WOW. WHAT THE HECK. I read the book, very engrossing on a touchy subject. I just wanted to be in love with it. Great writing and story. Hard to connect with some of the unwise choices.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

I really enjoyed this book. Natalie, in need of money, sticks her toe in the waters of sugar baby/sugar daddy relationships. Before long she’s in knee-deep and, ultimately, finds herself in way over her head. She broke ‘the arrangement’ when she fell in love with Gabe.

The author does a great job in helping us understand Natalie and the desperation that makes her explore that world. The writing was fast paced and held my interest throughout.

The Arrangement was a great summer read, one that lets you put your brain in neutral and just plain enjoy the book. Let me not forget to mention that there’s a murder too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was most entertaining.

I loved this book!!!!!!!!!! I loved drama and sex scandal type stories. I read so much thrillers that a sex scandal is very refreshing sometimes!!!!!! I knew after reading the sypnosis that I would enjoy this book. Natalie is a college student in NY struggling with tuition, rent, and just plain means of paying her own way in college. She hears about a sugar baby website from a friend and decides to try it just to pay up some bills and save some money for her future. What she doesn't expect is to fall for her sugar daddy sending her spiraling down an unfamiliar road that ends in murder!!!!!!!! Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Threshold Books for my honest review. I highly recommend this book.

Synopsis read like a FATAL ATTRACTON novel. BUT.....Harding made this read much more than that with a surprise ending. Rich Guy Gabe has his side affairs with young women called Sugar Babies. During the first chapters Gabe and young college student Natalie seem to settle into their mutual beneficial arrangements. Many emotions are described about Natalie and her challenges that draw the reader. Not going to reveal anymore as spoilers would SPOIL this books appeal. "A copy of this book was provided by Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books via NetGalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

The Arrangement is my first book to read by Robyn Harding. I will be reading more of her books. I enjoyed her write style which captured my attention from the very first chapter. The Arrangement has a fascinating storyline. I didn’t know how the book would end.

This book was a little farfetched for me. I picked it up because I saw good reviews and heard high praise from book reviewers on Instagram. It's definitely a stand out in terms of plot in the thriller genre right now, focusing on the taboo theme of sugar daddy/sugar baby relationships. But we only get one of those relationships, and it ends up spiraling out of control.

I can appreciate the way Natalie is forcibly separated from everyone in her life. It's a little forced but not totally unbelievable. There are, however, a few key steps along the way that aren't justified enough (and I'll keep these vague to avoid spoilers): Natalie's guide to the sugar world abandoning her, Natalie's Instagram blunder, and Natalie's descent into absolute madness. It's so much so fast that it simply couldn't hold up.

There's also some pacing issues. The first 30% was solid: we get our introduction to Natalie and her isolation and desperation and the beginnings of her relationship. Then there's about 50% worth of awkward courting, sex, and doubt (on both sides). The last 20% was more my style with its fast pace and high stakes, but it didn't mesh with the rest of the story.

I also don't think having Gabe's perspective adds to the story. He's too stereotypical-self-important-rich-white-man to really pull off the potentially sympathetic secondary narrative voice. We get his panic as things spiral out of control, but it's hard to care when he totally deserves it, inside and out.

This is a quick and pretty straightforward read. Even though the subject is new, the overall story is not and the ending shouldn't come as much of a surprise (it feels right and almost inevitable).

Simply amazing book! I received it and read it right away. I couldn’t put it down! I felt for Nat and really related to her character.

The Arrangement seemed like an update on the movie Pretty Woman. In this version, the woman is an art student, struggling to make tuition and rent and about to be kicked out on the street when a friend tells her about an alternative way to make quick money. While at first, Natalie seems to be independent and smart (she left a small town to go to New York on a partial art scholarship). her character quickly devolves into an obsessive, revengeful, stalkery mess. I appreciate that the author did real research to find out about the life of "sugar daddys" and "sugar babies", but the story called for more suspension of disbelief than I could muster. The writing was tight, and I liked how each chapter was foreshadowed with a title that described the narrative. Good writing, so-so story, unexpected ending.

3.5 stars. What a deliciously fucked up story! I was completely entranced by this book and glued to the pages. Natalie enters into a sugar baby/daddy relationship with Gabe, but she's hopelessly bad at remembering that it's just an "arrangement". When Gabe breaks up with her, all hell breaks loose, and before long someone is dead.

I really enjoyed this story of passion, betrayal, and murder. There was nothing in it that was too surprising to me, but it was wildly entertaining and such a fun read. Would recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced thrill ride.

The Arrangement hooked me from the first chapter and I could not put it down. Well written and interesting characters.

This book pulled me in from the very beginning. I could not put it down! I did not expect the ending at all. This is one of my favorites by Robyn Harding!

"It was only supposed to be one time. Maybe two."

Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby plot? Yes please! I am so intrigued by this concept and the author really brought it all to life with her details. If you read the authors acknowledgements at the end, she actually spoke to real life Sugar Babies and used her research for the book. That is impressive and honestly, I want to hear more!

This book had it all - sex, desperation, twists, characters to loathe and characters to root for, and of course some murder. And the ending was O M G!
Now I need to go read some more Robyn Harding books!

