The Arc of this book is the name of a high-end relationship architect service that guarantees a match with lifetime compatibility. I've read several books recently involving matchmaking using science (The One, The Soulmate Equation). This matchmaking was more psychological in nature. I find the concepts interesting.

I was very close to a DNF around 25%. The story seemed slow to unfold, kind of boring as well as kind of absurd, and I struggled to care about the main character, Ursula. She was a lot to take in. Once her match, Rafael, was introduced, the pace picked up. His voice greatly helped to balance out hers. I found the writing style a bit wordy for my tastes, and I didn't connect much overall with the characters or the story. I did like the exploration of different aspects of what makes a relationship successful, and what that even means from multiple perspectives. I also very much liked the ending. In conclusion, I'm satisfied that I stuck it out to the end.

This book spend a lot -- and I mean 95% -- of the time trying to convince you that two characters have chemistry when they clearly don't, and that ruins the entire premise of the book. It feels like a ripoff of The Soulmate Equation, but if every character was self-serving, annoying, and downright insufferable.

Ursula is selfish, hypocritical, pretentious, and takes herself too seriously while Rafael is untrusting, reactionary, a know-it-all, and overall a walking red flag. The millisecond anything goes wrong with their matchmaking, they end up at each others throats saying things that should have ended their relationship, point-blank. <spoiler>I cannot believe they end up back together, and I was actually appalled that they did until I realized that they both suck so much that they deserve each other.</spoiler>

On top of entirely shitting the bed on its matchmaking plot by making the characters so unlikeable that you can't root for them with anyone, the humor and cadence of the dialogue make this book completely unenjoyable to read.

The humor especially is odd and liminal, and falls into this self-deprecating ironic humor that's barely funny when Gen-Z kids on Tiktok do it, and definitely isn't funny written. It especially translates poorly with Ursula's character. She seems like she thinks she's too good for the things she's doing while also doing them?? For example, she spends so much page space shitting on this club/co-working space with weird crystal tantric yoga classes and what can only be described as an Erewhon business model applied across its services, but she also pays money to be there every month and participates in all those things while talking down about them. It feels like the author is self-inserting opinions and trying to get us to look down on that way of life while simultaneously liking the main character who is doing all the things she's trying to get us to look down on. It's contradictory and insufferable.

And then there's the dialogue. Oh my god, the author painfully drags us through pages and pages of conversations that 1) do not tell us anything about our characters and 2) do not further the plot in any way. I feel like every single sentence could have been removed if one or both of them decided to get therapy. This was a crash course in how to identify insecure attachment styles, and if you'd like to read 50 pages of people arguing over stupid shit, you'll love this!

There was also at least 100 pages of this book that could have been cut out if everything wasn't over-explained and over-described. The author did not trust you to fill in any blanks, so they just left no blanks.

All in all, this was a downright horrible reading experience and I somehow convinced myself that it was going to get better and it didn't. My biggest regret is not DNFing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc.

If you’ve ever been in a dating rut or currently in one now, I bet the thought “I wish someone could find me my soulmate” has crossed your mind. I mean, we’ve all been there, dating can be tough! Well, THE ARC is an exclusive club that pairs you with your scientific match so you don’t have to put in the work.

For the most part, this was a quick and easy read about dating. Depending where readers are in their romantic life could make or break the story for them. I found it super easy to read, but I won’t lie, some parts were really annoying. Both Ursula and Rafael seemed really immature and acted as if they were in their early 20’s rather than late 30’s, early 40’s. Some of the dialogue was cringeworthy.

The pacing for the most part was quick, but the story hit a snag in the middle. It wasn’t enough to turn me away, but I definitely thought “okay let’s get a move on now.” I did think the “twist” at the end was somewhat comical, but also teaches a good lesson in the fundamentals for relationships.

If you’re looking for a book that doesn’t require a lot of brainpower, this is one that fits the mold.

Content warnings: infidelity

Big thank you for Net Galley and Libro FM for the ALC! You can get this book on February 8, 2022!

This book has a fascinating premise, that there’s a way to find your “perfect match” if you’re willing to undergo an extensive, and expensive, process that explores your psyche and exposes your deepest secrets and motivations.

Ursula Byrne is the VP of Strategic Audacity (!) at a NYC branding agency. Basically, she has a feel for what’s next and knows how to sell it. She’s worked hard her entire adult life to get enough money to be comfortable and secure, unlike her artistic mother.

This has left no time for dating, so when she hears about The Arc at her extremely bougie health club (hysterical, tongue in cheek spa offerings), she decides to find the $40,500 fee and signs up. She spends a week at their exclusive facility, undergoing physical and psychological testing.

Rafael is a lawyer who’s never met “the one”, and he signs up as well. When he and Ursula are matched, they are blissfully happy, and it seems The Arc has done its job. Until they are called in and told that The Arc made a mistake.

I was, tongue-firmly-in-cheek, all in until this point. In my opinion, the book went downhill until the very end, which delivered quite a shocker. The descriptions of the testing Ursula undergoes were interesting and well written. Ultimately I enjoyed this book enough for 3 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book. The main character of this book is Ursula, who is in her middle thirties and still single. She pays about $40,000 to have a company figure out who her perfect match is. There were things about this book that I liked, and other things that I didn't. Ursula is definitely a unique character and one that is sure to be unforgettable. Her cat was cute and I loved the way she always said what was on her mind, and she was unapologetically herself. I wanted to see more of Ursula and Rafael and how their relationship developed. We get a lot of backstory about Ursula leading up to her meeting Rafael, and then after great detail about their first date, the next several dates are flown through, to where we are essentially thrown into when the conflicts start coming up. This kind of felt like whiplash, like they hardly had any time to hit it off before they started having conflicts even though months had passed by. I also thought the dynamic of their relationship was a bit off, and definitely seemed forced like they were both trying way too hard. It was an average read for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.

DNF @ 20%.

I knew I was in trouble from page 1.

We meet the main character, Ursula, at a feminist “wellness club” callled The Stake. It’s a movement that offers a smash center (aggressively breaking dishes), a scream den (to scream), hush-brushing (a gal brushes your hair and whispers sweet nothings…while you sit in a bean bag), a swaddle station (you get to into an adult-sized cradle and get rocked like a baby…lullabies are played for full effect)), sobbing pods (cry your heart out to 80s love songs), a spa to relieve you from the stress of psychic pain…and much more!

There’s also talk of cactus-shaped vibrators. Tagline: “Look forward to your next dry spell”. I really hope they don’t have spikes.

From there, we learn that Ursula wants to find love, and she is willing to use an exclusive and extremely expensive dating service to find her love match. It only costs $40,500!!

I hope she finds her match, but I don’t care to find out.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 2/8/22.

Ursula has had it with modern dating in NYC when she's slipped a card for the Arc: a service that (for tens of thousands of dollars) will give you the opportunity to meet the person with whom you'll have the greatest chance at lifelong happiness.

Naturally, it's "the person" ...selected from a pool of people who can afford their service and trusting (curious?) enough to give it a shot. While perhaps a non-starter for some, I was intrigued. There are highly expensive individualized (and often intrusive) services for seemingly everything these days, why not for "relationship architecture?"

This book is a bit of a genre mashup -- the first quarter or so is overwhelmingly satirical, poking fun at white feminist culture especially but also startup bros and the self-care industry. Then it transitions into more of a classic contemporary romance. Both these genres really work for me, so I was here for it! But around the halfway point I couldn't help but feel like there wasn't half a book of plot left, and I found the plot's pace slowed way down. I also was annoyed by some of Rafael's behavior and felt there was a greater focus on Ursula's shortcomings than his.

