Better Luck Next Time [Large Print]

(Paperback)

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Doesnt a romantic comedy set on a 1930s Nevada dude ranch teeming with about-to-be-divorced women owe a certain debt to the eras big-screen classics Then again, its hard to believe a cinematic version could be any more fun. New York Times Book Review

The dazzling second novel from the bestselling author ofBe Frank with Me, a charming story of endings, new beginnings, and the complexities and complications of friendship and love, set in late 1930s Reno.

Its 1938 and women seeking a quick, no-questions split from their husbands head to the divorce capital of the world, Reno, Nevada. Theres one catch: they have to wait six-weeks to become residents. Many of these wealthy, soon-to-be divorcees flock to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch that caters to their every need.

Twenty-four-year-old Ward spent one year at Yale before his family lost everything in the Great Depression; now hes earning an honest living as a ranch hand at the Flying Leap. Admired for his dashing good looksCary Grant in cowboy bootsWard thinks hes got the Flying Leaps clients all figured out. But two new guests are about to upend everything he thinks he knows: Nina, a St Louis heiress and amateur pilot back for her third divorce, and Emily, whose bravest moment in life was leaving her cheating husband back in San Francisco and driving herself to Reno.

A novel about divorce, marriage, and everything that comes in between (money, class, ambition, and opportunity), Better Luck Next Time is a hilarious yet poignant examination of the ways friendship can save us, love can destroy us, and the family we create can be stronger than the family we come from.

Reviews

"Doesn't a romantic comedy set on a 1930s Nevada dude ranch teeming with about-to-be-divorced women owe a certain debt to the era's big-screen classics Then again, it's hard to believe a cinematic version could be any more fun." -- New York Times Book Review

"Johnson's rollicking comedy sizzles, thanks to the immensely appealing voice of its aging narrator...brims with the clever banter and farcical situations of a classic Capra film." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Do you want to read something funny Let's say, a novel set at a divorce ranch in Reno in the 1930s A book with memorably eccentric characters, sparkling dialogue, a satisfying plot twist, and some romance and sex A feel-good literary comedy/western Here it is, then, the book you've been looking for: Julia Claiborne Johnson's Better Luck Next Time." -- Julie Schumacher, author of Dear Committee Members and The Shakespeare Requirement

"Rollicking, nostalgic, wistful and wise, Better Luck Next Time is another gem from Julia Claiborne Johnson. Like a modern-day Anita Loos (but with more heart), Johnson spins an irresistible yarn that captures Depression-era disappointments, hopes, and determination, and paints a touching story of how even a life gone wrong can be a life well lived." -- Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party

"Hilarious and clever." -- New York Post

"Julia Claiborne Johnson's real skill is a literary sleight of hand: creating humorous characters with big hearts, then using them to deliver a story with a surprising emotional wallop. There were tears from heartbreak and joy! My face still hurts from smiling." -- Steven Rowley, author of Lily and the Octopus and The Editor

"Invites comparisons to Shakespeare's madcap comedies...Like Shakespeare with his fairies, Johnson uses her own brand of magic to bring these characters to life and to remind us that love often requires a second chance." -- Chattanooga Free Press

"Channels Frank Capra's screwball comedies...There is a delightful sense of closure in the way Johnson wraps up this shiny package, which arrives just after New Year's like a late holiday gift." -- Christian Science Monitor

"An engrossing portrait of 1930s Reno...witty and charming." -- Booklist

Author Bio

Julia Claiborne Johnson is the bestselling author of Be Frank With Me. She worked at Mademoiselle and Glamour magazines before marrying and moving to Los Angeles, where she lives with her comedy-writer husband and their two children.