Simply amazing book! I received it and read it right away. I couldn’t put it down! I felt for Nat and really related to her character.

The Arrangement seemed like an update on the movie Pretty Woman. In this version, the woman is an art student, struggling to make tuition and rent and about to be kicked out on the street when a friend tells her about an alternative way to make quick money. While at first, Natalie seems to be independent and smart (she left a small town to go to New York on a partial art scholarship). her character quickly devolves into an obsessive, revengeful, stalkery mess. I appreciate that the author did real research to find out about the life of "sugar daddys" and "sugar babies", but the story called for more suspension of disbelief than I could muster. The writing was tight, and I liked how each chapter was foreshadowed with a title that described the narrative. Good writing, so-so story, unexpected ending.

3.5 stars. What a deliciously fucked up story! I was completely entranced by this book and glued to the pages. Natalie enters into a sugar baby/daddy relationship with Gabe, but she's hopelessly bad at remembering that it's just an "arrangement". When Gabe breaks up with her, all hell breaks loose, and before long someone is dead.

I really enjoyed this story of passion, betrayal, and murder. There was nothing in it that was too surprising to me, but it was wildly entertaining and such a fun read. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced thrill ride.

The Arrangement hooked me from the first chapter and I could not put it down. Well written and interesting characters.

This book pulled me in from the very beginning. I could not put it down! I did not expect the ending at all. This is one of my favorites by Robyn Harding!

"It was only supposed to be one time. Maybe two."

Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby plot? Yes please! I am so intrigued by this concept and the author really brought it all to life with her details. If you read the authors acknowledgements at the end, she actually spoke to real life Sugar Babies and used her research for the book. That is impressive and honestly, I want to hear more!

This book had it all - sex, desperation, twists, characters to loathe and characters to root for, and of course some murder. And the ending was O M G!
Now I need to go read some more Robyn Harding books!

Thanks to #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review! 5 stars!

Story of a young student who needs money, and hears from a friend that she can join a Sugar Daddy group online, and get a rich man to set her up in an apartment, and give her an allowance. She does and finds someone who agrees to an arrangment, but not to falling in love, which is what happens to the student. Then, she finds out he's married...

I love Robyn Harding, I love everything she has written, not only is she incredibly talented and a master of her craft, she is genuinely a very nice person. I have loved getting to chat with her! And how awesome is it, that myself and a bunch of my blogging friends are in the acknowledgments of this book?

I was so excited to start this book, and when my dear friend @jennsbookvibes got it too, we decided that this was our next buddy read. This was another book that I just could not put down. It’s a rare treat to be addicted to the book from page one.

I was so curious about this book, and the Sugar Baby/ Sugar Daddy aspect, as this was my first time reading a book on this topic. I wanted to know why Gabe ended things with her when they seemed to have really liked each other, and I wanted to know who’s body ended up near his building. This was such a fun, thrill-seeking ride. I may have figured out who the killer was, but I was so excited for the plot twist at the end, that was unexpected and well done!

I think the thing I like most about Robyn’s writing is that it’s very real. The plots aren’t way out in the left field, and she develops her characters after people you would know in real life. There is a very realistic tone. I also appreciated the way Harding writes about Gabe, and Natalie, and sort of paints a picture of them as likable. But then you delve further into the book, and you start to feel otherwise.

When I heard about this book it sounded amazing.  I was all in for a twisted transaction-turned love-turned obsession.  And it was in a lot of ways.  It was twisted and intriguing, and once you got into it, it was pretty fast paced.  I had serious issues with basically all the characters- there didn't seem to be a likable one in the bunch, except maybe Ava and that's questionable.  The roommates were jackasses, the ex-boyfriend is nuts, the main character is a drama queen and a user.... and then there's Gabe who wants to be everyone's white knight and can't get his shit together unless someone "needs him".  They're all a bit cliche, if I am honest.  But then, they were supposed to be, right?  I will say that I began to feel for Natalie in the end, and Celeste.  

        Now, the layout of the novel was good.  You got to be in both Gabe and Natalie's head, and both  narratives were very well done.  In the end, I did find myself really enjoying this book, but it took a minute to get into it.  For me, this was a three star book.

         On the adult content scale I would rate this one pretty high.  Language, substance abuse, fairly graphic sexual content and violence.  We'll give this one an eight.  
I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Scout Press Publishing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

Wow, this book is intense. Natalie and Gabe took me on an emotional roller coaster. When sweet turns sour. This was a tale of a 'sugar daddy' situation between Gabe and Natalie. She wanted more and he was not willing to leave his family. The book took on a stalker-like turn when Natalie was not able to handle his rejection. Both characters were not nice people but in a way, that added to the story. I read an advance copy via Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.

