I have loved Emma’s YA books and this being her adult debut I knew I wanted to read it. Unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. The story was inconsistent and I didn’t love June and Levi. I would love more Sana but less of forcing her being diverse. Also, too many times saying scone and TikTok. Hopefully her next adult book is better.

: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
️: 2/5

The gist: Two friends, estranged for a decade, find each other being on the dumped end of breakups gone viral. June has become known as "crying girl" on TikTok after she was unexpectedly dumped. Levi found himself in Page Six and the topic of gossipy whispers. Their answer? Fake date to get back at their exes and help get June's business get back on its feet. What's the worst that can happen, right?

The good: I love a good fake dating trope overall. This book's beachside setting was summery and fun. And minimal conflict made for a smooth read plot-wise (the dreaded 3rd act breakup wasn't tough to swallow).

The eh: Is it just me, or does it feel like June and Levi have zero chemistry? Like absolutely none. It made it hard to root for them to end up together. (Minor spoiler alert) This friend group is bound by a tragedy, and the grieving and emotions behind it felt flat. I didn't feel particularly drawn to the details of the plot or any of the characters. This is a bummer, as I did enjoy Emma Lord's previous novel, Begin Again.

Thank you to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Break-Up Pact is out later this month on August 13th.

I usually adore Emma Lord's YA books, and I was excited to read her first adult romance novel.

The beachy vibes in The Break-Up Pact were immaculate, and the side characters were charming. Aside from those elements, though, I kept losing interest in the narrative.

The main characters, June and Levi, felt flat, and the story conflicts felt weak. I kept reading, determined to enjoy one of my most anticipated summer releases, but it never picked up for me.

That doesn't mean you won't love The Break-Up Pact; give it a shot if you like the description, and especially if you're looking for a beach read!

I normally love Emma Lord's books. But I think this is the first adult romance I have read, they have all been YA before. And this one unfortunately still read like a YA book, but with some spice in it. I wasn't a fan of their chemistry and there was a lot about the sister who past away a few years before the book takes place. The book was almost more about the sister than the main characters.

3 stars
1 spice

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord [St. Martin's Press #gifted #netgalley]

Humiliating break ups. Childhood best friends reunited. Fake dating. Real feelings. I think that pretty much sums up The Break-Up Pact. I really enjoyed reading the story and seeing all the layers of June and Levi's relationship as we got to know more about what went down between the two of them that explains why they were out of touch for almost a decade before this story takes place. Overall, it was a good romance to read over the summer.

DNF at 70%. I tried to push through this one but unfortunately it lost me around the half way mark. I am a big friends to lovers fan but the fake dating/ viral break up aspect let me down. The way it was written felt young adult then bam lot’s of random spice. Most of this is a me-thing so hopefully this one works better for others!

I was excited for an adult novel from Emma Lord (her YA romances are great)! This was a fun friends-to-lovers romance with a great beach town setting. It was perfect for beach reading. June and Levi have a great connection, in part due to their shared history. I really enjoyed the social media aspect (their viral breakups push them together in adulthood). There is great banter, well-rounded side characters (Sana is my favorite), and a very satisfying ending. I definitely recommend this one for romance readers! Thanks to Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one started out cute but by the 46% mark I just wasn’t feeling it. If you like fake dating this one could be for you.


Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for my advanced e copy

Publish date: August 13, 2024

I’ve read all of the YA reads Emma Lord has written this far, so I was excited to see she had a new adult romance read releasing.

I think the cover art is adorable and gives a great beach-y summer vibe, and the premise and tropes of this one were great. I enjoyed the initial build up and idea of the backstory between our mains, June and Levi. I also really loved the friendship of Sana and June.

I’d say the first part of the read I was fairly interested and invested, however I did struggle in the second half. The things that weren’t working as well for me were mainly a combination of the drag out of Levi and his ex situation, the third act break, and some of the miscommunication. They each kind of took me out of the story and made it hard to focus.

Overall, it was a cute easy summer romance read. Great for a beach or poolside reading day. Not my favorite Emma Lord to date personally, but I’ll still try anything she writes.

I'm not going to lie when this book started I very much got five star vibes. I was loving it SO MUCH. I adored the small beach town setting. I thought the tea/scone shop was a really interesting setting as well. The set up was a bit ridiculous, you know with the viral break-ups and the whole lead up into their fake dating. It just was bit too good to be true, I guess. However, this book took me for the ride. I really liked our two main characters. I thought their personal issues were also quite interesting, and I was just overall really invested. I also adored their romance. I thought they were adorable together, and had amazing banter. I also think this book did a great job conveying their long history without using any flashback chapters.
However, about halfway through we get a big love confession and after that this becomes a VERY different book. It becomes so emotionally heavy, and it was quite jarring from the first half of the book. I also just started to dislike our characters. The way they kept going back and forth was exhausting, to be honest. I feel like the author kept coming up with issues for the sake of it, and it became so grating. By the end I wasn't even rooting for our couple anymore. They spend the second half of the book in a sort of limbo where they aren't fully together, but they also are. I don't know. I also feel like none of their conflicts get properly discussed/wrapped up. I feel like the author just kind of forgot their developement, and instead just skipped to the good part. I don't know. It all just became very exhausting to read, and I rolled my eyes several times at the book. The quality just absolutely dropped in that second half. So in the end it just didn't work for me.

