Another good read from Ms. Harding.

We enter the world of sugar daddies, obsession and murder. There are enough devious twists to keep you turning the pages. It had an ending I did not see coming, always a good thing.

I did like her last two books a bit more than this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

I've always been fascinated by the world of sugar babies, so I was excited to read Robyn Harding's latest thriller, The Arrangement. Natalie is an art student in New York whose relationship with her roommates has become strained just as her income has as well. With a possible eviction and tuition bills looming over her, she signs up on a sugar baby website and soon meets a charming and successful older man named Gabe. But could being a sugar baby come at a deadly price?
Overall, this intriguing concept fell flat due to empty characters, sterile writing, and a clunky plot. The writing was extremely basic and read like words had been changed using a thesaurus, such as every text message being referred to as a missive. The characters lacked depth and seemed to exist only to move the ridiculous plot along. Every action was over-explained, and the simplistic inner thoughts of the characters were like a terrible voice-over that I wanted to shut off.

Nat, age 21, is an art student who works at a bar. She is struggling to make ends meet to get herself through college. She moved from Washington state to New York and just loves the city. Her father had deserted her and her Mom when she was little and now he lives in Las Vegas.

When a classmate tells her about becoming a Sugar Baby, she is intrigued. She desperately needs the money. As a Sugar Baby, she can meet with men for money and how far she goes with them is up to her. No strings. She joins up, and her first Sugar Daddy is Gabe, a successful attorney.

As their relationship progresses, Nat finds herself falling in love with Gabe and thinks he feels the same. But Gabe is married and the father of a teenage girl. When it appears that Gabe is ready to call it quits on their relationship, Nat cannot accept it. She abuses alcohol and cannot stop contacting him.

It all comes to a head when someone winds up dead. Who killed who and who will pay the price?

I have already given out too many spoilers here, but I want readers to realize what a good book this is. I hope it’s an unusual scenario and there aren’t that many Sugar Daddies/Babies out there, but I fear there are. Just know that this is a read that will have you turning pages to find out what happens. Bottom line: Nothing is free or easy.

Copy provided by NetGalley and Goodreads in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a really interesting read. Nat is an art student who wanted to leave her small town in Washington and move to NYC. She struggles financially, even with a scholarship to the art institute she attends. Another student tells her about being a "sugar baby." This is basically acting as an escort for wealthy men, with an agreement between the sugar daddy and sugar baby as to what services will be provided. Nat is interested in the money, but doesn't want to go very far - she says she's not willing to trade sex for money. Not long after she starts, she meets Gabe, a wealthy attorney and all of her concerns fly out the window. She develops serious feelings for him, and believes that he feels the same way. until he breaks it off, that is. And then Nat's life starts to get complicated. There's a nice mystery and a bit of a twist.I think most readers will find the book enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

Omg. That's all I can really say about this book. I was hooked from the first line.
The final plot twist had me like woah. I read this book like with in four hours of starting it. I could not put it down. The writing was amazing. The story was captivating. The characters were Interesting. It was hands down one of the best books I've read this year.

I was pleasantly surprised by this entire book. The Arrangement by Robyn Harding is a wonderfully written, intriguing novel about a college student who goes and gets herself a sugar daddy.

I feel like a lot of us can relate to Natalie and the whole “broke college kid” thing. And I have to admit, I find the whole sugar daddy/sugar baby thing incredibly fascinating.

This is another great book, that I feel like if I talk too much about it, I’ll end up giving spoilers.

So I’m just gonna zip my lips, and suggest you read it! It’s worth it.

THE ARRANGEMENT
Robyn Harding
Scout Press
ISBN 978-9821-1049-9
Hardcover
Thriller

You are officially granted permission --- as if you really need it --- to believe all of the hype and advance press that you may have ingested with respect to THE ARRANGEMENT by Robyn Harding. Those who have read THE PARTY and HER PRETTY FACE no doubt already have Harding on their “must read” list, which is appropriate, given that THE ARRANGEMENT is one of those books that everyone, regardless of genre preference, simply...must read, and must do so immediately.

The initial premise of THE ARRANGEMENT is something which most of us have heard about though not necessarily experienced. The catalyst for what occurs is a young New York art student named Natalie Murphy. Natalie is living her dream, but only barely. She is as far from her small town as she can get, attending school on a scholarship, but barely able to meet the big city cost of living while sharing a tiny apartment with two other women. A friend at art school who is living comfortably and well beyond her seeming means lets her on a secret. There are websites that enable young women to meet older men of wealth and accomplishment and engage in a mutually beneficial relationship which is emotionally rewarding for the man and financially rewarding for the woman. It’s a sugar daddy - sugar baby relationship, one in which no one is heavily invested on any level. Natalie takes a chance and after a couple of false starts meets Gabe Turnmill, a high-powered and extremely wealthy corporate attorney who spends his weekdays in Manhattan. Turnmill isn’t entirely honest with Natalie about his marital status, and she doesn’t ask a lot of questions anyway. Natalie is only interested in being Turnmill’s arm candy for a hefty fee. At least at first. She gradually begins to become more seriously attracted to Turnmill, a situation which leads to a hot and heavy physical relationship between the two of them. This is just fine with Turnmill, until Natalie, not unreasonably, begins demanding more of his time. This complicates things for Turnmill, who happens to have a wife and daughter with whom he resides outside of the city on the weekends. His relationship with Natalie is anything but his first rodeo. He has ended things with other young women before, and with a minimum of drama. Natalie, however, isn’t walking quietly into the sunset. She interjects herself into Turnmill’s other life. Things go way too far, leading to a series of surprising revelations and conclusions that most readers may never see coming.

