https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2067526778
here is the goodreads review!
This novel is a compelling, surprising, and creeptastic read. I loved the narrative point of view, as well as the strongly atmospheric setting. I will never hear the words "Half Moon Bay" without being reminded of The Marriage Pact. A fan of dystopic fiction, I find a few similarities to Orwell; yet, Richmond's revelations on contemporary marriage seem completely realistic and original, even when frightening. Ultimately romantic, don't overthink any one summary or blurb on this novel. Just read it - at the beach, on a plane, during a commute, - just not next to your spouse in the dark!!

Where do I begin? I only read about half the book because I got all bored and felt so disconnected from the main characters. I skipped to the end to see what happened. Just a very disjointed, all over the place novel. And I didn't find it the least bit thrilling. Frankly, I'm surprised at the decent reviews it's gotten. I would not recommend.

This is a very unusual story about a newly married couple who gets involved in a cult like organization called The Pact. The object of this is to help married people stay married. After a while when the couple are punished individually for certain rules they have broken they want out but this is not allowed. Lots of things happen that are very alarming and this kept me turning pages late into the night. I gave this four stars instead of five only because some of it seemed a little far fetched. However, I would recommend this to anyone who likes this genre' for it is a very interesting read.








some of these are a bit unrealistic

I really enjoyed Michelle Richmond's Year of Fog so was very interested to pick up this book. The premise is really interesting: newlyweds Jake and Alice get a strange wedding gift that includes an invitation to an exclusive club called The Pact. The goals of the Pact are pretty simple: keep your marriage strong. Members of the Pact are governed by "The Manual" which include many rules about how to keep marriage strong and healthy...along with some punishments for breaking the rules. Alice and Jake are intrigued for awhile but then things start to take a dark turn, especially when they try to get out of the Pact (one of the other rules: no one leaves the Pact).

This was a fun psychological thriller that does require a bit of patience as the story moves really quick in some places and bogged down a bit in others. I did like Jake as the narrator although it does make it hard to get to know Alice much as a character. Still, even with a few situations which stretched the bounds of credibility, I really enjoyed this page turner. I need to pick up more of Michelle Richmond's backlist.

4.5 stars

Clever and unique, dark and chilling-all rolled into one great read!

The Pact...Sounds innocent enough.

Newly married Jack and Alice receive an invitation from one of her clients to join 'The Pact', an elite club of sorts, designed to promote a healthy and long lasting marriage. Long lasting in that there are NO divorces among the members. The Pact has rules that must be followed, all designed to keep a marriage fresh and happy. Some of the rules are fun, like giving your spouse a thoughtful gift each month. But then there are the rules that are a bit harder to swallow, like you must maintain your wedding day weight, or always answer the phone when your spouse calls. Breaking any of these rules has consequences. That's when things start to get really intense and creepy....

This was one wild ride, and really held me captive to the end, which also didn't disappoint.
I think the only thing that held me back from giving this a full 5 stars was because some of the scenes were just too unbelievable to get behind, even knowing that they helped add to the intensity.

There are many things to love about this book, but one of the best things I enjoyed most was that it was told from the male perspective. I found this to be really refreshing, especially regarding the subject matter!

This is my first encounter with this author, but it certainly won't be my last!

ARC provided by NetGalley

I loved this book! It's a psychological thriller with an intriguing plot unlike any you've ever read before. There are plot twists and surprises along the way that keep it fun--and towards the end, I dare you to put it down. Great characters, great plot and some ethics and morals to think about along the way. A great read!

" You don't leave The Pact and The Pact don't leave you"

How far would you go to ensure happily ever after?

Meet Jack and Alice, newlyweds who get invited into a secret society where marriage is the number one priority. They get swayed by lavish parties, new friends, and gifts. They later find out their set rules are nothing to ignore.

The Marriage Pact is a suspenseful thriller that you may not be able to put down. This was such an interesting read I would be inclined to read more by this author.

I highly recommend you check this out.

*I got this book in exchange for my honest review*

The Marriage Pact is so different from what I typically read, but the blurb intrigued me so much that I just had to request an ARC. Although I did enjoy Girl on the Train and several of Gillian Flynn's novels, including Gone Girl, Sharp Objects, and Dark Places, I just typically find myself drawn to romance. I think The Marriage Pack would make a FANTASTIC movie- this story was so well-written and the dialog was amazing. Both of the main characters are well developed and likable. The story line was intense and I had a hard time putting this book down- I was so anxious to find out what happened next. Overall, a great read!

