2017 Book #64 – The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

51TG3KmYm6LTitle: The Marriage Pact
Author: Michelle Richmond
Date finished: 7/30/17
Genre: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: July 25, 2017
Pages in book: 433
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

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.

My rating:  3.0 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Jake and Alice, a newlywed couple who are new members of The Pact. The Pact is a secret organization whose goal is to help its members have strong and lasting marriages. Founded by a woman in Ireland whose first marriage failed but was determined for her second marriage to succeed, The Pact is a complex series of rules and punishments which seem outrageous but each member of the group seems to be happy in a hypnotized / cult kind of way. And once Alice and Jacob start getting into trouble they realize that there is a lot more danger with being a part of this group than they first realized.
Overall this book was ok. There was some interesting pieces to the book and it was a creative idea. And there were definitely some good plot twists included. I wasn’t super thrilled with the ending though. I just felt like there was a lot of build up for a weird and kind of anti-climactic ending. It was still good so I would recommend but it wasn’t my favorite.

The bottom line: Eh, this book wasn’t my favorite. There were some interesting pieces and some good twists and turns but overall it was weird and slightly confusing. And I felt like it could’ve been a better twist ending.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

2015 Book #63 – The Marriage Season by Linda Lael Miller

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Title: The Marriage Season
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Date finished: 6/22/15
Genre:  Romance
Publisher: HQN Books
Publication Date: May 26, 2015
Pages in book: 254
Stand alone or series: Brides of Bliss County book #3
Where I got the book from: Terryville Public Library

Blurb from the cover:

Since Hadleigh, Melody and Bex—the best of best friends—entered into a marriage pact, two of them have found (and married) the men of their hearts. But Bex doesn’t think she’ll be as fortunate as the others. Her own first love died years ago in a faraway war, and Bex has lost hope for a happy marriage of her own. She concentrates on her business, a successful chain of fitness clubs, instead.
Then, when single father Tate Calder comes to Mustang Creek with his two sons in tow, who befriend Bex’s eight-year-old nephew, she and the handsome, aloof newcomer are constantly thrown together. But is the marriage season over? Or can a man with doubts about love be the right husband for a woman who wants it all?

My rating: 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I have been a fan of Linda Lael Miller’s books in the past (there’s just something about those cowboys) so I was excited when the Brides of Bliss County series came out. I had already read the first two in the series and honestly the second one left me a little frustrated so I was eager to get to the third book to try and get some things straightened out. This third book in what I think is a trilogy tells the story of Tate Calder, friend of the guys from the first two books who just moved to Mustang Creek, and Bex Stuart (which I thnk is cool, my nickname is college was Bex) best friend of the girls from the first two books. Now I just have to say that this premise alone is just so highly unrealistic to me. Has there ever really been in real life a set of three guy friends who all within a year decided they loved this set of three girl friends? And two of the sets had known each other like their whole lives. It just always feels far-fetched to me.
Anyways so they’re the last single ones in this six-pack so they fall in love. That’s pretty much the story. Tate has two boys and he’s really sweet with them and Bex has a nephew that she has to take care of for a lot of the book that’s the same age as one of Tate’s boys.
So overall I guess I just had a few issues with this story. The conversations felt stilted and a little rushed, leaving the characters flat and hard to connect with. And the reactions of the characters are just so far from what I would react as. Like they just kind of take everything in stride, nothing is ever really an “issue,” Like when Tara all of a sudden just goes to Denver, Bex is just like oh ok I’m glad she is out of this bad situation then. If that were me I would have been like WHAT ABOUT YOUR SON GROW THE HELL UP YOU ARE A GROWN ASS WOMAN. So some differences in thought processes there I guess. Don’t get me wrong, the book wasn’t bad and it was actually exactly what I needed at this moment in my reading journey. It was a light and somewhat easy read and it was overall pleasant i would say. My complaints here I think tend to be more general, the book was still a good book.
The bottom line: I would recommend this book to anyone who 1) likes books by LLM, 2) has read the other 2 books in the series, or 3) is looking for a nice, light beach read. Otherwise I would say you can probably skip.

Link to author website
Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page