I thoroughly enjoyed this title and couldn't put it down. Although not 100% believable, the book is extremely entertaining and a well written novel. This is an attention grabber from the get go with twists and turns you won't see coming!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did not figure out the ending at all. It was one of the books that kept you reading until late at night. It wasn't super long so it could be read in a reasonable amount of time.

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond is a tense and twisting read with an unusual premise. I found myself reading it during the day and during the night, curious to see what would happen next.

While this book requires a fairly large suspension of disbelief in order to be enjoyable, it was an interesting read and concept. I don't think it will be easily forgotten!

The Marriage Pact is a page turner. It's one of those books that when you are at work you can't wait to get back home to read. Two newly married professionals join this exclusive group for married couples. They had no idea what they were getting into. Be sure to pick this new novel up and go along for the ride to the crazy cult-like parties. Alice and Jake will keep you guessing what's going to happen around the next turn., for they aren't even sure what "punishments" may arise from simple conversations with a past acquaintance.

Completely different plot for a book from anything i have read. It kept me interested throughout, absolutely fantastic book. Alice and Jakes are invited into an elite club The Pact. They have a choice or do they ? Curiosity got the better of them maybe. Through a rollercoaster of emotions, events and adventures just so The Pact survives and their marriage and love is tested to the brink.

Slow to start, almost gave up but am glad I didn't. Really loved Jake and all his marital/therapist insights. He was human, complex, and very likable. I got more frustrated with Alice. She was a good foil to Jake. This did not end the way I was expecting, I thought by that time they would choose the other option. A few unexpected surprises at the end. Overall a good book I will recommend to friends.

A psychological thriller who follows a newly-married couple, as they find themselves joining this mysterious pact which will change their lives forever. We start out with young love between Alice and Jake, seemingly a picture-perfect couple. The Pact is supposedly there to protect their marriage, to keep them together and on the path to their dreams.

But then... everything falls apart and becomes a nightmare. Except their not dreaming; this is reality staring down at them for the "consequences" of their decisions. Some thing in here are funny, while others are just downright creepy...friend. The thing with this book is, it won't let you get your breath, it won't stop for even one minute to let you catch up. The pacing is just that excellently quick, which is good if you have problems with focusing your attention, which is good if you're like me and have problems doing that.

Throughout the book, Alice and Jake manage to break the rules, gets seduced by the image/allusion of these rich people throwing parties at their house, and the original intentions where this Pact was born from. I'm not going to say anymore, except that if you like the sound of this intriguing plot, then this is the book for you. There's no way out of this mess apparently, even though they are both willing to find it...friend.

Furthermore, because Jake is a marital counselor, we get lots of statistics and facts thrown in about the probability of divorce in xyz situations. We get different scenarios of marriages trying to work their problems out, teenagers/children of these to-be-seperated parents,etc. which provides a very in-depth and more delicate look to this topic.

Alice is a lawyer, and I guess that I just never realized how high-maintenance being on the job it. Meaning that Alice is always working over-time, long hours at the firm, so exhausted of being beaten, elated at winning. Which is a thing about books that I enjoy, giving us a simple look-in into the daily lives of these people.

Overall, if you aren't in the mood for chick-lit (this isn't it), but if you want to read a fast paced thriller about an adult relationship and all the intricacies and problems that come of that, this is the book to pick up!

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Jeremy and Alice are in their late 30s, successful, and have somewhat good heads on their shoulders. Told through Jeremy’s perspective, he admits in the beginning that the subject of marriage was his idea. Alice, mourning the loss of her father, sparked one of the most important questions any man/woman/etc. could ever ask someone. “Will you marry Me?”

The moment Alice agrees, a chain of events begin starting with their wedding announcement. Alice’s best client in her firm, Finnegan, receives word of the couple’s plans and invites Jeremy and Alice to join him in the secret society known as, “The Pact”. A wooden box arrives on their doorstep with instructions to which they are prohibited to open the box until after their honeymoon. Fast forward, one of Finnegan’s contacts the leaders of “The Pact” and they send a woman by the name of Vivianne to be the couple’s “Host” as she leads Jeremy and Alice into the society.

“The Pact” in it of itself has their own manual the couples need to memorize and live by. If they break the rules, they receive various punishments ranging from silly to severe. And when I say severe, I mean torture, electric shock, unremovable metal braces placed around women’s necks in order to keep them straight, and more. Jeremy and Alice start their journey into this cult, plunging themselves into a world filled with terror and nowhere to run and no way out.

This novel freaked me out in the worst way. If you follow me on Goodreads, read my notes on the book! One moment, I believed Jeremy was falling for the insane punishments “The Pact” was putting his wife through. Then it was as if Alice and Jeremy switched personalities pertaining to the cult! The ending, though, did not live up to the expectations of the novel. It felt rushed and dry, leaving me to wonder what happened to Alice and Jeremy next. As far as I know, this is a standalone novel so I guess we’ll all wonder if they survive……

For a psychological thriller, it’ll keep you on your toes for sure. The writing is solid, but the characters backstories were a bit wonky at times. One moment, you are giving the impression you needed to feel sorry for them while the next you were told they were independent. But, learning from this novel, never accept a wooden box from an Irishman who claims to want the best for your marriage.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! At first I really thought I was going to let down, the "marriage pact" itself just seemed to weird to be at all believable for me. However Richmond does a really wonderful job of weaving the story in directions that even when you are thinking "this is f'ing nuts", you can still see how it could happen.

The story does a great job exploring typical reasons for fights and mistrusts in relationships. It was fast paced and enjoyable throughout.

Alice for me though was a let down. I don't feel as though I ever grew to like or really understand her. I know there were parts of the story meant to do that, but for me it didn't connect.

My main reason for not giving it 5-stars was the ending. I just thought it should have gone somewhere else. However, I think other people will probably love it.

This was a well-written, fast-paced book. Alice and Jake have just gotten married and they receive a wedding gift inviting them to join an exclusive, mysterious group called The Pact. The Pact's goal is to create happy marriages and there is a manual provided which sets up rules and restrictions. Alice and Jake are attracted to the sense of community and the glamorous parties that are held, but then they start to see a dark side and what happens when rules are broken. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading others by this author.

This one was a bit of a slog for me. It started out very interesting but as it went on, it just became to overdrawn. It kept me reading it but I still felt it was too long.

Review of The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond
Title: Fast-paced Thriller with Some Flaws
3 stars on Amazon (I am unable to post this review on Amazon until after their publication date.)

I was given a free Kindle copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I am assuming that the many typos that distracted from the story were due to this being an electronic copy. Hopefully, the publisher can fix that because it’s annoying.
Other reviewers have recounted the plot of this story, so I will not repeat them here. Though the beginning was a bit slow for me, once I accepted the premise of the plot, I was drawn in and could not stop reading. The narrator of the story, the therapist, was a realistic character that I felt myself rooting for. The character of his wife, however, didn’t feel as real to me. It was almost like she was comprised of two different people—the attorney and the rock and roll musician—that didn’t quite seem to mesh.
The dilemma they find themselves in, after rather unbelievably and hurriedly signing the marriage agreement, is very compelling and I could not stop reading because I really wanted to know what was going to happen. The inner development of the narrator felt very true to how a therapist would analyze himself.
The other characters, the ones who enforce the rules and punishments within the organization, have less understandable motivations. I agree with one reviewer who said that the ending felt rushed and was a disappointment. After I finished the book, I thought that it should have included an epilogue so that readers could get a sense of where the couple ended up and what kind of life they had.
I had not read this author before but am inclined to check out her other works of fiction because she is a very good writer. If it weren’t for the flaws in the details of the story and the believability of some of the characters, I would probably have given this one four stars.

This was an engaging story and an enjoyable read. It would make a good screenplay for an action thriller. The ending was a bit contrived, though.

The Marriage Pact is a thriller, but the deeper you get into the book, the more of a horror story it becomes. When you imagine you and your own spouse trapped in the exact situation that Alice and Jake are, it becomes terrifying.

As a wedding gift, Alice and Josh receive an invitation to join The Pact. It sounds like a great idea to join a group whose goal is to make your marriage stronger, so they accept and sign the papers. What starts out as a good thing to do for their marriage very quickly turns into something horrifying.

The manual they are given contains a set of rules that you and your spouse are expected to strictly follow. There are no exceptions. But to them, a lot of the rules make sense. What is wrong with doing things that make your marriage stronger? Always answering your phone when your spouse calls, exchanging thoughtful gifts monthly, and getting away together once every four months could only serve to make a marriage strong. But what happens if one breaks a rule?

When they break one of the rules from the manual, the counsel they are supposed to receive has turned into cruel and sadistic torture. Then they discover there is no way out of what seems to them to be a cult. People simply disappear instead of leaving.

Some tell them the truth; others lie and deceive them. Their perfect marriage has now turned into a nightmare. Will they find a way out? Or will being a part of this group end up killing them along with their marriage.

Well, I read this as a galley on recommendation from an acquaintance who had already read the galley... and I probably won't be taking her advice again. Jack and Alice are a newlywed couple who are invited to be part of The Pact, an organization that aims to protect marriage, but does so mostly through rules and punishment and fear. The idea is interesting, I just didn't really like the execution of said idea. Also, I realize this was a galley copy, but the number of spelling and grammar errors was just inexcusable. I assume this was written on my phone, because the same mistakes were made throughout.

I have never read a book by Michelle Richmond but I was drawn to this unique storyline because who wouldn't want to know the secret to staying married OR do you really "My Friend"? After signing the Marriage Pact, which was offered to Alice and Jake as a wedding gift, they started to question their decision as they began experiencing the "cult like" expectations of the pact. This plot kept my attention throughout and I liked not being able to predict how it was going to end. The main characters Alice and Jake were very well developed and very likable. I didn't want to ever put it down, but when I did I was always looking for the opportunity to pick it up again. I will definitely recommend this book and looking forward to reading more of her other books!!

At first I found The Marriage Pact intriguing, wondering where it would lead. Though the premise of the cult is clear, I found it difficult to accept that anyone could be immediately drawn into the group as a result of attendance at one "party". Nonetheless, I found myself compelled to finish the book as I wanted to know what happened! The first person narrative was well done and was the reason I kept reading as I was vested n the narrator. This is not a spoiler, but I was disappointed by the ending as it was abrupt and unsatisfying. After the journey I wanted something more for the couple.

Alice and Jake are newlyweds with great careers, a lawyer and psychologist, who enter into The Pact, a mysterious and elite group of married couples. As soon as they sign the contract, they are required to be on their best behavior and give their all to their marriage, at all cost.

The Marriage Pact is a creepy way to keep couples married. Everything about the contract and the rules makes me cringe. If everyone had to sign this contract when they got married, I would never get married. A good read that is very different - just stay away from The Pact!

I loved The Marriage Pact. It was a gripping story with powerful descriptions. While it makes no sense that these supposedly intelligent professionals would agree to the conditions of the Pact, it is also plausible that they did and, likewise, that they can’t leave it.

It’s a very effective first person narrative, although I don’t usually enjoy first person narratives. This psychological tale built crescendo with twist, turns, and unexpected developments and definitely got into my head. Sometimes, when I could feel myself getting nervous and anxious, I had to remind myself that it’s ‘just a story’. As I was reading some parts, I could feel myself holding my breath and getting jittery. The unexpected really was unexpected. Two-thirds of the way through, I wondered how Ms. Richmond would pull this off with a good ending. (She did.)

This book is weird, weird, Stephen-King weird, but really good. If you like Stephen King (I do), that’s a good thing. If not, you'll still enjoy it.

This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Richmond. It will not be my last. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel.

I received this book free in return for an honest review.

Let me start by saying I didn't hate this book but I certainly didn't love it as much as I anticipated. The premise is definitely there for something amazing. Rules and regulations to help you keep a strong happy marriage with repercussions for breaking the rules.

I actually rather liked some of the rules like mandatory trips away together and thoughtful gifts each month. However I found several parts of the book a little far fetched and at times the book just seemed to drag.

Let's be honest, how many people can just disappear off the face of the earth with the flimsy excuses these characters have when they had to go away for some type of punishment? And we are supposed to believe that these people are just accepting of these new roles? Where are their extended families? No one notices all the changes in them and questions it?

By the end, maybe it was just me, but after everything they had been through I actually felt like they chose the wrong door to go through.