The Arc

A smart, high-concept love story that asks: is it possible to optimize our most intimate relationships? Meet Ursula 35-year-old Ursula Byrne is successful, witty, smart, and single. She's tried all the dating apps, and let's just say: she's underwhelmed by her options. Enter The Arc A mysterious, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that relies on a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious- you get one match, and one match only. Because one is all you need for a partnership that will go the distance. Is this a date with destiny? Or with data? Ursula is paired with 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks, and from the start, this feels like the electric, lasting love they've each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to question The Arc's legitimacy. After all, the arc of a relationship is never predictable ... even when it's fully optimized. Review A thoroughly modern love story with old-fashioned heart - Vogue The satirical (yet also surprisingly deep) take on dating app culture we all need - Cosmopolitan With giddy hilarity and stabs to the heart, Hoen's heady cocktail of satire and celebration is a delectable addition to the dating-app and matchmaking rom-com list. - Booklist Hoen raises some fascinating questions about love and relationships and ends on an optimistic note that will please romance fans. The result is as thoughtful as it is thought-provoking. - Publishers Weekly You don't expect a razor-sharp satire to satisfy so deeply on an emotional level, but The Arc does that and more: Tory Henwood Hoen brings humor, wit and brutal honesty to start-up culture, relationships and human frailty in this riveting debut. - Alexandra Andrews, author of Who is Maud Dixon Tory Hoen has the rare combination of a satirists eye and a romantics soul. Populated though it may be with biz-whiz types, lifestyle apps, and start-up schemes, The Arc is, at its heart, about the inimitable qualities that make us human. Clear off space on your shelf of contemporary favorites for this timeless love story wrapped in a timely, funny portrait of modern society. - Mary Laura Philpott, author of I Miss You When I Blink A zeitgeisty and hopeful page-turner that proves neither algorithms nor big data can keep the heart from wanting what it wants. - Courtney Maum, author of Touch and Costalegre Whether she's skewering mediocre start-up bros or the absurdities of twenty-first century 'self-care,' there's nothing about the way we live now that escapes Hoen's gaze. A hilarious and thoughtful exploration of love in a culture obsessed with optimization, The Arc is a dazzling debut. - Grant Ginder, author of People We Hate at the Wedding A delightful debut about love and dating and modern womanhood that asks as many questions about self-determination and free will as it answers. - Shelf Awareness The Arc is an incisive, inventive, probing portrait of a modern relationship featuring remarkably well-drawn characters that readers will champion and adore. Hoen's clever, original debut is as hilarious as it is heartwarming. - Carola Lovering, author of Too Good to be True Funny and modern ... like a rom-com's cooler big sister - Real Simple