Brilliantly written and will have you mesmerized from the beginning. Amazing.

I am now an enthusiastic member the SE Lynes fan club. This is the third book of hers I’ve read in the last three months, and boy does she tell a cracker of a story. There is absolutely nothing formulaic about her books – each of them is fresh, vital and totally different. What they do have in common is a gripping original story, fabulous characters (just wait until you meet Auntie Bridget in this one) and a number of twists. Just when you relax, knowing that nothing else can possibly come in from left field, she artfully throws in one final little bolt out-of-the-blue. I raced through the Pact. The author does dialogue SO well – it never feels false or stilted – and her characters are so real. Rosie is a normal teenager who just wants to do normal teenage girl stuff, but is stifled by an over-protective mother, Toni. Luckily her Aunt Bridget, who has lived with them since the tragic death of Rosie’s father, is chilled, understanding and loving. When Rosie gets into trouble, it’s Bridget who takes control. This story is a frightening reminder of the dangers not only of social media, but of trust in general. Who should you trust? Is everyone who they say they are? It also explores freedom, traumatic childhoods, the bonds created by shared secrets, and family relationships. And this is all done which such clever plot construction. SE Lynes keeps the suspense going so that I couldn’t stop reading. She gave me just enough that I knew vaguely what was going on, and what was going to happen, but I couldn’t put the book down because I desperately needed to know the other bits and bobs to fill all those gaps. The story is told from three perspectives, which helped build the characters of Rosie, her mum and Aunt Bridget. But it also meant that I was left on a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of most chapters, prolonging the moment of truth. This would have been annoying if it weren’t so expertly done! The Pact is often frightening, at times fun and always gripping. I recommend it.

The Pact is the story of Toni, her daughter Rosie, and sister Bridget. The trio live together, Toni, overprotective in regards to her only child. Bridget, the cool aunty who wants her sister and niece to be happy and safe, even at the expense of her own happiness.

The story alternates between the three perspectives, told in flashbacks at Toni sits beside the hospital bed in which Rosie lies unconscious.

One thing I loved is how distinctive each individual's voice was. Rosie in particular, she completed nailed the teen angst and what I imagine their thought process to be like (it's been a while since I was one, I admit).

Much of the book takes place in one day, which makes it hard to put it down. You just want to know what's going to happen next. What put Rosie in this situation? Will she wake up and recover? It was so enthralling and addictive.

I did find some parts a bit predictable, but these did not detract from my enjoyment (is that the wrong word given the subject matter?) of the story. Highly recommended, I'm keen to check out some more books by this author.

**I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Thanks to Netgalley who provided the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

30 years ago, two sisters make a pact to keep a secret and never tell the police. This book shows how a pact made in youth can change the course of ones adult life. Rosie, age 15, Toni her Mother and, Bridget, Toni’s sister, live together in the present day. The story of the past and present is unwound for the reader through each woman’s voice, and eventually in the last 30% of the book or so, comes fully into the present. Through this story we learn of the long ago secret, Toni’s controlling parenting, Bridget’s efforts at keeping things calm for both Toni and Rosie, and Rosie’s desire to gain a small bit of independence, which her Mother has worked hard to keep her from having, as she desires to protect her daughter from harm. We also meet Emily, a theatre agent who wishes to represent Rosie, after seeing her in a community theatre production. Emily makes Toni a bit nervous, but so does everything, and since Rosie so wants to be acting, she relaxes the reigns a bit, and ultimately comes to really like Emily.
There is another underlying theme in this book, which involves the dangers of social media. This wouldn’t be a problem for Rosie though, as she is only permitted to have Facebook, which Mom closely monitors.

I really liked the way S.E. Lynes wove the story from the different perspectives of each character. I feel the characters were also brought to life after a while as you got to see the personality and life events which drives each of the main characters. However, it took 60% of the book to be behind me before I was into the book enough to want to finish it. Before that the book plodded along and it took a lot of effort to read it. Not a bad book, all things considered... just not a favorite of this reviewer.

Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself; 'YES! THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FROM THIS AUTHOR!'? Because I have, and it was this exact book which made those thoughts enter my mind like a great, big foghorn.

As parents, our children are our world. The lengths we would go to to protect them are utterly insane. I'm sure that a lot of parents reading this review right now are probably sitting there, nodding their heads in agreement. Right? But what has all of this, got to do with S.E.Lynes' new book? Easy....

I would love to be able to sit here and write my opinion on every single eventuality within this book, but, sorry to disappoint, I am not that mean. I urge every single one of you to go onto to Amazon right now, purchase this book, and be prepared to ignore the world whilst you sit and read this. I'm not even joking. Never in a million years have I read a book which made me stagger my breathing, reaching a point several percent later, where I seriously needed to get a rather large intake of breath.

