First, I'm endlessly grateful to St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for early access to the ebook and ALC of this story! These are my honest thoughts!

I enjoyed listening to this book SO MUCH. I was drawn in by the narrators and while I enjoyed reading it, I think I actually loved listening to it even more! The audio performance gets 5 stars. It felt like watching an old favorite rom-com, with so much energy and ridiculousness and fun and serious all mixed in the bag!

This story is tied together with tragedy, with June's sister/Levi's BFF passing away, but not before she causes a chasm to form between June and Levi right out of high school. Years have passed, and yet these two haven't managed to reconnect. However, they both are facing public humiliation in the form of their exes publicly breaking their hearts for all to witness. Rumors start rolling, and these two form a break-up pact in order to ward off the public interest in their love lives.

The best part of this whole story is Levi coming to June's defense. He's best friends with her brother still, and his intentions are pure. When all their history finally comes to the surface, you see Levi as the sweetheart he really is.

This is a childhood-friends-to-strangers-to-fake-dating-to-lovers story, with a lot of emotional turmoil in between. It's sort of second chance (they both had crushes in high school). There's grief. There's embarrassment. There's failure. And then there's a lot of fun, too. And the spice was... brief but spicy all the same!

I'm excited for this one to be in the world. It vibes sort of like a spicy Sarah Adams romance novel, and I'm glad Emma took the leap from YA, making The Break-Up Pact her contemporary romance debut. A solid 4-star read for me!

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌-𝑼𝒑 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲! 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧, 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞. 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧. 𝐈 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝!

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢, 𝐀𝐊𝐀 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐬.” 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤-𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥, 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚/𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐸𝓂𝓂𝒶 𝐿𝑜𝓇𝒹, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃’𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

It was a DNF for me, unfortunately. I've enjoyed Lord's YA romance in the past, but just couldn't get into this adult romance. The characters felt immature, and the storyline felt both predictable and overly complicated. It quickly became clear that it wasn't working for me, so I left it unfinished.

"The Break Up Pact" is such an awesome read! June and Levi, once best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years, find themselves in a hilarious situation after their break-ups go viral. June’s struggling with her tea shop, and Levi’s a frustrated hedge fund manager. When a photo of them together causes a social media frenzy, they decide to fake-date to help each other out. Their chemistry is amazing, and the fake relationship turns into something real and swoon-worthy. It's a perfect mix of fun, emotion, and second chances that kept me totally hooked from start to finish!

3.5 stars for this one!

There was nothing really wrong with this book. I read it quite quickly and I enjoyed it just fine. It was sweet, cute and entertaining but I think I just wanted more from it? I've really enjoyed some of the author's other books, so I was very excited and had high expectations going in. Some of them were met, some were not, and that's ok because at the end of the day, I did enjoy it.

Some parts to me felt very rushed. The characters went quickly from not seeing each other for years to quickly diving into a fake dating scheme. Other parts seemed to be needlessly long and dragged a bit. While I liked the main characters, there was a ton of miscommunication between them that could have been quite easily resolved. They were fine, but nothing about them really stood out to me.

I liked the secondary characters, I really liked the beachy, small town vibes. I loved the cute tea shop and felt like I could really picture it and this book gave me so many cravings for scones! I wanted all the baked goods while reading! Overall, not a total standout but an entertaining story with some sweet romance.

June and Levi were best friends....until they lost touch. Ten years later and after a fake dating adventure - they'll be friends again, at least.

I will keep saying it as it is so true - fake dating is such a fun trope to read! The shenanigans between June and Levi were so cute that I couldn't help but cheer them on as I read. Fake dating someone you already know takes the process to a whole new level and I love how both our characters already knew the other inside out. I have been a fan of Emma Lord's work since Tweet Cute (such an amazing book!) so I'm pleased to see her branch out into adult fiction. I think she's knocked it out of the park with The Break Up Pact. I was fortunate enough to listen to this one on audio while I read along and highly recommend the audiobook as the narration was extremely well done.

It seems like "The Breakup Pact" had some interesting elements, but perhaps fell short in fully engaging the reader with its characters. The lack of connection to Levi and June might have hindered the emotional impact of the story, making it difficult to become invested in their journey.

The ambiguity surrounding Levi's intentions and June's sudden notoriety from a meme may have left some unanswered questions for readers, making it challenging to fully understand the characters' motivations and actions.

However, it's commendable that the book delved into deeper themes such as grief and the struggle to maintain one's own dreams in the face of loss. The exploration of these complex emotions added a layer of depth to the story, offering a more meaningful reading experience than a typical romance novel.

While "The Breakup Pact" may not have resonated as strongly as hoped, it's clear that the attempt to infuse the narrative with substance and emotional complexity was appreciated. Perhaps future works by the author will further refine the storytelling and character development to create a more impactful and engaging read.

