"An Unlikely Arrangement" by Cindy Patterson is set in North Carolina. The heroine Abigail has made some mistakes in her past. With her wish to honor her parents she may end up having to marry one of two men that do not treat women well. In order to give his daughter a choice, Abigail's father hires Garrett to be her guardian as she travels to Asheville, NC to visit with her aunt.

In Asheville, Abigail is able to visit the beautiful Biltmore Mansion and meet many people from Garrett's life. She connects with an old suitor who she feels can redeem her mistakes. In the end, Abigail learns so much about herself, her God and redemption in ways she never thought were possible.

This book is a Christian fiction historical novel. The first part of the book doesn't mention any of that but the last quarter of the book has a strong faith storyline. For readers of Christian fiction looking for stories of redemption this one is for you. I enjoyed the faith aspect of the book and wish that it might have been felt more throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author who published this as an indie book for the receipt of the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Everything about this story is written really well. It has everything… romance.. mystery.. adventure.. characters to feel close to… loved it!.

A lovely story of redemption! Clean and beautifully written, a romance that teaches to trust and all about Gods forgiveness. A charming story for romantic readers....highly recommend this one!

Cindy Patterson is a new author for me, whose literary offerings are generally set in contemporary America. "An Unlikely Arrangement" takes place in 1902 North Carolina. Abigail Dupree, impetuous and the author of all her troubles, is assigned a male "companion" of sorts to ensure she doesn't find herself in deeper waters with her "love" Randall Thorne. At least that's why I think Garrett Barringer was introduced, at least at first. Furthermore, Miss Dupree believes she can convince Thorne to love her. That's not how it works, of course. It defies belief she's even willing to attempt this after being used and discarded by this shining example of humanity. There's also an undesirable suitor, William Arendell.

What follows is an unlikely series of events, some downright implausible. While at a ball, Abigail dances barefoot to spare her aching feet. This is both charming and enterprising. From a historical perspective, it also doesn't happen. In addition, a non-related single male is not a suitable chaperon for a young woman, and they certainly don't sleep in adjoining tents. That would destroy a lady's reputation, or in Abigail's case, make it even worse.

As a reader, I will overlook the occasional grammatical error. However, as the case is here, there are a multitude of them. There are misused words, missing commas, or commas where there should be none. This lack of editing distracts from the story, and I find myself using my mental red pen.

That being said, there are things I enjoyed about this tale. It is clean with no violence. Christian elements are gentle and appropriate. Romans 3:23 is particularly meaningful. A few historical figures are mentioned or make onscreen appearances, notably Alice Roosevelt, the Vanderbilts, and Biltmore Estate. Frederick Law Olmsted gets an honorable mention, too (he designed my city's park system.) I also liked Rose. If there's a story about her, and editing improves, I'm willing to give this author another try.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this novel.

This is Christian Fiction. I’m not sure why the publisher hid that fact. The pacing was on the slow side, and the book didn’t hold my interest.

CW: domestic violence.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book a lot! It was a very well done slow burn romance. The romance and banter were very well done. And I would highly recommend this book!