Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Great book! I really enjoyed reading this book. Great writing.
Karina Halle is an author that has been on my radar for such a long time, when I went to half priced books and saw The Pact I knew I had to pick it up. As far as the premise of this book I loved it. I will say that I was hoping that the MC's would get married and we would see a lot of that. I was pretty into the book from the beginning, and it kept my attention. I didn't love the conflict (cause it had to do with a character I didn't like). To me it felt rushed after the conflict, very tied up in a nice bow kind of ending. Linden was very much an alpha mellow. I would say that normally I would adore him as much as I did, but in the end he is book boyfriend material (I'm sure it was the Scottish accent and the dirty talk). I liked Stephanie enough as a heroine, but she wont go down as my favorite. I did not like James, and I didn't really care for that storyline. As far as the other side characters I feel like they served their purpose, but they weren't too memorable. There were parts of this story that I felt like dragged, but I loved Linden and Stephanie together. I love the friends to lovers, mutual pining troupe and this book definitely had that. This book is very steamy, really angsty, and ultimately a good time. I will pick up the next book in this series.
Rated 3.5 Stars
Although I enjoyed it, it took a while for me to get into it and even then I felt like it took too long for Stephanie and Linden to get together. It took half the book before they started being together to me the other relationships took up too much of the book.
Although I enjoyed it, it took a while for me to get into it and even then I felt like it took too long for Stephanie and Linden to get together. It took half the book before they started being together to me the other relationships took up too much of the book.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Love reading Karina Halle but I just couldn't connect with this story
I absolutely adored this book, I loved the friends to lovers concept of this book. Linden was all man and swoon worthy and funny and sweet when he found the one, steph but he couldn't have her bc of the bro code, but sometimes things are just meant to be and you can't help when and who you fall in love with. Is a friendship worth taking a chance on love? Well read "the pact" and find out. It all started with a pinky swear
<3
<3
This is a tale of two books. The first book, aka the first half, which I breezed through absolutely loving. Like omg-I-have-a-new-favorite-author levels of love. Then there's the second book, the second half, which was like trying to swim through quicksand. Literally when my Kindle told me I was at 99% I was turning the pages and crying inside when the next page wasn't the last page of the book, that's how much I wanted this story to end.
Positives first, shall we? I am completely enamored by friends to lovers stories so the idea of this one sold me pretty much right away (and the cover, which I still love). And when I started reading I was completely enamored by Linden and Stephanie. Linden's background was never made clear, but he's Scottish and somehow ended up in San Francisco in his early 20s working at a bar with Stephanie and their friend James. James and Stephanie dated for a bit, but by the time the story starts, in the characters' mid-20s, they're all single and best friends. Stephanie is a manager at All Saints and dreams of having her own clothing store. Linden is about to become a helicopter pilot and is pretty much a manwhore. Linden and Stephnie make a pact, Linden's idea, that if they're both single by the time they're 30 they will marry each other.
I mean, it's nothing ground-breaking, but it was well done and entertaining. The first half (the good half) is leading up to the present day when Linden and Steph are 30 and the chapters all take place on either one of their birthdays as kind of a check in to see where they are at 27, 28, etc. As someone who's rapidly approaching 30 (today is exactly four months away from my 30th birthday) I related to the characters completely. That idea that you should know have your life together, but probably don't, totally hit home for me and I really appreciated that. I also appreciated that Linden and Stephanie were normal people, they both come from complicated families, but who doesn't? Neither of them have some ridiculous past and there's nothing melodramatic about their lives. Both of them cycle in and out of relationships, which, again, were so realistic and I easily could tie back what they were experiencing to myself and my friends.
Basically the first half and I were best friends and I was eating it up.
And then we got to the second half. Normally I wouldn't tell you what happens halfway through a book, but the book is about how Stephanie and Linden will make a go of it if they're both single at 30 and halfway through is when they're both 30 and they do indeed decide to make a go of it. And Jesus Christ was it a disaster. Suddenly these two characters, who I loved for their wining personality, unique voices, and normalcy, turned into lunatics. They became co-dependent and whiney and their voices just suddenly took a turn. The story is told from both of their points of view and up until Steph and Linden got together I thought their voices were both unique and that Karina Halle did a great job with the male POV. But suddenly Linden was just awful and nothing like his cocky, teasing self he was in the first book.
