This novel was super cute and the characters not only had tons of chemistry, but also a fully fleshed out backstory, which sometimes can land wrong. In The Break-Up Pact, however, it doesn’t.

While I didn’t always connect with June’s character, I felt compelled to continue reading at every single turning point, which is occurring less often than I’d like lately. For me, this was because I couldn’t quite see the end— I figured that based on the fake dating trope, that Levi and June would end up together, but because of her conflicted feelings and the external factors, their relationship wasn’t as clear cut as many other books I have read.

This novel is definitely suited for a lighthearted, beach read (given it’s set in a beach town). Yet, given the weight of Annie’s presence and her connection with multiple characters (we never truly understood her and Dylan’s relationship, which would have been nice to read about), it still is grounded enough for readers who don’t like plots that seem more utopian than realistic.

Ugh, this book was so cute. A perfect amount of drama, romance, and reality to keep my attention. I sat down and read this book in a day. I was gasping along with the characters, crying, and catching myself blushing too. I recommend this book for people who like the fake dating trope (I know I do), light beach reads, and a modern romance. I am looking forward to reading more of her books!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when childhood friends simultaneously go viral for two very different break-up reasons? You get June and Levi. June and Levi are childhood best friends with a very complicated past. June ceremoniously gets dumped on live television whilst Levi gets dumped when photos of his girlfriend and a famous movie star get leaked. Both get simultaneously end up back in Benson Beach for two different yet similar reasons.

This book was such a feel-good rom-com from start to finish. I loved Levi and June and the exploration of their experiences while also navigating grief. This was a wonderful second chance romance.

I was very excited to pick up Emma Lord’s adult romance after enjoying a couple of her YA contemporaries, but unfortunately this was not for me. This book tried to grapple with lots of real life issues like grief but none felt fully explored. The romance was fine, but was not developed on the page. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Just finished this book and I’m still laughing about the first paragraph in Emma Lord’s acknowledgements….

This book was cute, sweet and funny. Definitely my kinda story:

June Hart just suffered a horrible, public break-up and is back in her hometown running her late sister’s tea and scone shop. Her childhood friend (and old crush) Levi has ALSO suffered a horrible public break-up….so what do they do? Fake date to get revenge of course!

Aside from the jumbled character intros thrown at you in the beginning of the book (confusing why June’s best friend, Sana, didn’t know June and Levi knew each other and why there were 7 main-ish characters introduced to me super rapidly), I thought this was well-written and explored some deeper issues in the relationships involved. It got messy, but June and Levi came out way stronger for having gone through the mess.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good rom-com and appreciates those dreamy leading guy characters. I enjoyed it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with this early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

* Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

The latest in the fake dating trope is a fun story by Emma Lord. This version brings in the strange worlds of reality TV, viral social media posts, and commenting on the lives of people that you don't know but act like you do because you follow them on Instagram. In short, a pretty accurate representation of our society at the moment.

June & Levi were best friends throughout their youth but something kept them from speaking to each other for 10 years. She is back home running her sister's tea and scone shop and Levi came to work on his novel. Funny thing is, they have both been very publicly dumped. When someone gets of picture of them and calls them the "revenge ex-es," they decide to run with it.

What I liked about this story was the tension that is brought in because all of the characters are trying to be true to June & Dylan's deceased sister, Annie. There is also something about that high school crush or first love that didn't get to see itself through for whatever reason. June & Levi both need to face their emotions and fears in this light, fun read.

Friends to lovers at its best. June and Levi have known each other since they were teenagers. They are photographed together after each have had a public breakup that went viral on social media so they lean into a fake relationship. Only their fake dating leads to feelings. A great banter filled perfect beach read!

3.5/5 Stars

After watching Anyone but you I needed another fix of rom com so when I saw the email that I got approved for the ARC of The Break-up Pact I thanked the book gods. It has everything I love in rom com books and all my favorite tropes.

The story follows June and Levi friends who were once really good fiends and because of a misunderstanding they loose touch with each other. Fast forward to the present, where both find themselves thrust into the spotlight after very public breakups. Seizing an opportunity to turn their misfortunes around, they concoct a fake dating scheme that quickly goes viral. As they play out their pretend romance for the world, they start to realize that neither of them are really pretending.

