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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
LOVED this!
Very reminiscent of The Favor. Dax and Addison made a pact ten years before that if she hit 30 and was still single they would marry. Addison was joking but Dax is not. I love stories where the couple are married and together but working something out, and this is very much like that. We see them together in their every day lives as their relationship builds. This has fun and funny moments, some ow and om drama and we get to see the alpha, possessive and protective side of Dax, which I loved! Plus we revisit previous characters from the other books in this universe and we meet new ones- I’m definitely hoping that all of their siblings will get their own books!
Very reminiscent of The Favor. Dax and Addison made a pact ten years before that if she hit 30 and was still single they would marry. Addison was joking but Dax is not. I love stories where the couple are married and together but working something out, and this is very much like that. We see them together in their every day lives as their relationship builds. This has fun and funny moments, some ow and om drama and we get to see the alpha, possessive and protective side of Dax, which I loved! Plus we revisit previous characters from the other books in this universe and we meet new ones- I’m definitely hoping that all of their siblings will get their own books!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
I was so excited for The Pact when Suzanne Wright first announced it because I love, love, love Shiver and The Favor and the thought of their kids coming together and getting married?! Omg, I was just chomping at the bit to read it — I couldn’t wait! Except that I did wait. I normally jump on a Suzanne Wright book as it hits my kindle or the kindle store, but I didn’t do that with The Pact. Honestly, it was just because it released in October and I was like massively behind schedule to meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge and with the length and the fact that Ms. Wright’s books can sometimes take me a little longer to read, I just thought maybe it would be better to wait before I read it. I hadn’t planned for it to be the first book I read in 2024, but for the last few years or more, I’ve started off the new year with an author that I love because I figure that I’ll most likely love the book and my new reading journey will begin with a high. I wanted to continue that tradition and it took me awhile before I landed on The Pact, but once I realized I could have a Suzanne Wright book by my first read, I was stoked!
I won’t lie, I was a little nervous after I read that prologue because I thought that The Pact was going to second chance romance and while that trope used to be a favorite of mine once upon a time, I’ve since come to the realization that they can be angsty as shell and most of the time with angst, I don’t know her and I don’t want her. But this is Suzanne Wright I’m talking about, so I shut up and read more. Okay, actually I watched Red Eye and Medium the first day I started it, but once I stopped being silly and actually started reading it, I was all in and wanting more!
I will say my second chance romance with angst fears were unfounded and I don’t think The Pact was marketed with that trope and it was just my impression, but after reading this, I guess technically it could be classified as such in the most basic sense, but it doesn’t really have the spirit of a typical second chance romance. So if you are like me and you don’t like angst or second chance, I think The Pact is a safe one to read.
I’m so happy that this is the book I started my year off with because I just loved it so much! It was rich with characters, especially Dax and Addison (obviously, I know) and their development, the story itself, and love. The Pact might not be a slow burn in terms of you have to wait a long time for the characters to get together and have schmexy times, but it did feel like one because of the slow way Dax and Addison’s relationship and love formed. This world felt so lived in and we spent a lot of time with Dax and Addison, watching them grow as individuals and as a couple. We had plenty of lowkey moments, soft ones, and sweet times with them too. There’s a fair share of steam, action, and drama — though not too much drama, at least not drama that’s going to make you frustrated with Dax and Addison, so don’t worry that there’s too much quiet or too much loud, it’s nicely balanced.
Man, I just really loved Dax and Addison, they were totally worth the wait and I just adored their relationship. I loved seeing it gradually develop, watching Dax learn that he can count on and trust Addison, getting a kick out of Addison realizing she’s having not platonic feelings towards Dax, and just so much more. I loved the little things the most, how Dax did little things for Addison and Addison reassuring, reaffirming, and accepting Dax. I loved getting to spend so much time with with this couple and I have already read these two crazy kids’ parents’ stories twice and I have no doubts that I will re-read this book again — it was fan-flipping-tastically spectacular!
~ Sonja, 5 Stars
hopeful
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Medical content
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was unnecessary long and it needed Dax's POV
The beginning was great, but everything went downhill real quick.