THE ARRANGEMENT is terrific. One who is reading it can understand exactly why each character does what they do, even if they can’t entirely sympathize with such. Harding has a masterful ability to make the semi-plausible fully and entirely believable while keeping the pitch and pace of her prose perfect. There is also a bit of a mystery thrown into the final third of THE ARRANGEMENT which takes what is occurring into an entirely different direction even as it provides for a surprisingly satisfying ending. The result is a novel which is the perfect way to meet and embrace the closing weeks of summer. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Twenty one year old Natalie "Nat" Murphy escapes an abusive boyfriend in her modest hometown of Blaine, Washington to go to art school in New York City.
With only a partial scholarship, she struggles to make her way. After being fired from her job and close to being kicked out of her apartment , she confides in her classmate Ava, who tells her the secret behind her extravagant lifestyle.
She has sugar daddies, wealthy men who pay her for dates, having sex with them is optional. Increasingly desperate, afraid of being homeless and losing her small scholarship, Nat goes online and meets Gabe, a distinguished corporate finance attorney.
Gabe tells her he is divorced, father to a teenage daughter. In reality he is married, his wife is recovering from cancer and not paying him the attention he feels he deserves. His charming and dynamic personality, along with attractive looks help Nat fall in love with him.
They begin an arrangement. He leases a nice apartment for her and pays a monthly allowance. When Gabe decides to end the relationship, Nat becomes obsessed and is ruthlessly determined to get him back.
An intriguing, unsettling look at the clandestine world of powerful and wealthy "sugar daddies", and the women who become their "sugar babies".
The author's smooth, flowing writing style makes this an exceptional and compelling read. The gripping plot and unforeseen twists at the end will keep you spellbound. A must read for the summer!
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for the e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the digital galley of The Arrangement.

Nat finds herself in need of money and her new friend, Ava, has a solution. Ava introduces Natalie into the world of sugar daddies. And, Nat timidly embraces her new role as a sugar baby. She quickly finds a daddy who is handsome, smart, and charming. She can't believe her luck. But, Nat soon finds out that in the world of sugars, it's never a fairy tale.

I started the book enjoying it. Nat, at first, a girl down on her luck. A chance at a better life. But, then...

I think that I expected more out of this one. It has gotten a lot of social media hype, and that may have been it's downfall for me. I could not get over how stupid Nat is. I know that she is supposed to be young and naive and maybe have a bit of a mental disorder, but I couldn't rally. She didn't have a single redeeming quality. Sugar daddy, Gabe was intolerable. Worst human being that I think I've ever read in a book. I did understand this role and was able to grasp the concept of his character. Shit person. Full stop.

The flip flop inner dialogue from both Nat and Gabe made my head spin. These two not only had no moral backbone, they also had zero convictions.

I wish that Ava would have had more of a presence. She seemed to be placed in when it was convenient to move the story along.

The end felt far fetched and a little too contrived for me.

This was not a top read for me.

This is my kind of book. If one likes darker socio-sexual themes like sexual commodification and stalking, this is a great read. It gives insight into these “deviant” human behaviors and the story fascinated me.

Oh, how intoxicating novels about obsession are! And Robyn Harding delivers a real cocktail of suspense in THE ARRANGEMENT. The "sugar daddy" plotline is fresh and fierce and these women's paths are strewn with emotional landmines.

Natalie is a young art student in NYC struggling to pay her bills. Just when she's at her wits end after losing her job at a bar, having her not-so-friendly roommates hunting her down for rent money... a school friend lets Nat in on her secret to her fancy apartment, nice clothes, well-groomed hair. She is a "sugar baby", who connects with older, wealthy men through a secure website who pay her for her companionship, and yes, sometimes sex. Nat is torn and feels like this is bordering on prostitution, but she is desperate- she assumes she will meet a few men, get paid for a few casual meet-ups, definitely NOT get romantically involved, and then will find herself a new restaurant or bar to work at after she's caught up on her bills. But then she meets Gabe Turnmill, a handsome corporate attorney who is about 30 years her senior. His age seems to slip away as their "arrangement" turns into more, and they fall madly in love... or so Nat thinks. Gabe has a family, who he has no intention of leaving. When Gabe abruptly ends the arrangement, Nat cannot let it go and is convinced Gabe still loves her. Nat spirals our of control, drinking heavily, spying on his family and even befriending his daughter, who is not much younger than she is herself. But Gabe's not about to let his sugar baby destroy his life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement turns into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and when a body is found near Gabe's posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.

