A lighthearted read that had me wanting to whip up some themed scones and be dramatic with my love life online.

I am always ready to read a fake dating drama piece because I secretly think it would be a fun, dramatic start to a relationship. (The apps just aren't working.) Personal hopes aside, I truly enjoyed the ups and downs that this book gave. Without giving too much away this read gave all of the warm feelings of two people trying to figure their next steps while giving themselves space to be honest on where they are.

After reading Emma Lord's The Getaway List, I knew that The Break-Up Pact would be another sweet romance that would take me out of the insanity of life and leave me with warm fuzzies and the slight encouragement to find what these characters have.

This is a very cute rom-com! I enjoyed it. There were parts that are predictable but overall a good story.

I love the way that The Break-Up Pact discusses love. In this book Lord establishes love as something that June and Levi grow into and it was so, so beautiful to read.

Friends to lovers isn’t always my jam, but the way that Levi and June ached for each other and fit so naturally made my heart swell. This book was achingly tender at times while still being fun and lighthearted.

Lord doesn’t shy away from the deeper side of things. She tackles grief in an intimate and very real way. This is the most life-like approach to extended grief I’ve seen in a while.

For my friends who are concerned about steam, there was a steamy scene or two but they were fairly easy to skip over.

Also, I don’t want to spoil too much, but the third act conflict was actually so satisfying and well done. It felt very rational and real and I actually loved it.

Basically, I love Emma Lord and I love how she writes about love. I hope she writes more romcoms in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Levi and June are my favorite kind of fictional couple.

1. They are both realistic. The kind of people you probably know in real life. Maybe you went to college with them. Maybe they live in your building. But they are not cliches or caricatures. They aren't too good to be true. They are likable, flawed humans who are easy to root for.

2. They have a real connection. So many romance novels rely on physical attraction and sexual chemistry to sell the "love" the characters have for each other. But in doing so, they cheapen whatever semblance of a connection there might actually be. Levi and June have a history. Shared memories. Shared grief. Common experiences and a deep respect for each other that goes beyond the physical. It was truly lovely reading about them.

3. They encounter real roadblocks. I've grown tired of the predictable third-act miscommunication or reveal that makes the happy couple question whether they could actually end up together. But Levi and June don't have a complication shoe-horned in at the 11th hour. They merely are facing different facets of the small conflicts that have kept them apart throughout the story. And rather than resolving them in a single conversation, it takes time and effort from both parties to work through their challenges.

I'm always here for a fake-dating trope or a friends-to-lovers, slow-burn, mutual pining situation. I also love a meaningful subplot, especially when it pertains to grief and loss. So perhaps this book was simply mixed up in a lab specifically for me. But I think it's more likely that Emma Lord is a fantastic writer and this book deserves a read from all the girlies this summer!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This was my first Emma Lord read and it definitely won't be my last! Can't wait to work my way through her catalogue!

my favorite part of the book is that it did genuinely make me laugh out loud. I did enjoy June and her brother but I felt disconnected. I needed more. I wish there was more stories about their friendship growing up to feel more of a connection.

Content warnings: grief, loss of a sibling

June moved back home from traveling the world with Griffin, the guy who dumped her on national television and turned her face into a meme called "Crying Girl." She runs a tea and scone shop by the beach called Tea Tide that June and her sister started. But Tea Tide is in trouble and the Crying Girl tourists are bolstering sales. Her sister died prior to the novel, and June is struggling with keeping the business faithful to her sister's vision.

June's childhood crush and BFF Levi comes back to town after his also public breakup, and a photo of the two together makes #RevengeExes a social media sensation. June and Levi agree to keep the Revenge Ex thing going to help June's business and Levi's relationship. But all the things they buried after high school come bubbling back to the surface...

The novel is a fun beach read, but June is also a complicated character that is refreshing in a romance novel. She has major flaws that she will need to confront before she can be with anyone, because she doesn't know how to be alone. Recommended for readers who are looking for a beachy summer romance.

Representation: Asian-American side character

I found great pleasure in reading this book. The writing style captivated me, and I appreciated the element of unpredictability in the storyline. The author skillfully portrayed the main character's journey through grief after losing her sister, highlighting the process of rediscovering oneself. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and eagerly anticipate exploring more works from this talented author!

I’m a big Emma Lord fan, so that may be influencing my opinion of The Break-Up Pact and causing me to round up from 3.5 stars. June and Levi (friends from high school who haven’t seen each other in 10 years) both find themselves on the wrong end of a breakup and decide to fake date each other. Levi’s motivation is to make his ex jealous and win her back while June’s is to boost her failing tea shop. Yes, you’ve read this book before but the banter is good, the MC is a sweetheart and I appreciated their shared, sad backstory.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend, but it didn’t knock my socks off.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Break-Up Pact is a friends-to-lovers, fake dating to get back at their ex's story. The two MCs being former best friends with a ton of history made for deep, rich backstories. I loved the connection and reconnection Levi & June have. But the story left me wanting more. Without giving any spoilers away, I wanted more revenge, more build-up to the spice, more insights into the MMC since the story is told from the FMC POV.

There were a lot of heartfelt moments and the stories of self-discovery and grieving loss that are woven throughout create a meaningful subplot than just a typical friends-to-lovers trope.

Solid 3 out 5.

