A high-concept love story that asks: is it possible to optimize our most intimate relationships?

35-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She’s tried all the dating apps, and let’s just say: she’s underwhelmed by her options. You’d think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner––how hard could that be?

Enter The Arc: a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious––a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.

Ursula is paired with 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, 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 realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable—even when it's fully optimized.

Praise for The Arc

“Hoen has the rare combination of a satirist’s eye and a romantic’s 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

“As wildly entertaining as it is inventive, Hoen's satire is dazzling. But it's her faith in human connection that resonates long after the last page."―Nicola Kraus, author of The Nanny Diaries

“You don’t expect a razor-sharp satire to satisfy so deeply on an emotional level, but The Arc does that and more: 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?

“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 The People We Hate at the Wedding

“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

“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