This was a very interesting storyline and the "sugar baby" and "sugar daddy" was not a topic I had read about before. It definitely sucked me in and kept me guessing till the end! A few parts seemed a little unrealistic to me, but overall this was an intriguing, quick read. This was my first Robyn Harding book, but I loved the writing style so I'll definitely be adding more of her books to my list!

cli·ché

• a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
• a very predictable or unoriginal thing or person.

Based on the description, this is not a book I would normally pick up. Based solely on my Goodreads friends reviews (y'all suck), I picked it up anyway.

I will never question my gut again.

My hope was that this story would offer some depth and grit that is so often absent in books with similar plots. Sadly, my hopes were dashed.


** I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

This Sugar Baby and her Sugar Daddy sure belong together......until they don’t ..... I had a sugar headache halfway this this book, was completely over both of them, and then read the rest of it in a haze! More like a guilty pleasure, this was a fun, crazy read and will be wildly popular with the chick-flick crowd and I’m already imagining who will play the leads. Great beach read, easy to pick up and often difficult to put down.

I passed on Her Pretty Face last year and now I’m kicking myself. I devoured The Arrangement and need more from Harding. What a fantastic and binge-worthy read. She made me chuckle and cringe and I just could not get enough. I was busy flipping pages like it was nobody’s business. I love when the beginning of a story sets us up with a major problem and then we back track trying to figure out how it all came to be. Highly recommend this for summer reading. This is a great beach or pool read. So damn juicy!

I am for sure a Robyn Harding fan. I loved her previous book, #HerPrettyFace (also one of my fave covers), and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed her latest book as well. A quick read, but I found it engaging and well-paced and very entertaining. I thought Nat was a deliciously fun character that you root for, even while she spirals downward HARD. I would have loved the book to have leaned a bit more into the dark and twisty and salaciousness, but that’s probably just me- the guy who reads every book in this genre and has ridiculously high standards. Overall, if you are a fan of Robyn’s, you’re going to dig this book. I for sure did. Thanks to my friends at @simonandschuster and @gallerybooks for the advanced copy

A gripping psychological thriller, heavy on hard-to-root-for characters. The main character, Nat, is an art student in New York City. She lives (unhappily) in Brooklyn with two women who disapprove of her lifestyle and have grown frustrated with her financial disability. She sleeps with her coworker, gets fired from her job for theft, and is initially judgmental when she learns that her talented, put-together classmate is a sponsored girl—a sugar baby. But Nat falls into that world quickly, realizing it's just what she needs to fix her financial woes and unpleasant living situation. It's clear from the first time we hear his perspective that Gabe, the man she goes on her first $5oo "date" with, is not exactly who he's presenting himself to be. He's married with a 17-year-old daughter and "connections" who can help him do away with problems. The pace and anxiety ratchet up as Nat becomes exactly the sort of problem Gabe would rather avoid. I enjoyed this throughout, and was pleasantly surprised by the final reveal.

Harding’s new novel, The Arrangement, is pure guilty pleasure. Murder, adultery, and sugar daddies are all delivered in one delicious package as readers get to sit back and watch bad people doing bad things to one another. Pass the popcorn.

It’s not a life changing story, but it is wickedly entertaining. If you ever wanted to know what a Gossip Girl, Law and Order crossover would be, pick up The Arrangement to find out.

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding is an excellent thriller. The story is quick paced, suspenseful and truly captivating. Although I had predictions about the who in this whodunit, there were still several surprising twists. I enjoyed the characters and Harding's style of writing. Overall, a great read that I highly recommend.

What a twisted tale! I gotta say I didn't like any of the characters. They were all unlikeable. Natalie was an immature hot mess. She just kept doing stupid things. I didn't care for Miguel with his pettiness which basically caused Natalie to lose her job. And led to her applying to be a sugar baby. Then with her judgemental roommates, Toni and Mara (I hated them too) forcing her out. I can see what led Natalie to the path she chose. I'm not sure why her ex-bf Cole was thrown in the mix. The girl had enough problems without him coming to stir up trouble. Gabe was a sanctimonious narcissist, he kept justifying why he was such a pig., but in reality, he was truly a sociopath. I would say he got what deserved. I just didn't like Natalie serving time for a murder she didn't commit. She already had enough issues and could not really get any justice for herself. And it also seems that Celeste wasn't quite so innocent herself. This was book was filled lots of tangled webs and judgments, and contempt, I was interested enough to see how it ended. Hence, giving this book 4 stars. I voluntarily read this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.