The premise and true history of divorce ranches is so interesting- the actual implementation of the story, not so much. The pacing is really slow and I can deal with that IF there’s an instant draw to the characters but that was lacking for me. While their circumstances are intriguing, ultimately I didn't feel emotionally invested in these women or their friendship.

I'm somewhat forced to DNF this book mainly because it refuses to play past chapter 10. Every time I open it up and re-listen to chapter 10 it just continuously recycles it. I've manually tired to start chapter 11, restart the book, delete it and redownload and nothing so I suspect I got a dud :(

I'm not overly upset about this though, I was finding the book very boring and uneventful. The premise of the book was fine, but the execution of what I was able to listen to fell super flat. Also, this is historical fiction and yet there is no clear indication on when the book is set. The characters kept saying "after the war" but which one? The First World War? Second? Where this is the U.S. was it the Vietnam War, or maybe the Cold War?? Judging by the 50s-ish cover I'm guessing WWII but I honestly have no idea.

Thank you for this ARC - I may pick the book up at the library one day, but from what I was able to listen to this was a miss.

This was so morning and slow! I couldn't relate to the characters and it just dragged!

I got 40% in and just couldn't finish it!!!

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

This was great! It was suspenseful without being scary. It also was an interesting window into the Nevada Divorce Ranches that existed in the 1950s to support women seeking divorce. The characters were strong, yet fragile. They get swept into the schemes of a mysterious arrival, and yet despite the trouble caused, land on their feet. I felt this book really exemplified the strength of women, especially those determined to make a better life for themselves. It was a bit slow, but overall I enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC audiobook!

I received this book in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley and Macmillan Audio. It took half of the book to really get into it- a ranch for wealthy women in the 50’s to stay so they could then get a divorce after 6 weeks by establishing residency in Nevada. Piece of history I didn’t know so that was interesting and in searching NPR did a story on two girls who grew up there so the premise has historical basis but the heist, character development all just ok. I think if story was told from different perspectives may have given the story more gusto. Interesting read- 3stars. Thank you for allowing me to review this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio version of this book. I am not affiliated with or compensated in way for my review.
I found this book very fascinating and I learned a lot. I had no idea there was such a thing as a divorce ranch. I found it very interesting that a place such as what was described in the book was a reality that women had to go through. I love how the author was able to intertwine different women's stories into one brilliant story. The main character is Lois who comes from a prominent family. She marries a man after a quick time together. He wants children she doesn't want children- this is ultimately why Lois wants a divorce. There is a woman at the ranch who ends up being a theif and all the women fall for her shenanigans.

I am a Flatiron girlie, so when I saw this cover on NetGalley I knew it had to read it.

Do you know that meme about a final paper or book where the horse is full of details in one half, but the other half is looks like a kid's drawing? This book felt a bit like that. The beginning was great. I didn't even know that Divorcee ranches existed in the 50s, so it was pretty cool to get the sense of how they worked. It seemed like the story was building up to be about female friendship and how they all divorced for different reasons and continued to different paths, but that for 6 weeks while they were together their lives intersected. I can totally see this book going on a different direction, where people overcome their differences to build an unlikely friendship between women that had different stories. BUT THIS IS THE STORY I WISH I HAD READ.

At around 70% of the book the story takes a weird turn. I don't want to give spoilers so I am going to be vague: someone invades the ranch and Lois has to make some decisions to protect the girls and things shift a bit, but there are no real consequences to this. Then the story shifts again and becomes a Thelma and Louise story. As you can see, it seems that at 70% the author kind of lost focus or tried to do too much in only one book.

I would still re-read it and recommend to my friends. As I said, the whole divorcee ranch thing was really interesting and it could totally be turned into a TV show where each episode tells the story of one of the divorcees. The ending fell flat.

This is Rowan Beaird's first book and I would definitely read other stuff by her (especially if the cover is as nice as this one).

There's some weird editing in the audiobook in the beginning where you can clearly hear the cuts. Like the voice of the narrator changes and then goes back to normal.

Thank you NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was an interesting audiobook. I found the whole divorce ranch aspect of it to be rather interesting. Were there really places like this that families sent their daughters to?
A lot of it seemed like a retreat to me. A retreat filled with women from all walks of life and with different issues.
Loved the narrator and enjoyed the book.

Thank you MacMillan for the review copy of The Divorcees by Rowan Beaird. I have to say the voice acting was excellent and I enjoyed the style and pacing Bailey Carr brought to her narration. It added to my enjoyment a lot as for me the story was a bit slow, a writing style that was a bit passive for me despite a great plot and storyline. I say this because the narration was what kept me going, Carr's voice had a way of making me feel drawn into Beaird's world, into the Lois was navigating.

I suspect the author's intention with the pace and writing style is to give a sense as to how the character was feeling, somewhat passive in her own life, looking from the outside into her own new world that was more of a blank slate than she realized... the book kind of has that gentle sense of disorientation and passivity that I think is intentional but works better when you allow yourself to get into the pacing of the story.

This is a give it a chance kind of read/audiobook, it does work if you let yourself think about what the day to day life, the stories the women were carrying with them/the time in which so few opportunities were open for women who were not married/moneyed... it does give a sense as to the lack of centering and self that pervades the story and upon reflecting, it's a thoughtful way to present the story!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Bailey Carr who does a fantastic job!

I have heard of the Reno, NV divorcee ranches of the 1950's where women would go to live for 6 weeks to establish residency in order to obtain a divorce when that was not very common.

