It was a nice easy going book about friendship. I liked and cared about the characters but I thought the relationships were a little rushed at the end. The writing was fine but there was nothing outstanding about it. It's good to have a rest book every once in a while though.

I was really drawn to this book because of the author. In practice though I struggled to connect with the plot and ended up not finishing it. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sigh. It's getting to the point where I can pretty much plot out the entire story after reading just the first couple of chapters from this author's books. They're too predictable, too PC. I think I used to like her books. Either she's gotten lazy, or I've outgrown her. This is probably my bb last one of her books.
Thanks to #netgalley and #ballantinebooks for this #arc of #thesummerpact in exchange for an honest review.

What was your last summer read? I finished up The Summer Pact earlier this month for my last summer book read of the year.

The Summer Pact is about four individuals that meet at college and form a lifelong friendship. One when tragically dies, the others promise to always get together to help each other if any of the three of them are in a time of need. When Hannah finds her fiancé in bed with another woman, she finds herself in crisis. When the friends gather together to help out Hannah, will they all make changes to their own lives and move forward?

My thoughts on this novel:
• I have enjoyed Emily Giffin’s books in the past and especially enjoyed Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof. This one was not as good as her other novels.

• The story was slow in the middle, and it took me a long time to finish it.

• This novel is a look at friendship and the lengths we will go to for our friends. It also delves into grief and how everyone deals with it differently and how friends can help.

• The story is told through the three point of views of the three friends. I didn’t feel like I liked or connected with the characters.

• The romance came very late in the novel and then it seemed to be immediately tied up in the epilogue. I did not feel the romantic connection between the love interests.

• I really didn’t like the character Lainey. She was an actress that acted very immature for a thirty something. She needed more of a growth story to me. I also didn’t like how she very obviously was an alcoholic, but her friends did not help her with this problem at all.

• I thought we would get more of Summer’s story and her untimely death and there would be a bit of a mystery. It just remained a sad unexplained traumatic death from their college days.

Overall, I was disappointed by The Summer Pact, but I will definitely try another Emily Giffin book.

Book Source: Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

2.75/5 stars for me.

This was eh. It didn't hit the mark for me. It was my first Emily Giffin book, and it may be my last? We will see. It start off a bit strong, with some heavy topics and had me going until about 1/4-1/2 of the way in, it kind of lost me. I struggled to keep wanting to read this. It was very hard to keep the 3 differen't Povs distinct. I often would forget who was talking in each chapter. After the tragedy that they experience, there wasn't really anything else it had going. The romance towards the end felt rushed and very "oh I guess this works" vibes. I wasn't really relating with any of the characters nor did any of them really stand out to me. Like I said, this was eh, okay.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Summer Pact by Emily Griffin was a heartbreaking and beautiful novel of grief, friendship and love. The novel starts out with the tragic death of a core member of a group of 4. Instead of letting this tear them apart, they cling to each other for support. This was my first Emily Griffin novel and I thought the delicate topics were dealt with well. I didn't love the romance at the end, but I enjoyed the novel overall.

This is the first Emily Giffin book I’ve read and didn’t love. I felt like some of the dialogue didn’t feel real? I constantly questioned who talks like this??? In actual real life??? The main character felt juvenile and too immature. I wanted to love this one but it was a miss. 2⭐️

I was highly anticipating this book, but it fell short. It is an ok summer read but was hard to distinguish between the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a opportunity to read.
2.75

The Summer Pact was simply not for me. DNF at 11%. The trio of characters are quite terrible and just plain difficult to read. So far there is nothing redeemable or making me want to learn more of their story.

A sweet story of friendship, grief, and love. Hard to read at times, but so good. A beautiful homage to the friendships and tragedies that bind us together.

I liked this. It had an abrupt ending but I didn't hate it. I will say, the book starts with a trigger warning about suicide but know going in that the suicide is ON THE PAGE and the entirety of the book revolves around 3 friends who were effected by it. So it is not a passing topic.

I loved this book! The characters felt true and like the friend group you wish you had in college. I liked that the story was told from each to their perspectives. The pace was great and the banter and dialogue made this a fun read.

A story of a found family that promises to be there for each other after experiencing unimaginable grief in college.

10 years later they put this promise to the test. While the circumstances are unfortunate, this provides the friends the opportunity to take stock of their individual lives and find what they need to get back on track.

Settle in because each character goes on an emotion journey. The themes in this book are serious and quite heavy. From grief to alcoholism, cheating to coming out, and a brief mention of sexual assault, these characters are out through the wringer. The themes were handled with care and it felt like you got real insight into how people navigate these issues. From their messy missteps, unhealthy coping habits, to acceptance.


Thank you Random House Publishing for providing me with a copy via NetGalley for an honest review.

