Author: Tory Henwood Hoen
Genre: Romance/Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: February 8, 2022
Book Description: 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 say: 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 Arc: 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.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Review: The premise of this book sounded so interesting, when I read the description, however it was a lackluster story that I got bored as I continued to read The Arc.
Ursula and Rafael want to find a perfect love, and are willing to spend a lot of money for it. The Arc is a high end matchmaking service that promises to match couples after a series of tests and observations. At first when Ursula and Rafael met, it was practically love at first site, but after a minor disagreement, it is learned a mistake was made by the Arc, and they should immediately dissolve their relationship.
This book was so droll, that even the conflict was boring. The idea of this book on the surface reminded me of John Marrs’ The One which I absolutely loved. While that had a thriller element, this is the nice calm version of this story. I found that our two main characters especially Ursula were so cumbersome to read about. Especially, Ursula who seems to be having a mid life crisis at times.
While I did stick with this one all they way through, it was just because I invested so much time reading it. Stronger start than middle and ending. If you decide to pick this one up, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this one.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Obsessed Bookaholic 