I found the The Break-Up Pact to be quite mediocre. The plot felt cliche and predictable, and the characters were not very well-developed. The humor also fell a bit flat for me, and I didn't find myself laughing as much as I had hoped. Overall, I would say it was an okay read, but nothing to write home about.

So I'm all for the tropes of fake dating and childhood friends to lovers, but not when the pair just seems unable to communicate basic thoughts. June, one half of our couple, drove me a bit insane. She's grieving the loss of her sister, of course, who passed away two years ago and feels like she must operate Annie's Tea Tide shop just as her sister did. But, at the same time, June is an incredibly frustrating and stubborn individual who shuts down instead of talking to people, makes problems simply by being unable to deal with things, drags stuff out for no reason, and seems to have stayed with a guy for ten years just because she didn't want to cause trouble.

This guy, Griffin, breaks up with June on reality TV, around the time that her childhood friend, Levi, sees his fiancee publicly leave him for a famous actor. When Levi and June are photographed together, the "Revenge Exes" are born, and the two agree to fake date. It will help June save Tea Tide and it will help Levi get back his fiancee.

The beachy setting is fun here, as are the scones baked for Tea Time (do not read this book hungry). June comes up with a ton of flavors, all of which are wild and crazy, but sound delicious. June and Levi have crazy chemistry and when they are actually together, they work well. Their fake dating convinces them that they have a spark. It's when they are apart that they have issues--talking, expressing their desires, etc. When we learn about why they have spent the last 10 years apart, it's so lame and frustrating!

This book deals with grief, social media, and family relationships well. June's brother and his soon-to-be husband are adorable. I just wish June and Levi's relationship had a more realistic communication style, or a better reason for their 10 years apart.

Oh man this book could have been so much more…😢 I love a great fake dating story, but this one just lacked chemistry. One huge plus was that this read was FAST, so that made all the tropes that Emma Lord tried to cram in this book tolerable…I guess?! I do hope that Sana gets a novel of her own- cause she was the best character in the book!

I'm a big fan of Emma Lord's books, and was excited to read her latest release, The Break-Up Pact. It definitely didn't disappoint! I loved the evolving friendship between June and Levi, and loved how they dealt with their very messy (and viral) break ups.
This was such a fun read, and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
A huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for gifting this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great second chance romance/ friends to lovers/fake relationship read. Cute seaside love story about two people who grew up together and then had grown apart. After both experience public humiliating break ups they find themselves together again and forming a dating pact. I mean what could go wrong?

Definitely adult! A fun romance read, a HEA, quick and light.

*4.5

I was very intrigued to see Emma Lord's first adult book and I loved it. I like that they were able to build off of what they had when they were younger. They both had a lot of stuff to figure out and I liked watching them grow.

The book had great pacing. As the story went along all of the history between Levi and June was explained so you could understand how they got to where they were in present day. There is some romance but I feel like is a more relationship heavy versus romance heavy story.

This was an easy read with a fun coastal setting. The writing was good, and I like the way Emma wrote about the topic of grief in the novel.
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This is a second chance and friends-to-lovers romance, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to the main characters and the story moved too slowly for me. It didn’t work for me, but I hope it will for you!

Emma Lord's entry into contemporary romance is fun and full of her unique brand of story magic.

THE BREAK-UP PACT introduces us to former best friends June and Levi, who have each recently suffered devastating (and viral) break-ups. After not having spoken for a decade, Levi returns to Benson Beach, and soon he and June are convinced into a fake dating relationship to enact revenge on their exes.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years. They're both also navigating the grief from the death of June's sister, and Levi's best friend Annie.

When photos of Levi and June together has the internet convinced they're a couple, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s struggling tea shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time. But what happens when old feelings resurface and the fake becomes...not so fake?

Despite being contemporary (and including spicy scenes), I'm not entirely convinced that this book *feels* anything other than YA. I just think Emma Lord does YAs so well that it seeped naturally into her attempt at adult. It's still warm and funny and charming, it's not quite adult-feeling. I think the more the author writes in this genre, the more it'll feel--for lack of a better term--grown up, but ultimately, I still think YA is her bag.

Also, I need way more backstory to invest in a friends-to-lovers/(sort of) second chance romance, and Levi's handling of his relationship with Annie soured me at times.

