Gave this one 3 stars... was kind of hoping for something a little more exciting. Natalie's character fell a little flat, but there definitely was a good amount of crazy plot happening. Natalie needs money, as her waitress job in NYC just isn't cutting it for art school. She reluctantly and nervously tries out the "Sugar Bowl" - as long as its relatively non-sexual, she is willing to give it a go. Sounds harmless enough. Nat gets involved with her "Sugar Daddy" Gabe - a divorced, rich, businessman. Things don't quite go as planned, feelings do start to develop, and Natalie is the one who gains the obsession - not Gabe! It's not even about the money any more for Nat. She goes a little too far, befriends his daughter, (not a spoiler, as this is said in descript!) and becomes somewhat of a stalker. Things get really crazy. I thought this book would be more up my alley, as I love a good unhealthy relationship story! I don't know exactly what it was - but the book was good enough! Would recommend to some.

Don't be fooled by the cover of this book. This is an exciting read that kept me turning the pages! I knew it would turn bad for at least one of the characters, but I wasn't sure which. It will keep the reader guessing long into it. I was able to figure out the ending, but not too early, which made for a good story. An enjoyable book!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own.

This was a twisted story that blurred the moral lines of Natalie, our young main character. The entire idea of Sugar Daddies and Babies is a disturbing one but was well described in this story. I am not going into details with this one but be prepared for a wild ride.

Natalie is a student in New York City, struggling to pay her bills. When one of her friends suggests finding her own sugar daddy to pay her for dates, Natalie is skeptical, but decides to give it a try.

When she first meets Gabe, Natalie is hesitant. She doesn’t want to let herself fall for someone that is paying her to be with him, but soon finds herself falling in love. After a couple months of their arrangement, Gabe suddenly ends things. Natalie is shocked, devastated and can’t let him go. She is willing to do whatever it takes to get back together with the man she fell in love with.

Admittedly, I was pretty naive when it comes to sugar daddy/baby relationships. I have heard of older men dating younger women, but the fact that there are actually websites where the sole purpose is setting up this type of relationship is news to me!

I was fascinated by the relationship between Gabe and Natalie. Natalie is a young girl in over her heard, who inadvertently fell in love with an older man with a wife and daughter. She is definitely a relatable character - young college student trying to make ends meet, while falling in love and not having that love reciprocated in the way that she would like.

Gabe on the other hand, was a narcissistic husband that only cared about himself. If he could have found a way to keep his relationship with his wife and daughter, see Natalie on the side, and keep up with his career, he probably would have.

Overall, I loved this book! I recommend this one for fans of juicy family dramas mixed with infidelity. This was my first Robyn Harding book, and I will definitely be looking for more in the future!

I can never understand how some people say a movie is better than a book. There is no way anyone could make this book into a movie and have it more suspenseful or engrossing! The story line is not original, but the story definitely is. Two people make a Arrangement, accepting the costs of the decision and forgetting there are always consequences. As the tension builds you will not be able to stop reading, so make plans to stay up late or get up early.

The plot of this book was very intriguing. I love how right away the book started off with the main character calling a family member from jail...so you know it's going to be a thrilling ride! The story kept my interest and just when you think things can't get anymore crazy, the author kicks it up a notch. I did not see the end coming but was happy with it. The only negative comment I have about it is the author must have used a thesaurus a lot when she really didn't need to. I've been a lifelong reader and consider myself to be pretty intelligent but there were several words I had to lookup in the dictionary! And honestly, reading those sentences with those words that I didn't know, I felt there were simpler words that could have been used and still packed the same punch.

I found this book intriguing and the subject matter interesting. While the concept of a Sugar Daddy is nothing new, the onset of online access has certainly made a more exclusive, hard to “arrange” relationship easier to orchestrate. In this story, Natalie is just looking for a means to earn a little more money to get caught up on her rent & other bills. She reluctantly meets up with a sugar daddy, with the intent of ending things once her finances improved. Follow Natalie as she explores this new world, and is faced with decisions that will challenge her morals and plunge her into a web of deceit that will end in a fateful night. Thanks to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I received a copy of THE ARRANGEMENT from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author and publisher.

FIVE STARS and here’s why:

This book really opened my eyes to the world of Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies. Holy moly. It’s a disturbing and suspenseful version of "Pretty Woman," but with some awesome twists that keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. Total book hangover! The story shows us that no one should assume anything at face value and that no one is safe from prejudice or misunderstanding or judgment. All that glitters is never just gold. Each character is well written, the dialogue realistic, and the plot kept me up all night to learn what happens next. I could not put it down.

