Sugar baby vs. Sugar daddy

Such an intriguing premise of the wealthy man/ gorgeous woman sugar "arrangement". Here are some definitions I became aware of whilst reading this novel...

A Sugar Daddy is a boyfriend who comes with financial benefits. Sugar benefactors can help to cover tuition, bills, and frequently enjoy bestowing gifts upon their partners. Sugar Daddies exist on three levels - Honey (highest), Sugar (wealthy) and Splenda (on a budget). Who knew?

Natalie is an art student struggling with her bills and living in New York City is expensive. One of her college friends introduces her to the sugar daddy website and "benefits". Natalie decides to take the plunge.

I was hooked from the beginning chapter when a phone call is made from the police precinct in Chelsea. I was drawn right into all the sugar daddy drama, the believable situation of a student who is struggling to make ends meet and the overall theme and pace of the story- throw in some red-herrings along the way.

What fell a bit flat was the ending! Why?

I wanted to figure out the ending or have it suggested, not explained. Show/ not tell. Instead of a explosive, crash ending, it was more of a smooth landing. Came close though!

I read this in 2 days racing to the end.

Splendid writing! Natalie is a young girl who becomes ensnared with a man old enough to be her father. The relationship is supposed to be a business arrangement but it goes awry. She is too young, naive and unstable to figure out the dynamics and gets in over her head. Gabe is a user and tosses away those he no longer wants around. The story is fraught wit angst and insecurities. It is intense and will keep you glued to the pages until it is finished.

Wow! This book is a wild ride full of twists and turns you don't see coming! I could not put this lovely book down to save my life! Everything was put on hold until I finished it. Now I'm left with a book hang over. Robyn Harding did it again! This will not disappoint you! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 beauties from me! Thank you Robyn Harding, Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nat was an art student struggling to make rent and pay her bills. She had just been fired from her job and her roommates were looking for any excuse to kick her out. She had been admiring this girl, Ava at school who was always dressed impeccably and always seemed put together. She was speaking to Ava about her issues when Ava opened up and told her how she was making her money and invited Nat to join her. Ava had sugar daddies, older men who took care of her, paid her money, rent, bought her things. Nat was hesitant at first but decided to just do it a few times to get caught up on her rent and bills. She was just going to meet a few guys for drinks and not go any further, until she met Gabe. There was an immediate connection between Gabe and Nat and Gabe wanted to provide Nat with an allowance and be her only sugar daddy. Everything seems to be going according to plan until Nat falls for Gabe, who she knows as a divorced single father but Gabe, who lied to Nat and is actually married isn’t ready to give up his wife and this situation ultimately leads to murder.

The main characters are so flawed (to put it kindly) yet its hard to stop reading. In fact, get the popcorn ready and watch (or better read) the drama unfold. Entertaining! Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

The arrangement, all you have to do is keep dating life and family life separate. No commitments, no strings no drama and definitely don't expect emotional attachments or a future.
These simple steps and you are on your way to becoming a Sugar Baby, if your young, attractive and in need of money and can offer companionship at the stop of a hat. If you're a Sugar Daddy all you have to have is wealth, and the ability to take care of a young sugar baby monetarily.
When Natalie officially becomes a sugar baby to Gabe's sugar daddy she knows all the rules and will follow them. Then she falls in love. She believes that their relationship is more than it is. After all he did say he loved her.
Love turns to hate, and hate leads to murder. Natalie is in jail for killing Gabe. She knows she was hurt and angry at him, but enough to kill him? That she can't remember doing, but she will serve her time.
A twisted love story with an interesting ending. Great storyline.

This book told from sugar baby and sugar daddy perspectives is so good and the complementary characters well crafted. Natalie, the young art student trying to make ends meet discovering the pampered sugar baby relationship/lifestyle that can quickly put an end to her money struggles. Gabe, the rich lawyer who has drifted away from his wife and rebellious daughter entering this mutually beneficial agreement with Natalie. What first is a simple business proposition with no strings attached slowly turns into something more dark and desperate. Secrets, lies, obsession and ultimate betrayal. Great summer read. I had no idea this is a real lifestyle and was fascinated to learn about these completely legal arrangements.

