I love Emma Lord, she is great with YA, and when i found out that she wrote a romance, i was so excited to read it.
Thanks so muche to Netgalley and the publisher, for giving me the chance to read it.
The story itself is not bad, it has lots of pop references and is enjoyable, but i didn't care a lot about the character. The story in some points is a bit "heavy", and not always is what i look for to read in a romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this gifted ARC.

Let me start off by saying that Emma Lord normally is an auto-buy author for me. She writes sweet, cute YA romances that always put me in a good mood. Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me, and I felt like something was just missing from the overall plot.

Fake dating romances are one of my favorite tropes to read. Emma Lord set this trope against a social media background that included villainous exes and a mysterious BFF breakup between the two MCs (Levi and June). On top of that, we have the cloudy presence of June's deceased sister, Annie, who played a major role in their childhood friendship.

All of these elements are ones that I love, but it was entirely overshadowed by the pacing of their romance and the dreaded miscommunication trope. Speaking of the pace, this is one of the reasons I gave this book only 3 stars. After ten years apart, Levi and June fell back in love pretty quickly without any context for the reader. Also, I am not a fan of miscommunication driving an entire plot line. It is revealed that this was THE reason that Levi and June stopped being friends. It wasn't realistic to me, and I wish there was more to this part of the plot.

Overall, this was a fun read; I read it in a single afternoon. The beach setting is fun, and I love a good fake dating theme. If you are looking for a lighthearted romance that has a few gaps, this book is for you.

Ohhhhhh……..I wept, mostly quietly and without fanfare, in the last third of this book so often that I had to tuck a tissue into the area under my glasses to catch the tears. It was so so lovely and so heart-wrenching and so so beautifully written. I have enjoyed Lord’s books before, but never quite this much. I won’t ruin the book for others, because I feel like any discussion might lead me to spoil something unintentionally, because I just adore Levi and June and Mateo and Dylan and, ohmygawd, Sana!!!! Love. Her. So. Much!!! This was a great read. 💜💜📚

The Break-Up Pact was such an entertaining read. Lord combined a second chance romance, fake dating trope, and deeper emotional struggles with ease in the novel. I would recommend this book to romance and general fiction readers, unless the miscommunication trope is a turn-off.

The plot: June and Levi are former-best friends who happen to go through highly public, mortifying break-ups at nearly the same time. These humiliations aren't their only challenges - June owns a languishing beachside tea shop that's empty more days than not, and Levi is a prototypical New York finance guy who "sold out" and abandoned his dream of a writing career. After not speaking for a decade, June and Levi have a chance meeting that leads to a viral photo & myth that the "breakup duo" have found revenge on their exes by dating each other. Both of them find potential benefits to this misunderstanding, so they decide to play the part with a fake dating (and redemption) campaign. What could possibly go wrong?

My opinion: This was a fun read - I read it in a single sitting. Fake dating books are always a favorite for me and Lord created a very interesting backdrop with the viral social media pressures, villainous exes, and mysterious "BFF breakup" drama between June and Levi. I enjoyed how the author balanced the humorous elements (June's best friend with the quirky personality & incredible internet savvy) with the emotional trauma of losing a sibling and the reckoning 30somethings go through when they realize they haven't lived up to their childhood dreams. I did find the pacing of the romance to be a bit unrealistic - it felt a bit like "insta love" between the two characters, without the reader understanding exactly why they fell so deeply. The childhood friendship was discussed in much more detail and felt more realistic, with the connection and its drivers being much more apparent. I disliked the miscommunication trope that was revealed to have caused their "friend breakup" at the end of high school - the author built some suspense throughout by delaying the reveal to the end of the book, but the payoff wasn't satisfying for me. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, especially as a beachy read given the setting of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this book! It has several of the best romantic tropes all put together in a really good way, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship progress throughout the book.

If you’re looking for a really quick and easy read, this is perfect for you. The characters are charming and the dialogue is super fun, it’s a perfect rom com!

That being said, it is a tad corny however what do you expect for a short fake dating romance book. Definitely a good book after a heavy read!

This book was cute! I thought the pacing was a little fast—not enough tension. But I enjoyed it and look forward to more adult romance from Lord!

I have loved Emma Lord since Tweet Cute, and when I got the email that I could read an advance copy of her first adult romance, I may or may not have actually squealed out loud in an airport. I devoured this book in about six hours, and it was even better than I had hoped.

June and Levi were really compelling, fun characters, and the progression of their relationship was so much fun to read. Something that I find that Emma Lord does really well across all of her books is the combination of each character's personal development and the development of their relationships. June and Levi each have a personal journey to take during the course of this book, but they also grow together and as a couple; and that's something that I personally really enjoy in a book when it's done well. I love a good fake dating trope when done right, and this one was done very well.

