Review: Short and Sweet
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2013
I gave Arranged 3.5 Stars.*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*The premise of an arranged marriage in a new adult book sounded fresh and intriguing to me so I had to give it a read. The marriage wasn't due to religious beliefs, it came from an age old bet between two men and they promised the union of their grandchildren. That reason was pretty flimsy for me, but I guess it was a way to bring Lee and Rose together. I wasn't sold on the whole keeping it from Rose's parents idea, it felt a bit too sketchy but Rose wanted to protect her parents, their business had money troubles and Rose had college fees to think of. If she went through with this arrangement her grandfather left her a pretty hefty sum of money and that got Rose considering this deal.There was a bit of banter between Rose and Lee in the beginning, it was a bit of a love/hate relationship. Lee was a playboy and Rose was a shy book nerd, never believing for a second that someone like Lee could be genuinely interested in her and not for the promise of money that came with this fake marriage. Their relationship went from hate to infatuation pretty quickly but I felt I missed a few steps. I needed more interaction in the beginning from Rose and Lee to really get that they were into each other. The story was told in Rose's POV up until this point and Lee claimed they were childhood friends but Rose couldn't recollect those memories. I really wanted Lee's POV at this stage as I needed to know what he felt about Rose. I feel this would have given me a better insight into his character. Further on in the story we did get Lee's POV but I felt it would have been stronger if it had been introduced earlier and in the same quantity as Rose's.I did like Sara Wolf's writing, Rose was a quirky character, she was definitely fresh, naive and real. I liked that about her and the innocence she gave off. I wish we got a clearer picture of Lee, he was this playboy but we didn't get to know that side of him or when he declared his feelings for Rose from yonder year I didn't feel that either as it felt disconnected.I did like the supporting characters, Jen and Grace were fun and supportive and even Kiera the villain played her part well. This book does end in a cliff hanger but part two is available so you won't be left hanging for long. Lee's feelings seem to be genuine for Rose but he has made some sacrifices so I am intrigued for what is still to come.Arranged was a quick, easy read, it was funny and sweet with some cute romance. Check it out for yourself. ~Ava