Their getting together was complicated, there's a secondary story about how James might still be in love with Stephanie that complicated things (and was another reason I was not a fan of the second half because it was just so melodramatic and silly), but still, it all could have been handled so much better! And it makes me so sad that it wasn't, especially because the first half was so promising. And the melodrama at the end just pushed it over the edge. I'm not going to spoil it, obviously, but the drama and the weird actions of the characters just ruined it even more.
Bottom Line: This book took a total nosedive for me. It started at 4+ stars, went down to 3 and then 2.5 and then finally 2. I absolutely loved the first half of this book, but that made the terribly second half even more disappointing. The strong, interesting, real characters that I came to love were suddenly turned into whiney losers and I couldn't wait for this one to be over. I would stay away.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Positives first, shall we? I am completely enamored by friends to lovers stories so the idea of this one sold me pretty much right away (and the cover, which I still love). And when I started reading I was completely enamored by Linden and Stephanie. Linden's background was never made clear, but he's Scottish and somehow ended up in San Francisco in his early 20s working at a bar with Stephanie and their friend James. James and Stephanie dated for a bit, but by the time the story starts, in the characters' mid-20s, they're all single and best friends. Stephanie is a manager at All Saints and dreams of having her own clothing store. Linden is about to become a helicopter pilot and is pretty much a manwhore. Linden and Stephnie make a pact, Linden's idea, that if they're both single by the time they're 30 they will marry each other.
I mean, it's nothing ground-breaking, but it was well done and entertaining. The first half (the good half) is leading up to the present day when Linden and Steph are 30 and the chapters all take place on either one of their birthdays as kind of a check in to see where they are at 27, 28, etc. As someone who's rapidly approaching 30 (today is exactly four months away from my 30th birthday) I related to the characters completely. That idea that you should know have your life together, but probably don't, totally hit home for me and I really appreciated that. I also appreciated that Linden and Stephanie were normal people, they both come from complicated families, but who doesn't? Neither of them have some ridiculous past and there's nothing melodramatic about their lives. Both of them cycle in and out of relationships, which, again, were so realistic and I easily could tie back what they were experiencing to myself and my friends.
Basically the first half and I were best friends and I was eating it up.
And then we got to the second half. Normally I wouldn't tell you what happens halfway through a book, but the book is about how Stephanie and Linden will make a go of it if they're both single at 30 and halfway through is when they're both 30 and they do indeed decide to make a go of it. And Jesus Christ was it a disaster. Suddenly these two characters, who I loved for their wining personality, unique voices, and normalcy, turned into lunatics. They became co-dependent and whiney and their voices just suddenly took a turn. The story is told from both of their points of view and up until Steph and Linden got together I thought their voices were both unique and that Karina Halle did a great job with the male POV. But suddenly Linden was just awful and nothing like his cocky, teasing self he was in the first book.
Their getting together was complicated, there's a secondary story about how James might still be in love with Stephanie that complicated things (and was another reason I was not a fan of the second half because it was just so melodramatic and silly), but still, it all could have been handled so much better! And it makes me so sad that it wasn't, especially because the first half was so promising. And the melodrama at the end just pushed it over the edge. I'm not going to spoil it, obviously, but the drama and the weird actions of the characters just ruined it even more.
Bottom Line: This book took a total nosedive for me. It started at 4+ stars, went down to 3 and then 2.5 and then finally 2. I absolutely loved the first half of this book, but that made the terribly second half even more disappointing. The strong, interesting, real characters that I came to love were suddenly turned into whiney losers and I couldn't wait for this one to be over. I would stay away.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Why did I read this? So predictable, the mutual pinning but NO COMMUNICATION is so frustrating. AND THE MISCOMMUNICATION AT THE END COUPLE WITH “I have to break up with her because I’m not good enough and it’s better this way”
fast-paced
I didn't read the whole series, but for the type of romance this book is, it's one of my favorite. I think I've read this book 3 or 4 times
Loved this book! James, Linden, and Steph were such interesting people. I enjoyed seeing their relationships change & grow. Wanted to knock James upside the head several times during the story, but was happy to see him get things figured out in the end. Cowboy and Baby Blue...where to begin. The evolution of their romance was so much fun to follow. I really appreciated the fact that they each went out and did their own thing, while remaining close friends. I loved that their romance was a "slow burn" up to the point that they became lovers. Excellent story telling, terrific characters, and a hot romance! One of my favorite books of the year!