Still, this was a good read, and the audiobook was well done. ~3.5 stars, and I'll stay tuned for whatever Tory Henwood Hoen writes next. Now I'm off to go find the real-life version of Purple Rain (a steam room where bursts of lavender-scented mist alternate with warm downpours, set to a soundtrack of Prince's greatest hits)

DNF at 16%. I don't think I'm the target audience for this book. I struggled to connect with the character the entire time - which says a lot considering I am also a very, very, very weird person - and I didn't particularly like the writing style. It involved a lot of unnecessary description, so much to the point that I was literally skipping paragraphs and could still understand what was going on. I went into this hoping for something similar to The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren, though it just didn't land that way for me. Maybe I'll try this again eventually but I'm putting it aside for now.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Tory Henwood Hoen for an ARC of this book!**

Have you ever turned on IFC on a whim?

Scratch that..

Have you ever turned on iFC...at 3 AM? Hour of questionable content, no matter WHAT the network?

If you've ever had that 'somewhat sucked in because it's interesting, but disappointed because it's too bizarre and pretentious to be truly likable' experience...you'll feel right at home reading The Arc.

Ursula is 35, the VP of branding at Strategic Audacity, and has been round and round the dating merry-go-round. She's tried the apps, orchestrating the real life meet-cutes, and has had no luck. Amidst one of her weird outings to a semi-futuristic spa, another patron overhears her kvetching and offers her a business card. The business? The Arc, a high-tech intricate business whose sole purpose is to bring soulmates together by being the architect of a perfect love story and finding The One...for a nominal fee of $50.000 ($40,500 for females, to equate for the wage gap....of course.) Rafael is in his 40s, a lawyer who is as unsettled as Ursula, and once the two undergo their week long session at the Arc, complete with meditation and a slew of other activities meant to mine out their most intrinsic qualities for optimal matchmaking possibilities. Once the two meet, all their most idealized dreams come true...until the very first argument. What does the Arc of this relationship TRULY have in store?

I have a real problem with books that I find pretentious...or books that are trying to be pretentious...and to me, The Arc wholeheartedly fits in that category. The author was obviously trying to make some statements about feminism, capitalism, et al, but nothing felt cohesive to me. I couldn't tell whether the ridiculous brand and product ideas peppered throughout were supposed to be a warning of what's to come in our reality, or were supposed to play like comic relief...but either way, they were just BIZARRE.

Ursula was supposed to be an empowered female, and a fourth wave feminist, but panders to men over and over, to varying degrees and lacks spine over and over. Again, this might have been some commentary on the 'system' at large, but for a book that was supposed to be somewhat of a love story....nothing clicked. Whenever an author starts dropping in $5.00 vocabulary words just for the fun of it, I quickly lose interest---and there was one too many soupçons present in this one for me. And don't get me started on Ursula and Rafael's constant slew of weird pet names for one another...("I love you, my conch shell", "my skink"), Ick.

Still, I got just sucked in enough to continue to see where Rafael and Ursula would end up...and unfortunately, this one had a bit of an eye-roller for an ending. The one through line in this book however, is the Weird and Unusual, which starts on page one and doesn't let up until the book's end. While this premise was a perfect opportunity to explore some bigger philosophical issues and play on the push-and-pull of real emotion vs. manufactured emotion, The Arc instead paints a bizarre pseudo-intellectual picture of what that world could become if we aren't careful...and perhaps serves a reminder to all of us that controlling our OWN destiny is probably always the wisest choice. And at the very least, SHOULD be less expensive.

3 stars

I absolutely adored this book from the very first sentence. It made me feel good, it made me cry, it made me want to fall into the world of these characters and never leave. It also felt organic and as if I was reading about two new best friends. For these reasons, I highly recommend this book.

The Arc comes out next week on February 8, 2022, you can purchase HERE! This book is SO good!!

It's like a fire. It starts with a foundation: kindling, newspaper, other combustible materials. So the stage is set. Then there's a spark, which ignites the fire and puts things into motion. Then comes the first flicker, and you have to nurture this part: blow on it, keep the oxygen flowing. Then another flame, then the initial burst as the flames combine. It's beautiful; it's hot; it's exciting; it's atavistic. And then after a little while, the first settles into itself. Sometimes it dies down a little, but then it flares up again. Embers form, and they keep the heat going even when the flames aren't as strong. So it stays lit, it stays war, and it evolves. Every fire evolves in its own way, if you keep feeding it.

