I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Tory Henwood Hoen did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would recommend it!

In 2018, Ursula Byrne is a successful, single 35 year-old, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, New York. Not unlike many successful women, Ursula was focused on building a successful career and tired of the usual dating app disasters. After a first date with James who was a very large man who drank too much and eventually vomited in the taxi. She goes to an upscale new feminist club which caters to soothe and support women who can afford to join. While there she comes across information regarding The ARC, a website which is touted as a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service. Of course, using new technology it uses a complex series of emotional, psychological, and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that are deemed to last. The exorbitant price tag obviously narrows the candidates down to ambitious, affluent singles who are relying on finding their life mate.

Ursula throws caution to the wind to finally find a worthy companion so she contacts The ARC with anxious anticipation. When you need to complete so many assessments how could you not be matched with your perfect mate? She is paired with Rafael Banks, a 42 year-old attorney from Argentina. What ensues is a typical rom-com story but elevated to an elite couple who have just as much baggage as those of those they encountered without the expense.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the complimentary arc of this novel. This voluntary review is my honest and unbiased opinion.

I was interested in reading this based on comparisons to Taylor Jenkins Reid and Rebecca Serle; however, I do not think either of those are apt comparisons. This book was missing the heart and warmth that both of those authors bring to their work. I did find the concept behind this book to be interesting, but it also seemed to highlight the privilege of white people with money to be able to solve their problems.

THE ARC is a lighthearted and witty love story with just the right amount of futuristic vibes. I think the concept of the optimized matchmaking experiment was hilarious and maybe a little closer than we think lol.

I’m so excited to read The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen. Thank you NetGalley for this complimentary copy! My review will be updated once I’ve finished.

A romantic book about a dating website/application. I thought I would like it more than I did. Thanks for the review copy,

I think the concept of this book was really unique and thats what drew me in. The writing was so detailed and I felt like I could just picture it all happening in front of me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

The Arc is a great read with such an interesting premise and full of quirky, feel-good romance, friendship, and relatable conversations. I have recommended it to my friends

This was not the book for me. Another book where I didn’t vibe with the characters and the authors messaging of high level, important subject matters sort of just floated around in the story without actually coming together.

On to the next read!

THE ARC - by Tony Henwood Hoen

What would you do if a stranger asked you to participate in a secretive matchmaking service that is designed to connect you with your ideal mate—assuming one can afford the phenomenal fee of what’s proposed to be a sure thing—would you yes?

For Thirty-five-year-old Ursula Byrne, though not an instantaneous, ‘Yes, Please, and Thank You! Where do I sign up?’ due to the price, she changes her mind when a career opportunity lands in her lap, thus offering the means to invest in her future—a path that The Arc guarantees to connect her with her life partner.

When The Arc pairs Ursula with forty-two-year-old Rafael Banks, are they a perfect match?

Is it love at first site?

Is Rafael truly her soulmate?

You have to read the book and find out! ;)

I loved watching how the story played out, and though I anticipated the ending early on, I enjoyed every minute of the journey.

Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with an eBook of THE ARC at the request of an honest review.

Very interesting read. Definitely not what I was expecting, or even what I would enjoy. This was a just "meh" read for me.

*Thank you @stmartinspress for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF."

This was such a fun and quirky read!

The Arc made me laugh so much that I could not help but enjoy reading it. This novel is a romantic comedy that asks "How do you actually find love in the modern age?" Thus, The Arc is created to give those struggling with finding love the opportunity to be matched with the perfect person, for a fee of course.

Ursula, although toxic at times, is a joy to read about for the most part. She often times takes things too far, but she has her likable moments. Rafael on the other hand is truly a saint and I fell head over heels for him. He genuinely wants to create a connection with someone and it is very telling in the way he acts and speaks about those he loves. There is a bit of shenanigans that goes on in this novel, but overall, it is a book about how finding love isn't as hard as we think, we just need to open our eyes and find out what and who our priorities should be.