But still, always fun to read Emma Lord!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

This was ultimately a good read. I really like Emma Lord's YA reads, so I was excited for her adult debut. I had a hard time getting into and eventually switched to the audiobook which really helped. I think was me issue and not the book itself. Overall, I liked the second chance aspect of it and I think both characters really grew a lot throughout the story.

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord's launch into adult romance, and it didn't disappoint.
After their breakups go viral, June and Levi come together in this fake dating romantic novel.
I loved the chemistry between them. I really liked how June and Levi were childhood friends before coming back together. I liked the fake dating. It was a fast read, I read it in one day.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-Arc.

This started out so good and there was so much potential here, but poorly executed. Levi’s attachment and understanding for his ex that CHEATED on him?! Yeah, no. It totally cheapened his “feelings” for June. Don’t get me started on June and Griffin. Like can I get some satisfying revenge for at least one of these cheating exes?! Apparently not. The rest felt so cliche and without the unnecessary open door scene, this read more like a YA.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for gifted copies. My thoughts are my own.

I liked this book for the most part. Likeable characters, cute banter but this just dragged on in the last quarter. There is no way this book needed to be as long as it was. Really made me lose interest.

YEEHAWWWW This book was the full meal deal!

When two friends, who haven't seen each other in 10 years, both get dumped very publicly, they use each other to fake date to claw back some of their integrity and hopefully their exes too.

I loved loved loved this book! The characters were CHEFS KISS!!! The story was so good!! I loved the ride.

The only thing I felt needed some adjustment was maybe the last 30% could have wrapped up quicker and would have knocked it out of the park!!

I love the fake dating trope, it never fails to entertain!!

4.5 stars!!!!

Pretending to date will help June save her sister’s shop and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. June and Levi can pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?

Did this start funny and a little cute? Yes.
Did it make me laugh? Yes.
Did I pace my kitchen while crying? Also yes.
Did it ultimately end beautifully? YES!

Pros:
- Character development was incredible.
- Backstory reveal was believable and heart wrenching
- Love story was beautiful and made my heart ache (in a good way)
- Chemistry was so thick you could feel it
- The friendship as the basis of their love was so beautiful I cried A LOT
- The raw pain was so real it was almost physical
- The writing was so fluid and deep that it felt almost poetic at times

Cons:
- A bit of miscommunication microtrope which is my absolute least favorite.

Overall - Do yourself a favor - read this sweet, heart wrenching, soul punch of a modern epic love story.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is a perfect read for fans of fake dating and friends to lovers. I absolutely loved this book. It follows Levi and June whose breakup go viral. They decide to fake date to save June's shop and make Levi's ex girlfriend realise the mistake she made . Witty ,fast-paced and a page turner

I love the prospect of high school crushes coming back for potential love as an adult. This was dripping with that which would easily make it a book that I would fall for, but there was a lot more in <i>The Break-Up Pact</i> that kept me from giving it a higher number of stars.
The book is largely centered around fake viral fame. Essentially stories are made up that go viral and increases business for June's scone shop and pumps up the jealousy for Levi's ex-finance. While there was clearly a lot of love, respect and admiration for June and Levi since high school, there was also soooo much avoidance to the truth. I may have gotten a little frustrated with their interactions a couple of times.
But this was a fun story and I am really craving a scone with odd flavors right now.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

While I'm typically a fan of Emma Lord books this one fell a little short for me. Don't get me wrong - it was a cute read and everything but i struggled getting into it and connecting with the characters.

I really enjoyed this book so much that I’m getting it in a special edition box. If you like fake dating books then this one is for you.

3.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This review contains spoilers.

While I thought the story had a bit of a slow start, it was sweet and romantic with likable characters. I liked the whole idea of people going viral on Tik Tok and then using the platform to their advantage for revenge. There was plenty of romance and spice (Lord could give Emily Henry a run for her money when it comes to writing intimate scenes) and the ending was satisfying. I was a bit worried in the middle (when the couple finally admits their feelings for one another) that there would be stupid misunderstandings and more obstacles but that really wasn't the case.
I did feel like a lot of the secondary characters were not fleshed out enough. There weren't any that I was interested in.

An easy one to pass along to those looking for contemporary fiction. This will be a purchase for my public library.