I was lucky enough to read “The Summer Pact” back in March. I had galley on my Kindle and it kept me company while I was down with the flu. After 2022’s “Meant to Be” — a riff on JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s relationship — “The Summer Pact” feels like a return to classic Emily Giffin.

To me, classic Emily Giffin means a thorough, satisfying examination of a relationship. In this case, it’s college friends who made a pact to reunite after tragedy strikes their senior year.

I flew through the pages of “The Summer Pact” and think it would be an ideal beach read or the book to pick up when you need a distraction (hopefully not from the flu as I did). I am seeing Emily speak at @oebookstore next week and am excited to add to my collection of signed copies.

I gave The Summer Pact five ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Net Galley and Ballantine Books for the ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I adored this book! I loved all of the characters and they were written in such a way that I could easily identify with them and understand them. I was completely invested in each of them.

The storyline moves forward at a good pace and is easy to follow. I especially loved the tidbits of historical information about the places they visit. I could have a very real conversation with Tyson.

This story is all about growth and discovery. Emily Griffin is such a master in that arena. This book did not disappoint!

I liked this book but it was hard to follow sometimes. With the 3 POVs you're struggling to keep up with who was talking since there isn't that much that is different between the characters. Overall I did enjoy the book but it's not something that you can read without paying a lot of attention.

This story is about four college friends who, although very different, become friends for life. After a tragedy near the end of college, the 3 other friends make a pact to always be there for each other, not matter what. Emily Giffin has shown the true meaning of friendship in this book. The descriptive way she writes about each friend is just so real and heartwarming. I absolutely loved this story.

If you like books about friendship, love, struggles, and a bit of dysfunctional families, you will like this one!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I usually love Emily Giffin novels, but this one wasn't for me. The premise was promising, and the writing was great, but despite the depth of subject, I felt like something was missing from this book.

The Summer Pact had an intriguing premise, and I appreciated its focus on themes of friendship and the impact of trauma. The idea of close friends being there for each other through thick and thin was compelling, and I could see what the book was aiming for. However, the execution left me wanting more.

The characters felt very immature for their age, often making decisions that seemed out of place for thirty-year-olds. Lainey, in particular, was difficult for me to connect with—her behavior felt insufferable at times, and the constant boundary-crossing among the characters made it hard to root for them.

While I don’t mind a slow-burn romance, the relationships were introduced so late in the book (around 85% in) that they felt rushed and underdeveloped. Neither romance came across as believable, which made it hard to get invested.

That said, if you enjoy books that tackle heavier themes, like trauma and emotional drama, or stories with complicated friendships at their core, this might work for you. The concept had a lot of potential, and I think readers who don’t mind a character-driven, drama-heavy narrative may find this more enjoyable than I did. Personally, I was hoping for more character growth and deeper emotional payoffs.

The Summer Pact was a miss for me. I felt that the storyline was unrealistic and wasn't able to connect with any of the characters; I found them all to be one dimensional and shallow.

The story follows Tyson, Lainey, and Hannah, three lifelong friends who reunite after due to a pact they made to always be there for each other after their friend Summer took her own life in college. This was a good read about life's struggles and the importance of having those you love close to you during tough times.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Emily Giffin is the master and we are just living in her world. She has another winner on her hands with this one! It was so good. I loved the characters, the story, everything!

I really wanted to love this book… given the nostalgia of my love of Emily Griffin’s earlier writing, but this book was just not for me.

This book was a delightful read from start to finish. The characters felt real and relatable, and the plot was both engaging and well-paced. I found myself eagerly turning the pages, fully invested in the story. It's the kind of book that stays with you long after you've finished. Highly recommended for anyone looking for an enjoyable, heartwarming read.

College is a time for new experiences and new friends. Four people find themselves together and quickly become friends. When one of them dies unexpectedly at the end of senior year, the remaining three make a pact to always be there for each other.
I enjoyed the multiple POV’s and learning more about each person. This is a book of friendship and resolving your past. A fun read.

I kind of hated this one??? The characters were annoying and shallow and the narrator who voiced Lainy was annoying (deep fried valley girl accent NO THANK YOU). Also, Lainy was just insufferable; she was selfish and immature and I actively disliked her even though she was supposed to be a protagonist.

