In all honesty I had a hard time getting into this book for the first 40%. Then it picked up and I started to get invested in the characters. I found the beginning to be slow and lots of internal dialogue by June. I also would have loved a dual perspective book. I often wondered what Levi was thinking or what his perspective on things were.

The Breakup Pact by Emma Lord is a cute rom-com that also dealt with heavy issues in an appropriate and relatable way. June and Levi were friends as teenagers but haven’t spoken in a decade. After they both go through breakups that went viral, they decide to make a pact and fake date. They hope that by fake dating they can both benefit from the aftermath of their breakups. I always enjoy a fake dating trope and I especially like the friendship first aspect that developed into a relationship. I like the friendship foundation that they had and how June and Levi supported one another and didn’t want to change each other or be the reason the other changed.

Read this book if you enjoy:
* fake dating
* former friends to lovers
* Social Media: viral videos TikTok, Instagram, Twitter
* fun side characters
* little spice

I wish there was more banter between the main characters, a more romantic/swoon worthy MMC, and shorter chapters. I enjoyed the premise of this book though and am glad I had the opportunity to read it. This book will be released on August 13, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read it and gave my honest review.

The Break-Up Pact was my first Emma Lord's book, though I have seen and heard about her others. This book was a pretty standard fake dating romance novel. It seemed to follow the same cookie cutter pattern of similar books that share that same trope.

Although I objectively enjoyed the story (well, maybe a collective 80% of the story), I wasn't wowed by the characters. Both had their own individual downfalls for me and also shared a mutual flaw of not having a backbone, June's in the situation with Griffin (and honestly a little with Levi), and Levi in the situation with Kelly (and sometimes with June!). It was hard for me to like Levi when he was pining after a girl who CHEATED ON HIM for half the book. He was half in and half out of the relationship with June for so much of the novel that I had a hard time trusting him even at the end.

Something I really really hate in books is when characters intentionally say words that will hurt their counterpart. I ESPECIALLY don't like when an author prefaces their words by having their internal monologue say something along the lines of 'I aim these next words to hurt him." The cruelty of it makes a character nearly unredeemable to me, and I was sad that this happened around the 80% mark when there was so little time to come back from that.

I did enjoy the side characters and kind of assumed there may have been prior books about them while I was reading. Because I assumed this, I accepted feeling a little lost with their stories, so if that is not the case then I think more backstory would have been helpful.

Overall the story was a typical fake dating (with hints of miscommunication, ugh!) story. It was for the most part enjoyable but I was definitely not connecting to the characters like I normally do. Overall a 3.5 from me.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's, and Emma Lord for the arc!

4/5 stars! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did find it to be a little on the long side but I enjoyed reading it. This is the first book I’ve read by Emma Lord and I am looking forward to reading her other books. This book is released August 13, 2024. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Emma Lord and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This was the first book I’ve read from Emma Lord and it definitely won’t be the last. I always love a good fake dating storyline and this book delivered! It was fun and heartwarming, truly a perfect combination of comedy, romance, and a thoughtful storyline. All of the characters were great and added something fun and unique to the story. June and Levi’s friendship was really sweet and I enjoyed getting to slowly learn more about their past, how they got to where they are, and to see them repair what they had lost. It was also beautiful to see both of them grow individually, to see them learn more about themselves and what they really want out of life and then pursue those dreams. Overall, this was a fun, sweet, easy read and I really enjoyed it.

Emma Lord is always a delight. While I fear nothing will ever top When You Get the Chance, the Break-Up Pact was so fun. I am always down for a fake dating situation and that coupled with both June and Levi's personal struggles made this just the right level of substance. I do feel that it almost bit off more than it could chew with both fake dating and the second chance romance and June's solo plot line. I almost would've preferred a story focused on June and Tea Tide with Levi as a side plot instead of reversed. But at the end of the day, this is one I'll be recommending.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVED The Break-Up Pact! It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I loved the dynamic between June and Levi, how they both really understood each other and would encourage and build each other up. One of my favorite things about this book was the parallel between June and Levi’s relationship building and my own love story - I could very closely relate to these characters! We had both come out of long-term relationships involving drifting apart, gaslighting, and just clicking from the moment we started spending time together. Not to mention, I also had the pleasure of having an ex call non-stop after their breakup and worrying it would jeopardize our relationship.

