I thought the flash forward/flashback structure (which makes it clear from the opening pages that someone has murdered someone) worked well. The characters were not the most well-developed or easiest to like or relate to, but in a book like this, I can get past that. In theme, setting, and tone this reminded me a little of The Affair on Showtime (though I’m a few seasons behind.) If you’re looking for a guilty pleasure summer read, this is a book you should consider.

I would never consider being a sugar baby because social interaction is scary and sugar daddies seem creepy, but oh, how nice would it be to have someone sponsor your Manhattan penthouse apartment?

The story started fun with a playful amount of danger, and the writing was very easy and readable. I was teetering between a 4 and a 3 star rating--leaning toward a 4--but the end was lukewarm, settling my rating at a solid 3. I won't say more on the end because I don't want to spoil anything!

But I will say--just to get it off my chest--Nat and Gabe are both psychotic, and I don't feel bad for either of them.

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: July 30, 2019

Mini-Review

I would only recommend this book to a starving high school or college girl who is considering entering a sugar daddy/sugar baby relationship because they have seen the movie “Pretty Woman” and believes that film was true to life. The mystery isn’t until the very end of the book. It feels like the author does a one-eighty. Suddenly you are reading a murder-mystery. Other reviewers enjoyed this novel. You may too. But I am surprised that I made it to the last page. I do give the author some credit for researching and interviewing real-life sugar babies. Still, the whole story has a feel of teenage drama, ending with a predictable twist.

The Arrangement is a delightfully dramatic read. In the world of Sugar Babies and Sugar Daddies, Natalie and Gabe step forward as perhaps two of the worst. Between Natalie’s binge drinking and daddy issues and Gabe’s Narcissism, the two seem to be made for each other in a world of misery. And they seem to have fun while it lasts until someone ends up dead, and poor lovesick Natalie finds herself at the center of the murder investigation. This story flows well and successfully pulls off the closure we need even though it is a relatively short book. Book ends with a nice little twist. Book is a lot of fun and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys a naughty indulgence every now and then.

A heartbreaking look at the easy slide into prostitution in the Big Apple as a naive and very broke girl follows the lead of a friend. Becoming a ‘sugar baby’ seems easy enough, and pays extremely well. But all bets are off when she falls in love with sugar daddy who is married and has a daughter nearly own age. Nat’ s torment grows as he becomes more distant and complications arise when she becomes slightly involved with his daughter. But when he ends up shot to death, Nat is the prime suspect and can’t recall the night’s events clearly. Fast paced and enticing, you will want to finish in one sitting!

This was my first book by Robyn Harding, and I have been wanting to read this one since I heard about it. This one sure didn't disappoint! It was fantastic!! I loved it from beginning to end! Lots of drama, greed, and lust! I found the whole sugar baby/sugar daddy concept pretty crazy. Reading this one makes you realize how that lifestyle can be so unpredictable! I enjoyed Robyn's writing so much, no words were wasted!! I can tell this author definitely did research in this subject! I would 100% recommend you read this book!

An intriguing premise of the wealthy man/ gorgeous woman sugar "arrangement". A lesson on naivety and youth. Entertaining.

If you like Lifetime movies you will love this book. The Arrangement refers to an agreement between a "Sugar Daddy" and a "Sugar Baby" and some seriously questionable judgement all around! This is a fast, enjoyable read and would be great to take to the beach or on vacation. You will find yourself wanting to yell at Natalie when you know she is doing something she shouldn't be doing. These are the kind of characters you can't decide if you love or hate. Good story with every twist and turn, and each and every bad decision!

Talk about getting a first hand seat to a hot mess downward spiral of someone in way over her head, Natalie’s story had me turning the pages at lightning speed. If I could’ve read this in one sitting I would’ve but believe me I couldn’t wait to pick it up again! Harding brilliantly sets up the storyline of a broke and desperate college student in NYC who’s seemingly thrown a lifeline - become a sugar baby to a wealthy man and all her financial problems will be gone. Natalie clearly hadn’t heard the saying… if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is and she falls hard and fast for her sugar daddy Gabe, a wealthy married man who has his own agenda. Secrets, lies, betrayal, obsession and murder, it’s all here and I loved every second of this story. I knew nothing about the sugar daddy/sugar baby tyoe of arrangement and it’s clear the author did her research (and she really did - be sure to read the author’s note/acknowledgement at the end). This is one of those stories that reads as if you’re watching a movie which just goes to show how fantastic a writer Robyn Harding is…plus the dialogue is excellent, nothing is wasted, no flowery language or unnecessary details…simply put a story you will not want to put down!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the author for a chance to read this book.