Thanks to #NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review! 5 stars!

Story of a young student who needs money, and hears from a friend that she can join a Sugar Daddy group online, and get a rich man to set her up in an apartment, and give her an allowance. She does and finds someone who agrees to an arrangment, but not to falling in love, which is what happens to the student. Then, she finds out he's married...

I love Robyn Harding, I love everything she has written, not only is she incredibly talented and a master of her craft, she is genuinely a very nice person. I have loved getting to chat with her! And how awesome is it, that myself and a bunch of my blogging friends are in the acknowledgments of this book?

I was so excited to start this book, and when my dear friend @jennsbookvibes got it too, we decided that this was our next buddy read. This was another book that I just could not put down. It’s a rare treat to be addicted to the book from page one.

I was so curious about this book, and the Sugar Baby/ Sugar Daddy aspect, as this was my first time reading a book on this topic. I wanted to know why Gabe ended things with her when they seemed to have really liked each other, and I wanted to know who’s body ended up near his building. This was such a fun, thrill-seeking ride. I may have figured out who the killer was, but I was so excited for the plot twist at the end, that was unexpected and well done!

I think the thing I like most about Robyn’s writing is that it’s very real. The plots aren’t way out in the left field, and she develops her characters after people you would know in real life. There is a very realistic tone. I also appreciated the way Harding writes about Gabe, and Natalie, and sort of paints a picture of them as likable. But then you delve further into the book, and you start to feel otherwise.

When I heard about this book it sounded amazing.  I was all in for a twisted transaction-turned love-turned obsession.  And it was in a lot of ways.  It was twisted and intriguing, and once you got into it, it was pretty fast paced.  I had serious issues with basically all the characters- there didn't seem to be a likable one in the bunch, except maybe Ava and that's questionable.  The roommates were jackasses, the ex-boyfriend is nuts, the main character is a drama queen and a user.... and then there's Gabe who wants to be everyone's white knight and can't get his shit together unless someone "needs him".  They're all a bit cliche, if I am honest.  But then, they were supposed to be, right?  I will say that I began to feel for Natalie in the end, and Celeste.  

        Now, the layout of the novel was good.  You got to be in both Gabe and Natalie's head, and both  narratives were very well done.  In the end, I did find myself really enjoying this book, but it took a minute to get into it.  For me, this was a three star book.

         On the adult content scale I would rate this one pretty high.  Language, substance abuse, fairly graphic sexual content and violence.  We'll give this one an eight.  
I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Scout Press Publishing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

Wow, this book is intense. Natalie and Gabe took me on an emotional roller coaster. When sweet turns sour. This was a tale of a 'sugar daddy' situation between Gabe and Natalie. She wanted more and he was not willing to leave his family. The book took on a stalker-like turn when Natalie was not able to handle his rejection. Both characters were not nice people but in a way, that added to the story. I read an advance copy via Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.

Nat is struggling to pay her college tuition and her rent in NYC. She meets a friend at school who tells her about being a sugar baby. There is a website that connects young pretty girls with older men who will pay for their company. Nat meets Gabe. He is 30 years older than she is but that have a connection. When Gabe tries to break things off, that's when the fun starts! This is a crazy ride of a story with obsession, lies, and tons of secrets! I read this book in an evening as I just couldn't put it down! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

The Arrangement
by Robyn Harding

Hardcover, 352 pages
Expected publication: July 30th 2019 by Gallery/Scout Press


Goodreads synopsis:
Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates, and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favours are optional.

Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. She begins drinking heavily and stalking him: watching him at work, spying on his wife, even befriending his daughter, who is not much younger than she is. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.

***

4.5 Stars

This book disturbed me. I am not sure if it was the situations Natalie put herself in or the whole world of what she was drawing herself into. This girl was definitely screwed up and making decisions that would lead her down the wrong road.

Natalie needs money. She needs it for school, for supplies, for rent… for everything. And she doesn’t have any or any prospects. When she loses her job after rejecting the advances of one of her co-workers, she gets desperate. When she runs into a girl who is put together and seems like so privileged she learns how Ava makes her money. She is a sugar baby to a sugar daddy. It all seems so simple. Land an old guy with money to spend and have a lavish life. But it ends up being so much more difficult than that.

She finds Gabe on the first try. He is in his 50’s and good looking for his age but he doesn’t attract her at first. But it is his way with her, how patient he is and how he looks after her that draws her in. Then she falls for him. That is a big no-no in this work.

We start off the book with a prologue that shows Natalie in the police station and calling her absent father asking for help. She had killed someone and needed him to take care of her.

There is a lot of twists and turns for a plot that seems so straight forward to start with. I applaud the author for scaring me to death enough to make me put the book down for a few hours to regain my composure. This book crushes you if you invest in it. It is quite a thrilling read with a big twist at the end I didn’t see coming.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great summer read, not to intense, easily to read and kept my interest until the surprising end. Very. Easy. To complete in a short period of time.

Who’s responsible? Is finding a new way to help yourself really wrong? The answer to these questions may make you think about the values you feel are important.