It felt like the author just googled “politically correct buzzwords 2024” and dumped them in the book with little to no context and with little to no necessity. Like I’m all for making a point on a social justice matter when it’s relevant to the story but I feel like it cheapens and lessens the impact of the potential lesson when you just scatter vague references to social issues throughout the story without elaborating on why or how they impact the characters? And writing from the POV of a Black man as a white female author and trying to use his character solely as a way to lecture readers on equality issues is… a choice. A bad one! And it made his character feel flat.

And the romance?? What romance?? Both relationships develop in the last 1/4 of the book and feel rushed, impractical, and fake. Like not even vaguely realistic. No tension, no buildup, just, “oh by they way they now LIKE like each other.” Ok??? Show me, don’t tell me, and the author did not show us anything on that front.

Also the biggest event of the story happens on like page 10 and it is horrible and tragic and I think the author could have written that scene with a little more tact, perhaps putting the event in the middle of the book and spending more time developing the characters’ friendships instead of just skimming over 4 years of shared history and being like, “hey they were best friends. Just trust me!” Idk. I just didn’t like this book lolol

I realized at chapter 3 this book wasn’t for me at this time. I’m sure it will be a heartfelt read for other people.

Thank you for my gifted ARC.

I have come to not expect greatness from the author, instead her books are usually filled with mildly annoying characters with lots of drama - still very enjoyable. The book opens with a major trigger warner (suicide, loss of a friend) - after which 3 friends form a pact that when they hit rock bottom they call each other. When rock bottom comes, they escape to Dallas, Capri and Paris (with plans to go to Argentina) - ironically, all places I spent time in last year!

It's the college experience we all dream of: creating a group of friends whom we carry, and who carry us, through the decades. That's the dream, and that's the foundation for Emily Giffin in The Summer Pact. Lainey, Summer, Hannah, and Tyson become close friends at college, but tragedy fractures the group before they get those years and decades.

The book moves forward with the three, and across some life challenges that feel realistic, and some responses that don't. Some plot points feel both predictable and unrealistic but the feelings and shifting relationships continue to be where Emily Giffin shines.

The perfect setting for a perfect story, yet the plot fell short. The beginning had some real potential and then there was simply no direction. It lacked romance and character growth like most books by this author. Disappointed in this one.
2.5 stars

The story begins with four college students—Lainey, Summer, Hannah, and Tyson—who quickly become close friends, navigating the ups and downs of early adulthood together. Tragedy strikes when Summer, distressed about something (perhaps her grades, though I don't recall that being emphasized), takes her own life. The fact that her friends ignored her final texts left me feeling frustrated with them.

Hannah, engaged to a terrible partner, catches him cheating but keeps it to herself. She reaches out to Lainey, who enlists Tyson, and together they address the situation before heading off on a long vacation. I found Hannah to be a bit whiny; she seemed to be trying too hard to portray strength while falling short. That changed when she met Olivia, a character I genuinely liked.

The writing was strong, but the storyline felt lackluster. I could have easily put the book down, yet I was determined to see it through to the end, which turned out to be quite predictable. While happy endings are nice, I felt that real friendships don’t usually unfold in such a way.

Lainey, on the other hand, struggled with alcohol and casual relationships, and Tyson felt unrealistic. I couldn’t buy the idea that he’d be living with two attractive women without making a move. Eventually, things do progress, but it felt like they were using each other rather than genuinely caring, which left me questioning the authenticity of their friendships.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.25/5

Emily Giffin’s The Summer Pact kicked off with promise—a heartfelt exploration of college friends as they embark on a fresh start & navigate the ups & downs of young adulthood. The opening felt engaging, setting the tone for a narrative that’s steeped in friendship, loyalty, & the transformative experiences that only college days can bring. However, as the story progressed, it started to unravel in a few too many directions, making it hard to stay rooted in any one character’s journey.

While the writing remained sharp & expressive, the character depth & connection I usually feel in Giffin’s novels fell short for me. Despite this, certain themes around friendship, support, & dealing with grief resonated, & the book found its way to a few tender moments. Still, I’m holding out hope that she’ll return to the storytelling style I love in her next release!

Many thanks to #NetGalley, Random House Publishing-Ballantine & the author for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely expressed.

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Though it didn't feel quite the same as Emily Giffin's earlier novels, this was still a quick and enjoyable read. It told the story of a group of college buddies who get together one summer to travel and support one another throughout difficult times. The story was full of self-discovery moments and even unexpected romance which I appreciated but it would have been better if the development had been spread out over more time.