08 Oct The Pact by SE Lynes #BlogTour #Review

Hey guys, today I have the pleasure to take part in the blog tour for SE Lynes’ new book, THE PACT, a book I’ve been very excited about. If you’re into psychological thrillers and love a good character driven book, look no further. THE PACT is the book for you! It’s also just 99c/99p for a download on amazon, so why not grab it immediately? Many thanks to wonderful Kim Nash for the Galley and the chance to be part of the blog tour. Hope you guys enjoy my review and have a wonderful Friday!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Pact by SE Lynes
Published by Bookouture
Published on 27.2.2018
Genres:psychological thriller, thriller
Pages: 344
Format:e-book

You made a promise to your sister. It could destroy your daughter.
The Daughter

15-year-old Rosie lies in hospital fighting for her life. She’s trying to tell her mother what happened to her, and how she got there, but she can’t speak the words out loud.

The Mother

Rosie’s mother Toni has a secret. She had a traumatic childhood, and she and her sister Bridget made each other a promise thirty years ago: that they could never speak the truth about what happened to them as children, and that they would protect each other without asking for help from others, no matter what…

Rosie was Toni’s second chance to get things right: a happy, talented girl with her whole life ahead of her. Having lost her husband in a tragic accident, Toni has dedicated her life to keeping Rosie safe from harm.

But Rosie has plans that her mother doesn’t know about. She has dreams and ambitions – of love, of a career, of a life beyond the sheltered existence that her mother has created for her. But the secrets Rosie has been keeping have now put her life in danger.

The Pact

In order to save Rosie, Toni may have to break her lifelong promise to her sister… and open doors to her past she hoped would remain closed forever.

It’s been far too long since I’ve read a psychological thriller and SE Lynes’ THE PACT reminded me just how much I missed this genre. This is my first book by this author but it certainly won’t be my last. I remember the buzz on social media last year, when she published “The Mother” and I remember thinking, ‘now I definitely need to check it out and see why everyone is going crazy about this book”. Now that I actually read THE PACT, I’m definitely bumping her previous thrillers up my TBR list.

THE PACT is a slow-burner, a psychological thriller that will make you wonder and have all these questions in your head. Especially if you’re a parent, you’ll find it a bit scary and very thought provoking. Now, when I say scary I don’t mean the horror/bloody stuff type of scary, but there are some things in this book about raising your kids and the world we live in today that will make you go a bit ga-ga. Or at least make you ask yourself… how well do you know your kids, how much protection is too much and smothering them and how much times have changed for the newer generations.

One thing I loved is that there aren’t many characters, there’s Toni, her daughter Rosie, and Toni’s sister, Bridget. I don’t know about you but I really dislike books with tons of characters, especially thrillers where you need to follow hundreds of stories though just maybe 2-3 are relevant. Thankfully, that’s not the case with THE PACT. The main story is centered around 15 year old Rosie who’s in a coma trying to somehow communicate to her mother and tell her about what happened. The story is told from multiple POVs and I applaud to the author for the knack to switch between these characters and their stories without losing my attention. It all somehow flowed and I had no troubles with it. But in the back, there’s another story, it goes way back to when Toni and Bridget were kids and they made a pact not to reveal a certain thing about their past. Don’t you just love books about family secrets? I don’t know about you but I certainly love them.

Rosie is a normal teenager and has wishes most teenagers do. But her mother is overprotective and doesn’t let her do anything fun. Rosie’s friends seem to have a busy social life while she’s allowed to go out on her birthday only if accompanied by her aunt, Bridget. Which she loves, but still she feels a bit suffocated by her mother’s rules.

Human psyche is a fascinating thing, the soul might heal a bit but the mind always remembers the traumas, the abuse, the problems while growing up. Humans might be the most advanced creation in the Universe (as far as we know it), but boy… are we fragile. And that’s exactly what lies beneath Toni’s behavior as a mother and Rosie’s desire to break free. Social media plays a huge role in this book, which is why I said it was so interesting and sometimes scary for me to read as a parent. How well do we know our kids? How well do we all know the world?

This is also one of the rare psychological thrillers where I liked all the characters. Just at the beginning when I realized the author will speak from different POVs, one of a teenage girl at that, to be frank I though it won’t turn out good. It’s not easy to speak from a 15 year old’s perspective when you’re an adult, but SE pulls this off magically. She might did her research well or has a teenagernnn at home  Either way, I was fascinated by this as it didn’t turn me off from the story and kept the story real.

Overall, THE PACT is a very thought provoking thriller and one I’m so glad I read. The only reason why I’m not giving it 5* is the pace which at times seemed too slow. So, if you’re like me and like your stories just a bit more pacy, persevere… it will pay off by the end. I’ll definitely be reading SE Lynes previous book very soon and hope I’ll enjoy it at least as much as I enjoyed this one.

About SE Lynes

After graduating from Leeds University, S E Lynes lived in London before moving to Aberdeen to be with her husband. In Aberdeen, she worked as a producer at BBC Radio Scotland before moving with her husband and two young children to Rome. There, she began to write while her children attended nursery. After the birth of her third child and upon her return to the UK, she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University. She now combines writing with lecturing at Richmond Adult Community College and bringing up her three children. She lives in Teddington.