Member Reviews
If you’re looking for a book to grab your attention from page one then look no further because this one hooked me instantly! As my friend Laura says, no need for a bookmark with this one, it’s addictive and pretty impossible to put down once you get started.
I’m all about the drama and is there anything more dramatic than a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship gone bad?! I think not, and friends that was just the tip of the iceberg here. You hear from both Gabe and Natalie and I was so fascinated by both sides of their relationship. It was easy to see how a young, desperate woman could fall for the charms of a rich, older man and when this took a turn and went dark and obsessive I was even more intrigued. Besides a wickedly dark plot it’s also incredibly fast paced and exciting and is a true one sitting read. Highly recommended to add to your summer TBR, huge fan of RH and will be reading anything she releases!
The Arrangement in three words: Addictive, Obsessive and Dramatic
The thriller genre is so saturated right now, it seems like there isn’t an original storyline to enjoy. The Arrangement, however, is a breath of fresh air in a bogged down set. I couldn’t put this one down. I started this book around 9am, and even with working for a few hours, I still finishing it at midnight. I had to know what happened!
The book is told in third person but from two different perspectives, and the switching back and forth helped shed light on what was going on in the minds of both characters during their arrangement.
I was so fascinated with this story, and even more so to read the authors note that these types of arrangements exist. Color me shocked! I was interested in this book because of the comparison to Pretty Woman, but the road it took to get to the end was windy and really enjoyable.
I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
LOVED IT!!! And if you love fast-paced entertaining stories with characters that go completely off the rails you are going to LOVE! IT! TOO!
sugar Daddy vs Sugar Baby! In this corner weighing in at 120 pounds in the slutty dress we have 21-year-old naïve struggling student Natalie. And in the other corner weighing in at 185 pounds in the expensive suit we have wealthy manipulative narcissistic 55-year-old Gabe. Ding ding ding let the fight begin, let the punches begin flying! Just like a boxing match this book is a little messy, a little bloody, will make you a little uncomfortable, but it is oh SO much fun!
Robyn Harding Took me on one wild and crazy ride. Natalie is a struggling art student in New York. So when a classmate tells her about this website where she can become a sugarbaby for a wealthy older man four A lot of money she is extremely intrigued. Gabe is her very first sugar daddy, and even though he is 30 years older than Natalie she is entranced. Soon they enter into an “arrangement“ and Natalie is convinced that they are in love. So when the relationship/arrangement ends Natalie is heartbroken. What follows is stalking, obsession, revenge, and so much juicy goodness! Gabe had really underestimated Natalie’s crazy and he seriously got absolutely everything he deserved. My only tiny complaint with this book is that it didn’t get to the crazy part quicker (but that might just be me). I thought the ending was perfection and so appropriate! TKO! Karma is a bitch!
This book was fast paced and kept my interest through out! The premise of a girl needing a sugar daddy to make ends meet was interesting but the story line got better from there. The twists in the plot especially at the end was not what was expected . I enjoyed this book!
As soon as I read the blurb for The Arrangement, I was interested! Nat is in desperate need of cash, and her friend has the perfect solution - sign up to be a sugar baby. After some initial reluctance, Nat agrees to give it a shot, and finds that she enjoys spending time with the first "daddy" she meets.
The Arrangement follows their "relationship", so we see how it evolves from a business arrangement, to something more, and ultimately to Nat's breakdown as the arrangement runs its course. Nat was an interesting character study in that we see her go from a "normal" broke college student, with a crazy ex, to a reluctant sugar baby willing to do what it takes to pay her tuition, to a woman totally obsessed with a man who ended his relationship with her. Who Nat started and ended as felt like totally different people, so watching her spiral out of control was totally gripping. I couldn't put the book down, and finished it in a matter of hours.
While I was reading the book, I couldn't help but feel like it would make a great show, or even a Lifetime movie! I feel like fans of books or shows like 'You', would love this one. The characters aren't super likable, yet you find yourself rooting for them!
