Robyn Harding | THE ARRANGEMENT

Plot (via Goodreads):

Natalie, a young art student in New York City, is struggling to pay her bills when a friend makes a suggestion: Why not go online and find a sugar daddy—a wealthy, older man who will pay her for dates and even give her a monthly allowance? Lots of girls do it, Nat learns. All that’s required is to look pretty and hang on his every word. Sexual favors are optional.

Though more than thirty years her senior, Gabe, a handsome corporate finance attorney, seems like the perfect candidate, and within a month, they are madly in love. At least, Nat is…Gabe already has a family, whom he has no intention of leaving.

So when he abruptly ends things, Nat can’t let go. But Gabe’s not about to let his sugar baby destroy his perfect life. What was supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement devolves into a nightmare of deception, obsession, and, when a body is found near Gabe’s posh Upper East Side apartment, murder.

Review:

Since I read The Party, I have had many conversations with Robyn Harding and needless to say, over the winter during one of our many long conversations, she gave me a brief ideas as to what her new novel was going to be about. Now, since finishing Her Pretty Face, I haven't been able to shut up about a novel by this phenomenal woman, so it goes to show that I was pretty excited for what was to come. Excited? Yes. Prepared? Not one bit. And that is why I love reading a book by Robyn Harding.

The Arrangement is a sleek and sexy psychological thriller that teases your imagination and seduces you with its prose. After reading the first chapter, I was immediately hooked and had no intentions of stopping. The plot is dangerously sharp and luxurious, the characters are out-of-this-world realistic and stunning, and the pacing is compulsive and riveting. One thing I absolutely love about Robyn's writing and the way she tells a story is her ability to take characters that you can relate to and prove how easy it can be to sway into the other lane and find yourself in a dangerous situation. She does this with ease and grace, showcasing her storytelling capabilities lavishly and all the while drawing her reader into an unfamiliar world. But, this world isn't all champagne and American Express cards. It's addictive, brooding, and you guessed it - murderous. From the minute I realized what had happened, I was so eager to find out how we got there. Trust me, this is the kind of novel that you have to take a deep breath and take your time. Reading a Robyn Harding novel is like taking a road trip; it's best to not rush, but enjoy the scenery around you, take your time, and the destination will be so worth it when you get there.

I'll say it right now, I had no clue what tricks Robyn had up her sleeve and was a bit fearful on how she could possibly top Her Pretty Face, but I now know to never question what this woman can do. Before I knew it, I was in love with the plot, the characters were making themselves comfortable in my heart, and my heart rate was increasing. Natalie was the perfect ingenue and I loved how she went back and forth between the unreliable narrator and the innocent. I couldn't get enough of her character and how raw Robyn Harding wrote her. Gabe - well, I just fell in love with him the minute he popped up on the page. It's no secret that I think Robyn Harding can build the most perfect characters and they were all incredibly strong on this one. It's like each personality was shining a flashlight off the page and illuminating your entire imagination. I will say though, my favorite aspect of this one was the rollercoaster of a relationship between Natalie and Gabe. I absolutely adored them in the beginning and then when things began to take a sinister turn, I was floored with what they were willing to do to each other and how far the other was willing to go.

The pacing to this one is so dangerous, it's like being lost in a black hole. I started the novel and before I knew it, I was 200 pages in and couldn't care less as to what was going on around me. A plane could have landed in my living room and I wouldn't have even blinked. The Arrangement is a dangerously compulsive read with Harding's strongest characters yet, a plot that wastes no time, a prose that is terrifyingly razor-sharp, and an ending that is both shocking and harrowing. In the 90 books that I've read so far this year, I guarantee that The Arrangement is the one that will stick with me the most. Another brilliant read by a woman so talented, it's frightening - this is the summer release you don't want to miss out on.

Special thanks to Gallery Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5