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A review by emleemay
The Pact by Karina Halle
2.0
"If I seem to recall, you had your tongue down some tiny chick's throat half the night."
"Tongue in the throat, cock in the c**t, it's all the same," he says.
You know, I really do like a lot of Halle's novels - especially [b:Sins & Needles|16029994|Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347859611s/16029994.jpg|21799599], [b:Shooting Scars|17230559|Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy, #2)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371224737s/17230559.jpg|23745834] and [b:Dirty Angels|18281528|Dirty Angels (Dirty Angels, #1)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399833417s/18281528.jpg|25754456] - I like them because they're dark, gritty and push boundaries. I like the unlikable characters. And I especially admire Halle's talent for creating flawed female protagonists who get drunk, make mistakes and sleep with all the wrong guys.
But, in the end, this is a romance novel. The central plot is about getting Steph and Linden together and, therefore, my enjoyment of the novel kind of hangs on my ability to care about their relationship and whether they'll fall in love, have hot sex, or just drive each other crazy.
And I didn't. Care, that is.
To summarize, the book is about two best friends who have made a pact to marry one another if both are not in serious relationships by the time they reach thirty. When they made the promise, did they mean it? Only time will tell. I think it should be mentioned that I never got the sense that Linden and Steph had a remotely platonic relationship; Steph was drooling over Linden on the first page and Linden would have gladly slept with Steph, given the opportunity. It was never a "best friends turned lovers" thing for me, but a "two people who flirt with each other for a long time finally act upon it" kind of thing.
The book gets an extra star for Steph. Because like all the other female characters Halle creates, I liked her. Maybe "like" isn't even the word, but I was interested in her story and cared when bad stuff happened to her. I looked forward to her chapters way more than Linden's and I liked how insecure, imperfect but ultimately strong she could be.
But I pretty much hated Linden. And I think that's worse than not liking the female narrator for someone like me - an heterosexual female reading a romance novel. I'm supposed to LUST after him. But no. For one thing, he was a dick who made me nauseous with sentences like the one I quoted above. For another, was he any different than any other beautiful, smart, rich, arrogant asshole that appears in NA books?
Here's the description of him:
Linden McGregor is funny, kind, smart, handsome and ambitious. He's got a BA in business and is almost done getting his helicopter pilot's license. He's one hot package that any girl would be lucky to snatch up.
But he's also egotistical, cocky, arrogant and a player.
*yawn* I could go find myself a cardboard cutout that's more interesting.
I forced myself to finish just to get to the conclusion that I knew was inevitable. But I didn't give the slightest damn about Linden, nor did I find him attractive, so their relationship did nothing for me. Sucks.
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"Tongue in the throat, cock in the c**t, it's all the same," he says.
You know, I really do like a lot of Halle's novels - especially [b:Sins & Needles|16029994|Sins & Needles (The Artists Trilogy, #1)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347859611s/16029994.jpg|21799599], [b:Shooting Scars|17230559|Shooting Scars (The Artists Trilogy, #2)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371224737s/17230559.jpg|23745834] and [b:Dirty Angels|18281528|Dirty Angels (Dirty Angels, #1)|Karina Halle|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399833417s/18281528.jpg|25754456] - I like them because they're dark, gritty and push boundaries. I like the unlikable characters. And I especially admire Halle's talent for creating flawed female protagonists who get drunk, make mistakes and sleep with all the wrong guys.
But, in the end, this is a romance novel. The central plot is about getting Steph and Linden together and, therefore, my enjoyment of the novel kind of hangs on my ability to care about their relationship and whether they'll fall in love, have hot sex, or just drive each other crazy.
And I didn't. Care, that is.
To summarize, the book is about two best friends who have made a pact to marry one another if both are not in serious relationships by the time they reach thirty. When they made the promise, did they mean it? Only time will tell. I think it should be mentioned that I never got the sense that Linden and Steph had a remotely platonic relationship; Steph was drooling over Linden on the first page and Linden would have gladly slept with Steph, given the opportunity. It was never a "best friends turned lovers" thing for me, but a "two people who flirt with each other for a long time finally act upon it" kind of thing.
The book gets an extra star for Steph. Because like all the other female characters Halle creates, I liked her. Maybe "like" isn't even the word, but I was interested in her story and cared when bad stuff happened to her. I looked forward to her chapters way more than Linden's and I liked how insecure, imperfect but ultimately strong she could be.
But I pretty much hated Linden. And I think that's worse than not liking the female narrator for someone like me - an heterosexual female reading a romance novel. I'm supposed to LUST after him. But no. For one thing, he was a dick who made me nauseous with sentences like the one I quoted above. For another, was he any different than any other beautiful, smart, rich, arrogant asshole that appears in NA books?
Here's the description of him:
Linden McGregor is funny, kind, smart, handsome and ambitious. He's got a BA in business and is almost done getting his helicopter pilot's license. He's one hot package that any girl would be lucky to snatch up.
But he's also egotistical, cocky, arrogant and a player.
*yawn* I could go find myself a cardboard cutout that's more interesting.
I forced myself to finish just to get to the conclusion that I knew was inevitable. But I didn't give the slightest damn about Linden, nor did I find him attractive, so their relationship did nothing for me. Sucks.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr