Review: The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond
Print Length: 432 pages
Publisher: Bantam (July 25, 2017)
From Goodreads.com: Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice's prominent 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.
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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
This book was.... interesting to say the least. At times I found it engaging and enjoyable, and at others, I was completely turned off by it. To begin with, I'm having trouble with the fact that two people who were supposedly as intelligent as Jake and Alice were did not see right away that this "pact" was a bad idea. She's a lawyer and he's a counselor (of marriage among other things), and neither one of them had to brains to think that this was quite obviously the stupidest thing they had ever heard? The rules were asinine, the punishments downright inhumane (done mostly it felt like for the sheer shock factor), and the "all-seeing eye of the Pact" just unbelievable. Now sure, when you read a fiction novel, you know you are most likely going to have to suspend some part of reality in order to enjoy it, but I just cannot fathom how these people knew of every little infraction this couple supposedly committed.
Overall, it felt like the Stanford prison experiment, but with marriage. Although, they had a prison as well don't get me wrong. The author did, for the most part seem to have a strong writing style (although I sincerely hope I had an early un-edited copy as the grammatical and spelling errors were far too numerous for my liking), however this concept just did not come together in the way I think they were hoping. There was one or two interesting twists to the story, which is why I rated it a three instead of a two, although the ending left a bad taste in my mouth as it is done in an almost cliff-hanger type of way leaving the reader wondering just what happened to dear old Jake and Alice.
Overall, it felt like the Stanford prison experiment, but with marriage. Although, they had a prison as well don't get me wrong. The author did, for the most part seem to have a strong writing style (although I sincerely hope I had an early un-edited copy as the grammatical and spelling errors were far too numerous for my liking), however this concept just did not come together in the way I think they were hoping. There was one or two interesting twists to the story, which is why I rated it a three instead of a two, although the ending left a bad taste in my mouth as it is done in an almost cliff-hanger type of way leaving the reader wondering just what happened to dear old Jake and Alice.
All things considered, I am sure this story may still appeal to those who enjoy psychological thrillers.
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The Marriage Pact is available from Amazon.com
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