The Break-Up Pact is a story that's part rom-com, part heartwarming nostalgia, and overall just an amazing read. This book is about June and Levi, who were once inseparable childhood friends, haven't spoken in a decade but when their breakups with their partners end up going viral, they decide to fake date and the internet becomes obsessed with this idea. What I loved about this in particular is that you can feel June and Levi's chemistry through the pages, and their banter is cute and comforting. It does have a bit of a modern twist to it, such as tiktok and instagram but it's only mentioned a few times. When reading this book you can expect a bit of cheesy lines and a slow start but it does build and it doesn't leave you hanging. So, if you love second chance romance and childhood friends to lovers, this book is for you!

This book covers so many tropes! June and Levi grew up together and were friends until it was time for Levi to head off to college. Thanks to some drama they became "enemies". Levi returns to Benson Beach after both he and June experienced dramatic public break-ups. They're fake dating to grow a business, get an ex back, and maybe even rediscover who they are.

I will say this was a slower read for me. I just couldn't get lost in the story. The characters are decent, but we only see depth between the two main characters and a character they all share grief over. The grief is a big part of this novel. There is minimal spice, so if that's something you are looking for, skip this one. Overall, a decent read, but not one I would rave about. I enjoyed the development of the relationship, the healthy communication and giving space when needed. Awesome that the author touched on gaslighting and even how exes try to keep a hook in our lives. I definitely would have been interested to read more about the reality show that started it all.

3.5 stars, rounded up. This was very cute and a definite improvement from the last Emma Lord book I read, so I'm glad that I was able to give her another chance! There are times when I feel like the exposition goes on too long and these people should all go to therapy, but it was an inventive and cute take on the fake dating trope.

I received an ARC of this book for free in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

The Break-Up Pact is set in a cute beach town. June owns a tea shop, The Tea Tide, that her sister who started a few years ago. Her sister passed a few years before and June is still struggling to find her path. Enter Levi - June's best friend from high school, who was also good friends with her sister. Levi and June haven't spoken in ten years but both experienced very public breakups. They decide to fake date -- and quickly slip into their old friendship. Can they stay friends or will it become something else?

I really enjoyed this book. Levi and June had really fun banter and I enjoyed them re-discovering their friendship, as well as individually seeing how they have grown and need to continue to grow. There were a number of side characters, which I thought could have been streamlined, but I liked the small town community and how everyone knows each other from years past. Social media was also another large theme throughout the book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

i enjoyed this book! seeing levi and june reconnect and build there relationship was super cute ! also loved the pop rockets and actual connections to the “real world” like uptown funk, ect. i will definitely recommend this book when it’s released!

I really enjoyed The Break-up Pact! This book does a nice job blending the childhood friends to lover trope and fake dating with a cozy, small town seaside setting! June and Levi had such fun chemistry throughout the book! I really enjoyed all the side characters, they helped make the world feel more real! While the end wraps things up kind of quickly, I’d rather it do that than drag on for too long! I love when books have characters who are writers or readers, like Levi! I wish we could seen a little more of his writing, but it makes sense that June’s Tea Tide was the main focus since it was her POV! Overall, I think this would be such a fun beach read for the summer!

Fun, fast read. Perfect for my girls who love smart stories! Emma Lord does not miss. Her understanding of the anxiety and joy of teens is wonderful!

I could not have loved this book more! So many favorites - enemies to lovers, fake dating, childhood friends getting together. The stories of family and friends all convening together made me so happy and I couldn’t put this down.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me. I liked the concept (I’m a sucker for someone who just got dumped finding love again), and the setting was very cute, but I just didn’t find myself caring about the romance.

June and Levi are former high school buddies, bonded by their close relationship to June’s deceased sister. Another thing they have in common is that they both recently got dumped very publicly and have famous exes. The two of them, along with their mutual friend, agree that it could help Levi’s former relationship and June’s business to pretend to date each other. As you can imagine, they end up discovering they have feelings for each other in the process.

This book just didn’t feel realistic to me. It wasn’t the famous exes, or the Tiktok reactions to June and Levi’s romance, I just didn’t buy their feelings for one another. Not once did I get that “butterflies in your stomach” feeling while reading their love story. It just felt like two generic good looking people who decide to date. I also didn't care for reading about the wedding side story with June's brother. The conflict in the book could have gone much, much further and I found myself disappointed and underwhelmed by the ending.

As I mentioned earlier, I actually thought this book had an interesting concept. Folks who are fans of fake dating, beachy love stories, and second chance at love might want to check out this book, especially if you want a very light read without much conflict or emotional stress. I thought the writing was good but the story was just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of The Break Up Pact. I wanted to love this book but it just didn’t work for me. The premise had all the makings for a winner - old friends to lovers trope, set in a beach town, with a tea shop, and a love of running. It just didn’t come together. It was a little too slow and winding. There were too many details in some areas and many others that felt undeveloped. This book was a pass for me.

I've got such mixed feelings about this one! Pretty cover, interesting description, one of my favorite tropes (friends to lovers). I was all in! **Spoiler** But the hero spent over half the book hoping to get back together with his ex. Ugh. That dragged on for way too long! And because this was a single POV (the heroine's), all I got as a reader was the hero wanting to be with someone else. This wasn't just a case of the ex still being in the picture, but the hero actively wanting to be with the other woman.Not what I sign up for in a romance! When the Levi and June are together, it was magical. Too bad the OW drama overshadowed their story.