I loved the characters, all were well developed even the side characters. Honestly June and Levi frustrated me so much because they reminded me of myself, June is probably one of the most realistic character I have read in a rom com in a long time. By nature she is a people pleaser who wants to keep everyone around her happy while also trying to save a business she started with her sister Annie. Levi was a great character as well, he is definitely a man written by a woman if you know what I mean.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

You will like this if you like:
- Friends to lovers
- Fake dating
- Small town vibes
- Childhood best friends
- Social Media aspects

The Break-Up Pact is about two people that used to be best friends, but due to some misunderstandings along the way, have barely kept in touch over the last decade. June was recently broken up with in a very public manner, and is trying to save her bakery that used to be owned by her sister, who has passed away. Levi was also recently broken up with in a very public manner, and finds himself back in his hometown to finish writing his book. They decide to pretend to date, and are dubbed "The Revenge Exes." Of course, there are deep feelings that go back many years.

I feel like this story was much longer than it needed to be, and could have been told in a more concise and interesting way. The first 50% of the book feels like a drag. While the book reminds us that these characters have feelings that go back a long time, it seems like they are missing a big moment in their efforts to prove it, and instead rely of a feeling of trust. The last half of the book was much more enjoyable, but overall I felt bored at times by the story.

The Break-Up Pact checks the boxes of many rom-com book tropes.
High School Friends - check
Public Break-up - check
Fake Dating - check
Business in Trouble - check
Deceased relative - check

After her sister's untimely death, June takes over her Tea Shop located along the beach. The business is not doing well, and June needs a way to improve the business to get back on track with her rent. Oh, and her boyfriend has recently broken up with her on a reality tv show, which has gone viral.

Enter Levi, June's friend from high school and also one of her sister's best friends. His recent "we are on a break" has also gone viral, and he wants to make his girlfriend jealous (as she is currently dating someone else.)

Enter Sana, beleaguered journalist, looking of her big break. She proposes June and Levi fake date and she will document it, sell her photos and stories to tabloids, to hopefully get her career on track.

You can probably guess where it goes from there.
Good for a library book check-out, but I probably wouldn't purchase.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent and Levi is a hedge fund manager in NY. The two have barely spoken in years. But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact.…..

The Break-Up Pact is a cute, quick read that you can zip through pretty fast. The characters are lovable and Lord’s writing style is fun and realistic. Both characters grow, both individually and together.

The plot is slowed down by June’s frequent inner monologues in which she analyzes her own emotions and past experiences, which wasn’t a hit for me but that’s just my style. Like a lot of Rom Coms the plot can get repetitive and tedious which I found in a few places in this book. There was a lot of jumping around time zones that was a bit confusing so you have to be quite attentive when reading it. .
But overall I very much enjoyed The Break-Up Pact. This was my second Emma Lord book and she’s a great meet cute/ rom com author.
Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In this highly anticipated novel, Emma Lord weaves a delightful and emotionally charged story that has earned recognition from Goodreads, Cosmo, and more! June and Levi, once inseparable best friends, find themselves in an unexpected situation when their respective break-ups become viral sensations. What starts as a pretend relationship for the world's entertainment soon becomes a journey of rediscovering their connection.

From June struggling to make rent at her beachside tea shop to Levi navigating the clichés of New York as a disillusioned hedge fund manager, their lives take an unexpected turn. Fueled by juicy gossip and public curiosity, they embark on a mission to convince the world they're a couple. With the internet cheering them on, the duo sets out to achieve their goals, unaware that their hearts might get entangled along the way.

With the perfect blend of fun and deep emotions, this novel promises a heartwarming and swoon-worthy journey as June and Levi navigate five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. Can they successfully keep their fake relationship free from real feelings? Dive into this captivating narrative of viral break-ups, fake relationships, and the unexpected twists of the heart.

When June and Levi are both broken up with their respective partners in a viral manner, they come up with a plan to pretend to be dating each other to each gain something out of the relationship. June, who is hoping that her struggling business will gain some new customers and Levi, who is hoping that his ex will realize that she made a mistake. So starts a fake relationship that soon starts to feel all too real.

I like the fake dating relationship trope. I like seeing the evolution of the relationship as the characters grow closer and start to realize that what they are pretending may be just what they want in the end. June and Levi were friends before this fake relationship started but had drifted apart. It was nice to see them rekindle their friendship and grow closer again. There are also some aspects that are a bit heavy as well, June is dealing with the loss of her sister and both Levi and June have exes that can be manipulative.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a fun, quick, and cute read.

I haven't read anything by Emma Lord before, so I have nothing to compare this to. What I can say is that it took me more than 2 weeks to finish, and that says a lot. If I'm truly into a book, I finish in a few days - not weeks. This one was cute enough, but it just didn't grab me and pull me in the way that I had hoped. Without giving away too much, it was really frustrating how both Levi and June (but especially Levi) were using their situation to try to get back at or back together with exes that treated them so poorly.

