Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, but it was a DNF at 48% for me. I was having a good time, but I had to put it down for a night and then, the next day, realized I had no desire to pick it up again. There is, more or less, no tension whatsoever.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love low-stakes, take-it-easy kinds of books. I love not having my adrenals pounded on as I'm ushered from intense moment to intense moment. I love having romance leads that aren't at odds all the time for irritatingly flimsy reasons. I love cozy books where the narrative takes the time to relish in how comfortable and happy and well-supported the characters are. Those are some of the best parts of this book, along with the dynamic between the leads and the texture of the writing itself..

Unfortunately, the story still needs things to *change* within it to feel like it's going somewhere. After almost 170 pages of June retracing all of the steps through "I can't trust him to stay, but he's hot, but he was my best friend and I miss my sister, and he gets it but I can't trust him to stay, but he's hot, but he was my best friend--" without any change in her expectations or wants or even the way she thinks of him, I just couldn't do it anymore. I liked the individual sweet moments in this book quite a bit, but by the fifth or sixth with basically 0 progress in their relationship, I was pretty done. No matter how sweet Levi and June are (and they are incredibly sweet), I didn't want to keep walking in circles with them.

I'm giving it 3/5 because it has so much promise to become the kind of story I love, but first, it really needs a good pruning and revising by a good editor before it can be considered "good",

This book was a really cute and fun read. It started out slow but once things picked up I could not put it down. The book had me pleasantly surprised. I love a good fake dating trope. Plus, I love that it didn’t have much spice to the story line. I can’t wait to see what else this author has to offer!!

The Break Up Pact by Emma Lord concerns
Levi and June high school friends who, after being dumped by their respective partners, decide to fake date. I really enjoyed this book. The story flashes back to high school through memories. Levi and June have been estranged for years and it's nice to see them regain their friendship and trust. I liked their shorthand with each other. Their connection seemed very genuine. Secondary characters Dylan (June's brother), Mateo (Dylan's fiance) and Sana (June's best friend) added a nice element and showed the layers of how June had shrunk her life, hiding from what she really wanted. The relationships were very sincere. I liked the element of social media and reality TV that made this story a bit unique. A great read for those who enjoyed Annabelle Monaghan's Same Time Next Summer or Carley Fortune's Meet Me At the Lake. 4.25 stars. Thanks to St Martin's press and Net Galley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review❤️📚

5⭐️

OH. MY. GOD.

I loved absolutely everything about this book! The best parts of this book range from the fake dating to all the other platonic relationships that exist in this book. The characters is this book were so well written that I wanted to hop into the book and exist in their friend group. There were times where I was genuinely laughing out loud because it was so cute or couldn't keep the massive grin off my face because of the perfect, witty banter between June and Levi.

To top it off, there is also no third act break-up! June and Levi are always able to work out everything and move forward because of them being able to be honest adults and communicate. Do they make mistakes? Yes, of course! But, misunderstandings happen and they always had each other's best interests at heart. Whether this is Levi helping June out at Tea Tide (the tea shop June owns) or June helping Levi work on his novel, they are just everything that friends and lovers should be.

While this is technically a spicy book, there is not too much spice happening with only one open door scene.

This is a book I would recommend if you love cute romances, fake-dating, and just overall wholesome characters!

Look for this book coming out at the end of the summer! Release Date: August 13, 2024

**TW: Grief/loss of a sibling. This does happen before the book begins, but it is a major part of June's character arc**

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book from this author and it definitely won’t be my last! This story and the characters had a depth to them that isn’t always found in romance novels. I love a romance that brings in a family dynamic and friendships to add to the story. I really enjoyed the story, characters and setting. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

This book was a really cute and fun read. Great for a summer vacation. Emma and Levi have a lot of history to work through but I was cheering for them from the very beginning. I enjoyed watching them discover what they wanted individually and where they fit in each other's lives.

This book pleasantly surprised me, First off, I love a good childhood unrequited crush story and to top it off the fake dating trope is definitely a fun one. Here you can relate to the immaturity of kids, their big feelings and unable to understand how to navigate them to hey! we were really stupid before let's take this one day at a time. It's a good growth arc and I think the author did a good job showcasing that.
I did feel the story dragged a bit in between but it wasn't too bad.

