Reviews with content warning for Death - The Arrangement

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin

15 reviews

astoriareader's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-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

2.5

SYNOPSIS

Ainsley and Peter have been married for awhile. They have 3 kids, and they are successful in their careers.
However, their marriage has hit a rough patch. They've tried various methods to improve their relationship, but nothing seems to work.
As a last resort, they agree to an open marriage.
What could possibly go wrong?!👀😂

MY THOUGHTS

This is only 200 page book, so it’s a quick read.
Frankly, this is a popcorn thriller. I read it in a single sitting, and it was an easy read.
You have to suspend a lot of disbelief in this one. The two main characters are also extremely unlikeable.
No real character development in this one. Ending was mehhh. There are lots of plot holes. The writing is okay, but not great.
My biggest gripe about this one is the writer committed the cardinal sin of lying to readers about characters while telling the story from their POV. Ainsley & Peter tell the story in present day perspectives. In other words, the characters tell the readers their thoughts and interactions, as they are occurring. It isn't a "twist" or “big reveal" to represent a character’s thoughts and experiences as one way, then do a 180 in the last couple pages?? We are reading their active, present thoughts, so with that in mind, a lot of the book makes no sense. I always think this is such a cheap writing tactic when authors go this route.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️🌓2.5 stars. Popcorn thriller. Lots of plot holes, but only 200 pages.

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graves1888's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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stephanieluxton's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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kaylasbookgram's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“For me, cheating on my wife had never been something I planned on. I wasn’t proud of myself for what I’d done. Not that night or any of the nights before. And, to my surprise, it didn’t feel any better now, just because I had permission.”

•Read This Book If:
You love a fast read.
You love a shocking ending.

•Synopsis:
Peter & Ainsley have come to the conclusion that something needs to be done in order to save their marriage. So Ainsley comes up with The Arrangement. But when a date starts to show a bit to much in Ainsley things start to take a turn for the worse for this couple.

•My Thoughts:
Oh my goodness! This book was filled with everything I look for in a good thriller! Twists, turns, and shocking events every few chapters to surprise you and leave you wondering what’s going to happen next. I absolutely love Kiersten Modglin’s books and am excited to continue this series.

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lschuchman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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sarahmaemae's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

3.0

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books4bee's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Wow. Just wow. Surprises at every turn.

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slipppers98's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

1.0

These characters are unlikeable from the start. As we learn more about the characters, they’re even less likeable. They’re white, middle class folk with the privilege that entails. Instead of being whiny, they need to learn to learn about and accept themselves. They need to give of themselves to their community or a societal issue they’re passionate about. Something. They definitely need to talk to professionals. They don’t make smart decisions. They’re like real people, except that typically, real people have some redeeming qualities and I couldn’t find those within this couple. 6 hours of these people was a wasted 6 hours. They deserved the trouble they got themselves into. Every single thing. Yuck.

Also, the depiction of 10 year olds is so far off.

Character driven and terrible.

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bujoxbooked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

I loved that it was a short read (6 hours!) and entertaining from beginning to end as I read it in two days! The author packed a lot in just that short amount of time. The first half focused on the open marriage, which would've been interesting enough to just read about for me! The second half has all the twists and turns packed in that last bit.

I've been learning from the 2 previous books I've been reading that were thrillers that they weren't for me, but this one proved me wrong! Most thrillers take so long to get to the point, but not this story. Which I LOVED!

I'm between 4.5 stars and 5 stars...because the twists were good don't get me wrong but just one after another jam-packed and then the book just ended! (Lol which makes sense as I now see there is a sequel).

WTH!

Ok let me type this all out just to make sure I have it somewhat straight...

Ainsley sets up "The Arrangement" for them to sleep with other people because she did not want to get divorced and she knew Peter was cheating on her already. She found guys with a particular job that may go after her so Peter would try to kill them and she would be able to keep his secret so they would have to say together forever. He's a secret serial rapist that killed the other wife (whose husband was a copycat rapist) and buried the couple under their new patio and Ainsley already knew about it as she found all the underwear from the other women.

Still WTH lol

Prior to the last chapter or two, I didn't think it was as crazy of a reveal(

of him sleeping with his wife's best friend's husband

) but wow the end of the book really did it.

I am confused though because

if she knew about him being a rapist or just having all those women's underwear then why did she need Peter to kill someone still. Maybe because of the timeline as it was 6 months later?

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fbzcab's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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