Synopsis:
Jake and Alice are are newlyweds. Do they know what it takes to have a perfect marriage? Where they really cut out for this? Its weeks after their wedding, and already doubts set in. A wedding gift sits, unopened, until a surprise visitor tells them about The Pact. The Pact is a membership to an elite club (or cult?) with strict rules for how a couple should proceed with their marriage. No one has ever left The Pact. No members of The Pact have ever been divorced. All members are rich, beautiful, and happy. It sounds perfect, right? Not surprisingly, The Pact is not all that it appears. While some rules are great ideas - each spouse gives the other a gift each month, the couple should go on one vacation each quarter, each spouse must always answer each other's phone calls - others are a bit crazy - you can never gain more than 10 pounds from your wedding weight. Jake and Alice dive in, and are quickly caught breaking rules and facing the consequences of The Pact. They want out, but can they navigate a way while keeping their marriage and their lives intact?

My review:
Overall, this book didn't really read as a suspense or thriller for me. I was able to push through, but I wasn't feeling pushed or anxious at any part during the book.
As far as the characters were concerned, part of me was annoyed that Jake and Alice couldn't follow the rules. It's not that hard to buy one gift in a month when you are an affluent couple. I just felt like the characters didn't have real problems, so they created problems and issues with their life. Jake was able to critique and analyze all of his clients' lives and relationships, but seemed unable to look at his own marriage in the same light. This irritated me. Overall, I liked Alice's character better and think I would have enjoyed this novel from her point of view.
Moving on to The Pact. This is a group that started with a noble cause, but has run terribly off course. I would have liked to know more about The Pact, the other members, the parties, etc. So much of the book seemed to focus directly on Jake and Alice, but may have been more exciting if it focused more on The Pact or included other Pact members point-of-views. The Pact itself was intriguing and disturbing. The torture that was described was unique, to say the least.
I actually really enjoyed the chapters that Michelle Richmond included on recent scientific studies about successful marriage. I thought these were interesting breaks from the story and came at just the right time.


Overall, I rate this 3.5/5 stars. Its a fun, cult-like book with a little bit of suspense and intrigue. I can think of several better new-release books to recommend from this category, so it was a bit of a disappointment for me. A good book, just not the best fit for me.

I recommend this book with slight reservation for suspense lovers or those who want to learn more about the psyches in marriage.

I really liked this book for the most part. The plot/topic of the permanent life marriage pact was really interesting. I have been married almost 25 years myself, but I have 5 children so there is not much to compare with the main characters. However, I know that I would not enjoy being required to do anything for my husband, I do what I want to. Jake and Alice, a newly married couple, are given a wedding gift of a membership to an exclusive Marriage Club where they have to sign a pact that requires them to follow certain rules in their marriage forever, and to never divorce--a cult-like group. If they don't meet the requirements, they are punished in different ways like counseling sessions, work outs and other things that are more severe which makes this a little crazy but still held my attention until the end. This book is quite the thriller which I liked, and it was suspenseful throughout. The characters are well-written and eventually realize that The Pact is not what they thought it was going to be initially. This book made me think about my own marriage as well because there was a lot of info in it about marriage in general. Definitely worth reading!!

Very interesting topic. Would have liked to know what happened when the wife had to go to 'prison' . Great twisted ending!

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond

I loved this psychological thriller. The novel was great, excitement throughout. I thought the ending was great. The anticipation of what may happen next drove me crazy.
I enjoyed the elusive Finnegan and would have enjoyed learning more about him. I thought Alice and Jake were great characters. The pact was crazy with crazy rules, but a fun and scary (stay away from Fernley) concept that was so original.

I give The Marriage Pact 5 stars for its thrilling story.
I would recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers.

Okay, THE MARRIAGE PACT is definitely a WOW book – total psychological suspense and then some! It asks the question, “How far would you go to protect your marriage?”

In this page-turner you have two newlyweds, a picture-perfect couple today, after growing out of some very definitive free-living younger days. Alice was once an up-and-coming singer with a band and had an album or two. Now she is a successful lawyer whose future seems quite bright. Jake is a partner in an up-and coming Psychology practice. For both the future looks enormously bright.