The main characters were insufferable.

The male MC was a huge dick. Upper-east side, rich dude that couldn’t give his support for shit (he kept telling the female MC to quit her job when she didn’t want to). He was funny, and caring, sometimes, but would literally argue with Ursula over the dumbest things.

The female MC was super annoying, would also argue over the dumbest shit, and even gave the male MC shit over him wanting to buy a dog from a breeder (does the author know that “adopt don’t shop” is…not actually a good phrase to use?). She went to this weird club/spa with her bestie all the time and it was just…odd. She was also funny, though, and sometimes caring, and definitely smart, which I suppose is how they got matched.

Ursula Byrne like many people has tried all the dating apps out there and as you can imagine has all the horror stories to go along with it. After another failed date she has decided to swear off dating all together and is throwing in the towel. During a rant to her best friend about all her failed dating adventures, she happens to be over heard by someone in the secret match making industry of The Arc.

$40,500 later for poor Ursula she's decided to see what it's all about. After all, for that price they have to know what they're talking about... Right?

She's matched with who she hopes is Mr. Right, Rafael and for awhile everything seems to be going great. The Arc got everything right. This match is a match made in heaven.... until well... they aren't.

This book was a quick and easy read and the characters were fun and quirky. I overall enjoyed the book but it didn't really stick with me. Ursula was supposed to be this normal character with everyday struggles but can somehow afford 40k for a dating service? It's a fun read but it's definitely not relatable.

The Arc is a modern day romance novel that is hard to put down. The story follows a woman named Ursula who is trying to find love in a time when meeting people in traditional ways proves to be a challenge. She decides to give the Arc a try, a company that claims to find you your perfect match. Ursula and Rafael meet and fall in love so easily, but what happens when they start to doubt their relationship? The story is told from both Ursula and Rafael's points of view at different times and explores the ins and outs of modern relationships and how relationships intermingle with work and personal identities. Tory Henwood Hoen makes you explore your own personal identity and struggles alongside the main characters.

I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good romance novel. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

this was a good one from the start. must read and really enjoyed this from page one. I am loving this author more and more. Every book does it for me.

I know this book has gotten mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it! The concept is different than anything else I had read before and I was fascinated.

Ursula is 35 and single. She knows she's quirky, but she just wants someone to love her like she is. Sure, she has abandonment issue and she likes to take care of people. She sometimes loses herself in the process. When she's at the spa (in a weird women-only facility called the Stake), a woman hears her talking about her dating woes. She offers her a card for The Arc. The Arc is a dating service, only much more in-depth than your stereotypical Match.com. With The Arc, you pay 50k (if you're male) and $40,500 (if you're female) to spend a week at their facility, where you are subjected to personality tests, meditation sessions and more. They gather information and match you with someone.

Ursula goes for it and is matched with Rafael. The pair have instant chemistry. They believe in The Arc's success story and success rate (100 percent success!) and when they start dating everything is perfect. Is it too perfect? What happens when there is a conflict? The pair is obligated to do check-ins with The Arc. At one of these after about four months, The Arc reveals something to them that changes everything.

I enjoyed this whole story. How it started, how it came together, and what it says about relationships. I think that it is interesting to see how the power of suggestion comes into play in life as well. There are feminist themes throughout but it wasn't in-your-face. Overall, this was really well done.

The ARC by Tory Henwood Hoen released yesterday. Thank you @stmartinspress for sharing a review copy.

I think this was a case of wrong writing style for my tastes rather than anything else. The concept was sound, the characters were interesting but something did not click for me. The writing was overly descriptive and the lives of the characters were all steeped in so much privilege that it was like a fantasy world. Both of those things took me out of the story so often that it lost it’s joy for me. But I do think there are some readers out there who would love this one. I hope it finds it way to them!

This was an interesting read with a novel concept - it certainly suggests that matchmaking can be more scientific. It took a while to get into the story but then I became fascinated by how the characters wee being manipulated.