An interesting read, a bit of a struggle to get through but overall ok - I appreciate the opportunity to review it!

Even though the main character was a sex worker, the tone came across as a little swerfy. The ending was way too far fetched and wrapped up a little too neatly for a motivation that doesn't make any sense.

What a great read. Harding does a great job of creating characters that seem real and although not always making the best decisions, you want to follow them around for the whole book.

Loved This Book!

Natalie is a lovely and young art student who is struggling to pay her bills when she suddenly loses her job and is now at her wits end when a friend brings up the topic of Sugar Babies. She explains that this a harmless way to make an enormous amount of money with no strings attached unless the Sugar Baby would like an attachment of sorts with the Sugar Daddy. At first Natalie is appalled by the idea since it seems to be prostitution with a pretty name but then as her funds keep dwindling she says to herself "Just a coup!e of dates couldn't hurt" since it's supposed to be about companionship only. A few lunches and dinners (no sex involved), what could it hurt to make a lot of money to have a free dinner at an upscale restaurant and and all she would have to do is dress up and wear a lot of makeup to appear elegant and sexy. So how could this be considered prostitution. Right? Then Natalie meets
Gabe who is a silver fox, extremely well off and very successful, plus (supposedly) divorced. Natalie falls head over heels for Gabe and forgets this was a business venture and not a dating relationship so when Gabe breaks it off, Natalie's world starts to spiral downward very quickly and so begins the mad cycle of her love/hate frenzy towards Gabe not knowing that Gabe was not the person who she believed him to be and Gabe is a very powerful and ruthless businessmen when he needs to be so he is not about to have a starry eyed and lovestruck art student attempt to destroy his perfect life.

"The Arrangement" was a really juicy, entertaining and terrific read for me. The writing and pacing of the story was perfect. I just couldn't get enough of all the deceit and lies. This was such a wonderful psychological mystery that I didn't want to put the book down. So sad that some mistakes made in youth can end up having very tragic consequences.

I was t to thank the publisher "Gallery/Scout Press" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific novel and any thoughts and opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I highly recommend this story and have given a rating of 4 1/2 Juicy 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 Stars!!

This author's books are always a little hit or miss for me. While I enjoy the story, I am always left wanting a little more. The pacing and writing style are very good; it is just the endings I wish delivered more of a punch.

Thanks to #NetGalley I received an e-book ARC and finally got a chance to read it.

Wow! This book had so many twists and turns. Could you be a sugar baby and have a "daddy" pay you for your time, your rent, or even fancy gifts? Natalie didn't think she would end up on a site like that, let alone have a man in his fifties give her money to go for drinks or be available for dates.

Everything goes wrong when one falls in love with the other. So many secrets! The author really draws you into the story and keeps you guessing on where things will go next.

I highly recommend this book.

The Arrangement is the first title by Robyn Harding that I've read, but it definitely won't be the last. This book offers a clear look, albeit fictional, of the life of a sugar baby.

Natalie is an art student living in NYC. Even with a partial scholarship and a part-time job, she can't make ends meet. When she loses her job, a friend tells Nat that she can increase her income by becoming a sugar baby. I was surprised to learn that more and more young ladies, particularly college students, really are turning to this lifestyle.

Natalie discovers that she can be very well paid to simply provide companionship to a wealthy man. It's a business arrangement with clearly defined rules and no strings - until it's not.

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. I would very highly recommend The Arrangement to anyone looking for a psychological thriller and/or interested in the sugar baby lifestyle.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital copy of this title to review from Net Galley.

