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mmajer's review against another edition
4.0
I appreciate Robyn Harding not only for her talent as a writer, but also because she manages to come up with such unique stories that haven’t been done over and over. It’s incredibly refreshing. After two books, I’m definitely a fan and am looking forward to catching up on her earlier books.
rosiekerber's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
3.0
For more of my reviews, check out my book blog at www.readingreckless.wordpress.com.
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding is about a young art student who gets involved with an older man in exchange for money. When the arrangement is broken off, Natalie doesn’t take it well and retalites and someone ends up dead.
Tale as old as time. No string attached relationship turns into a full on affair and someone catches feelings. A girl with an absent father finds an older man to give her the security that she lacked in her youth. Feeling like an outsider in her mother’s new family and an ex-boyfriend who won’t take a hint sets the stage for a small town girl to get into big city trouble.
I gave this book 3 stars. I wanted badly to give it more, because there was considerable hype around this book. The first 50 pages were a predictable boring rambling mess. I started reading this book in August and didn’t pick it back up until late September. I was really that annoyed with it. There were so many times when I was reading a certain passage that I would get confused, so natalie’s thoughts oscillated between present and past and daydreams. It felt utterly disjointed, as if intentionally as she gets more and more involved with Gabe, she starts to get confused.
The exasperation I felt every time something happened had me throwing my phone. It wasn’t about the things that were happening but the reactions to them. The changes that happened to Natalie seem to happen so quickly that I felt like I had whiplash. She goes from I need this money to he’s perfect for me, neglecting the reason why she came to New York in the first place. I know she’s only 22 in the book, and I know she has daddy issues, but it didn’t take her any time at all to completely change her entire personality.
Once I got through the first 50 pages, it went pretty quickly. However the characters with the exception of our main two are not fleshed out. there are plenty of interesting characters we are introduced to however we are not given more backstory because this is written in the first person. And then of course the ending is spelled out so perfectly that it felt convenient instead of correct.
There was a lot of man bashing in the book disguised as feminism. I felt like every time a man was introduced, there was going to be something wrong with him and with only one exception, there was. And I hesitate to say that because the exception isn’t that great either.
I think this book would’ve benefited from a small style change or editorial change. For instance it would’ve been really interesting to hear from two or three characters but they’re different perspectives of the same event.
The big twist of the ending left a lot to be desired. I was expecting a lot more considering how much this book was hyped. In the end the book was perhaps a three star read. I think it would’ve been higher if there was a more complex plot or if it did more to explain certain aspects.
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding is about a young art student who gets involved with an older man in exchange for money. When the arrangement is broken off, Natalie doesn’t take it well and retalites and someone ends up dead.
Tale as old as time. No string attached relationship turns into a full on affair and someone catches feelings. A girl with an absent father finds an older man to give her the security that she lacked in her youth. Feeling like an outsider in her mother’s new family and an ex-boyfriend who won’t take a hint sets the stage for a small town girl to get into big city trouble.
I gave this book 3 stars. I wanted badly to give it more, because there was considerable hype around this book. The first 50 pages were a predictable boring rambling mess. I started reading this book in August and didn’t pick it back up until late September. I was really that annoyed with it. There were so many times when I was reading a certain passage that I would get confused, so natalie’s thoughts oscillated between present and past and daydreams. It felt utterly disjointed, as if intentionally as she gets more and more involved with Gabe, she starts to get confused.
The exasperation I felt every time something happened had me throwing my phone. It wasn’t about the things that were happening but the reactions to them. The changes that happened to Natalie seem to happen so quickly that I felt like I had whiplash. She goes from I need this money to he’s perfect for me, neglecting the reason why she came to New York in the first place. I know she’s only 22 in the book, and I know she has daddy issues, but it didn’t take her any time at all to completely change her entire personality.
Once I got through the first 50 pages, it went pretty quickly. However the characters with the exception of our main two are not fleshed out. there are plenty of interesting characters we are introduced to however we are not given more backstory because this is written in the first person. And then of course the ending is spelled out so perfectly that it felt convenient instead of correct.
There was a lot of man bashing in the book disguised as feminism. I felt like every time a man was introduced, there was going to be something wrong with him and with only one exception, there was. And I hesitate to say that because the exception isn’t that great either.
I think this book would’ve benefited from a small style change or editorial change. For instance it would’ve been really interesting to hear from two or three characters but they’re different perspectives of the same event.
The big twist of the ending left a lot to be desired. I was expecting a lot more considering how much this book was hyped. In the end the book was perhaps a three star read. I think it would’ve been higher if there was a more complex plot or if it did more to explain certain aspects.
midnightpoison13's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished the last chapter of this book, and... whoa. Nat really turned out to be quite the character. Right from the moment she began to see her relationship with Gabe as something more than just a business deal, I sensed trouble ahead. If only she had listened to Ava's warnings. In the end, she got what was coming to her. Did she deserve to keep tormenting herself with the belief that she killed Gabe? Maybe not, but justice ultimately prevailed. Gabe got his just desserts, freeing Celeste and Violet from his toxic grip. Thankfully, Nat is finally getting the support she needed, though it's hard not to think she should've sought it earlier, especially after Cole's intrusion.
nevaehbecker's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
whitneylv's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Self harm
Moderate: Stalking
namitakhanna's review against another edition
5.0
4 ½ stars
Nat is a young college going artist trying to survive in New York city. Almost on the verge of being kicked out of her apartment her friend Ava tells her about a Sugar Daddy website where Nat meets Gabe. Though Gabe is thirty years older than her Nat falls in love with him . Gabe is still married and he has no plans to leave his family for her and when things get too much for him he breaks off the arrangement but Natalie is not ready to accept the end of their arrangement so easily…
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding has great characters and is an excellent psychological thriller with lots of secrets drama, lies, and murder which makes it a highly engrossing read
I would like to thank Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
Nat is a young college going artist trying to survive in New York city. Almost on the verge of being kicked out of her apartment her friend Ava tells her about a Sugar Daddy website where Nat meets Gabe. Though Gabe is thirty years older than her Nat falls in love with him . Gabe is still married and he has no plans to leave his family for her and when things get too much for him he breaks off the arrangement but Natalie is not ready to accept the end of their arrangement so easily…
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding has great characters and is an excellent psychological thriller with lots of secrets drama, lies, and murder which makes it a highly engrossing read
I would like to thank Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
bailatkins's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i expect robyn harding books to be a little silly, and i would say this one was, but this was better than the others i have read. i enjoyed most of it, but the ending, especially when celeste’s framing job was explained completely , dragged it down for me. natalie is crazy, but i liked seeing her experience in this new kind of lifestyle. but i think the violet stuff was so strange and i dont really understand why it happened. i get that the party made it so celeste had a shirt to wrap the gun in, but why did they flirt? so strange and didnt make sense even for how crazy natalie was.