*will post in online venues upon publication. Loved this story.

The Arrangement is a definite must add to your TBR. This is, as the synopsis says, a Pretty Woman turned toxic.

I was so enthralled with this book that I never wanted it to end, yet I did because I had to know how it ended. There was so much that kept me reading faster and faster while at the same time I was yelling at Natalie - "NO! STOP! Don't do that!" and wanting to slap Gabriel for how easily he found it to throw people away when he was finished with them.

The settings, the playing dress up, the chauffeur driven Town Car, all of it served to suck my "I love to dream about that lifestyle" self right in. Even though I knew from the synopsis that there probably was not going to be a happy ending, I wanted it for Natalie so much.

I found myself really caring about these characters, especially Natalie and Violet. I have previously read Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding and enjoyed that. With the addition of The Arrangement, she's definitely going on my must purchase list of authors.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. It's very good and will leave you caught up in the sugar life. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for granting an ARC at my request. All thoughts in this review are my own and freely given.

This book was fast paced and pulled me in from the beginning. This is my second Harding book and my favorite. It was fascinating to learn about the world of “ sugar daddies” and “sugar babies”. One of the best new books I read this year. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

So I have never read anything by this author and the blurb sounded so good. The book started off strong but towards the middle of the story I started to get annoyed. There were several red flags when it came to both Gabe and Natalie. I really had a hard time connecting to any of the characters and they could come off as not likeable at times. This story was well written but it had in my opinion TOO much going on and I constantly kept thinking what next? When the book ends and we get to ‘the twist’ I was disappointed to say the least and I didn’t buy that reasoning at all. This book could have gone in a totally different direction then what it did and I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

I know I'm in the minority here, but this book did not wow me. I have no moral issues with the sugar daddy / sugar baby relationship. In fact, I thought that part was interesting and original. It was everything else that fell flat for me. Natalie, the main character, was irritating. She went from being a little naive and relate-able to over the top crazy.
Her inner monologue was repetitive ("he was so different from Gabe or Miguel" must have been repeated at least three times). The character arc was out of nowhere and not very believable.
This could have been a solid three star book for me - interesting plot idea (although it left WAY too many loose ends... Ava? What happened to you? Art school? Forgotten. The other friends at art school? No mention. Miguel? Gone. Cole? Random red herring that I saw through immediately) and it was a quick read.
However, the end dropped it down a solid star for me. The loose ends were annoying but the last quarter of the book just bothered me. I predicted the twist, which is fine... but it didn't even resolve it well. I also have a hard time that with books that invoke the "unreliable narrator" defense for just one pivotal moment. There are a lot of characters that are drugged and don't remember events in books and this seems too convenient for me (this wasn't even the part that bothered me the most).
Plenty of others loved this, and that's fine. That's what makes the world go 'round.

This was a book full of drama, twists and turns. It takes you down a path of the seedy and cliche life of a "sugar baby" who falls into the business after her roommates seem to have it out for her and she is struggling to makes ends meet as a 21 year old art student.


The book goes as you would expect, the highs of being able to pay rent, and order food out to then being tossed aside when real life gets in the way. Gabe is a selfish, narcissist who uses women for his pleasure while keeping his wife and daughter on the side for weekend only visits. It was an interesting story, but I had a hard time not rolling my eyes at some of the choices the characters made.

Wow, I could not put this down. I read it in three days and would have been quicker if I didn't have to go to work! This was my first book by Robyn Harding, and I loved her writing style. I will definitely read anything else she writes now!

Natalie "Nat" Murphy is a broke college kid in New York. The book starts with Nat calling her estranged father to tell him about a murder she committed (so this is not a spoiler). From there, we see Nat struggle with paying rent and living with roommates she can't get along with. Despite that, I found her to be a likable and relatable character from the start. In order to pay the rent, she becomes a "sugar baby" and trouble ensues.

The last few chapters become more of a law and order type of drama, which I don't love. Still, I wanted to find out what would happen to Nat, and was surprised by the twist at the end.

This plot didn't initially grab me, and I wasn't so sure after the prologue if I would like it, but chapter one grabbed me and I loved it all! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy!

