****WARNING**** My review contains spoilers****


Adelaide has to pay for her own schooling because her sister is keeping her inheritance from her. So, in order to pay for college she has been writing people’s term papers for them. Of course, when you're doing something like that it's not a question of if you will be caught but when. Adelaide happens to get caught by her old fling, Declan, a guy who lived near her that she was seriously crushing on. Addy and Declan have a past, they had sex before he left for London. Now Declan is back from London, working as a TA for one of her classes and he’s threatening to turn her in for illegal paper writing if she doesn’t go along with his plan to seduce an art dealer who Declan says stole his artwork. Declan thinks that Adelaide can seduce the handsome and rich Jack Nolan and find out where Jack is keeping Declan’s best art pieces.

Adelaide ends up working some magic and actually catches Jack’s eye. The only problem is that they genuinely fall for each other over time, but they are both keeping huge secrets from each other. I felt sorry for all 3 main characters and I also felt like they were all in the wrong. I felt like Declan really had feelings for Adelaide, but he can’t be mad because he’s the one who put her in a position to fall for Jack. Declan couldn’t really help what was going on with him, mental illness is no joke and I cried reading about his downfall at the end of the book. I’m glad he was saved in the nick of time. There was a significant amount of drama in this book, it ended well and for that I’m happy, I liked the drama of the story and how it made my heart pound.

Speaking of heart pounding, I must talk about those steamy sex scenes. Oh. My. Goodness. They were sooooo good. Seriously, I love a great sex scene and these were some of the best ones I’ve read in quite some time. Detailed, but not clinical and erotic, those scenes really titillated me.

Despite the drama and the way things were going, this book ends beautifully and I was left satisfied by the ending.

Very well written and an engaging premise. I liked the main girl and liked her old fling. All of the motivations in this book feel fairly realistic.

I picked this book with the promise of a spicy "arrangement" that came with a contract between a college girl that is strapped for cash and an older, wealthy, and powerful man. While there were some hot scenes in the book, the book pleasantly surprised me because there was a lot to the story and with character development. Some of the book's surprises really threw me for a loop! I kept wanting to read this book every night until I got to the end. This book is this author's debut novel and I hope there will be a sequel! Thank you to NetGalley for this book.

Adelaide is a college senior who writes papers for other students to earn money…on the down low of course! She runs into Declan, an old friend/lover from her teen years who asks her to write a paper for him. But, he’s her TA and he’s setting her up. Either do what he asks her or get expelled and lose everything. What does he want her to do? Nothing much. Just be a paid escort to a big art dealer. Jack Nolan. The same one Declan says destroyed his art career and stole some of his paintings. He wants Adelaide to get close to Jack and find out where they are. But as she gets closer to Jack, Adelaide find out maybe he’s not who Declan says he is. And is Declan who he claims to be? Secrets abound. Adelaide has to sort through everything and she’s running out of time.

GREAT book. Great story. Steamy and sexy. Highly recommend!

I'm 100% going to admit that I chose this book solely on the stunning cover.. What I didn't expect that my rating would match in terms of how much I loved it. Yes, I judged a book by its cover.

Rules of Arrangement was a breathe of fresh air. The story was incredibly engaging and I read this book quickly, desperate to find out what was going to happen next.

I loved Adelaide's character, she had worked hard to get where she was (even if she was being paid to write papers for other students) and was eager to finish up university and move on. When a man from her past, catches onto what she is doing and begins to blackmails her.
Declan, now a TA at the college, is after one thing; revenge. Using Adelaide to slide into the life of art dealer, Jack, Declan will stop at nothing to get back at him and holds Adelaide's future at the school, in his hands.

I'm not always a fan of age gap romance but this one was well done. The characters were incredibly likeable and I was rooting for them throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Maren Mackenzie for the eBook.

First off, the cover is absolutely stunning. It's classy and mysterious, and the sole reason I requested to read this book. Overall, this was a great book. There was an interesting storyline and a swoon worthy, older, charming male love interest. The protagonist did kind of get on my nerves now and then. At times she acted quite childish, however that may just be me being picky. I wouldn’t necessarily consider this book very spicy. There were a couple of scenes, but they weren’t particularly explicit. If there were a sequel, would I read it? Yes. Yes I would. I did devour this whole book in an afternoon so if you’re one for age gap romances then this is definitely one worth giving a shot. Thank you to the author and Marmack Books LLC for gifting me the ARC via NetGalley.