'The Pact' is severely twisted as S.E.Lynes has the knack to remove logical thinking from the  brains of her readers. I didn't know what to believe, or who to believe. I didn't know who to trust. Could I even trust the author or was she one of the bad guys as well? WHO WAS THE BAD GUY? Was there even a bad guy? Every page I read, a truck load more questions dropped into my lap. Is Rosie being a 'typical teenager'? Is Toni being an overprotective mum? Are any of the characters who they say they are? I DON'T KNOW!

All I know is that 'The Pact' is an absolutely, flipping compelling read which ignited a fire in my belly from the very first page. S.E.Lynes took me on a journey I will never forget, that's for sure.

I'll say it again, this book is twisted. Psychologically twisted. Am I complaining? Am I heck! I cannot believe how well crafted each individual character in the storyline was! I was blown away by how their personalities fit in with the overall theme of the book, whilst still allowing the reader to form their own opinion of each characters decisions, making each person show various sides to their personalities in such an incredible manner.

Personally, I cannot fault this book at all - I have been waiting for the author to bring a book like this to the table, and by golly did she bring it!

Seriously, this book needs to come with a free oxygen mask or something, or reminders that readers need to breathe!!

Such a highly charged, spine tingling, fast paced novel which brought me out in such a cold sweat, I thought I was coming down with the flu. Absolutely phenomenal.

This is the third book by S.E.Lynes and i can't believe that as with her other two, it is another 5* book. S.E.Lynes is one of the most exciting new authors out there at the moment, as each book is so unlike the last.

The Pact is about three very different women.

Toni, who barely made it through her teenage years after being abused and then went into self destruct mode, but after finding the love of her life,, settled down and had a child.

Bridget, Toni's sister who assumed responsibility for Toni and was her eternal rock, but to the detriment of her own life.

Finally, Rosie, Toni's teenage daughter who is desperate to explore outside of the confines of her over protective mother.

The three women describe themselves as a triangle, which formed after Toni was widowed. They all lean on each other for support, but you never know who is at the bottom, and who is supporting who.

This story is about modern day technology whereby you never know who is hiding in plain sight on the internet. Also, the frustration of a mother, who from her own terrible experiences, is overprotective with her daughter, who is desperate for a taste of freedom. How can Toni let Rosie go into the big wide world when she knows the dangers that are out there. How can Rosie persuade her mother to cut the apron strings just a little? And Bridget, the ever supporting sister and aunt who can see both sides of the argument, how can she best support the two people who mean the most to her in the world?

Enjoy this beautifully written and deeply insightful book. It will keep me thinking for a long time.

I loved this book, eventually. It was a slow burn for me and when I started it I didn’t think I would enjoy it at all. Told from three different perspectives the book switches between the characters perspectives and time zones. There are some good twists and a surprising ending which I didn’t see coming at all.
Interesting subject matter, dealing with family dynamics, social media and just plain old fashioned family love. Thanks to the author, publisher and to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it
#ThePact#Netgally

The Pact by S. E Lynes is a story about secrets, obsession and deception. Bridge and Toni are sisters harboring a deadly secret which led to a pact between the two. Rosie is Toni’s daughter. A daughter that she determined to protect at all costs.

This story is narrated by the three MCs through alternating POVs. It took a little while for me to get the flow of the book and follow the narration. The author used an interesting, unique style to tell the story. It sounds conversational, confessional such that I felt like an eavesdropper. Using this style, the narrative was rolled out gradually with tension and twists unfolding with each chapter. The author managed to shift between different timelines seamlessly hence providing back stories for all the characters. The entire time that I was reading the book, I knew that something bad had either just happened or was about to happen. However, I really couldn’t guess until the author started dropping the clues.

The Pact is wonderfully written, compelling read. It is not the kind of book filled with non-stop action and huge twists. However, it does have a clever plot that kept me guessing to the end. It also has a twist in the final pages that was unexpected and just perfect. I really liked the relationship between the sisters and the daughter/niece, Rosie. I also enjoyed how different themes such as parenthood, family, social media culture were interwoven to create such a fascinating story. What a fabulous read!

My Thoughts:

The author has written this book from three points of view. Just as the introductions breaks it down for us.  Toni, Bridget and Rosie have their lives intertwined in one way or another. They cannot just get away without one party being affected.

Toni is an overprotective mother, a character most women can relate to. She just wants to know where her daughter, Rosie is at any one time. Rosie on the other hand is a typical teenager who wants to keep her life private from the adults in the house. The secrets she decides to keep, create the whole story line, not inclusive of her mother‘s and Auntie’s dark past and whom have taken every precaution not to let her know about it.