The Arrangement opens with Nat calling her dad from prison and saying she killed someone, we just don't know who or why. The book then jumps back to the past so we can see the events that lead up to that point. The Arrangement is a pretty straightforward, so there isn't a ton of mystery in this one until the murder happens, but I was hooked none-the-less.
I rated this one 5 stars, and I highly recommend it for people who enjoy books with grittier themes (like sugar baby relationships, and characters with unhealthy life coping mechanisms). There were several minor characters in the book that I would have loved to see more of, but overall I really enjoyed this book, and think this is a great choice for a quick, engaging, summer read! Definitely one of my favorite reads in the last several months!
Whoa! What a dark and twisted tale Robyn Harding wove in The Arrangement! I found this book to be a read-in-a-day book for me, because I couldn’t put it down! This should be on your summer thriller list for sure. It is such a unique concept and executed flawlessly. Incredible!!!
Natalie is a struggling art student in New York City who finds herself in a tough spot. Her roommates are looking for any excuse to evict her, and not paying her rent on time is one of them. She was sleeping with the bartender at work, but he is upset when she tells him she isn’t looking for more. And she isn’t that close to her parents—her mother has moved on and her father left.
So in a desperate and low moment, she approaches her friend from college Ava. How does Ava do it? They are both from poor backgrounds and struggling students, but while Natalie is in goodwill clothes and can’t afford basic proteins for her meals, Ava is living in a penthouse apartment with fabulous clothes and an expensive haircut. Ava let’s her in on the secret—she’s a sugar baby.
Natalie is appalled at first. Is that basically an escort? But soon she learns that there are all sorts of dynamics for sugar babies. Some men just want a pretty girl to have dinner with, or a regular date to the opera. Natalie is willing to try anything to survive. So Natalie finds herself a sugar daddy—a man who will pay her a monthly allowance to be available for dates with him a few nights per week.
Gabe is a gentleman. He takes care of Natalie and cares about her. Though he is thirty years older than her, they connect on so many levels. And it isn’t long until they fall in love. Well, at least Natalie does. Gabe is still married, unbeknownst to Natalie, and he has no plans to leave his family for her. So when things get to be too much with Natalie and he is needed more at home, Gabe breaks off the arrangement. He’s done this before, no problem. But Natalie is different. Natalie is in love. And Natalie won’t accept the ending of their arrangement so easily…
A web of secrets, deception, torment, and lies is wound so tightly, and Natalie is at the center of it all. And then a dead body is found near Gabe’s apartment, and Natalie may be to blame…
What a book! What a story! I was completely invested in this one. For the first half everything is built up so well, and then suddenly everything starts to derail. I don’t want to say too much though so let’s get into safer topics!
Natalie is a fascinating character, and it is hard not to sympathize with her but also sometimes want to shake her. She is truly alone, naïve, and vulnerable, all of which make her a prime candidate for someone like Gabe to both care for and dismiss. Natalie isn’t the typical sugar baby. She is a feelings girl and she doesn’t accept the transactional nature of the situation as easily as the other girls. For Natalie, developing feelings is how she rationalizes what she is doing. It needs to feel like more than a paycheck. But that is also why she is set to be destroyed by the way it ends.
There are lots of other interesting characters. Gabe, for instance, is truly fascinating. I loved that we got some chapters from his perspective. Her roommates Mara and Toni are also truly befuddling. They are very uptight and judgmental, but of course, we see that from Natalie’s perspective. At times I had to check myself to remember that I don’t know if I would do well having a roommate like Natalie, who doesn’t pay her bills on time and has random guys in the apartment.
I could go on about the characters, but I don’t want to spoil it! Suffice it to say that this book is filled with people and stories that will intrigue the mind!
Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.
"The Arrangement", a spicy novel by Robyn Harding, has something for everyone. With a tantalizing mix of intrigue, sex, mystery, and unexpected twists, this novel reads fast and well. The character development is outstanding. The dialogue moves the story along at a brisk pace. Ultimately, "The Arrangement" is one of those books you don't want to end.
