I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

The Friendship Pact by Alison James starts off strong, with the initial five chapters pulling me in and keeping me turning the pages. Unfortunately, after that, I found the pacing to be incredibly slow, and the story's progression became difficult to follow. While the premise of the book intrigued me, I struggled to connect with the characters and their motivations.

The plot, though interesting in theory, was filled with elements that felt far-fetched and unrealistic. As the story unfolded, many aspects seemed to lack a clear connection to reality, which ultimately dampened my enjoyment. I found myself questioning the decisions of the characters and the plausibility of certain situations, which took me out of the reading experience.

Overall, while I appreciated the concept behind The Friendship Pact and was initially excited to dive in, the execution fell short for me. The unrealistic elements and slow pacing made it hard to fully engage with the story.

This is a fast paced edge of you seat read that will keep you guessing right up intill the last page this book kept me up all night I just couldn't put it down

Lucy and Adele share a secret from their past, a secret that pops up again when Lucy is trying to escape her abusive husband. Lucy reaches out to Adele, who had been arrested for fraud, to help her forge documents to get away. Forged documents turn into more though, and Lucy is in over head. This book is painfully slow, and every character is extremely unlikeable. Even with the predictable “twist” ending, this book was a painful experience. It detailed emotional and physical abuse, and then it was just painfully boring.

3.4
It's not, like, deep, and the Main Character is completely daft, but it's a fun way to pass a rainy afternoon for sure.

Thought provoking and touching, a good read with a great ending, this will keep your interest throughout.

This was a fabulous psychological thriller which kept me engaged from beginning to end. It was really well written with great characters, good setting and brilliant storyline.

I’ll read others by this author

Took a while to get in to but after several chapters the story line got really good and I found it hard to put down.

Omg I loved this one by Alison James. The depths of a female friendship is explored in this book. How far will you go for your friend and what secrets will you keep for her. Lucy and Adele have been friends since the were kids, despite the differences in their social classes they were drawn to each other. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of this book, not knowing what woukd be revealed next. I literally couldn't put it down. Totally engaging, and recommendable

I received this digital arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was the first book I've read by this author but my goodness it won't be the last! I couldn't put it down! And that big reveal - ooh that made it interesting. I sort of guessed one person that was involved but not the rest of it. What a great twist. I am now going to get the rest of this author's work and get stuck in. Definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't look put it down. ,I loved the slow build of the plot. Looking forward to reading more from the author!

What a bummer. I was really interested in this plot but my mind kept wandering while reading. I can’t put my finger in what it why I just couldn’t get into this story. I thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the chance to review this ARC though!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Lucy and Adele have a secret. They've never revealed the details of what happened at the reservoir that afternoon when they went out with another girl and only the two of them made it back home. But that's not what this book is actually about, despite what the cover copy implies. The secret that Adele and Lucy share is important, but it pales in comparison to what Lucy is dealing with right now.



The level of suspense in this one is high and I was holding my breath as the plot twisted and the situation got steadily worse. Lucy is in an abusive marriage and the details of her situation were hard to read about as it went from bad to worse. I went into this one expecting the focus to be on what Lucy and Adule had done as children, but that's revealed over the course of a few flashbacks.

I couldn't really get into this one. The story was ok, but it felt a little dull and predictable. Secrets between friends - but how far will those friends go to keep the secrets you hold dear? I was waiting for something heart-stopping and unbelievable to happen but all of the story lines ended up ending exactly as I predicted them to. While I like being right, I don't love being right about books and how they are going to end. I love being surprised and I didn't think there were enough twists and turns in this one to keep me intrigued like I wanted to be. Thanks to Netgalley for my early copy.

Fantastic read full of tension and suspense! About friendship and secrets and all the stuff in between, I loved the secret and I loved the ending, the main characters were well rounded and I liked them, didn’t like her husband tho ☹️ Was a great little read and I’ll look out for more from the author.

Adele and Lucy form an unlikely friendship when in school when tragedy binds them together. Years later, Lucy seeks out Adele to help rescue her from the controlling life that imprisons her in her beautiful home and husband that rules her life. Lucy was someone Adele could count on in the past and Lucy hopes Adele will now return the favor. Adele's present life, however, is very different from Lucy's - it's been difficult and Adele has been involved with some shady characters. Is Adele really the friend that Lucy can turn to for help?

I enjoyed this book - it moves between the past and the present to tell the full story. The characters were well developed and I really felt for Lucy, even though I times I wanted to shake her!!

Thanks to Alison James, Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! (3.5 stars)

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was so unbelievably implausible that it became boring. Told in two timelines, the events were too over the top to even have the suspension of disbelief.

1 out of 5 stars. Do not recommend.

This is the kind of thriller I’m always drawn to – a novel told in past and present about something that people did as children that has been kept secret until now! It seems Lucy has the perfect life – a happy marriage, a lovely house and good friends but all is not as it seems and she needs to get away. This leads her to being back in contact with her childhood best friend Adele. Adele has lived a tough life never having money or much stability so seems opposite to Lucy but the two share a secret about the death of a friend they had as pre-teens. This book gripped me from start to finish, it did require suspension of disbelief but that didn’t stop it being a really enjoyable read!

Lucy and Adele were school friends from very different backgrounds. Lucy's parents didn't approve of Adele and discouraged the friendship but they remained friends until tragedy struck and they drifted apart.

Now Lucy is trapped in an abusive marriage and Adele may be the one to help her but Adeles life has taken a very different turn to Lucy's. She has lived a difficult life and been involved with some shady characters. Is she really the best person to turn to?

Lucy finds herself in more danger and her life falling apart.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the read!

#netgalley #TheFriendshipPact #AlisonJames

Didn't get this one unitl after it was archived so I was unable to download it. Sorry to not read it, have realized it is listed under a different title.