As a marriage gift from one of Alice’s prominent clients Alice and Jake are invited to join an exclusive and secret mysterious group known as the Pact. Seemed harmless enough with it seemed one goal – to keep their marriage, fresh, intact, and loving forever. Who wouldn’t want that? The rule book also contained other things as well with some of the rules not necessarily alarming at the time but as their lives and “Friends” they were introduced to at glamorous parties Jake and Alice began to feel as if they had made a huge mistake.

The tension was quite palpable and Jake and Alice started to think of ways out, particularly after Jake was warned by a former colleague who told him disturbing truths of how the Pact dealt with those who wanted ‘out’.

Bottom line: A really great read with fast pacing. Definitely highly recommended.

Marilyn Rondeau

This book was creepy, a Stepford Wives updated with Big Brother’s technology. It begs you to really read and think before you sign a contract. Be careful what you sign!
Jake and Alice receive a strange wedding gift from Alice’s client Finnegan, whom they have just met. It is a beautiful wooden box carved with the words The Pact, locked with no key. They agree to meet Finnegan’s representative to find out what is in it. The Pact details a set of behaviors that will ensure a successful marriage till death do you part. These behaviors include always answer when your spouse calls, give a thoughtful monthly gift, plan a quarterly trip, and don’t tell anyone about The Pact. They are each given a very thick copy of rules but they will read those later. Of course Jake and Alice want to stay happily married , those rules seem like a good idea, and The Pact sounds like fun, so they sign on the dotted line. Alice starts to read the rules like she was told and realizes there might be more to The Pact than they thought, but Jake only glances at them. It is all a game to him until Alice, increasingly busy at work, runs afoul of the rules. They soon realize The Pact is everywhere and they are not sure who they can trust.
The book is rather farfetched (or is it?) but it reminded me so much of The Stepford Wives that I could suspend any disbelief. Why would two educated people in their thirties agree to something like this? Do we all really crave a set of rules to run our life and our marriage by to ensure success? Does everyone really require the same things to make them happy? The book is fast paced, leaving you wondering how it can possibly have a pleasant outcome. You will have to read it to see.

This book certainly had an interesting and unique plot. I for one am a big supporter of working hard at your marriage but this takes it to a whole new level. I got weirded out by the cultist attitude of the members of "The Pact" but I guess that is to be expected. I was really disappointed with the ending. After a rough, fast, roller coaster of a ride through most of the story, it just fell flat for me. Another thing I wish we had some more details on, is the reason they were originally selected to join. Maybe I missed it--but I looking at our main characters, I would not have expected them to be invited or is that the main reason? Because they aren't the perfect couple, they were chosen to try and strengthen their marriage?

Overall, this is a really good read and I'm glad that I got the chance to do so!

The Marriage Pact is a society formed to help support the institution of marriage. On the face of things, it sounds like a good idea. It offers methods to stay focused on the marriage like monthly gifts, quarterly vacations and other things to help make each partner in the marriage feel special. My first thought was that instead of this, I would think the gift were only because it was required by The Pact instead of out of my partner's love for me. Additional ones like "always answer the phone when a spouse calls" seemed a bit unreasonable. Who has a job or life where they are able to always answer the phone? But that is part of the point: marriage before work, before anything. But, The Pact also comes with repercussions if the rules are broken. And this is where things get weird and the focus of the "suspense" of the book. The story started to feel a bit like the Michael Douglas movie "The Gift" because some of the really weird events that took place. In addition to the feeling that things were just a bit too improbable, the story had a couple timeline issues. Too many events took place in short periods of time. But if you can suspend time and disbelief a bit, the story is pretty interesting.

I'm not a long detailed reviewer as some repeat the entire book, but this was an interesting read with a different story line.
Thank you Net galley for the privilege of reading it.

The Marriage Pact is a great psychological thriller. The story opens as Jake and Alice are getting married. Alice is an attorney and develops a new friendship with one of her clients, whom she invites to the wedding on a whim. The client, Finnegan, attends the wedding with his wife and gives a strange wedding gift to Jake and Alice.

