The Break-Up Pact - Emma Lord

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The kind that makes me appreciate the little things he must quietly notice about people, about the world. The kind that makes you linger on a page too long because he's just put a hazy feeling into such concrete words that it pulls old memories from your own life into the text.”

Childhood friends June and Levi are reunited in their hometown as they both are going through very public breakups. They concoct a scheme to get back at their exes and boost their own careers, through a fake relationship of their own. But as their fake feelings turn real, June is forced to reevaluate her feelings for him and the future with him in it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC! This rom com had so many of my favorite tropes: second chance romance and summertime on the water but it kind of fell flat for me. I still don’t really understand how any of these people are “famous” and the weird love rectangle they formed. Neither of these two had great communication skills and I’ll never understand why people enjoy that as a trope because it’s so frustrating. I did enjoy the side characters more than anything in this slow burn romance.

I tried for 2 weeks to read this book and I couldn't do it. I didn't even make it half way. I didn't find the characters likeable at all even with their history from when they were kids. It just moved to slow for me. i won't be recommending this book. Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley. #BreakupPact #NetGalley

In my opinion, this was a great example on how to recapture childhood memories and show us how deep the connection is between two characters. I LOVED June and Levi together and I actually really liked how June contemplates her actions as the friendship with Levi rekindles. There were many times where she could have just immediately blown up on someone but we see her try to step into their shoes and really think about how she responds. I think that is part of the appeal of an adult romance novel rather than a YA one. Aside from all of the media attention they were getting from their relationship, I thought it was sweet and endearing how June and Levi were able to help each other find closure after the loss of Annie. I really enjoyed this book and will be purchasing the physical copy when it is released!

This book was cute, and it featured social media drama. The author's writing makes you feel like you are in the story. The book's premise was fun and convenient to the characters since everybody knew each other. Would've loved a not-so-easy fake dating situation, but still, the book was great.

3.25⭐️ a cute lighthearted, low stakes, romance novel.

This was cute! I laughed out loud several times. I definitely got frustrated with both main characters (good lord Levi, make a decision for yourself for once in your life). And now I really want a scone. I had a good time reading this. Not too much drama, not too much spice, just an all around good time.

I would have liked to see more of how Levi and his ex fiancé finalized things, and there were times when June’s inner monologues droned on, but I would say this is a good casual book for romance readers.

I appreciated the added plot of grieving the two main characters had over the sister who passed away. That created a whole dynamic that was unexpected. There was spice, but it was kind of awkward…maybe that’s just me…

I'm not even sure what trope I'd categorize this one under - was it fake relationship? or perhaps second chances? Maybe we will go with childhood friends to lovers. Whatever it was - I enjoyed it! This was one of those fun, easy books that you can just sit down and enjoy without having to get too emotionally invested. I enjoyed that this book was more focused on their love for each other and not their love in the bedroom. This would be a good beach read for those of you looking for that!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me have an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Love love love this book. The banter, the drama, the romance. I loved all of it. I haven’t read anything by Emma Lord but I added all of her other books to my TBR!

Love this! The Break-up Pact explores the ins and outs of two best friends as they reflect on failed relationships, old feelings, new feelings, and major life decisions. You feel along with them as they start to understand whose opinions really matter as they start to live for themselves.

The story was cute, but I wish it gave a bit more. It was somehow both too fast and too slow. I loved the premise of childhood friends and second chance romance but I also feel like we didn’t actually get any of June and Levi’s childhood friendship. Also the fact that these two ghosted each other for a whole decade just made the timeline feel so odd.

I feel like a “less is more” approach was taken with this, meaning it felt like a lot of things were hinted at but never actually explained. I would have preferred more.

Loved the side characters - Sana, Dylan, and Mateo were fantastic.

THAT WAS SIMPLY PERFECT.

I loved every moment with June and Levi, I couldn’t put the book down. They’re so beautifully human and brought out so much emotion in me, it was impossible to not fall in love with them.