A couple enter into a covenant with a mysterious organization that promises to help the newlyweds with their marriage. When members of the group begin putting pressure on the husband and wife to conform to the agreement’s stringent ways, they find themselves squirming under the intense scrutiny. Author Michelle Richmond manages to keep readers flipping pages through a novel that can’t stand up under closer examination in the breakneck-paced novel The Marriage Pact.

After living together for two years, Jake and Alice have finally decided to take the plunge. They’re getting married, and Jake can’t wait to start their life as a married couple. He loves Alice more than anything else, but they’re both feeling a bit of strain from their careers. Maybe getting married will offer them mini reset.

As a founding partner of a new psychology practice in San Francisco, Jake has spent a lot of time in the office. Alice has been burning hours as a new lawyer in a large firm. She wants to make a good impression at the firm, so when big-shot client Liam Finnegan visits the office Alice invites Finnegan and his wife to the wedding.

Finnegan sends Alice and Jake an unusual present that shows up on their doorstep days before the wedding with a note that states, “The Pact will never leave you.” The goal of the Pact and all Pact members is to uphold, support, and help develop marriage as a sacred union between two people. There are rules to follow, of course, but Jake and Alice don’t seem to take that part too seriously. All clubs seem to ask for some level of commitment from their members, right? How could the Pact be any different?

But it is different, which they find out the hard way. The leadership demands strict adherence to the Pact’s bylaws, including reading and memorizing its hefty manual. Alice seems to get on board with the entire concept, but Jake can’t help feeling a little frustrated by the entire venture. On the surface, the Pact preaches the very things he tells his marriage counseling clients. Inside the group, it’s another matter entirely. Before long Jake begins to wonder whether joining the Pact was a mistake, but regardless of what he thinks the Pact doesn’t seem quite so ready to let go of him and Alice.

Author Michelle Richmond manages to accomplish a puzzling feat: she writes a novel with a relentless pace that will make readers moving through the entire book, but the plot’s main turning points don’t stand up to closer analysis. Alice seems to have no problem accepting the Pact’s ways. Jake is more resistant to the Pact, especially when he discovers that an old college friend is also a Pact member but wants to get out.

The friend’s ambivalence about the Pact makes Jake suspicious, but at a key moment in the story he does what looks like an about face. In a follow-up scene, Alice reacts in a way that doesn’t keep in line with her character to that point in the novel. The rest of the book will certainly engage and maybe even shock readers, but the events that follow and the end don’t line up with the first part of the book.

At one point a character states that Jake and Alice are in a position to upend the entire Pact, but nothing in the story really explains how or why. In fact, in the larger narrative of what the Pact is trying to accomplish, Jake and Alice’s transgressions don’t come across as that egregious. It doesn’t make sense, then, why the Pact targets them in particular, and in hindsight all of Richmond’s devices to build up the suspense feel weak.

Readers who don’t mind a fast read without gravity may want to check this book out; otherwise, The Marriage Pact Borders on Bypassing it.

Wasn't quite sure what they would choose at the end. Would have preferred more discussion between them as to why they made that choice rather than the abrupt choice.

For me, this story was a chilling look at the idea of Utopian marriage. I thought that Richmond did quite a commendable job of crafting a story that is completely believable and all-too-easy to imagine happening, in earnest. This book messed with my head but in the best of ways. Also, it challenged me to evaluate the price of marital autonomy and think about where the line in the sand should be drawn, with regard to interference from "well-meaning" or controlling, external sources. With so much divorce in the world, and the prevalent attitude that relationships expendable and people are interchangeable, at what point should they be required to try harder, to dig deeper, to make more of an effort? And, should there even be a point? Is this a violation of their human rights?

I thought that the characters in this novel were provocative, intense and compelling. The plot line kept me thoroughly engaged and rapidly turning the pages to see what would happen next. In addition, the author expertly invoked in me feelings that ranged from happiness, to sympathy, to sorrow and ultimately to rage. I found myself audibly uttering quite indignantly, "How dare they!", more than once.

I'd love to see a movie made from this story. I think it has the bones for a fantastic script.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond is the story of Newlyweds Jake and Alice. Alice is a lawyer and one of her clients gives her an unusual wedding gift—a box with an invitation into the Marriage Pact, a group that at first appear innocuous and helpful in starting their new life together on a strong footing. Things quickly become messy as the Pact’s rules and regulations control more and more of their lives with severe punishments for not complying. The control of the Pact is all encompassing and terrifying and somehow still very convincing to the reader. I found this book haunting and mesmerizing. Do not start reading it until you have time set aside and can finish it quickly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys intrigue and mystery and a well-developed plot. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

My Thoughts:
I found this story intriguing.  The idea of a secret society whose sole purpose is to insure your marriage lasts is like nothing I've ever imagined.  What if this was an actual thing??  Can you even imagine?