POTENTIAL SPOILER: But my absolutely favorite part was the race at the end, which would lead to the same outcome, regardless of who the winner was. My (now) husband and I did something similar with our first kiss, although we were playing for high score in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, not running a race…To-may-to, to-mah-to. Alas, we’ve been married almost 20 years, so here’s to hoping Levi and June get their happily forever after like we did.

Many thanks to Macmillan Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I loved the story of this book. It had a great plot and I’m a sucker for a fake dating trope. I had high hopes for this book although I was new to this author.

While I liked the story, the characters fell a bit short for me. June lived her life for everyone but herself, and I hated that. I hated that she didn’t have her own dreams and path but was just literally living out her sister’s plans.

Levi kind of sucked. He was nice and I wanted to love him, but for starters the entire book I felt like he was closer and cared more about June’s sister than June herself. He had zero backbone. I hated that he allowed everyone to push him around. I also absolutely hated when he outed June to Kelly but supposedly loved June and wanted to be with her. His actions were incredibly immature and a bit infuriating.

As I said, the story was good but I didn’t feel a huge connection between the characters until almost the end of the book, and by then I was so irritated with how they had conducted themselves and choices they had made I wasn’t even sure they should be together. Still an enjoyable book overall, I’d give it a 3.5 star rating.

I’ve enjoyed Emma Lord’s books before, so I was happy to be given an ARC of The Break-Up Pact by NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. Overall, it was a fun friends-to-lovers story, but I felt it was a little lacking in backstory. I would have liked more information or even flashbacks showing how all of the characters had originally met and interacted in the past. I liked June and understood her motivations with her tea room, but also felt that her relationship with Annie and the related grief could have been explored more. Not my favorite Emma Lord book, but still very good!

This is my first read by Emma Lord, so I went into it without knowing much about her or her writing style. I enjoyed the characters in this book, the connections and the friendship banter was fun. However, the romantic story took a while to build and I was getting a little impatient that it didn't happen a little quicker. I like this book, and will definitely read others by this author.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a very cute second chance and fake dating romance. These are tropes I like, and I found the novel employed them both in a fresh way.

Bothe main characters are victims of major breakups that get a lot of play on social media. Based on a friend’s suggestion, they become revenge exes on social media, a concept that should bring all of them advantages in love life and career.

The plot develops as a reader would wish. Secondary characters are fun and interesting, and reading the novel is a very pleasurable way to spend an afternoon.

June and Levi were best friends in high school and drifted apart. From a small town where they were tied together through June's sister and their friends, they were both victims of viral breakups. They are in the same place at the same time and start to rekindle their friendship and after an encounter that had them feeling like they were in high school again and photographed, people think they're a couple. They go along with it, her to keep her struggling business afloat and him to get his fiance back. In true fake dating/ friends to lovers form, feelings come to light. Feelings that they both always had. Of course there's terrible exes and supportive friends and family. I enjoyed this read. I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

The Breakup Pact definitely wastes no time thrusting readers into its whirlwind plot! The narrative swiftly establishes that June and Levi are already going viral for their "fake" relationship as quickly as 16% into the book, so if you're looking for a fast-paced storyline, this is it.

The pace of this book makes it a quick and easy beach read. (Perfect for its publication date planned for next August.) The novel exudes a lighthearted, silly, and cute vibe, delivering the promised fun factor. However, amidst the speedy progression and amusing scenarios, I felt a sense of depth with the characters and their relationships was lacking.

Essentially, The Breakup Pact offers a dose of cute and fun romance, making it a suitable choice for readers seeking a light and breezy escape. However, those looking for a more profound connection with the characters or a nuanced exploration of relationships might find the narrative somewhat lacking. Despite its charming qualities, the overuse of miscommunication tropes adds a layer of predictable frustration that could deter those seeking a more unique and emotionally resonant romantic story.

I really enjoyed this fake dating, friends to lovers rom-com from Emma. Two childhood friends both suffer very public breakups and engage in a pact to fake date their way through the fallout together in hopes to win their exes back. Through the journey they end up falling for each other instead.

