3 Stars!

I knew the storyline would be a stretch for me, but it sounded so intriguing! The positives were the portrayal of marriage and raising children, how that effects marriage. I also really liked the mix of humour and intrigue. They were a bored married couple trying to figure out a way to spice up their lives and it was interesting to read it all unravel!

"We all have a strong preference that life should be easy, comfortable,p and pain free, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with life when it isn't those things. It's just life. It's just life and it's not how you would prefer it to be,but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with it."

The premise of this book immediately caught my attention, a book about a couple who decides to try having an open marriage? This is definitely a topic that we don't read about everyday.

The story follows a Own and Lucy who decide to try having an open marriage over the span of six months, they made a list of rules they cannot break, however, life can get messy and plans change.

I really did enjoy this book, it was a fun read and different from books I normally pick up, however, throughout the book I did have moments of confusion. I understand the story being told in the point of view of Owen and Lucy, however, out of nowhere, we get these random people's point of view. When this happened I would have to stop and think to make sure I understood what was going on. I enjoyed some of the other points of views to see into different people's lives, however, I wish it flowed better and a little less confusing.


Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't laughed out loud at a book like I did The Arrangement in a very long time. It's so real and yet a fantasy of many married couples. I loved watching it unfold.

This was a really fun read! It was funny at times, but also true to life. As a thirty-something-year-old, who has been married for more than a decade, I could identify with several of the female characters. I was looking for something Jennifer Weineresque to read and I feel like I found it with The Arrangement.

Loved this one. What a book! Highly recommend

Would be a great book club read

"Yeah, but I’m not sure marriage should be like dating,” said Lucy. “Where you’re always looking for someone to hook up with.”

I knew I wanted to read Sarah Dunn’s novel, The Arrangement after reading the blurb: A hilarious and emotionally charged novel about a couple who embark on an open marriage-what could possibly go wrong? What indeed? This is an extremely funny look at a couple, who bored with their lives, make what they think is a mature, controlled decision, but in reality, it’s a decision that leads to chaos, confrontation, and unexpected results.

Lucy and Owen, married and with a five-year-old autistic son, have traded in their fast-paced New York life and moved to the Beekman burbs. It’s a move that was supposed to bring more ‘quality of life’ but like many young couples, Lucy and Owen are feeling overwhelmed and even, possibly, bored. One evening, married friends confess to Lucy and Owen that they’ve decided to try an open marriage as they’re “both tired of this persistent, […] low-grade dissatisfaction.” At first it seems like an outrageous idea, but after Lucy and Owen discuss it one evening, they find themselves creating ground rules and embarking on a six-month long experiment.


Owen who complains about how his wife is constantly “choring,” slips gleefully into an affair with the free-spirited, sexually adventurous Izzy, a woman with the laugh of a “mental patient,” and while Owen finds himself being dragged into a relationship that’s more demanding than his marriage, he doesn’t for a minute suspect that Lucy is hunting for prospects at local coffee shops.

It was like a whole world of signs and signals had been floating right past her-lingering looks, secret smiles, eyes moving up and down, wineglasses lifted in solidarity, charged conversations in bookstores. It was like an energy field, and some people were aware of it and some people weren’t.

The Arrangement is a very funny look at the mistakes made by a couple who really need time for themselves and each other--not time for other people. Owen and Lucy’s experiment is set against the backdrop of the affluent Beekman community and the local drama concerning a male elementary school teacher who decides he’s a woman and starts dressing accordingly. One cohort of parents support Mr Lowell’s decision to become a woman and think that the kindergarteners “have an opportunity to watch her as she becomes who she truly is.” Other parents demand Lowell’s removal. The lively cast of characters include Lucy’s friend, Sunny Bang, who arranges a hook-up for Lucy, Susan Howard, an annoying perfect and PC mother, and George Allen, a crass bombastic billionaire on his umpteenth wife, a ex-cocktail waitress.

Infidelity isn’t a naturally hilarious subject, but Sarah Dunn wickedly inverts the age-old scenario of ‘cheating.’ Owen and Lucy choose to bring disaster and chaos down upon their heads, so the novel is more about the foibles of the affluent who have the time and money to burn on hotel bills and trips to NYC. Owen and Lucy’s married life is essentially good–but strained by time and familiarity, and stressed by parenting a difficult child.

The Arrangement argues that the emptiness of modern life makes people crazy as they age. Many of the characters here have arrived at middle age with their goals achieved but find only boredom at the end of the rainbow. At one point, a character mentions how all of her female friends are going crazy and how she knows one woman, “perfect Jen,” who spends her free time making out with men she meets in bars:

This semi-normal women is, in fact, like a grenade with the pin pulled out.