This is a great romance power struggle genre and is well written. The author spends the time building the background to the characters so you feel like you are on their journey. Some might find this style slow as this is not a romance novel just full of sex.

The jest of the story without giving anything away is Adelaide Wright, who is a collage girl writing papers for other students, gets blackmailed into basically becoming a show "girlfriend" to an art dealer. The sextural and romantic tention builds from their and is complicated with conflict of emotions between the characters.

Overall I was very pleased with this book and it is a easy read. I look forward to reading some of Maren Mackenzie's other books in the future after finishing this one.

(3 stars)

Okay so hear me out.

This book had an interesting plot, if not a teeny tiny bit cliche. Regardless, I liked the plot along with the language used here. It's about a typical college student struggling with finances, finding a sugar daddy to help her pay off her expenses. But there is a twist. There is deceit, betrayal and manipulations in it. Which makes the book stand out monumentally.

What I didn't like about this book was the setting. This was a man's world that Adelaide had to survive. Right from the very start, she seemed like a puppet who had her strings pulled by the men in her life, be it Declan or Jack, or even her brother at times. And I get it, she was struggling with her life a lot and she didn't really have a choice. But I did expect her to grow a backbone by the time we reached the end. Unfortunately, she didn't. She still had her strings pulled by the people in her life. And that was so disappointing. I could see the potential in her, but she was more juvenile than mature in the book. Jack and Declan were again two very very selfish people here. There wasn't really a love triangle in the book, there could have been but thank god there wasn't. Everything in Adelaide's life was complicated enough to not add that to top it all. But still, Jack and Declan were so moody. And they had zero regards for Adelaide whenever they went into their moods. The way Adelaide reacted to their moods made it seem as if she didn't have any regard for herself either.

I have always been a big fan of badass heroines, sadly Adelaide wasn't that. At all. The author basically highlighted her helplessness, which just didn't sit right with me. Conclusively, if the characters were a little bit more (especially Adelaide), this could have been a great book.


Thank you Netgalley and Marmack Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠:
I read this book in a day and I was so eager to get back to it whenever I had to do something!
I loved the chemistry between Jack and Addie. There were many times where I disliked Jack and I think that shows how well the author did his character. I went back and forth with Addie and her emotions about him.
At first I thought that she would rekindle her relationship with Delcan but as you read through the chapters you can see that he’s unstable and it progressively gets worst.
The dynamic of the 5 relationships in the book were something that weren’t too much and it weaved into the story quite well. They relationships involved Jack, Declan, Micheal (her brother), and Samantha (her overbearing sister), as well as the guilt she carried with herself.
Jack. Jackles. His story was so heartbreaking and to some it may have seemed glossed over but it was something he was dealing with for 10 years and there was no hope of it getting any better.

Maren Mackenzie truly writes steamy romance about love, family, and transformation and I look forward to more of her books in the future.

Rules of Arrangement by Maren Mackenzie is her first published book and I have to say she is off to a great start! Adelaide, a college student, sells papers to get by when someone from her past comes in and everything changes. Suddenly, a normal college student is quickly in over her head. She must navigate the posh and extravagant art scene all while trying to keep her secrets from the University and Jack, the art dealer she is tasked with getting close to.

The title and cover are what drew me to this book initially then the description sold it for me, I knew I had to read it. If I’m honest this book was hard to get into, the first few chapters were okay but didn’t keep my attention. Usually once I pick up a book, I can’t put it down until it’s finished. Chapter 4 is where this book grabbed my attention and kept it, I was invested and once again couldn’t put it down until it was finished. Normally romance books can be predictable to me, but this once thew in a few curveballs that I did not see coming. This is a great short read and would recommend it if you want something easy to read. While it does have a few heavy moments and situations it’s written in such a way that it helps to not become lost in the situation. Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing what Maren comes up with next!



