Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: The Arrangement
SERIES: Homestead Legacy #1
AUTHOR: Alex Jane
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2019
LENGTH: 194 Pages
BLURB:
New York.
Gabriel Webster’s pack is in trouble. His father’s failing health and his mother’s untimely death mean that the vultures are circling. It won’t be long before his family’s assets are stripped and his pack disbanded. When an offer of help arrives in the form of a marriage of convenience, he has little choice but to accept.
The arrangement would be the perfect solution, if not for one thing. Gabriel is to marry Nathaniel Hayward, the Alpha who was badly injured in the accident that killed his brother ten years before—and the man Gabriel has been in love with for as long as he can remember.
Trapped in a business arrangement masquerading as a marriage—in a strange, empty house with a damaged husband who barely tolerates him — isn’t what Gabriel expected from life.
But sometimes the last thing we want is the beginning of something more.
And an ending can be the start of something beautiful.
REVIEW:
Set in 1895 New York, the story revolves around Gabriel’s arranged marriage to Nathaniel. Gabriel’s mother, his pack Alpha died a while ago, and his brother, Reuben, was to be the next Alpha. Unfortunately, Reuben was killed in an accident that also maimed Reuben’s best friend, Nathaniel. Since then, their pack has been limping along, barely surviving. With his father’s health failing, a marriage is arranged between Nathaniel and Gabriel. The union would bring stability to the pack and stop the vultures circling.
As a disfigured Alpha, Nathaniel was disowned by his family. However, as Nathaniel has a superb head for business, he was soon on his feet with a pack of his own. A pack of loyal misfits.
It is surprising to Gabriel to discover that, it is Nathaniel who proposed the union, when every action suggested that Nathaniel wants the marriage in name only. Since Reuben and Nathaniel were inseparable, the offer comes as a possible act of repentance, since he survived the accident and Reuben didn’t. It is especially devastating to Gabriel since he’d loved Nathaniel for many years.
The story is told mainly from Gabriel viewpoint with some from Nathaniel. As the copy I reviewed was not the final one, I can’t comment on the grammar, except to say that, what I read was pretty damned good. Therefore, what hits the shelves should stand up to scrutiny. The cast isn’t big, but they are a loyal band, with only the odd exception.
As already said, Gabriel had always loved Nathaniel, but after ten years of not seeing him, reconnecting isn’t easy – especially when Nathaniel actively avoids Gabriel. Everyone around Gabriel tells him to be patient, but he can’t stand around and do nothing.
Gabriel is bookish and quiet and isn’t quite sure how to tackle the man who was once athletic, rough and tumble. The accident changed Nathaniel into tall dark and brooding, but bit by bit Gabriel does his best to, at least be happy, and hopefully be friends with Nathaniel. Anything more would be a dream.
I found The Arrangement to an immensely readable story. Sorry if that sounds weird. What I mean is that once I started, it was no effort to continue reading to the end. Having said that, for a shifter story, there is no shifting. Mentions of it, yes, but no actual shifting. In that respect, I was disappointed. There are reasons, but I still think, a little something could have been sneaked in.
The story has that feel-good vibe while keeping the reader on edge over what is going to happen, when, and what secrets will be revealed. To that end, it kept me turning the page.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this tale – I must have done to read it in a day. But, to put the icing on the cake, I missed that heart-stopping moment when everything goes to hell in a handbasket with over the top reactions.
RATING: 
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