I love Emma Lord, but unfortunately her Adult debut wasn’t for me. I would go into why, but I honestly think it’s more of a preference thing and not a ‘here’s a list of issues this book has’ thing. I can absolutely see this book getting her a lot of well deserved attention, and becoming very big this summer. It reminded me a lot of ‘Love And Other Words’ and ‘People We Meet on Vacation’, which is probably what through me off, since neither of those are my favorites by any means. But, a lot of people love them, and I think those same people will love The Break-Up Pact.

Emma Lord is a QUEEN and her writing is phenomenal. I never really know what I'm going to get out of her books and I've loved every single one so far. Can't wait for more!

This was such a sweet book! I loved the characters, and their love story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Break-Up Pact is a story about two former best friends whom haven’t spoken in about 10 years who both are dealing with viral breakups. They form a pact to fake date to help save June’s Tea Tide business and to show Levi’s fiancé, Kelly what she could lose.
Glows-
🌷 fake dating and second chance troupes with a bit of small town and miscommunication
🌷like how the history and chemistry of the main characters is explored
🌷 supporting characters
🌷writing about the grief process
Grows-
🥀 the miscommunication between the two main characters got redundant
🥀words and phrases often repeated throughout the book

Overall great quick read perfect for the summer or beach!

Another engaging rom-com from Emma Lord. June and Levi are childhood friends who reconnect after they both go through very public break-ups. They form a pact and pretend to date each other to get back at their exes, but old feelings make things more complicated than they anticipated. While the basic premise doesn’t lend itself to a lot of surprises, an unexpected, but poignant, plot-line has June learning to move forward after the death of her sister. This novel feels more grown up than Lord’s previous books and I can’t wait to see where she takes her readers next.

This was a fun read, but also tied conflict of grief, growth, and of course some great rom-com moments. I loved the descriptions in the writing, it made it easy to picture the time and place the characters were experiencing. The story takes place in a beach town, hometown to two people that were very close growing up and have gone their separate ways and drifted apart. After both have public breakups, they come up with a plan to get back at their ex’s and go viral. The story takes off from there. I don’t always notice the acknowledgements, but make sure to catch the fun behind-the-scenes story the author throws in before moving on to your next read.

This was a cute and fast paced book!

If you love friends to lovers, this’ll be perfect! Plus the fact that they are fake dating… even better.

Levi and June were perfect for each other!! All it took was a photo together, and speculation they were dating for them to actually fall in love. Again, perfect!

I recommend this if you’re looking for a fast paced, childhood friends to lovers, and fake dating trope romance book!!

Emma Lord seamlessly transitions from YA to adult with The Break-Up Pact. It was sweet, it was slow-burn, it was spicy. The perfect read. The chemistry between the characters was SO well written, and it was easy to fall in love along with them.

FAKE. DATING. SUPREMACY.

like seriously, you guys. fake dating will always and forever HIT. ALWAYS!!! I love the fake dating trope sm and especially here when we had it paired with childhood friends to lovers and a small town beach setting. June and Levi's relationship was just overall very fun to read!

This book is the perfect mix of childhood friends to lovers and fake dating. I absolutely ate this book up.

Childhood friends June and Levi, who have barely spoken In the last 10 years, each have breakups that cause them to go viral.

June runs a struggling tea and scone shop. Levi wants to make his ex jealous. Sana, June’s best friend needs a breakout article to try and land a job with Fizzle. The breakup pact is the perfect way for all them to get what they need. Between fake dates, viral posts and lots of rumors, June and Levi’s old feelings for each other surface and plans change.

This book had me laughing, smiling and so engaged the entire time. I can totally see this being made into a Hallmark movie. There is just something about childhood friends and fake dating that gets me everytime.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for sharing this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Withholding my review in solidarity with the readers' strike with Readers for Accountability: https://www.instagram.com/readersforaccountability/.

Withholding my review in solidarity with the readers' strike with Readers for Accountability: https://www.instagram.com/readersforaccountability/.

This has all the tropes for the perfect romance, childhood friends, fake dating and second chance romance. Push through the beginning because it was a very slow start, but it’s amazing after that.

‘The Break-Up Pact’ is so much more than it’s cute cover and fun storyline - it’s heartfelt, touching, and utterly heartbreaking at times. Set against the backdrop of a tranquil beachside town, a charming teashop, and a whole let of memories, the story follows June and Eli as they find their way back to each other, and themselves, after nearly a decade apart. With a delicious cast of secondary characters (each one funnier and more like-able than the next), two viral breakups, heaps of scones, and a fake relationship, ‘The Break-Up Pact’ will keep you hooked from page one! I devoured this book in record time, and cannot wait for Emma Stone to release more books in this series, and soon!