I’m really happy with the way the plot unfolds, it doesn’t fall into easy tropes or predictable holes the way I might have expected, and I really loved June’s narrative voice. She’s intelligent and emotionally complex, she doesn’t skip over any basic questions or feelings for the sake of the plot, and it makes the story feel that much more real.

10/10 wonderful heartwarming experience that I’d recommend to anyone who loves a deeply felt love story.

Super cute! Pretty much every romance book trope is present here but sometimes that’s fun. Reminded me a bit of Carley Fortune’s books (a compliment!). The scone focus was cute but probably could have used less of it as a main focus? Lol. Still enjoyed!

This book is cute if you are looking for a quick, summery romance. It’s maybe a little too quick (but also too slow? Not sure how that works) for my taste. I had some trouble believing the whole Crying-Girl meme and that two random people would go viral for being cheated on, especially since the people who cheated on them weren’t even all that famous themselves. I also didn’t connect much—or at all—with the two main characters, which kinda sucks since I’m supposed to be rooting for them to fall in love.

Also, the words “TikTok” and “scone” were mentioned way more times than necessary 😭

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars
This was a super cute rom-com, beach read kind of book. As always, Emma Lord's characters are very quirky, which I appreciate. My only gripe is that the ending seemed to drag a bit and even though I knew full well what was going to happen, I was annoyed that it was taking so long to get there.
That being said, I would still recommend this to others.

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

I adored this book! I loved the main characters and the relationship they had throughout the course of the book. I love fake dating and thought this concept was so fun! Also, the fact that Levi called June different months— LOVE IT. This book doesn’t have the usual miscommunication that fake dating usually does, which I really appreciate. All in all, I loved all the characters, thought the grief aspect of this book was well done, and enjoyed it immensely!

Fun romance read about family, grief and friendship. Plays out over a summer in a small beach town. I liked the characters and one of the few romance books told just from the view point for the female main character. Not my favorite book but a solid beach/pool read

I liked this book. It was sweet and more of a slow burn than other rom coms. It felt fresh compare to other fake dating stories. I liked the ending. But there were some parts that felt a bit unbelievable, such as why June and Levi didn’t speak for 10 years and why June stayed with Griffin. It could be cool if the book started with a quick prequel of June and Griffin on one of their adventures to get a sense of her mindset back then.

US pub date: 8/13/24
Genre: romcom (fake dating, second chance romance)
Quick summary: Former BFFs June and Levi were publicly dumped by their exes, and a picture of them together sparks dating rumors. So they figure - why not? Maybe it will help save June's bakery...

Based on this cover and description, I was expecting this to be a new favorite romcom! Unfortunately, it didn't have the same magic as my fave Emma Lord book, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE. I think most of this was due to June - her major insecurity just killed the vibe of the book. I get that characters have issues like the rest of us, but she felt so passive and unwilling to take concrete steps to move forward in her life. I just wanted her to go to therapy and work on herself!! There's a lot of miscommunication in this book, so if you don't like that trope, I would skip this one. At least the beach town setting was fun!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a 3.8 star rating for me. June and Levi were friends and fell out ten years ago and now they’re thrust together in an interesting way. They’re both facing their own problems an decide to work together to get revenge and do it publicly. This is a cute story of a more realistic relationship timeline that readers can relate with. You have light and witty and then a more serious side with some self reflection and get to see how they navigate this “fake relationship” and how things turn out. Definitely a good book that I’d highly recommend! My first ever book by Emma Lord and I can’t wait to read the next one!

Emma Lord has delivered again! I love her books and all that goes into them: witty characters, interesting plot lines, and curiosities throughout. This was another fun edition to the mix. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one!

I gave this book a 3.75. I loved the banter between June and Levi, and thought their overall chemistry was great. I struggled with June's interior monolog, it felt very long and rambly at times and I found myself wanting to skim through those parts.
Overall, it was a cute story, and I loved the side characters just as much as the main ones, I wish we could have gotten more time with them.