The side characters in this book were also done very well. Dylan, Mateo, and Sana were all vibrant and contributed substantially to the plot, and I loved the close family vibe that the scenes of them together had. The way that they contributed to each other's lives and livelihoods felt realistic and warm and truly caring, which is something that I find is very rare in books.

My only small annoyance with this book was with the character of Annie. There was a part of me that just did not understand why the dead character felt distinctly unlikeable (at least to me). But I think that was a bit of a double edged sword - a big part of her influence on the story is in her absence and in how her not being there to speak for herself was hard for June and Levi because of how important her opinion was to them.

Overall, I was so happy to have the opportunity to read this book and highly recommend it. This is Lord's first adult novel and I really hope that she keeps going and writes another!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Break-Up Pact by Emm Lord is in the pretend relationship troupe. Both Levi and June were childhood best friends that lost touch after June developed a crush on Levi. Fast forward 10 years and both have found themselves the center of public break-ups which have become internet fodder.
When a picture of the two of them looking cozy surfaces, social media names them the Revenge Exs. This might be what both of them need to get what they want.
I really liked the first 200 pages of this book but thought the ending was drawn out. I have it 3 stars. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy of this book.

3.5⭐️

The book is cute.
The relationships were cute, just nothing like stood out to me as like overly great.

I guess it just felt like the book was missing something.

This is Emma Lord’s first adult romance and I think she made the transition well. This is a sweet love story that is also a quick and easy read. There are a number of tropes - friends to lovers, fake dating, second chances, charming small town, self-absorbed exes, baking… but what elevates this story above that for me is the emotional journey of the characters. The MCs are so supportive of each other from the very beginning and the slow burn love story builds from that in a very natural way. They have a complicated history and many of their actions are grounded in grief and guilt, and fear of moving forward. It was very satisfying to watch them grow, both individually and in their relationship.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Emma Lord, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book carried me through an emotional roller coaster and I loved it. I loved the fake dating, friends to lovers and I think it has some notes of second chance. One of my favorite reads so far.

I'd give this a 2.5 rating. Unfortunately, I just wasn’t a big fan of this. It felt, in a nice way to put it, a little boring and predictable. I also couldn’t get past the typos in the book. I recently read a similar trope as this that I liked and I guess I just felt this story was lacking a bit. I thought the ending was cute though.

June and Levi used to be best friends. Over ten years have passed since these two have truly spoken. After a tragic event in their lives, both also face very public breakups. June and Levi devise a plan, Revenge Exes. They are going to pretend to date to get viral press in a good way. With June's business struggle and Level not being able to finish his book, they find their old friendship helps rekindle their own lives. June has always loved Levi but does he feel the same? This is the first adult romance from Emma Lord. There is not a whole lot of spice, but the few scenes were good. I truly enjoy Emma Lord's writing and it translated nicely to an adult romance. I loved this book, and I can't wait to read more from Emma Lord.

This. Was. So. CUTE!! I’ve always enjoyed the fake dating trope and this one did it so well. I really enjoyed all the characters (I need sequels with their stories ASAP please!) and I loved how utterly and painfully real June and Levi were. Nothing was swept under the rug or ignored in favor of an easy happy ending. They worked for it and earned it, which made reading it that much more satisfying. The modern elements, like TikTok and TV shows, added to the real feel of the story, enhancing it in a way that makes me hope it’s one day turned into a Netflix movie. Overall, so well done and glad NetGalley let me read it!

The Break Up Pact is a story of two friends, both with unique breakup stories, that make a pact to become revenge exes.

Overall, this was a cute romance story. Personally, the character arcs were a bit dull for me. The main characters have intertwining stories and miscommunications, but this prevented actual character development throughout the book. While some areas felt like they were dragging on, others went super quickly. The storyline, at its core, is cute and simple. I personally thought the storylines were prolonged and lacked significant depth or development.

Ultimately, still a good romance read. Just not my favorite of all time.

June and Levi both go through very public breakups which catch a lot of online attention. They find themselves both back in their home town reconnecting. The media starts to spin the story and they are dubbed Revenge Exes! This starts a fake dating scheme to help them both out. This book had all the makings to be really great: fake dating, childhood friends and second chance romance - but it fell a bit flat for me. The miscommunication for years really drove me crazy! There were some redeeming parts such as the cutest tea shop I’ve ever heard of, lots of tension and a spunky side character who deserves her own book!

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Break-Up Pact will be published August 13th.

A lighthearted read with lovable characters and a charming beachside setting. The story felt a bit drawn out at times with the competing storylines- June’s brother’s wedding, the tea shop rent problems, the past novel, etc. I would’ve preferred more focus on Levi and June’s relationship as the ending felt rushed. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for sending this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A cute read about ex’s who pretend to date after both having public breakups. As a tea lover, I enjoyed the tea and scone aspects of the book (the protagonist owns a tea shop). A nice book for the beach or by the fireplace!

Thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review.

A reliable friends-to-lovers trope with the right amount of spice. It's a feel-good romance and an easy read.
3.5⭐️