First, I'd like to thank Netgalley, Saint Martin's and Emma Lord for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was the second book that I have read by Emma Lord. The first one "You Have a Match" was really good (It's a YA book)! With that in mind I was super excited to be able to read this ARC copy!

At first I loved this book! It was cute and fun until it wasn't.

I am currently sitting at 91% and I'm wondering if I should bore myself with the rest of the book. I felt like sometimes she was just trying to meet a word count. I found myself skimming past some of the details in the book as it was predictable and drawn out.

Also, just a reminder that this is ADULT and not YA. Chapter 15 was one sex scene. I'm not a prude but I'm not a huge reader of "smut" and I felt like almost a whole chapter to sex scene was a lot. I'm not calling the book "smut" but Chapter 15 is SPICY!

Again, cute but also boring and predictable in some parts. Even though I feel middle of the road about this book I will definitely go back and read some of her other books when time allows.

Such a cute read! I got to read this book early through NetGalley and I think it will be a perfect beach read this summer!

Fake dating and friends to lovers are two of my favorite tropes so throwing them together with hints of baking, small town vibes, and the beach was perfect!

The only thing that would have made this book better was if we were able to go to David and Mateo’s wedding after all the build up with the planning through out the book. I was so excited to see how that played out.

All in all though, definitely suggest this as a sweet and cozy book to read this summer!

I really wanted to love this book. Friends to lovers/fake dating are two of my all time favorite tropes, but this one was not it.

When I read the description, I immediately added this book to my tbr list. And then I got the arc and couldn’t wait to get to it—until I actually got to it and had to force myself to finish it. 🥲

Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh and I did have the butterflies a couple times while reading it, but at the end of the day I just couldn’t wait to finish it and get it over with. :(

Rating it 3 stars because I actually did manage to finish it!

A cute, light rom-com of a story that hits on the zeitgeisty aspects of living in a modern age of tiktok and flash-in-the-pan fame due to humiliation, along with the timeless classic tropes of fake dating, ex-lovers-to-lovers, and close proximity. Sometimes, you just want something that gives you exactly what it's promising.

WOW. 4 stars.

This story reminds me a bit of a Hallmark movie but with modern ages (aka TikTok etc.). I really thoroughly enjoyed and was pulled into the story immediately. I loved both characters and how they developed throughout the book. And ah, I just love their love.

I felt like something in the plot was missing though, not sure what but just something minor. I also did not see too much of a significance of bringing up the sister and her not wanting the two characters together, since it never really gave any background to it or why. It felt thrown in with the rest of the details and just did not seem to make sense to me besides to show "why" they ignored each other... which is also ignorant, but a lot more of that is my rant of the book versus any actual 'problems'.

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

This was far too slow paced for me. But just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean you won’t like it.

Also, drink a sip of water every time the name “Benson Beach” is written and you will be well hydrated!

Fake dating always hits for me. Add in the layer that they were friends growing up. And a slow burn? Chef’s kiss. This was a fun romcom that will definitely be an end of summer favorite.

This was such a sweet book. I love a fake dating trope and this one was so good. It’s a slow burn with a good amount of miscommunication. I read this while in bed sick and it definitely pepped my spirits up. All the characters were lovely and it made me super hungry for a scone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to review.

Love love love! This book had all my favorite elements of a romcom and made me so happy while reading. I really enjoyed how the town interacted with the main characters and the side plots that brought the story together. It had childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, second chance, small town romance… I would definitely recommend this to others!

5/5 stars. I love a classic fake dating book but I also loved how this is childhood frinds to lovers and the small town romance trope as well. This book was such a joy! I love Emma Lord’s books because they always have a great plot AND a compelling romance. Levi and June were adorable and communicated SO well which I also love to see in romance books. I was in tears by the epilogue

I think this is one my favorite books of hers to read I really enjoyed it. The story was so much fun to read and I couldnt put it down.

This was a really sweet story (pun intended). Also, I just really love scones, they are such an underrated pastry, so I appreciated their inclusion within this book.

