dependent on her husband and her father for financial support. Lois winds up at a ranch called The Golden Yarrow where she is a guest living with other women in her same boat. She struggles to connect with the women, having grown up with few friends and a strange mother. Until the arrival of glamourous Greer, who bewitches all of the women and stamps Lois with approval and acceptance. Suddenly Lois is behaving out of character and beliving in. a future she never imagined.

I enjoyed this story and would love to see it made into a movie. I'll look for more by Rowan Beaird.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the audio ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Expected Release March 19, 2024.

3.5 ⭐️ When I read the synopsis for The Divorcées, I knew I had to read this book and I’m glad I did. What a unique idea for a historical fiction! This book follows Lois Saunders’ experience at the Golden Yarrow—a “divorce ranch” in Reno, Nevada in the 1950s (the only way for many women to be able to file for divorce at that time). We’re introduced to a diverse cast of characters at the divorce ranch and in many ways, this book almost reads like an adult summer camp story where women are bonded by trauma from their marriages and lives.

I listened to the audiobook version and really liked the narrator! But at times this book felt a bit long to me. And while I loved the storyline and appreciated the women empowerment undertones, I struggled at times because I didn’t feel very connected to any of the characters. I wanted to root for them, but I found myself disliking most of them and their life choices. But the writing itself largely makes up for this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Rowan Beaird for the free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This historical fiction novel covered a topic I knew nothing about. It was interesting to learn about the divorce ranches in Reno. This was a slow moving book that was more of a character study. It was the first audio book I have ever listened to and that contributed to the slow pace. The narrators voice was too relaxing and made me want to fall asleep. I stuck with it only to be disappointed by the ending.

What a fascinating look into women's history. I was intrigued by the cover of Rowan Beaird's The Divorcées (what a pretty lady on the cover!), so I couldn't resist.

I wasn't expecting so much sadness. In addition to a twisty-turny plotline (which was an absolute thrill), Beaird delves deep into these characters and takes us on quite a ride.

I really enjoyed Bailey Carr's wonderful performance in the audio version of The Divorcées. Nicely done.

I always feel bad when I rate something less than 4 stars. The audiobook narrator was great, but unfortunately the story fell flat for ME. If it weren’t for this being an ARC, I probably would have DNF’d, because I was bored and zoned out quite a bit.

I loved the premise though. It’s the 1950s, Women are traveling to a divorcée ranch in Reno, NV, living there for 6 weeks in order to gain residency so that they can file for divorce from their husbands. The book mainly focuses on the different relationships formed between the women at the ranch, their nights out, and self discovery. The ending kind of killed it for me and I had to knock another star off for that.

A slow burn but in the best way possible. Loved the setting in the book and the character development. Thanks NetGallery!

I didn't really enjoy this book, but more found it interesting. It took place at a very specific time and a very specific place and could not happen any other time or place. I think many people know about the ranches where women could go to get divorces quickly with no questions asked, but I think this is the first time the story is told from the women's point of view--what it was like, what the "girls" were like and what they did with their time waiting for the final court date. The main character, Lois, is getting out of a loveless marriage and away from a loveless father. The other women all have their own stories and how they deal with what they are going through is as varied as each woman. As I read, I thought it was going to turn into a heist book, but the author deftly weaves in that story to explain another character, Greer. Ms. Beaird does give the reader some kind of closure, but also allowing the reader to determine what eventually happens to Lois.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book. I obviously knew getting a divorce back in the 1950s was way more difficult than it is today, especially for women. But I had no idea that it was a lot easier in Nevada and that lots of women actually traveled and lived there briefly in order to get divorced.

Lois Saunders travels to the Golden Yarrow ranch as she's in a loveless marriage and wants out. Her wealthy father is begrudgingly willing to support her, but is very disappointed she's getting divorced and has many rules in place for her. The Golden Yarrow is a bit like a summer camp for soon-to-be-divorced women with the women in charge acting as "camp counselors" watching over the women and ensuring they stay on the straight and narrow. When the mysterious and intriguing Greer comes to the ranch, Lois immediately wants to be her friend and works to be liked by her, acting in ways she never thought she would.

Though I absolutely love this concept, the execution didn't totally work for me. I'm generally a big fan of character-driven novels, but this one just felt very slow with characters that I couldn't totally get behind. I don't need likable characters in my books, but Lois just felt super annoying to me and I didn't really enjoy any of the women at the ranch. I like the beginning and the end of the novel much more than I did the end.

I do wonder if I would have enjoyed this more if I read a hard-copy of the book; perhaps it just didn't translate to audio as well for me. I do find that plot-driven books work better on audio and character-driven in physical books, for me at least.

I really wanted this to be more exciting. The premise sounded really fun and interesting, but the execution was lacking for me. There just wasn't much that happened to keep my interest. It's really more of a people-focused story, so if you like that, this might be for you.

The longer I sit with this one, the more I appreciate it. The basic idea of The Divorcees reeled me in...the Nevada divorce ranches of the 1950s, where women wanting a divorce spent time gaining their Nevada residency to more easily obtain a divorce with that state's more lax criteria. This is a slow, character driven novel. I didnt identify much with any of the women in The Divorcees, which made connecting to the story challenging. The main two characters were unique, but the rest all blended together for me. I wonder if this was intentional? Other reviews have mentioned finding the ending disappointing, but I enjoyed it. It was surprising and had me revamping my vision of things that happened earlier in the novel. This is definitely a novel lots of readers would enjoy, but I'm honestly unsure who I'd recommend it to. I'm curious who the author's target audience was. And I'd also love to ask her what all the references to MEAT were about...there had to be some underlying message I missed.
Thanks for the ALC.

In the early 1950s, Reno, Nevada, was known for its famous "divorce ranches," attracting women of various ages and social classes. These women arrived in Reno seeking a divorce from their husbands for multiple reasons. Among them were Lois and Greer, who, after spending a few weeks at the ranch, devised a plan that would change their futures forever. While Lois' life took a different path, it came with a harsh reality check.

The book was decent overall, with an exciting beginning delving into the world of divorce ranches. However, I lost interest in the author's writing style soon after. The story dragged on for an extended period and was tedious and slow-paced. It wasn't until the end of the book that the pace picked up, which saved the ending from being a complete letdown. I only gave it two stars and wished that Lois's post-divorce life had been explored in more detail.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free, advanced copy of this novel.