Second chance, friends-to-lovers, and fake dating, yes please! While this was a long, slow burn, I really enjoyed getting to know these characters and seeing them grow.

Yes, this is a romance, but to me there was so much more including dealing with the grief of June’s sister, Annie, and trying to keep her dream alive in her tea shop while trying to move on.

There were a lot of relationships in this book, lovers, best friends, siblings, exes, and relationships within a community who all felt the loss of Annie. I did feel June’s character growth beyond her relationship with Levi and I think I enjoyed that part of the story even more so than the romance.

I was very happy to receive a free ARC of this book, thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Emma Lord for the opportunity to provide my honest review!

I wanted to love this book but I can’t say I do. The lengthy paragraphs about the past or what the main character is thinking are very slow. The book didn’t hold my attention unless Levi and June were together or there was dialogue. I would have loved a faster pacing and some more well-rounded-out supporting characters.

I loved Emma Lord’s other books, but this one was my favorite! I liked the mature, mid 20s characters and their story. Cute concept, love this trope. Would be a great beach or vacation read- setting reminds me of growing up on Long Island and some of the cute beach towns there. I’m only giving it 4 stars because it was a hint longer than I thought it needed to be and I had some unanswered questions about the sister. Not a spoiler in any way. Overall, a great book!

Thanks #netgalley!

A second-chance/ fake-dating romance.

June and Levi were inseparable until they weren’t. They start their separate lives and barely speak until years later they are brought home at the same time.

After embarrassingly public break-ups they decide to a mutually beneficial fake relationship. Romance ensues.

I enjoyed the author’s ability to write self-reflection and growth into the characters while also embracing the nostalgia of childhood.

One open door romance scene.

LGBTQ+ representation but not really a part of the story line.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

June is reeling from humiliation and being dubbed the ‘crying girl’ after being broken up with on national tv is trying to save her scone business she started with her late sister. She runs into an old high school friend who is also going through a public breakup. What better way to get back at your ex’s then to make them jealous?

I liked bits and pieces of this story. It was sweet but a bit boring and took me about a week to read.

Two viral break-ups, a fake dating scheme to save face, and childhood best friends who have been distant for the last decade are the ingredients for this summery romcom.

June is struggling to keep her seaside tea shop, Tea Tides, up and running. Levi has fled New York City, where he was working as a hedge fund manager, and come back to Benson Beach so he can keep out of sight and complete his fledgling novel. Both of them are trying to keep a low profile after their internet-memeing break-ups, but before long, a photo of them is leaked, dubbing them the Revenge Exes. They decide to go with it and fake date. You know, so June can revive her tea shop and Levi can convince his ex she made a huge mistake. It's not like any real feelings will get in the middle of this arrangement. And it's not like they'll start unpacking their history or anything, right?

Though this was entertaining and humorous overall, I do think the plot and the characters' progress was impeded too much by miscommunication. Things between them got to be too complicated, too stretched out by their indecision and confusion, much of which stemmed back to their high school days. That said, I enjoyed the beachy setting as well as the strides June and Levi made to come into themselves as adults, to figure out not only want they wanted from life but each other.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

So I'm a huuge slow burn reader, and of course I knew that it would not be a slow book (due to the number of pages), but I <s> never</s> NEVER thought that it was such a quick read. I really don't joke when I say it was QUICK!!!
Sometimes you want a fast read, sometimes you don't want to read a 400+ pages book or sometimes you just want to get out of your reading slump. What is the best solution than a quick romance novel? Bestie, I was in a reading slump, finally came out of it, then read this book and now I'm back in a reading slump. I would like to thank Emma Lord for that.🤗🤗

Back to the book that is written too fast for me, (side note: I had the exact the same problem with Tweet Cute her other book). I want to give u an example: We come from the meeting with the 2 Mcs after YEARS to a few pages after "Let's fake date" uhhh ??? You haven't seen each other for years and then you meet again and go fake date? I mean yes, cool ... completely normal ... why not right?

𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏; 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐

The six-time mention of the word TikTok…
YES U READ THAT RIGHT 6 TIMES?!!!!
No one can top Ali Hazelwood because she mentioned it 17 times in her last book (I’m sorry, Ali Ily), but STILL SIX TIMES??? When do authors learn that it's not okay to mention that ugly word? It's really making me want to close the book (in my situation, my phone) and throw it out of the window. But that’s not the only word that definitely got too mentioned in this book, because what is Emma Lord’s obsession with the word scone?? (I really had to google it because I had no idea what it was) because it was mentioned !hold tight! 46 times!!
YES, THE WORD SCONE WAS MENTIONED FORTY-SIX TIMES, LIKE I GET IT, SHE OWNS A TEA SHOP, BUT I HAD TO READ THE WORD SCONES FORTY-SIX TIMES, MY POOR EYES.🫣🫣

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟑:

If I don’t connect with the characters (especially the main characters), the book is immediately not my cup of tea. I don’t care how good the writing is; I don’t care about tropes and so on. And guess what this wasn’t just too fast or had TikTok mentioned in it no of course this isn’t it, but the FEMALE MAIN CHARACTER GOT ON MY NERVES!!!! She was so annoying and ohmygaaad so judgmental, and these are the types of people I despise🫶🏼🫶🏼

