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louise1608's review
4.0
You can find my full review for this as well as other books on my blog here
Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I picked this one up as a bit of a mood read. I'd never read anything by Sharon Bolton before but when I read the blurb it just sounded like a really interesting and exciting read and my god, I was NOT disappointed.
I literally finished this entire (nearly 400 pages) book in less than 24 hours. I couldn't put it down and when I did put it down I was thinking about it and wondering what on earth was going to happen next.
So the basic idea with this one is you have a group of 6 privileged kids who attend a private school and are about to get their final exam results and start their future at university. Like typical teens though these kids dabble in a bit of drinking, parties etc and they come up with a very stupid and dangerous dare that they eventually all take part in.
Only the last time it results in a fatal accident.
Now this part of the book had my heart absolutely pounding. I was completely absorbed, shocked and then heartbroken by the turn of events and that all happened in about the first 15% so needless to say the pace is quite fast and you can consider yourself gripped pretty much from the very start!
Megan (the outsider of the group) offers to take the blame for what happened in exchange for a favour from each of her friends upon her release from prison (expecting to be inside for a relatively short amount of time on a drink driving charge/death by dangerous driving charge). It seems fair to expect this of her friends considering everything she is about to sacrifice for them right?
Jumping forward in the story Megan is released from prison after a much longer stretch than anticipated and she wants payback from the friends who she considers to have abandoned her.
They never visited her and all went on to carve very successful careers for themselves. All of the others have been living with fear, guilt and shame hanging over them for their entire lives. Always looking over their shoulders and wondering if Megan is going to tell the police how they were involved and so they are not at all happy to have Megan walk back into their lives and they work together to try to find the "proof" that Megan took and concealed of their involvement so that they can carry on living without the fear of losing everything.
Things just get absolutely crazy though. I mean this book was so full of twists and turns and literally keeps you guessing all the way through.
I actually did not suspect the ending at all and was completely enthralled. The plot is fantastic, maybe not perfect or entirely believable but sometimes that's okay isn't it? I felt that it really was with this one.
The suspense was driving me crazy and I couldn't stop reading until I knew how it all worked out.
This certainly won't be my last Sharon Bolton book!
Many thanks to Orion Publishing Group for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I picked this one up as a bit of a mood read. I'd never read anything by Sharon Bolton before but when I read the blurb it just sounded like a really interesting and exciting read and my god, I was NOT disappointed.
I literally finished this entire (nearly 400 pages) book in less than 24 hours. I couldn't put it down and when I did put it down I was thinking about it and wondering what on earth was going to happen next.
So the basic idea with this one is you have a group of 6 privileged kids who attend a private school and are about to get their final exam results and start their future at university. Like typical teens though these kids dabble in a bit of drinking, parties etc and they come up with a very stupid and dangerous dare that they eventually all take part in.
Only the last time it results in a fatal accident.
Now this part of the book had my heart absolutely pounding. I was completely absorbed, shocked and then heartbroken by the turn of events and that all happened in about the first 15% so needless to say the pace is quite fast and you can consider yourself gripped pretty much from the very start!
Megan (the outsider of the group) offers to take the blame for what happened in exchange for a favour from each of her friends upon her release from prison (expecting to be inside for a relatively short amount of time on a drink driving charge/death by dangerous driving charge). It seems fair to expect this of her friends considering everything she is about to sacrifice for them right?
Jumping forward in the story Megan is released from prison after a much longer stretch than anticipated and she wants payback from the friends who she considers to have abandoned her.
They never visited her and all went on to carve very successful careers for themselves. All of the others have been living with fear, guilt and shame hanging over them for their entire lives. Always looking over their shoulders and wondering if Megan is going to tell the police how they were involved and so they are not at all happy to have Megan walk back into their lives and they work together to try to find the "proof" that Megan took and concealed of their involvement so that they can carry on living without the fear of losing everything.
Things just get absolutely crazy though. I mean this book was so full of twists and turns and literally keeps you guessing all the way through.
I actually did not suspect the ending at all and was completely enthralled. The plot is fantastic, maybe not perfect or entirely believable but sometimes that's okay isn't it? I felt that it really was with this one.
The suspense was driving me crazy and I couldn't stop reading until I knew how it all worked out.
This certainly won't be my last Sharon Bolton book!
totallybookish's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
eshulok's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
florenciasaposnik's review
4.0
this book was a super easy read and kept me at the edge of my seat! i found the last 15 pages really rushed which really impacted the development of the plot:/
z0el0uise_'s review
4.0
Enjoying psychological thrillers at the moment. This was a good read, fast paced but not too much so that you can’t read it before bead. I didn’t really like any of the characters (Except maybe Xav but he was a bit weak) but that kind of made it work?