Wonderfully written, fun novel with some serious moments intertwined. The plot to spice ratio was well balanced, the side characters were well done and the story flowed easily.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and Emma Lord for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5/5 for me I loved this book in a deep way! I've never read Emma Lord before, but I will again!

For starters, this book is so much more than the cover lets on. It looks like a fluffy romance book, and at times it is, but more importantly it's a really moving story on grief and friendship and trauma. The third act conflict in this book was one of the most realistic and mature that I've read in a book recently. It was more about two people growing on their own before coming together rather than forcing themselves together and waiting for the rest of it to fit around them. These two really put in the work to overcome their past and grow together. It was such a beautiful book.

My only note is that the MMC frustrated me a bit with his actions regarding the OW. Not too bad, but I do wish he handled a few things differently, which he also acknowledged after the fact. It did still leave a slightly sour taste in my mouth, but not enough to bring this book down from a 5.

Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Griffin I received a free electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review. Publication date: 8/13/ 2024

Squeeee!! This was ADORABLE! I really enjoyed the second chance / friends to lovers / fake dating trope story of Levi and June. I loved the nostalgia of their youth, the tension of their present, and the struggles surrounding how to cope with the loss of Annie. I still have unresolved and bitter questions about Kelly, but appreciated the friendship and support continually found with Sana, Mateo and Dylan.

All in all, a cheesy and lovely romance that gave me ALL THE FEELS. I want to eat a scone on the beach now.

I enjoyed Emma Lord's adult romance. June and Levi have chemistry right away. I liked how even though these two characters fell into an old rhythm like good old friends reconnecting initially, they still managed to mis-communicate and be deeply flawed. They share the wound of the loss of Annie, June’s sister, and Levi’s best friend. It's a quirky viral break-up, meets fake dating, meets a meditation on grieving years after a shared loss.

This combination doesn't always seem like it should work. But it does. The romance is definitely a slow burn, and the novel itself moves at a slower pace. The spice level is mild, but it’s there. Definitely sexual tension on their dates. This is a book that takes getting to the half-way point to draw you in. But after that I couldn't put it down.

Side notes: I love Sana! I would follow her romantic adventures next. And flagging this as a missed opportunity: The Revenge-Exs would have been a stronger title. I will die on that hill.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for this ARC.

3.5 Stars Rounded to 4
Cover 3 Stars
Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the eArc.
This is a pretty standard rom-com, but it runs long, and its humor is strictly in the 'Twee' variety. It's very cutesy. The FMC owns a tea shop on the boardwalk that exclusively serves tea and scones. So. Many. Scones. A scone filled with store-bought boxed cookies, by the way, sounds absolutely appalling. (Another note, The Russian Tea Room in Manhattan didn't serve tea.)

If you don’t like miscommunication tropes, be warned. This entire book is one long miscommunication between teenage best friends who then reconnect in their late twenties, but still act kind of like teenagers.

There are a ton of side plots: her shop's economic failure, brother's wedding, a reality television show, a fantasy novel in the works, the dead sister. There is a lot going on in this book but it's all on the periphery and really does little to impact the actual story other than to move the MMC and FMC from spot-to-spot in their beach town.

I didn't love it, but it was entertaining for what it was.

This book was just fine. I spent most of the book wondering if June and Levi had any chemistry or even anything in common with each other aside from their high school past. The “fake dating” aspect of this novel was confusing- were June and Levi planning her brother’s wedding or were they just trying to go social media viral?
I loved the idea of a second chance fake dating trope, but The Breakup Pact needed some plot and character development to really be great.
Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for review.

I think this book was okay, entertaining enough that I wasn’t mad at it but I will probably forget everything that happened in the book within days.

The book made me question if June and Levi even have anything in common anymore or if their relationship is still built on the past. It seems like everything was about the past and some of the big issues they had in present life (hello!! He still wanted to be with his ex and was in contact with her??) were really just brushed over.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC <3

A fun cute read! the main characters were charming, even though it was a book with many cliches it was still entertaining and i think the spicy scenes were very well done, the chemistry was good and believable and it was a satisfying ending