I've wanted Addison's story since we caught a glimpse of her in The Favor, and I'd always hoped we'd get Dax as i still had so many unanswered questions from Shiver (my favorite book), finally i got all the closure i needed from that (mostly about Clear and Bale). I loved how the end of the book was mostly focused around Christmas, as a person who loves that time of year i saw myself in Addison. Definitely up there with my favorite books
too long and filler at times for its own good but daxaddie are a adorable and hot!
additional star for my new obsession, rafael and raven, my little munchkins. i can't wait for their book, whenever that it. also loved alicia and harri so much!!!!! they're def the standout characters.
additional star for my new obsession, rafael and raven, my little munchkins. i can't wait for their book, whenever that it. also loved alicia and harri so much!!!!! they're def the standout characters.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
straight off the bat, i am extremely discomforted by the banter between sabrina and addison because why the fuck is it necessary that these straight women writers make banter surrounding how if one of them were gay the other would want them sexually like are lesbian women just canon fodder for your inability to be funny suzanne wright.
the synopsis of this book should be elitist upper class cunt “eye roll” at trust fund babies hater because her “struggles” are so real as she be talking absolute trash. yapping on and on about the hardships that financial security can’t make better. uwu having money is soooo hard, addison davenport a self made billionaire yall she knows all the middle and working class problems of living pay check to pay check or skimming on food or not being able to pursue her dreams or having to sacrifice her personal morals to materially secure adulthood so she struggles just like the every day american totally not living in absolute wealth and privilege in that gigantic house nor raised in another gigantic house. totally not of a class of wealth that could not have come about without the exploitation of some marginalised identities but yes “I felt that they often failed to consider that everyone experienced struggles of some kind. Financial security didn’t provide a buffer from pain, problems, or loss. In fact, having money often came with its own set of issues” as if you can’t afford therapy during times of loss if you’re rich, as if you can’t afford time off work when you’re in pain if you’re rich, as if you can’t afford health care or legal services when problems arise if you’re rich. i can go on in fact. mrs mercier kindly go fuck yourself god knows that husband of yours don’t treat you like you’re worth anything else.
suzanne wright, in the year of our lord 2023, decided to spend her legacy character licking the boot, gagging for capitalism’s cock, preaching for the humanity of the one percent. absolutely pathetic. gain some class consciousness for meagre inches of self esteem, suzanne, it is not as though you have proven to be capable of writing men with fuck all else.
the fact that this book is over thirty percent just smut blows my mind. all that happens is he demands and she obeys but he spend the entire time, much like his father in fact, adamantly refusing sadomasochistic tendencies like babe you’re not into anything else?? why lie? it escapes me the logic of claiming true love and fatedness when the dynamic, whether between her parents or his, or even their own, is the same. the men’s possessiveness some kind of turn on like yes girlypop treat her like an onahole but the forced proximity give excuse for romance. utterly disgusting. speaking of disgusting, them getting together when she was just eighteen and him already twentythree is so groomer core of him, and the fact that this fact is repeatedly mentioned like it is meant to turn me on somehow that they got together when she was barely legal, that him being her first makes this some sort of destiny bullshit. it literally is is not, she was too young to be in any way involved with someone in his fucking twenties. i would say grow up but that would have been the whole point. jail, straight to jail, right away.
on the topic of jail, the romanticisation of her loyalty to him, the way she is willing to lie for him even to the people closest to her is mind boggling. because how is it any different from the isolation dario expected of alicia? sure the context of that demand varies but the end result of both situation is the same divide. to choose him, over and over again, she has to put him before anyone else. and sure that is heteronormative enough, but that has never made anything healthy. the idea that you are rewarded for your sacrifices is good feeling bullshit, because what is her reward in all this? a husband that will always keep her in the dark? a husband that treats her like an exclusive womb? a husband whose baggage bombards her life with no reprieve and little context? he brings an array of emotional punches to her life so he can help her survive. in being the source of her problems he presents himself a saviour, a protector, a worthy cause for sacrifice. how people cannot see that for the festering misogyny it really is, is deeply concerning.
the villainisation of women à la suzanne wright i have to say is deeply rina kent core. the difference is that as suzanne tear unrequited love to shreds under the cannibalisation of these fem characters, rina kent only goes for mothers. the two ‘authors’ should sit in a treehouse together and preferably stay there indefinitely. the other thing about this villainisation is that wright seems to truly despise the jealous woman archetype yet routinely inserts them into her books as if beating an already dead horse. love may have its trials and tribulations and sometimes those trials and tribulations are suzanne wright internalised misogyny.
the suzanne wright recipe is clear: man that is somehow always sex on stick (secretly desperate for love) + severe emotional constipation + woman (very openly) desperate for love + familial wounds so deep it transcends generations + ‘sex’ that does not satisfy the four core tenets of consent and thus cannot be classified as sex + villainised woman to justify the sexual appeal of an otherwise entirely fucking worthless love interest of a man + american dream achieved by the creations of a bunch of children that will inevitably take on the shit their parents shat before they were born.
all in all, a truly harrowing experience. i went in expecting arranged marriage romance to at least concern some modicum of marriage politics. but no, for some reason suzanne wright is still stuck in the depths of 2016 ignorance.
also the last and definitely not least thing is the name of that fucking cat because i swear to god she wanna talk about struggles like she did not name her cat after a slur of the romani people. that is the cherry atop the shit cake.