The wedding gift was somewhat of a Pandora’s box for the newlyweds. Their curiosity and their desire for a happy marriage prompted them to open the box and enter into the “marriage pact.” But instead of the key to a happy marriage, the marriage pact ended up being like Hotel California--you can never leave.

Once the premise of the story was set, it just picked up momentum. What the couple went through was horrifying and humiliating. I found myself thinking there would be no way to get out of it alive. With Jake being a 39 year old counselor, I was a bit surprised that he even agreed to the pact in the first place, but again, curiosity and a desire for marital bliss were what drew him in.

In spite of the story being somewhat of a newlywed’s nightmare, there were some great points to be made for how to have a happy marriage. It was also heartwarming to see how Jake and Alice rarely let the stress of the situation affect the relationship they had together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read an advanced copy and give an honest review.

This bore some similarities to a book I just read where a couple was invited on a weekend retreat to "improve their marriage." 'They barely survived the experience but couldn't report it because of threats to loved ones. Don't ask me the title because I can't remember, I've tried. Anyway, ..

The Marriage Pact blew my mind. I couldn't stop reading it. I had a meeting, and I seriously thought about bailing on it so I could finish the last few chapters. So don't start this unless you've blocked out enough time to finish the whole d*** thing. I mean it. It's addictive.

Jonathan and Alice are a recently married couple who receive a unique gift from a new friend. This gift was an invitation to The Pact. An exclusive society that values marriage and strives to maintain the sanctity of it. It is not to be discussed with people outside of The Pact and the rules get more outrageous from there. Basically, it's Stepford Wives meets Fight Club. Obnoxious.

For the record, I only managed to get 18% into the book before crying out "Oh for the LOVE of GOD I DON'T CAAAAAARE", which may also be considered obnoxious to some.

Each percent was a chapter so I did get 18 chapters in, however, when it is 18 out of 100ish chapters, it's not that big of a feat. It was told from Jonathan's perspective up until that point which made it seem like Jonathan was obsessed with his wife, Alice. But Alice's responses tended to be passive in terms of big events. For example, when he proposed, she simply said "Ok". Another example is when they decided to join The Pact, her response was "why not?". Because it's obviously a cult, that's why not.

Alice is an overworked lawyer and Jonathan is a therapist, yet their communication seemed to be lacking and a lawyer read the terms and conditions of The Pact and decided to go through with it because "Why not?" just did not seem realistic to me. Furthermore, Jonathan's thoughts on things relied on what Alice thought of them. Which caused flat sentences such as "Alice does not like ___" and "Alice likes ____". It made him seem like a doormat. It reached a breaking point for me when they were at a work social for Alice and there was a co-worker that went up to Jonathan (allegedly unaware that he was the husband of Alice) and they talked about the bet that went on at the office that she wouldn't marry 'the therapist'". It seemed immature and pointless.

Last rant: I could not stand Vivian. She reminded me of Dolores Umbridge and I am sure she is supposed to be the villain so I am not supposed to like her. However, she was irritating at best.

Clearly, I was not a fan of this book and I would only recommend it to readers who are fans of cults.

This concept was so interesting to me it was like marriage meets 1984. I feel as though it may have been influenced by 1984, but I don't know for sure.

The rules are pretty standard and none of them were that surprising. It's things such as get presents, take trips, answer phone calls etc. But then there seemed to be things that would conflict with the amount of time off at their prestigious jobs and they tended to drop things at a moments notice. I had a hard time believing they wouldn't have career consequences. Anyway, if you break even a small rule you get summoned for a court date and get sentenced to monitoring or time in their jail etc. It was intense.

The characters in this book stood out to me because they were so well written. So often I read and think "are you kidding? That's not realistic" which didn't happen with this book. They didn't make those stupid decisions the main characters do in normal thrillers. Going along with that, the characters and relationships developed both together and apart. Which was so refreshing.

