The Break-Up Pact started out strong and then headed downhill. I really enjoy what I thought was to come and then it just got boring.
I think this could have played out better and been more engaging. I didnt connect well with the characters. Some chapters were just long and drawn out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

I typically love best friends who become more in addition to a second chance relationship. This one just didn't give me all the warm heartfelt feelings I was looking for. It starts with June becoming a meme due to the fact her boyfriend breaks up with her out of the blue on live TV with a new love. Her crying, emotional fit turns her into someone who is mocked and made fun of as "crying girl"...WHY? Why would the victim in this situation be the one victimized again?! Then Levi (her previous best friend who disappeared from her life) is also dumped by his fiancée for someone famous. This leads to a fake dating relationship between the two June and Levi. While I could totally support a reawakening of friendship and establishing a real relationship, there were too many red flags. The main one is Levi was still contemplating getting back with his ex until late in the book. Then all of a sudden, he turned his devotion to June. I just needed more...Also, I didn't like the miscommunication that led to their separation over the years and the dead sister's part in not wanting them together. I know she is dead now, but she seemed very selfish in life. I hated there was no closure or further explanation for her actions. Some parts were cute and sweet...the rest just didn't feel genuine.

I will still check out Emma Lord's next writing since she is usually a hit for me!

3 stars

June Hart is the owner of her late older sister Annie’s tea shop Tea Tide, which is on the brink of collapse due to its lack of customers. Her ex, Griffin, revealed he was cheating on her on national television and she became a meme.
June and her childhood friend Levi embark on a fake dating scheme to boost her business and help Levi win back his cheating fiancée. While their staged relationship practically breaks the internet, the narrative takes readers on a delightful ride through fun dates at the museum, trivia nights, and cake tastings. However, the romantic aspect of their relationship may come across as somewhat immature, laden with the overused misunderstanding trope that echoes a middle school rom-com rather than a story about mature adults. The pace is slow in the beginning as the author takes time rebuilding a broken relationship that's grounded in some difficult past issues and playing out in the limelight. Contemporary romance. Second chance, friends to lovers, and fake relationship troupes. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher.

I absolutely adored The Break-Up Pact and was so happy that Emma Lord branched out into Adult Rom-Coms. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed all of her YA books but I love June and Levi even more. It's a slower burn while they learn how to be friends again and deal with the tragedy that shadows their past. The banter is witty and charming, and the tension is perfection. Despite some heavier tones, it's still a light enough, fun read.

This was... so frustrating. But I feel like that's how every romance I've read recently has been. June and Levi were childhood/teenage friends who never became anything more. Now Levi is broken up with by a semi-celeb and June is broken up with her long-time bf who was never really nice to her and lo and behold... they're gonna get together.

I'm not going to lie... I don't remember much about this book. I'm doing this review a full month and a half late, but everything was out of my brain within a day or two after reading. The characters were forgettable (if actually quite aggravating), the plot was barely there, and the initial concept was just kind of silly. A break up going viral on TikTok (not only one but TWO) would maybe hold my interest for a day... if that.

June is annoying for not wanting to change anything about her sister's tea shop. While I understand grief and wanting to hold onto the things that were your sister's are things that are hard to break, I think I'd feel worse knowing my sister's shop actually went fully under because I wasn't willing to change. BUT THAT'S JUST ME and I can see how it's relatable but GOSH I was annoyed.

Levi was just... there. He didn't seem like the best book boyfriend of all time, and his little jokes of calling June other months as nicknames got old. Was it a bad book? No, but it was incredibly mediocre and forgettable. I recommend grabbing some others first.

3+

I hadn't realized this wasn't YA. It might be the first book by Emma Lord that I read that isn't but it's kind of funny. Her last book was still officially YA (although about a character in college, it had all the other elements) but you already felt it was trying not to be it. Meanwhile this book is about two adults well after their college years, dealing with their careers and relationships, but it had a very YA tone to it. June may have been the owner of a tea shop by the beach, but I was always surprised whenever they mentioned something teenagers shouldn't be doing.

I'm saying it as a good thing, by the way. At least for me. I love YA's, and it was good to see one dealing with conflicts closer to my reality but maintaining the ways I love so much about them. But I do understand it could sound like criticism and even push away some potential reader who prefers more mature stories.

