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BOOK REVIEW ON "THE DIVORCE RANCH" BY CATHERINE MACDONALD


 Title: The Divorce Ranch
Author: Catherine MacDonald
Publisher: Jada Press
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance
Rating: 4
Review by: Tanya BookLovingHippo 
Link: Goodreads 




Synopsis (from Goodreads):It's June of 1936. The Biggest Little City in the World finds itself in the middle of the divorce craze. While the country struggles with the Depression, wealthy people head to Reno for the cure. War is coming and the world is changing. Women are discovering their voices as they fling their wedding rings from the bridge into the Truckee River. Join Maggie, Dorothy and Claire as they arrive on the Washoe Ranch to rid themselves of their stale marriages, only to learn that they had created lives for themselves that they never dreamed possible.
My Thoughts: 
I received this book for review from the author in exchange for my honest review:
This was such a cute story, I really really enjoyed it. I had not read any historical fiction before (I started The Other Boleyn Girl but never finished) and I am so glad I decided to give this book a chance. I had read the synopsis and thought it sounded interesting. I hadn't heard about divorce ranches.
The book was really well written. There were several characters who all had their time in the spotlight. I liked how the book was laid out- the first three "chapters" were devoted to getting to know the three "main" characters of the book- Maggie Warner Carmichael, Dorothy Adams, and Claire Brown. After that we go on an adventure with these three characters, and then are introduced to Helen Smith, the owner of the ranch. The story follows each of the three main characters and their fun adventures on the ranch.  The story has some interesting twists and turns.
I thought it was really interesting to see how things once were and how they are now. Examples of this include the entire premise of the story- going to Reno for 6 weeks in order to obtain a quick divorce (rather than calling the number on one of the posters you see on telephone poles), women not being able to vote, the view on lesbians, and the entire shock of having blacks in the Olympics (page 132). Today, we often forget that things were not always how they are now. It was fun to get other tidbits of information about the past throughout the book.
As I mentioned, the story is so cute and the book is really well written. I recommend this book to any of you who are interested in Historical Fiction. Even if you aren't, I suggest picking up this book. Its an easy read and really really enjoyable.
Major lesson learned:
Goes to show you that you should just let life happen… things will work out.
Memorable Quotes: 
"It's too beautiful up here to sleep all day. When you die you have all the time in the world to catch up on your sleep" (77)
"Life's too short to only enjoy alcohol in the evening" (84)
"That's the problem with most men. They think of woman as possessions, not people. We are to be shown on their arms all dolled up with gobs of makeup on our faces and we are to keep our mouths shut, because God forbid we have anything important to say." (185)

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