June is trying her best to keep her late sister’s tea shop afloat after a meme-inspiring breakup in the media. At the same time her childhood friend and old flame Levi is back in town as the other wronged partner. The two decide to revenge their exes by pretending to date each other and help garner media attention for the tea shop. Old feelings resurface and a new relationship forms between June and Levi as they go on with their scheme. But how will their exes react and what happens when the charade ends?

I enjoyed the premise of the story and respected the journey that June and Levi take both together and individually. The romance fell a bit flat for me though.

Every so often I need a palate cleanser!

Here is a faking dating - friend to lover combo trope in the light hearted beach town adult novel debut for Emma Lord.

Former high school besties, June and Levi, are going through their own respective - and very public - break ups. They decide to fake date to help June’s tea shop pick up traction and help show Levi’s ex what she’s missing.

The characters are lovable with a few insufferable moments for June, but not cringe worthy! I enjoyed the journey of both June and Levi. It’s heartwarming for my cold murder mystery loving soul.

3.5 stars!

Two solid stars - one for the audiobook narrator and one for the first half of the book. I was not really drawn to June or Levi and honestly don’t know why the interwebs would have been so infatuated with them because I just was not.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the ARC!

Even though I don't typically read YA, I always look forward to Emma Lord's novels, so was thrilled for her first adult release. I loved so many parts of this novel. Truly was an anticipated read of the year and was excited to sink into this delicious and moving summer novel.

🫖 This was adorable and fun- a perfect beach read. Thank you to @stmartinspress for the gifted copy. This is out now!

🫖 YA romance and I do not vibe so I was super excited to see Emma Lord was dipping her toes into the land of adult romance— and she did not disappoint. This was an easy, breezy listen and just what I needed in the moment.

🫖 You can expect…
- second chance romance
- fake dating
- great side characters
- silly premise

🫖 The whole premise was a little silly and unrealistic but it let me suspend belief and get lost in a fun story for a bit which I really appreciated. This came out over the summer and I’m a bit late getting to it. Have you read it?

Emma Lord is a star writer and this book was so good! I liked everything about it, and I cannot wait to read more books that she writes!

The Break-Up Pact is about two scorned exes who return to their hometown. One a writer and the other a baker, they decide to come together and fake date to get over their break-ups. This book was a second-chance romance with plenty of cute moments and one of the best intimate scenes I've read this year. I thought the build-up was excellent, and I really liked the characters by the end of the book. I gave it four stars because I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again.

This second chance romance stars June and Levi who were childhood best friends until a falling-out. Then they both experience highly public breakups - he was dating a movie star and June becomes they “crying girl” meme when her boyfriend dumps her on a reality show. When a picture of them together goes viral on social media, the public begins rooting for their revenge romance. They decide to fake date and fuel the fire. She needs publicity for her tea shop, and he wants to make his ex jealous. As they orchestrate five romantic dates, with photo opps galore, their fake relationship begins to foster real feelings.

I enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure I would revisit it. I believed in June and Levi’s love story and enjoyed the side characters however there seem to be something lacking in their story. I’m not sure that the sisterhood / friendship and loss of Annie was fully developed the way I expected it to be. I did enjoy the book however and liked it more than the authors previous young adult book that I had read. I would read another of Emma lords books if The opportunity presented itself

I have enjoyed so many of Emma Lord's YA books for both their romance and the growth the characters experience. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.

There was just too much happening that made the whole thing feel drawn out. The writing and storytelling felt forced and just didn't flow as well as her other books. I did like seeing June's growth and how she found herself, but it wasn't enough to make this a new favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.75/5 Stars

The Break-Up Pact was a cute Adult Contemporary romance featuring two favorite tropes: fake dating and childhood friends to lovers. This was my first read by Emma Lord, and I must say, I really enjoyed her writing style and how she brought her characters to life.

The storyline was fun to watch unfold, with its mix of laugh-out-loud moments and deeper, more heartfelt ones. While it didn’t quite hit my favorites shelf, it was an enjoyable read overall, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Many thanks to #NetGalley, #TheBreakUpPact, @stmartinspress, and Emma Lord for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own and freely expressed.

#BookReview #TheBreakUpPact #AdultContemporary #RomanceReads #FakeDatingTrope #FriendsToLovers

June and Levi's both had viral breakups. I like that they were old friends and willing to help each other get Levi's girl back and get press for June's tea shop. I am not always a fan of best friends/old lovers but I enjoyed this story and Levi and Junes relationship. I think it helped that fake dating was involved which I am a sucker for.

I am here to say that @dilemmalord has done it again with an absolutely precious rom-com! The Break-Up Pact has all the best tropes. Childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, second chances! June & Levi gave me all the butterflies in my tummy ✨🦋

Lord does a wonderful job of making a magical rom-com, all while tackling heavy topics such as grief in the most tender way. I was so wrapped up in this one and absolutely loved it! 💖💕

Former teenage best friends pretend to be lovers after their breakups go viral? YES PLEASE! Emma over here hitting me with all the best tropes. Also, who doesn't want to see a new love thrown in the crappy exes faces? The writing was heartfelt and easy to get lost in. I listened to it in one sitting because I needed to know how it all played out (even though we all know how it's going to end. It is a romcom after all). June and Levi were both endearing characters that you wanted to find happiness together. I highly recommend picking this one up if you like light-hearted romance books. It's perfect for a quick pick me up that will bring a smile to your face.

This was such a cute book. It managed to touch on viral shaming in the digital age, with a second chance and still lovers. I loved the writing, and I will definitely look for this writer again in the future. I really can’t recommend this book enough.

This book took far too long to get through. While the characters are cute and the second chance at love is a great theme, the story itself lacks a fast-paced desire to continue reading. Part of this story could have been eliminated to speed it up, and the love story would have flowed more seemlessly.

Reading a book by Emma Lord is always such a delight! I love her YA novels, so I was very excited to get my hands on her adult debut. The characters in this novel have a lot of depth, especially June as she grieves the death of her older sister. Levi is THAT book boyfriend, the perfect boy-next-door character. Overall, this love story was as sweet as the baked goods at June's tea shop!

I didn’t realize how much I would like a fake dating trope until you throw in some unrequited feelings, a little bit of family trauma and a small beach town. June and Levi had great chemistry through most of the book and their together only to take some time apart felt rushed, there was no denying they were ultimately staying together.

DNF'd about 14% into the book. I didn't really enjoy the characters, it wasn't anything special, and I didn't feel it was a good use of my limited free time to read the rest of it.

DNF. It pains me to say this because I usually love this author but this one wasn’t for me. It felt juvenile and just overall lame. I know this is her first adult romance but the YA vibes took over. I didn’t care enough to keep reading and find out why these two are acting so immature around each other