I got an advanced reader copy of this book thanks to the publisher and netgalley. I wanted to love this story because a good friends to enemies plot is my cup if tea, but it took a long time to get into and the whole reason they were enemies just didn't seem great. I did like the ending as it was cute.

3.5 stars! I've read and loved all of Emma Lord's YA novels, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read her adult debut! The Break-Up Pact is a charming friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romcom about Levi and June, who were once childhood best friends until a misunderstanding ruined their relationship. Now they're both back in their beach town, recovering after devastating public breakups with their exes, when they come up with a plan to fake-date, their very own breakup pact. They'll make their exes jealous, show the world they've moved on, and maybe even salvage what's left of their friendship. Surely their scheme could never turn into something real...or could it?

In signature Emma Lord fashion, The Break-Up Pact is filled with witty banter, fun pop culture references, and delicious treats (seriously, wish I could try a scone from Tea Tides!). I always appreciate how perfectly Lord balances a lighthearted tone with heavier storylines, and she does a great job of that in this book, as June is still grieving the sudden loss of her sister Annie while also trying to keep Annie's dream of owning a tea shop afloat. I liked June a lot, but while I enjoyed the storyline about Levi rediscovering his passion for writing, I struggled to connect to his character a bit more, which made their chemistry fall a little flat to me. I was also frustrated with how he handled the relationship with his ex (trying not to be too spoilery here!), so it was initially tough for me to really root for June and Levi's relationship. Apart from the romance, I loved the side characters, like Dylan, Mateo, and Sana, and thought they were all such great additions to the story! While I did want a little more from certain aspects of the book, I thought the whole premise was really fun and creative. Overall, this was a solid romance from Emma Lord, and I can't wait to see what she writes next! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I've come to expect Emma Lord's novels to be entertaining, with laughable situations, and likable storylines all packed into a quick and easy easy read. The Break-up Pact did not disappoint.
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5 stars

I have read and enjoyed all of Emma Lord’s novels. Her books are always such a good time, and so I was very excited to learn that she would be publishing her first adult romance book. But sadly, it was a bit of a miss for me.

The book is rather bland in my opinion. Nothing distinguishes it from other romance novels that have similar tropes. The plot also moved at snail’s pace which made it difficult for me to want to pick the book up and continue reading. I wasn’t a fan of the amount of OM/OW drama either. I get that it is part of the reason why they agreed to do the whole fake dating scheme, but Levi was pining for his ex (who cheated on him!) for half of the book. There were some lighthearted and fun moments though such as the screaming poetry and the epilogue. But it was overshadowed by the problems I had with the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Stories with pacts are always a fun storyline for me. It was a cute story. A quick read. And made me laugh. A recipe for a good romance. The only negative was misunderstandings and conflict seemed to overwhelm the story sometimes.

This did not have the same charm as other Emma Lord books, sadly. I didn’t really buy in to the past between Levi and June, which made it hard to root for their love story. There was no slow burn, it felt like the pacing was just off. While the cast of characters were charming, I feel I didn’t get to know them enough, either. We’re told June sees her brother so often and then he disappears for most of the book and when she’s struggling, she still doesn’t call him? It just felt like poor character development/explanation. Hoping the next one works better for me than this did.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In "The Break-Up Pact", former high school friends June and Levi (and each other's crushes) have both become social media "famous" after being dumped unceremoniously by their significant others. They attempt to hide in their small coastal hometown while June is running her late sister's scone shop and Levi is trying to write his first novel. When their friend plots a plan for the two of them to start a fake relationship in order to overcome their newfound fame and get back at their exes, lines start to get blurred. Their desire for revenge on their exes cause former feelings to rise and they start to realize that maybe getting dumped isn't the worst thing that ever happened to them.