Second chance romance, fake dating and childhood friends. Say no more, I'm in.

I love Emma Lord's books and this one was so cute. It gave me the best summer read vibes. If you like any of the tropes mentioned above, you'll like this one.

It was also the perfect mix between a light and sad read, I was crying in some parts for sure. Really enjoyed all the characters and the different things going up with all of them.

Some things that happened near the end of the book, I didn't love though, just seemed to be added in there for some plot.

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

I’ve learned recently that the childhood friends to reconciled adult lovers is not one of my favorite tropes because it’s very hard to pull off. There’s a lot of groundwork the author has to lay in order for me as the reader to become fully invested in the characters’ journeys. There has to be a lot of history between the main characters, a solid reason for why they stopped being friends, and then, of course, a lot of chemistry and mutual yearning when they finally reconcile as adults. And unfortunately, in The Break-up Pact, all of this led to far too much telling, and not nearly enough showing.

I hate being told over and over again how attracted the characters are to each other, how much of a connection they share, because if you have to tell me that three hundred times in a three-hundred-page novel, then I just don’t believe it, which is why I could only give this book a three-star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review!

3/5 stars. This author is hit or miss for me and I started off really enjoying this book but I felt it focused a little too much on Annie and not enough about the couple. This took me out of the romcom vibe the description makes it out to be and makes it a little more depressing than intended.

If you’re looking for fake dating, with a twist this is the book for you. As you discover not only do these two have a common goal, but a linked and misunderstood past. As they try to find themselves again, they also make sure not to give up on love. A great book with a very solid and lovable cast.

Perfect for fake dating, and friends-strangers-lovers tropes.

Spice Level:
🌶️ 1/5
One graphic scene with building and tension beforehand. Overall very nice and added to the story well.

3.5 Stars This is my first Emma Lord novel and it was delightful! I loved the beach setting for the story and the journey the main characters went on. I don’t like the miscommunication trope when it’s the cause of conflict in the third act, but it was done well this time since the main characters were aware of it and worked through the miscommunication together rather than running away.

This was my first Emma Lord book and I really enjoyed it! It was funny and sweet and surprisingly horny (in a good way-I wasn't expecting an open door scene!). The second-chance, friends-to-lovers romance was a total treat but I loved that the plot went deeper into themes of self discovery, grief, comparison, and how it feels to find your niche. I was chuckling, smiling, blushing, and kicking my feet all the way through this. The side characters were hilarious and made scenes where the two main characters weren’t together just as enjoyable as the ones where they were.

My critique is that I felt a little lost in the last ~30%. I was getting confused when Levi talked about Kelly and her expectations for their life, and confused further with where Levi and June stood. I had a tough time understanding what it was Kelly wanted and how that differed from Levi’s goals and how that affected him. However, there was a sentence later on that cleared up my confusion about Levi and Kelly and added some context to how their relationship dynamic compared to June and Griffin's. Ultimately, I appreciated that they felt similar things in their past relationships (June being pushed too far and Levi being held too far back). Despite this trust-the-process moment, I would totally recommend for fans of Emily Henry, Jessica Joyce, Kate Clayborn, Katherine Center, etc.

One inconsistency I noticed was that in the article about June and Levi at the beginning of the book, Annie was mentioned as being their high school’s valedictorian. But then when June finds Annie’s speech, she noted that it was for being salutatorian. Thought perhaps that would need correcting :)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I liked this book - loved the setting of Benson Beach, it felt really homey and small town. Loved June and Levi and the supporting characters. Romance often has a “miscommunication” trope, and I appreciated that when the main characters were miscommunicating in the third act, they were conscious of it and that it was a problem they wanted to face, instead of running away from it. Loved the Tea Tide cafe and the business element!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. Below are my honest thoughts on this book.

The Break Up Pact tells the story of June and Levi, friends in high school, whose respective breakups were both plastered all over social media (for different reasons). When a photograph makes the internet think they’re a couple they decide to play that up for mutual benefit. This brings back the feelings that Levi and June had for each other when they were teenagers, and their relationship develops from there.

