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The Arc
"A thoroughly modern love story with an old-fashioned heart."
––Vogue
"Sure to satisfy fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sally Rooney."
––E! Online
"Funny and modern, The Arc is like a rom-com’s cooler big sister."
––Real Simple
Can you curate your soulmate? Thirty-five-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She’s tried all the dating apps, and let’s just she’s underwhelmed by her options. You’d think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner––how hard could that be?
Enter The a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious––a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.
Ursula is paired with forty-two-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, this feels like the electric, lasting love they’ve each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable...even when it's fully optimized.
––Vogue
"Sure to satisfy fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sally Rooney."
––E! Online
"Funny and modern, The Arc is like a rom-com’s cooler big sister."
––Real Simple
Can you curate your soulmate? Thirty-five-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She’s tried all the dating apps, and let’s just she’s underwhelmed by her options. You’d think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner––how hard could that be?
Enter The a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious––a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.
Ursula is paired with forty-two-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, this feels like the electric, lasting love they’ve each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable...even when it's fully optimized.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 8, 2022
209 people are currently reading
17279 people want to read
About the author
Tory Henwood Hoen
2 books279 followersTory Henwood Hoen is a writer based in Vermont, where she is a solo mom to her toddler daughter. Her second novel, BEFORE I FORGET, will be published December 2, 2025. Her debut, THE ARC, is out now. You can find her on Instagram @toryhenwoodhoen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 971 reviews
February 9, 2022
Happy book birthday!🥳🥂🎂🎁
Arc is highly zeitgeist-ly, smartly criticizing and thought provoking but also entertaining debut, a sarcastic women’s fiction waltzes with romance genre. A romance without troupes and angst but somehow realistically questioning the relationships!
How far you go to find her love of your life? And what if there’s no guarantee in your life to find your soul mate and chase your HEA?
The author’s dark sense of humor pouring out on the chapters help you to enjoy witty dialogues : an emotional struggling heroine: 35 years old New Yorker Ursula Bryne could be one of the member of Sex and the City reboot ( her characteristics are someone between Carrie and Miranda) with interesting job title ( VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency), desperate to find the love of her life. She tried a several dating apps but each of her experiences were doomed to fail.
When she is so close to give up, she finds out the Arc: a highly secretive and super duper sophisticated dating service helps you to find the One by assessing several emotional, psychological and physiological diagrams. The results seem like so concrete which worth to your 50K!
She joins the service and finally gets paired with 42 years old Rafael Banks.
She realizes the service accomplished its mission successfully! They seem like soul mates and perfect for each other!
But… yes, a nearly 400 pages long novel can not end so abruptly! The couple hear news which dramatically change their lives!
Without giving so much spoiler, I can honestly find this concept interesting! The characters were likable enough to pick my interest and be drawn into their dilemmas.
The conclusion was also good. It was soft, interesting and enjoyable popcorn& GT reading and a great start for debut author!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
Arc is highly zeitgeist-ly, smartly criticizing and thought provoking but also entertaining debut, a sarcastic women’s fiction waltzes with romance genre. A romance without troupes and angst but somehow realistically questioning the relationships!
How far you go to find her love of your life? And what if there’s no guarantee in your life to find your soul mate and chase your HEA?
The author’s dark sense of humor pouring out on the chapters help you to enjoy witty dialogues : an emotional struggling heroine: 35 years old New Yorker Ursula Bryne could be one of the member of Sex and the City reboot ( her characteristics are someone between Carrie and Miranda) with interesting job title ( VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency), desperate to find the love of her life. She tried a several dating apps but each of her experiences were doomed to fail.
When she is so close to give up, she finds out the Arc: a highly secretive and super duper sophisticated dating service helps you to find the One by assessing several emotional, psychological and physiological diagrams. The results seem like so concrete which worth to your 50K!
She joins the service and finally gets paired with 42 years old Rafael Banks.
She realizes the service accomplished its mission successfully! They seem like soul mates and perfect for each other!
But… yes, a nearly 400 pages long novel can not end so abruptly! The couple hear news which dramatically change their lives!
Without giving so much spoiler, I can honestly find this concept interesting! The characters were likable enough to pick my interest and be drawn into their dilemmas.
The conclusion was also good. It was soft, interesting and enjoyable popcorn& GT reading and a great start for debut author!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
June 28, 2022
This may be one of the strangest books I’ve ever read. I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it.
The Arc is a matchmaking service that claims it can find you your partner for life, for an extortionate fee. Ursula is fed up with dating, so she decides to take the plunge. But things don’t turn out how she had expected.
I have to give some praise to just how unusual this book was. It is a brave and clever thing to be able to step outside of ‘the norm’ and come up with such completely new concepts. Especially as this was a debut, suggesting there may be more future books that break the barriers of contemporary fiction. Unfortunately for me, at times I found some of the ideas particularly cringy. I also really struggled to connect to both Ursula and Rafael. I find it so hard to love a book, especially one based on romance, if I am not rooting for the characters.
That being said I did connect to Ursula’s love for her cat Mallory. I am also a weird cat lover and found myself chuckling at these parts. I actually wanted more Mallory parts, she bought so much life! I also loved the idea of women making it in a workplace environment where they have not been listened to previously. This book definitely had some important underlying messages, I just fear that they got lost in the strangeness of everything else. At times, some of the messages did become a little preachy too, which just isn’t for me. For example, the main characters seem to be against people having too much money, but are very clearly doing well financially compared to the average person. This is definitely the most unique romance novel I’ve ever read though.
I would recommend this to any fans of feminist romantic fiction, as long as you don’t mind strange! I want to thank Netgalley, Atlantic Books and Tory Henwood Hoen for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.
The Arc is a matchmaking service that claims it can find you your partner for life, for an extortionate fee. Ursula is fed up with dating, so she decides to take the plunge. But things don’t turn out how she had expected.
I have to give some praise to just how unusual this book was. It is a brave and clever thing to be able to step outside of ‘the norm’ and come up with such completely new concepts. Especially as this was a debut, suggesting there may be more future books that break the barriers of contemporary fiction. Unfortunately for me, at times I found some of the ideas particularly cringy. I also really struggled to connect to both Ursula and Rafael. I find it so hard to love a book, especially one based on romance, if I am not rooting for the characters.
That being said I did connect to Ursula’s love for her cat Mallory. I am also a weird cat lover and found myself chuckling at these parts. I actually wanted more Mallory parts, she bought so much life! I also loved the idea of women making it in a workplace environment where they have not been listened to previously. This book definitely had some important underlying messages, I just fear that they got lost in the strangeness of everything else. At times, some of the messages did become a little preachy too, which just isn’t for me. For example, the main characters seem to be against people having too much money, but are very clearly doing well financially compared to the average person. This is definitely the most unique romance novel I’ve ever read though.
I would recommend this to any fans of feminist romantic fiction, as long as you don’t mind strange! I want to thank Netgalley, Atlantic Books and Tory Henwood Hoen for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.
Read
February 4, 2022DNF @ 20%.
I knew I was in trouble from page 1.
We meet the main character, Ursula, at a feminist “wellness club” callled The Stake. It’s a movement that offers a smash center (aggressively breaking dishes), a scream den (to scream), hush-brushing (a gal brushes your hair and whispers sweet nothings…while you sit in a bean bag), a swaddle station (you get to into an adult-sized cradle and get rocked like a baby…lullabies are played for full effect), sobbing pods (cry your heart out to 80s love songs), a spa to relieve you from the stress of psychic pain…and much more!
There’s also talk of cactus-shaped vibrators. Tagline: “Look forward to your next dry spell”. I really hope they don’t have spikes. 🌵😳
From there, we learn that Ursula wants to find love, and she is willing to use an exclusive and extremely expensive dating service to find her love match. It only costs $40,500!!
I hope she finds her match, but I don’t care to find out.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 2/8/22.
I knew I was in trouble from page 1.
We meet the main character, Ursula, at a feminist “wellness club” callled The Stake. It’s a movement that offers a smash center (aggressively breaking dishes), a scream den (to scream), hush-brushing (a gal brushes your hair and whispers sweet nothings…while you sit in a bean bag), a swaddle station (you get to into an adult-sized cradle and get rocked like a baby…lullabies are played for full effect), sobbing pods (cry your heart out to 80s love songs), a spa to relieve you from the stress of psychic pain…and much more!
There’s also talk of cactus-shaped vibrators. Tagline: “Look forward to your next dry spell”. I really hope they don’t have spikes. 🌵😳
From there, we learn that Ursula wants to find love, and she is willing to use an exclusive and extremely expensive dating service to find her love match. It only costs $40,500!!
I hope she finds her match, but I don’t care to find out.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 2/8/22.
Read
January 19, 2022DNF-no rating
Weird
Ursula, our main character knows she is weird, and not in a cute Rom-Com way. She admits that she uses a vibrator as a face massager and has purchased a see through bubble backpack for her cat so she can take the feline out with her.
Weird
Ursula and her friend Issa belong to a a feminist wellness club called “The Stake” where you can spend time in the Smash Center, breaking porcelain dishes or partake in gentler therapies such as Hush brushing where someone will brush your hair and murder soothing phrases to you, or in a Swaddle station, or a sobbing pod or even floating in a placenta infused saltwater tank called the womb room.
And, this is all before Ursula bares her soul in an attempt to allow a new exclusive dating service called The Arc match her up with her “soulmate”.