Title: The Break Up Pact
By: Emma Lord

Genre:
Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Summary:
After a decade apart, Levi and June find themselves in a similar situation, so why not join forces? June’s boyfriend, Griffin finds the true love of his life on a reality TV show and Levi’s girlfriend cheats on him with a high profile celebrity. With both breakups going viral, and the spotlight on them both, June and Levi decide to pair up in a fake dating relationship.

Review:
This is the first adult romance book for Emma Lord. It really had potential, but I felt something was lacking. It is told from one point of view. The beginning had me hooked, relating to the characters, but I felt the overall plot line lacked depth. The tone of the book was more serious with elements of loss, grief, misunderstanding, miscommunication and the romance didn’t do it for me. The physical moments felt forced in the writing, and honestly, quite awkwardly just thrown in with no build up. I will admit the story pacing and buildup did get better towards the end of the novel. This book is a quick, fast paced read, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Sidenote for followers - Pieces of explicit content in Chapter 16

Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#Thebreakuppact
#emmalord
#stmartinspress
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#netgalleyreviews

I usually love the friends-to-lovers/fake dating tropes, but this one had me feeling like I was on a roller coaster ride and not a fun one either. Anyone got a barf bag? First he wants his ex back, and then he doesn’t, oh wait, now he does, now he doesn’t, but then he’s going back to New York with the ex, just to “settle things” with her. She’s not much better with her constant woe is me and please come to my pity party. I wish I could come up with something nice to say about this book, but I really can’t.

I tried really hard. That’s all I can say. It felt really overwritten and over edited. While the concept was a great idea for an adult debut novel. Execution wasn’t there.

I loved the premise of this book, however it was a very slow start for me. Once I finally got going, I enjoyed the characters and loved how things were woven together at the end.

The beginning fell a little flat with the characters for me, almost like she was trying to weave too many subjects into one story (love and loss and childhood romance with fake dating and … all the things) and less attention paid to the characters themselves, so I had trouble connecting to them. By the end it felt like everything going on made more sense and became more of a cohesive story which was filled with emotion, while the characters really developed and became people who you truly rooted for.

I wish the beginning had the same feeling as the second half but it was worth reading to the end!

Thanks to Negalley, MacMillan and Emma Lord for the advanced copy to review.

beginning was a little slow and it took me a bit to get into it, but it picked up in the second half! i ended up really loving the two main characters and it had some of my favourite tropes!
overall a really cute summer read that i would definitely recommend to people!

Completely cute and entertaining but not my favourite by the author 🩷 it felt too rushed for me and i struggle with miscommunication a lot in books so this could totally be a “me” thing

I do appreciate the gifted arc! I will always read her books so I was excited to get this

Did not like this one. Had language with is a big turn off.ok this was okay. this was okay. I like the YA books

What a great take on one of the best romance tropes! Levi and June's tension flew off the pages and found themselves a place in my heart right away!
I enjoyed every second of this book and learning more about the characters. There was a touch of emotion and a small theme of grief around both characters that I think many readers will relate to and find solace in.
A perfect rom-com to read during the summer months!

The breakup pact follows June and Levi, two childhood friends who both went through extremely public breakups and decide to create a pact of Revenge Exs!

This book was super sweet! Their banter was funny and the book kept me hooked. I enjoyed how there was no third-act breakup and as an adult debut my Emma Lord, it is extremely well written. The main characters are developed and the side characters were extremely entertaining. The spicy was super well written and didn’t feel out of place, which was something I was worried about while reading the book. It was funny, fast paced and had enough insanity to fit into the rom-com category perfectly!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be purchasing myself a copy when it gets released!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan press for an EArc of this book!😊I

I've loved Emma Lord's adorable YA books since her debut, Tweet Cute, but I was also excited to see her turn to adult romance with The Break-Up Pact. I gulped this up in one sitting, and it was a wonderful read for lounging by and in a pool, especially as it's a summery read set at a beach. June runs a boardwalk tea shop/bakery in the wake of her sister's death, while her high school crush and best friend Levi returns to town -- after both of them have suffered through very public, viral break-ups. They decide to use the online attention to their advantage to get back at their exes by pretending to date, while becoming friends again and, of course, figuring out their real feelings for each other.

Lord's warm, sometimes snappy writing and fun, quirky characters translate well to an adult voice when Lord makes them a bit more measured and serious than YA, with some more mature emotions and dilemmas. While Lord is great at NYC books, her beachy small town is a wonderfully cozy summer setting and combines with her cast of characters and smaller details, like June's business Tea Tide. June and Levi's long friendship and the relatable hurt that fueled years of near-silence are straightforward but well done and baked in with childhood jokes and deep knowledge of each other. Other than the internet element of their story, they're very normal and their relationship feels realistic, making the story not very dramatic and instead relatable and sweet.