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The Arrangements
She’s a wallflower florist; he’s literally a rocket scientist. But Callie and Nate have been best friends since they were in diapers. They’ve seen each other through every milestone and, as long as they’ve got each other, anything is possible … or so Callie believed.
As heartbroken college freshmen, the polar opposites, vowed to marry if they were still single at 33. Now, two months from their pact’s deadline, what seemed like a fun, ridiculous notion, suddenly has the spark of potential for eternally single Callie and the never serious Nate. But there’s a complication: Nate has just met perky, way-too-perfect Beth and he wants Callie’s help in creating her magical arrangements to woo Beth. Yet, as the romance between Nate and Beth grows, Callie sees her best friend drifting away. Worse still, feelings they never had for each other are suddenly budding between them (at least on her part).
When Callie’s father reappears after nearly two decades with a devastating prognosis, Callie must face the betrayal of his abrupt departure and years of silence. As she weeds through the tangle of tumultuous emotions, she uncovers the lies she’s wrapped around herself as self-protection. With the clock ticking on her father’s life and Nate’s single status, Callie must is she strong enough to bury a lifetime of nurturing her feelings of unworthiness to take a chance at happiness (and a bit of harmless floral sabotage), if it could ruin the relationship with the one person she’s ever fully trusted?
As heartbroken college freshmen, the polar opposites, vowed to marry if they were still single at 33. Now, two months from their pact’s deadline, what seemed like a fun, ridiculous notion, suddenly has the spark of potential for eternally single Callie and the never serious Nate. But there’s a complication: Nate has just met perky, way-too-perfect Beth and he wants Callie’s help in creating her magical arrangements to woo Beth. Yet, as the romance between Nate and Beth grows, Callie sees her best friend drifting away. Worse still, feelings they never had for each other are suddenly budding between them (at least on her part).
When Callie’s father reappears after nearly two decades with a devastating prognosis, Callie must face the betrayal of his abrupt departure and years of silence. As she weeds through the tangle of tumultuous emotions, she uncovers the lies she’s wrapped around herself as self-protection. With the clock ticking on her father’s life and Nate’s single status, Callie must is she strong enough to bury a lifetime of nurturing her feelings of unworthiness to take a chance at happiness (and a bit of harmless floral sabotage), if it could ruin the relationship with the one person she’s ever fully trusted?
- GenresRomanceContemporary
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2025
7 people are currently reading
123 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 9, 2025
A warm, thoughtful, gently funny romance that shows a love approached sideways. The Arrangements was such a pleasure to read!
February 20, 2025
Heart-tugger
This book tugged at my heart in every direction. Ever sentence was emotional and meaningful, beautifully written words that brought all the characters to life. All of the relationships in this book were complicated, sometimes difficult, but always love-filled.
This book tugged at my heart in every direction. Ever sentence was emotional and meaningful, beautifully written words that brought all the characters to life. All of the relationships in this book were complicated, sometimes difficult, but always love-filled.
February 20, 2025
Wow! Best romance I’ve read in the last year. Friends to lovers…but the story is fresh! (Like the flowers in the floral shop our heroine works in).
Loved the characters and the romantic obstacles and the voice is on point.
And I enjoyed the single POV rather than the back and forth between hero and heroine…the female perspective throughout felt just right for this story.
Recommend!!!
Loved the characters and the romantic obstacles and the voice is on point.
And I enjoyed the single POV rather than the back and forth between hero and heroine…the female perspective throughout felt just right for this story.
Recommend!!!
May 4, 2025
A heartfelt book full of love and hope. Sweet and left me smiling
April 21, 2025
Whoever said this was a cute story was lying.
Beautiful in its own right. But I don’t think the romance had any part in it. It’s all the flowers, honestly.
3 Stars
7.5 Personal Rating
*Possible Spoilers*
The flower parts and arrangements were beautiful. The Arrangements were all over this book, as flowers and weeds and wild- and wallflowers. Love, heartbreak, win and loss. So much more.
When I started reading The Arrangements, I was thinking this might have similarities to A Love Like The Sun by Riss M. Neilson (I beg you go read this if you haven’t yet, since you’re already reading this one), but that thought quickly lost its way after the relationship between Callie, Nate, and Beth started to intertwine and twist more and more. It was a tug-of-war like Deep Cuts (Holly Brickley, phenomenal, read it definitely). Still fascinating, still pulling me in, but I thought for a romance that’s friends-to-lovers no less, I don’t want to read a romance like Deep Cuts has (Deep Cuts is only in parts romance that doesn’t include as many as The Arrangements). This push-and-pull, then pull-away and push-shove-nothing, it made me angry and disgusted even at times, with characters, especially with Nate and also Beth. I’ve never claimed to always be responsible or mature when I’m reading romance. It was all
Will-they-won’t-they, should-they-shouldn’t-they, do-i-want-them-to, yes-no-ugh-stupid-asshole.
I’m don’t want to compare books by great authors, I’m just giving an example of a personal experience I’ve had with said books.