I liked the premise for this novel. Who knew there were different levels of sugar Daddies? I’m sure that a lot of this really happens. I didn’t really like the characters but that was not necessary as it is still a great novel.
Many thanks to Gallery Threshold Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book, but I didn't love the delivery of the story. The characters' personalities didn't seem consistent. Nat wasn't interested in a relationship, but after being with Gabe for 30 seconds it seemed she was falling for him. Instalove doesn't bother me, but I wasn't buying into it here. I was interested in their relationship dynamic though and what their actions would be when certain events happened. There was also quite a bit of expository writing at the end and that's not something I enjoy at the end of thrillers.

Meet Natalie. A young art student in New York City, who traveled across the country from a small town in Washington. Nat is the epitome of broke. She struggles to pay her tuition and rent, surviving off of the bare essentials. Even a cup of coffee is a luxury for her. At school, Nat becomes friends with another student, Ava, who does not have the same financial troubles as Nat. In fact, Ava lives in a posh apartment, wears designer clothes, and is the picture of perfection. Ava is a sugar baby.

With a new makeover from Ava, Nat becomes a sugar baby and meets Gabe. Their relationship becomes intense, or at least that's what Nat thinks. Unfortunately for her, Gabe has a family that he has no intention of leaving. When he breaks things off, Nat becomes obsessed. And just how far will she go to get him back?

The Arrangement was truly one-of-a-kind. Nat dives head first into the world of sugar babies and sugar daddies, and both her and Gabe learn the hard way that everything has a price. The perfect beach read!

Natalie is a young down on her luck student, while she’s not exactly estranged from her family there’s some discord there that prevents her from going to them. With her current roommates breathing down her back for overdue contribution to household expenses Nat takes a chance on a on something she never thought she’d do to make money. She’ll become a “sugar baby”. She’ll enter into an arrangement that entails entertaining men; often, older men for money. Many of the arrangements would include a monthly allowance to be at their beck and call. Sex is not always mandatory, but it doesn’t take Nat long to realize it helps. The arrangement can end at any time. This works well for Nat since she not looking for a relationship, until Gabriel comes into her life.
Gab’s a successful lawyer with a family. He loves his wife and his daughter, but his life has no spark. He’s no stranger to being a Sugar Daddy. He keeps his personal life separate and if thing get to complicated, he ends the arrangement. Simple and easy, until Natalie enters his life.
This arrangement wasn’t easy for Natalie or Gab, feelings develop and even though Gab refuses to leave his family he can’t seem to let Natalie go. Natalie is struggling with her own demons in the relationship as she becomes obsessed with Gab. She manages to insert herself into Gabs life by meeting his wife and daughter. Lines are crossed, and a life is lost, and no one is what they seem.

I’d be lying if I said this topic wasn’t intriguing. I was shocked to learn years ago that there are actual sites for this kind of thing. When this book crossed my path, I had to read it.

This wasn’t your typical love story or love triangle. There was murder, mystery and suspense which is what initially attracted me to this book. For the most part I enjoyed this book, but I felt like Natalie’s spiral came too quick and fast. It seemed like in a matter of weeks she went from being this independent person to a clingy insecure child. I liked her but at the same time she annoyed me. Gabe, I liked because he was an ass; sounds crazy but I liked him (well maybe not him, but the way his character was written), he wasn’t this knight in shining armor who saved the day, he was a flawed man who paid the price for his actions. He was selfish, he wanted what he wanted until he didn’t want it anymore. This was a story where both characters bared the weight of what went horribly wrong in their relationship.

This is a new author for me so of course I looked up a few of her other works and I think I’m going to indulge.

The Arrangement sounded like something I could definitely get into with a secret affair going wrong. Sounded like lots of suspense and lots of thrills and I was not disappointed.

Robyn Harding tells a story of one woman getting in far too deep with a married man and not liking the options she was given at the end. I love the build to the highest intensity moments for this story. Harding does a great job showing the growing frustrations Nat has boiling inside of her. I think it is intriguing to most to look at this type of relationship and read about it because we’ve all wondered what it would be like. It’s safe to say that Harding wrote a story that makes me definitely question even being curious about such a relationship anymore. Both Nat and Gabe are crazy.

The only thing I found slightly lacking was the beginning of the story. I felt it was a slow pick up, but once it did get going it was great. I found the arrangement to be intriguing, suspenseful, horrifying, and just plain interesting, keeping me flipping the pages. Definitely a must read for all suspense/thriller lovers.

If you liked Gone Girl then you will enjoy The Arrangement. Robyn Harding creates a suspenseful plot that will keep you guessing til the very end. I personally did not like the characters. I found them to be self-absorbed and unbalanced, but it does make for an interesting read.