Toni and Bridget have a past that is so dark and becomes clearer towards the end of the book. They have between them a pact not to breathe a word to any other living being about what happened. It shall remain buried, literally.

Bridget is the cool auntie that any teenager would ever want to have. From her lifestyle, the sport she embraces, to the decisions she makes for the benefit of Rosie. She is a bridge between Toni's and Rosie's relationship. She is the go in between that restores sanity in the storm. She has her own struggles. Her relationship is going south but she lets it because of the pact that she has made and the vow to put family first. She demonstrates the lengths one will go to protect their own when given the chance.

The book needs patience as it tends to have a slow start but catches up half way through.

The ending though is totally unexpected. I had to read it twice.

You like a story on family ties and relationships, this is your choice.

slow burning stars🌟🌟🌟🌟this is not a fast-paced page turning psychological thriller.... it is more of a slow burning character study.... A study of relationships between women and in particular that of mother and daughter.....

Rosie is your typical teenage girl wanting that taste of freedom.... Toni is her very overprotective mother fighting her every step of the way.... Aunt Bridge is sometimes the voice of reason, but because she knows Toni’s secrets she does understand where she’s coming from..... how do you let your daughter spread her wings when your experience was so ugly?

The story is told from the perspective of the above named characters.... it is told from present and flashback scenes.... and a lot of it is The characters inner dialogue.... Rosie in particular..... I really enjoyed Rosie’s inner dialogue.... I think the author did a really good job with capturing a teenager.... however she did sound exactly like an American teenager..... I had no idea the British use the word like as much as we do in California..... seriously if I had a dollar for every time I said the word like in a day I’d probably be rich by the end of it, hard habit to break, for sure!

My favorite part of the book was the interaction between these three girls/women you knew how much they loved and were there for each other..... and parenting is tough, the more rules you lay down, the more likely your child will be dishonest with you.... if Rosie hadn’t had to sneak around she might have shared some of these things with her mother and avoided a lot of what happened in this book..... but hind sight is always 20/20 isn’t it?

The twist in this book was fairly predictable, even I figured it out and this is rare.... but I did really enjoy the relationships and characters in this book... I also found the book very thought-provoking especially in regards to questions of motherhood, teenagers, and social media.... social media played a huge part in this book.... it really is a different world from when I grew up never needed to worry about how many likes I got.....

I recommend this if you are in the mood for a slow burning character driven book that will make you think....

*** thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book ***

S.E. Lynes managed to combine the suspenseful events of two sisters, their past & horrible upbringing with the controversial dilemma of being an overprotective mother in today's day and age of social media!
"I only wanted to have a space. Everyone else has Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, everything. Just FB and Insta, that's all I have. I'm being completely straight right now. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to lie to you ever, ever again"
The basis of this story is easy to follow and any overprotective parent would most likely agree with Toni, to some extent, when she wants to know her 15 year old daughter, Rosie's whereabouts, who she is with, and when she'll be home. Toni wants to know her social media log on names and passwords and forbids her to have any social media pages other than Facebook. Any parent would agree, Toni's parenting skills would be considered normal and admirable.
But Toni and her sister Bridget work hard to protect Rosie from everything because they want her to have a better childhood than they had. They made a pact when they were kids to always take care of each other and to...never ever tell.
Auntie Bridge- It's a pact. Like a promise.
Rosie- Like a contract?
Auntie Bridge - yeah. Except there's no paper. And you can end a contract; you can pay your way out or give notice or whatever. This is forever.
As the connection to their past unravels and their reasons for keeping Rosie at a safe "distance" from people surfaces, the reader learns that although Toni's intentions seem heartfelt, she may have some mixed messages about how to deliver them appropriately!
Question becomes... is Toni being unreasonably overprotective forcing Rosie to hide her social media friendships or does Toni have reason to worry?
"I thought you trusted me, but I suppose now I realize that trust is like respect: if you want someone to trust you, you have to trust them in return."
Who is Ollie anyway? He looks like the kind of teenage boy any and every 15 year old girl would want following at their heels. Right? I mean just look at his FB and Instagram profiles. Hello??!! No brainer...or maybe...
Sometimes... not everyone is who they seem to be. INCLUDING people whom you are closest to.
"It's an epidemic! It is so easy to infiltrate a world if you know what the world wants. And all they want is looks, youth and likes."