The writing was amazing to read, so was the pacing, it was very easy to read through. The many chapters make the book feel longer than it actually is, but the many quotes for each chapter are a beautiful touch. The plot was very centered around relationships between characters and Callie’s own character, which also makes them The Arrangements.
To the characters in general, all of them were well-written and felt very real to me. I cared, positively or not, about their actions and words.
Callie was a good character with flaws but still lovable. I managed to like her till the end even though sometimes I wanted to grab and shake her really quickly.
Nate was… ugh. I’ve called him stupid, an asshole, jackass, a pussy… uhm. I was honestly disappointed by him. He couldn’t make his mind up until the end (it wasn’t the slow burn bothering me, I expected it, it was the fact HE and his confused indecision was the reason for it). I hoped for some grovel but nothing. A big reason I sadly ended up disliking him was because he was a bad friend. Never mind romantic relationships. What about your pure platonic bond? I wanted Callie to make him regret all of it, but she was so quick and ready to accept it all. Sigh.
Beth was… I don’t actually know. I can’t say I’ve judged her without bias, and at one point I was just so annoyed at her I disliked her. Sorry, I don’t like love-triangles. I didn’t expect this to be such a big one. Not sorry.
I couldn’t get a clear picture of her with only Callie’s POV, but I appreciate the relatively mature approach to it by her. I guess she was perfect in a way - just not for Nate. I don’t actually know. Callie had her own way of sneaking in bad omens into their relationship, and who knows if Beth wanted to do something? Keep her enemies closer? I mean, I’d get that, too. I don’t know. I don’t care. It’s over.
I was honestly rooting for Eric for a while. I was disappointed in resignation when I realized Callie wouldn’t stop comparing him to Nate. He seemed genuinely good. Damn if. What about his house?
The book was resolved quickly in the end. I could have some still open questions but I won’t ask them.
I wanted this to be five stars, I wanted to give this five stars from the very beginning. I had this feeling. In a way, it is five stars. But it’s also not in more. It cannot live up to some great books, especially with the romance. Callie’s personal growth was great but still overshadowed by affection for mediocre Nate. He deserved to grovel good.
I end my read and case in disbelief, and my review disappointingly confused.
Review written 21.04.2025.
Beautiful in its own right. But I don’t think the romance had any part in it. It’s all the flowers, honestly.
3 Stars
7.5 Personal Rating
*Possible Spoilers*
The flower parts and arrangements were beautiful. The Arrangements were all over this book, as flowers and weeds and wild- and wallflowers. Love, heartbreak, win and loss. So much more.
When I started reading The Arrangements, I was thinking this might have similarities to A Love Like The Sun by Riss M. Neilson (I beg you go read this if you haven’t yet, since you’re already reading this one), but that thought quickly lost its way after the relationship between Callie, Nate, and Beth started to intertwine and twist more and more. It was a tug-of-war like Deep Cuts (Holly Brickley, phenomenal, read it definitely). Still fascinating, still pulling me in, but I thought for a romance that’s friends-to-lovers no less, I don’t want to read a romance like Deep Cuts has (Deep Cuts is only in parts romance that doesn’t include as many as The Arrangements). This push-and-pull, then pull-away and push-shove-nothing, it made me angry and disgusted even at times, with characters, especially with Nate and also Beth. I’ve never claimed to always be responsible or mature when I’m reading romance. It was all
Will-they-won’t-they, should-they-shouldn’t-they, do-i-want-them-to, yes-no-ugh-stupid-asshole.
I’m don’t want to compare books by great authors, I’m just giving an example of a personal experience I’ve had with said books.
The writing was amazing to read, so was the pacing, it was very easy to read through. The many chapters make the book feel longer than it actually is, but the many quotes for each chapter are a beautiful touch. The plot was very centered around relationships between characters and Callie’s own character, which also makes them The Arrangements.
To the characters in general, all of them were well-written and felt very real to me. I cared, positively or not, about their actions and words.
Callie was a good character with flaws but still lovable. I managed to like her till the end even though sometimes I wanted to grab and shake her really quickly.
Nate was… ugh. I’ve called him stupid, an asshole, jackass, a pussy… uhm. I was honestly disappointed by him. He couldn’t make his mind up until the end (it wasn’t the slow burn bothering me, I expected it, it was the fact HE and his confused indecision was the reason for it). I hoped for some grovel but nothing. A big reason I sadly ended up disliking him was because he was a bad friend. Never mind romantic relationships. What about your pure platonic bond? I wanted Callie to make him regret all of it, but she was so quick and ready to accept it all. Sigh.
Beth was… I don’t actually know. I can’t say I’ve judged her without bias, and at one point I was just so annoyed at her I disliked her. Sorry, I don’t like love-triangles. I didn’t expect this to be such a big one. Not sorry.
I couldn’t get a clear picture of her with only Callie’s POV, but I appreciate the relatively mature approach to it by her. I guess she was perfect in a way - just not for Nate. I don’t actually know. Callie had her own way of sneaking in bad omens into their relationship, and who knows if Beth wanted to do something? Keep her enemies closer? I mean, I’d get that, too. I don’t know. I don’t care. It’s over.
