This was such a sweet story and I was absolutely captured with the storyline from the very beginning. This book brought back memories of how and why I started reading books. Such a sweet swoon-worthy romance and so relatable.

I enjoyed this novel for the characterization and the pacing. I think certain details could have been tightened up but overall is was an enjoyable read. Sweet romance and Christian themes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review.

*****3.2/5*****
opinions and thoughts:
The book's pacing initially lacked pace but improved towards the end. I was quite sad that the ending didn't last longer and I kind of got bored about halfway through the book. Although the book bored me and was slow I enjoyed it, especially the ending even though I wished it was longer, and having to relate to the main character Abigail Dupree brought me empathy. This is the first book I had read from the author, and from this I was inspired to read more of her books.

Thank you to Soringbrook Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All thoughts are my own.

Abigail’s parents are pushing her into marriage with a terrible man, or so she believes. She is rescued by Garrett, a man whom her father has hired to help with her situation. She believes that her options are limited because of her past and Garrett is there to help out some of this to rest.

This is a story of finding redemption. Both of the main characters need this redemption. The faith elements are very evident in this story.

There were a couple of things that bothered me. I needed a bit more back story. I needed to know more about Garrett’s actual job and actual role. I feel like there was a good bit of missing information. Overall it was a sweet story but I would have loved to see it more fleshed out. Abigail was a character that aggravated me a bit because she was much too stubborn for her own good.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy a sweet faith filled romance. If you enjoy more subtle faith content then this would not be the book for you.

I found this book hard going. The writing style and assumptions that the reader knew about society's expectations in this period in Southern USA made it doubly difficult to follow,
For instance, the heroine wore jodhpurs to ride - presumably therefore astride. Which would have been u heard oin England, and I doubt that jodhpurs were normal female wear anyway... see Stitches in Time by Lucy Addlington. Riding suits for men didn't include jodhpurs until 1890 and later.
It was also kept from the reader for a large portion of the story just what had happened when the heroine was 14. A positive baby.
So not an author I shall follow.

It’s the first time I read a book by this author and if I’m being honest in this era. But I have always been interested by it.
I really liked the story line and thought it was well written. When you get to the end you realise there is more going on then what you initially thought making it more interesting but also realistic.
As a young single woman I could easily relate to Abi and would love to get an ending like her, I even believe I would have the same reaction as her.

Sometimes however I didn’t think it was clear when we changed scenes, but it didn’t influence the story line to much, just some confusion on my side.

I loved the story and would totally recommend.

I'm a bit mixed on this one. There were times when I felt it was really good and then times I wondered how much longer it was going to be. Something about Abigail annoyed me. But I did like Garrett. though the whole law not law thing bothered me. Also his whole writing aspect was never really expounded on.

I liked the gentle revealing related to Abigail's mother's health issues. And we got two slimey men instead of just one in this book.

This one is just going to get an "okay" from me with 3 stars. I neither really liked it nor disliked it.

*I was given a complimentary copy of this ARC by the publishers and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions are 100% my own.

This is my first book by this author and it is a beautiful, wholesome romantic read. North Carolina is a perfect setting to enjoy this read in.

Abigail’s past has deemed her in a negative light for the time period we are in, while Garrett is one of those men that comes in and saves the day in numerous ways. All of the characters are relatable even for modern times.

I really enjoyed this story! It’s a simplistic historical romance that is warm and swoon-worthy.

I really enjoyed An Unlikely Arrangement by Cindy Patterson. This book was well written and engaging from the first chapter. The characters were well developed and believable. I found myself involved in the slowly budding romance even while feeling the tension of the plot. I feel that this book will be perfect for any reader who enjoys clean, wholesome romance with a slightly playful feel.

Abigail Dupree (Abby) is caught between marrying William Arendell , a despicable man, or Randall, the man who ruined her before breaking off their marriage. In her heart, she is unable to forgive herself for her sin and she has limited her marriage prospects to redeem herself and to prevent further heartache to her parents.

One day, she bumps into Garrett Barringer who is working with her father. Unknown to her, her father has requested Garrett’s assistance to bring Abby back to Asheville to reconcile with Randall.

Throughout their encounters, Garrett is always a gentleman, constantly looking out for Abby, to keep her safe from harm. While she is childish at times, Abby is kind and friendly to her maid, Rose, and other staff in her home.

Thanks to her father’s arrangement, they are both forced into close proximity and get to know each other better. With Abby’s help, Garrett also learns to deal with his own guilt.

Overall, a good read and it has piqued my interest to read more Christian fiction / romance books.

Thank you NetGalley. Abigail is in an combative situation with her mother as she seems to want her to marry the man in Charlotte and she is wanting to go back to Asheville and settle things with the young man there. Her father hires Garrett to take her back to Asheville and see if after five years she still feels the same. In the trip there and being with her he falls in love with her. Her mind is in a whirl with what she thinks her parents want and what she wants.

Y’all, I am totally in my historical romance era, and loving every second of it

This was a solid 4.5 stars for me. I was wished away by Cindy Patterson‘s writings, straight to the Biltmore estate in the early 1900s. The detail that went into the story was phenomenal. I felt as if I was right there along with Abigail and Garrett.