I’ve been a fan of Emily Giffin’s books since the very beginning, but unfortunately this one didn’t hit the spot for me. The premise of this book was predictable yet a little unbelievable at the same time – a group of friends, responding to a tragic event, signs a pact that they’ll always be there for each other, which means dropping everything (including quitting your job) when one of them has a crisis and taking a last minute trip (to Capri, no less) to find themselves, or something.

Additionally, I’m not quite sure what this book was about, because it felt a little bit like a “2024 hot button checklist” with each theme sprinkled in, but not necessarily fully understood, explored, or resolved. It felt a bit lazy, to be honest.

That said, if you can successfully suspend belief and get past the frantic beginning of the book, the pace gets better once the book settles in. I did actually enjoy the book once I was past the beginning of it. Unfortunately, the ending was also a bit frantic and rushed, and didn’t fully resolve everything.

This one is a toss up on whether I would recommend. There are many fantastic books out there, so I have a hard time making a case for this one over those. I do really appreciate the advance copy from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars.

Such a great read to wrap up the summer! I felt the pacing was a bit slow in spots, but still an enjoyable read!

The Summer Pact is the latest novel from Emily Giffin and I’m not going to lie, it’s a tough read in that it covers heavy topics like suicide and addiction. It’s a story about friends coming together after an unthinkable tragedy. It’s dark at times, which I found somewhat at odds with the bright, summery cover, but once I got past that, I appreciated it for what it is, a story that explores the bonds of friendship and found family.

The story starts out on a college campus where four students from four different walks of life meet and become the best of friends. When tragedy strikes, three friends are left reeling from the loss and make a pact to always be there for each other no matter what. Ten years later, one of them makes good on the pact which leads them all on the most surprising, healing, and life changing journeys.

I really enjoyed the travel aspect of this book as the three remaining friends each choose a destination they’ve always wanted to visit, and one of them chooses Capri, a place their lost friend always dreamed of visiting, as a way to keep her with them.

Even though I enjoyed the book overall, it wasn’t quite as much of a hit with me as Giffin’s books usually are. It felt a little off, like too heavy but not heavy enough at the same time, if that makes sense. 3 1/2 STARS

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

This is a coming-of-age, college-friends novel. Trigger warning for suicide, as one of the four friends takes her own life, and this reverberates with the group for years to come. The remaining friends make a pact to be there for each other, so when one calls on them, they get together despite having a lot going on in their lives. I liked that the group came together and that they traveled. The drama throughout the novel is BIG, lots of family strife, narcissistic relatives, and romantic complications. It felt like it wrapped up a little too quickly at the end. I would have liked to see more travel and go a bit deeper into their relationships moving forward.

This is the first book I have read by this author. Many of my reader friends have recommended her books. I liked the author’s writing in this book. It captured my interest right away.

This is a story of four friends who meet at the start of their freshman year in college. They become fast friends and support each other throughout their college years. A tragedy leads them to make a pact to support each other, especially when one hits rock bottom. Their pact is called into play years later when they are in their 30’s. I liked that their friendship was so strong that each was willing to sacrifice and put their lives on hold to come together for each other.

The premise of this book is very similar to The Celebrants. There are three narrators in this book. A few times I had to check who was narrating the chapter. Their voices were not often distinct.

This is a story of true friendship and having the courage to change the direction of your life to find true happiness.

“That life is short - way too short… And you never know what can happen.”

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin was a book I was really looking forward to reading. I always have thoroughly enjoyed Emily Giffin books, but this one was by far my least favorite. To start, the cover is super cute and the title has the word summer in it, those things spell fun to me, but that's not what is found in this book. The book title is actually pretty deep and refers to a pact the three friends made when something terrible happened to the fourth in their college bestie group. I also felt semi-lectured to regarding hot topic cultural issues, something that I do not like in books I read for enjoyment.

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Summer Pact by Emily Griffin is a pleasant, somewhat predictable, summer read. As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, they make a pact, promising to always be there for one another, no matter how separated they may become by circumstances or distance.

Fast-forward to 10 years later when Hannah’s world is rocked and she needs her best friends — more than ever. The value of friendship throughout this book is intense — you know that they are the true ride or die, friends- through it all. However, they often are reflecting on the loss of their one friend and where she thought they would be, where they thought they would be with her.

The first half of this book was very well paced for me - I loved guessing and seeing where the story was going to lead, however, I felt the back half - when they got to Europe dragged just a bit for me. I kept getting lost in POV’s — who’s was who’s? I didn’t know sometimes and felt that the epilogue actually should have been throughout the entire back half of the book because it had so much information about the characters and where their lives led!

Overall, this was a great summer, quick read! It just isn’t one that I will be remembering and noting for the rest of the summer!

A huge thank you to #netgalley and for my #arc copy of this book!

2.75 stars rounded up

I really love Emily Giffin's book and had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it didn't do it for me. I liked the premise (honoring a friend who died by suicide) but I wanted a bit more from it. And without ruining the ending, I was a little disappointed at how it all wrapped up. Also, very strong content warnings with this book, including suicide, addiction, self harm.