Really wasn’t expecting the ending. The last 20% had me having to turn the light on and skim reading to find out what happens quicker.
Really wasn’t expecting the ending. The last 20% had me having to turn the light on and skim reading to find out what happens quicker.
domino911's review
4.0
THE PACT is a twisty, and twisted, thriller about a careless, thoughtless crime and its long-lasting impact on the lives of those who perpetrate it. It takes a really talented author to produce a novel as enthralling and entertaining as this one with protagonists so thoroughly unlikeable. The teenagers, whose late night thrill ride the wrong way down the A40 ends in the deaths of a young family, are spoiled and entitled; the adults they become twenty years later are, despite the apparent successes they have made of their lives, just as nasty. The exception, at least in terms of her success, is Megan, who for some reason takes full responsibility for the crash that has the potential to ruin all their lives; she is however no more likeable than the others.
That Sharon Bolton not only keeps these people interesting but makes the reader care about what happens to them is astounding. The novel rattles along at a fast pace, told from the viewpoints of each of the group, so willing to accept Megan’s offer yet so anxious to avoid the consequences of the pact they agree to. The real pleasure is in watching the relationships unravel as the group start to become suspicious each other. It is frantic and fun.
That Sharon Bolton not only keeps these people interesting but makes the reader care about what happens to them is astounding. The novel rattles along at a fast pace, told from the viewpoints of each of the group, so willing to accept Megan’s offer yet so anxious to avoid the consequences of the pact they agree to. The real pleasure is in watching the relationships unravel as the group start to become suspicious each other. It is frantic and fun.
lhart22's review
4.0
4/5
As a group of teenagers six friends get caught up in a dangerous dare each must take part in. All Is fine for the first five turns, then on the sixth attempt, it turns fatal. All with high hopes and aspirations the school standouts must devise a plan on the eve of their A-Level results day that will keep their dreams alive. Megan unexpectedly takes the wrap… on one condition, each will owe her a favour upon release, no questions asked.
Starting off the idea is fantastic, with so much potential and so many ways to add twists and turns. It wasn’t how I was expecting it to go though. I feel this book was made to be more complicated than it needed to be, meaning it lost some of its initial charm. Despite this, the book is still thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, the ending although one I disagreed with, was completely unexpected and very well hidden.
The characters of this book are probably its biggest weakness, making none of them all that likeable, which I get, but also means the outcomes of the characters are a bit underwhelming. The story is great but should have just stayed simple as the idea is such a unique one it didn’t need too many big twists to keep it interesting.
The book is well written and paced well, but at times a little hard to follow with no time frames being specified and several perspectives. This means you jump around a lot from chapter to chapter only realising several paragraphs in.
Overall this book is solid. Its biggest asset is its premise. Although I wasn’t a fan of every part of the telling of it, I still found myself reading on, and on, which is the sign of a good book. Recommend this book as its idea is a 10/10 and the story is also engaging and entertaining.
As a group of teenagers six friends get caught up in a dangerous dare each must take part in. All Is fine for the first five turns, then on the sixth attempt, it turns fatal. All with high hopes and aspirations the school standouts must devise a plan on the eve of their A-Level results day that will keep their dreams alive. Megan unexpectedly takes the wrap… on one condition, each will owe her a favour upon release, no questions asked.
Starting off the idea is fantastic, with so much potential and so many ways to add twists and turns. It wasn’t how I was expecting it to go though. I feel this book was made to be more complicated than it needed to be, meaning it lost some of its initial charm. Despite this, the book is still thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, the ending although one I disagreed with, was completely unexpected and very well hidden.
The characters of this book are probably its biggest weakness, making none of them all that likeable, which I get, but also means the outcomes of the characters are a bit underwhelming. The story is great but should have just stayed simple as the idea is such a unique one it didn’t need too many big twists to keep it interesting.
The book is well written and paced well, but at times a little hard to follow with no time frames being specified and several perspectives. This means you jump around a lot from chapter to chapter only realising several paragraphs in.
Overall this book is solid. Its biggest asset is its premise. Although I wasn’t a fan of every part of the telling of it, I still found myself reading on, and on, which is the sign of a good book. Recommend this book as its idea is a 10/10 and the story is also engaging and entertaining.
oliviagturner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lucyndavi's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Rape