In Emily Griffin’s latest novel, The Summer Pact, Hannah, Lainey, Summer, and Tyson meet at the beginning of their freshman year in college. They have little in common, coming from different walks of life and majoring in different fields. However, the bond they share is strong, and it continues throughout their four years at school. As graduation nears, the close-knit group experiences a devastating loss. In response, they form “The Summer Pact,” an agreement to drop everything, no matter what, and go to the others when needed, no questions asked. Ten years later, Hannah is the one in need after a heartbreaking blow brings her lower than she has ever been. To help her through, the group embarks on an epic journey of discovery that will change all their lives.

This was the first Emily Griffin novel that I have read, and I found it to be quite enjoyable! Reading about how Lainey, Tyson, Summer, and Hannah met brought me back to my freshman year in college, when I was anxiously trying to find my place and my tribe. The bonds formed during those years are unique and pivotal to one’s growth and development. This is even more true when those bonds are formed in trauma and tragedy. The first part of the book was well-paced. However, once “The Summer Pact” is activated, it began to feel a little rushed. The book ended abruptly after Chapter 33, and then it jumped to a year later in the epilogue. I think it would have benefited from an additional 2-3 chapters where we could have seen what happened with each character in that year. Instead, all that information was crammed into the epilogue, which felt overloaded with important details that needed to be elaborated on. Overall, The Summer Pact is a fun beach read about a group of friends that epitomize the word loyalty. However, Griffin wrapped things up too fast and did not give the characters the words needed to fully tell their story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sharing this advanced review copy with me in exchange for my honest feedback!

This was not Emily’s best work. Too many conflicts, not enough resolution. Her character development was lacking. The ending was super rushed. It’s definitely a summer beach read but not much else there.

The Summer Pact is a novel that highlights not only social norms but also mental health and substance abuse issues. The thought that the friends you make in college are the friends you have for life comes true for Hannah, Tyson, Lainey and Summer. This group has vowed to be there when things feel like too much and those troubles come in spades. Through a series of events this group learns not only the true meaning of friendship but they understand how love develops even under the most unforeseen circumstances.

One of the best books I read this year!

Griffin is taking a leap out of her usual genre writing and has deep dived into more serious matters. Racism, mental health and suicide were the major themes in the book and was handled with care and grace.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Was so excited when I saw that Emily Giffin was releasing a new novel! I have loved so many of her previous novels and this one was just as good. This time we follow three friends each going through their own struggles and bound by a pact that arose after a life changing event. Each character is growing up, find their place in the adult real world all while navigating careers and relationships. Loved reading about their stories, how they support each other and how their feelings start to bubble. Great Read!

I love Emily griffin and this is another masterpiece! I love the way you feel invested in her characters stories and root for them to get their lives together. 5 stars!

I was so lucky to receive this book as an ARC and it was one of my favorites for summer!! You will fall in love with the characters Emily Griffin has done it again!! I just reviewed The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin. #TheSummerPact #NetGalley
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While the title of The Summer Pact makes it seems like a light, sunny story, there is a lot going on here that delves deeper. While the premise is sad, a key element of the novel is moving forward after dealing with grief. I loved the different perspectives of the story, and seeing the same situation from the filter each friend puts on it. I think it's a huge compliment to say one of the biggest downsides to the book is that I wished there was more, but I also appreciated the novel's length. In summary, I thought this was a great, sweet, thoughtful novel that I will totally recommend to friends.

This is most definitely a quick read, which may make for good poolside reading. The points of view rotate between the friend group, which does move the along. However, it moves so quick that it feels underdeveloped. Each character has his/her own conflicts but so little time to thoroughly develop them before plot twists come along. Simply put, there's a bit too much to focus on and perhaps not the author's best writing. Additionally, if you take away the character names at the start of each chapter, I wouldn't be able to tell who is whom. The characters aren't fleshed out enough to feel each is her/her own person, which was disappointing.

There's a time and place for everything though. I would recommend this book as a "palate cleanser" between genres or when you want something that has a little more depth without the deep exploration.

#NetGalleyARC For me, this author is often hit or miss but this one was a for sure hit. The switching between different characters POV was a bit tricky at first but it for sure made the story. The beginning really got to me, but overall really liked this book. I enjoyed the character development and the changing of relationships as the friends grew up. There’s something to be said about friendships that grow and last and this book is a testament to those relationships.

4.5/ 5 A decade ago three best friends lost the fourth member of the group and made a pact to always be there if they need one another. That call comes after one finds her fiancé cheating and what follows is a beautiful story about finding yourself, healing after loss and the power of friendship.