The storyline flows very nicely and the book is, overall, well-written.  I enjoyed the characters, although at times I didn't find them believable.  The actions of some were just not exactly what I would envision.

This book has almost a dystopian feel to it, even though I don't think that was the author's intentions.  I would recommend to anyone who likes a twist on a secret society novel; this certainly is different!

Please note: This review is scheduled to autopost on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:01 PM.

Review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

Five stars for obvious reasons. Lived it, love it, can't wait for "this author" to finish her next book.

I chose this book because when it first came out, there was SO much HYPE about it. I couldn't have been more disappointed. I don't think I've ever been so let down by a book. I can't remember the last time that I didn't finish a book. I got 52% of the way done and just couldn't finish the rest. I don't even have a desire to figure out what happens at the end.

I loved the IDEA of the book, the plot. But this book, plain and simple, just didn't grab me. I honestly thought that this was a new author's first book, it seemed so poorly written (I hate saying that, because she did have it published, and I am no author - but as a target audience of this author, she missed her mark with me) that when I read her bio and it said New York Times Bestselling author, I was flabbergasted and that was all it took for me to put the book down.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2087997595

I LOVED this thriller. The premise was super interesting and unique, and the story kept me on my toes . It was one of those books I didn't want to stop reading when I should have been really doing something else (like sleeping). The only reason it's not a sold five stars for me is I wanted a little more from the ending.

Psychological suspense and romance permeate the pages of Michelle Richmond’s THE MARRIAGE PACT, a novel that could easily have been culled from the combined brains of the likes of Ira Levin, Thomas Tyron and John Grisham with a little Nora Roberts thrown in for good measure. The promise of the organization known as The Pact, where all the members are referred to as “friend”, is a marriage that will be kept protected, happy and intact “till death do us part” if all its rules are followed. The consequences of not adhering to the rules can be significant and once you commit to the organization, it too is for a lifetime.

Richmond provides readers with feeling of dread that has the power to hold you trapped in the lives of picture perfect newly- wed and upwardly mobile protagonists Jake and Alice as they come to understand the horror they welcomed into their lives by joining this diabolical organization that thrives on exclusivity and secrecy as well as control over its members. Tantalizing and twisty, The Marriage Pact is both a spider’s web of a thriller and a moving exploration of the deeper mysteries of marriage as well as the lure of organizations that promise benefits guaranteed to make ones’ life happier and more meaningful IF you just follow their rules.

Filled with compelling and intriguing characters and a fast paced plot that is ingeniously crafty, this is a page-turner that will seduce you and keep you reading into the wee small hours.

Reminiscent of The Stepford Wives, this is one of those psychologically thrilling stories, that makes you think, "Could this really happen?". It may be the creepiest book I have ever read, but I couldn't stop reading it.  Here's the link to my full review: https://grumpybookreviewer.com/2017/07/19/creepy-book/

If you ask Jake and Alice whether they wanted their marriage to last, and believed it could, they'd say yes, although perhaps somewhat dubiously. While Jake, a successful therapist, grew up in a home where his parents' relationship was strong (and is still going), Alice, a singer-turned-lawyer, had a fractured home life, with a family whose demons ate them alive. While Jake saw proposing marriage as a way to hold on to Alice, she saw it as an opportunity for the security she never experienced.

Right before their wedding, Alice works on a case involving a somewhat-famous musician named Finnegan. In the flush of pride at the case's successful outcome, and the anticipation of her wedding, somehow Alice invites Finnegan and his wife to her and Jake's wedding. Surprisingly, he accepts, and the couple is a sweet addition to what turns out to be a beautiful day.

Finnegan's wedding present leads Jake and Alice to an organization called The Pact. The Pact has one simple goal: to ensure marriages succeed. Supportive of that goal, Jake and Alice agree to join. While at first they are dazzled by the parties that their fellow members through, and the fellowship of the group, it's not long before they realize that while some of The Pact's rules—you must give your spouse gifts for no reason a certain amount of times each year, you must plan a non-work-related vacation for just the two of you once a quarter, always answer the phone when your spouse calls—seem innocuous, no infraction of any rule is tolerated.

As Alice's work schedule heats up and she must spend more time at the office, she quickly runs afoul of The Pact's rules. When one minor infraction leads to another, she and Jake realize that this group isn't quite what they imagined it was. And when Jake learns from an old acquaintance some of the measures The Pact uses to ensure marriages succeed, he knows that they need to break their commitment to the group. But The Pact never leaves you, and you never leave The Pact...