jayvall reviewed Arranged by Catherine McKenzie
Review of 'Arranged' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Rounded up on the stars - was closer to a 2 1/2
With her brother happily married with one kid and another on the way, and her best friend announcing her engagement, all unlucky in love Anne Blythe has to announce is that her live-in boyfriend has dumped her. Following a coincidental turn of events, Anne finds herself sitting in the office of a preeminent arranged-marriage service provider. Thinking an article on the state of arranged marriages will be a good way to punch up her writing career, Anne goes along with the premise and waits to see if the office can find her the perfect match. Next thing Anne knows, she’s at a Mexican resort about to meet the man who’s supposed to marry her. But can she do it?
Arranged takes a fresh look at the old-world practice of arranged marriages. Can they work in a modern setting? …
Rounded up on the stars - was closer to a 2 1/2
With her brother happily married with one kid and another on the way, and her best friend announcing her engagement, all unlucky in love Anne Blythe has to announce is that her live-in boyfriend has dumped her. Following a coincidental turn of events, Anne finds herself sitting in the office of a preeminent arranged-marriage service provider. Thinking an article on the state of arranged marriages will be a good way to punch up her writing career, Anne goes along with the premise and waits to see if the office can find her the perfect match. Next thing Anne knows, she’s at a Mexican resort about to meet the man who’s supposed to marry her. But can she do it?
Arranged takes a fresh look at the old-world practice of arranged marriages. Can they work in a modern setting? This is the basic question Arranged seeks to answer, and while I don’t presume to think that Arranged speaks for all modern-day arranged marriages, it was an interesting read that made some interesting points. Unfortunately, Anne is a hard protagonist to root for...let’s just say she’s hard to love. While I would have been critical had Anne blithely accepted all that went along with participating in an arranged marriage, Anne was not a fun person to be around either. She complained constantly, pushed people away, continually made the same mistakes, and then whined about the results. Although Arranged has a happy ever after, it’s not quite the romance genre readers will likely expect. It’s closer to women’s fiction, so be guided accordingly.