Arranged by Catherine McKenzie

I heard about Catherine McKenzie when Wendy at Literary Feline reviewed Fractured. But the library only had Arranged, so I decided to read that instead. When the blurb mentioned that "X is not who he seems" and stuff like that, my mind immediately jumped to SERIAL KILLER THIS MUST BE A THRILLER.

Well, this was definitely not a thriller.

The "arranged" in the title refers to arranged marriages. Basically, after breaking up with a boyfriend and then having everyone around her have a happy relationship, Anne Blythe gets fed up and decides to take things into her own hands. She contacts an arranged marriage company (well, she thought it was a dating company at first). There, she ends up being matched with Jack, who she ends up marrying.

But while the company is very legit, Jack is there under false pretences (but not evil nefarious ones, even if Anne thinks so after she finds out the truth).

After I got over my shock that this wasn't a thriller (I suppose I should pay more attention to covers), I found that I really enjoyed the book. Anne was a little whiny, especially at the start, but I can understand why she was so whiny and desperate, so it wasn't too off-putting.

Plus, I really liked the relationships in the book. Not just Anne and Jack, but Gilbert (her brother) and Cathy, and Sarah (her best friend) and Mike. I wish that these couples were given more room on the page, because they were sweet but not sickeningly so.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would totally read more from the author. I really hope that the library gets Fractured soon!