I haven’t laughed so hard at a book in a long time, and The Arrangement is going to make my best-of-year list. It’s funny, irreverent, insightful, and Sarah Dunn’s flexible, smooth style perfected matched the content:

And the pictures. Good God, the pictures. After his second time with Izzy, a seemingly unending stream of pornographic selfies popped up on his text screen to the point where Owen’s once rather cozy relationship with his cell phone was forever changed. He’d type in his password and see he had four new texts and then be like Whah? She really didn’t have a good eye, Izzy. She didn’t seem to know the difference between a sexy picture and an alarming one.

Author Sarah Dunn is a television writer, and someone out there, PLEASE make this into a television series.

Review copy

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read and fast paced. It kept your attention throughout the book. Although I thought Lucy and Owen came up with the rules and the plan for the arrangment a little too quickly and seemingly without much thought I still really liked the book. I thought the dynamics of the town they lived in were great as well as the school politics among parents. I especially liked how Lucy and Owen were parenting Wyatt with his special needs. I thought they were remarkable parents. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it. <br /><br />Thank you to netgalley for the digital ARC for an honest review.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/63468213-booksandchinooks">View all my reviews</a>

Owen and Lucy gave up their life in New York City to raise their son in the upscale community of Beekman. Their once hip and exciting life has been reduced to dividing household chores and wrangling their Autistic son. One night some friends of theirs were out for a dinner party and were chatting about some friends of theirs. They have a blissfully happy marriage, but they also have an "arrangement". They have an open marriage. Lucy and Owen are both intrigued by the idea and after much discussion, they agree to try an "arrangement" for six months. Like an Amish Rumspringa. They get six months to do what (or who) they want and at the end of the six months they go back to monogamy as if it had never happened. There are some ground rules, of course - like it can't be with anybody they both know, and they never involve their son. It seems ideal to both of them. but before the six months are up they both end up breaking the rules. Will Owen and Lucy's marriage be able to survive The Arrangement?

I really liked both Owen and Lucy - I thought they were playing with fire for even entertaining the thought of an open marriage, but what they did in their marriage was their business. I think they were overwhelmed with parenting a special needs child and were excited at a reprieve - even if it came in the form of other people. Owen ended up hooking up with a crazy woman and Lucy ended up breaking a big rule with Ben. The Arrangement doesn't only investigate Lucy and Owen's marriage, but several marriages in their little community. Like the billionaire and his much younger wife. Or the transgender kindergarten teacher and her wife. The common theme with all of these couples is that not every marriage is perfect and every couple handles stressors in their marriage differently. I was almost finished with the book before I came to that realization, but the more I think about it, the more I understand the author's message. And it is pretty fantastic when you think about it. I wasn't exactly thrilled with the way author got Owen out of his "crazy lady" situation - it was very abrupt - but other than that I loved everything about The Arrangement.

Bottom line - While I would never consent to an open marriage it was quite interesting to read about a seemingly normal couple and their experiment with open marriage. The somewhat taboo topic alone makes it a fun read and would be one to discuss with your girlfriends over a glass (or three) of wine.

This book is not "literature" but it is the book I could see giving to read this summer at the pool. Smart, sexy and, at times, funny. The perfect summer read.

The Arrangement is an original and cleverly written story about Lucy and Owen who decide to have a six month "open marriage - no questions" rumspringa where they can sleep around but obviously there are rules involved. No friends, no ex's and absolutely no falling in love!

This is a frank and often painful look at being married with some very funny observations about life, love and being parents.

Full of wonderful characters including their "spectrum-y" son Wyatt who wipes poop on the walls, Sunny Bang the best friend with an outrageous attitude, a transgender kindergarten teacher and a billionaire with a bee colony, this book kept me turning pages and laughing at their antics, but also thinking about the underlying message.

This contemporary novel made me laugh and smile and the authors skill of creating characters that were so realistic with their thoughts, feelings and concerns about marriage and sex that I was silently nodding in agreement throughout the book.

Highly recommended
Note. My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.
PS. Despite nodding in agreement and connecting with the characters I will not be partaking in any threesomes or swingers partying.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book which means I will not be able to review it. I truly appreciate the opportunity and apologize for the inconvenience the lack of review may cause you.

The Arrangement: A Novel by Sarah Dunn was released in March 2017, by Little, Brown and Company. This book as an intriguing premise about a married couple’s agreement to have an open marriage for six months. The couple who have dinner with their friends who tell them that they are experimenting with having an open marriage is where they get the idea. Dunn creates a unique story line with an outstanding list of characters that have very intriguing backstories. I think that the plot line benefits more from the backstories. However, just because a couple can create a list of rules it does not mean they can stick to them and this is where the story gets interesting. I found that the grass is not always greener for some but others may disagree. This book was a fun read!