Toward the end, I plowed through - but I think that was more just to get done with the book and move on.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

This is going to be the beach read of the summer!

Yes, it's a romance novel, but it also goes so much deeper than that. It's a story of grief and healing, the complexities of friendship, and the ramifications of dating under the volatile microscope of modern day social media.

In Benson Beach, June is fresh off a very public breakup with ex Griffin, struggling to keep her late sister Annie’s local tea shop in business. Cue entry of childhood best friend/former crush/now estranged acquaintance Levi- a writer turned finance guy in an unfortunate turn of circumstance. It’s clear that June, her brother Dylan, Annie, and Levi have an extensive and complicated history, but it’s a history we have to work for as we tear through the story at a pace that’s just speedy enough to make us keep wanting to read one more chapter.

The writing is full of vivid imagery that not only helps us understand the characters emotions but completely exposes them. It oscillates between funny, dramatic, and heartbreaking in perfect harmony. It's captivating and heartwarming. While the resolutions may have been predictable, this story is more about the journey to the destination.

4 Stars: Thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read Emma Lord's new book. I was not disappointed, The Break Up Pact was such a fun, great read! What a fun premise with likable characters that you root for. They were both relatable and I was invested in learning more about them. Levi and June had such great chemistry. Thank you for the chance to read this early, I will reading again when this book comes out later this year!

thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this book comes after june and levi, best friends growing up until they weren’t, both face public and humiliating breakups. they reconnect at their hometown and, to get back at their exes, make a fake dating pact.

i honestly enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i was going to despite the lower review! i’ve been not really in my romance era, so i was worried going into this that i wouldn’t like it. but i really enjoyed the main characters a lot. i found both of them extremely relatable and the whole viral breakup plot honestly entertaining. the book itself was a very easy beach read style and i finished it really quickly.

my struggles were that the timeline seemed rushed and im not the biggest fan of a miscommunication trope — any book with that i genuinely don’t gravitate towards. as a reader, i just get mad at the characters when the solution could’ve been worked out years ago, like why can’t yall just talk to each other?? its hard to sit by seeing that lolol.

The Break-Up Pact is a childhood friends to strangers to fake dating story. It follows June and Levi who reconnect and fake date to gather attention after their significant others break up with them.

I usually am all for the unrealistic stories, but this one was a little too unrealistic for me. Levi’s girlfriend was a real estate agent who left him for a movie star. It didn’t really make sense to me why the internet would care about a random real estate agents ex. Maybe if she was the movie star? Junes story did make a little more sense, with her being publicly humiliated online and going viral.

Overall, I thought the story was cute but it was missing that strong chemistry that draws you in. There were only a few moments where I thought “oh that was cute” but mostly it seemed like the characters would say one thing but do something completely different that was counterintuitive to what they said. They really didn’t have that chemistry or heat that would make a reader root for them. I also felt at times the way they talked about June’s sister that she was not nice to them? The scenes went back and forth between her sister being stubborn and always getting her way, and then talking about her in reverence. It got a little confusing.

Overall is was a cute read just maybe not what I was expecting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of this book!

Personally I’m not a huge fan of the “fake relationship” trope in romance but I figured I’d still read with an open mind. My main issue wound up not being with the trope but with the lack of development on the sisters death in terms of how it impacted character motivation throughout the book. Unfortunately it felt very surface level where it could have brought some deeper themes behind the romance.

Overall, the characters were likable and it was an easy read, I just needed to see a little bit more depth in the two main characters to give it a higher rating. I love romance when it gives a unique twist to the characters, but they felt very much in line with typical archetypes.

3/5 for feeling too much like other books in the genre.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars from me. Maybe even a 4.5. The year is young, I have little to compare it to!

I did tear through this, it was enjoyable and easy to get lost in which I always love in a book. I enjoyed all the tropes, fake dating and friends to lovers, some forced proximity in there, it’s got the good stuff!

The characters were solid. I like seeing relatable people who are a little more broken than they realize coming to terms with their own growth. As much as I love a villain story I also just really like to read about people who feel like me. June and Levi had that going on.

As for our side characters Sana, June’s best friend is snarky and lively. I like that she was fiercely protective but also willing to call June on her bullshit, as any best friend should. Dylan and Mateo added a nice foil for June and Levi, honestly let’s have more about Mateo’s sweater vests, I’m here for it.

Pacing, length, and overall arc were great. I didn’t have any complaints about the book itself and kind of an odd observation from an English nerd, I found very few errors which is less common than you might think in an eARC so gold stars all around!