Another theme present in most of Lord's stories is also here. Grief. The loss of a loved one. In June's case, it's her sister, who suddenly died while June was away, living adventures to follow her boyfriend. Yes, the same boyfriend who'll dump her before the beginning of the book in the most humiliating way possible. I found it surgical how Lord managed to explore such a sad theme in a way that isn't light, that isn't insensitive but that doesn't drag the whole story with it. It's very real.

Okay, so about the main story, we've got to estranged friends who meet after many years in new circumstances, they both broke up in a too public way. And so they're thrown in the great trope of pretend lovers. At first, I expected them to argue more, they did give those airs since whatever business that had pulled them apart was far from solved. But really, this is a very friends-to-lovers story. And it's undeniable that June and Levi make a cute couple.

So why I'm rating it more like an average book? It is indeed not average, but those above were the points that would make it stick out. In other words, I don't think they were memorable enough for four or five stars. It's not your everyday "let's pretend this is a date" story, but even if I knew it was different, and it wasn't a bad different, it still wasn't that exciting. To be honest, most of the time the two already felt like a couple. It was realistic they still needed to solve issues to get to together, but just realistic isn't enough to make it a fun read. It was good but it wasn't a blast.

I do recommend this to all those older readers of YA, it was lovely.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a charming exploration of the blurred lines between friendship and romance. The story follows two best friends who make a pact to break up if they ever date—a plan that, of course, goes awry.

Emma Lord captures the awkwardness and excitement of falling for someone you’ve always known, with plenty of humor and heartfelt moments. The characters' chemistry is undeniable, and their journey from friends to something more feels authentic and relatable.

Overall, it's a sweet and engaging read about the risks of love and the strength of true friendship.

I went into this book totally blind and I'm glad I did! I think sometimes it is more exciting, especially if you're in a reading slump or switching genres, to go into a book blind.

This book is all from June's POV and tells a deeply woven and emotional story about her and Levi, her high school crush and best friend, and her life now. Learning to live without her big sister who passed, trying to keep everything in her life exactly how it was before she lost her sister, so it can still feel the same, all while dealing with the chaos of being thrown into the media and realizing you lost yourself in your last relationship which took up the last decade. Think that's not enough?? Then throw in some fake dating and falling in love!

This book really was a lot of fun - I loved seeing Levi and June explore old times again while making new memories. I loved watching them learn how to navigate a future where things have changed, life looks different, they are learning to move on without certain people around. I found this book enjoyable to read, but not too standout-ish. I give it a 3.5/5 stars personally, but Goodreads doesn't do half readings. I thought the writing was done well, the characters were fun and unique, and I loved all the supporting characters. I found myself at a few times being frustrated at June saying how Levi has to communicate, do better, but that repeatedly watched her not communicate her feelings and just let him know she is there.

I look forward to reading more by Emma Lord! I think her writing is well done and the stories she writes leaving you able to visualize all of it, which I personally love.

Thank you to Emma Lord, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! It really means a lot to me :)

Cute little story of friends who should have been lovers. Unrequited love, turned into second chance romance. Funny and sweet. I can always count on Emma Lord to tell a sweet summer story filled with great banter.

I am kind of obsessed with the fake dating trope, and this one was pretty high stakes since it was pretty clear both MCs had feelings for one another before they started! Going viral for being "revenge exes" might have been enough, but capitalizing on the momentum by allowing their fake relationship to be made public on social media upped the skin in the game.

What I liked: The conversation that happens when it becomes clear there were feelings and there was no need to hide them, the tension created by a mutual friend (and sister) whose memory keeps them both stuck and kind of easy to manipulate, and the races which end in the best stakes of all time

I did feel like this could have gone with the dual POV, and it would have fixed the parts of the MMC that felt a little incomplete. It allowed the reader to feel all the angst of the FMC and not know whether or not the MMC was really having his cake and eating it too for a bit.

Overall, it was a solid read.

