Member Reviews

I was so excited to receive this early copy of The Summer Pact as Emily Giffin is one of my favourite authors.

This book is about friendship at all levels. I really resonated with this book as I feel like we can all connect one way or another with each of these Characters. Friendships have there ups and downs but there is always your true friends that will always be there for you and I feel like Emily really showed that through The Summer Pact. No friendships are perfect but if you are willing to work at it then you can have some amazing friendships for life.

I honestly don't know what else to say other then I really truly enjoyed this book.

Trigger warning - Suicide

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Traditional format đź“• (digital). Release date July 9,2024

I was excited to receive an advanced copy of this book as although it has been a while I have been a fan of Emily Giffin’s books. Sadly this book just wasn’t one my favourites books by her.

This book is about four college friends. While in college one of the friends Summer commits suicide. The remaining three friends make their Summer Pact to be there for each other whenever needed. After Hannah finds her fiancé in bed with another woman she calls she enacts the Summer Pact and calls on her two friends. They take a trip together to help Hannah get over her pain. The book is about friendship, sorrow and love.

This book wasn’t horrible but it was very hard for me find any of the characters likeable. It was slow and draggy at a few points and then one of the love plots at the end had me scratching my head a little. I definitely felt like it had the potential to be a great summer read but just didn’t quite deliver. For that reason I will give this my average 3/5. I could have easily skipped this one and been fine with it.

This book does have elements of Emily’s other books so if you like her style you may like this one.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada | Doubleday Canada and Net Galley for a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

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Summer, Tyson, Lainey, and Hannah meet on the first day of university and form an instant bond. Despite their wildly different backgrounds, personalities and goals their friendship sustains them through four years of university. And then a tragedy they didn’t anticipate will change them forever. Now adults and living separate lives they will come together when Hannah suffers a personal blow that sends her reeling.
This book definitely hits some hard topics, alcoholism, depression, suicide, but it’s approached without judgement. All our main characters have a journey of discovery to go on and they will support each other the best they can. They might make mistakes but they will do their best. I loved all of this but I really enjoyed Hannah’s storyline. I would read another book about all of these characters but the ending was great and it was a nice wrap up.
Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse and for letting me have an advanced copy for review.
#thesummerpact hits shelves July 9 2024
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Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this book.
Having lost a friend in Grade 6 to suicide, I was hesitant to read the story. Our friends' group had disbanded shortly after the loss.
This book had all the typical themes of friendships, grief, relationships and real-life US news topics. This reader had a hard time caring about the characters. The ending was too predictable. 3.5 stars

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Take heed of the disclaimer at the beginning of the book. After reading it and when I initially read the prologue, I wasn’t sure whether or not I was ready to read the book but I’m so glad that I continued. I really appreciated how the story was written with compassion and yet blunt enough to get across a message of how death affects people differently and how everyone, in turn, deals with it differently. The story is written with some humour and a whole lot of humanity. Life happens. I highly recommend it!
Thank You to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, and Emily Giffin for the opportunity to read and thoroughly enjoy this ARC.

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I enjoyed this read— a great story of friendship, summer travels and how people deal with grief differently. Tigger warning : this book deals with suicide. The heavy topic is dealt with quite well -as the friends work through their grief of losing their friend Summer years when one of them finds their life hitting rock bottom and the pact they made the year Summer died is put to the test. Although the plot wasn’t overly deep for me it still felt real in many ways —the friend’s connection how they mature and grow throughout the story , banter and wit from time to time was nice helping to relax story. The writing flows well between the 3 characters Tyson, Hannah and Lainey giving the reader a unique perspective in current and past events. This book is full of self-discovery moments and some interesting subplot romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada | Doubleday Canada for this ARC . This is my honest review.

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The Summer Pact is the story of not only both sides of friendship , it is also the story of finding oneself and the book deals with some tough topics.

When a group of friends lose one of their own very tragically they vow to always be there for each other especially in tough times.

The story is told in mutliple POV's and this works very well as you get to know all the characters and can relate to them so easily.

Emily Griffin is a master of telling a story that has you glued to the pages and The Summer Pact is no exception.

Highly recommend you treat yourself and pick up your copy for a satisfying summr read.

Thanks to NetGalley Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for the privilege of reading and reviewing The Summer Pact.

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4.5/5 stars

Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors. The Summer Pact was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. It is women's fiction with a focus on friendship.

This is a powerful story. The prologue is quite intense. I went into this book completely blind. I was really surprised with the heavy topics explored. But I was completely mesmerized with this book right from the start.

The book has three 1st person POVs. These college friends make a pact after something happens to them that changes their lives. They are then reunited a decade later.

The main characters are Hannah, Lainey and Tyson. Ten years after college Hannah lives in Atlanta and has a fiancé and works in interior design. Lainey is an actress on a popular Hulu limited series. And Tyson is a lawyer living in DC.

Each of them find themselves at a crossroads. And when something happens to one of them they decide to honor their college pact.

I was very invested in each character. There is a storyline about Lainey's sisters that I found very interesting. But I was also extremely interested in Hannah's problems. Their friendship is really the main focus of this book. And I found each of them and their relationship to the others in the trio to be absolutely fascinating.

The book starts out in Atlanta. But there are other settings. The cover is from Capri Italy. I absolutely loved this destination. It was perfection and the cover of this book is stunning.

There is some romance in this book. Although not until very late in the story. I was actually taken by surprise by the pairings. I think that I wish that the romance had been a bigger part of the story. Although I do understand why the author chose to focus on other aspects of the story.

Overall this book is so special. It is meaningful, important and heartbreaking at times. But I could not put it down.

*If you have trigger warnings please be warned that this book deals with some heavy themes.

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This was such a wonderful exploration of mental health, grief, and lifelong friendship. I enjoyed the changing perspectives and how we got to learn more about Hannah, Tyson, and Lainey. Each character was well developed and had good development. I also really enjoyed their relationships with one another and seeing how they evolved over the course of the book. The Summer Pact also had a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. It kept me on my toes and I was eager to see how everything played out. Overall, a well written book and one that has definitely got me hooked on Emily Giffin!

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