Emma Lord dives into the world of Adult Romance with her newest novel, THE BREAK-UP PACT, about high school "just friends" who years later both end up going through public break-ups and decide to fake date each other to get back at their exes. It's got all the makings of what we've come to know and expect from Emma Lord - a quirky setting with strong NYC ties, dessert references, and a cast of lovable supporting characters. However, and this ACTUALLY pains me to write this as I love this author SO much, this book just fell completely flat. I just didn't root for the main characters! I feel like the book begins too abruptly and we only get a morsel of how June and Levi knew each other, and the foundation of their relationship is only alluded to. I think this could have been remedied with a prologue chapter of high school June and Levi shenanigans to be able to fully capture their playfulness in order for readers to understand years later how shocking it was that they were no longer talking. The MC also lacked the dimensional nature that the author expertly weaves in her other novels, and these characters just don't have that much personality (June - baker, runner, people-pleaser. Levi - writer, runner, NYC finance guy, curly hair). In fact, halfway through I found myself wishing that this was a book written about June's best friend Sanna, who was just so full of life in contrast to June (which, I get is sort of the point, but still!!) There's also this omnipresent aspect of June's dead sister Annie, which seems to totally infiltrate every aspect of June and Levi's relationship. I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but it kind of seems like. . .Annie was the worst?! Clearly she had feelings for Levi and was jealous of June's relationship with him, and it seemed like when she was alive she was doing everything to meddle with them. I also can't believe I am saying this, but even though I love Emma Lord's love of desserts coming through in her writing, this scone thing was just beaten to a pulp in this novel and it was TOO much. I also wish that the book would have ended with a scene from Dylan and Mateo's wedding. It was such an integral part of the whole fake dating thing, and then we just skipped it?! NOOO!
Okay, this book wasn't totally irredeemable though! It's the textbook definition of a good breezy, beach read. It also had a chapter with a sex scene in it, and I thought it was written well and came across as realistic without being raunchy. I also loved that it addressed the reality that a lot of romance novels glaze over, in that you need to make sure that you are actually figure out who you are as a couple before going on your way to your happily ever after.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a DRC of THE BREAK-UP PACT by Emma Lord, in exchange for my own thoughts and opinions. THE BREAK-UP PACT is out 08/13/2024.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this novel. Miscommunications are a hard trope for me to get behind.

Others may love these types of novels but I really struggled with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher St Martin's Press for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so cute. If you enjoy romances by authors such as Emily Henry or Tessa Bailey, I can almost guarantee that you will just adore this book! I loved everything about it. The characters, the romance, the hijinks. It was super cute. If you are having a bad day, this book will brighten your mood 100%. Emma Lord is going on my favorite author list 100%!

–

Connect with Me <3

My blog is https://bookreviewsbyjules.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/44083250-julia (follow me and/or send a friend request!)

Instagram/bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookreviewsbyjules/ (I follow back all Book accounts)

Substack: https://bookreviewsbyjules.substack.com/ (feel free to subscribe!)

If I were asked to describe this book in one word, it would be clunky. There is not enough insight into the characters' past history and evolution to where they are now. The flow is off, I had to go back to and reread sections when it didn’t make sense or read smoothly. There is no build up to the romance; it jumps straight to it despite having not spoken in 10 years. They were best friends, practically strangers for 10 years, immediately started fake dating, and then hook up almost right away. And yet, there’s still no chemistry. It is all so rushed and underdeveloped. Reading this was a chore.

This is a decent read if you need something to fill time on a plane or casually reading without wanting to really be invested

I am a newcomer to Emma Lord's books and enjoyed The Break-Up Pact. I love a good beach read, especially one that is set in a small beach town, where all the locals know each other. This story is about two very close childhood friends, Levi and June, who have intentionally lost contact after high school. Both have recently suffered very public and humiliating break-ups with their significant others. Levi returns home to recover and write a book. They hatch a plan to pretend to date and become known as the revenge exes. The story between Levi and June started off slow and picked up towards the middle of the book - so stick with it, if it doesn't hook you at the beginning. My favorite parts are when Levi and June go on "dates." The dates are funny and entertaining, and you get a real glimpse of why Levi and June would be great in a real relationship.
You learn the reason June and Levi’s friendship ended in high school, and the entire situation is frustrating and avoidable.It seems the same mistakes are being repeated again when June agrees to meet with her ex, Griffin, to film for his reality tv sow. I just wanted to throttle her because history repeated itself, and Griffin made her look like an idiot, once again. You also learn that after being in a relationship with Griffin for 10 years, he never said “I love you” to June. I can only think June’s self-esteem must have been terribly low, to be steam-rolled by Griffin for so long. Another point of confusion for me, is the relationship between June and her sister Annie, who unexpectedly died several years ago. June talks like she and Annie were so close, but from the things Annie said and did, it seems like Annie was selfish and put herself first.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those who love a funny, romantic beach read.