The Arrangement is a light thriller with a bit of obsession, a side of revenge and throw in a murder all set in the the world of sugar babies and their daddies. We know from the prologue that someone has been murdered but we won't find out who until the end of the book. Natalie is an art student in New York struggling to make ends meet, and at the suggestion of a friend, she visits a Sugar Daddy/Sugar baby website. She ends up in an Arrangement with a wealthy older married man named Gabe. Despite their agreed arrangement, Natalie falls in love with Gabe, and when he ends their arrangement, Natalie's obsession with him begins. This book would make the perfect Lifetime movie! This was a quick read and I am happy to give it 4 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Wow! I loved everything about this book. This is a well written, fast paced light thriller that will keep you guessing. Think Lifetime movie that you're reading. I highly recommend this book and will be looking forward to more by this author.
i'm really keeping this short and sweet
i enjoyed almost every awful cheesy bad Lifetime movie moment of this well written book (sounds crazy doesn't it! LOL)
despite a bit of a slower start, the book picks up and doesn't let go just past the the halfway point.
Excellent psychological thriller! It moved at a fast pace with twists and turns throughout! Well-developed characters and plot. Highly recommend!
This was an extremely unusual book. Natalie, the protagonist, is a young woman from Washington State who is studying Art in New York. She is broke and worried about how she is going to pay her tuition, rent, etc. She has a friend at school, Ava, who had been in similar circumstances and who had solved her financial problems by becoming a Sugar Baby. She explained, in general, what the sugar bowl was and what it entailed and encouraged Natalie to do the same. Natalie reluctantly did join the web site and almost immediately came across Gabe, a forty something Attorney with an inconvenient wife and daughter at home in the Hamptons. They began seeing each other and Natalie’s financial problems began to resolve themselves. Eventually this arrangement led to stalking, a murder and a trial. I won’t go further into the story because of spoilers. It was remarkably well plotted and well written and covers an area to which most readers have little or no familiarity. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for an honest review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Natalie, a beautiful, young art student living in New York City, is in danger of being evicted from the tiny apartment she can barely afford. A classmate offers a solution—become a sugar baby, like her, and have several sugar daddies solve all her financial problems. Natalie gives the sugar baby lifestyle a go and quickly falls for a rich, handsome lawyer. Unfortunately, while he adores the attention and adoration Natalie provides, Gabe is married and has no intention of letting anyone endanger his carefully crafted world.
Both Gabe and a Natalie are self-centered and slide into various degrees of unreliable narrator territory. While I didn’t necessarily like Natalie, I could relate to her desire to pursue her dreams despite her lack of financial resources. The author does an excellent job portraying the “sugar-bowl” world and showing Natalie’s slow descent into becoming a sugar baby. The acknowledgment section describes some of Harding’s research techniques to add authenticity to the story.
THE ARRANGEMENT is a light thriller, with plenty of hooks to keep readers turning pages. I was a little disappointed with the way the ending is conveyed through introspection, but overall the plot kept me engaged. The book focuses primarily on Natalie and Gabe to the point that some of the secondary characters come across more as plot devices rather than flesh and blood people, yet I found Natalie’s obsession with Gabe and her sugar baby life choice riveting. I look forward to reading more of Harding’s work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the opportunity to experience this book in advance of its release.
First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ARC of The Arrangement by Robyn Harding in exchange for an honest review.
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I’ve been hearing about this book for months and was dying to read it. Seriously y’all BELIEVE THE HYPE!! While we have all heard of sugar babies I don’t think many of us know that much about it. I’ve always been curious about what could draw someone into that life or what it’s like. When I started reading this book I was instantly drawn into not only the story but also the fact that it gave you a little insight into that world. While I was invested in the various characters, I found myself more invested in Nat. I felt like I was on a roller coaster of emotions with her story and wanted the best for her in the end. I love how the author kept you wanting to know more. I couldn’t put this one down! I would absolutely recommend adding this to your TBR list friends!!
