Review: The Pact by Karina Halle

Rating: ★★★★★ stars
Date Published: December 27th, 2014
Publisher: Metal Blonde Books
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.

What I Thought:

I'm used to Karina's novels being gritty and the kind that leave you dazed when you finish. I was really intrigued when the surprise news regarding the release of The Pact broke, in part because Karina billed it as a light read. I immediately one clicked and started reading the first chance I got. I shouldn't be so surprised I finished this book and am dazed, yet again. Granted The Pact doesn't have all the darkness one has come to expect and experience with a Karina Halle novel, but it's not all rainbows and roses either.

Granted it's easy to like most of the characters, especially the main ones. Stephanie, Linden, and James stole my heart from the first page. I loved being on that nine year journey with them. It seemed almost surreal to see how close they came to one crossing lines over the years, but it was also frustrating to see how circumstances and their fears kept them apart. I had no idea how much I'd love Linden. I lusted after him in the first half of the book, but I fell in love with him in the second. He was lost, confused, conflicted, and tortured about all of his close relationships. I loved seeing him figure out what he wanted, and the same for Stephanie too. She was conflicted of course of changing the nature of their relationship from platonic to romantic, no one wants to lose their best friend, but once she was in, she was in all the way.

I couldn't put this book down. It was emotional, hot, steamy, and gritty too. Neither Linden, Stephanie, or James were perfect. They each had fears and issues, especially with their families. Those issues played a large role in how they were in relationships and each other. It was full of angst and drama, just like a Karina Halle novel, but only with less tears and heart wrenching pain. Note I said less, not no. Everything else was just what I expected from this story and wanted it to be!

Purchase Links:

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About the Author

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiance and rescue pup.

Karina is represented by the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.

Website: http://authorkarinahalle.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetalBlonde

* I purchased a copy of this book.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*