What is The Arc? A highly secretive matchmaking service for people looking to meet their soulmate. They use emotional, psychological, and physiological tests to help you find your ideal partner. After failed relationships, Ursula decides this is the best option for her to find the one. She ends up paired with Rafael, and they immediately feel a connection. After a few months together, they realize that no relationship is perfect, and The Arc tests them to see if their relationship really is as great as they think.

I actually enjoyed the story of The Arc. I know there have been other books that came out with a similar premise, but I thought this had its own take on the trope. I don’t love insta-love normally, but it kind of worked in this book. Ursula and Rafael did seem right for each other, but it was strange that they basically were inseparable right away. I get they’re supposed to be soulmates, but I would take my time getting to know someone I was matched with.

I liked that the author decided not to give them a perfect relationship through the book. It made it more realistic. I did root for Ursula and Rafael to work out though.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator, Mary Elizabeth Kelly. This was the first audiobook I’ve read that she narrated, and I think she was the right choice for this story.

There is a bit of a shock ending which I enjoyed even though I saw it coming. The way it was written was perfect for this story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF: It was clear early on that the writing style was not for me. I'm all for a quirky character, but this was odd more than anything. I had high hopes for the unique concept, but even that couldn't keep me hooked. I'm sure there are readers out there for this, but it was a miss for me.

What lengths would you go to find your perfect love match? In The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen, you can find that person with an algorithm if you're willing to shell out $50,000 for men and $40,500 for women to account for the gender wage gap and check in periodically with a "relationship architect."

I was super intrigued by the premise of this book. I like substance with my romances and I'm all in for a little sci-fi and social commentary. The book started off strong for me and I understood why our main character Ursula would be willing to try this new dating service. However once she is matched with Rafael (I pictured Jane the Virgin's @justinbaldoni the entire time 😍🔥), the story just didn't work for me. I realize a lot of it was satirical and I may have taken it too much for face value, but the amount of miscommunication bothered me. Overall, I was entertained and enjoyed the observations about relationships and love.

The Arc comes out on 2/8 so be sure to check it out and let me know your thoughts (and what I may have missed).

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is a contemporary romance novel but it has a slight sci-fi edge to it with the advanced dating agency known as The Arc. The story in this novel is one that is told by changing the point of view between the characters.

At thirty five Ursula Byrne has had more than her fair share of bad dates and relationships that didn’t go anywhere. Just as Ursula is thinking the may be single forever thinking that her quirkiness isn’t going to ever find a match Ursula hears of a new dating service called The Arc.

The Arc has a hundred percent success rate at matching up couples and that guarantee comes at quite the cost. For Ursula though the cost would be nothing if she finds happiness so she packs for the week long analysis at The Arc where she is matched with Rafael Banks.

The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is another one of those books that there were things I really enjoyed and things I didn’t. I liked the idea of the perfect match being found and I really enjoyed the twist the author threw into the mix to keep the pages turning. However, the characters seemed a bit over the top to me with a lot of actions in a book taking place in current time and I suppose I should have picked up on that tone with the job of VP of Strategic Audacity but overall I ended feeling this one was just an Ok read for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

The omniscient POV in this book made it slightly jarring to read at some times, and at other times I felt like the book was over-explaining everything. It seemed like the narrative couldn't trust me to get things on my own. Also, during the initial stages of Ursula and Rafael dating, it took a really long time to get through the perfect phase of their relationship and to get to the bumps in the road. It was really obvious what the Arc was trying to do when Ursula and Rafael went back to them with their "problem," and for a couple of New Yorkers who come across as fairly intelligent and self-aware it seemed kind of silly that they couldn't figure out how their relationship was being led in a certain direction. Also, it bugged me -- a lot -- how the narrative was trying to turn "architect" into a verb.

All in all, this one wasn't for me personally, but I plan to do a deeper dive into the book this month for my quarterly book analysis feature on my book review blog.

This send-up of the dating app culture might be more relatable-to by a younger audience. I was constantly shaking my head at the naivete of two intelligent people who believed that $50,000 would buy them a perfect love match. And then they went on to undermine what looked like a promising relationship by picking fights about made-up stuff.