Let’s face it-humor is subjective and many readers may find this to be fresh and feminist and fun to read!
If that sounds like it might be you-check this out on February 8, 2022.
As for me, I am not connecting with the writing or story and I have vowed this year to allow myself to DNF any book which isn’t a fit for me, so I am moving on!
Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.
Weird
Ursula, our main character knows she is weird, and not in a cute Rom-Com way. She admits that she uses a vibrator as a face massager and has purchased a see through bubble backpack for her cat so she can take the feline out with her.
Weird
Ursula and her friend Issa belong to a a feminist wellness club called “The Stake” where you can spend time in the Smash Center, breaking porcelain dishes or partake in gentler therapies such as Hush brushing where someone will brush your hair and murder soothing phrases to you, or in a Swaddle station, or a sobbing pod or even floating in a placenta infused saltwater tank called the womb room.
And, this is all before Ursula bares her soul in an attempt to allow a new exclusive dating service called The Arc match her up with her “soulmate”.
Let’s face it-humor is subjective and many readers may find this to be fresh and feminist and fun to read!
If that sounds like it might be you-check this out on February 8, 2022.
As for me, I am not connecting with the writing or story and I have vowed this year to allow myself to DNF any book which isn’t a fit for me, so I am moving on!
Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.
February 15, 2022
**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Tory Henwood Hoen for an ARC of this book! Now available as of 2.8!**
Have you ever turned on IFC on a whim?
Scratch that.
Have you ever turned on IFC... at 3 AM? Hour of questionable content, no matter WHAT the network?
If you've ever had that 'somewhat sucked in because it's interesting, but disappointed because it's too bizarre and pretentious to be truly likable' experience...you'll feel right at home reading The Arc.
Ursula is 35, the VP of branding at Strategic Audacity, and has been round and round the dating merry-go-round. She's tried the apps, orchestrating the real life meet-cutes, and has had no luck. Amidst one of her weird outings to a semi-futuristic spa, another patron overhears her kvetching and offers her a business card. The business? The Arc, a high-tech intricate business whose sole purpose is to bring soulmates together by being the architect of a perfect love story and finding The One...for a nominal fee of $50.000 ($40,500 for females, to equate for the wage gap....of course.)
Rafael is in his 40s, a lawyer who is as unsettled as Ursula, and once the two undergo their week long session at the Arc, complete with meditation and a slew of other activities meant to mine out their most intrinsic qualities for optimal matchmaking possibilities. Once the two meet, all their most idealized dreams come true...until the very first argument. What does the Arc of this relationship TRULY have in store?
I have a real problem with books that I find pretentious...or books that are trying to be pretentious...and to me, The Arc wholeheartedly fits in that category. The author was obviously trying to make some statements about feminism, capitalism, et al, but nothing felt cohesive to me.I couldn't tell whether the ridiculous brand and product ideas peppered throughout were supposed to be a warning of what's to come in our reality, or were supposed to play like comic relief...but either way, they were just BIZARRE.
Ursula was supposed to be an empowered female, and a fourth wave feminist, but panders to men over and over, to varying degrees and lacks spine over and over as well. Again, this might have been some commentary on the 'system' at large, but for a book that was supposed to be somewhat of a love story....nothing clicked. Whenever an author starts dropping in $5.00 vocabulary words just for the fun of it, I quickly lose interest---and there was one too many soupçons present in this one for me. And don't get me started on Ursula and Rafael's constant slew of weird pet names for one another...("I love you, my conch shell", "my skink"), Ick.
Still, I got just sucked in enough to continue to see where Rafael and Ursula would end up...and unfortunately, this one had a bit of an eye-roller for an ending. The one through line in this book however, is the Weird and Unusual, which starts on page one and doesn't let up until the book's end. While this premise was a perfect opportunity to explore some bigger philosophical issues and play on the push-and-pull of real emotion vs. manufactured emotion, The Arc instead paints a bizarre pseudo-intellectual picture of what that world could become if we aren't careful...and perhaps serves a reminder to all of us that controlling our OWN destiny is probably always the wisest choice. And at the very least, SHOULD be less expensive. 💵
3 stars
Have you ever turned on IFC on a whim?
Scratch that.
Have you ever turned on IFC... at 3 AM? Hour of questionable content, no matter WHAT the network?
If you've ever had that 'somewhat sucked in because it's interesting, but disappointed because it's too bizarre and pretentious to be truly likable' experience...you'll feel right at home reading The Arc.
Ursula is 35, the VP of branding at Strategic Audacity, and has been round and round the dating merry-go-round. She's tried the apps, orchestrating the real life meet-cutes, and has had no luck. Amidst one of her weird outings to a semi-futuristic spa, another patron overhears her kvetching and offers her a business card. The business? The Arc, a high-tech intricate business whose sole purpose is to bring soulmates together by being the architect of a perfect love story and finding The One...for a nominal fee of $50.000 ($40,500 for females, to equate for the wage gap....of course.)
Rafael is in his 40s, a lawyer who is as unsettled as Ursula, and once the two undergo their week long session at the Arc, complete with meditation and a slew of other activities meant to mine out their most intrinsic qualities for optimal matchmaking possibilities. Once the two meet, all their most idealized dreams come true...until the very first argument. What does the Arc of this relationship TRULY have in store?
I have a real problem with books that I find pretentious...or books that are trying to be pretentious...and to me, The Arc wholeheartedly fits in that category. The author was obviously trying to make some statements about feminism, capitalism, et al, but nothing felt cohesive to me.I couldn't tell whether the ridiculous brand and product ideas peppered throughout were supposed to be a warning of what's to come in our reality, or were supposed to play like comic relief...but either way, they were just BIZARRE.
Ursula was supposed to be an empowered female, and a fourth wave feminist, but panders to men over and over, to varying degrees and lacks spine over and over as well. Again, this might have been some commentary on the 'system' at large, but for a book that was supposed to be somewhat of a love story....nothing clicked. Whenever an author starts dropping in $5.00 vocabulary words just for the fun of it, I quickly lose interest---and there was one too many soupçons present in this one for me. And don't get me started on Ursula and Rafael's constant slew of weird pet names for one another...("I love you, my conch shell", "my skink"), Ick.
Still, I got just sucked in enough to continue to see where Rafael and Ursula would end up...and unfortunately, this one had a bit of an eye-roller for an ending. The one through line in this book however, is the Weird and Unusual, which starts on page one and doesn't let up until the book's end. While this premise was a perfect opportunity to explore some bigger philosophical issues and play on the push-and-pull of real emotion vs. manufactured emotion, The Arc instead paints a bizarre pseudo-intellectual picture of what that world could become if we aren't careful...and perhaps serves a reminder to all of us that controlling our OWN destiny is probably always the wisest choice. And at the very least, SHOULD be less expensive. 💵
3 stars
January 23, 2022
The ARC is a highly elite, scientific matchmaking services that uses various assessments to match you with your perfect match! It's pricey but the payoff is a lifelong relationship with the person you are the most compatible one. When I read the description, I thought of The One with its DNA mate matching service.
But that is where the comparison ends. The synopsis was interesting, and I had high hopes for this. I didn't care for the beginning but hung in there and then it began to pique my interest. But unfortunately, that didn't last. I became disinterested again but hung in there hoping I would be won over again.
I didn't really feel a connection with the characters, I didn't feel for their plight. True, there were parts of the book which I found to be interesting, but there were too many parts that just didn't win me over and at the end of the day, this book just wasn't for me.
Others are enjoying this much more than I did, so please seek out their reviews as well.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
But that is where the comparison ends. The synopsis was interesting, and I had high hopes for this. I didn't care for the beginning but hung in there and then it began to pique my interest. But unfortunately, that didn't last. I became disinterested again but hung in there hoping I would be won over again.
I didn't really feel a connection with the characters, I didn't feel for their plight. True, there were parts of the book which I found to be interesting, but there were too many parts that just didn't win me over and at the end of the day, this book just wasn't for me.
Others are enjoying this much more than I did, so please seek out their reviews as well.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
February 5, 2025
For fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Sally Rooney, The Arc is a smart, high-concept love story that’ll leave you very much disappointed.
I don’t know how else to express myself: there’s too much in here.
I thought a lot about the story itself and how it is narrated, about the descriptions and dialogues, about every single aspect you can think of. And my opinion is: while usually there's this feeling of something missing, here there is just too much.
The story is nice and out of the ordinary, the characters aren't particularly likeable or unlikeable, the descriptions and dialogues are sometimes too long and sometimes too short, and every question you may have will be answered eventually. But there's too much of all of this, and misplaced too - what's the point of knowing where Ursula bought her furniture when I don't even know how she ended up there?
Also, the plot. Somewhere near the second half of the book, I realized I was reading without really understanding what was going on. Ursula and Rafael are matched by this organization or whatever you call it and then are supposed to fall in love. Where's the chemistry? Where are the fireworks, the butterflies?
The sensation is that the author tried to write about romance without being romantic at all.
So many people complained about this story being too strange. I don't mind strange, I don't mind weird or everything that might be out of the ordinary.
What I do mind is when reading a story you can feel something is off, but still nobody did anything to make the book any better.
↠ 1.5 star (DNF @45%)
I don’t know how else to express myself: there’s too much in here.
I thought a lot about the story itself and how it is narrated, about the descriptions and dialogues, about every single aspect you can think of. And my opinion is: while usually there's this feeling of something missing, here there is just too much.
The story is nice and out of the ordinary, the characters aren't particularly likeable or unlikeable, the descriptions and dialogues are sometimes too long and sometimes too short, and every question you may have will be answered eventually. But there's too much of all of this, and misplaced too - what's the point of knowing where Ursula bought her furniture when I don't even know how she ended up there?
Also, the plot. Somewhere near the second half of the book, I realized I was reading without really understanding what was going on. Ursula and Rafael are matched by this organization or whatever you call it and then are supposed to fall in love. Where's the chemistry? Where are the fireworks, the butterflies?
The sensation is that the author tried to write about romance without being romantic at all.
So many people complained about this story being too strange. I don't mind strange, I don't mind weird or everything that might be out of the ordinary.
What I do mind is when reading a story you can feel something is off, but still nobody did anything to make the book any better.
↠ 1.5 star (DNF @45%)
dnf
January 24, 2022DNF.
Our MC is VP of Strategic Audacity? She goes to a feminist health club with rooms such as the womb room, a room where you get your hair brushed while murmuring soothing messages to you (which to be fair actually sounds nice minus the talking lol), a room where you throw porcelain plates…etc, you get the idea of how ridiculous this is.
This could have been a cute spoof but it wasn’t cute, it was just plain weird. I’m most defintely not the right audience.
On a positive note, the narrator of the audiobook was excellent, and the MC had a cute cat.
* I received the digital audio from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
Our MC is VP of Strategic Audacity? She goes to a feminist health club with rooms such as the womb room, a room where you get your hair brushed while murmuring soothing messages to you (which to be fair actually sounds nice minus the talking lol), a room where you throw porcelain plates…etc, you get the idea of how ridiculous this is.
This could have been a cute spoof but it wasn’t cute, it was just plain weird. I’m most defintely not the right audience.
On a positive note, the narrator of the audiobook was excellent, and the MC had a cute cat.
* I received the digital audio from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
January 10, 2022
There is a lot to like about this novel, in which Ursula Byrne, a VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding company in Manhattan, goes to extremes to find her perfect mate.
I liked Ursula—I understand the challenges of both needing to make money and also being a feminist. How much can of rabble rouser can you be when most of the people who can afford her company’s services are men?
The pacing at times was a slog, and a couple things bothered me. For a man to use this service of The Arc, which uses seven days’ worth of testing to determine who is the best match for you, costs 50K, for a woman, 40.5K (because of the gender wage gap). Ursula is doing fine economically, but she doesn’t have an extra 40K lying around, but conveniently a billionaire likes her skills and hires her to do contract consulting for a year for 100K. Let me be clear: She’s the VP of a company and picks up a 100K SIDE GIG. So, now she has the money to try out this service, but she can only be matched with a man who uses this service, meaning another male who can afford to throw around 50 nonrefundable thousand dollars. Who happens to live in New York City. Despite this relatively small pool of potential suitors, when she meets Rafael, they really do seem blissfully happy together . . . at first.
The other thing that bothered me was that we’re told that Ursula and Rafael had to sign non-disclosure agreements about how The Arc’s process works, and twice Rafael explains to his friends/sister in detail how it works, one of those times right after explaining he can’t say anything because he signed an NDA.
I’m not sure if the ending was meant to be a twist, but it definitely wasn’t.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 8, 2022.
I liked Ursula—I understand the challenges of both needing to make money and also being a feminist. How much can of rabble rouser can you be when most of the people who can afford her company’s services are men?
The pacing at times was a slog, and a couple things bothered me. For a man to use this service of The Arc, which uses seven days’ worth of testing to determine who is the best match for you, costs 50K, for a woman, 40.5K (because of the gender wage gap). Ursula is doing fine economically, but she doesn’t have an extra 40K lying around, but conveniently a billionaire likes her skills and hires her to do contract consulting for a year for 100K. Let me be clear: She’s the VP of a company and picks up a 100K SIDE GIG. So, now she has the money to try out this service, but she can only be matched with a man who uses this service, meaning another male who can afford to throw around 50 nonrefundable thousand dollars. Who happens to live in New York City. Despite this relatively small pool of potential suitors, when she meets Rafael, they really do seem blissfully happy together . . . at first.
The other thing that bothered me was that we’re told that Ursula and Rafael had to sign non-disclosure agreements about how The Arc’s process works, and twice Rafael explains to his friends/sister in detail how it works, one of those times right after explaining he can’t say anything because he signed an NDA.
I’m not sure if the ending was meant to be a twist, but it definitely wasn’t.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES FEBRUARY 8, 2022.
Read
August 10, 2022I knew from the start I was in trouble I was right A big DNF was utter rubbish no rating as it doesn’t deserve one.
January 28, 2022
35-year-old Ursula Byrne has, like many of us, exhausted the dating opportunities available to her. She's tried a slew of dating apps, has a full resumé of failed relationships, and is starting to fear that despite her shining, charming, unique personality, there may not be a suitable match for her out there after all. After throwing up on a first date (I did this too on my first date with my current partner! I knew right away Ursula was a character I would never forget!), she hungover-edly laments to her best friend Issa while they are enjoying a meet-up at their ultra-feminist, ultra-trendy club The Stake that she fears she will never find her perfect match. Talk about being in the right place at the right time, because in that moment, she is overheard by a woman in the same sauna as the two friends and learns from her about The Arc, a super-secretive matchmaking service that turns its clients inside out in the process of getting to know them to make a superior match, one that is meant to withstand all time, all for the low low cost of $50,000 for men and $40,500 for women. To count for the gender wage gap, of course. This is an elite service we're talking about here.
When Ursula meets her match, 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks, she can't believe just how right The Arc got it. She's never felt this way for anyone, and neither has he. They love each other for all their little quirks. The chemistry is strong and instantaneous. The connection is unfathomable. This service really knows what they're doing! Unless of course, they don't. But for $40,500 they certainly do. Right?
I don't want to summarize any more than that because I want some of the surprises of the book to remain for anyone reading this review, but I will just say, HOLY COW, this book blew me away. It was absolutely brilliant. I love all of the characters so much. Ursula is a girl after my own heart. Yes, she is quirky, and I could see some people being annoyed with her seemingly manic-pixie qualities, but when you get to know her on a deeper level, there is so much more than that to love. When the book was delving into her family background and psychology, I couldn't believe how similar her family history is to my own. The characters in this book are all so carefully and thoughtfully constructed and real—not just the two main characters involved in the central romance, but also the friends and side characters that appear throughout. Rafael is also a great character and I just haven't yet read a romance that made so much SENSE to me. I love their relationship. I love how they overcame their obstacles. The last 10 minutes or so of the book had me just crying with love for these two people and with hope for my own love life. Never have I read a romance where I so fully felt I knew and understood the characters. They are so complex and vivid and we are offered so many minor details about them that bring them to life.
Yes, this is a romance, but it is so, so, so much more than that. It is some of the most biting, wittiest social commentary of this moment in society and culture that I have read in contemporary literature. Everything from the over-the-top descriptions of The Stake to the end goal of The Arc to the commentary on tech bros in the industry was spot-on and hilarious. I loved the self-aware, satirical tone of this book, and I loved that it didn't take away from the meaningful romance at the center of it all. I loved what it had to say about relationships and compatibility. I loved the carefully constructed conversations between friends and lovers in this book that reveal so much about the characters and provide a serious opportunity for the reader to reflect on themselves and the relationships in their own lives. The dialogue in this book is so clever. Not just the dialogue, but the setting, the descriptions of individuals, interactions, all of it. SO CLEVER! And I especially loved that twist at the very end. Conflict truly is a part of all our relationship arcs and it makes us stronger.
This book was sharp as hell and really made me think. I absolutely loved it. If you loved Nina Hill, Eleanor Oliphant, or are a fan of Holly Bourne's work, you will love this. It's definitely not for everyone, but for the right reader, this will make a big impact, and there is a lot of fun to be had along the way! An easy 5 stars from me!
When Ursula meets her match, 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks, she can't believe just how right The Arc got it. She's never felt this way for anyone, and neither has he. They love each other for all their little quirks. The chemistry is strong and instantaneous. The connection is unfathomable. This service really knows what they're doing! Unless of course, they don't. But for $40,500 they certainly do. Right?
I don't want to summarize any more than that because I want some of the surprises of the book to remain for anyone reading this review, but I will just say, HOLY COW, this book blew me away. It was absolutely brilliant. I love all of the characters so much. Ursula is a girl after my own heart. Yes, she is quirky, and I could see some people being annoyed with her seemingly manic-pixie qualities, but when you get to know her on a deeper level, there is so much more than that to love. When the book was delving into her family background and psychology, I couldn't believe how similar her family history is to my own. The characters in this book are all so carefully and thoughtfully constructed and real—not just the two main characters involved in the central romance, but also the friends and side characters that appear throughout. Rafael is also a great character and I just haven't yet read a romance that made so much SENSE to me. I love their relationship. I love how they overcame their obstacles. The last 10 minutes or so of the book had me just crying with love for these two people and with hope for my own love life. Never have I read a romance where I so fully felt I knew and understood the characters. They are so complex and vivid and we are offered so many minor details about them that bring them to life.
Yes, this is a romance, but it is so, so, so much more than that. It is some of the most biting, wittiest social commentary of this moment in society and culture that I have read in contemporary literature. Everything from the over-the-top descriptions of The Stake to the end goal of The Arc to the commentary on tech bros in the industry was spot-on and hilarious. I loved the self-aware, satirical tone of this book, and I loved that it didn't take away from the meaningful romance at the center of it all. I loved what it had to say about relationships and compatibility. I loved the carefully constructed conversations between friends and lovers in this book that reveal so much about the characters and provide a serious opportunity for the reader to reflect on themselves and the relationships in their own lives. The dialogue in this book is so clever. Not just the dialogue, but the setting, the descriptions of individuals, interactions, all of it. SO CLEVER! And I especially loved that twist at the very end. Conflict truly is a part of all our relationship arcs and it makes us stronger.
This book was sharp as hell and really made me think. I absolutely loved it. If you loved Nina Hill, Eleanor Oliphant, or are a fan of Holly Bourne's work, you will love this. It's definitely not for everyone, but for the right reader, this will make a big impact, and there is a lot of fun to be had along the way! An easy 5 stars from me!
February 8, 2022
3.5 matchmaking stars
Ursula Byrne is a weird character that grew on me a bit by the end of the book. It might be because I live in about the opposite world – she’s in New York, working with companies on branding and trying to find the next thing to recommend to her billionaire investment friend. She frequents a very weird place called The Stake with her girlfriend; I don’t even know how to describe the odd treatments they deliver. She’s also struggled with love, so she turns to The Arc.
For the low price of $40,500 she signs a contract with The Arc so that they can find her perfect partner. She undergoes some weird (I know, that word again!) time at Arc headquarters so that they know her completely. She’s paired with Rafael, a lawyer, who at first doesn’t seem her type at all.
It’s interesting to me to think about the concept of matchmaking. There are arranged marriages, blind dates, and now apps all devoted to finding your “perfect” partner. Is there such a thing? Can science do a better job than human instincts and attraction?
Ursula and Rafael hit it off at first but then have their first argument. Did The Arc get it wrong? Can you be compatible but still need to work through some issues?
After a slow start, this one made me curious enough to keep reading. It’s certainly not for everyone, but I ended up enjoyed reading about Ursula and Rafael and thinking more about matchmaking!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the copy of this one to read and review. Now available!
Ursula Byrne is a weird character that grew on me a bit by the end of the book. It might be because I live in about the opposite world – she’s in New York, working with companies on branding and trying to find the next thing to recommend to her billionaire investment friend. She frequents a very weird place called The Stake with her girlfriend; I don’t even know how to describe the odd treatments they deliver. She’s also struggled with love, so she turns to The Arc.
For the low price of $40,500 she signs a contract with The Arc so that they can find her perfect partner. She undergoes some weird (I know, that word again!) time at Arc headquarters so that they know her completely. She’s paired with Rafael, a lawyer, who at first doesn’t seem her type at all.
It’s interesting to me to think about the concept of matchmaking. There are arranged marriages, blind dates, and now apps all devoted to finding your “perfect” partner. Is there such a thing? Can science do a better job than human instincts and attraction?
Ursula and Rafael hit it off at first but then have their first argument. Did The Arc get it wrong? Can you be compatible but still need to work through some issues?
After a slow start, this one made me curious enough to keep reading. It’s certainly not for everyone, but I ended up enjoyed reading about Ursula and Rafael and thinking more about matchmaking!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the copy of this one to read and review. Now available!
Read
December 18, 2021Source of book: NetGalley (thank you!)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
This was intriguing. Although if you’ve seen that Black Mirror episode, Hang the DJ, you’ll kind of get where the—heh—arc going from outset. Not that I think it was meant to be a massive twist or anything. Nor that it’s simulated reality. But in terms of what the couple go through and why.
Anyway. The heroine, Ursula, is damaged and discontented in equal measure, clever, creative, successful at but unfulfilled by her job at a trendy, male-dominated branding agency. Her romantic relationships have been equally unfulfilling, despite her desire for lasting love. Then she receives a mysterious invitation from The Arc, a secretive, highly selective, ridiculously expensive matchmaking programme that promises to find Ursula her perfect match. This turns out to be Rafael Banks, a slightly older lawyer, who is everything she’s been looking for and seems to truly get who she is. At first everything is wonderful—they do, indeed, seem to be a perfect match—but their first argument cuts them both deeper than either is prepared for. Not long after this, they are contacted again by The Arc because some fundamental incompatibilities were missed by the programme and they should never have been put together in the first place…
I know I fall back on this phrase a lot when I’m ultimately convinced by the whole of a text but, err, there’s a lot to like here? The satire is sharp (the heroine’s job title, for example, is VP of Strategic Audacity) and the voice assured, offering up some sly turns of phrase and plenty of snappy dialogue. Though I will also say that the book is written in omniscient third which a little jarring to me personally—the narration moves fluidly from character to character, but I think I’m just used to romances being more rooted, at least moment-to-moment, in a single POV. And it does mean that I felt I was being encouraged to sort of, um, observe the characters more than I was necessarily expected to identity with or feel spoken to by them. Or maybe that was just a flat-out empathy failure on my part, I don’t know.
The other aspect of the narration I struggled with, beyond simply adjusting to it, was that the choice to tell the story in this particular way—distanced and authoritative—often kept the pacing quite slow and over-inclined towards exposition, both on the macro and micro level. In terms of the macro level, we hear about Ursula’s career ambivalences repeatedly and while on the one hand this felt sort of realistic, because they’re a big part of what she’s going through as the book progresses, as a reader I didn’t need them re-iterating so many times in almost exactly the same words and within the same framing. On the micro level, it’s lines like this:
I mean, I could just be being ungracious here but I’m not sure I need to have it explained to me by an omniscient narrator when characters are joking with each other, and what the joke is about—especially when I’ve been supplied (in quite some detail) with all the relevant character information to understand the joke without intervention. And, honestly, I never resolved to my own satisfaction whether the book was Doing A Thing or it just didn’t trust me to pay attention. And, honestly, as a reader I find it hard to trust a book that doesn’t trust me.
In terms of the characters, I did like them, and broadly root for them, although as already discussed I felt quite distanced from them. I liked how ambivalent Ursula was allowed to be regarding her own successes and desires (both professional and romantic), although maybe I’ve been rendered immune to the “quirky heroine” trope because I didn’t buy her as particular weird. I mean, in The Flatshare the heroine literally hangs clown shoes (CLOWN SHOES) on her wall. This one just sings to her cat … and that’s … that’s normal, right? Everyone does that, don’t they?
By contrast, Rafael feels both less complicated and less vivid than Ursula, though he’s a decent hero and they do have chemistry when they’re on the page. The only thing that slightly, um, threw me about him was that he is the adopted son of a couple of exceptionally privileged white people who kind of spontaneously agree to take him back to the US with them when he’s a baby—his parents having been murdered by the Argentinian junta. So what this means, in practice, is that you have a Latinx character for whom race is presented as being completely irrelevant. And while I’m sure there are plenty of people for whom that may well be true, it still feels uncomfortably like a very … white perspective? Or not even a white perspective. Maybe a white fantasy? Like you’re being served this guilt-free, low calorie, version of a Latinx person whose identity you don’t have to think about. As if he’s basically just a white guy with sexier hair? And it rang especially oddly when both Ursula and Rafael are conscious of gender-dynamics, not only within the context of their relationship but the world as a whole: Ursula grappling with feminist principles in a male dominated industry is kind a major theme for her. Of course, Rafael is a man, and he’s educated, and wealthy and has access to many of the trappings of privilege, but surely being a Latinx lawyer isn’t completely without identity-related challenges?
In any case, I am out of my lane. So out of my lane. Basically, I enjoyed The Arc and appreciated it, especially the New York setting which, from the week I’ve spent in New York, felt recognisable and placeful to me, along wit the glimpses of this almost American Psycho-esque world of branding and lifestyle trends—Indubitably, the subscription bog roll delivery service made me snarfle. I just also felt, due to the style of the narration and its occasional repetitiveness, it was a bit too long and under-paced. But, as with anything else, you mileage may very well vary.
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
This was intriguing. Although if you’ve seen that Black Mirror episode, Hang the DJ, you’ll kind of get where the—heh—arc going from outset. Not that I think it was meant to be a massive twist or anything. Nor that it’s simulated reality. But in terms of what the couple go through and why.
Anyway. The heroine, Ursula, is damaged and discontented in equal measure, clever, creative, successful at but unfulfilled by her job at a trendy, male-dominated branding agency. Her romantic relationships have been equally unfulfilling, despite her desire for lasting love. Then she receives a mysterious invitation from The Arc, a secretive, highly selective, ridiculously expensive matchmaking programme that promises to find Ursula her perfect match. This turns out to be Rafael Banks, a slightly older lawyer, who is everything she’s been looking for and seems to truly get who she is. At first everything is wonderful—they do, indeed, seem to be a perfect match—but their first argument cuts them both deeper than either is prepared for. Not long after this, they are contacted again by The Arc because some fundamental incompatibilities were missed by the programme and they should never have been put together in the first place…
I know I fall back on this phrase a lot when I’m ultimately convinced by the whole of a text but, err, there’s a lot to like here? The satire is sharp (the heroine’s job title, for example, is VP of Strategic Audacity) and the voice assured, offering up some sly turns of phrase and plenty of snappy dialogue. Though I will also say that the book is written in omniscient third which a little jarring to me personally—the narration moves fluidly from character to character, but I think I’m just used to romances being more rooted, at least moment-to-moment, in a single POV. And it does mean that I felt I was being encouraged to sort of, um, observe the characters more than I was necessarily expected to identity with or feel spoken to by them. Or maybe that was just a flat-out empathy failure on my part, I don’t know.
