Jake and Alice are newlyweds when they get to a mystery gift, a membership into a secret club that promises that if they just follow some rules will they never divorce...

This sounds great, doesn't it? Wrong! Actually, this deal makes me think of the movie Cat's Eye (1985) and the short story about a man (James Woods) that signs a deal to never smoke again...yeah that worked well too...

FULL REVIEW TO COME!

Average thriller, some parts good with good descriptions some parts a bit flat. Maybe I have just read too many of this kind a book with similar plots.

Jack and Alice are newly weds and they want their marriage to succeed, we know this because a ‘friend’ asks them and they tell us so. What would they do to make sure their marriage succeeds, now there in lies the question? Would they stick to predetermined rules set down by like minded individuals (‘friends’) that are guaranteed to ensure a successful marriage? Is that even possible? The Pact seems to thinks so, since conception no one who has joined has got divorced, now that’s some track record! Some have died though, but that’s the way of life ... isn’t it?

I read this book a while ago and have sat on it, unsure how to rate it. I love, love, love the concept, it feels fresh, new and a bit twisty. However the execution was a bit shonky in places and didn’t always take the reader to the place you needed to be to accept what was going on and for me the ending was loose. It wasn’t in keeping with the rest of the story and it didn’t feel complete. All in all I settled for 3.5 stars, thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book but I think it just went a bit to far in the unbelievable steaks. I thought the idea around the book of a marriage pack was good and I loved the characters but the over all impression was the story had gone a step to far.

I couldn't really get into this book despite several attempts as I am usually determined to try and continue reading in the hope the story grips me, but in this case it didn't

Since I'm one of those whose marriage did not work out, it was interesting to see what the "secret" to everything is. What did I miss all the years .....
This was an entertaining read, and I couldn't wait to finish it. Recommended.

I found this is a strange book. At times, compelling, and at other times mind-numbingly dreary in its length. It covers an interesting concept, a sect that ensures that couples who sign up to the marriage pact observe their vows, with a full assortment of penalties and punishments for failings. However, it requires a suspension of belief at times to stay the course, and I forced myself to finish it, primarily because I wanted to see how it ended. In that, I was mostly disappointed. I would not recommend this book.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
The book follows newlyweds Jake and Alice, who are offered a mysterious wedding gift - membership of a club which promises it's couples will never divorce. Signing The Pact seems the start to a perfect marriage. Until one of them breaks the rules. The marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare. Because The Pact is for life. And it's members will do anything to make sure no one leaves..... I have very mixed views about this book. I went into the book completely blind so I really didn't know what to expect. I became intrigued almost straight away and I was completely drawn in by the different and unusual plot. I liked the story was told from Jake's point of view because I read so many books that are told from the woman's point of view so it was a nice change at first. However I felt that I didn't fully understand Alice's character, because we got Jake's perspective. She seemed to have multiple personalities and I couldn't grasp her as a character to find her believable enough.
Although I did find the story interesting enough to be a page-turner, there are mutltiple plotholes and things that are left unanswered.. Why would Alice sign something she hadn't read when she knows better from being a lawyer? In fact why would anyone? Who is funding The Pact? Why didn't they read the manual fully straight away??? And I honestly wasn't completely satisfied with that ending???? Overall a book that I do recommend purely because it is intriguing, interesting and certainly different to anything you have read before. But don't expect it be believable as there are quite a few aspects to this book that are far-fetched and extreme.

It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do.

A gripping read about a young couple who have signed a ‘Marriage Pact’ and become part of a cult, which has its own strict rules to maintain successful marriages! Interesting ideas and some unexpected twists and turns, although it began to lag towards the ending. Worth a read.

Jake and Alice are young, happy and in love. But they're also sufficiently open minded to be drawn into the 'Pact,' - a secretive, apparently elite but ultimately sinister and downright dangerous semi-cult. What starts as a fairly standard suspense thriller soon reveals itself to be a strange, thought-provoking and unexpectedly literary read. Bizarre echoes of The Beach (but more grown up), The Firm (but more literary), and even The Girls (minus, fortunately, the ultra-nasty Manson). I appreciate this book will divide readers, particularly those who expect a slightly faster paced read, but I loved it.

Alice invites an almost unknown guest to her and Jake's wedding from whom they receive a rather strange wedding gift, a wooden box labelled "The Pact". Jake and Alice open the box to find it is an invitation to join a secret society that promises that their marriage will last forever, no Pact marriage has ever ended in divorce! Jake and Alice are slightly wary of the pact but decide to join regardless, everything seems ok until one of them breaks the rules.
A great read, well worth a try.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book in return for a fair review.

First book that I had read by Michelle and it did not disappoint. Gripping and edgy

What a strange but gripping read ,parts of it quite unrealistic but I couldn't put it down , well written with plenty of twists and turns .

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Marriage Pact by Michelle Redmond.

Jake and Alice are about to be married when a newly invited guest to their wedding gives them a wooden box as a gift which is padlocked. Cue much secrecy and intrigue around what we find out is 'the marriage pact'. In a society where 40% of marriages end in divorce and being a newlywed, I actually found the premise of the marriage pact rather interesting. The pact is a marriage club where no one, ever gets divorced!

However, I felt that the storyline was dragged out with the book being much longer than it needed to be. I also found it all very difficult to believe. I could not believe that Alice, a high flying junior associate in her firm could disappear for days without her company becoming upset or really questioning where she had been. Then when she returns she is wearing a neck brace...! The methods used by the pact would not be out of place in a TV show/ novel based on torture!

The story does tend to expect you to suspend your normal beliefs - lots of what happens within the story is way beyond what anyone would put up with just to stay in the pact; especially when there was nothing wrong with their marriage in the first place.

Overall, this is not a bad read, I finished it and found much of it rather interesting yet I couldn't help feeling that this storyline was a missed opportunity for something so much better.

I found myself really enjoying this story about a group/club/cult established to promote the perfect marriage for its members. It's an exclusive, invitation only organisation with copious rules and standards. As the book develops, the ways and influence of the Pact become intrusive and a bit sinister. Some readers might be put off by the unlikely situation the couple, Alice and Jake, find themselves in but I was intrigued and was rooting for them to break free. My only criticism is I thought the ending was rather unsatisfying.

I struggled to get into this book, the plot and concept is certainly unique and I was intrigued at first but I soon lost interest quickly, I found this book a bit of a chore to get through and I was especially disappointed in the week ending, which is a real shame as it definitely had potential. A newly married couple invited to join a marriage pact which aims to keep them together in a happy union, the organisation enforces the pact in a disturbing and underhanded way when the rules are broken. I found it to be a bit unbelievable and unrealistic that a lawyer hadn't read the small print of the contract. Mehh.

I'm unable to give a review as when I got this a short while later my kindle broke and I never got the chance to read/finish the book.

Apologies for not being able to review this book.

Hopefully I'll be able to go out and buy the book at a future date!

(I've given it 3 stars so it doesn't get marked down hopefully)

Not sure I really enjoyed this book. Found it vert unbelievable that someone could think up such awful things to do in order to make a marriage work. Very wrong and not to know whether the couple survived!!!

I really enjoyed this book. Was gripped from the beginning. What an unusual concept, made me want to keep reading to find out what happened. Well written and loved getting to know the 2 main characters. Definitely recommend!