Most of the group of women are the very wealthy, privileged few that can afford to live in Reno and get a quickie divorce. Most of their stories blurred together as each of them was deeply flawed by trying to find solace in men, alcohol or condescension towards the others. I saw the women as wealthy, bored, and bitter at their perceived injustice in life of a failed marriage.

Lois is the main character of the group. She has always been a bit socially awkward with other women as she is more of an introvert. She does not have a good reason to divorce her husband other than she does not like marriage and does not want kids. She becomes obsessed with befriending Greer, another woman in the group who makes a late arrival under a cloud of intrigue.

As other reviewers mentioned, this is a very slow paced book, and it is depressing. It does not have to be either. It just was not my cup of tea.

Premise - a woman spends six weeks on a divorce ranch in Nevada in order to end her short marriage with a controlling husband who wants children.

I’m not much of a historical fiction person, but I’ve read some fun ones lately (Queens of London, The Trouble with You) and, though I’m happily married, I find divorce fiction super interesting because there’s so little of it despite divorce being very common. Unfortunately, this fell short for me.

It’s very slice of life and slow for the vast majority of the story, but the women are all pretty awful to each other and none of the friendships are real, so it wasn’t really a slice of life I wanted to spend time with. I thought there was a missed opportunity for more dreaming, growing, shenanigans - they mostly get drunk, have ONSs, and employ middle school mean girl tactics against each other. Still, the prose itself was quite lovely at times.

📚 Series or Standalone: standalone
📚 Genre: historical fiction
📚 Target Age Group: adult
📚 Cliffhanger: no

✨ Will I Reread: no
✨ Recommended For: fans of quiet historical fiction who don’t mind a story that bums you out a bit

💕 Characters: 3/5
💕 Writing: 5/5
💕 Plot: 3/5
💕 Pacing: 2/5
💕 Unputdownability: 2/5
💕 Enjoyment: 3/5
💕 Book Cover: 5/5

Thanks, NetGalley and Flatiron, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted this book to be gay so badly!

I wanted to like this more than I unfortunately did. The idea was great! It fell a little flat in terms of plot and character development. Lois, the main character, was too one-dimensional and some of the ladies at the ranch had the potential to be so full of life and little details but instead, they all merged into one.

I wish this would have been two parts, one before the big event and one after, with more detail in the second half. The beginning got a little too mundane, spitting facts at you.

The audiobook narration was great, but there were a few times when the narrator sounded muffled for a few seconds. Other than that, I liked her.

If you're looking for a quick read that's an interesting plot and has a queer(ish) vibe, this works!

*NetGalley ARC -- thanks Macmillan Audio, I <3 u!

Warning....this book is slooowwww paced and nothing really even happens until like 80% or more. So if you don't mind reading a book where almost nothing happens, then I guess you might like this one but I found myself skimming/skipping parts. I did end up liking the ending/reveal but it didn't make up for the lack of nothingness that happened between the prologue and the end.

I think Greer's character was the most interesting part of the book and I wish it was told from her POV as I think it would have been more engaging.

I will say that I had never heard of divorce ranches before and having a book about this subject was really intriguing but for me the story didn't really deliver. 2.5 stars for me but I will round up to 3

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Rowan Beaird for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Read 50%. DNF. This was so slow. I couldn't get behind either of the main characters. Could've been a good story. The setting and set up was unusual and unique but the main characters did not have and endearing qualities. By 50% in, I did not have any interest in finding out how the story ended. The summary was very well written..maybe better than the book itself.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Set against the backdrop of the Nevada desert, THE DIVORCEES explores a new part of American history that is rarely explored. Set during the 1950s, Lois Saunders finds herself unceremoniously sent to Reno's most well reputed "Divorce Ranches" where, according to strict instructions by her father, she is to hole up for the state required six weeks, finalize her divorce, and then return straight home to her childhood home. The Golden Yarrow provides luxurious accommodations for her patrons-- a swimming pool, horse back riding, nature walks, daily trips to the town's bars and casino-- as well as the companionship of other pending divorcees. But Lois finds herself unable to fit in with the other wealthy girls, her awkward nature too big a hurdle to overcome, and she soon feels as isolated as she was during her loveless marriage.

Enter Greer Lang, a mysterious woman who appears in the middle of a night with a bruise mottling her beautiful face. Lois feels as drawn to her as a moth to a flame, and Greer, against all odds, seems to genuinely enjoy Lois' company.

This book was definitely character driven, with Lois a protagonist not everyone will relate to. She's awkward, perhaps autism-coded, and unsure of her place in the world-- it's truly only in the last chapters of the book we get the chance to see her truly grow into herself. Alternatively, Greer was a complex and incredibly interesting character-- her personality and traits revealed to the readers bit by bit, almost slowly enough it would be easy to not notice the red flags. I loved the LGBTQA+ undertones of Greer and Lois' relationship, and how, ultimately, it reflected an abusive marriage (which was so perfect when explored on a Divorce Ranch amongst other women trying to escape their own abusive relationships).

This book will not leave you on the edge of your seat, it's slow moving and not as action packed as some may hope-- but the author did a wonderful job of not only capturing one woman's relatively unglamorous experience at a 1950s divorce ranch (which would be so easy to romanticize) as well as a complex female relationship, and one woman's exploration to see how far she's willing to go for freedom.

This one wasn't for me. I was REALLY enjoying it at the beginning, and I was completely intrigued by the history of these divorce ranches, as I had never heard of them before. That being said, I felt like I had made it to 60%, and nothing had happened. It was so slow moving, and while I was interested in the girls and their stories, it was just so repetitive and too slow moving for me. I wanted to love it, but it just didn't hook me.