The other aspect of the narration I struggled with, beyond simply adjusting to it, was that the choice to tell the story in this particular way—distanced and authoritative—often kept the pacing quite slow and over-inclined towards exposition, both on the macro and micro level. In terms of the macro level, we hear about Ursula’s career ambivalences repeatedly and while on the one hand this felt sort of realistic, because they’re a big part of what she’s going through as the book progresses, as a reader I didn’t need them re-iterating so many times in almost exactly the same words and within the same framing. On the micro level, it’s lines like this:
“Your generation is so confused,” said Rafael lightly, joking about their meagre age difference.”
I mean, I could just be being ungracious here but I’m not sure I need to have it explained to me by an omniscient narrator when characters are joking with each other, and what the joke is about—especially when I’ve been supplied (in quite some detail) with all the relevant character information to understand the joke without intervention. And, honestly, I never resolved to my own satisfaction whether the book was Doing A Thing or it just didn’t trust me to pay attention. And, honestly, as a reader I find it hard to trust a book that doesn’t trust me.
In terms of the characters, I did like them, and broadly root for them, although as already discussed I felt quite distanced from them. I liked how ambivalent Ursula was allowed to be regarding her own successes and desires (both professional and romantic), although maybe I’ve been rendered immune to the “quirky heroine” trope because I didn’t buy her as particular weird. I mean, in The Flatshare the heroine literally hangs clown shoes (CLOWN SHOES) on her wall. This one just sings to her cat … and that’s … that’s normal, right? Everyone does that, don’t they?
By contrast, Rafael feels both less complicated and less vivid than Ursula, though he’s a decent hero and they do have chemistry when they’re on the page. The only thing that slightly, um, threw me about him was that he is the adopted son of a couple of exceptionally privileged white people who kind of spontaneously agree to take him back to the US with them when he’s a baby—his parents having been murdered by the Argentinian junta. So what this means, in practice, is that you have a Latinx character for whom race is presented as being completely irrelevant. And while I’m sure there are plenty of people for whom that may well be true, it still feels uncomfortably like a very … white perspective? Or not even a white perspective. Maybe a white fantasy? Like you’re being served this guilt-free, low calorie, version of a Latinx person whose identity you don’t have to think about. As if he’s basically just a white guy with sexier hair? And it rang especially oddly when both Ursula and Rafael are conscious of gender-dynamics, not only within the context of their relationship but the world as a whole: Ursula grappling with feminist principles in a male dominated industry is kind a major theme for her. Of course, Rafael is a man, and he’s educated, and wealthy and has access to many of the trappings of privilege, but surely being a Latinx lawyer isn’t completely without identity-related challenges?
In any case, I am out of my lane. So out of my lane. Basically, I enjoyed The Arc and appreciated it, especially the New York setting which, from the week I’ve spent in New York, felt recognisable and placeful to me, along wit the glimpses of this almost American Psycho-esque world of branding and lifestyle trends—Indubitably, the subscription bog roll delivery service made me snarfle. I just also felt, due to the style of the narration and its occasional repetitiveness, it was a bit too long and under-paced. But, as with anything else, you mileage may very well vary.
February 3, 2022
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is a contemporary romance novel but it has a slight sci-fi edge to it with the advanced dating agency known as The Arc. The story in this novel is one that is told by changing the point of view between the characters.
At thirty five Ursula Byrne has had more than her fair share of bad dates and relationships that didn’t go anywhere. Just as Ursula is thinking the may be single forever thinking that her quirkiness isn’t going to ever find a match Ursula hears of a new dating service called The Arc.
The Arc has a hundred percent success rate at matching up couples and that guarantee comes at quite the cost. For Ursula though the cost would be nothing if she finds happiness so she packs for the week long analysis at The Arc where she is matched with Rafael Banks.
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is another one of those books that there were things I really enjoyed and things I didn’t. I liked the idea of the perfect match being found and I really enjoyed the twist the author threw into the mix to keep the pages turning. However, the characters seemed a bit over the top to me with a lot of actions in a book taking place in current time and I suppose I should have picked up on that tone with the job of VP of Strategic Audacity but overall I ended feeling this one was just an Ok read for me.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
At thirty five Ursula Byrne has had more than her fair share of bad dates and relationships that didn’t go anywhere. Just as Ursula is thinking the may be single forever thinking that her quirkiness isn’t going to ever find a match Ursula hears of a new dating service called The Arc.
The Arc has a hundred percent success rate at matching up couples and that guarantee comes at quite the cost. For Ursula though the cost would be nothing if she finds happiness so she packs for the week long analysis at The Arc where she is matched with Rafael Banks.
The Arc by Tory Henwood Hoen is another one of those books that there were things I really enjoyed and things I didn’t. I liked the idea of the perfect match being found and I really enjoyed the twist the author threw into the mix to keep the pages turning. However, the characters seemed a bit over the top to me with a lot of actions in a book taking place in current time and I suppose I should have picked up on that tone with the job of VP of Strategic Audacity but overall I ended feeling this one was just an Ok read for me.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
April 21, 2022
The Arc is certainly interesting read. It is not romance but more into feminism and capital power. For me the topic is quite heavy.
I still enjoyed the audiobook. Especially Ursula's struggle to choose between her feminist ideal life and her heart.
I can relate to Ursula's struggle. In this modern, competitive world, one feels so much pressure to be the best. And no room for failure.
I like the story very much.
4 stars
I still enjoyed the audiobook. Especially Ursula's struggle to choose between her feminist ideal life and her heart.
I can relate to Ursula's struggle. In this modern, competitive world, one feels so much pressure to be the best. And no room for failure.
I like the story very much.
4 stars
February 10, 2022
Ursula Byrne is thirty-five, single, and lives with her cat. Her life revolves around her career (and the cat), and she's starting to wonder if it will always be that way. Most of her dates are disasters (reminder the time she threw up on the first date?) and she's underwhelmed by the men she comes across on the dating apps. But then discovers The Arc: a very selective matchmaking service that uses a week-long, immersive assessment to architect lifelong love. It's expensive, but they promise 100% success. Ursula is paired with Rafael Banks, a lawyer. Their connection is immediate, but as their relationship continues, they begin to wonder about The Arc and its role in their life. Can lifelong love truly can be guaranteed?
"'My fertile years are waning, my chance at love has passed, my cat is my greatest asset,' she thought."
This was one of the weirdest books I've read in quite some yet I found it oddly mesmerizing, even when Ursula and Rafael were at their most annoying moments. Probably I'm not smart enough for a book like this (I find this happens a lot with books set in NYC and featuring single thirty-somethings). Even now, I'm not sure if THE ARC was a true romance, satire, or something in between.
For instance, Ursula and her best friend belong to The Stake, billed as a nouveau feminist wellness club. What would be a private club or gym for the rest of us is some sort of strange immersive experience for them, where they can participate in things like the Scream Den, Smash Center (literally smashing things), Swaddle Station, Sobbing Pods, and more. Massages are intense and emotional experiences. I never could quite figure out if it was all for real.
As for The Arc, they charge Ursula the cool price of $40,500 to match her for life (adjusted down from $50,000 for Rafael, what with the gender wage gap and all). But, since she's a VP for strategic audacity, she can consider this ridiculous sum. Why, yes, this is her real title. I believe most of us would consider it marketing or advertising. Again, mocking? Again, I'm not sure. Throughout the book Ursula struggled with her place in her career, and I found it very easy to identify with her and the struggles of females in corporate America. Honestly, it was one of the things that endeared her to me. Some of the pieces of the book may have been exaggerated, but the sexism Ursula faced was not. Same with her trying to find a balance between happiness and a career.
As for Ursula and Rafael, this probably would have been a 4+-star read for me (even with all the weirdness!) if I liked them more as a couple. I need to be fully invested in my couple for a romance, and while I liked them both, I wasn't able to completely root for them together. (I did, however, love Ursula's Russian Blue cat, Mallory.) The book slowed the most when they were together.
THE ARC offers a nearly sociological look at relationships and society. It's humorous at times and serious at others. The book is more character driven and deep than a regular contemporary romance--expect pondering, delving into societal customs and the meaning of love. Honestly, I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would based on other reviews. It's different and often witty, and some of the messaging is really interesting. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're willing to get out of your comfort zone, it's worth a try. 3.75 stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
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"'My fertile years are waning, my chance at love has passed, my cat is my greatest asset,' she thought."
This was one of the weirdest books I've read in quite some yet I found it oddly mesmerizing, even when Ursula and Rafael were at their most annoying moments. Probably I'm not smart enough for a book like this (I find this happens a lot with books set in NYC and featuring single thirty-somethings). Even now, I'm not sure if THE ARC was a true romance, satire, or something in between.
For instance, Ursula and her best friend belong to The Stake, billed as a nouveau feminist wellness club. What would be a private club or gym for the rest of us is some sort of strange immersive experience for them, where they can participate in things like the Scream Den, Smash Center (literally smashing things), Swaddle Station, Sobbing Pods, and more. Massages are intense and emotional experiences. I never could quite figure out if it was all for real.