This was a great little book. I enjoyed reading it, but at the same time, it didn't really get into the "meat" of the problem I was hoping for.

I love books that make me laugh out loud! The dialogue in The Arrangement is spot on authentic. The irreverence Dunn uses is spot on authentic. This book will appeal to the readers who want to be entertained and laugh about this segment of society. Thanks, Sarah Dunn.

A unique fun read that was deceptively insightful. I enjoyed the charactors, the plot, which I didn't know where it was heading and I loved that about it.

I would read everything by this author.

What do modern marriages and relationships look like? In “The Arrangement,” set in the small town of Beekman, just outside New York City, Sarah Dunn brilliantly examines several different marriages. For main characters Lucy and Owen, the arrangement refers to an agreement they make to have an open marriage for 6 months, a type of rumspringa. Daily life and caring for their autistic son have taken their toll, so when they hear about a couple exploring the idea of an open marriage, they are intrigued. Although it seems a little outlandish at first, the more they consider it, the more appealing it becomes. They compose a series of written rules (No sex with their friends or anyone from Beekman, no questions asked, no falling in love, and a strict time limit of 6 months) and begin their search for short term partners. Owen quickly finds a girlfriend, but Lucy must eventually enlist the help of her hilarious friend Sunny Bang. Of course complications ensue, particularly when one of them falls in love with their “short-term” partner and the other can’t wait for the arrangement to be over. The reader also gets a peek into the marriages of several other Beekman residents. One couple believes marriage is primarily about having kids and raising them together, another finds that marrying a trophy wife has some big disadvantages, while in another marriage, the husband is transitioning to a woman. And the character of Simka is fresh, unusual, and revelatory (at least to me!) Intermixed with all this drama and heartbreak are comical moments, like the chaos that ensues during the blessing of animals and children at the local church. And Dunn is spot-on in her descriptions of these former New Yorkers moving to a bucolic small town. Referring to a group of them discussing problems with their houses, she refers to them as “a khaki-clad conspiracy of cluelessness.” (What a pithy and perfect description!) Dunn’s polished writing style, brilliant character development, and entirely believable plot elevate this book above what some may consider “chick-lit” to an insightful, engaging, and entertaining novel.

My review was posted on Goodreads 4/5/17

I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this book. It is a story that needs to be told because I think everyone has a little voice in their heart that asks "What if?" of the path they didn't take, the person they didn't choose.

The multiple story lines, the evolution of the characters, the setting (I want to move to Beekman!) These elements made sure that the story was never boring.

When Lucy and Owen decided on the "Arrangement" I thought there was no way that both of them were going to go thru with it. Secondly, I certainly didn't think the one who actually fell in love would be the one to fall. But then again, that's why I loved the story- the elements of surprise, how things came full circle at the end- I don't want to give anything away but it has to be said- this book isn't just a frilly romance. It's complex, it's thoughtful and it has depth. I loved every minute of it. It's the first book in a long time that made me cry. I can't wait to tell my friends about it!

I loved this book. I really enjoyed the pacing and the studies of each character. I felt like I knew these people.

Lucy and Owen have dinner with another couple. The other couple mentions that they are going to have an open marriage. At first, Lucy and Owen think “no way”. But then they go home and start to think about it. Maybe if they set up some ground rules, along with a start and end date, it would be kind of interesting. What could go wrong - right?

Think what you want about the moral implications of an open marriage, I thought this book was pretty darn funny. How many times has someone carefully thought through something, said “what could go wrong?”, and then 6 months later find themselves slapping their foreheads and saying “what was I thinking?” This is what happens to Lucy and Owen.

I loved the character Ms. Dunn has given us - especially the mom group. I think she has the different personalities pegged - the over-achieving mom, the organized mom, the nosey/gossiping mom, the slacker mom, the power hungry mom. And don’t get me started on the blessing of the animals at church scene!

Lucy and Owen’s experience with the open marriage concept are as different as night and day. I was a bit worried about how it would all end, but felt the author brought this to a reasonable conclusion. This story was not without some sadness along with some fairly serious reflections on marriage. All in all, I thought it was very entertaining.