I enjoyed the sweet, steady relationship between the two of them, but the tiny obstacles that kept popping up were a little frustrating. Regardless, the chemistry between June and Levi was cute, and I enjoyed the humor they shared. The storyline reminded me a bit of other books I've read recently as well. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Break-Up Pact was a cute light hearted story. I enjoyed all the character's interactions with each other. The familial relationship and banter was sweet. Learning and growing go hand in hand and you see that in this story between June and Levi.

The Story of June and Levi drew me in with the first paragraph and I could not put it down. I have never read an Emma Lord book before but I will definitely be looking for me. The emotional connection she makes between reader and character is phenomenal. Great story about love, family, and the ties that we make with those around us even if they are gone.

4 stars
"The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord is a delightful romantic escape that had me hooked from start to finish. June's journey to finding love in a charming coffee shop is filled with humor, heartwarming moments, and unexpected twists. Lord skillfully blends witty banter and genuine emotions, creating a perfect balance. The chemistry between the characters is palpable, and the supporting cast adds charm. This sweet and fun romance, is a must-read, offering a refreshing take on love that will leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Highly recommended!

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord delivers a delightful blend of humor, heart, and modern romance. June and Levi, estranged best friends, find themselves entangled in a fake relationship after their messy break ups become viral sensations. The author writes engaging characters with a well crafted plot that includes witty banter, genuine emotions, and unexpected twists as the duo navigates the world of fake dating to salvage their public images.

The Break-Up Pact ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A cute rom-com.

June and Levi were friends in high school but haven’t spoken in ages. After they both go through break ups, that went viral online, they decide to make a pact and fake date to get revenge on theirs exes. Each dealing with personal struggles, they can see how they both could benefit from this. During this time, they realize they both have true feelings for each other. Why did they ever stop talking to being with?

Overall, I like the story. It was a romcom but it also dealt with a hard topic but was handle with care. It was predictable at times but still good and didn’t take away from the story or make me want to stop reading. I liked the characters and the growth they each had throughout the book.
I think this will be a great light summer read! Be sure to add to your list as it release on August 13, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book. This was my first Emma Lord book, so I’m grateful to have been introduced to her work. I thought the premise of this book was sweet, with its focus on childhood friendships and grief. I loved the idea of friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, but I didn’t love that the enemies portion was due to one seemingly easy to fix misunderstanding. I’m not opposed to misunderstandings as a trope, but this one felt so easily fixed, that it made it hard to believe an entire decade was missed because of it. I absolutely loved the middle of the book, with the build-up, reconciliation, and conflict of the story, but the beginning and end dragged for me. I appreciated the attention spent to building the dimensions of each character, but there was so much time spent on it, I found it didn’t hold my focus. Overall, though slow in places, I thought it was a sweet romance with solid dialogue and I’ll definitely check out more of Lord’s books.

I really enjoyed Emma Lord’s earlier YA, but I chose not to finish this book. It was difficult to follow the plot and character development. The writing was a bit drawn out for my taste and didn’t capture my attention. The placemaking in her YA novels was more engrossing in my opinion.

I’d been excited about this book since I saw the cover of it. June and Levi grew up together as he was best friends with her older sister. A misunderstanding caused them to not talk for years, and now both of them have gone viral for their respective break-ups with other people. The two decide to make a pact and pretend to date so Levi can get his ex back and June some much needed publicity for her struggling tea shop.

I loved the chemistry between June and Levi, and their various set-ups for publicity were fun as you can tell they were definitely not faking.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a cute story of two friends from the past, June and Levi, coming together after viral breakups on social media, to help her business and him win back his ex. However, the past is dragged up and they start remembering why they were so close. It was a cute story, but for only 320 pages it felt really dragged on and wordy. Either other stuff needed to happen or words needed cut to make it more of a novella.

The description of the book seemed interesting, so I wanted to check the story out. Unfortunately, it is not working for me right now. It is nothing against the story or the author, but I couldn't get into the story/characters. I may try and find a physical copy to add the my library when it is released, though, because I think my readers could like it!

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.