As for The Arc, they charge Ursula the cool price of $40,500 to match her for life (adjusted down from $50,000 for Rafael, what with the gender wage gap and all). But, since she's a VP for strategic audacity, she can consider this ridiculous sum. Why, yes, this is her real title. I believe most of us would consider it marketing or advertising. Again, mocking? Again, I'm not sure. Throughout the book Ursula struggled with her place in her career, and I found it very easy to identify with her and the struggles of females in corporate America. Honestly, it was one of the things that endeared her to me. Some of the pieces of the book may have been exaggerated, but the sexism Ursula faced was not. Same with her trying to find a balance between happiness and a career.
As for Ursula and Rafael, this probably would have been a 4+-star read for me (even with all the weirdness!) if I liked them more as a couple. I need to be fully invested in my couple for a romance, and while I liked them both, I wasn't able to completely root for them together. (I did, however, love Ursula's Russian Blue cat, Mallory.) The book slowed the most when they were together.
THE ARC offers a nearly sociological look at relationships and society. It's humorous at times and serious at others. The book is more character driven and deep than a regular contemporary romance--expect pondering, delving into societal customs and the meaning of love. Honestly, I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would based on other reviews. It's different and often witty, and some of the messaging is really interesting. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're willing to get out of your comfort zone, it's worth a try. 3.75 stars.
I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Smashbomb ~ Instagram
December 24, 2023
3.5 quirky stars. Review to come
March 31, 2022
This is fiction with romantic elements. Plus, the story is very similar to Arranged by Catherine Mckenzie
Things I liked:
🧡 The start of the novel; from the first 100 pages, I thought, I'll like the novel.
Things I wasn't impressed with:
⚫ Didn't find the chemistry amazing: Just because they like similiar things, doesn't mean they are good couple. Ursula and Rafael had two modes: Either they'll fangirl over the things they both like or fight.
⚫ Rafael, the male lead: I didn't like the lead, even though, he was okay but he came off kinda bossy.
⚫ Ursula: She says on a lot of points that she doesn't like entrepreneurial apps, that the technology is overwhelming. I mean... Girl, just look at the way you met your man, the whole concept of The Arc is new!
⚫The writing: Too much overwriting; If the novel was more of a 7/8-hour audiobook instead of a 11-hour one, this would be a romance for me. But, it's a fiction as of now.
⚫ Lastly, what's with the music lyrics here and there? This is my pet peeve, I don't like when song lines are written in novels.
Things I liked:
🧡 The start of the novel; from the first 100 pages, I thought, I'll like the novel.
Things I wasn't impressed with:
⚫ Didn't find the chemistry amazing: Just because they like similiar things, doesn't mean they are good couple. Ursula and Rafael had two modes: Either they'll fangirl over the things they both like or fight.
⚫ Rafael, the male lead: I didn't like the lead, even though, he was okay but he came off kinda bossy.
⚫ Ursula: She says on a lot of points that she doesn't like entrepreneurial apps, that the technology is overwhelming. I mean... Girl, just look at the way you met your man, the whole concept of The Arc is new!
⚫The writing: Too much overwriting; If the novel was more of a 7/8-hour audiobook instead of a 11-hour one, this would be a romance for me. But, it's a fiction as of now.
⚫ Lastly, what's with the music lyrics here and there? This is my pet peeve, I don't like when song lines are written in novels.
February 8, 2022
Any book that includes an adorable cat and a character being teased about the number of book clubs she's in has to be good right? I certainly thought so about The Arc which is Tory Henwood Hoen's debut novel. I was immediately drawn in by the wittiness and Hoen's writing style, and with all the plots on matching people based on their DNA lately, I really enjoyed seeing a different storyline. Ursula and Rafael are adorably obnoxious together, and it was fun seeing their romance evolve so quickly all thanks to The Arc and their matchmaking abilities. I went in thinking this was going to be a cute and fun romcom and while there were parts I found funny, it was a lot more serious than I had expected it to be. Hoen touches on a lot of things that I wasn't expecting and took this story to a level I didn't see coming. There were almost too many things going on, but still enjoyable all the same.
I think The Arc really shines as an audiobook and that is all thanks to our narrator Mary Elizabeth Kelly. She was absolutely perfect, and I loved listening to her narrate this novel. She was a great voice for Ursula, and I thought her narration for Rafael was just as good. I always prefer it if there is a male narrator for a male viewpoint, but in this case, just having a female narrator worked just fine because I truly enjoyed the sound of her voice. I think my favorite part of the entire story was Ursula as a character. I loved how sharp and talented she was at her job and Hoen created someone I could really relate to as well. I may not be single, but I am around her age, and I can't even imagine the nightmare of dating again. The Arc has a fun storyline with some humor as well as sensitive topics, and if you are a romance and women's fiction reader, I think it is worth picking up!
Thank you to the publisher and Libro.fm for my advanced listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I think The Arc really shines as an audiobook and that is all thanks to our narrator Mary Elizabeth Kelly. She was absolutely perfect, and I loved listening to her narrate this novel. She was a great voice for Ursula, and I thought her narration for Rafael was just as good. I always prefer it if there is a male narrator for a male viewpoint, but in this case, just having a female narrator worked just fine because I truly enjoyed the sound of her voice. I think my favorite part of the entire story was Ursula as a character. I loved how sharp and talented she was at her job and Hoen created someone I could really relate to as well. I may not be single, but I am around her age, and I can't even imagine the nightmare of dating again. The Arc has a fun storyline with some humor as well as sensitive topics, and if you are a romance and women's fiction reader, I think it is worth picking up!
Thank you to the publisher and Libro.fm for my advanced listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
November 1, 2021
The Arc follows Ursula and Rafael as the engage in a journey to find love through a secretive match-making service called The Arc. The Arc promises to find someone's ideal partner and lifelong compatibility. When Ursula and Rafael are matched with each other they feel an electric love for each other. However, their relationship begins to unravel in ways they never expected and they learn that true love can not be constructed but must be chosen.
The Arc is one of the most unique books I have ever read. While the concept in itself has been done before in other ways the execution of it was nuanced and unexpected. Tory Henwood Hoen's writing style immediately immerses you into Ursula and Rafael's world as well as their individual mindsets. Hoen's ability to seamlessly flow between Ursula and Rafael's perspectives was unlike anything I have read before. The characters felt fully fleshed out, the time spent on working out their individual mental battles and struggles allowed readers to fully understand the way that Ursula and Rafael's relationship worked. This is not a novel or writing style that I will soon forget. I will definitely be reading from Hoen again.
My main criticism of this book lies in the pacing. While Hoen did an excellent job creating fully fleshed out characters I found that there were moments of unnecessary detail and drawn out narratives. So many other characters were introduced and then never heard from again which left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end. Truthfully I think this book tried to do to much. Between Ursula's job, her college friends, her relationship with her mother, the detailed moments at the Stake, her job, her work with Mike, her struggle with past relationships and her relationship with Rafael the focus of the story was at times hard to find. While these details are important to provide to assert Ursula as someone who exists outside of just her relationship I found that at many times the story was veering off course and creating unnecessary tangents. This created a strange kind of pacing where I would be super invested in the story and then the focus would completely change for a few chapters which would tear me out of my interest.
Overall this is an incredibly unique book and I would highly recommend it to fans of romance, contemporary, or even science fiction. I truly can't wait to see how this book will be received when it is released in February because it is so nuanced and unique.
The Arc is one of the most unique books I have ever read. While the concept in itself has been done before in other ways the execution of it was nuanced and unexpected. Tory Henwood Hoen's writing style immediately immerses you into Ursula and Rafael's world as well as their individual mindsets. Hoen's ability to seamlessly flow between Ursula and Rafael's perspectives was unlike anything I have read before. The characters felt fully fleshed out, the time spent on working out their individual mental battles and struggles allowed readers to fully understand the way that Ursula and Rafael's relationship worked. This is not a novel or writing style that I will soon forget. I will definitely be reading from Hoen again.
My main criticism of this book lies in the pacing. While Hoen did an excellent job creating fully fleshed out characters I found that there were moments of unnecessary detail and drawn out narratives. So many other characters were introduced and then never heard from again which left me with an unsatisfied feeling at the end. Truthfully I think this book tried to do to much. Between Ursula's job, her college friends, her relationship with her mother, the detailed moments at the Stake, her job, her work with Mike, her struggle with past relationships and her relationship with Rafael the focus of the story was at times hard to find. While these details are important to provide to assert Ursula as someone who exists outside of just her relationship I found that at many times the story was veering off course and creating unnecessary tangents. This created a strange kind of pacing where I would be super invested in the story and then the focus would completely change for a few chapters which would tear me out of my interest.
Overall this is an incredibly unique book and I would highly recommend it to fans of romance, contemporary, or even science fiction. I truly can't wait to see how this book will be received when it is released in February because it is so nuanced and unique.
February 8, 2022
A futuristic, bougie "match.com" story about two quirky individuals who will do anything to find the "one".
The Arc is a matchmaking service for the privileged. Spend $50k (or $40.5k to account for the wage gap if you're a female) and the Arc guarantees they will find you your perfect match.
Tired of the single life, professionally well established, ready to start a family, and suddenly into some unexpected funds, Ursula decides to seize the opportunity to partake in the Arc after it is recommended to her at The Stake - an upscale gym and wellness center. The Arc is unique in that they require you to move in to their facility for one week where they poke, prod, and monitor you inside and out in order to find your perfect match.
Almost immediately, Ursula is paired with Rafael, a lawyer in his early 40s. The chemistry between them is undeniable and because they are supposedly destined to be together, their relationship moves at a rapid pace.
