Arranged

May 7, 2012
In her fast-paced and fun second novel, Catherine McKenzie takes us on a thirty-something woman's journey to find love in a somewhat unorthodox manner. When Anne Blythe's latest three-year relationship goes belly-up, she's determined to get it rightâfor good. So when she stumbles upon an exclusive company that arranges marriages, it seems exactly what she needsâespecially in light of her best friend Sarah's recent engagement. At an exclusive resort, she nervously takes the plunge with a writer named Jack, a stranger who's supposed to be her perfect match. But when Anne learns that Jack has been hiding an important part of himself from her, it seems that saying "I do" was the easy part. In her latest novel (after Spin), McKenzie makes this far-fetched idea plausible and entertaining. With good dialogue, three-dimensional characters, and page-turning scenes, McKenzie expertly explores what makes a successful marriage work and the lengths to which some people will go to find true love. Agent: Abigail Koons, Park Literary Group.

Starred review from May 1, 2012
Anne Shirley Blythe is not getting any closer to her happily ever after. When her best friend gets engaged, Anne bites the bullet and calls a dating service. When she meets the creepily uptight matchmaker, however, she discovers that the company is actually an expensive arranged-marriage service operating under the notion that friendship is more important to a successful marriage than love is. Anne has had no luck with love, and a publishing deal gives her the means to go through with it, but does she have the guts? This is chick lit for real women, featuring a smart, competent heroine with a hopeless romantic streak, relatable friends, and a chic urban lifestyle, without a brand name dropped anywhere. The humor ranges from biting sarcasm to slapstick, and the narrative voice is compulsively readable. It's a ridiculous conceit, but McKenzie makes an on-a-whim marriage seem like a good idea. Even more impressive is the way she makes the relationship between the heroine and (spoiler alert!) the hero believably difficult and charmingly real. If you're not rooting for Anne's happy ending, you must not believe in love. Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Jennifer Crusie have found a new author to watch.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)