Book Review: The Pact by Karina Halle

SYNOPSIS:

It all started with a pinky swear…

Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gunslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.

Beautiful, funny and an ambitious businesswoman (with one hell of an ass), Stephanie Robson is one of Linden McGregor’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as he’s known her.

But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.

Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them are in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.

It sounds like fun and games but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.
Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested. Hearts are on the line.

The pact is about to change everything.

MY REVIEW:

The Pact is my last read of 2014. And oh my lord, it was a total bang! Fireworks cannot even begin to explain what I felt while reading this novel. Pyrotechnics could be close but does not cover everything just yet. I think if we measure this book by means of bangs and explosions, it’s a freaking world war! The Pact is an intelligently written read that has managed to keep me glued on a seat reading without rest until I reached the very end. It’s a mixture of quick wit, heart warming romance, steamy scenes, and a writing prose capable of gutting you deep until you’re totally buried in the story. I mean, what the hell, my mom was calling me out to eat and it was on her 7^th call that I responded. Nothing kept me away from the call of food. Not until I started reading this book. 

            I’ve read too many best-friends-turned lovers story. I’m not even going to hide the fact that I was doubtful that a story having this storyline could work out into a really great book. I pictured it as predictable, light, and just like an ordinary bestfriends-turned-lovers book. But my, was I wrong. Really, really wrong. 

Stephanie and Linden, bestfriends since they met, agreed on a pact that when they reach age thirty without a serious relationship, they will marry each other. One would think a plot sparked by a simple and clichéd “pinky-swear” will not blossom into some clawing, gut-wrenching, heart-warming, panty-melting read. Surprisingly, Karina Halle managed to enflame this storyline with her consuming prose and unexpected twists. Her writing voice became one of my favourites when I read LiE and LiS. The Pact is a lighter read but still contained the Karina Halle trademark of in-depth emotional roller coaster and constant heart-quenching, humorous, and remarkable dialogues. Written in a first person point-of-view, Miss Halle held the power to transport the characters’ feelings into a reader’s own, successfully activating all possible emotions and making each scene sincerely felt. The story was not forced. It played out nicely into a beautiful pirouette of contradicting emotions. And my, so much #feels!

Another thing that I totally love about this book is its characters. They weren’t the usual kinds of emotionally-driven ones. They were smart and actually did everything opposite to what I expected of them. For the third time (this is only the third Karina Halle book that I’ve read), I developed a complete love for Karina Halle’s characters. Stephanie was a smart and sophisticated woman who wanted to go serious with life by establishing her own shop. Linden was hot Scottish pilot guised as a manwhore with a noble heart. I love the dynamics of Steph and Linden’s relationship. It wasn’t an instant fireworks-ish spark at the start but the connection was there. Of course I knew that they will end up together but I was really curious on how Karina Halle will escalate that connection into something more. I doubted that it will work out. But my, I am still appalled by how she effortlessly made a mild platonic relationship transform into a rocketing steamy and passionate love. Now I’m just plain convinced she can write anything and make every storyline work. 

The beauty of The Pact lies between its deceiving light-read facade and its seemingly uncomplicated plotline. It kept me anticipating and expecting, grounded me in a serene, easy-going pace, and before I know it, bam! I was crying, my chest hurt, my head was in total shambles, and I just felt like a time bomb of emotions unexpectedly exploded inside me. I came from an “Oh, this is nice” to a “WHAT THE F*** DID SHE JUST DO TO ME?!” When you think the main plot is too clichéd and the story is unpredictable, read this book and be blown away. I was. I feel clawed from inside and repaired. I don’t think I can immediately proceed to a next book now. #TotalBookHangover