But, just when everything seems like it couldn't be more perfect, the Arc admits to making a mistake. Are Rafael and Ursula truly destined to be together? Or are they destined to fail?
There were a lot of aspects to this novel I really liked. For one, the pacing was well done. Just when I was fed up with Ursula whining about being single she meets Rafael; when I was tired of the lovey dovey-ness between Rafael and Ursula, a wrench was thrown in; etc. Also, I liked that we got to know Rafael and Ursula so well. Often in romance novels, I feel like the entire story is about the romance but here, the author really made an effort to empower women and tell Ursula's story above and beyond her relationship with Rafael.
I listened to this novel on audio and the narrator was fantastic. Normally, when there are multiple narrators in a story, I like the audio to use different narrators as well, which wasn't the case here. However, Mary Elizabeth Kelly did a really great job tweaking her voice just enough to differentiate between characters without sounding silly or overproduced.
My gripes with this novel are fairly minimal. I feel like this storyline has played out several times in the last couple years with futuristic dating services (John Marrs' "The One", Christina Lauren's "Soulmate Equation") and while this was unique compared to those, it fell a little flat in some ways and was also just too unrealistic for me.
First off, the Arc was exclusive, secretive and really expensive. That in and of itself would seemingly limit the number of matches. So I took issue with the fact that Rafael and Ursula were instantly matched and so well matched at that. Second, for an advanced dating service (and a progressive novel as far as its stance on feminism (which was almost too much, but I digress)), I was disappointed in the lack of non-hetero relationship possibilities. When Ursula went to the Arc for the week for her testing, it was never even suggested that she may match with anyone other than a hetero male. This just felt like a bit of an oversight to me and it really should have been more inclusive.
I will say, the ending to this novel was ON POINT. My jaw hit the floor and I absolutely loved it. So, well played Hoen!!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Libro.FM, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.
The Arc is a matchmaking service for the privileged. Spend $50k (or $40.5k to account for the wage gap if you're a female) and the Arc guarantees they will find you your perfect match.
Tired of the single life, professionally well established, ready to start a family, and suddenly into some unexpected funds, Ursula decides to seize the opportunity to partake in the Arc after it is recommended to her at The Stake - an upscale gym and wellness center. The Arc is unique in that they require you to move in to their facility for one week where they poke, prod, and monitor you inside and out in order to find your perfect match.
Almost immediately, Ursula is paired with Rafael, a lawyer in his early 40s. The chemistry between them is undeniable and because they are supposedly destined to be together, their relationship moves at a rapid pace.
But, just when everything seems like it couldn't be more perfect, the Arc admits to making a mistake. Are Rafael and Ursula truly destined to be together? Or are they destined to fail?
There were a lot of aspects to this novel I really liked. For one, the pacing was well done. Just when I was fed up with Ursula whining about being single she meets Rafael; when I was tired of the lovey dovey-ness between Rafael and Ursula, a wrench was thrown in; etc. Also, I liked that we got to know Rafael and Ursula so well. Often in romance novels, I feel like the entire story is about the romance but here, the author really made an effort to empower women and tell Ursula's story above and beyond her relationship with Rafael.
I listened to this novel on audio and the narrator was fantastic. Normally, when there are multiple narrators in a story, I like the audio to use different narrators as well, which wasn't the case here. However, Mary Elizabeth Kelly did a really great job tweaking her voice just enough to differentiate between characters without sounding silly or overproduced.
My gripes with this novel are fairly minimal. I feel like this storyline has played out several times in the last couple years with futuristic dating services (John Marrs' "The One", Christina Lauren's "Soulmate Equation") and while this was unique compared to those, it fell a little flat in some ways and was also just too unrealistic for me.
First off, the Arc was exclusive, secretive and really expensive. That in and of itself would seemingly limit the number of matches. So I took issue with the fact that Rafael and Ursula were instantly matched and so well matched at that. Second, for an advanced dating service (and a progressive novel as far as its stance on feminism (which was almost too much, but I digress)), I was disappointed in the lack of non-hetero relationship possibilities. When Ursula went to the Arc for the week for her testing, it was never even suggested that she may match with anyone other than a hetero male. This just felt like a bit of an oversight to me and it really should have been more inclusive.
I will say, the ending to this novel was ON POINT. My jaw hit the floor and I absolutely loved it. So, well played Hoen!!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Libro.FM, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.
July 9, 2022
Thank you to @libro.fm, @macmillianaudio, and @toryhenwoodhoen for an advanced copy!
A fictional, highly-technical company, The Arc, believes that is all it takes. Ursula and Rafael are ready to find the one. Without time for traditional dating or match making websites, they sign up to be paired by The Arc.
Both main characters, Ursula and Rafael, were very interesting and quirky individuals. I laughed at their unusual pet names for each other. However, do not go into this one thinking it is a romance comedy as I did. If you do, you will be disappointed. It is a SLOW burn, contemporary romance story about two people finding themselves while trying to find love. I mean, the two do not even meet until near the middle of the book.
It was instead a surprisingly heartwarming and thought-provoking read about love and relationships. Regardless of the role of technology, love remains a choice that we make and continue to make. ❤️
A fictional, highly-technical company, The Arc, believes that is all it takes. Ursula and Rafael are ready to find the one. Without time for traditional dating or match making websites, they sign up to be paired by The Arc.
Both main characters, Ursula and Rafael, were very interesting and quirky individuals. I laughed at their unusual pet names for each other. However, do not go into this one thinking it is a romance comedy as I did. If you do, you will be disappointed. It is a SLOW burn, contemporary romance story about two people finding themselves while trying to find love. I mean, the two do not even meet until near the middle of the book.
It was instead a surprisingly heartwarming and thought-provoking read about love and relationships. Regardless of the role of technology, love remains a choice that we make and continue to make. ❤️
October 25, 2022
A satire of the NYC startup scene with a complex romantic plotline? Sign me up. The writing was so sharp, it reminded me of Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. I feel like this book should be getting a lot more hype!
January 14, 2022
Sometimes I crave a quick, light book in between my lofty goals of reading long, brooding classic novels, and The Arc was the perfect choice. I also couldn't get over how amusing it was to have an ARC of The Arc - thanks NetGalley!
This novel centered on a high-tech matchmaking service that's guaranteed to find your perfect partner based on thousands of factors. It involved a week's worth of blood tests, questionnaires, therapy sessions, meditation, and a hefty pricetag - $50,000 for men, and $40,500 for women (to make up for the gender wage gap, naturally).
Ursula, a quirky 35-year-old VP of Strategic Audacity (seriously) was matched with Rafael, a perfectly perfect 42-year-old lawyer. As predicted, it's a love connection right away. The witty banter! The cute nicknames! The immediate chemistry! But then, months later, The Arc confessed there was a glitch in their analysis and their relationship is utterly doomed.
Even though I've read books with simiar concepts, this was still a ton of fun to read. Both characters were charming and easy to root for, and there was a very cute cat involved. Always a plus.
This novel centered on a high-tech matchmaking service that's guaranteed to find your perfect partner based on thousands of factors. It involved a week's worth of blood tests, questionnaires, therapy sessions, meditation, and a hefty pricetag - $50,000 for men, and $40,500 for women (to make up for the gender wage gap, naturally).
Ursula, a quirky 35-year-old VP of Strategic Audacity (seriously) was matched with Rafael, a perfectly perfect 42-year-old lawyer. As predicted, it's a love connection right away. The witty banter! The cute nicknames! The immediate chemistry! But then, months later, The Arc confessed there was a glitch in their analysis and their relationship is utterly doomed.
Even though I've read books with simiar concepts, this was still a ton of fun to read. Both characters were charming and easy to root for, and there was a very cute cat involved. Always a plus.
February 10, 2022
This was a debut novel by Tory Henwood Hoen. I was sure how I was going to feel about this one, but I was hopeful it was going to be great. The beginning was a jumping off point for the main characters. We have to see who they are right? Well I started it and it felt like I was getting to much info but I was compelled to continue. So the beginning felt like a 2 star. But having said that I arrived at the actual meeting up and fell in love with the characters. They were interesting and different. It was a pleasure watching all of it unfold and I couldn’t get enough. They had wonderful silly moments and I loved the chemistry. I have to say that I really fell for this book!
Quirky, unconventional and very entertaining. If you love a great romance then I highly recommend this.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and loved Mary Elizabeth Kelly narrating. She was perfect for this book.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
Quirky, unconventional and very entertaining. If you love a great romance then I highly recommend this.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and loved Mary Elizabeth Kelly narrating. She was perfect for this book.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
February 8, 2022
3.5/5 stars
The Arc is sort of a combination between women's fiction and romance. However it's quite different from most other contemporary romance reads.
The book is set in New York City. We get both the male and female 3rd person POVs. But at times we are getting both POVs and their thoughts (as well as others' thoughts).
The main female character is 35 year old Ursula. She is amazing. She's very highly motivated and a very successful brand strategist VP.
Rafael is the main male character. He is a lawyer in his early 40s.
The book felt slightly futuristic to me. Ursula and her best friend Issa belong to a wellness club called The Stake. This place was amazing. But the things that they offered were unlike anything that I've ever heard of.
I wondered what the title meant. The Arc is an advanced match-making service. It was really fascinating. And I absolutely loved everything about this.
I really enjoyed the beginning. I loved meeting Ursula and learning about her life and job. The middle fell a bit flat for me as I wanted more.