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When Nat, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills her friend suggests that she find a sugar daddy online. A wealthy older man who will give her a monthly allowance. It’s easy enough right? Apparently all she has to do is be pretty, be there for them and if she decides to she can do sexual favors. When Nat signs up and meets Gabe, who is thirty years older than her, she thinks she’s found the perfect candidate. After a month she thinks they are madly in love. However, little does Nat know Gabe already has a family that he has no intention of leaving. He won’t let anything ruin his seemingly perfect life. So what happens when he abruptly ends their arrangement?
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The Arrangement by Robyn Harding
Thank You Net Galley and Gallery Pocket Books for a copy of The Arrangement.
Nat is a 22 year old student out of New York who suddenly finds herself without a job and a place to live. A friend suggests she go online and make a profile to be a sugar baby. The first person she meets is Gabe, an older, powerful, and nice looking man. Soon the money flows in but there are always consequences for Gabe is married and Nat is falling in love with him. Soon she becomes obsessed with him with a fatal outcome.
I love this book for many reasons. I love how it flowed, how there was no lull, and the twist at the end that wrapped this book up nicely. You would think this book would be very sexual and I was glad it was not. It was like Pretty Woman with a twist. It is my first book by Robyn Harding and it won't be my last.
Natalie is an art student in NYC, chasing her dreams and escaping the small town life she grew up in. She barely scrapes by and has little support from her remarried mother and dad who disappeared when she was ten. Waiting tables at a bar and harassed daily for her late rent payments, Nat has become desperate. When Ava, a beautiful, well dressed, seemingly well-off fellow art student quietly whispers her magical secret Nat may finally have the solution. There is a web site where wealthy older men want companionship and offer a monthly allowance in return. Sex is not required and love is not an option. Breaking all the rules, Nat meets Gabe. She falls in love and while this may or may not be fantasy world for others, she is mesmerized by his every move and the family he is hiding. Nat drinks too much, wallowing in her self pity and deep desire to be taken care of and supported by someone. She entwines herself deeper in his life and unintentionally sets off a string of events that will turn their worlds upside down. Sex, intrigue and murder fill the pages of this latest summer thriller. I read it in one sitting.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
I fell in love with Robyn Harding while reading "The Party" so I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on this ARC.
Now first, let me say that Nat is a HOT MESS!! Not only is she not keeping up with her share for her apartment, but her roomates feel that she has gotten very loosely with the men and her drinking is out of the control!
She finds out from a fellow classmate about a way to perhaps get out situation she created. The "Arrangement" that she comes across is one that I have heard of, but never knew much about so to say that the subject intrigued me is an understatement. (Sugar Daddy, Sugar Babies etc)
Nat forms an arrangement with Gabe. Gabe is an older, successful lawyer and thus begins our story as things begin to spiral out of control for both Nat and Gabe.
I had a lot of dislike for both Nat and Gabe. So the fact that I enjoyed this book as much as I did, while hating the characters should be a testament to how talented Harding is that she is able to keep you invested in the story even when you can't idenitify, or sympathize with any of the main characters. .
Its obvious that Harding put a LOT of research into this book. I read that she actually was active on some of the sugar daddy/baby websites to speak to sugar daddies and find out the story about these arrangements to make her story as authentic as can be.
Another great book from Harding! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
First book that I have read from this author and it won't be the last. Even though I was nervous about this book, it kept me on the edge of my seat guessing. It was a thrill ride worth taking.
Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My first Robyn Harding novel, I have heard very positive things about her novels from many people and they weren't wrong. Great read can't wait to read more from her.
3 1/2 ⭐️‘s
What an interesting peek into the life of a sugar relationship. Gabe is in his mid fifties. Natalie is a 22 year old down and out art student until a classmate introduces her to a whole new world. A world where she will want for nothing, or will she? Things escalate rather quickly and Natalie is way in over her head, or is she? The ending left me feeling a bit frustrated, but an entertaining read nonetheless.