There were three different writing styles in this book. There were some chapters that basically just restated marriage facts. Others had a storytelling vibe where I felt as though someone were reading and then there was also the straight up thriller chapters. This bothered me at times because it was constantly shifting but it also made me focus on the different pieces of the story.

This book started out slow, I was confused as to what was happening in the first chapter because it was similar to a prologue that shoves the reader into the middle of the story. All I was thinking was "I don't care about these characters, I don't even know who this person is." Then when that point came again I just wanted to know what was going to happen and it ended up being a real page turner.

"Every marriage is unique. Every marriage is it's own universe, operating by its own intricate set of rules.” Except in the view of the Pact. An organization that came about out of the leader’s divorce, she set about to create a set of rules and laws that would govern marriage and help a couple succeed. In reality those couples that enter the Pact are ruled by fear not love and that’s what newlyweds Jake and Alice find out too late.

Alice is a lawyer who as a joke invite’s a client to her upcoming nuptials. When a mysterious wedding gift arrives with the words “The Pact” engraved on a locked box they don’t think anything of it until post wedding. Alice as a lawyer enjoys the law and sets of rules.

Jake on the other hand is a bit more of a free spirit, as a therapist for both teens and couples he is used to introspection. This helps him question the pact when after joining he is warned by a former friend to always obey the pact and to watch his back.

Full of suspense and fast paced action that will have you overcome with dread The Marriage Pact is a one size fits all novel. An absolutely terrifying look at the real possibility of a marriage cult and the horrors that that would entail.

What in the fuck did I just read?!? And I don’t mean that in any sort of good way.

The Marriage Pact was a rare, intriguing subject matter. After reading the blurb, I couldn't wait to dive in. Psychological thrillers have been my thing lately and this one seemed right up my alley.
This novel held a ton of potential. Sadly though, the execution was downright awful.

Essentially, these two extremely smart people, Alice who’s a lawyer and Jake who’s a psychologist, join an organization that consists of thousands of others, located all over the world and in every profession, whose main goal is to have a successful and to death do us part kind of marriage. There are certain rules, behaviors, rituals, and consequences within this organization; each must be followed to the “T.” There is no way out, once the contract is signed, you become a full-fledged member for life. There is no such thing as divorce. There is no getting out of the pact. There is no misbehaving. And most importantly, there is NO talking about the pact to anyone on the outside, ever.

Yada. Yada.

The moment they signed this exclusive contract is where I'm assuming their brains were sitting so far up their ass they were unable to access that little thing called commonsense. How in the fuck does a lawyer and psychologist get themselves involved in a CULT! I mean, I only had to read the paragraph with all its rules and such to know that’s where these two were heading. Yet, Alice and Jake, who are obviously quite intelligent, have no damn clue?! How can they defend people and counsel them but not know to keep their own ass out of the kettle?! The best part, Jake is counseling others on marriage—and cults! While he is involved in one. Say what?!?

I get that this is a work of fiction, and in fiction we are supposed to suspend belief, but this story line had us suspending that belief so far out, it was absurdity.

Why not DNF? I honestly don't know. The Marriage Pact was one of those books you couldn’t take your eyes from because you can see the train wreck ahead spiraling out of control. That alone intrigued me. Yes, I am a sucker for punishment. Not to mention, I was waiting for something, anything. And then a good part would come and I was like finally! Then we were back to it dragging. It was sooooo slow moving. Too much unneeded information bogged it down. Way tooo much detail and inner monologue.

There was one plus side to this book, the physical and psychological torture scenes. They were the only things that really held my attention, not sure what that says about me. But they truly were the best written parts of this story.

I don’t say this to be cruel…walk away and save your money! There are much better books to read and buy.

Alicia and Jake are typical engaged couples anticipating their wedding and marriage. When Alicia unwittingly invites a client to attend her wedding she is surprised when he and his wife attend. As they are opening their wedding gifts, they see one of them has a locked box inside, along with two beautiful pens. Not having a key, they put it aside. Having a visit from the client and his wife, they are presented a key to open the box and sign a contract giving them rules for a perfect marriage. But nothing is as innocent as it seems. This is a fast paced thriller with many twists and turns.

Scrappymags 3-word review: Happy I'm single!!!

Genre: Psychological Mystery/Thriller, out 7/25/17

Shortest summary ever: A strange marriage gift arrives for Alice and Jake from a last-minute, wealthy wedding guest whom they barely know - a locked box containing an invitation to an exclusive group simply called "The Pact." Accept, and you open the box and agree to the terms. Decline, and go on your way. Enticed by the elite, glittery lifestyle shown thus far, Alice and Jake accept with good intentions but without fully understanding the impact of this frightening decision...

What’s good under the hood: I enjoy sharp writing that evokes thinking and this book happily delivered. As a happy singleton (not opposed to marriage but who knows now), I enjoyed delving into the thought of marriage and this Pact - would this actually be a good thing? Something that would help marriage survive? The questions that ping-pinged my brain were fast and furious. I found it helpful to consider the thoughts  and questions of Jake (the narrator). I think some might immediately dismiss this and think "ugh.. stupid people falling for a cult", but like Jake - truly consider some of the tenets of The Pact, and think of your own marriage...

Can't say I loved the main characters because I thought it odd a lawyer would sign into something without sufficient research and analysis, but I also found them believable and sometimes enjoyable characters aren't necessarily likeable in my book (pun intended). 

There are clear parallels to Scientology with this group (including a mention of a higher-ups disliking psychiatry) as well as the various structures/housing, etc.

What’s bad or made me mad: As stated, I didn't LOVE the main characters' motivations, I am not married and have never been married so I don't think I'm precisely the target demographic for the book, not that this fact is essential but I think marrieds (or those divorced) will appreciate this book even more.

Recommend to: General best-seller/mystery readers

A GREAT book club selection - tons of marriage themes to discuss! One I would love to see the various opinions. 
Avoid if: Gullible characters are your deal breakers. Might be offended if you're a scientologist.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine and the author Michelle Richmond for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and oddly making me intensely, satisfyingly and smugly happy to be single.

I'm sure I will be in the minority, Friend, but I wanted to like The Marriage Pact more than I actually did.

Never mention The Pact to anyone.

Alice and Jake are about to embark on the cruise ship called marriage. Sometimes it's all fun and games, sometimes the ship has a norovirus outbreak. Anyone who wears (or has worn) a wedding band, knows that there are ups and downs.

But The Pact doesn't tolerate downs.

Hello, Friend.

The Marriage Pact begins to take off when Alice and Jake receive a wedding gift from one of Alice's clients. It's a wooden box, with a locked wooden box inside. They arrange a meeting with a woman named Vivian, who unlocks the box for them. She explains the marriage pact. The Marriage Pact is a group of Friends who support each other's efforts in having a happy marriage.

At least that's what Jake and Alice believed up until their first infraction... Alice is a copyright attorney and finds herself wearing a locked bracelet. All because she works late. And it spirals from there.

The Marriage Pact was a little bit laborious for me to get through. Yes, you do have to suspend reality a little bit, as a lot of the book is plain "out there". But, that's the part of the book I LIKED, so that isn't a bad thing.

Much of the book was long winded between 'events' and I found myself skimming. But the biggest problem lies in the fact that I found the ending boring.

With how outlandish much of the book is, I was expecting an equally outlandish twist. It was a dud with a little fizzle. After that, I thought, perhaps that wasn't the twist. Much to my dismay, it was. The ending surprised me a little bit, but it definitely was not a twist. I love twists. I wish all books had them.

Sadly, this was only a 3-star book for me. I enjoyed the writing style of the author, and this may have simply not been my type of book. I would still like to try some of Michelle Richmond's other novels.

Thank you Netgalley, Michelle Richmond, and Bantam Books for providing me a copy of this book. My review of The Marriage Pact is not biased and my own true opinions.

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.

My Thoughts: First of all, I couldn’t imagine why Jake and Alice would sign up for something so secretive and mysterious. Wouldn’t they have wondered about the “consequences” mentioned in the contracts? Wouldn’t the control the organization seemed to exert bother them?

I wanted them to somehow get out of the weird group before anything bad happened, but hovering overhead were the implicit threats, the idea of The Pact’s all-encompassing influence, and concerns about people who had mysteriously disappeared.

Jake was the first-person narrator, so it was probably natural for me to connect to his side of things, and even though he loved Alice, I could see how he worried about why she seemed more into the group than he was. Since she was a lawyer, I couldn’t quite imagine her willingness to be “all in.” But then I recalled the mention of her dysfunctional family, and it made more sense.

What is behind the mysterious meetings that JoAnne, an old college friend, arranges with Jake? Is she seriously in trouble, or is she part of some covert operation?

The whole idea that the group somehow monitored their every move made me feel creepy and also fascinated. I couldn’t stop reading. As the dangers in The Marriage Pact escalated, I was hanging onto every word, hoping for a positive resolution. 5 stars.
***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please Note: I received a copy of THE MARRIAGE PACT on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to both the Publisher and the author for this opportunity.

Why This Book:
I had just finished reviewing two other mystery/suspense books: THE BREAKDOWN and DARK RIVER RISING and wanted to dive into another fascinating story, but it had to hold my interest like the other two books I just completed. I saw THE PACT pop up on NetGalley and Goodreads, and it looked like THE PACT had received a lot of buzz for the right reasons, so I requested it. Boy, was I glad I did!

It’s been two days since I finished reading the book, and I’m still thinking about the story’s ending!

The Story:
THE PACT’s premise is brilliant: a book that intertwined the plot of THE FIRM with THE STEPFORD WIVES and THE GIFT.

The story plays on the fear of marriage as well as the apprehension of failure. Most of us have an epiphany right before we get married: what’s the point of getting hitched (when things are going so well in our relationship the way it is) or will I lose myself when we become “a couple” or can I live with the same person for all eternity because I don’t want to become that awful divorce statistic we hear about?

Today, people are too busy or self-involved to dedicate themselves to putting in the necessary time and energy to make their marriage work. So, in steps a group of Friends from the exclusive club called The Pact, who are there to support you and with a few simple strategies and light consequences thereby helping you focus on what’s important: the marriage above all else. What first starts out as fun —a game, perhaps—to newlyweds Alice and Jake quickly morphs into cult-like, freakishly scary behavior. Soon, the story twists and turns and it becomes a page-turner, where you don’t know who in the story to trust, including the narrator, Jake, or his wife, Alice.

My Thoughts:
Michelle Richmond’s writing style was introspective, told through the eyes of Jake. At times, he seemed almost too good to be true as far as a male character goes, but then if you consider his profession as a psychologist, it makes total sense. The guy is in tune with his touchy-feelings. Plus, it’s sort of like be very careful about what you wish for – Jake wanted to be married to Alice in the worst way, and she was free-spirited and floated through life like a butterfly – flitting about and not lingering or sticking around for very long. So, I could see how The Pact would certainly appeal to Jake. Alice seemed like a Gemini – two twin selves –where she tussled with holding onto the fraying ends of her musician past and blending it with her practical attorney future, although she didn’t apply much of her legalese to The Pact’s manual, which I found unsettling as I’m married to an attorney and he always, and I do mean always, reads the fine print. But her sense of succeeding and being the best and the brightest undercut her legal mind, and I could totally see that, too.

Overall, I was on the edge of my seat, rooting for the characters to survive The Pact and get the heck away from the Friends.

I devoured this book in two days. I loved about 90% of the story, but then the last 10% of the plot took an unexpected turn. I had to reread the conclusion to make sure I understood it. I was left scratching my head at the ending as it was somewhat vague, but yet, it still managed to work for the story. At times, I felt that the book’s pacing got bogged down with Jack’s incessant self-introspection. As a reader, with a thriller/suspense/mystery book, I wanted more dialogue and action to advance the plot as well more interaction between Jake and Alice so I could get a clear sense of where she was coming from at times. That’s why I gave it four out of five stars.

As I stated earlier in this review, it’s been two days since I finished THE PACT and I’m still thinking about the story and the ending. And, that makes for a great book. Highly recommend.