Every so often a book shows up that readers cannot agree on, and Lindsay MacMillan’s The Anti-Marriage Pact has become one of them. Four Brooklyn roommates who call themselves the Redstockings swear off marriage, motherhood, and every milestone that’s supposed to define a woman’s success. Then, one by one, they start pairing off, leaving narrator EJ as the last holdout. What follows has split readers right down the middle, and the disagreement is honestly half the fun.
Here’s where things get interesting. This isn’t the breezy rom-com the cover might promise you. It’s women’s fiction with a light romance thread running through it, and the story lives much more in EJ’s head and her friendships than in any love story. Going in with the right expectations changes everything. So let’s get into what people are actually arguing about and our thoughts on the novel.
Book Overview: The Anti-Marriage Pact
Content Warnings: child sexual abuse, grief and death of a loved one, suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, drug and alcohol use, animal injury
Summary: When EJ and her three roommates swear off marriage and motherhood with their infamous “Anti-Marriage Pact,” they think they’ve got life figured out. No white dresses, no baby fever, no losing themselves to societal expectations. Just fierce friendship, creative ambitions, and the gritty freedom of Brooklyn.
But the bonds that once felt unbreakable start to fray as one friend and then another begins to find love. Meanwhile, Chris walks into EJ’s life—a buttoned-up tax accountant who dares to question everything she believes about love, commitment, and what it really means to live on your own terms. Now EJ finds herself caught between loyalty to her sisters-in-arms and the terrifying prospect of opening her heart to something she’s spent years rejecting. As her carefully constructed world begins to crack, EJ must confront the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she’s been wrong about everything.
1. EJ Is A Love-To-Hate Narrator, & Your Mileage Will Vary Wildly
Let’s be upfront about the biggest talking point. EJ spends a large chunk of this book being, well, a lot. She’s opinionated, self-righteous, quick to judge her friends, and completely certain she’s cracked the code on how to live. Some readers found her exhausting enough to put the book down early. Others found her gloriously messy in a way that felt refreshingly real, the kind of character who can explain exactly why a decision is terrible and then make it anyway. Neither reaction is wrong. That’s what makes her such a fascinating experiment. MacMillan clearly built EJ to provoke a response, which she absolutely does. If you like your protagonists likable from page one, you’ll feel the friction. If you’re drawn to characters who earn your patience, she might win you over!
2. The Redemption Arc Is The Thing Everyone Can’t Stop Debating
Here’s the real fault line. EJ changes. The question we keep circling is whether that change feels earned or convenient. One camp calls the turn genuinely stunning, the payoff to a slow build that suddenly clicks. Another camp feels that the shift arrives too late and too fast to fully land, especially since so much of the transformation is packed into the back stretch of the book. Where you fall probably depends on how much groundwork you need before a character pivots. If you trust a slow burn, EJ’s arc rewards the wait. If you want to see the gears turning throughout, it might feel abrupt. Either way, it’s the piece we were most eager to talk about after we finished, which tells you something about how much the book gets under your skin.
3. The Female Friendships Are Where The Book Quietly Wins
Strip away the pact and the romance, and what you’re left with is four women who genuinely love each other. This is the emotional core, and it’s the part readers across every camp tend to agree on. The friendships are messy, funny, and brutally honest, full of the kind of affection that only exists between people who’ve seen each other at their worst. MacMillan nails something a lot of friendship novels fumble. Supporting your friends doesn’t always mean agreeing with them. As each woman starts questioning the pact, the group has to sit with an uncomfortable truth: growing up sometimes means becoming someone your past self wouldn’t recognize. That tension gives the friendships a weight the romance never quite reaches.
4. The Feminism Is A Conversation, Not A Lecture (Though Not Everyone’s Convinced)
The book wants to talk about modern feminism, and this is where opinions get sharp again. Some readers found its take thoughtful, appreciating that it refuses to argue women “just need love” or that marriage is inherently a trap. A friend in the story lands the thesis cleanly when she points out that the whole point is women getting to choose. That framing resonated with us for sure. Others felt the book’s version of feminism read as a caricature, a slightly dated picture of the movement rather than a sharp engagement with it. Whether EJ’s rigidity is the point or a flaw is, fittingly, another thing readers can’t agree on. If you like fiction that leaves room for you to argue back, this is a feature, not a bug.
5. Do Yourself A Favor & Consider The Audiobook
If there’s one thing this book’s readers reach a near-consensus on, it’s Abigail Reno’s narration. Reno definitely brought EJ’s voice to life in a way that adds real texture. Given that EJ’s narration is the make-or-break element, letting a strong narrator carry it is a genuinely smart way in. If you’re on the fence about spending time in EJ’s head, the audio might be the version that wins you over!
6. And Yes, The Dog Steals Every Scene He’s In
Meet Arnie. He belongs to Chris, the buttoned-up tax accountant EJ finds herself tangled up with, and he quietly became the book’s breakout star. When we cooled on EJ, we warmed right back up whenever Arnie showed up. He’s a small thing, but he’s the kind of detail that softens a prickly book and gives everyone something to root for. Never underestimate the rating power of a good fictional dog.
So, Should You Pick It Up?
Here’s the honest read. If you want a cozy, low-conflict romance, this probably isn’t your match. But if you like a book that sparks a real reaction, hands you a difficult narrator and dares you to stick with her, and leaves you with questions about how many of your own life goals actually belong to you, then The Anti-Marriage Pact delivers exactly that. It’s the rare summer read that’s more fun because people disagree about it. Pick it up, form your own verdict, and then go argue about it with someone. That’s the whole point!
The Anti-Marriage Pact by Lindsay MacMillan is the rare summer read that’s more fun because people disagree about it. Hand it over to anyone who likes a book that dares them to argue back.
Are you Team Love-To-Hate EJ, or did she lose you early? Tell us where you landed. Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below or over on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
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