#TheArrangement#NetGalley

I received The Arrangement by Robyn Harding thru Netgalley for an honest and truthful reivew. The Arrangement is the first book that I have read by Robyn Harding, and wondering why I have not discovered her until now. The newest book by Robyn harding was captitavating, great characters, characters that grow, and making me want more. In The Arrangement, Robyn Harding takes her readers behind, thru the "glamorous" of being a Sugar baby, sugar daddy, and those who intertwine with them.
Sometimes the people who are closet to us, are the ones who hurt us the most, typically, unwillingly, and unknowingly (unless they are made aware of it).
Natalie Murphy a young struggling collage student trying to keep up on all her bills, but finding it hard to do. Between her classes, job, and strained relationship with her mom, step-father, and ever so non-existent father, she hardly keeping a float. The novel progresses on with Natalie's point of view, her troubled back ground ( caused by her rich, family powered, super privileged ex-boyfriend), not to mention, Natalie continues to struggle finically, when one of friend's Ava suggests that she(Natalie) checks out the Superbowl. Next we get some background on Natalie's future Sugar Daddy, Gabrielle (Gabe) Turnmill. Gabe is the type of man who is used to getting his own way, people will listen to him and obey him without questioning him.
As the arrangement between Natalie and Gabe get under way, many of the characters surprise me, both good and bad. Natalie, Gabe, and other characters are pushed beyond their comfortable boundries. When push comes to shove, how will people re-act? Their normal everyday self, but because given of their situtations, will they push in to unfamlir territory?
You may think of sugar babies as the new Vivian's from Pretty Woman, it is not all champagne and caviar, but could be something much more darker.

Nat is a struggling college student living in NYC. She has two roommates that don’t particularly like her and want her to move out but she knows she doesn’t make enough money to make it on her own. A friend from school introduces her to the “sugar bowl” - a website for sugar babies and sugar babies to meet. (If you don’t know what these are, just Google & go down a rabbit hole). Nat meets Gabe, a wealthy attorney, and he showers her with all the “rich people” stuff that she desires. But, as thrillers do, it all goes real bad. Really enjoyed this one!

Natalie left her small hometown in the Pacific Northwest to go to college in New York City. She was excited to experience life in the city, but she is struggling with money. She just lost her job and she owes her roommates money. One of her school friends has an interesting way to make some money. She is a "sugar baby." She dates older men for money. At first, Nat is repulsed with the idea of dating an old man for money and then her roommates threaten her with eviction. She has to do something to earn money and fast. So she signs up for the website and finds herself scheduling a date with an older man for $500. She soon finds herself infatuated with the handsome Gabe. He is a corporate lawyer who is nearly thirty years her senior. For a while, it is great between the two of them. Gabe takes Nat to fancy restaurants, black tie events, and away for the weekend. But that is not enough for Nat. She wants more. She wants it all. She wants more than Gabe is able to give her. But does she want it bad enough to kill for it?

The Arrangement is a cautionary tale. The tagline for The Arrangement says "Love for money...what could go wrong" and that says it all. From the very beginning, it was clear that Nat was a hot mess. She drank too much and didn't work enough. I am not sure if the author painted her that way to illustrate an irresponsible college student or to illustrate a flaky art student. Either way, Nat did not do herself any favors. I could see the appeal that Gabe held for Nat, especially since Nat didn't have a very good relationship with her father. From the very first page, the reader knows that Nat killed somebody, but you don't know who. I spent the whole book trying to guess who it was who was killed, but when the author revealed the victim, I was shocked. -CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS. I wouldn't say that things ended very well for Nat, but I guess that they ended the best way possible given the circumstances.

Bottom Line - The Arrangement was a fast-paced thriller that makes me eternally grateful that I went to college more than twenty years ago in a sleepy Iowa town. Nat did what she did because she was desperate and nothing good ever happens out of desperation.

Details:
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding
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Pages: 352
Publisher: Gallery/ Scout Press
Publication Date: 7/30/19
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book. Plenty of devious surprises and crackling suspense, along with interesting characters. Just the sort of book to cause a lack of sleep, but I won't complain! Highly recommended.

*This book was provided to me as an ARC at no charge in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to participate in this program.*

Um, Sugar Daddy, okay, I am intrigued. A perfect love to hate the main character read! Entertaining to say the least.

This book had an interesting premise and is an entertaining read, but it wasn't for me in the end. I was very interested to read about the sugar daddy culture - that part was fun for me!