The story bogged down in the middle, when I felt like the author was doing too much “telling” about Ursula’s relationship issues; the story was more successful when the characters revealed themselves in their actions.

I was cheering on these likable characters, though, along with their friends and families.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Arc is a witty, clever novel about the lengths that some people will go to in order to find their soulmates.

This novel just reconfirmed my relief of being long out of the dating scene. The Arc is a dating service that requires a one-week stay and a multitude of scientific tests and behavioral studies in order to find your ideal match. This service is not for your average swipe left or swipe right dater. Oh, no, you have to be willing to part with a big chunk of change in order to find your one true love.

Ursula is an odd character, but I say that with great appreciation. She walks to the beat of her own drum, she overthinks everything, she self-sabotages, she has a love-hate relationship with her job, and she sings songs to her cat. Yep, she had me at cat songs. I mean, we all sing made-up songs to our pets, right? I could record an album. Anyway, she wanted to find her perfect match, and when this opportunity presented itself, she went for it, after all, it was guaranteed to work. Money well spent.

When Ursula gets matched with Raphael, she truly believes that The Arc is everything that it promised to be. They enjoy each other’s company, he seems to like and appreciate her quirkiness, and their attraction is off the charts. I wanted to believe in their relationship. Mm hmm…But at this point I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tory Henwood Hoen takes the dating world and turns it on its head. This is an over-the-top story about finding your ideal partner. I never really felt as though I had to take it too seriously. I was just having fun being a part of Ursula’s world for a little while, experiencing all of her highs and all of her lows (and she had her share). I enjoyed the eccentricity of the characters, the humor, the mysterious nature of The Arc, and the big question of whether it’s possible to find your perfect match.

*4 Stars

I'm conflicted about this book. On one hand, it was a beautiful love story that really walked through what specifically you need to make a relationship work. It really addressed the miscommunication trope that is featured heavily in romances these days, though I wish we'd seen more communication from Rafael and Ursula instead of being told about it.

On the other, it felt really heavy handed at times with the messaging and morals - women empowerment, love isn't easy, feminism, figuring out who you want to be. I think some readers will be a fan of that, or may even need it, but I usually prefer the messaging to be a bit more subtle.

I thought the beginning of the book was a bit slow, I could've done with less about the process at The Arc, and there was one section in particular where the questions were just listed out for two pages. I skipped over all of that because I was still bored with the story. Things don't feel like they pick up until halfway through the book, when the first seed of discord is sown in Rafael and Ursula's relationship.

However, one there was conflict, I was really invested, and wanted to see things through to the end and quickly. I finished this book a lot quicker than I started it.

I do think comping this to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sally Rooney is unfair to this author. Sure, the book has similar messaging to a TJR book, and has Sally Rooney vibes when it comes to the writing style, but I think readers (like me) will have. a certain expectation of this book that frankly, the book doesn't deliver on - but it also isn't meant to deliver on. It has it's own place in the romance genre, and the comps just don't make sense to me.

I think fans of sci-fi books, absurd books, and books with strong feminist leanings will love this book.

The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen has been advertised to me as a book readers of Sally Rooney (hell yes), Rebecca Serle (oh yeah), and Taylor Jenkins Reid (That's Saint TJR to me) would enjoy. Unfortunately, I think it was just a little too weird for me. Ursula is the VP of Strategic Audacity (huh?) at a marketing firm who's been thus far unlucky in love, until she finds out about a secretive, expensive, and complicated matchmaking service called The Arc. It costs FORTHY THOUSAND DOLLARS (and even more for men), the testing process is a week long. She is matched, things get weird, the end? It just was such a strange book. I think for people who with a smarter sense of humor, it would by hysterically funnny. Unfortunately, my sense of humor is more along the lines of a 12 year old boy's, and a lot of it just seemed really bleak. Smart, feminist, social dystopian in a near future. If you liked The One by John Marrs but thought it was too mainstream, too obvious, for plebians... you might like this.

Really enjoyed this book! Such a fun read with great character development! Such a fun one and great to grab!