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A review by bookswithmaddi
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen
3.0
The Arc follows Ursula and Rafael as the engage in a journey to find love through a secretive match-making service called The Arc. The Arc promises to find someone's ideal partner and lifelong compatibility. When Ursula and Rafael are matched with each other they feel an electric love for each other. However, their relationship begins to unravel in ways they never expected and they learn that true love can not be constructed but must be chosen.
The Arc is one of the most unique books I have ever read. While the concept in itself has been done before in other ways the execution of it was nuanced and unexpected. Tory Henwood Hoen's writing style immediately immerses you into Ursula and Rafael's world as well as their individual mindsets. Hoen's ability to seamlessly flow between Ursula and Rafael's perspectives was unlike anything I have read before. The characters felt fully fleshed out, the time spent on working out their individual mental battles and struggles allowed readers to fully understand the way that Ursula and Rafael's relationship worked. This is not a novel or writing style that I will soon forget. I will definitely be reading from Hoen again.
My main criticism of this book lies in the pacing. While Hoen did an excellent job creating fully fleshed out characters I found that there were moments of unnecessary detail and drawn out narratives. So many other characters were introduced and then never heard from again which left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end. Truthfully I think this book tried to do to much. Between Ursula's job, her college friends, her relationship with her mother, the detailed moments at the Stake, her job, her work with Mike, her struggle with past relationships and her relationship with Rafael the focus of the story was at times hard to find. While these details are important to provide to assert Ursula as someone who exists outside of just her relationship I found that at many times the story was veering off course and creating unnecessary tangents. This created a strange kind of pacing where I would be super invested in the story and then the focus would completely change for a few chapters which would tear me out of my interest.
Overall this is an incredibly unique book and I would highly recommend it to fans of romance, contemporary, or even science fiction. I truly can't wait to see how this book will be received when it is released in February because it is so nuanced and unique.
The Arc is one of the most unique books I have ever read. While the concept in itself has been done before in other ways the execution of it was nuanced and unexpected. Tory Henwood Hoen's writing style immediately immerses you into Ursula and Rafael's world as well as their individual mindsets. Hoen's ability to seamlessly flow between Ursula and Rafael's perspectives was unlike anything I have read before. The characters felt fully fleshed out, the time spent on working out their individual mental battles and struggles allowed readers to fully understand the way that Ursula and Rafael's relationship worked. This is not a novel or writing style that I will soon forget. I will definitely be reading from Hoen again.
My main criticism of this book lies in the pacing. While Hoen did an excellent job creating fully fleshed out characters I found that there were moments of unnecessary detail and drawn out narratives. So many other characters were introduced and then never heard from again which left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end. Truthfully I think this book tried to do to much. Between Ursula's job, her college friends, her relationship with her mother, the detailed moments at the Stake, her job, her work with Mike, her struggle with past relationships and her relationship with Rafael the focus of the story was at times hard to find. While these details are important to provide to assert Ursula as someone who exists outside of just her relationship I found that at many times the story was veering off course and creating unnecessary tangents. This created a strange kind of pacing where I would be super invested in the story and then the focus would completely change for a few chapters which would tear me out of my interest.
Overall this is an incredibly unique book and I would highly recommend it to fans of romance, contemporary, or even science fiction. I truly can't wait to see how this book will be received when it is released in February because it is so nuanced and unique.