Title- The Marriage Pact
Rating– 4.5/5
Genre- Psychological Thriller
POV- First person, present tense
Trope- cults, scientology, newlyweds
Similar Books/Comps– The Secrets You Keep, The Personal Librarian
My emotions- tense, creeped out
Characters–
Alice- once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer
Jake- partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice
Plot/Blurb-
Newlyweds Alice and Jake receive an enticing wedding gift from a 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.
For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.
Best part-
The overall intense vibe, which was kind of the worst thing too (see below).
What I’d change-
The eerie vibe was done so well it was a just a tad too disturbing to make my heart give it five stars. I enjoyed it a lot but it’s difficult to say I “loved” a novel when it sent creepy shivers up my spine at times. The grossness of the trapped feelings was so well orchestrated that I was relieved when the book was complete to feel like I had an “out.”
Quote-
“Marriage is a living, changing thing that you must tend to both alone and together It grows in all sorts of ways, both ordinary and unexpected.”
Pacing- Loved the short chapters, hooks, and cliffhangers.
Cassie Swindon 