4.5/5.0

ARC from Little, Brown and Company, via Netgalley. Publish date: March 21, 2017

The arrangement was made for six months. Lucy and Owen set rules for their open marriage.
Had they taken six months discussing their rules -- evaluating them -- doing a little more research and consulting with other couples who have explored open marriage - they might have learned a few more basic fundamental useful tips.
For example... one of their rules was that they were not going to talk about their individual private affair with each other. They didn't even 'explore' their reason for the rule.
If they had done more research- they might have discovered that couples in open marriages who NOT ONLY shared about their sexual shenanigans with each other -- but had met each other's lovers in PERSON -- might have found the entire experience a little more satisfying- inclusive, rather than exclusive. With the idea of bringing joy -excitement-and freshness back to their marriage as partners.
Or......
Lucy and Owen might have discovered that open marriage was ultimately just going to be a distraction for what their real purpose was... which was to feel desired sexually... to feel those butterflies again once in awhile and feel their own genuine desire to have sex again with each other!!!
.........but Lucy and Owen didn't take time to explore and research their purpose for trying out a 6 month arrangement-- they simply made their rule list one evening - went over it one more time ( another evening), and they were off and running.

Most couples take longer in deciding what bed to buy - than Lucy and Owen took in choosing whose other bed's to muster in.

So.....Owen begins having sex with Izzy. Izzy is exactly the type of female that I detest.
Her own husband- ( ex husbsnd)- cheated on her during her marriage – – so she doesn't feel any loyalty, what-so-ever to women who are married. She is the type of female who would go out of her way to seduce a women's husband if she wanted to have sex with him. In fact she's on a mission to do so. I've met women like her.
There are women who to bars with the intention of picking up married men hoping to hurt his wife sitting at home like. The guy is an asshole too if he cheats .... but....THE AUTHOR GOT Izzy's character RIGHT!!! It STINKS.... but author Sarah Dunn knew the truth about this type of slimy female!!!

The problem of - NO COMMUNICATION- about the arrangement for Lucy and Owen begin to show up quickly. When Owen breaks an Air Conditioner of Izzy's ..... one of Lucy's friends spots Owen at Home Depot buying a new one. This odd purchase --OF COURSE drove Lucy batty!!! She was with wonder- doubt- suspicion - and worry.

Owen started having his 'own' independent problems with his "Izzy-arrangement". She was a handful. At one point --he was concerned that his sex girlfriend was more work than the enjoyment he signed up for. He was dreaming for his sweet wife!!
In a funny scene --- Izzy's ex husband breaks in the house trying to take back a family heirloom--his great grandfather's desk..... that he lost during the divorce....
Owen was over for a 'sex go-around' that afternoon -- so Owen meets the ex-Christopher face to face.
Christopher says to Owen: "I don't know you, dude. And believe me, I don't care what's going on with you and Izzy. But here's a friendly heads up. She's five kinds of crazy". HE GOT THAT RIGHT!

In the meantime....
Lucy was naked with Ben. She was his 'girl-Thursday'. She was out feeling 'adorable'... smiling ear to ear! She lost weight... and was riding high. Her endorphins
were turned on!! As an aging female myself - married 39 years - I can definitely imagine Lucy's heightened sexual excitement. When women begin to feel desired - a little sexy - or adorable - lose a few of those extra pounds- it's like feeling on top of the world. ---

So... Lucy and Owen 'were' basically a normal happy married couple. The haggard parents were both exhausted and drained from parenthood with a challenging- precious - adorable - but challenging child....they had lost interest in sex with each other -- but they wanted to want to have desire for each other: A VERY COMMON FEELING WITH COUPLES WHO LOVE EACH OTHER.

Throughout this story - Sarah Dunn writes about several other couples who also don't feel lust for one another any longer either. One of the questions that lingers in the air is if both partners of a couple are fine about not having sex together--- is the relationship 'really' ok? Perhaps!!! ....... however.... it's also true that most people are having sex with somebody! --- and if this is so --- it raises questions on the vitality of a marriage without sex-- even 'if' both partners say they are fine without.

There are several other themes running throughout the story besides open marriage.
A kindergarten teacher was in the process of transitioning from a male to a female in front of her students as a teacher. When children came home and told her parents that their make teacher was now wearing a dress --One of the parents in particular went crazy. He wanted the teacher fired.

You know the old saying "rules are made to be broken"?..... well, I'm not sure Lucy and Owen intentionally went out of their way to TRY and break the rules that were set.... but the rules did get broken ---even though they're shady contract was not the best to begin with.

This is a very compelling read--- one of the BETTER BOOKS I've read on the topic of open marriage and or swinging. It shows many of the pitfalls of open marriage - yet the author paints a very real scenario of the process into the exploration of how a normal -overwhelmed - couple may find themselves experimenting. Adult sexual - choices - swinging - open marriage - polygamy -are more openly talked about - since the Internet. And books like this give readers an inside look into the organic development of why some couples risk what they have to explore the unknown.

I like it! Well written!!
Thank You Netgalley, Little Brown and Company, and Sarah Dunn