A review by thathappyreader
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen

4.0

This was such an interesting read.  The whole concept of meeting your ideal mate by using a set of highly intimate assessments sounds far-fetched yet believable.  All through the book, it felt as though the creators of this company were going to let Ursula and Rafael know that this was all an experiment to see how far a couple would go to find their perfect match.  But they did not.

The central characters were well developed.   Both were educated and career-driven individuals who had experienced previous relationships but had never felt they had found “the one”.  Through The Arc, the two meet and fall fast for one another.  They couldn’t believe what a great job The Arc had done in pairing them together.  But no relationship is perfect and the two find challenges along the way.

The Arc company itself was well presented and futuristic.  The descriptions of the surroundings and the week-long assessments their clients go through before matching was fascinating.  It was surprising to me that neither Ursula nor Rafael questioned the need for some of these intimate assessments and simply went along with what was requested.

There is a twist to the story which I won’t get into so as not to give too much away, but this was a significant part of the story and mindset of this couple.  It was well presented and was a highlight.

I listened to the audiobook version of The Arc which was narrated by Mary Elizabeth Kelly.  I enjoyed her performance - particularly how she portrays the Doctor at The Arc.  Her voice almost feels computer generated which portrays the clinician behind The Arc’s algorithm.  I would highly recommend this format of the book to those that enjoy audiobooks.