Overall, this was a 3.5/5 star read for me, rounded down to 3 stars. It ticks all the right happy-romance-boxes, but I likely won't think of this book again now that it is done. A good "palate cleanser" between books, if you will. The characters were likeable, the setting was described in a realistic way, but I was left a little "meh" by the social-media-sensation plot, and also the feasibility of running a tea store on a boardwalk? That's likely just me being pessimistic about our economy though.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

While it took me a couple chapters to get into this book I was soon completely hooked on these two main characters and their "break-up pact"! This rom-com gives us all the best tropes from fake dating, childhood-friends-to-lovers, and small-town romance vibes! If any of these are your cup of tea (pun intended if you've read this book) then this is the one for you. I haven't read anything from Emma Lord before but I would say that this romance is up there with Katherine Center and Elissa Sussman! So if you're fans of their work I think you'll really like this new release from Emma Lord!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this new rom-com!

i think overall this book was mediocre and frustrating. i really really hate when main characters just refuse to talk things out and that’s is where all of the conflict stems. i think that june was quite frustrating in that she REFUSED to actually just talk to levi about anything but would then get mad at him for not communicating. it made it feel like their relationship is constantly hanging by a thread. levi also REFUSED to let go of kelly which makes no sense because he claims to be so in love with june. there were definitely some sweet parts that make it 3 stars and not 1 but overall it was just okay and i found myself frustrated more often than not.

This might be an unpopular review but this book just didn't hold my interest. I kept waiting to be hooked by something- events, drama, romance- but I just kept feeling like nothing was really happening. It felt like the book started and then all of a sudden the 2 main characters are agreeing to fake date. There could have been so much more done to build out the relationship and build character depth and that would have helped me connect with the characters.

The description of this book gave me really high hopes and I was so excited to read this! Unfortunately, I felt like I really couldn't get invested in either of the 2 main characters and that really impacted the entire story for me. Thank you so much Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book!

June had me laughing out loud multiple times! I loved her and Levi’s banter and loved watching them fall in love! Also, GIVE ME EVERY BOOK WITH THE FAKE DATING TROPE 👏🏼

Spice was like 1 out of 5 🌶️ but not quite closed door!


Thank you so much net galley for letting me read this in advance!

When former best friends June and Levi both get dumped in a super public way, they reunite in their hometown and are convinced to start fake dating as revenge to their exes and to help boost sales at June’s struggling tea shop after a “steamy” photo of them spreads online. They feel like this is perhaps a good time to repair their friendship and they quickly fall back into their old groove and wonder why they let this rift get between them in the first place. Can they move past that to meet their objectives or are they doomed to fail?

With a wonderful supporting cast of friends and family, the story was entertaining and thoughtful. We get to see June and Levi heal from a tragic loss and remember what it’s like to finally feel at peace at home. Life can change in an instant but it’s the people who love and support them that got them through those dark times and help move June and Levi forward while honoring a shared past.

I enjoyed this story and found myself wanting to visit this small beach town, drink a lot of tea, and call my friends to say hi. Despite a common trope, the story is fresh and enjoyable.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and all thoughts and comments are my own.

Legit the first page drew me in ! THE FMC became the laughing stock after her ex made her into a meme!
I did receive this as a digital ARC prior to the release. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this book. Look for it in August!

I unfortunately just really did not enjoy this book.
I love romance novels, but it drives me nuts when they use too much social media jargon and try to be too current. The word "meme" was used far too many times for my liking and I felt the entire concept of the "Revenge Exes" was incredibly cheesy.
I did not connect with the characters at all; I felt like they were very shallow/surface level type characters and I did not even care if they ended up together in the end.
I found myself skimming towards the end of the book because I just could not bear it anymore.
It was not my cup of tea, but hopefully it will be someone else's!

A really nice story about knowing someone in the past, present, and future, growth, and grief all wrapped up in a nice little romance trope bow. I love that June grows to learn who Levi is NOW rather than who he was when they were in high school. Sometimes it felt slow, like I was reading but nothing was progressing, but overall it was a really fun story with characters I really loved and a brilliant supporting cast set it an adorable coastal town.