This book was so utterly frustrating for me. It was so Christian it made me ick time and time again. It was God's choice to put them together and my ears cried. There was so much ick, like wifely duty. Ick.

I got an alc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Yassssssss I really enjoyed this book and the narrator was perfect ! I love Kimberly Brown pen work ! This book was apart of a collaboration with a few other authors that I love!

First off, this has such a beautiful cover. 💜

For those looking for some steamy love scenes, this may pique your interest. It also is a very positive vibe novel. Both main characters are mature, good communicators, and confident. There is no drama, no violence, and limited swearing.

However, the lack of plot or any storyline other than an arranged marriage puts this at 2 stars for me. An arranged marriage was a great starting point, but if they instantly live happily ever after, then this whole novel is just a really long answer to "So, how did you two meet?"

I also found the repeated use of phrases to be distracting. Characters repeat phrases like, "I'll end up in the 3% that doesn't make it" and "I know this isn't a traditional marriage..." I mean, multiple characters say a version of these statements several times.

The narrators for this were ok. The male narrator's (Chance Smolders) voice was very smooth and soothing. Aria Addison was a good choice for the lead female character. However, they both struggled with accent changes and were not as sharp with giving characters different voices. I'd give their performance a B- or 3 stars.

With audiobooks, I'll say this every time. With audiobooks, when you have both a male and female narrator, there is no need to have one person read everything in one chapter. Instead, have the male read for all the male characters and the females read for the female characters. That way, the characters always have the same voice no matter which point of view of the chapter is being read from. It also feels like a real conversation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for an advanced copy for review.

I loved Kachelle and Jacob’s unconventional love story. The automatic way that Jacob wanted to take care of Kachelles feelings were amazing. Jacob is definitely book bae. The spicy scenes gave what they were supposed to give. Kimberly’s pen game is always on point. Narration is what makes or breaks a book and the female tries her Best Buy was lacking in the feeling and inflection department. It feels like she was reading slower to make the worlds flow better without her lisp. I highly recommend the book but not the audio

Really enjoyed this book :) Coming from a retired Married at First Sight fan, I thought this plot was sooo cute and seemed authentic to how the show actually works.

Jacob, a children’s author/illustrator and Kachelle, a pediatric dentist both enroll in Arranged Hearts, a dating service that matches people via interviews and sets them up to meet at their wedding !! Both characters were extremely lovable and seemed perfect for each from the very beginning… A few spicy scenes, family issues, and Jessa and Myra were so funny I ran through this book.

This book was refreshing to watch a black woman be loved on, Mr Mitchell was doing all the things.. acts of service, buying gifts, quality time, etc…

I listened to this book via audiobook, and initially I was surprised to hear how “normal” the voices were… I think for me it helped make this story seem more genuine.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for allowing me to listen.

This is my second Kimberly Brown book and I am just loving her writing. This is very much us against the odds type of vibes. Kachelle and Jacob's slack of support really broke my heart because no matter what they deserved the support they much needed but Jacob and Kachelle stood by their vows and their story was beautiful.

This was one of the best series I l've read in a while

I love Kimberly's writing style so this review can be viewed as biased.

This was an amazing read. Compared to the other stories, I love how they stood on business behind their decision to marry a complete stranger.

I enjoyed this! Kimberly Brown’s stories are always great.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

Jacob & Kachelle were definitely on it’s us against the world vibes. They were tired of the dating scene and knew what they wanted in a mate. I loved that they were very focused on building their relationship and finding the silver lining even though their families were not in agreement. Their parents digging in their heels to not support them really bothered me. I understood they didn’t approve of the dec but at some point you have to accept it and move on. They were willing to push their children away for pride. I appreciated that Jacob let everyone know how things were going to be at the wedding. No disrespect was allowed from anyone & he wasn’t wrong at all. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to review.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for this arc. My review is based on the audiobook. First off I really enjoyed the married at first sight concept. The narrators did a great job on this. Both the male and female did fantastic work voicing the opposite sex. Sometimes that can throw off the story but this was perfect. Not only that but they had a wide variety of voices for younger people, older people and different accents. They are very talented. This is my second book from Kimberly Brown, the first being Rhythm’s Blues. Her covers are also beautifully done.

This was my second favorite of the Arranged Hearts series. I loved Kachelle and Jacob. Their biggest challenge was their families and I loved how the author focused on that instead of having them fall in bed every other page. Jacob's sister was great comic relief. I want to explore more by this author. Out of the entire series this is the only book where both narrators were tolerable. They weren't wowing but they didn't make me want to dnf like the other books.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading each one of these unique books it made me smile. Love…true love is hard to find but these couples made it seem effortless. Some of these authors were new to me but they all have a new fan.

I felt like the series was becoming to easy to predict and just not living up to the hype I had high hopes for this one but it just wasn't as good as the other two in the series

DNF at 36%

This book is part of a series, Arranged Hearts, which is the name of the matchmaking agency that pairs the couples together. I honestly don’t understand why they have to marry first thing, but maybe is explained in the first book in the series and I haven’t read any of them. I liked that it wasn’t a reality show.

Everything was laid out there pretty soon. He is a children book author and she has a dental practice for children (adorable). The theme of surrendering comes up at the wedding, which is early considering it’s the first time they are meeting. He is super open and out there, doing everything he can for he but they barely know each other. I can see the disapproval of their families for the union being part of the plot later.

I completely lost interest after the (lackluster in my opinion) sex they had on their wedding night, no buildup and no tension. From there we go to chapters 12 and 13 and I was so bored I couldn’t get through them. They’re on their honeymoon in Santorini and everything’s just so perfect. Also, at one point Santorini is referred to as country.

The narrators were good at the beginning but neither of them could do a good Greek accent (that for me could have been avoided altogether). The female narrator’s read of the sexy scene was also very flat, I didn’t get much enthusiasm and it affected the story.

My rating is limited to what I’ve read, it could have been different if I had read the whole book. I love Kimberly Brown but I didn’t want to finish this.

I received an ALC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review

I liked this one! I really enjoy Kimberely Brown’s storytelling and can always give a fully fleshed out story even when it is short. This is another installment in the arranged hearts series-collaboration. This follow Kachelle and Jacob who decide to settle down through the matchmaking series. Even though this story was still on the insta-love side it still didn’t feel like it moved so fast, which is ironic since they literally get married on their first meeting LOL. But I thought the pacing was good and I felt that the way their relationships developed over time felt natural even in the short time frame. I also felt the drama didn’t feel unrealistic. Of course, the family is tripping because their kids got married in this way. I understood why they were upset, but at the same time, they needed to get over it. Overall, I enjoyed this! Kimberly Brown’s stories are always great.
Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

Congratulations on your nuptials to Kachelle + Jacob!!!!

I love this book and this series is so cute!

I made it 0.4 PERCENT. Which is 1 minute and 33 seconds before a transphobic comment was made. Immediate DNF.

“You could marry a women who used to be a man” this was said VERY derogatorily.

Ew. Completely unnecessary.

Love the way each write finds away to have a issue come up bun it's not alway the couple that’s the problem I love this whole series this is my 5th ones definitely a must read

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
5 🌟
-
Surrender is my favorite in the "Arranged Hearts," series. This story gives you all the feels, from love, happiness, 😡, and 😭! This is also my favorite audiobook from the series as well. The narrators did a great job.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬:
•arranged marriage
•black romance
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 Aug.27
Thank you, Netgalley, and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook for my honest review.

#bookreview #audiobook #romance #arrangedmarriage #blackromance