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maralyons's review against another edition
5.0
The Arc is a fascinating light satire about contemporary love and how we sustain our relationships. The writing reminded me of Laura Hankin’s novels and the show Black Mirror. The story immediately drew me in set in privileged elitist New York City. It follows Ursula, 35, and Rafael, 42; who are both successful in their careers but haven’t found the right person. They each spend $40-50k on the Arc’s service, an intensive matching service that employs technology in matching romantic partners. They’re matched with each other and have an instant, deep connection.
I loved Ursula and Rafael’s characters. The dialogue was so fun and punchy and I loved their connection. A few months in they begin having disagreements and old patterns appear. We soon learns what happens after a perfect match is put together. This book made me ponder questions like, how do we make our relationships successful? What makes people compatible? How do our insecurities and past experiences reflect in our relationships and communication? I also pondered the precarity of all relationships. I listened to the audiobook which was deftly narrated by Mary Elizabeth Kelly who perfectly embodied Ursula and the tone of the book.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved Ursula and Rafael’s characters. The dialogue was so fun and punchy and I loved their connection. A few months in they begin having disagreements and old patterns appear. We soon learns what happens after a perfect match is put together. This book made me ponder questions like, how do we make our relationships successful? What makes people compatible? How do our insecurities and past experiences reflect in our relationships and communication? I also pondered the precarity of all relationships. I listened to the audiobook which was deftly narrated by Mary Elizabeth Kelly who perfectly embodied Ursula and the tone of the book.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
linderrbee's review against another edition
2.0
The Arc follows Ursula and Rafael as they are looking to find love through a secretive and sophisticated match-making service called The Arc. The Arc promises to find someone's perfect partner complete with lifelong compatibility. I really wanted to like this book since the premise was intriguing to me. I had a hard time relating to the characters. At times the pacing was slow, so I skimmed a lot of this book. Some romance lovers will enjoy this book; however it wasn’t the right book for me. Thank you to NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
ashleykritzer's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for my gifted eARC of “The Arc” by Tory Henwood Hoen.
You know that TikTok audio that’s like “the girls that get it, get it …” That’s what I think of when I think of this book. It is, I guess, a love story — but not really. There’s a lot of satire; our protagonist, 35-year-old Ursula, is “VP of strategic audacity” at a marketing firm in New York.
Tired of the dating cesspool, Ursula pays The Arc an exorbitant sum to find her perfect match. The Arc is peak startup, with its own jargon and certain its matchmaking service that costs five figures is going to change the world. Through The Arc, Ursula is matched with 42-year-old Rafael Banks (who also paid a crazy amount of money for the process).
The couple has an immediate connection, but as life unfolds, it becomes less and less certain just how much they can depend on the data behind their “fully optimized” relationship.
I really enjoyed this one; I loved the writing, and the subtle humor was perfect. But I think it’s probably going to resonate the most with people — especially women — who have some exposure to startups, VC and corporate life. The book spends as much time on Ursula’s career as it does their relationship — that’s kind of the point.
You know that TikTok audio that’s like “the girls that get it, get it …” That’s what I think of when I think of this book. It is, I guess, a love story — but not really. There’s a lot of satire; our protagonist, 35-year-old Ursula, is “VP of strategic audacity” at a marketing firm in New York.
Tired of the dating cesspool, Ursula pays The Arc an exorbitant sum to find her perfect match. The Arc is peak startup, with its own jargon and certain its matchmaking service that costs five figures is going to change the world. Through The Arc, Ursula is matched with 42-year-old Rafael Banks (who also paid a crazy amount of money for the process).
The couple has an immediate connection, but as life unfolds, it becomes less and less certain just how much they can depend on the data behind their “fully optimized” relationship.
I really enjoyed this one; I loved the writing, and the subtle humor was perfect. But I think it’s probably going to resonate the most with people — especially women — who have some exposure to startups, VC and corporate life. The book spends as much time on Ursula’s career as it does their relationship — that’s kind of the point.
bookrecsplease's review against another edition
4.0
This is probably the strangest romance book I’ve ever read. Between the self-proclaimed weird protagonists, bizarre situations they live in, and the constant contradictions of the FMC, it was all so…weird. It’s also of the most uniquely structured romance books I’ve ever read. Overall, it took me a minute to adjust to the strangeness of Ursula’s world, then I came to really like her, then to really like Rafael, but then when the author went from more day-to-day scenes and to jumping forward in time really quick with just pausing for brief scenes here and there, I started to lose that connection to the protagonists. I felt like I started to lose track of their personalities, in part because I think Ursula changed a lot through the whole Arc process and everything that transpired afterwards, and in part because the time of the book was moving too fast. We went from her being so incredibly insecure in her job to her being comfortable swearing out her boss over a disagreement and I was left feeling like I didn’t know when she had become so different. And the way she kept engaging in more and more contradictions of her principles of anti-capitalism and billionaires threw me for a loop. I felt like my the end I just didn’t know her character anymore, whereas at the beginning we got such a good view of how silly, smart, caring, and principled she was before most of that seemed to change so rapidly off-page. I started to like Ursula less and less.
