The Pact, by Karina Halle

Do you need yet another gushing review for Karina Halle’s The Pact? Yes. Yes you do.

The Pact is about three friends, Stephanie Robson, Linden McGregor, and James Dupres. James owns The Burgundy Lion, a local bar where Stephanie once worked. James and Stephanie briefly dated, but have remained friends since. 

One night after Stephanie has yet another bad date and they’re all sitting at the bar, Linden asks “So, do you want to get married?” Stephanie is flustered and after having an internal monologue about Linden and his hotness, asks “Uh, Get married? To you?”

 

Linden clarifies: They’re both 25, dating a bunch of losers, they’re both smart, both good looking, so why not? If at age thirty they haven’t settled down with anyone else, they get together and get married. They tell their friend James

“The two of you in a marriage? World’s pickiest woman with the world’s biggest manwhore? Yeah, have fun with that.”

 

Stephanie thinks Linden is “funny, kind, smart, handsome, and ambitious. He’s also egotistical, cocky, arrogant and a player.” She also gets butterflies inside whenever he looks at her. She figures he’s joking, so she takes on his deal and they seal it with a pinkie-swear.  

The next few chapters continue with alternating points of view from both Stephanie and Linden. You learn that while Stephanie has always thought that Linden was attractive and sexy, you find the he has always wanted her. Since she went out with his friend James, she was regulated to “friend” status. For him, his less than friendly thoughts about her, and his feelings, never changed. 

As he reaches his thirtieth birthday, Linden is involved in a relationship with a woman that he does not love. Stephanie is with a younger model that she knows deep down inside, is not her life partner.  Linden reminds her of their pact and says the offer is still on the table. When she reminds him he has a girlfriend, he replies 

“I’d give her up for you…I’d give up everything for you.”

Swoon!

Again, she thinks he’s joking. He’s not. 

One night, on a dare, they have to kiss each other and everything explodes. His woman freaks, Stephanie freaks, their friend James freaks. Linden on the other hand, finally knows he’s not going to let anything get in the way of him and Stephanie. Stephanie is still in denial, saying they can’t want each other because they’re best friends. 

“Isn’t that the best person to want? The person that knows you inside and out. The person who has seen you at your ugliest and most beautiful and still wants to be with you. The person who believes in you and has your back, no matter what?”

Of course, the road to their togetherness is not an easy one. People are hurt, relationships are damaged. Sacrifices are made. 

Karina Halle stated once on her Facebook page that this book wasn’t on her agenda to be written. It was a thought that she had while on a plane for a vacation. She spent that vacation writing this book. While that’s not how I spend my vacations, I’m glad that she did as this was a good read. While not exactly at the level of her prior work Love, In English, it was still something I enjoyed. 

Want more? Of course you do!!  Visit Karina Halle at  http://authorkarinahalle.com/ 

Twitter: @MetalBlonde 

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Also check out her Experiment in Terror, Artist's Trilogy, and the Devil's Metal / Devil's Reprise books. You won't be disappointed! 

 About the Author

With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term “Hybrid Author.” Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she’s a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA…whenever possible.

Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her husband and rescue pup.