The Pact by S. E. Lynes is a mystery/thriller about a sheltered teenage girl named Rosie, her controlling mother Toni, and her easygoing aunt Bridgette. Toni is overprotective of her daughter forcing Rosie to keep secrets from her that almost cost her her life. Toni and her sister Bridgette have a dark secret from their childhood and made a vow long ago that they would protect their family at any cost. Now Toni may have to break the pact in order

This book was difficult to get into at first. I had to flip back and forth in order to keep everyone straight in my mind. Perhaps this is due to the storyline switching from past to present. I usually don't have trouble following this type of narrative, however, there was something about the introduction in this story that had me struggling to buy into it and maintain interest. It wasn't until around chapter 7 that I finally figured out what was going on. I managed to plow through but don't think I'll be recommending this one to my friends. This novel was just meh for me so I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review. https://moesbookblog.wordpress.com

Reviewed: February 25, 2018. Novel Publish Date: February 27, 2018.

This is a psychological thriller about the dangers of social media. Two sisters had a troubled childhood and are hiding secrets- but their past has a heavy influence on their present day life. Toni is really strict with her daughter Rosie and the book opens with a mystery about what has happened to her.
Rosie is a typical teenager and there is danger around every corner because she's led such a sheltered life.
You are wondering throughout the book what secrets will come tumbling out of the cupboard and what will happen to the characters. You won't want to leave them alone- having to read until you find out what happens next.

The Pact by S.E. Lynes is a psychological thriller that brings in how far one would go to protect their child. This one is an extremely slow burning thriller that begins with letting readers know that somehow this young teen has ended up in the hospital with her mother at her side.

Told by flashing back to the events leading up to how in the world this girl ended up fighting for her life the story moved along slowly. As the suspense builds it comes to be known that Toni was an overbearing mother not allowing her daughter many freedoms in an effort to protect her which has backfired into Rosie keeping too many secrets at an attempt to have some teenage fun.

Also during the time that the book is flashing back to Rosie’s activities with Toni’s attempts to protect her daughter and her sister Bridge’s attempts to loosen Toni’s reign the author starts introducing the sister’s past which led to who they are now when raising Rosie the way they had been.

For me this one was just so incredibly slow that it was tough to be interested for the first half of the book. It’s not really until 60-70% or so that the story picks up the pace a bit and really starts unraveling what has happened as all of the secrets came crashing down. There were also parts that I’d guessed early on with so few characters involved so I wasn’t overly surprised so in the end this one was just an OK read for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This book was interesting. It was definitely full of suspense but not so much a thriller. The writing is well done and flows nicely to keep the pages turning wondering what will happen next. This is definitely a storyline that is realistic and unfortunately common these days. As far as the pact, I don’t feel too much of the story was about it, just some random excerpts about it, but the story does reflect the strong bond between sisters and family.

social media was the big part of this story! The story was good paced and well enough story that I would read more from author. There is a lot of promises and secrets in this story! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

The Pact ! This is about a single mother , her sister and her daughter . This centers around a secret and the promise to keep the secret ! A mesmerizing phycological mystery with a well constructed plot with realistic and believable characters . This book will get right under your skin . My first time to read a book by this author ! She didn’t disappoint ! A remarkable storyteller ! Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review . #Netgalley #Bookouture #ThePact

This is the first book I’ve read by this author so I really didn’t know what to expect. Written from 3 different perspectives the writer immediately demonstrates her skill in providing each character a unique voice. There is a fourth voice here too but to tell you more about that would spoil it.

Toni and Bridget have made a sacred promise, one that is their undoing because when Toni’s daughter gets herself into hot water there is little they can do except perhaps try and solve the mystery themselves.

Rosie, a shy over-protected 15 year old is desperate for a male role model in her life and when she meets what she thinks is the ideal boy online she falls head first, at least over the airwaves, for what first appears to be the most amazing bloke imaginable. He’s everything she’s always hoped for and there is no way her mother is going to stop her from meeting him because she’s not going to tell her.

A scary story overall because at its heart it contains every parent’s worst nightmare. How can a parent protect a child when they don’t know what’s going on in their life? Fast paced and enjoyable I read this in one sitting.

It had a slow rather confusing start. I wasn’t partial to the format. Roisin (aka Rosie) has had an overdose and is in a coma. We discover how muddled a patient can be when I realised that was happening, It might be argued that Toni was an over-protective mother and Rosie is quick to sulk about all the social media she is missing, To be fair I think her mother is being protective especially as Rosie has had a sheltered upbringing but I agree with any parent who worries about the internet and their teens and denies their children. Rosie becomes defiant and deceives her mother. The anxiety opens the family secrets and there are lots of unexpected happenings. It was an interesting read and perhaps there’s a warning hidden in the pages. Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture.