Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

If you know me, you know I love a book about dysfunctional, broken people. And when people are rocked by tragedy, you know you’re going to get them. The title might give readers a certain impression of this story and then you discover its meaning, and the emotion hits you like a truck… unfortunately, it doesn’t stay there long.

Hannah, Tyson, Summer and Lainey are all incredible interesting people all searching for themselves in this story. Their shared grief surrounding the major tragedy of the plot depicts a wonderful story of friendship and found family. In many ways, however, I don’t feel as though we truly get to explore this in as much detail as I would have liked. We never get a full picture of the tragedy (which I get is the point to an extent though) so nothing ever feels fully fleshed out. The novel sometimes feels both too short AND too long given what we were and weren’t provided.

I genuinely loved these characters but I just wanted MORE! Definitely a hard hitting but heart warming read all the same.

This book may be my least favorite of Emily’s so far. The character plots seemed to take a bit to get into. I really liked Tyson’s character the most. Lainey was a bit unhinged. Hannah was a pushover. They were all immature at times for their ages. This wasn’t what I’ve come to expect from Emily. I will always read her books. I just didn’t enjoy this one as much as I have her others. Thank you NetGalley & Random House-Ballantine for the ARC.

The Summer Pact is a great summer read that explores the themes of found family, friendship, travel and love. Emily Giffin always does a good job writing interesting stories that explore the complexities of friendships. This book tells the story of three best friends- Hannah, Lainey, and Tyson. All live very different lives. They became best friends in college where they lost the fourth member of their group, Summer, whose death continues to impact their lives a decade later. An added bonus is the friends travel to Capri - a magical place that the author describes in such detail that I want to hop the next flight to Italy to eat, shop, hike and watch beautiful sunsets over the water!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy. Definitely recommend!

Another delightful beach read from Giffin! As usual, there's no deep literary river here, but it's light, fun, and the perfect companion for a summer vacation. Really enjoyed.

I liked this book but did not love it as much as some of her others. I went into this expecting it to be a summer beach read and the backstory behind the summer pact was a bit of a downer. I did not care for Lainey as a character, and felt that all the romantic relationships in the book were off, and unnecessary. I did love the setting, and enjoyed imagining myself in Italy.

This was a miss for me. The premise had good promise, but I felt like it missed the mark and lacked depth. The voices from the characters all sounded the same. It was too messy and I did not buy the love stories. Seemed rushed and forced.

This book is sweet and cheesy in a way that only Emily giffin can get away with for me. Following the death of a close friend in college the remaining three bffs set out to take a once planned trip. A nice little story of love-loss and all that comes between. Definitely a sweet summer read

Trigger Warning: Suicide

An examination of grief, friendship, and the lasting impact of our most formative years. Emily Giffin's newest novel will break your heart while inspiring you to prioritize yourself and the ones you love.

Emily Giffin has been one of my favorite authors from the moment I read "Something Blue". She was one of the first "adult fiction" authors I ever read and she will forever hold a special place in my heart. Her latest novel shows off her incredible talent in capturing each character's unique voice. I was struck by the difference across all three main characters!

This "Eat, Pray Love"-esque novel will be one that you continue to think about weeks after finishing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, mainly because the relationships between the main characters felt extremely strained given they were supposed to be best friends who would do anything for each other. They barely acted like adults throughout the story and they’re supposed to be 30 years old. I also thought the author said a lot directly that should have been shown through actions. The Capri bits also felt over romanticized.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC on this book for my honest review.

Emily Giffin does it again. This book had all the feels. The book starts with the how 4 people meet in college and become friends. One of the friends is lost in a tragic situation which created the Pact to always be there for one another by the other 3 friends. Years later one of the friends is cheated on by her fiancé and the friends come together because of the Pact. The story follows the 3 friends on a trip to unite in their friendship and heal from the long ago loss of their friend and their own personal difficulties.

DNF at 53%. I know a lot of Emily Giffin fans, but it ultimately wasn’t for me. I appreciate the author’s dedication to raising awareness of important topics such as mental health, suicide, alcoholism, etc. and having the characters navigate their grief, coping mechanisms, and how to talk about those things. However, the story hinges on Tyson, Hannah, Lainey, and Summer’s friendship/connection, and we didn’t really get much background into their relationships, just 1 or 2 chapters explaining how they met and Summer’s suicide. We are told they grew close, but we didn’t actually see it. I will still post about the synopsis and release date for those interested.

I loved this book, and i mean i just love everything Emily writes. This is such a good summer read, friendship and relationship vibes. Follows ups an downs in life.

I really enjoyed this one! I ADORED Meant to Be, her last novel (5 star that I think about so often) and was ecstatic to receive an early eARC and audio copy from the publisher; thank you so so much! I liked that this one was character-driven & had so much development of each friend in the summer pact friend group, following their lives over the years since college. There was a found family sense, and a big focus on tackling life's hardships, and how to maintain friendship while navigating the years of finding yourself/big change. This one was heavier in topic, but I love that Emily disclaimed trigger warnings at the very beginning. Overall, I really liked it, and enjoyed each character. The audiobook was great because it was full cast (some of the fake accents got a bit annoying- though I am certain I could not do any better, lol). I didn't enjoy as much as Meant to Be, but I did like it/recommend it!

Will be sharing my full review on Instagram/bookstagram ASAP! :)

Thank you to net galley for the ARC of Emily Giffin’s latest novel. The premise of this novel revolves around four college freshmen who become fast friends in their first year of college. Tragedy strikes and following the loss of one of them the remaining three make a pact. They promise that if any of them hits rock bottom the others will drop everything to be there. 10 years later they come together to honor the pact. The result is an exploration of their past and present lives in an effort to come to terms with life.
The concept of the story was very intriguing but unfortunately the connection of these 3 characters falls short. The novel is told from the perspective of all 3 characters without too much background of their relationships. This definitely focused on a difficult subject matter which Giffin handled most respectfully. Tragedy and a crossroad for all involved grabs the readers attention immediately! I would definitely recommend this as a summer read although not my favorite Giffin.

As heartbreaking as the overall theme of this book is, Emily has masterfully made it a light read. I liked that the multiple viewpoints allowed insight to the very different characters...each one lovable on their own. If you are a Giffin fan, then this is absolutely a must-read!!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine via NetGalley for providing this ARC!!

Pack your bags & get ready to dive into this summer adventure— The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin comes out in less than a month ✈️

GENRE: Contemporary Fiction
MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)
#gifted @randomhouse — tysm!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️Multiple POV 🔄
▫️Character driven stories
▫️Traveling/Summer vacas ☀️
▫️Found family feels
▫️Short chapters
▫️Themes of: friendship, grief, forgiveness, & moving on 😢

MY THOUGHTS & RATING:
I adored this book! This adventurous read was full of deep friendships, summer travels, and emotional baggage. 🩵

When tradegy strikes, a group of 3 friends make a pact to come together in times of need. Years later, they are reminded of their promise to each other, so they set off together on a trip of a lifetime. 🗺️

Giffin’s writing was as spectacular as ever! Although the vaca vibes were vibing 🍹, Hannah, Lainey, & Tyson were some flaweddd characters with DEEP wounds. I grew to like them bc their problems felt realistic. ❤️‍🩹 I was actually debating 4.5 stars for this one but, there were some turns in the second half of the story that felt a little random/rushed? 🤔 I could have done without the subplots tbh, not needed. It also felt like the book was trying too hard to include current events (you’ll know what I mean if/when you read it lol). I really loved the emotional pull we got from this one but keep in mind it’s a heavy read! 😞🫶

‼️ You should always look up triggers before reading fiction. This book mentions triggers before chapter 1 starts, which I include on the last picture. But IMO, they missed a major trigger... I hope they fix this for the final copies. DM me for specific triggers. ‼️

DETAILS:
▫️Publishes: 7/9/24
▫️Pages: 352
▫️Format: Physical

Another friends-to-lovers romance that creates a great summer read. Although the underlying reason that the pact was made, it has true friendship, cheaters and lovers all in one.

Definitely recommend if you are going to sit on the beach somewhere!

Review:

A story of friendship, loss and love, The Summer Pact wasn’t really what I was expecting and it left me mostly underwhelmed. I chose this book based on the author and the cover and it was the epitome of don’t judge a book by its cover! Parts of the story were funny, while others dealt with heavy real life situations like suicide and alcoholism. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read and it wasn’t the worst, but it would be pass for me if I could read it over again.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the advance copy of The summer Pact, all opinions are my own.

I've been waiting a long time for a new Emily Giffin book! This one wasn't my favorite but I read it in 2 days and was a quick read. I enjoyed the premise of the book and the development of the friendships between the characters on their journey, but the ending felt a little too contrived.

4.5 stars
I literally devoured this book. It took me all of like 10 hours to read. The chapters were short and kept you coming back. It was addictive and so hard to stop reading.
This story takes place when a tragedy brings a friend group even closer together. They make a pact to always be there for each other. As life goes on - one calls in that pact and they take a trip of a life time.
"literally loved everything about the friend group - Erin, Lainey & Tyson - they have been there for each other through thick and thin.. found family at its finest.
I love having the multiple perspectives - seeing how each person is dealing with their own life. There was definitely drama, definitely tension, definitely heat break - but also real life. This book has a lot of feelings and I really enjoyed it.
Trigger Warnings: suicide