The Author and Narrator Nailed it!

I am a resident of Reno… My mom came here in the 1960s for a divorce. And we stayed. It was a magical place in those days. The author and the narrator nailed it. There were no detectable errors in old Reno history except that we don’t have roadrunners here. Southern Nevada is the place for those. Reno is too cold in the winter and not hot enough in the summer. We are at elevation 4500 and it’s not typically as hot in the summer as the story portrays. But all in all and it was a great story. I enjoyed every detail immensely.
One last comment - in the after notes, the reviewer mispronounced the name of the state of Nevada over and over again. We residents hate that faux pas. It is not Neh-vah-duh. It is Neh-vad-uh. If you’re going to presume to be an expert on the background of this book, do your homework. You are not pronouncing a Spanish word in this context… you are pronouncing our state’s name. It’s akin to the pronunciation of the nearby town of Verdi. It’s not pronounced like the composer’s name. It’s vur-dye. Leave it to the old west!

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9 people found this helpful

Adore this wonderful story!

Knowing absolutely nothing of divorce ranches, (who knew?) I loved being transported back in time through the telling of this precious story of love, loss, and the meaning of true friendships. Johnson's story reverberated with me on so many levels...as a child of divorce, the daughter of a "cowboy wanna be", and as a woman who treasures friends who stick by you through thick and thin. David Aaron Baker, the narrator in the audio book, performs each voice as if each character lives in his bones, and I found myself wanting to curl up next to Ward with a coffee and quilt as he shared his heart, his humor, and his ability to accept life as it plays out with humor and grace. Julia Claiborne Johnson strikes chord after chord with her characters. Her gift of timing, spot-on clever and precise expressions, and dialogue makes you feel like a lucky fly on the wall in the narrator's presence. Johnson's gift of storytelling, her ability to create characters with depth and originality, and her timing kept me turning pages and forgetting my to-do list for the day. I adore every minute I get to wallow in her stories!!

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8 people found this helpful

Delightful Storytelling

A charming narrator, unique narrative, spunky characters, sweet ending, a very enjoyable listen while taking a walk, doing the dishes or daydreaming.

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7 people found this helpful

nice enough comedy turns into a 3 hanky story

The first half was fun. I started listening at 1.5x speed by chapter 14. Even then I thought the last chapters could have been compressed. As it was they kind of dragged to the predictable ending.

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3 people found this helpful

Boring and annoying

This story is terribly boring. There is not much of a plot and very little happens. The soon-to-be divorcees Nina and Emily are two of the most annoying fictional characters I have come across in quite some time. I wanted to slap both of them. There is nothing but inane conversations and stupid situations. I think the author was going for hilarious hi jinx, but failed spectacularly. This is a dud. Spend your time and money elsewhere.

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3 people found this helpful

This is just what you need right now

The author came to speak (on a webinar) at our local library and she was as delightful as her book. The characters welcome you into this engaging, clever and historically fascinating story and stay with you long after you’ve finished. The narrator is perfectly suited and made the experience even better.

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3 people found this helpful

Story for Understanding People

Good story with characters who had all too human traits in an interesting setting. Just good listening to a slower paced novel which encompassed the flaws and goodness of people.

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1 person found this helpful

A thoroughly delightful read!

I really enjoyed this book! It was a great story with interesting, vibrant characters, laugh out loud lines, and insights into the 1930s. The performance was so well done, I felt like I was right there.

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1 person found this helpful

Awful………

I tried reading this, but it was so mindlessly shallow that I had to stop. I listen to a lot of audibles, and this one ranks with one of the worst.

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This book is a gem

Loved the combination of history and drama. Wonderful development of unique and interesting characters. The narrator was perfectly matched. Recommend this feel good read

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