So many reviews compare this book to Pretty Woman but for me it was more like Fatal Attraction. Natalie is a struggling art student who lives with 2 roommates who really want her to move out. She can barely make her rent or pay her other bills and she knows its only a matter of time until she is out on the street. A friend of hers tells her about Sugar Daddies and how she gets paid to be an escort, it doesn't always involve sex but can if she feels a connection. So Nat desperate for money decides to give it a try. What she finds is Gabe a handsome attorney who says he is a single dad. Gabe is a rich man whose wife has turned away from him but he loves her and doesn't want to end their marriage so he has turned to the Sugar Daddy website to find "entertainment" for when he is in the city during the week.

Natalie is young and naive, she quickly falls for Gabe and thinks that there is more to their relationship, even Gabe seems torn but divorce can't happen so he tries to give up Natalie and thats when things turn crazy.

This is a fast paced, well researched thrill ride. You know from the beginning of the book that Natalie is being charged with murder but the murder of who is the question that doesn't get answered until 3/4 in and even then its a mystery, did Natalie really do it? She can't remember. I had never heard of the Sugar Bowl before but I can see why a lot of young women fall for it and harding did her research on it, throwing out terms like splenda and salty, and also showing the darker kinkier side of the sugar bowl. Overall this is a quick good read.

"The Arrangement" was a good book -- 3.5 stars. I have seen it described as a cross between Pretty Woman and Fatal Attraction -- there is some truth to that, but the book is more complex than that. The main character, Natalie, is a struggling art student in New York who cannot pay the bills and has roommates that are not particularly fond of her behavior/lifestyle. She admits to a fellow student/friend that she is struggling financially and the friend, Ava, suggests getting a "sugar daddy" -- she is a "sugar baby". Natalie is not sure about this idea, but when her financial situation worsens, she takes the plunge. She learns quickly that there is much more involved than she expects when the first "date" does not go well at all. In the acknowledgements section, the author stated that in writing the book, she contacted some actual "sugar babies" to learn about the lifestyle, motivations, etc. I think that the research helped. The set-up and interactions feel realistic, not contrived, as might happen with an author just imaging or inventing this type of transactional relationship.

Natalie does meet a "good" "sugar daddy", Gabe and things go well for a while, but her creepy ex-boyfriend stalker from small-town Washington shows up in New York trying to find her, she is "outed" online as a "sugar baby", and her roommates kick her out. Gabe acts as her hero, further solidifying in Natalie's mind that the relationship is more than just "an arrangement." However, when Gabe decides to end "the arrangement", the story becomes dark, as Natalie becomes unbalanced and starts acting more like a stalker (which is ironic considering she had her own stalker), with her mental state worsening as she realizes that Gabe had not been completely honest about his family life and as she goes to extreme lengths to re-establish the relationship, threatening to bring down Gabe if she does not get what she wants. Of course, Gabe is powerful and resourceful and not about to let anyone ruin his life. This results in some rather tragic events. However, the author has some rather interesting twists in the end of the story, reframing who knew what when and where certain people's loyalties truly laid.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley.

I thought the flash forward/flashback structure (which makes it clear from the opening pages that someone has murdered someone) worked well. The characters were not the most well-developed or easiest to like or relate to, but in a book like this, I can get past that. In theme, setting, and tone this reminded me a little of The Affair on Showtime (though I’m a few seasons behind.) If you’re looking for a guilty pleasure summer read, this is a book you should consider.

I would never consider being a sugar baby because social interaction is scary and sugar daddies seem creepy, but oh, how nice would it be to have someone sponsor your Manhattan penthouse apartment?

The story started fun with a playful amount of danger, and the writing was very easy and readable. I was teetering between a 4 and a 3 star rating--leaning toward a 4--but the end was lukewarm, settling my rating at a solid 3. I won't say more on the end because I don't want to spoil anything!

But I will say--just to get it off my chest--Nat and Gabe are both psychotic, and I don't feel bad for either of them.

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: July 30, 2019

Mini-Review

I would only recommend this book to a starving high school or college girl who is considering entering a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship because they have seen the movie “Pretty Woman” and believes that film was true to life. The mystery isn’t until the very end of the book. It feels like the author does a one-eighty. Suddenly you are reading a murder-mystery. Other reviewers enjoyed this novel. You may too. But I am surprised that I made it to the last page. I do give the author some credit for researching and interviewing real-life sugar babies. Still, the whole story has a feel of teenage drama, ending with a predictable twist.

The Arrangement is a delightfully dramatic read. In the world of Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies, Natalie and Gabe step forward as perhaps two of the worst. Between Natalie’s binge drinking and daddy issues and Gabe’s Narcissism, the two seem to be made for each other in a world of misery. And they seem to have fun while it lasts until someone ends up dead, and poor lovesick Natalie finds herself at the center of the murder investigation. This story flows well and successfully pulls off the closure we need even though it is a relatively short book. Book ends with a nice little twist. Book is a lot of fun and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a naughty indulgence every now and then.