I was instantly intrigued when I saw that this book was compared to Pretty Woman and I can see where it got that from. I found the book to be interesting and while there wasn't as much suspense as I was hoping for it still had a good flow to it.

Natalie is very relatable. She moved to New York and was having trouble paying her bills when a friend suggested she get a sugar daddy. This might seem like an easy fix but nothing ever goes quite as planned. I think its a fun quick read.

The Arrangement is a dark tale in the vein of Pretty Woman with a Fatal Attraction twist. Nat is an art student in college, who is barely scraping by financially. She loses her job and needs money fast, so her friend introduces her to the world of Sugar Daddies. Basically, she would be paid arm candy for powerful men. This was perfect for her because she didn't want any kind of relationship with anyone, so how hard could it be?

I won't go super into detail because I don't want to spoil the end, but it is obvious by the synopsis that lines were blurred and things did not go as Nat planned. Gabe lied about multiple aspects of his life to Nat - he was divorced, blah blah blah. Nat finds out and spirals so out of control that she targets Gabe's daughter to be closer to him. The suspense from the point that Gabe ends his and Nat's arrangement to the end of the novel was beautifully written. Nat's unpredictable personality kept me from guessing what was going to happen and how things would end.

I loved Harding's writing style. She didn't focus specifically on the relationship between Nat and Gabe in the sense of a romance. We got to see both Nat and Gabe's points of view, so there wasn't a need to spend the time building up something false or believable. She also didn't spend pages upon pages describing every detail, letting the reader fill in the blanks how they saw fit. My only disappointment was that I feel like she could have gotten more into Gabe's mind. He genuinely was a predator, and I don't feel like that came across as much as it should have.

All in all, it was a fast-paced story that kept me rapt with suspense until the very satisfying end.

So much failed potential. I wish I had ran away from this book instead of into it. I'm seriously about to give up on new authors.

The premise was intriguing, as is the cover. Just about the only plus. However, once you get into the meat of the book you'll discover the execution collapsed all over the place. The characters were flatter than a pancake and not very likable. Nat would say and do one thing and act out in a completely different manner. There was no strength within this character. She was a weak ass doormat. The drama felt contrived. And because of that, I found I could not care less about them and their outcome. The plot had holes in it. The twist wasn't really a twist. I picked up on the who done it rather quickly. Absolutely no depth or back story. It was all surface. Seems to be commonplace with the books I've been reading lately.

I'd say for $10.99 you should save your money and buy a different book. If you are intrigued, rent it from the library. That way you won't be disappointed by wasting your money.

When Natalie enters into a Sugar daddy agreement she thinks it could help her change her life; then it turns deadly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Robyn Harding for this ARC.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but Natalie and Gabe's characters were just so annoying. The premise of the story is good, and reads like a Lifetime movie. It was an ok book, but not one of my favorites for the year.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

okay, seriously. go buy this book immediately. i could NOT put this book down. I could NOT stop reading this.

The Arrangement is truly an unique storyline featuring sugar daddies/sugar babies. it's steamy/sexy/unique/page-turner/everything you'll want in a book.

I am having mixed feeling about this one. On one hand, I thought it was absurd and clichéd. Seriously, naive, a small-town girl trying to make it in NY meets a handsome, rich guy who becomes her sugar daddy. On the other hand, the book is so trashy that I couldn't put it down until the trainwreck came to an end. It was so awful it became entertaining.

The premise sounds good, and I think it had potential to be better. More depth on the characters would have helped me to find an inch of connection with them. The only character who felt multi-dimensional to me was Celeste, the wife. Everyone else was just a stereotype or a caricature. I agree with other reviewers, this story belongs in a Lifetime channel movie. Those that are so bad you can't stop watching, lol. Bottom line, this is a Fatal Attraction wannabe with the "twist" of Gabe being her sugar daddy and thirty years older than her. They are having the time of their lives (Nat forgets this is a paid arrangement), living the life in NY City. Gabe suddenly grows a conscience and wants to be a better dad. He breaks up with her, Nat drinks a bit more than she should, and the insanity begins. After some stalking, someone ends up dead. Houston, we have a problem.