What I loved:
-How easy the writing flowed
-The heavier themes embedded into the story
-The three POVs: each gave a unique perspective on what happened/ what’s happening now
-How real the story felt
-The Capri setting

What I didn’t love:
-Some plot points felt rushed (Particularly the romance subplots)! I would have loved more pages for more development!

What a beautiful story! Emily Giffin's "The Summer Pact" follows the remaining members of a a college friendship group. A tragedy effected them all and several years down the road, we see how they are each coping and how their everyday decisions are effected by the death of their friend. They start a new journey together, and through ups and downs, their friendship survives and strenghtens.

I couldn't put this one down once I started reading it. It was a really touching and heartfelt read that I would definitely recommend to the patrons at my library!

A heartwarming story of three friends who are driven further together through loss. This novel explores the depths of friendship and loyalty which is tested in multiple ways for a group of three friends.

This novel is about friendship, grief, coping, and always being there for each other. It does tackle issues such as suicide and alcohol abuse, but above all, it's about being there for your friends.

The story begins as an unlikely quartet of college freshmen meet each other for the first time in the basement lounge of their dorm the very beginning of their freshmen year. These young adults are from very different backgrounds, different states, different family situations; yet, they bond, and more so, they become inseparable throughout their four years of college.

These four friends also take four distinct routes as far as their majors - Pre Med, Pre law, acting/drama, and interior design. The action of the plot catapults in the very first chapter with the suicide of the one friend - Summer, the Pre Med student on a full ride cross country scholarship, who perhaps on appearances sake seemed to be the one to have it the most together. This tragedy occurs just days before their college graduation and shakes the now trio to their core.

The three remaining friends, reeling from their friend's suicide, make a pact, The Summer Pact, to always be there for each other, no matter where they are or what is going on in their lives.

The action of the book commences a decade later with one of the friends, Hannah, not quite getting dumped at the alter, but finding her fiancé cheating with a much younger Atlanta rising influencer weeks before their nuptials. The other two friends - Lainey, who by this time is a rising actress, and Tyson, a promising NY lawyer - drop everything to be with their friend. What ensues are different legs of a planned trip that reveal to us some underlying problems and some seeking for solutions in the characters' lives.

The Summer Pact was a very quick read that once I started, I didn't want to put down. I had read some Emily Giffin books before but older ones - Something Borrowed and Something Blue. If you like the "chick lit" type of book and authors like Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner, I feel that you would like this newest one of Emily Giffin's. Grab it for this summer. It releases July 9th.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this portrayal of not only adult friendship but also self-discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Summer Pact is highly recommended as your next summer read, if you’re eyeing it and wondering if it’s for you. I like to keep an eye out for new books by Emily Giffin, having enjoyed quite a few over the years. I’m more drawn to her books about friendships and relationships where the plots have twists but focus on the characters feelings and keep things relatively simple, which is to say I read the blurb and don’t always pick up every book. I’m glad I went with this as I think it’ll appeal to many readers for the same reasons as me. Focusing on the early friendships between four friends who after tragedy strikes agree on a pact to always be there when hitting rock bottom, the characters all had different challenges they were facing but supported each other through them. They went through an emotional journey with one another that ended up taking them all to different places of healing and growth.

While this almost went too quickly in some places with the plot, I loved my time in the world Emily created and thought it the perfect summer read.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVED this book!! I loved the characters and their adventures and the deep friendships! New summer fave!!!!

THE SUMMER PACT
BY: EMILY GIFFIN

I can never pass up reading an Emily Giffin book since I loved her much more Multifaceted and complex novel called, All We Ever Wanted. That was when I discovered what a powerhouse of an author she is. I liked her next one called, The Lies That Bind, maybe a little less but not as much as, All We Ever Wanted. I've been meaning to get to, Meant to Be. I tried reading that one and couldn't get drawn in so I put it aside. I plan to give it another try to see if it was just a timing issue. I definitely plan on rereading the first one since I remember how impressed I felt while reading it. Enough time has gone by where I've forgotten most of it other than what I wrote in my review which kind of refreshed my memory. Sadly her newest one called, The Summer Pact, felt more like a Young Adult novel to me, which it starts out that way as four college aged freshmen meet in the basement of their dorm at the University of Virginia. Even though it quickly ages three of them to thirty two years old, it still felt too Young Adult themed to me.

It seems like this author impressed me so much initially, that with each of her three subsequent novels since it seemed to morph into me liking them less and less. Don't get me wrong, this one was a page turner that I almost read in one sitting. It pulled me in from the very beginning and was able to keep my rapt attention. I know the themes covered are important and should be considered seriously, it just felt less complex to me and I felt like the characters seemed younger than they were.