Pages: 344

Read Time: approx. 9-10 hours

Overall: 4/5

Spice: 3/5

Tips: Be patient with the first few chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Marmack Books for allowing me to review Rules of Arrangement! I have received an ARC through NetGalley for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

If you told me this book had started out as Fifth Shades of Gray New Adult fan fic, I’d have believed you in a heartbeat. Or maybe that’s just where my mind goes when older rich businessmen present college seniors with relationship contracts and then they end up falling for each other but they each have someone in their life who complicates things so that they can’t be together easily at first. That being said, I feel like many books have tried to do what Rules of Arrangement achieved: a fast-paced scandalous little peek behind the scenes of the glitzy art world. If Kat from Heist Society had stayed at her boarding school from the first book I imagine this is what that alternative universe might have looked like: still grifting, trying to figure herself out and determine what family looks like, just in a slightly different milieu.

This book was a solid read: great plot, interesting characters, descriptive world, and a killer twist, but I found myself simultaneously wanting both more and less the entire time.

One of the single best plot twists I've ever read (my jaw dropped and I instantly called a friend to shriek it out) and it came 80% of the way through the book. I could've read an entire book on that one twist alone! It wasn't even the main implosion!!

Jack and Adelaide were full of chemistry, yet I wanted a deeper understanding of and/or more interactions with Declan. He's one of the primary catalysts of the entire plot, but I wanted more of him and less of parties. The story is full of self-discovery and growth for both Adelaide and Jack and that was well-done. I could feel their relationship developing as they opened themselves up and did the best they could with what they were given.

Overall, a solid read, 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to netgalley for this book.

This book was fascinating, enthralling, and compelling. I didn't like a single character at the beginning, and did not know who to champion throughout the book. The characters were flawed, but complicated, and no one an outright villain, but no one quite a hero, either. I've never loved hating characters quite so much.
There is some character growth between the FMC and MMC (and in themselves), and I was genuinely surprised by some of the plot twists. The steamy scenes were wonderfully done, and the angst was *chef kiss*.
Deserves some content warnings for attempted suicide (on and off page) but otherwise a stunning novel.

Maren Mackenzie, you have easily become one of my favourite authors of 2022: Rules of Arrangement was nothing less than a five star read.

Spicy. Sexy. Addictive. I DEVOURED this in one sitting.

First off, the cover is absolutely stunning. It's classy and mysterious just like its pages and was initially what caught my attention.

Adelaide Wright became an orphan at the age of 17 after the sudden death of both her parents. Once she turned 18, she jumped on the first ticket out of California and away from her older seemingly perfect, overbearing sister (now legal guardian), Samantha. Her brother Michael is a successful publicist and in true middle child fashion, is a ghost that waves in and out of the tattered sibling relationship enough to keep the peace - and connection - between the siblings, so much so, that their familial bond is not completely non-existent.

It's her strained relationship that is the preface to Adelaide's money issues: Samantha refuses to hand over her inheritance.

That leaves Adelaide with very few options to generate enough money to pay a college tuition and afford adult expenses like rent and food. She's tried babysitting the terrors that are young children and it's safe to say, that job is more effort than what it's worth.

Adelaide's solution? Write the academic papers of any of her fellow students that will dash out enough cash. Surprise: there's enough of them to last until the final semester in her senior year and luck would have it that she's managed to avoid getting caught - that is until now.

When a blast from the past, Declan Jones, shows up on campus, is about the same time things start looking a little dangerous for Adelaide. Particularly when he's caught onto her on-campus business and is threatening to expose her. The consequence of such exposure would mean immediate expulsion, sans degree. Declan agrees to keep Adelaide's method of income undetected on one condition: she needs to find and return the painting Declan's former art agent is currently in possession of.

The art agent, who just so happens to be one of the industries most successful and notoriously hard-ass men on the block. Did I mention ridiculously rich and good looking? It's Jack Nolan.

Adelaide is to become the type of woman that Jack cannot resist and seduce him enough that he offers her a contract as his sugar baby and when he's not looking, search every nook and cranny of his most personal items for Declan's painting.

What Adelaide expected was to hate Jack Nolan, to find him intolerable, repulsive. Yet all there is between the two is heat, flirtation, desire and demand. He's the older man that's all power, business and pleasure. Mackenzie has crafted this man with all the enticing features of a sub/dom relationship minus the extreme toxicity. Jack Nolan was all man. I LOVED it. He didn't walk away from situations. He read the room perfectly. A perceptive, intelligent character who didn't play games!

Oh and how wonderful is was seeing the relationship between the two characters unfold.