I was expecting a bit more out of this story. I would have liked more details on the "sugar bowl circle" and a notch down on the drama. It is not terrible, but this is certainly not my kind of book. That doesn't mean others may not find it entertaining and a fun ride.


Thank you NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for proving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

#TheArrangement #RobynHarding

This ~arrangement~ wasn't for me. I know about sugar baby/daddy culture but to read it within the thriller sphere wasn't my thing. It didn't live up to the hype.

I went into The Arrangement expecting a thriller story, alas it was more of a thrown together "who done it" storyline that was extremely slow, flat and difficult to invest in. Natalie is a broke college student looking for a way to make money so she does not have to return to her small town where her mother has created a new picture perfect marriage with her second husband and Natalie's ex-boyfriend is still out to get her for dumping him. Through a friend's suggestion, Natalie ends up joining a website to be a "sugar baby" which in essence is a escort service for men to pay women for companionship and/or sex. Natalie meets Gabe who after first impression is nothing like what Natalie expected and Gabe is taken with Natalie more than any other sugar baby he has paid in the past. The arrangement is Gabe will pay Natalie exclusively a monthly wage to see him weekly and pay her rent. But Gabe started the relationship with a lie. He is not divorced, he is actually married and continues to lead a loving relationship with his wife, minus the physical connection. And when Natalie finds out the truth, she is set on revenge after falling in love with Gabe. I found Natalie to be exhausting. She was delusional regarding the entire relationship and frankly came across and a mixture of immature and psycho. I found the story to drag and had a difficult time finishing. The murderer of the story was easy to peg given the set up and overall I was thankful to be finished with the characters and story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started this book at 3pm and finished it at 11pm. It was a super quick, engrossing and entertaining book. I was not a fan of the chapter titles but loved the actual chapters. The twist was a bit too predictable but all in all I highly recommend this book.

Nothing makes me happier than a new book — except when that new book is by an author you just adore.

Robyn Harding came into my life a couple of years back, soon after her release of The Party. I kept seeing it on book blogs and I was fascinated by it. It was high on my list to buy. You won’t be able to guess my excitement, then, when I showed up at McKays (a used bookstore in Nashville) and found The Party on the shelf, less than a month after its release.

I devoured that book in two days. I knew that Harding was an author I would have to look out for.

Last year, I was given the chance to read her next book, Her Pretty Face, thanks to Netgalley. Another great triumph of a thriller read!

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This year, I got my little hands on The Arrangement. I was more excited for this one than my previous two Harding reads. This premise of this book was just so…interesting. I feel like Harding has the ability to take the thriller genre and add a breath of fresh air to it, and I feel like she did just that with The Arrangement.

In this book, we follow Natalie, a twenty-something art student who is having a hard time getting by. She lives with roommates she doesn’t get along with, she has a job she despises, and she’s just feeling lost. While visiting a fellow art student, whose apartment and clothes show that she is definitely living the opposite life of Nat, she learns of this alternative lifestyle choice: Getting a sugar daddy.

After some consideration, Natalie decides to jump in. She meets Gabe, a handsome 50-something attorney and they hit it off. But Natalie isn’t convinced just yet she’s ready for this lifestyle. She tries a date with another fellow — and it doesn’t go so well. Soon, Natalie is talking with Gabe and together they reach an arrangement.

Natalie falls for Gabe, or at least the person show thinks Gabe is. Gabe isn’t as open with his life as she is with hers. And this isn’t his first arrangement. While things go well between the two of them for a while, eventually Gabe does decide to end things, leaving Natalie hurt, confused…and obsessed.

This is a 5 star read for me. This characters are interesting (though aside from some very minor characters, none are that likable — I love unlikeable characters; it makes them seem more real in some regards), the plot is good, the writing is amazing. It has a great flow and sucks you in very quickly. Harding gets better and better with every book I read from her and I cannot wait to see what her next thriller will be!

Big, big thanks Simon and Schuster for the e-ARC via Netgalley and for sending me a final copy of the book. I am so honored.