In fact, I liked the best friend, Sana, of the female main character much more, like THAT'S the kind of woman I want to read about.💞💞(she’s also the reason I’m giving this 2 stars instead of 1)

𝚂𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚈 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝.🫂

I LOVED this book! I was hooked from the first page-it was such a rollercoaster of emotions! The banter between June and Levi was amazing, and I loved watching their romance bloom. It was a great little rom-com, that could have used a bit more spice in my opinion! The chemistry was certainly there! Overall, 4 stars! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Oh my gosh. I LOVED this book.
I love fake dating books and especially when it involves best friends!
The first chapter was a little slow but I promise. If you push through that you won’t regret it. This book is a second chance romance book and I LOVE LoVe LOVE those kinds. Thank you for the early copy!

Emma Lord's 'The Breakup Pact' is a delightful rollercoaster of emotions that had me hooked from the first page to the very end. With wit as sharp as a freshly honed pencil and characters as vibrant as a box of Crayola crayons, Lord takes us on a journey through friendship, love, and self-discovery. The dynamic between the protagonists is both heartwarming and hilarious, with each page brimming with banter that kept me grinning from ear to ear. Lord effortlessly blends humor with heartfelt moments, creating a story that's as satisfying as a perfectly executed doodle in the margins of a notebook. If you're looking for a charming and relatable read that's as comforting as your favorite sweater, look no further than 'The Breakup Pact.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC on this book for my honest review.

I TRIED to like this book, but I just didn't. The book felt like it went on forever and I found my mind wandering on other thoughts as I was reading.

Ugh, tough one. I liked the idea - 2 people who have recently experienced public breakups decide to fake date as a cover. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand Levi's character and without spoilers, his relationship with the fiancee and with June was absurd. Some good parts - thank goodness for Nana, too bad she wasn't a main character.

Thanks for the ARC!

The Break-Up Pact was such a fun and heartwarming read! The tropes were all nailed: childhood crushes, fake dating with adorable date ideas, friends to lovers, and the witty banter? Chefs kiss! I truly felt the profound connection between the main characters. The ending stalled a little bit for me, but overall, I adored this book! This has made me want to pick up Emma Lord’s other books!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This book has a lot of promise, and a lot of potential. While there were hints of really good development, and really good chemistry between the leads, everything felt a little too rushed to be able to appreciate it. The first third of this book rushes through their reunion, and their fake dating to the confession that they still had feelings for each other. This book would benefit most from just slowing down and allowing a slow burn. Let the tension build on its own instead of constantly forcing the characters together. Let them actually develop instead of just verbally announce how they've changed. While already a cute and fun story, letting both love interests develop separately will elevate the story and allow the reader to really care about them getting together.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of "The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord in exchange for my honest review. June and Levi were likable characters who were childhood friends who had not talked since high school. Both characters went through viral break-ups and became internet fodder. They decide to fake date to help June's tea shop business and to make Levi's ex jealous. There were a lot of funny scenes and growth of the characters. I would have liked to know more about June's sister and what happened to her. I would recommend this book .

This book felt really sweet. The intertwining of friendships and relationships throughout the whole story were really fun. It truly felt like a small town and we were plopped down to see a short period of time. I wish the time frame of everything had been a little longer, it felt a little rushed from Levi’s side that he dropped his whole life in a month.

Overall the writing is beautiful and we’re given details that truly make you feel how our FMC is feeling at the time. I wish it was dual pov and perhaps a few more spicy scenes. The build was perfect though 🥵

This romantic comedy has heart, emotion, and a beautiful ending. It is light and fluffy at first, but really pulls you in to care about the characters. I would say more, but I don’t want to spoil it.

I read this in less than a day- I couldn’t put it down.

Highly highly recommend! 5/5 stars.

3.5 stars for me.

June and Levi are high school sweethearts who suddenly reconnect when Levi shows back up in their hometown. The duo jump into planning June’s brothers wedding and enter a “break-up pact.”

I’m usually a sucker for the second chance romance trope, so I really wanted to love this! It just was a little slow for me. I think I wanted more out of Levi. Maybe even his perspective or just more action?

Also, Levi’s reason for being in the pact…. ::cringe:: I never got past that.

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me this preciuos book in advance!
All opinions expressed are my own.
I love Emma's book, i read all of them, but i have to say it, i loved more the YA, and i'm not a fan of that genre.
The story has this trope:
- Fake dating
- Old friends
- Old crush
- Friends to lovers
The fact that i love about Emma's books are the pop-culture references (TS mostly :D ). The story itself is sweet and a little slow, but totally enjoyable. June has a tea shop, but she's having problems running it, there are few customers.
Apart from that she is now know as "Crying girl", she is basically a living meme.
Then, we have Levi, her old friend, the one who got away, he is back in town, and he is also famous on social, he was cheated by a famous actress.
I only give this story 4 stars 'cause i didn't like how naive June seems to be, and how silly Levi is behaving. Get together the two of you! Also i didn't like how the two main character have basically the same situation, i know that's basically the theme of the story, but i'm not convinced at all.
The story is anyway very entertaining.

This book had an absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. I will recommend it to everyone I know!