This one reads like a guilty pleasure. I finished it in one day. So obviously, I loved it. I have never read anything by this author, but I will be adding more of her books! This one dealt with the "sugar daddies and babies", which I found fascinating. She also did a great job on the feel of New York City as a setting. The characters were crazy and became more crazy. I also thought the ending was perfect for the book. I recommend this one!

I LOVED this authors last book Her Pretty Face so I was so EXCITED to read this book. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the last one. This was just to messed up for me , LOL. I have read a lot of suspense and thrillers and this just was so bizarre.

The story is about a sugar baby-sugar daddy relationship, or more accurately arrangement.
There was definitely passion suspense, and murder. It was a fast read, but just too over the top for me.

Although I appreciated the unique storyline and realistic plot, this book fell way short for me. I was really excited to read it, having enjoyed Robyn Harding's previous novels, but the bad greatly outweighed the good in this novel. The characters lacked dimension and development; they all felt like vehicles to keep the story going the way the author wanted to manipulate it, and nothing like the real people characters should emulate.

The writing and dialogue were both very stilted; no one spoke naturally and it was awkward to read. I can only imagine what the audiobook will sound like! The characters were mostly inherently unlikeable. Nat was selfish, cissistic, and immature, and Gabe was a bad caricature of every stereotype of the rich Wall Street guy all rolled into one person. I wasn't a fan of the ending, either. I can't stand the overdone tactic of revealing memories of "what really happened that night," and the big twist was pretty easy to guess.

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of this novel, but it was hard to put down. I just had to see where it was going. I would definitely give her next book a try.

Thank you to Gallery/Scout Books, Robyn Harding, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Follow me @the_bookblog on Instagram and Goodreads for more bookish content!

Wow!!! This was like a messed up and twisted version of Pretty Woman... and I loved every minute of it. Let's face it, anything involving a Sugar Daddy is a must read for me, and boy, this one delivered!

Natalie is a struggling art student living in New York City. She works in a bar, but she doesn't make enough to pay her bills and rent each month, and her roommates have just about had enough. One of Natalie's college friends, Ava, introduces her to an online Sugar Daddy website, which at first she wants nothing to do with. But this could get her out of her financial situation, how bad could it be ? All she has to do is meet a wealthy older man who will pay for all the dates and give her a monthly allowance... lots of girls do it.

Gabe is thirty years older than Natalie, a very handsome corporate finance attorney, and seems to be the perfect match for Natalie. Within a month they find themselves madly in love with each other - well, at least Natalie is. Gabe has a family... which really shouldn't come as a surprise. Gabe suddenly ends thing, but can Natalie let go of the man she fell in love with? Gabe is not about to let a Sugar Baby destroy his perfect family.

I couldn't get enough of this book. The Arrangement by Robyn Harding was well-written, powerful, and filled with suspense on each page. It deals with a very real subject in today's world of relationships with rich powerful men and young women who are caught in their web of lies.

Wow, this is one of those books that is going to stay in your mind for a long time! Natalie is a struggling art student who is having financial difficulties. Her classmate, Ava, seems to have lots of money, fancy things and a penthouse apartment. When "Nat" confides to Ava about her financial situation, Ava suggests that Nat get herself a sugar daddy and become a sugar baby which is what she is. Nat goes to the sugar daddy site and meets Gabriel Turnmill. Gabe and Nat hit it off until she falls in love with him and then things spiral out of control. This is a fantastic read and a great look into the sugar daddy/sugar baby scene. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this page-turner that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. If you want to read a good thriller, I highly recommend this one.

Tense, predictable and I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

This book is well written, smoothly weaving a story as old as time. Older man, younger woman, money, misplaced love and betrayal. WOW.

I LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR.

Natalie is a struggling young college student in New York City. When a friend explains the concept of being a sugar baby to earn money, Natalie sets up a profile. Natalie meets Gabe right away. He's a prominent lawyer who is thirty years older than Natalie. The arrangement they have progresses nicely. Unfortunately, it is based on lies and begins to unravel. Someone ends up dead. The evidence points to one person. This is a page turner, definitely suspenseful!