The title is perfect. Hannah starts out in the beginning in the Prologue explaining how they met which I have written above. To reiterate Hannah, Summer, Lainey and Tyson meet and become friends throughout their four years at the University of Virginia. They are close and something tragic that is all too real happens to Summer. As they grow closer to graduation with Summer wanting to go to Medical school with a 4.0 grade average she has been accepted to three prestigious Medical schools and has run track and cross-country during her four years as an undergraduate. She can run a pretty impressive mile in a little over four minutes, and thirty six seconds. She was the one to get up from reading "The Odyssey," and break the ice by asking Tyson where he was from which he told her Washington D.C. He was taking advantage of the in-state tuition with both his father and his grandfather having attended UVA. She asked him which team he was rooting for since he had been watching a baseball game on mute. Summer was from the Midwest. Tyson was planning on going to Law school to become a lawyer.

Summer then asked Lainey where she was from to which she replied that she was from New York. Lainey had a smile and energy that lit up the room. Lainey is planning on becoming an actress and she was from Encinitas, near San Diego, California. Hannah has social anxiety and wanted to become an Interior designer or something that involves education and she was from Atlanta, Georgia. Hannah relates to the reader how much she really liked Summer because of her down to earth personality with giving off a genuine vibration. Hannah thought Summer even looked wholesome, right down to her strawberry-blonde pigtails and freckles. Hannah has a strong feeling that these three friends might become her people since they weren't interested in joining a sorority. All four of them have a relationship status of being single.

Somehow they all clicked and became a foursome exchanging phone numbers and setting up a group message thread. The four years flew by in the Prologue and Tyson was heading to Yale Law School. Lainey was heading to New York City to take a PR gig to support herself while auditioning. Summer was disappointed because her first choice was Harvard and she was on a waiting list. Summer had been nursing an ankle injury from running and was nervous about taking her very last exam. Hannah tried to cheer her up while they both were sitting together on the Rotunda steps. Hannah was growing irritated with Summer's stress out worries and left Summer to join Lainey and Tyson to attend a Lacrosse party.

Late the next morning Hannah woke up with a mini hangover, regretting having drank that last wine cooler. Hannah checked her phone and saw that she had a missed call and a frantic text from Summer saying "OMG. I'm so screwed. Call Me." Hannah started to call Summer back, but was hit with a wave of nausea that overcame her, putting her head back down on her pillow. She thought their usual song and dance could wait.

About an hour later, Hannah woke up and called Summer back, who didn't answer. Hannah left Summer a message, showered, and walked to their favorite bagel shop. Hannah bought an egg Sandwich for each of them and headed to Summer's room to leave one for her with a congratulatory note on Summer's desk. Regardless of how she had done on her exam, it was a victory to be finished with them, a milestone. Hannah knew that Summer left her door unlocked so she twisted the door knob open.

Nothing could prepare Hannah for what happened and became one of the worst moments of her life. There will be something else that happens that she is shocked about when she sees something else when the time jumps ahead after the Prologue, and Hannah, Lainey and Tyson are thirty two years old all working in their chosen career paths. They will each serve as best friends and support systems for each other. Hannah's mother is a narcissist and still bosses her around. Lainey is working as an actress and Tyson is a lawyer. They both come to Atlanta, Georgia to help Hannah rally after something else happens. Tyson and Lainey come to her rescue by jumping on the next flight. The chapters are headed by each of these three friends points of view.

Even though this had a Young Adult feel to it, I still would recommend it. I read most of it in one sitting. The characters all grew and it was a novel that completely held my interest. I did enjoy it even though the themes are heavy.

Here is the link to My Review of "All I Ever Wanted." https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2414405575

Publication Date: July 9, 2024

Thank you to Net Galley, Emily Giffin and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine. Ballantine Books for generously providing me with my eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheSummerPact #EmilyGiffin #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantineBallantineBooks #NetGalley

I love Emily Giffin and will read anything and everything she writes so I was happy to read The Summer Pact. Told from 3 different points of view the Summer Pact takes you through the lives of three friends who have been there for each other since college. While I found one of the characters super whiney and annoying, I enjoyed the other two and their growth. I did find the overall plot a little weak and not likely to happen, but I enjoyed the story overall, I didn't devour it as quickly as books in the past. 3.5 stars if I could give it a half.

Oh my goodness! What an enjoyable read! Ii loved the characters even when i guessed what was going on with Hannah. The relationships between the four main characters were so real - their love and care for one another through all the missteps showed strong. I look forward to reading more of Emily Griffin’s novels.