I was so excited to read this book, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I love the fake dating trope, but I felt like something was missing in this story.
I couldn't connect with the characters, and the miscommunication was driving me insane.

Overall it's an okay book, but just isn't for me. At least not now.

However I don't want to discourage anyone from picking this one up! Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it cannot be for you and you won't end up loving it. 😊 And maybe I'll give it another shot in the future.

Also, this cover is so pretty!

This is the perfect summer romance, and I enjoyed it so much. And this is an author who always delivers the romance! The breakups June and Levi experience at the start are so relatable-- so many of us have been in similar situations (perhaps without the going viral bit). Then they have a fake relationship, which is so much fun for this friends-to-fake-dating scenario. I loved the honesty in the writing, and the earnest way these two communicate as they lean what they can be to each other. The beach setting is gorgeous, the friends excellent side characters, and the relationship so believable. I'm here for these two, and would love to read more adult romance from Emma Lord! Highly highly recommend for a summer romance you'll grow attached to.

This was a perfectly fine read. I tend to enjoy the fake relationship trope, so chances were that this book would be enjoyable. There was a very strong sense of place, and how our ties to family can shape who and what we become. There wasn't a ton of sex, but what there was fairly steamy. Overall, a good escapist read for a busy time of year.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the egalley.

3.5 stars

I can’t really explain why, but I didn’t enjoy this. It’s not necessarily poorly written. It has decent dialog. I like the characters for the most part. But while I was reading it felt incredibly long and I couldn’t wait to be finished and that holds a lot of weight in my rating. June and Levi, childhood friends to lovers, just didn’t manage to capture my heart. I never felt the decades old depth that should have been there. And so many of the conflicts were frustrating and needless. The author explains the emotional depth of sibling loss and unrequited love, but I never felt any of it. I wanted so much more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review.

I enjoyed the author's voice, but wasn't drawn to these characters. I also found the scenario to be a bit forced. The story didn't feel natural. I lost interest pretty quickly.

Loved the cover though!

I was really excited to get this ARC, but unfortunately was left wanting more with kind of a meh feeling at the end. While the premise was a great concept, and the author is a high quality writer, generally you pick up a romance because you want to feel that chemistry between the main characters, and I just didn't feel the spark. 3 1/2 stars (rounded up). Will definitely give Emma's next book a try as she is an excellent writer - something that is missing from romances!

This wasn't my favorite book that I read. I really don't like the miscommunication trope. These 2 friends literally stopped talking about a misunderstanding! I mean if the sister had a chat with Levi why didn't she talk to June about the conversation since half of it was about her! Don't get me started about the landlord. She literally wanted to pull her out because she couldn't get a scone....a FRICKEN SCONE! Idk it was all over and I didn't enjoy it.

This is the first time I have read any of Emma Lord's work and I really loved it. It was sweet and poignant, It made me laugh out loud and literally cry - both happy and sad tears.

I really enjoyed this book by Emma Lord. This was the first book I have read from the author and was quite impressed. I usually enjoy the fake dating trope, and this was no exception. It is a great beach read with a somewhat Hallmark feel to it. I loved getting to know more of the back story along the way and the added humor from the side characters. I will be recommending this author and looking forward to future releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc to review. All opinions are my own.

I am new to Emma Lord books and I must say I actually devoured her whole back catalogue after reading this one, This was such a joy to read and was much more than the light fluffy book I had been expecting, it dealt with grief and did it quite well, something that i appreciated this year.

A wonderful book, and i had the added surprise of receiving it in my afterlight box this month so now i have a gorgeous edition to add to my shelves!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I forced myself to keep reading it and at a certain point, I just couldn’t do it anymore. Honestly, I don’t think there is anything that particularly stood out to me about this book that was so bad.

I really like to read fake dating tropes but I can be pretty picky about them. I think this one was just kind of silly. I didn’t feel connected with the characters. Plus, when you add on the second chance romance, I feel like there was too much going on. I’m not the biggest fan of second chance romance but it can definitely be done well sometimes. I just didn’t like that my favorite trope and less favorite trope were put together.

I don’t know if there was anything inherently wrong with the book, I just wasn’t a fan.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was my first Emma Lord romance, and won't be my last. The author does a great job at balancing a compelling romance with individual character growth in a way that makes you hang on to every word while reading. It's very reminiscent of an Emily Henry novel in that the romance does take a backseat to the each character's struggles, which is honestly what I loved most about it. That said, it certainly doesn't fall in with the genre of "easy-to-read summer romances", and readers who approach this novel with that in mind may be let down.

Unfortunately, the character development was weak and the overall romance just didn’t work for me. The miscommunication trope came across as immature with these characters and didn’t make for a fun and engaging story.

I loved this book. Loved the cover, loved the content. Just loved! I have read other books by this author so my expectations were high and she did not disappoint.

June and Levi both separately go through their own very public break ups. To fight off the negative attention they make the Break-up Pact to fake date so the public can move on as well as a personal reason for each. These old friends, became estranged and now are reconnecting as they fool the public with their fake relationship.... but how fake is it. hehe this was a fun read and recommend !

Endless thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This is my first Emma Lord book and certainly won't be the last. I was enamoured by her writing - particularly her depiction of grief in this book, how it manifests, how it can be associated with guilt, and how we can move forward from these overwhelming emotions. This exploration into grief and guilt and how they intersect really resonated with me, and I thought she handled this subject with care and authenticity.

I really enjoyed the plot and the setting too. The beach town felt vivid, comforting and familiar - and made me craze scones constantly. The romance between Levi and June was sweet, though I did wish for a little more chemistry to shine through - perhaps through flashbacks of their childhood together- to really hone in on their established connection.

Overall, a super enjoyable, quick paced summer read!
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I’m not sure what it was about this book but I wasn’t feeling it. I felt like it was a rushed story and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters unfortunately

I hated June and Levi and I hated their relationship. They were the problem of their relationship; they kept getting in their own way. Inventing excuses and problems that were simply not there. There wasn't anything on their way. But they kept creating hurdles to overcome.

And there is nothing more happening on the book. The only thread in the story is their relationship. In a really diminished way there is something of motivations and a sad back story. But it is extremely flimsy.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.