Content warning: an open door scene and swearing

June Hart is a meme. The internet has dubbed her “crying girl” after her boyfriend broke up with her on a reality show. She’s just trying to move on with her life and her tea shop when Levi Shaw, her childhood best friend shows back up. Levi has also just been publicly cheated on, and, despite the fact that they haven’t talked in years, the breakups bring Levi and June back together. They decide to start fake dating to get back at their exes, but in the meantime, they’re finding themselves again too. Emma Lord’s foray into the adult romance genre has the same charm as her YA novels. However, the characterization wasn’t as strong. There was both a lot and nothing going on for these characters. Readers learn little of their shared past, and even their current relationship just feels…well, fake. Unfortunately, this book fell flat especially in comparison to Lord’s other work.

June and Levi were childhood friends growing up in a small beach town. Their worlds collide as adults when they both experience separate but both viral breakups and end up back in their now what feels like smaller home town and fake (dating) it till they make it as they June runs her late sisters beachside tea shop and Levi pens his newest novel.

This book was a quick and easy read that made me giggle and tear up a bit. I love fake dating and a second chance romance so count me in!! Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of this book!!

Overall this story had likable characters and witty dialogue, with decent romantic chemistry. I also enjoyed the exploration of friendship and the evolution from friends to lovers felt authentic. However, the plot often felt predictable and the miscommunication trope felt too easy.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

First thought: This was a fun, cute, creative and angsty book. Be warned it does deal with grief and moving on after the loss of a sibling and a long term relationship. If you’re looking for a good summer read that has some depth, this one’s for you. But be sure to grab a scone as this will have you craving them by the end!

June was just blind sided with a break up on live tv and she went viral as the ugly crying girl. The last few years have been rough after losing her sister, moving back to her hometown and taking over the Tea Shop which is on the verge of losing its lease. June feels stuck and doesn’t know how to navigate forward.

So when Levi comes home for a few weeks escaping his own viral relationship drama, things get even more confusing. June has loved Levi since high school but when he graduated he ghosted her for the last ten years. She’s angry with him but also misses what they had.

But after a run on the beach with Levi Nd a friendly race, leads to the two of them being photographed and tagged as “The Vengeance Exes”. Now they find themselves fake dating and blurring the lines between real and pretend. See how things unfold and June figure out what her future looks like and who should be a part of it.

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Fake Dating for the Internet
* Childhood Besties to Lovers
* Viral Meme
* Revenge Scones
* Slow Burn & Angsty
* Death of Sibling
* Miscommunication
* Small Town Beach
* Mild Spice🔥

This book was so cute, I loved the characters and the setting. The plot was fun and I loved the second chance trope!

the pacing for this was very off and the miscommunication (while i understand that it can happen in life too) was just too much for me. i also could really connect with the characters as i would have liked too.

this book reminded me a lot of beach read by emily henry (my favorite book) and it filled the void of finishing all her books. emma lord writing seems fresh and romantic and i cannot wait to read more from her

The author's writing style is excellent. I enjoyed how thoroughly detailed but not overbearing it was. The little details she added were really enjoyable. However, I was so bored reading this story. The characters weren't flat, but they didn't make me want to like them. I just felt sad for them. Childhood friends to lovers mixed with the second chance trope has been gaining a lot of popularity lately, and i don't know if it's because i've just recently read a lot of similar books (such as the ex-vows or every summer after) but i didn't not want to keep reading. DNF at 55%. Usually once i get to that point in a book i'm motivated to atleast continue, but i still wasn't drawn in by the characters at that point and didn't want to waste more time. Because the author's writing was so good, I will definitely try one of her other books, this one was just a miss for me. Thank you for the chance to read it.

I enjoyed the journeys the MCs went on in this book, both together and separately. Sometimes the lack of communication was a little extra but overall it was a fun read, and I loved all the food talk as they came up with special scones.

An emotional summer romcom with beachy vibes! There were so many things I enjoyed about this book. The small beach town setting, the main and supporting characters, the exploration of overcoming grief and the beautiful and sentimental ending! However, much of the book was such a slow burn and some chapters felt very long and drawn out. I also felt there were some unrealistic moments and so much miscommunication. And while there were a few spicy chapters, I was hoping for more romance and steam. My feelings are definitely mixed with this one but if you’re seeking a friends to lovers beach read, give it a try!