I thought the simultaneous dual POV that was often used was perfect for getting into the nitty gritty of every up and down of the relationship, which I truly loved reading - it got so much deeper into those trenches than most other romance books.
I thought the simultaneous dual POV that was often used was perfect for getting into the nitty gritty of every up and down of the relationship, which I truly loved reading - it got so much deeper into those trenches than most other romance books.
dogswithnogs's review against another edition
1.0
Super interesting concept, had to DNF at 42% due to the use of ding-ding for penis. Fade to black scenes, coupled with some internalized misogyny made me quit.
effiekaradimitri's review against another edition
3.0
Really captured the dating zeitgeist of the late 2010s- present. Ursula and Rafael annoyed me, but I loved the ending!
zilliejr's review against another edition
3.0
Solid 3 stars. The future is a hyper-optimized dating service that cost $40-50K to match you with someone perfect? Does it work? Is it worth it? Would you pay that much for the love of your life? Maybe, I was hoping to find out. I still don't know if I'd do this, but I loved the premise. I didn't, however, fall in love with these characters, so their detailed interactions did very little for me but you might like these people. If you do you'll love this. Though, I saw the ending coming from 300 miles away.
_reedmylife_'s review against another edition
3.0
This was such a fun and quirky read!
The Arc made me laugh so much that I could not help but enjoy reading it. This novel is a romantic comedy that asks "How do you actually find love in the modern age?" Thus, The Arc is created to give those struggling with finding love the opportunity to be matched with the perfect person, for a fee of course.
Ursula, although toxic at times, is a joy to read about for the most part. She often times takes things too far, but she has her likable moments. Rafael on the other hand is truly a saint and I fell head over heels for him. He genuinely wants to create a connection with someone and it is very telling in the way he acts and speaks about those he loves. There is a bit of shenanigans that goes on in this novel, but overall, it is a book about how finding love isn't as hard as we think, we just need to open our eyes and find out what and who our priorities should be.
The Arc made me laugh so much that I could not help but enjoy reading it. This novel is a romantic comedy that asks "How do you actually find love in the modern age?" Thus, The Arc is created to give those struggling with finding love the opportunity to be matched with the perfect person, for a fee of course.
Ursula, although toxic at times, is a joy to read about for the most part. She often times takes things too far, but she has her likable moments. Rafael on the other hand is truly a saint and I fell head over heels for him. He genuinely wants to create a connection with someone and it is very telling in the way he acts and speaks about those he loves. There is a bit of shenanigans that goes on in this novel, but overall, it is a book about how finding love isn't as hard as we think, we just need to open our eyes and find out what and who our priorities should be.
alittlemixofvix's review against another edition
3.0
I was torn with this one - bits I liked and other bits were so frustratingly annoying. So I thought 3 stars was most appropriate. I do think it should have had it's release date on Valentine's Day too.
It's an easy read, so if you want a romance that's light, funny at times, and definitely quirky, this one is for you. Personally, I liked the sound of The Stake and would love to try out some of their activities for relaxing or relieving stress - I can totally get behind that! I also liked the dynamic between Ursula and Issa, but wish there was more of Issa in the second half. I liked the idea of the Arc, but some of the things in there I would have definitely questioned...
Ursula could be very annoying, and I felt sometimes the "quirks" were just added for the sake of it - please no more crazy pet names for each other. I saw the twist coming a mile off and didn't know how the characters had no inkling. Also, there was a section with Rafael that really frustrated me, as I felt his whole personality changed just to suit the plot at that point.
Overall, mixed feelings of enjoyment but also frustration. I would be intrigued to read other work by Tory as this is her debut novel.
*I received a complimentary copy of the book from Readers First and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
It's an easy read, so if you want a romance that's light, funny at times, and definitely quirky, this one is for you. Personally, I liked the sound of The Stake and would love to try out some of their activities for relaxing or relieving stress - I can totally get behind that! I also liked the dynamic between Ursula and Issa, but wish there was more of Issa in the second half. I liked the idea of the Arc, but some of the things in there I would have definitely questioned...
Ursula could be very annoying, and I felt sometimes the "quirks" were just added for the sake of it - please no more crazy pet names for each other. I saw the twist coming a mile off and didn't know how the characters had no inkling. Also, there was a section with Rafael that really frustrated me, as I felt his whole personality changed just to suit the plot at that point.
Overall, mixed feelings of enjoyment but also frustration. I would be intrigued to read other work by Tory as this is her debut novel.
*I received a complimentary copy of the book from Readers First and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
salimah's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this one from beginning to end! The author's fresh angle invigorates the premise which is a variation on a theme I've seen a few times over the years. Delightful, funny, with compellingly drawn characters.