Nat is struggling to pay her college tuition and her rent in NYC. She meets a friend at school who tells her about being a sugar baby. There is a website that connects young pretty girls with older men who will pay for their company. Nat meets Gabe. He is 30 years older than she is but that have a connection. When Gabe tries to break things off, that's when the fun starts! This is a crazy ride of a story with obsession, lies, and tons of secrets! I read this book in an evening as I just couldn't put it down! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

The Arrangement
by Robyn Harding

Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: July 30th 2019 by Gallery/Scout Press


Goodreads synopsis:
Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates, and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favours are optional.

Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. She begins drinking heavily and stalking him: watching him at work, spying on his wife, even befriending his daughter, who is not much younger than she is. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.

***

4.5 Stars

This book disturbed me. I am not sure if it was the situations Natalie put herself in or the whole world of what she was drawing herself into. This girl was definitely screwed up and making decisions that would lead her down the wrong road.

Natalie needs money. She needs it for school, for supplies, for rent… for everything. And she doesn’t have any or any prospects. When she loses her job after rejecting the advances of one of her co-workers, she gets desperate. When she runs into a girl who is put together and seems like so privileged she learns how Ava makes her money. She is a sugar baby to a sugar daddy. It all seems so simple. Land an old guy with money to spend and have a lavish life. But it ends up being so much more difficult than that.

She finds Gabe on the first try. He is in his 50’s and good looking for his age but he doesn’t attract her at first. But it is his way with her, how patient he is and how he looks after her that draws her in. Then she falls for him. That is a big no-no in this work.

We start off the book with a prologue that shows Natalie in the police station and calling her absent father asking for help. She had killed someone and needed him to take care of her.

There is a lot of twists and turns for a plot that seems so straight forward to start with. I applaud the author for scaring me to death enough to make me put the book down for a few hours to regain my composure. This book crushes you if you invest in it. It is quite a thrilling read with a big twist at the end I didn’t see coming.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great summer read, not to intense, easily to read and kept my interest until the surprising end. Very. Easy. To complete in a short period of time.

Who’s responsible? Is finding a new way to help yourself really wrong? The answer to these questions may make you think about the values you feel are important.

THE ARRANGEMENT is my first encounter with the works of Robyn Harding. It builds slowly, introducing us to the characters, but before long I found it compulsively readable. Not being familiar with the premise of A Sugar Bowl, as it is referred to in this novel, the relationships developed between an older man and his young mistresses, commonly known as sugar daddy/sugar babies. I could see that Ms. Harding did her homework and research, as she acknowledges this at the end of the novel. Websites exist for this type of ARRANGEMENT, where a man can meet a willing partner, paying for her company, for a date or two, a short duration or a longer ARRANGEMENT.

The characters are not likable, but interesting. The reader is made aware of why they are in this life style. Naive 22 year old Natalie and her Sugar Daddy Gabe, are the main characters, he is about 30 years older than her. Natalie was only going to meet him for a couple of times, take the money for rent and tuition and get out, as the thought of sex with older men was repulsive to her initially, not to mention risky. She didn’t expect to end up liking this man who seems kind, attentive and let’s not overlook, wealthy.

Gabe has been actively seeking out “companions” since his wife Celeste got diagnosed with cancer, their sex life stopped and he thought she had let herself go. You will not like Gabe. He unexpectedly finds himself enthralled with Nat, to the point of exclusivity and seduces her, not only with money, but with attention, a kind ear, a protectiveness she’s never experienced. He provides her an apartment, a generous salary, anything she needs. He’s never told Nat that he’s married. He uses his 18 year old daughter as an excuse not to see Natalie on weekends. When a family situation occurs for Gabe he feels needed at home and decides it’s best to break it off with Natalie, but she’s not having it. Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. We see new sides to these characters, darker ones than we realized.

I found it more interesting as it went along, especially after we get introduced to Gabe’s wife and daughter. The only likable character was Gabe’s wife, who was a lawyer before her cancer. Her part in it was deliciously satisfying.

Pick up a copy of this domestic drama/thriller on July 30th. Thanks to publishers Gallery/Scout Press via NetGalley for an advance e-copy and for a chance to express my personal opinion of this novel.