truly subpar, completely pathetic, a waste of fucking time. i don’t support book burnings, but if there was no wood for a bonfire, spite has me extremely creative.
the synopsis of this book should be elitist upper class cunt “eye roll” at trust fund babies hater because her “struggles” are so real as she be talking absolute trash. yapping on and on about the hardships that financial security can’t make better. uwu having money is soooo hard, addison davenport a self made billionaire yall she knows all the middle and working class problems of living pay check to pay check or skimming on food or not being able to pursue her dreams or having to sacrifice her personal morals to materially secure adulthood so she struggles just like the every day american totally not living in absolute wealth and privilege in that gigantic house nor raised in another gigantic house. totally not of a class of wealth that could not have come about without the exploitation of some marginalised identities but yes “I felt that they often failed to consider that everyone experienced struggles of some kind. Financial security didn’t provide a buffer from pain, problems, or loss. In fact, having money often came with its own set of issues” as if you can’t afford therapy during times of loss if you’re rich, as if you can’t afford time off work when you’re in pain if you’re rich, as if you can’t afford health care or legal services when problems arise if you’re rich. i can go on in fact. mrs mercier kindly go fuck yourself god knows that husband of yours don’t treat you like you’re worth anything else.
suzanne wright, in the year of our lord 2023, decided to spend her legacy character licking the boot, gagging for capitalism’s cock, preaching for the humanity of the one percent. absolutely pathetic. gain some class consciousness for meagre inches of self esteem, suzanne, it is not as though you have proven to be capable of writing men with fuck all else.
the fact that this book is over thirty percent just smut blows my mind. all that happens is he demands and she obeys but he spend the entire time, much like his father in fact, adamantly refusing sadomasochistic tendencies like babe you’re not into anything else?? why lie? it escapes me the logic of claiming true love and fatedness when the dynamic, whether between her parents or his, or even their own, is the same. the men’s possessiveness some kind of turn on like yes girlypop treat her like an onahole but the forced proximity give excuse for romance. utterly disgusting. speaking of disgusting, them getting together when she was just eighteen and him already twentythree is so groomer core of him, and the fact that this fact is repeatedly mentioned like it is meant to turn me on somehow that they got together when she was barely legal, that him being her first makes this some sort of destiny bullshit. it literally is is not, she was too young to be in any way involved with someone in his fucking twenties. i would say grow up but that would have been the whole point. jail, straight to jail, right away.
on the topic of jail, the romanticisation of her loyalty to him, the way she is willing to lie for him even to the people closest to her is mind boggling. because how is it any different from the isolation dario expected of alicia? sure the context of that demand varies but the end result of both situation is the same divide. to choose him, over and over again, she has to put him before anyone else. and sure that is heteronormative enough, but that has never made anything healthy. the idea that you are rewarded for your sacrifices is good feeling bullshit, because what is her reward in all this? a husband that will always keep her in the dark? a husband that treats her like an exclusive womb? a husband whose baggage bombards her life with no reprieve and little context? he brings an array of emotional punches to her life so he can help her survive. in being the source of her problems he presents himself a saviour, a protector, a worthy cause for sacrifice. how people cannot see that for the festering misogyny it really is, is deeply concerning.
the villainisation of women à la suzanne wright i have to say is deeply rina kent core. the difference is that as suzanne tear unrequited love to shreds under the cannibalisation of these fem characters, rina kent only goes for mothers. the two ‘authors’ should sit in a treehouse together and preferably stay there indefinitely. the other thing about this villainisation is that wright seems to truly despise the jealous woman archetype yet routinely inserts them into her books as if beating an already dead horse. love may have its trials and tribulations and sometimes those trials and tribulations are suzanne wright internalised misogyny.
the suzanne wright recipe is clear: man that is somehow always sex on stick (secretly desperate for love) + severe emotional constipation + woman (very openly) desperate for love + familial wounds so deep it transcends generations + ‘sex’ that does not satisfy the four core tenets of consent and thus cannot be classified as sex + villainised woman to justify the sexual appeal of an otherwise entirely fucking worthless love interest of a man + american dream achieved by the creations of a bunch of children that will inevitably take on the shit their parents shat before they were born.
all in all, a truly harrowing experience. i went in expecting arranged marriage romance to at least concern some modicum of marriage politics. but no, for some reason suzanne wright is still stuck in the depths of 2016 ignorance.
also the last and definitely not least thing is the name of that fucking cat because i swear to god she wanna talk about struggles like she did not name her cat after a slur of the romani people. that is the cherry atop the shit cake.
truly subpar, completely pathetic, a waste of fucking time. i don’t support book burnings, but if there was no wood for a bonfire, spite has me extremely creative.