Arrange Us

By: Katy Regnery

Narrated by: J.F. Harding, Brooke Hayden

My name is Courtney Jane Salinger...
and I just got married.

I was sick of Netflix and chilling, hanging out, catfishing, ghosting, breakups, makeups, and games.

So, what did I do?
I signed up with a married-at-first-sight matchmaking service, and I married the man who was waiting for me at the altar.

We did it. We’re married. He’s mine. I’m his. Man and wife. Missus and Mister.

Except...
We barely know each other.
We’ve never lived together.

Turns out I’m an early bird, and he’s a night owl. He works nights and I work all day. His parents keep asking when we’re having kids, while mine keep emailing me the names of divorce lawyers. Women everywhere want to get in his pants, including his omnipresent ex...and my newly single boss can’t seem to get the hint that I am off the market.

No one thinks we can make it.
And now I’m starting to wonder too.

Being arranged was just the beginning.
Is happily ever after even possible?

©2019 Katharine Gilliam Regnery (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Opposites attract romance. 1POV. HEA. 2/2 in series.

This is a Sexy romance, the second book of the set. The first book is Arrange Me. The premise of this book is that the couple finds love regardless of how they got married, and their opposite backgrounds.

I really liked how the couple resolved their issues.

The narration was ok. Except for both of the narrators Midwest accents. They. Were. Horrible.

The HEA was cute and fulfilling.

Arrange Us

Arrange Us by Katy Regnery is book two in the Arranged Duo series and continues the story of Josh and Courtney. Arrange Us picks up from where Arrange Me, left off. Courtney and Josh are married, but they know nothing about each other as theirs was an arranged marriage, which was organised through a website called Arrange Me that specializes in matching couples based on certain algorithms. Courtney has realized her dreams of being married and Josh has gotten the girl to whom he has been attracted from the first time he met her. However can they stay married, much less to have a happily ever after.

Arrange Us highlighted the issues and the high points of marriage. Courtney and Josh are learning things about each other that they never knew before. Some of these discoveries led to insecurities rearing its ugly head. Josh had a hard time dealing with Courtney’s wealth, while Courtney felt insecure about her looks and wondered why he chose her when he had his pick of women. These two sure had many issues dealing with in their marriage. Parents’ disapproval, insecurities, egos, lack of trust, failing to communicate and deception. There should never be a need for deception, but sadly, this has happened a lot in marriages, which leads to a breakdown in the relationship.

I wondered if Josh and Courtney could move past their issues.

I found the story engaging. I especially loved the marital advice offered at the start of each chapter. Told from both Josh and Courtney’s POV, it helped me to understand situations from their perspective. I may not have agreed with most of their actions, or how they handled most of their problems, but I understood why they thought they had to make those decisions.
I have to admit Courtney’s behavior got on my nerves. She constantly whined and cried when things did not go her way. Josh patience shined at these trying points. Josh was not without his faults though. He needed to be a little more understanding. He needed to realise Courtney was used to a certain style of living, it would not change so quickly now that he is married her.
The issues were resolved easily with little or no conflict.

Narration
I thoroughly enjoyed the narration. It is my first time listening to JF Harding and Brooke Hayden. Both narrators did a great job in bringing the character’s emotions and voices to life.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, a good story and one I enjoyed.

Arrange Us

First to experience this book you need to read Arrange Me before diving into this book.

I don’t know what I was expecting as I loved the first book and the concept of everything. It wasn’t that I didn’t like this book it just didn’t have the wow factor I guess I was looking for.

There were sweet moments and the sexiness was off the charts but nothing that stood out for me. I do have to say that I did enjoy the narrators. They did give the characters great voices.

All in all this was just okay for me.

Sooo good!

I normally would never choose to start a book that doesn't have an ending but instead requires another purchase for the second half. Aside from that, I want to say that Arrange Me\ Arrange Us is a great listen. The narration is excellent and the story holds you captive, as all the good ones do. The differences the main characters had were reasonable and believable, this created just the right amount of angst. I bounced back and forth from team Josh to team Courtney, it was great! This author has a fairytale series that I whole heartedly reccommend, if you like your books to evoke emotion. You will laugh and cry, which we all know is the reason we come back for more. Unfortunately only a few titles of the fairytale series are available on Audible but I recommend giving them a try.

Best 2 Book Romance Series Ever! A Must Read!

These books take you on an unlikely journey of first love, spontaneity, life decisions and making it all work. But the characters and story line are so well written that you join them on each page, in their indecision, their possessiveness and into that inevitably beautiful fall into true love. A story you are unlikely to forget.

Awww

This is the continuation of an unconventional love story that started in a bar and ended (well the book not their love) on a stage.

I audibly went “awwww” out loud a few times in this story. It’s as unconventional as the characters love story ❤️❤️

I loved seeing a love story that began before vows and continued after them ❤️❤️

So much love for these two.

And as stated in the review for the first half the female narrator just isn’t my cup of tea but is quite talented. She brought Courtney to life and handled the emotions of this story quite well. That’s the reason for the 4 star on performance

So gooood!

My heart!!! 😭💔 this one is rough with the fallout. Have tissues ready. I adore Courtney and Josh, through ALL the ups and downs. ❤

Arrange Us is there heart of the storyline!

I really liked Arrange Me and was frustrated that it ended as a cliff-hanger. After listening to Arrange Me, I now believe this is the actual story and the other book is just a prequel to introduce this story. There's so much heart and soul in this story! Real issues that come up in early marriages not just in this type of arranged marriage, are explored in this story. Courtney and Jake are learning how to navigate becoming a couple and their love for each other blooms. Then the first real challenge to their marriage occurs when Courtney becomes pregnant unexpectedly - and Josh is not on board. It Brooke my heart and hearing his words flung at Courtney made me sick. What comes out of this is actually very enlightening and realistic in many ways. I really enjoyed hearing Josh's perspective and Courtney's friend that took her out for coffee. He explained it so well that I felt more enlightened than ever and my kids are grown up! Fortunately for the listeners (and readers), it all works out.
The seriously unrealistic part of the story is there immediate success of Josh's play. Yet, we love this aspect in our stories - that everything works out wonderful. Including the two moms becoming very close. This part of the story could have been developed more. Maybe it was edited out.
The cancer death brush became swept away after it was used to being her parents and trust fund back. Not an explored aspect of the story or was edited out also to cut pages.
Narrators did a pretty great job. I really enjoyed listening to them. There's always room for growing and improvement in all we do, but they do a better job than I'd ever do! Wink! Thanks to the narrators.
Definitely recommend this story.

Totally Unexpected

I really enjoyed this story of an “arranged” marriage. But the story doesn’t focus much on how they came to be but what challenges they faced to get to where they end up. I am surprised that I enjoyed it because I was really expecting a rom com style story. It was totally not that but well worth my time. Give it a try.

loved it

I'm so glad I stumbled to this story. The title fooled me and thought it was arranged marriage not by choice. It turned out that I really loved this story. This story, although fiction, it hits home. Relationship does take a lot of work and this story did just that. it shows the work to keep a relationship together. The narrators hit the spot and I appreciated. This is the reason I listen rather than reading. The narrators can make or break the story even it's good. The author is new to me but will look for her other work. If you love romance, I highly recommend!