It's a bit hard to explain why this book is so different from other romance or women's fiction books. It seems like the book is part satire. And the author uses a lot of fancy words. Parts felt a bit highbrow and maybe more like general or literary fiction.
This book was quite interesting and very different. There was something that I wish had been shocking (but it will definitely be surprising to many). Overall I really enjoyed the parts that felt futuristic, I loved Ursula and I thought that the concept of this book was amazing! I just wish that I had been more invested in the middle.
Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.
The Arc is sort of a combination between women's fiction and romance. However it's quite different from most other contemporary romance reads.
The book is set in New York City. We get both the male and female 3rd person POVs. But at times we are getting both POVs and their thoughts (as well as others' thoughts).
The main female character is 35 year old Ursula. She is amazing. She's very highly motivated and a very successful brand strategist VP.
Rafael is the main male character. He is a lawyer in his early 40s.
The book felt slightly futuristic to me. Ursula and her best friend Issa belong to a wellness club called The Stake. This place was amazing. But the things that they offered were unlike anything that I've ever heard of.
I wondered what the title meant. The Arc is an advanced match-making service. It was really fascinating. And I absolutely loved everything about this.
I really enjoyed the beginning. I loved meeting Ursula and learning about her life and job. The middle fell a bit flat for me as I wanted more.
It's a bit hard to explain why this book is so different from other romance or women's fiction books. It seems like the book is part satire. And the author uses a lot of fancy words. Parts felt a bit highbrow and maybe more like general or literary fiction.
This book was quite interesting and very different. There was something that I wish had been shocking (but it will definitely be surprising to many). Overall I really enjoyed the parts that felt futuristic, I loved Ursula and I thought that the concept of this book was amazing! I just wish that I had been more invested in the middle.
Thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book.
February 17, 2022
4.5/5 stars ✨
This was quirky, it was fun, it was different. It completely worked for me! I loved Rafael and Ursula’s love story and journey. It reminded me a little of The Roxy Letters (Mary Pauline Lowry) in its quirkiness and dialogue. Also a bit of Love Is Blind (Netflix) vibes with the relationship experiments. The audio was great, highly recommend!
The most relatable bit…
"I have to go pretty soon," said Issa, looking at the time on her phone. "I have book club this week and I haven't started the book."
"Such a Basic Book Club Bitch," said Ursula, using the clunky moniker she'd invented and was determined to propel into the zeitgeist.
Issa and I seem to tackle bookclub the same way. Also, Basic Book Club Bitch absolutely should be in the zeitgeist. 😄
The audio and book were gifted. All opinions are my own.
This was quirky, it was fun, it was different. It completely worked for me! I loved Rafael and Ursula’s love story and journey. It reminded me a little of The Roxy Letters (Mary Pauline Lowry) in its quirkiness and dialogue. Also a bit of Love Is Blind (Netflix) vibes with the relationship experiments. The audio was great, highly recommend!
The most relatable bit…
"I have to go pretty soon," said Issa, looking at the time on her phone. "I have book club this week and I haven't started the book."
"Such a Basic Book Club Bitch," said Ursula, using the clunky moniker she'd invented and was determined to propel into the zeitgeist.
Issa and I seem to tackle bookclub the same way. Also, Basic Book Club Bitch absolutely should be in the zeitgeist. 😄
The audio and book were gifted. All opinions are my own.
January 3, 2022
The Arc is a hilarious love story filled to the brim with satire. A truly satisfying and uncommon match of concepts that truly works. A little bit of sci-fi, a touch of dystopia, a slightly (but not quite) futuristic romance, focused on the architecture of modern relationships.
We follow the story of Ursula and Rafael, two individuals ready for a long term commitment, but who have struggled with relationships in the past. Both discover a cult-like service called The Arc, which promises, through the use of state of the art technology and an array of secretive proprietary services, to find them their 100% ideal partner. It's not about finding the perfect match, but someone that will be perfect for the long term - on the entire arc of their lives.
They are a bit sceptical at first, however, after their initial meeting the energy between them is out of this world. They immediately dive into a relationship, both feel they have never encountered someone so amazing, so incredible, so exactly who they were trying to find the entire time. That is until The Arc comes back to them saying they've made a terrible mistake.
Although I enjoyed reading this book, comparisons with Black Mirror's Hang the Dj will be inevitable, and, if you have watched that episode it will be easy enough to draw a conclusion and understand what is happening with Ursula and Rafael's relationship. I still found the narrative interesting enough, and the book truly shines while painting a caricature of modern-day New York City in a not so distant future. The journey, the quirky writing, and the overall style of The Arc are where the uniqueness of the book comes in - not its plot.
I do think the end was a bit underdeveloped. At the same time that it feels like it gave too many explanations about what happened (it was easy enough to guess and perhaps it would have been better to leave an air of doubt), it took away the gratification of having a more meaningful reconnection for the beloved couple.
As a debut novel, I was very intrigued by this book and will definitely keep a close eye on Tory Henwood Hoen and whatever else she writes in the future.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for an ARC in exchange for an honest review
We follow the story of Ursula and Rafael, two individuals ready for a long term commitment, but who have struggled with relationships in the past. Both discover a cult-like service called The Arc, which promises, through the use of state of the art technology and an array of secretive proprietary services, to find them their 100% ideal partner. It's not about finding the perfect match, but someone that will be perfect for the long term - on the entire arc of their lives.
They are a bit sceptical at first, however, after their initial meeting the energy between them is out of this world. They immediately dive into a relationship, both feel they have never encountered someone so amazing, so incredible, so exactly who they were trying to find the entire time. That is until The Arc comes back to them saying they've made a terrible mistake.
Although I enjoyed reading this book, comparisons with Black Mirror's Hang the Dj will be inevitable, and, if you have watched that episode it will be easy enough to draw a conclusion and understand what is happening with Ursula and Rafael's relationship. I still found the narrative interesting enough, and the book truly shines while painting a caricature of modern-day New York City in a not so distant future. The journey, the quirky writing, and the overall style of The Arc are where the uniqueness of the book comes in - not its plot.
I do think the end was a bit underdeveloped. At the same time that it feels like it gave too many explanations about what happened (it was easy enough to guess and perhaps it would have been better to leave an air of doubt), it took away the gratification of having a more meaningful reconnection for the beloved couple.
As a debut novel, I was very intrigued by this book and will definitely keep a close eye on Tory Henwood Hoen and whatever else she writes in the future.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for an ARC in exchange for an honest review
February 23, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy of this book. I got this in audiobook format and I enjoyed the narration I think she was great.
I very much enjoyed the book. I have read and watched similar premises before (The Soulmate Equation, The One, Black Mirror/Hang the DJ) but that didn’t make me enjoy this any less. There was a moment where I was thinking it might veer off from romance into thriller territory but it didn’t. After the first road bump it became pretty clear where the rest of the book was going, at least to me.
I liked Ursula a lot. She was a realistic character and no too quirky that it felt tropey or anything. Rafael was a little less interesting but I liked him as well. There were lots of funny moments. The romance and the relationship service are very much the plot of this book. It’s not a steamy romance by any means it’s definitely closed door. Which for this book is definitely a good thing, the story didn’t need sex scenes, that’s not the point.
This book will be released on 2/8/22. If the premise sounds like something you would be into, I’d definitely recommend adding this to your TBR and checking it out once it comes out.
I very much enjoyed the book. I have read and watched similar premises before (The Soulmate Equation, The One, Black Mirror/Hang the DJ) but that didn’t make me enjoy this any less. There was a moment where I was thinking it might veer off from romance into thriller territory but it didn’t. After the first road bump it became pretty clear where the rest of the book was going, at least to me.
I liked Ursula a lot. She was a realistic character and no too quirky that it felt tropey or anything. Rafael was a little less interesting but I liked him as well. There were lots of funny moments. The romance and the relationship service are very much the plot of this book. It’s not a steamy romance by any means it’s definitely closed door. Which for this book is definitely a good thing, the story didn’t need sex scenes, that’s not the point.
This book will be released on 2/8/22. If the premise sounds like something you would be into, I’d definitely recommend adding this to your TBR and checking it out once it comes out.
October 11, 2021
3 stars
I took a ton of notes while reading this, but honestly, most of them were subjective and I don't want to drag a book simply because it wasn't my taste, so I'll keep this brief. To start, I just don't think I was the target demographic for this book. I was more drawn in by the title and list of authors the writing style was similar to than the actual premise. Because I was never super into the actual premise, the whole plot felt very slow and predictable. Additionally, the writing style, although it had aspects that I loved, felt very millennial. Lastly, I found the characters too quirky for my liking. I like weird characters, but their quirks were too eccentric to feel realistic. Overall though, this book did have some sweet romantic moments and messages about living life on your terms. It's a good book, just not for me.
I took a ton of notes while reading this, but honestly, most of them were subjective and I don't want to drag a book simply because it wasn't my taste, so I'll keep this brief. To start, I just don't think I was the target demographic for this book. I was more drawn in by the title and list of authors the writing style was similar to than the actual premise. Because I was never super into the actual premise, the whole plot felt very slow and predictable. Additionally, the writing style, although it had aspects that I loved, felt very millennial. Lastly, I found the characters too quirky for my liking. I like weird characters, but their quirks were too eccentric to feel realistic. Overall though, this book did have some sweet romantic moments and messages about living life on your terms. It's a good book, just not for me.
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