There's something so nail biting and page turning about watching a relationship of convenience, started on a lie run it's course. Maren Mackenzie has given us art gallery passion, jealousy and riches doused in an enigmatic flame of unruly possession and dominance, with the perfect amount of slow-burn suspense and mysteriousness you will find sparks flying and jaws dropping at the twists and turns of this book.

The end third of this book has my on the edge of my seat. It took me right up until the scene was about to unfold for me to be able to guess the twists in this. I promise you, it well and truly placed Maine on the map.

At times Rules of Arrangement read as its own flavour of thriller/romance - I can't wait to see what else this author comes up with and have no doubt this will be at the top of readings lists for 2022.

Thank you to Netgalley, Marmack Books LLC and Maren Mackenzie for providing me with an ARC of 'Rules of Arrangement' - now out now and ready for purchase.

From start to finish, I was very hooked on this spicy erotic thriller. Aside from the romantic plot, the main plot that was driving it had me wondering at every turn when the main character might get caught for not being all that she seemed. This had enough twists, turns, and steamy scenes to keep me wanting to read more. I found the dynamic between the main pair to be very D/s-lite, which was spurred on by the age gap between the two MCs.

I was really happy that this story had a HEA at the end, there was a moment that I almost was sure it wouldn't. But the writer tied it all up in a wonderful bow at the end. Even with a closure that I didn't expect, but honestly needed after everything that went on.

Overall a great read!

I can honestly say I have never in my life read a book like this, well at least not yet, and I was hooked!! The drama! The suspense! The romance!! Defiantly was a big hit for me and I gobbled it up quite quickly. I constantly questioned Jack's and Declan's intentions and found myself simultaneously suspicious and in love with all of the characters the entire time. Which is a new feeling for me who reads majority contemporary romances. I was defiantly suggest this book and don't want to spoil any of the plot twist. Go into this book blind and you wont be disappointed. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!!

It's got romance, spice, drama, an actually engaging plot that keeps the reader hooked and wanting for more. I honestly did not want this to be over.
Much longer than I expected but such a fun ride

I really liked this one! A fun mix of suspense and romance, I couldn’t read it fast enough, I stayed up all night trying to finish. I really liked the romance, the sex scenes, the plot. It was sweet and intense and a good story. I look forward to more that this author writes!

• 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 •

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Rules of Arrangement
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Maren Mackenzie
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ☆☆☆☆ 4/5

𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘓𝘓𝘊 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

This cover and the synopsis are what attracted me to this book in the first place and it did not disappoint! I read the book in one day because I just could not let go. The tension and suspense is so good if you ask me. I liked the build up between the characters a lot. It was with some ups and downs, which made the romance and the attraction between them even more amazing. I totally loved the back and forth between them. It gave me emotional whiplash in the best way lol. The family drama was intriguing as well and it gave to story another layer of depth. Loved how all the issues were resolved in the end. I would’ve liked to have seen more in regards to the roommates of the main character. It still is a very gripping story, a romance with a contract and lots of secrets! Normally I don’t really put trigger warnings in my reviews, but I can’t remember if it was warned about in the book and I felt it was important enough to mention since it’s a suicide attempt that is happening on page. Overall, a great read that I recommend to romance lovers.

A lot of my reviews are also available with photo at my Bookstagram: @justmyfantasyworld

Rules of Arrangement was a decent debut novel. The lovely book cover initially lured me in and the premise sounded intriguing, but I felt a bit misled by the book's description. I thought it would involve more of the art world and a bit of high society, so the overall setting felt very normal to me. The art angle could've been an opportunity to make this book stand out. There was only one part of the novel that actually involved some art critique/discussion and I thought it accompanied Adelaide and Jack's development really well, so I was disappointed by the lack of art.

Most of the characters felt pretty flat and I didn't really like or relate to any of them. Jack was mean and controlling, Declan was manipulative, Michael was a complete doormat, and Samantha was stubborn for no reason. Their motivations seemed really weak and it felt like their actions were just to further exaggerate their one-note personalities. This made the ending feel a bit forced and rushed. I liked Adelaide, but I was very frustrated for her throughout the novel because of how everyone else was treating her.

The romance wasn't anything spectacular, so I don't have much to say on that. I also don't want to say too much without knowing the author's background or intentions, but I did not like how mental health was included in the story. It felt icky for it to be used as a plot device for all the characters to get their shit together and come together for Adelaide.

This was a nice quick read, but I don't think the story was for me.

Overall rating: 2.5/5 stars