Hoo boy this one was crazy! It started slow, built like a frog boiling in water and then all of a sudden Natalie has lost her dang mind! I loved the Sugar Daddy / Baby plot line and will never hear these terms the same way again. It is always fascinating to me that these men think they can have their cake and eat it too. Gabe certainly met his match with Natalie, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Natalie is an art student in NYC, she is struggling to make ends meet, she is the third roommate in a small apartment and the other two roommates cannot stand her and have no problem letting her know this on the daily. One of her friends in art school has a similar background as Nat but has much nicer things than she, so she finally learns it is due to a lifestyle as a Sugar Baby, a website where she can find a Sugar Daddy to pay for dates, give her an allowance, etc and decides to give it a try. The caveat is she shouldn’t fall in love. Easier said than done, right? She is able to do this fairly easy at first, until she meets Gabe, who listens to her, takes care of her, even has her crazy ex-bf beaten up, and if THAT doesn’t show someone you love them, then idk what does…

This was a fast paced novel, with enough twists that it was satisfying. I certainly learned a lot about sugar babies and their daddies, more than I could possibly want or need to know. I enjoyed this thriller and recommend it but you have been warned about the subject matter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the ecopy to review.

This book is packed with suspense and action! Page turner. Memorable. You will cheer for the lead and not cheer for some people in this book. Total roller coaster of emotions and total adventure here!

First, let me thank netgalley and the publishers for approving my request for an early release of this book. All reviews of my netgalley books can be found on goodreads and youtube. Please be sure to check out the links attached.

Wow! I read my first Harding book not long ago, and read this immediately after because I love her writing so much. I also really enjoy when a story starts at the end and the whole time you’re working together trying to fit the pieces together. . This is the unraveling of an arrangement that from the beginning seemed to be doomed, and ends with a murder. Really engaging!

Ok, so before I get into how much I enjoyed this book, I have to laugh about something. Who loved Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddy candy growing up? 🙋🏼‍♀️ I sure did! I spent a lot of time thinking back and giggling 🤭 about how wee lil kids were allowed to have candy named so naughtily! 🤣 ⁣⁣
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Anyways, ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʀʀᴀɴɢᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ is a story about a sugar baby, and her sugar daddy (not the candy kind). Sweet innocent Nat is down on the outs. She’s living in a crappy apartment in Brooklyn, with crappy roommates that have it out for her. She has no money, not for food nor for paying her college tuition. She meets Ava at Art School who tells her about an opportunity to turn her life around. And how you say? Join The Sugar Bowl. Basically make a crap ton of money by getting older men to pay you for your time (and other things). Sounds easy right? 🤦🏼‍♀️ Of course things go awry, but if we didn’t know it already, we learn in the first few pages of the book that prostitutin’ ain’t easy! ⁣⁣
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The concept of this book was so fascinating and I really appreciate all the research that @rhardingwriter did to bring this story to life. It definitely comes through in the writing. I wanted to shake Nat, and her lover Gabe so hard at parts in this book. They were both being so dumb, and deceitful, and manipulative. Yet, I still kinda felt bad for both of them. I was really flying through this one. I almost finished in a few days, but then this thing called work got in the way. I found myself sneaking in a chapter here in there whenever I could.. like in a bathroom stall 🚽 or while walking my dogs 🐕! If that doesn’t give you a sense of how good this one is, I’m not sure what else could! 🤷🏼‍♀️ ⁣⁣
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This was my first book by Robyn Harding. Her others are on my long, daunting #TBR but I liked this one so much, I’m bumping them up to the top! ⁣⁣

As I tend to compare books to authors’ previous works, and I LOVED Her Pretty Face, this one ended up a four star for me. It didn’t have that same dark/sinister feel to it. One other thing that knocked the rating down, was the constant reference to “Daddies.” I guess that would be considered a trigger for me. It gives me the constant creeps and I just hated it every time I came across that word, which was often. It was a unique concept, but just made uneasy with the language used.

I still enjoyed the plot as a whole and Robyn Harding has easily become an auto-buy author for me. I’m looking forward to her next release!

Instalove is so not my jam!! I think I could have related to the characters better had this developed over time and not after the 1st 30 seconds. The concept of the book was great, but I just didn’t like the way it came together unfortunately. This book just didn’t work for me. The mystery just really wasn’t a mystery to me.

TW: self harm, emotional manipulation and rape.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.