I was honestly rooting for Eric for a while. I was disappointed in resignation when I realized Callie wouldn’t stop comparing him to Nate. He seemed genuinely good. Damn if. What about his house?
The book was resolved quickly in the end. I could have some still open questions but I won’t ask them.
I wanted this to be five stars, I wanted to give this five stars from the very beginning. I had this feeling. In a way, it is five stars. But it’s also not in more. It cannot live up to some great books, especially with the romance. Callie’s personal growth was great but still overshadowed by affection for mediocre Nate. He deserved to grovel good.
I end my read and case in disbelief, and my review disappointingly confused.
Review written 21.04.2025.
February 10, 2025
The Arrangements is a cute romance with a lot of information about flowers. The author starts every chapter with a different quote about flowers - who knew that there were so many quotes that touched on the beauty of flowers! Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimists stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose."
Kahil Gibran
"Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely places."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Callie and Nate have been best friends since they were born. Their mothers were best friends and the two kids spent a lot of time together. Callie's mom became distant after her beloved father left their family and Nate's mom mothered Callie than her own mom. She owned the florist shop that Callie ran and saw that Callie had a special gift with flowers. She always knew what the symbolism was of the flowers that she arranged for particular situations. When Callie and Nate were in college they made a pact that if neither of them were married at 33, they would marry each other. Their 33rd birthdays are getting close but Callie only sees Nate as her best friend. When he starts to date someone seriously, and starts cancelling the plans that he has with Callie every week, she begins to feel really left out and then she begins to wonder what her life would be like without Nate there to talk to, watch movies with and basically do everything that best friends do. Could there be more to their relationship than just friendship and what happens when they turn 33?
"The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimists stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose."
Kahil Gibran
"Love is like wildflowers; it's often found in the most unlikely places."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Callie and Nate have been best friends since they were born. Their mothers were best friends and the two kids spent a lot of time together. Callie's mom became distant after her beloved father left their family and Nate's mom mothered Callie than her own mom. She owned the florist shop that Callie ran and saw that Callie had a special gift with flowers. She always knew what the symbolism was of the flowers that she arranged for particular situations. When Callie and Nate were in college they made a pact that if neither of them were married at 33, they would marry each other. Their 33rd birthdays are getting close but Callie only sees Nate as her best friend. When he starts to date someone seriously, and starts cancelling the plans that he has with Callie every week, she begins to feel really left out and then she begins to wonder what her life would be like without Nate there to talk to, watch movies with and basically do everything that best friends do. Could there be more to their relationship than just friendship and what happens when they turn 33?
May 8, 2025
Like the flowers Callie gathers to make dreams come true for her customers, THE ARRANGEMENTS is the perfect bouquet of a novel: sparkling prose, compulsively readable and just plain swoony. Konig, a master of creating big-hearted, deeply-relatable characters you can’t help rooting for, has gifted her readers with a pitch-perfect friends-to-lovers story. I dare you not to fall in love with this book!
January 7, 2025
I read an early copy of THE ARRANGEMENTS and Orly Konig's prose just sparkles. Callie and Nate have a beautiful friendship, and their fun and flirty banter leaps off the page. Fans of Emily Henry, Carley Fortune, and Anabel Monaghan are going to adore this story. It's the perfect romantic novel to escape into.
March 19, 2025
CW:
While it was clear that the FMC had fallen in love with the MMC, I never really felt it on his end, given
While it was clear that the FMC had fallen in love with the MMC, I never really felt it on his end, given
April 26, 2025
Orly Konig has given us a romance with beautifully written words that bring the characters to life. I loved the mystical interpretations of what the flowers mean and how they can influence a person’s life. Callie and Nate, friends since birth, will their lives be joined as adults? Perhaps only the flowers know. A must read, thoroughly enjoyable.
March 11, 2025
Why do certain books ever have to end! I loved the premise of this book, the plot, the characters. It had a little of everything and very interesting what the origin and meanings of each flowers represent.
February 16, 2025
I love this book! I love the quotes about the flowers, I love the ongoing, somewhat mystical interpretations of what the flowers mean and how they can influence a persons life, and I love - most of all - Callie and Nate’s story.
If you had asked me, before reading The Arrangements, whether I as an older woman could relate to a 32-year-old young woman working in a floral shop, I might have said “probably not”. But I did. Callie was so deeply relatable, so easy to both love and cheer on, that any woman could find parts of herself in Callie and her journey.
I highly recommend this beautiful love story. :)
If you had asked me, before reading The Arrangements, whether I as an older woman could relate to a 32-year-old young woman working in a floral shop, I might have said “probably not”. But I did. Callie was so deeply relatable, so easy to both love and cheer on, that any woman could find parts of herself in Callie and her journey.
I highly recommend this beautiful love story. :)
February 24, 2025
Flowers, romance, lifelong friends. This book is a garden full of comfort and hope. Loved it!
March 18, 2025
From the flower quotes that started each chapter to the symbolism of the flowers and the arrangements to Nate and Callie, this was just perfect.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews