I really liked this story a lot, it is signed by two authors of whom I have read some books that caused me mixed feelings, but in this case my overall final feeling is very positive. Even though it is a false romance, well, not entirely false, but a romance with a duration limit, although agreed by both parties of the couple, which has all the signs to generate large doses of drama in it . If a five-year-old son of one of the two protagonists is added to the mix, then things get a little more tense, because not only is the heart of the two women at stake, but the little one is also going to have to suffer the ups and downs.

Fortunately, the situations have been treated with maturity by the two women, there is no excess of nonsense, although at times some situation has made them glimpse. But overall it has been a story that, although predictable, has maintained a good rhythm and my interest until the end.

𝗖𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴...

I don't know how common the word "cuffing" is to everyone else but it's a new word to me. And it has nothing to do with handcuffs but everything to do with short-term coupling. The premise of this story is that Jess wants to write an experience piece about "cuffing" and Cody volunteers to be her "cuffing" partner because she too needs a short term partner for work-related reasons.

The relationship is convenient but the chemistry between the characters is fairly strong and there are plenty of scenes with build-up of sexual tension, that are pretty well-written and engaging. But those scenes end up mostly anti-climatic because of Cody's son. I gotta be honest, I'm not a fan of the needy little five year old and his innocent disruptions. But since that's directly linked to how the story flows eventually, I suppose it works.

To be fair, while I'm not a complete fan of the premise, this story is pretty well written and for some reason, I liked it better than Clevenger's Three Reasons To Say Yes, which features a short-term relationship and butch mum as well. This comes to me as a surprise because I haven't had much luck with either authors' books but it seems like their combined effort is a winner.

Before I start my review, first let me apologise for being MIA the last 10 days or so - work and life have been hectic with my twinadoes turning four, a well-needed family holiday and some big projects at work. Although I was reading, I just couldn't get those spare moments to put thoughts to paper and publish some thoughts on the books I've been reading.

In regard to A Convenient Arrangement, I thought it was a sweet lesfic book. I was interested to learn the term 'cuffing', as I was very much like Jess and thought it had something to do with BDSM. 😆

I liked how this relationship started out with the mutual arrangement, but I was a tad perplexed with how quickly feelings developed. I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of communication between the mains, and the unnecessary angst caused by this. It's especially frustrating to read when the mains were in their 30s.

Cody and Ben's relationship was lovely to read though, and I really enjoyed seeing their family dynamic. I liked the way Jess was integrated in their lives, and in retrospect, the way family is explored in this book as a whole was lovely.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I found the sex scenes slightly underwhelming. They weren't the usual steamy pieces that I come to expect of Clevenger, but overall A Convenient Arrangement is a very sweet romance.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I never really heard of cuffing before so it was great to learn something new.

Jess and Cody have great chemistry the dialogue between them is good I like that they talk even though there are some ups and down. I love Cody son Ben he add to the story his relationship with his mother and Jess was great. I did find a bit annoying that Cody colleagues didn’t like that she was single mom which prompt her into giving cuffing a try. I like even when you have plan sometimes it’s doesn’t work because you forget that your heart is involve and it catches you off guard. Enjoyable Read.

3.5 stars. Writing a book together seems like a daunting task to me, but Rey and Clevenger pull it off very nicely with this book. It’s always fun to see authors (and also two publishers in this case) working together. Clevenger and Rey actually wrote two books together, this being the first, that are set in the same universe. The second book “Love Accidentally” will be released next month and the main characters are already introduced in this book as friends of the mains in this book.

The title already indicates what this book is about, a short-term dating arrangement that works for both parties. Jess is a columnist that needs to write about cuffing, which is basically coupling up during the winter holiday months and breaking up soon after to enjoy a free single life again. Cody is a single mom and scientist/teacher at the university and she has no time to date even if she would like to. Her goal is to get tenure at the university and the final evaluation date is near. However, some of her superiors frown upon her single mom status, so a relationship, even if it is short-term, would be convenient.

Both Clevenger and Rey know how to write a butch-femme romance and if you enjoyed the hot butch mom angle in Clevenger’s “Three Reasons To Say Yes”, you’ll be happy to see another hot butch mom in this book as well. You can see that this is written by two seasoned authors, I liked both characters and they show enough character development throughout the book and the writing flows naturally, although I found the pace a bit slow in places.

One of the strongest points in the book is the chemistry, the sexual tension between Jess and Cody is rolling of the page. I don’t need sex scenes in a romance novel, but this book was screaming for it and unfortunately that is where it disappointed me. Most sex scenes were fade to black or cut short and the sexual fantasies that are hinted at never made it on page. I know these authors can write some steam, so I was hoping for more in that department. It also didn’t help that there was relatively little one-on-one time due to Cody’s kid. I realize this was done to emphasize how much a kid affects your life, but I just could have done with less kid time. This could be just me and perhaps it wouldn’t bother someone else who likes kids better than I do, but I wanted more time for romance and between the sheets.

The plot is not very surprising, but I was fine with that, however the lack of communication (leading to a conflict) did bother me. When your readers know more about your feelings than your actual girlfriend, that is a sign that something is very wrong. These are two intelligent grown up women, I expected more in the communication department.

I find it difficult to rate this book, it is an entertaining romance that is well written, and it was an above average read for me, but I would have liked to see better communication and more one-on-one time for romance and steam, so it’s a solid 3.5 stars for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

‘A Convenient Arrangement’ by Jamie Clevenger and Aurora Rey follows the story of journalist, Jess Archer and hot butch professor, Cody Dawson, as they partake in ‘cuffing’. Cuffing, as described by Jess, is the hot new lesbian trend where you jump into a relationship by fall and break up by spring. I’m not sure why but the whole basis is not having the intention of a full long term relationship.

I liked this book, Cody and Jess had a strong chemistry and I loved their dialogues together. Jess was my favorite character here, just so hard to not like. Even scenes with Ben, Cody’s son, were delightful to read and I enjoyed them! I don’t have much thoughts on this book to be honest. Was a cute simple read, maybe potential for more entertainment in some smaller plot detailed, like Cody’s ex wife. The predictable nature of this book was a bit lame. From page one you know what’s gonna happen so that’s the reason for my one minus star.

I recommend for a casual read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for a honest review.

I am a fan of both Aurora Rey and Jamie Clevenger, so I was thrilled a few months ago when I saw that they were going to be collaborating on a story set in Colorado over the months of October through mid February. Like many other readers I knew nothing about cuffing but was open-minded to learn about this convenient arrangement. The story and dialogue were well written and flowed impeccably though these two veteran writers. I found all three main characters, Jess, the internet journalist for a lesbian media platform; Cody, the college chemistry professor; and Ben, her son, interesting and engaging. Without giving too much away, the story reveals that you cannot go into a relationship without giving a piece of your heart away in the process, regardless of the rules and agreements setup beforehand. 4.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Aurora Rey is a talented writer.

And I never heard of cuffing prior to this book, so I learned something new. The book was a little up and down and didn't seem to really have a point where I felt engaged in the characters. Jess is a journalist and Cody is working a college. I enjoyed the book, but after a while I had a hard time connecting to the story. Still it's very well written and a lot of people will find the writer very talented and enjoy her dialogue and storytelling.

“Cuffing”, now that’s something I’d never heard of! (Could be due to my age of course!). A journalist has to write a blog about this from up close and personal. A lively tale which of course does not go as planned by either party. Entertaining read.

This was my first experience with both writers and this sparked my interest. I’ve started to peek into their back catalogue to add to my future read list.

The characters were approachable and nuanced with a good dynamic. The dialogue and interactions were well written but I found myself wishing for a bit more angst with steeper highs and lows. Overall the story flowed well and it introduced me to the whole premise and world of cuffing.

PS. I had never heard of Cuffing before reading this. I would have thought it made more sense as a subconscious behavior than deliberate arrangement as it’s written in the story.

Two wonderful authors come together and seamlessly write a delightful romance. Jess Archer is an online journalist living in Denver. She is tasked to write about and share her experience in cuffing. That is becoming a couple in the fall, go through the holidays and break up before spring. Cody Dawson is a professor that is in the process of applying for tenure. She also has a five year old son. Cody meets Jess through a friend and would like to give cuffing a try. She hasn't been in a relationship since her ex left. And a date for some upcoming university functions would be beneficial. It's a win win situation. Except of course no one plans on feelings to come into play.

I love couples that can talk and both Cody and Jess communicate well. That doesn't mean that there aren't bumps and misunderstandings. But the flirting and couples check-ins are fabulous in this book. Cody definitely has some walls after a spouse walks away and protecting her son is a priority as well. I'm not a big fan of kids in romances but Ben adds greatly to the story. Jess's relationship with him is almost as important as with Cody for everything to work. And he talks and behaves like a child (okay a really, really, polite and sweet child). The authors can bring heat but I thought a scene kissing in a restaurant was a hot as their first time together. I love these characters and felt sad when I finished the book realizing my time with them was done. Thank you to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and the authors for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

A new trope for me, cuffing. But it was an enjoyable read, Although a colab where you can distinguish the 2 authors the book was cursive and a great read. The story flowed seamlessly.
Jess is a journalist who is tasked to write about cuffing in the lesbian community. She needs to find a willing participant to her research. Cody is single mom chemistry professor who needs a date to a work event. And do the shorty begins. Jess and Cody have good chemistry and the dialogue is peppered with excellent humour. Of course there’s some back and forth and the threat their initial setup puts on their relationship but this is a good read that I recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I especially loved the two main characters. The writing was good, the story flowed well, and I was really into the dialogue. There is the quintessential angst of most romance novels near the end but it’s short lived and I liked the epilogue. Overall. I thought this would be a winner based on the co-authors and I wasn’t wrong. I would definitely recommend giving this a read.

I’m a big fan of both of these authors so I was excited to see them write together, I hope we get more Bold Strokes and Bella collaborations in the future. I could see familiar themes and glimpses of previous characters from both of the authors’ individual works in this book - both of their voices were very distinctly there, and yet the writing flew seamlessly. Cuffing was not something I’d heard of before, and I found that angle interesting. Both of the main characters wore their heart on their sleeve and they were so sweet together, I really connected with them and rooted for them to sort out their problems. The steam level was below what I’d seen in the authors’ previous works, which was my only, slight disappointment. It was a very well written book and I really hope we see more of these collaborations.