Julie's Review: The Marriage Pact

Author: Michelle Redmond
Series: None
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Publisher: Bantam
Pages: 432
Obtained: publisher via Netgalley
Genre:  Suspense, Psychological Thriller
Rating: 3/5
Bottom Line: Dragged on too long and ending fell flat for me
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Library

Summary: Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact. The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense. Always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter. . . .Never mention The Pact to anyone. Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples. And then one of them breaks the rules. The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule. For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare. ~amazon.com  

Review: Marriage Pact would be a really good action thriller movie with the right cast but as a novel the middle dragged a bit. I felt that it took a bit to long to get the crux of the story and then it ended abruptly. Not only that but I have to admit I wanted the ending to go the other way.

Saying all that, I enjoyed learning about Jake and Alice through Jake's eyes. Part of me thought that it was sweet that he wanted to marry her so that he wouldn't use her and then apart of me was kind of put off by it. As you get to know Jake it wasn't that he wanted to own her, it was that he loved her so much he didn't want to have a life without her. Alice was a bit more reserved with her devotion to Jake but as the book progresses, you see how much she loves Jake as well. The Pact organization was a bit like Fight Club, you don't talk about it. They are a very exclusive club designed to help couples succeed at marriage.

At first it seems like a bit of fun with the parties and the mystery but things go very weird quickly. There are rules, known as The Manual, that neither of them have read thoroughly. They find out very quickly that there is much they need to learn so they don't break the rules. Although, it is already too late for Alice, apparently she talks a bit too much.

Jake, being curious by nature, starts digging into the organization and isn't so sure that they have made the right decision. Of course, this leads them down a path that is cause for much running and discussion for them.

Ultimately, it was a fast-paced novel that perhaps could have been edited down a bit but it was a good ride. Also, my takeaway from this is, you don't sign anything to do with a secret organization, even though it sounds cool/exclusive.


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