Friends to lovers is always such a feel good trope for me. It feels cozy, and add that this story is set in a beach town, just adds to my cozy vibes.

Unfortunately I had difficulty connecting with June, which always makes it difficulty for me to get into a book. From the beginning of the book June just got on my nerves. I found her to be very judgy… not my cup of tea.

Slow burns? Also not my cup of tea.

While I didn’t love this book, the writing was still enjoyable, and I loved the cozy vibes. This experience with this book would not stop me from reading something by this author in the future.

Such a wonderful, delightful read!!

1st person, single POV. Friends to strangers to friends to lovers. Fake dating. Revenge plot line. Previous crushes/pining on both sides. Slow burn. Swoony MMC. Competent FMC. Open door. MMC is a writer. NOT second chance because they were never together to begin with.

I’ve read two Emma Lord YA novels previously and I didn’t love her writing style. It was very dense and heavy, with emphasis on Contemporary instead of Romance. It was like if Women’s Fiction was a thing in YA, it had that style of writing. And I didn’t love it in YA.

But then it worked so so well for this one. Heavy with exposition, but I'd still stay it's very firmly Romance.

I requested it to see if I’d like her better as an Adult writer and oh my god guys I do.

This was a book I could tell within two chapters I was going to just love. I wanted to draw out my reading and linger in the story with the characters but at the same time devour the story. It just beautiful writing, a beautiful story, and beautifully realistic characters.

Levi was so refreshing as an MMC because he was a little on the shy and reserved side, and I guess I just don’t read a lot of those. He felt more realistic than fictitious. And I love a realistic pining MMC.

June is competent though struggling with moving on in her grief. Her sister’s death isn’t super recent, but the cafe she runs was her sister’s baby, basically, and a lot of her character development comes from reconciling moving on with the past.

Technically there is not a third act break up as the couple doesn’t break up. FMC needs a little space and time, and MMC is more than willing to wait around for her. The time and space doesn’t take long—she just has to reconcile her anger at the past and her tea shop issues, and she does very quickly.

My only complaint is, just once in a fake dating for revenge story, can we NOT tell the exes?! Can the couple just get their HEA and the exes are just bitter in their corner? Especially because this one really blew up.

I’m actually really shocked by the low reviews on GR, and I can’t help but think that’s because of so many YA readers, because that’s where Lord got her start, picking this one up. You should absolutely ignore them and pick it up yourself. A captivating and engaging read that you'll want to linger in.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quote to get you intrigued: The loose strand falls out from behind my ear again. This time Levi is the one who reaches out, the tips of his fingers skimming my forehead, grazing my ear as he tucks the strand back. “You know you’ve always got me, right?” he says. “I know things weren’t great between us, and I’ll regret that forever. But if you ever need me. No matter what. You’ve always got me.”

Triggers: death of sister prior to story but heavily mentioned

3.5 stars I previously DNF'd this book but since then I went back and finished it. Ultimately it was an okay read, Where the book fell flat for me was the way the main characters June and Levi handled their relationship, Levi especially. I just wasn't a big fan of both of them which made it harder to connect with the romance aspect. It was also incredibly messy at some points. It did however have a very cheesy hallmark charm to it.


Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm starting to realize I don't love the romance stories revolved around a plot that something goes "viral". Maybe its something about the word TikTok being in a book that doesn't do it for me. I couldn't connect with the characters but I did love the best friend Sana, I'd read her story.

I must start by saying this book had a good story and gave me a few laughs.
This is a cute story about fake dating between old friends who became strained and got in contact again after a few years.
It was okay overall but it took me a while to sort everything out. The story had so much going on between breakups, wedding planning, family death, managing a business, etc that it got me a little lost in the beginning! But still this was a quick read.
Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed the premise of this novel and everything that it represented, as well as the fact one of my favorite authors was diving into the adult novel world, so I was overjoyed to get the opportunity to read an advance copy. And this is definitely an open door adult novel.

It follows June and Levi as they enter into a fake dating/ second chance romance with a little bit of baking and best man/maid of honor shenanigans thrown in. This is a great beach read, with lots of fun elements that I thoroughly enjoyed