This was an inspirational and captivating from the start. I love that this was a Christian historical fiction and truly enjoyed the faith element throughout the book. Waiting on God’s plan and timing is the message I got from the story.

This is book one of the Brides of Biltmore series and I cannot wait to read the rest of the books. I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.

This book brought back memories of how and why I started reading books. Such a sweet swoon-worthy romance and so relatable. Poor Abigail feels like she’s damaged goods and Garret has his own monsters to fight with. Both thinking they’re not good enough, they are struggling to forgive themselves, well knowing that God has already looked past their faults. I love a good redemption arc and I enjoyed reading this book on top of that I found a new Author whose work I want to explore.

Entertaining story that I couldn’t help but return to whilst reading. The characters were developed well with lots of little things that endured them.

The story was a little slow though and had too many religious nods towards the end for me however.

It was an entertaining and sweet story. But some parts were a little bit slow. Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

Abigail made a mistake in the past, she still longs for the man that has given her a bad reputation. Her parents arrange a marriage for her to a man she dislikes. Her father hires Garrett. Garrett takes her back to her hometown, and maybe a chance to reconcile with her past love before she is forced to be married. This was a great story. I loved the ending, an HEA.

An Unlikely Arrangement is the story of Abigail Dupree who suffers from guilt after an event that she believes to have ruined her. The only way she can fix it is to reunite with the man who ruined her.

Garrett Barringer arrives in Charlotte, North Carolina to escort Abigail to her former home in Asheville North Carolina. Garrett is trying to escape the past for what he believes is his greatest failure.

Abigail finally gets the proposal she believed would correct her wrong. But after spending time with the man, she thought she cared about, she begins to see him as he is. Abigail with end up with several marriage proposals but will she marry the man of her dreams or end up unhappy for the rest of her life.

This is a wonderful story about making mistakes and forgiving yourself. Not everything is as it seems when the people in the story are hiding truths that can harm or free the person they love.

I wasnt aware that this was a Christian fiction historical novel when I requested it via netgalley and for the most part I wasnt aware, however the last section of the book is quite heavy on faith and this might but some people off. Other than that I found it an enjoyable read.

Bottom line: I would rate this a 3.5⭐️ and I would read more by this author.

This book was an interesting read. While it may not be my favorite book by this author, I did love the originality of the storyline, the setting, and by time I finished reading, I was satisfied with how the story ended.

I did struggle with the pacing, the first half felt slow and slightly repetitive as it set the stage for the second half where Abigail Dupree’s character grew and matured and the story progressed at a better speed. I also wouldn’t have minded if the ending of the story could have been a little longer instead of speeding up and wrapping up in the last dozen pages.

There were a few details that didn’t seem to fit with the time period, but there were two main things that kept me from being able to fully immerse in the story. The first being that in a time where virtue and reputation were so protected (and the first few chapters made a big emphasis on this point), Abigail was sent off on a trip without a maid to chaperone. While it made sense that her own maid wasn’t able to go with her, for her parents to not have another lower servant accompanying her as a walk-on (to borrow the stage term) seemed at odds with the time period and the goal of protecting her reputation.

The other detail was how often Abigail Dupree touched the arm (etc) of a man she didn’t really know. While the reader quickly learns how impulsive Abigail is, the physical end just felt a little too much, too soon for the time period and the mentioned guilt about her past.

I did enjoy the second half of the book and was glad I kept reading. There here were many complexities to the story that were thoughtfully added and addressed later in the second half of the book, which kept me coming back to read more. The theme of redemption was tastefully woven through the lives of Abigail and those that love her.


Thank you for the opportunity to read this story. I enjoyed this book and would read more by this author in the future.

Amazon review submitted and pending

Set in the early 1900s in North Carolina, Abigail is trying to salvage her reputation in a way that matches her fierce independent nature. With an older suitor set up by her mother, she heads back to Asheville to find her first love and convince him to marry her. Enter Garrett, an honorable man trusted by her father to accompany her as a chaperone to keep her from making any further mistakes.

I very much wanted to love this story, a period romance with a sweet MMC. I struggled with the language and sentence structure that kept taking me out of the story. The language would switch from older English to present day. Every sentence would be so overly detailed and sometimes with wording that didn’t make any sense. There was a lot of telling instead of showing and repetitive situations that I just didn’t think helped further the story. I would have loved to see more interactions with other characters that didn’t result in Abigail crying, holding back tears or running away immediately. Also, less internal monologuing and more actual conversation would have been great.

As for what I enjoyed, I really liked the character of Garrett. He was caring and sweet. I was intrigued by the setting of Biltmore and loved the detail surrounding it and the area. While I don’t necessarily look for religion in romance books, it was nice to see Christianity involved (albeit sometimes randomly placed). The addition of Alice Roosevelt was very refreshing and nice to see an interaction with a woman that could become a budding friendship. The relationship between Abigail’s parents, her father especially, is so loving and it’s wonderful to see that for this time period. I had expected some closure with the buildup of Rose, but the ending was really cute. I wish we could have had more, but I was still happy with it. This book is the definition of slow-burn romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC and all opinions expressed are my own.