The Arrangement is the first book I have read by Robyn Harding. I sat on the beach -I am on vacation and read this book in less than two days. This is the type of book where your feelings range from pity to disgust and everything in-between, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The premise is simple; a college girl, Natalie, is struggling financially while trying to go to art school and support her self in the Big Apple. A friend suggests joining a dating service called the Sugar Bowl, where Nat could find a Sugar Daddy to help her make ends meet. In walks Gabe, a successful corporate attorney looking for a beautiful young girl to give him blind devotion, hang on his every word, and be at his beck and call on his terms- in other words, a Sugar Baby.

Ms. Harding writes the two main characters like they could be real people. She does a phenomenal job making you simultaneously feel bad for Nat and feel disgusted with her. Nat is a self-centered, self-absorbed child playing in a very adult world. Gabe, what can I say about his character other than I despised him for most of the book and I say this in the best way. There were times that he did show his human side, but they were rare. Gabe was narcissist, an egomaniac, the consummate manipulator, and a cruel human being. Which made him an excellently written character for this book.

The Arrangement is the crowning example of a domestic suspense thriller. There are twists and turns throughout the book, and the ending is pure perfection. Reader beware there are very adult themes throughout this book. The Arrangement is a wild ride giving the reader a small glimpse into the very sleazy world of the Sugar Bowl.
I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

***I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion .***

Linda's Book Obsession Review "The Arrangement" by Robyn Harding, Gallery/Scout Press, July 30, 2019

If you love mystery, suspense, psychological thrillers, and fiction, and an intense, intriguing, captivating, riveting, novel, I have a book recommendation for you!!Kudos to Robyn Harding, Author of "The Arrangement" for writing such a page-turning and entertaining novel. I could not put this book down, and read it in one sitting!! The author describes her colorful cast of characters as complex, complicated, flawed, and dysfunctional.

Especially young college and career driven girls find that college, schools and living expenses get out of hand. Some have to work several jobs and struggle to study. Natalie is a young art student finding it difficult to balance her life. After meeting a friend that seems to have it all, Natalie decides that the solution for her is to find a "Sugar Daddy", someone who will pay her expenses plus. Natalie is told that you have to go online, and often older men just want someone to listen to them, and sex is sometimes not necessary or negotiable. Of course, she would have to dress up and use makeup. 

Natalie does meet Gabe, an older man, and feels that he is the one for her.  Of course, Natalie is not told that Gabe is married, and has visions of forever in her mind. In this time setting, there are rules. Natalie really has no clue how dangerous Gabe can be, and Gabe has no clue what Natalie is capable of.  In this game, there are twists and turns, betrayals, secrets, lies, and murder.  

If you want to find out what happens, I recommend and suggest you read "The Arrangement" by Robyn Harding. Happy Reading!!!!

The Arrangement did not wow me. I found the dialogue repetitive. How many times can the same rhetoric be said over and over again? Natalie was a conundrum to me. Sometimes she acted naive and innocent and other times savvy. Her character developed from a nascent college art student to a psychopath. I disliked all of the characters and found much of this story to be a little far fetched. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Natalie is a struggling NYU college student who has been living well out of her means for a while now, and it's beginning to catch up to her. She has a job at a bar, but the money she makes isn't enough to cover everything she needs and she is behind on her bills, and beginning to worry that her roommates are about to kick her out. So she turns to a fellow classmate, Ava, to vent about her troubles and Ava tells her that she was once in the same boat, but she started using a website that saved her, and helped her afford the lavish lifestyle she now leads. Nat of course is all ears, until she hears what the website is... a Sugar Daddy/Baby website. The site hooks you up with a sugar daddy, and you accompany him to events, provide him with certain services, and in turn makes sure you have everything you need. Which maybe all well and good for some, but Nat isn't so sure she can handle what is required of her, the idea of being with an older man is unsettling, but what other choice does she have?

She decides to give the site a try and meets Gabe, a successful lawyer, and they meet and instantly strike up an arrangement. Their connection is instant, and they begin spending a lot of time with one another, but when their little arrangement starts to interfere with Gabe's home life things start to take a dangerous turn!

The Arrangement is a thrilling little domestic suspense novel that had my eyes glued to the words from start to finish.... this book was downright spellbinding! Once I met this amazing cast of characters I didn't want to let them or their intriguing story go. The pages were dripping with suspense, sex, obsession, lies, deceit... really everything you would want in an domestic suspense tale. This one impressed on all fronts; the story line was unique and riddled with twists and turns, and the words were perfectly penned and absorbing! One of the best suspense stories I have read this year!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

Dark, twisty, and brutally honest page-turning suspense novels are my forte, and this certainly didn't disappoint! The novel delves deep into its characters psychology and motivations and keeps you guessing throughout. A perfect summer read.