The Girlfriend Arrangement by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings is a steamy fake relationship, rich girl/poor girl romance.
Reformed bad girl, Parker Black has spent the last five years cleaning up her image, making amends, and building her lingerie line into a multimillion-dollar business. When an incident from her past resurfaces, her newly developed world comes crashing down.
Public relations specialist, Julia Connor’s work is her life. A former foster kid, she spent years climbing the ladder. When Parker contacts her to help with her latest scandal, Julia jumps at the chance to help. A big-name client like Parker Black could catapult her career like none other.
However, Julia isn’t prepared for her carnal reaction to the sultry Paker Black. Nor is she prepared when Parker announces to the world that Julia is her girlfriend.
Swept into a fake relationship with a woman who is determined to seduce her into bed, Julia is unable to resist Parker’s intoxicating power games. But is their relationship just pretend? With both of their reputations on the line, will Parker and Julia put their hearts on the line too?
Writing
Anna Stone and Hildred Billings teaming up is like a dream come true! The Girlfriend Arrangement is the first book in the Black Diamond series and my attention was grabbed from the first scene. The dialogue flows naturally, and the characters are rich and vibrant. The twisted backstories are detailed and helped to add depth to Julia and Parker’s characters. The steamy scenes with a bit of kink are delicious and left me fanning my flaming cheeks a couple of times.
Narration
When Abby Craden narrates a sapphic tale, I’m always down! She is a master at not only creating voices for the characters but maintaining those voices throughout. Her ability to infuse depth and emotion into her narration is exceptional and I was captivated for the entirety of the book.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Parker’s upbringing, while filled with everything money can buy, left her with emotional scars that she spent years running from. Her parents while filling her survival need did nothing to make her feel loved or belonged. The middle child, just wanted to be noticed and in her mind, the negative attention was still attention. Fast cars, women, and booze were her modus operandi for years until an accident that almost cost her her life, made her rethink her life’s choices. She’s spent the last five years rebuilding her life and has created an extremely successful lingerie line.
Growing up in foster care, Julia knows what it’s like to feel unwanted. Despite the odds stacked against her, she worked her behind off to create a successful public relations business. When Parker breezes into her life, she’s not prepared for the hurricane that’s coming. I love how Julia tries to keep Parker at arm’s length and I could actually see her eye rolls each time Parker makes a sultry pass at her. Julia’s impostor syndrome was real and our authors really handled her insecurities with care.
Julia and Parker’s formative years shaped them into the women they became. They both admirably navigated many obstacles in their way. Parker’s relentless flirting chipped away at the walls around Julia and as they grow closer, their vulnerability allows both to share things they’d never shared with anyone before. I loved being a part of these deep and layered conversations as they really helped to understand deep down who both women are.
Heads Up
There are references to BDSM activities, which are pretty tame in my opinion but I’m just putting this out there because some readers may find this to be too much.
Parker’s parents, especially her mother, treat Paker horribly. There’s also a super awkward family dinner that will leave some readers gnashing their teeth because Vivianne Black has no off button.
The Conclusion
The Girlfriend Arrangement is a steamy fake relationship romance that will leave you with all the feels. There’s redemption, acceptance, failure, growth, vulnerability, and a lot of love. Add to this amazing story, Abby Craden’s narration, and you can’t go wrong. This is definitely on my re-listen list!
Excerpt from The Girlfriend Arrangement by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings
“You are the best at what you do,” she said, eyes closed, hands spread out on her desk. “You’ve got this. You’re going to knock this one out of the park.”
Once her breath had steadied and her mind was focused, she opened her eyes.
There was Parker Black, standing before her desk. “I certainly hope you’re the best,” she said. “Because that’s what I need.”
Words evaporated from Julia’s brain. How could she use words when Parker Black was standing there in those clothes and with that hair? She might as well have stepped off the runway in Paris, stopped by a salon in New York, and ended up in this office in Seattle because her personal jet needed refueling. That was the quintessential energy of Parker Black, the notorious middle child of the Black family.
“Ms. Black!” Julia leaped to her feet, sending Parker back two steps. “So nice to meet you. I’m Julia Conner.” There! That was the Julia who took bad press and sent it packing. She directed Parker to the tub chairs and the small tea table on the side of the room. “Why don’t we have a seat over here? It’s much more comfortable. Would you like something to drink? A cucumber water?”
“I’m fine.” Parker hoisted her purse on her shoulder as she removed her sunglasses from the top of her head and followed Julia to the chairs. “I have my own bottled water.”
“Of course.” Julia waited for Parker to sit down before following suit. She smells like jasmine rain… That waft of perfume was unmistakable. Julia had the pleasure of sampling the same scent the last time she wandered through Neiman Marcus in Bellevue.
My God. Everything about her is perfect. Even the way Parker sat, with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, was the epitome of a smart businesswoman who knew how to put herself together. That silk shirt paired with those tailored pants must have been heavenly to the touch. Her platinum hair was looking just the right amount of windswept. And her makeup? It was flawless. Because despite how they looked, there was no way those luscious lashes were natural, was there? They framed her eyes in such an inviting, seductive way…
“Thank you for seeing me at such short notice,” Parker said, her voice smooth as velvet. “As you can imagine, this is an emergency.”
“Yes. Of course.” Julia blinked. “As soon as you called my office, I dropped everything I was doing to look over your case.”
“Hopefully not everything.”
“Excuse me?”
Parker motioned to the tablet in Julia’s hand. “That’s an expensive piece of equipment. I should know. I have the same one.”
Get It Online
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Series: Black Diamond
The Girlfriend Arrangement
The Executive Liason
The Bodyguard Affair
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 979-8411328578
Publisher: Indie Author
Audiobook Publisher: Tantor Audio
Narrator: Abby Craden
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Note: I received a free review copy of The Girlfriend Arrangement by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