It might be that Emma Lord just isn't for me. So far I haven't connected with her stories however I know many people love her books. This may be a new favorite for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced listener copy. My review is voluntarily My own.

4.5⭐️’s this was such a great book, I loved it! It had such a great mixture of witty banter, humor, heart wrenching moments and self discovery. There were times my heart physically ached for Levi and June (mostly June) for all they’d been through in previous relationships as well as together (past and present). Sana was such a good side character, she helped make the story.

For anyone wanting a sweet romance without the spice, this one is for you. The main character, June, is coming off of a rather public dumping via reality TV, and she is trying to get her feet back under her so to speak. The man she grew up with and had a huge crush on in high school shows back up in town at her tea and scone shop, and while he has also been through some rough patches with his fiance, the reader instantly can see where this is headed. The two become an internet sensation when they are branded “The Revenge Exes” as they are seen out together on various dates, in the attempt to get revenge on their exes by creating jealousy. The story arc is nothing new, and almost the whole thing was predictable, so much so that I felt that it was dragged out longer than it needed to be. However, it was a clean, easy read, perfect for my vacation book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I don't read a lot of romance, but when I do Emma Lord never disappoints. There are some tropes that i always adore and fake dating is one. This was so entertaining and real and raw. A perfect book for anytime, but definitely for beach reading (I mean it takes place in a beach town - summer all the way!).

This was an enjoyable read overall - 3.5 stars from me.

Two notes:

- I'm not sure why it's called "The Break-Up Pact," since the characters did not in fact make a pact about breaking up. Why wouldn't it be called "The Revenge Exes" or something like that?
- After the two got together, there was no real question about whether they would ultimately stay together, which meant it might be more realistic than many romances, but also lacked tension.

That said, Emma Lord is a talented writer, and it's always a pleasure to dive into one of her worlds. I appreciate the opportunity to read the ARC in advance of publication.

Normally I love Emma Lord, but this one took me a while to get through. I just wasn't drawn in the way I have been in the past.

Cute summer read with fake dating as a trope. The pacing was a little fast but overall great easy summer romance.

Cute summer read. June and Levi agree to fake date after years of not seeing each other, and their own respective breakups. This pacing was a little on the fast side, but I liked the overall story and characters.

I’ve enjoyed Emma’ Lords other books so I’ve been excited to read her debut adult romance. It was long but it didn’t feel too long.

What I thought was a cute pool side read that follows June and Levi turned out to have heavier topics which led me to remember not to judge a book by its covwr.
Usually I’m a fan of second chance love but this was not a cute little RomCom. It was deeply heartfelt and deals with real life issues. I enjoyed it and can’t wait to see what else she writes.

This was a super fun summer second chance romance. Some of the elements were a little overly manufactured- for example, both main characters were broken up with by some d-list celebrity in a very public way- but what kept me interested was the bond between June and Levi. While their situation was weirdly fake-seeming, the connection between the two characters was very real. June was a complex main character and her journey to find what she was really looking for resonated with me. I also really liked the dynamics surrounding both Levi and June’s relationship with her late sister. While a lot of the plot structure was pretty contrived, the characterization and growth throughout the novel were enjoyable and authentic.

I love emma lords other works but this one didn’t really do it for me. I ended up DNF. The premise was great but it didn’t follow through well for me!

Let me start by saying that I’ve loved all of Emma Lord’s YA books that I’ve read. They’ve always been super cute, full of banter, and acted as a nice escape for me. I am also a fan of adult romances with spice, so I definitely thought this was going to be the best of both worlds! Due to this, this review is going to hurt me physically to give ☹

The book felt like it had too much going on to be able to focus on anything specifically. The revenge ex storyline (two separates sets of histories touched on throughout the book), the childhood friends to lovers, the wedding planning for the FMC’s brother, saving the tea shop, issues with his writer’s block, and the death of the sibling (off page and before the story starts) just felt like A LOT to try to keep up with. I was expecting a lot more focus on the couple itself and because this wasn’t delivered I found the book a bit daunting. There were still bits of humor and I liked everyone overall, I just felt this was a very surface-level story with no depth yet an overwhelming amount of plot.

I am still giving the book 3 stars because I do love the banter, the side characters, and the overall heart to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emma Lord for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

Two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral, in this delightfully fun and deeply emotional novel.

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.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s 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.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?


This comes out August 2024!
This was a great book for being her first adult contemporary romance!
I love the fake-dating trope, it's one of my favorites! She executed it so well too!
There were also some serious moments which shows Lord successfully moving to the adult space!
The characters were all just so likable. I loved getting to know the main characters and the side characters.
Overall this was a great heart warming book and I loved it!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC! June and Levi used to be great frends but a misunderstanding drove them apart. Now years later, June and Levi are thrown back together after both are suffering from recent and viral break ups, they decide to make the best of things and form a pact to fake date to gain the reputation points as the revenge exes. But as Levi and June fall back into their easy rhythm with one another could their feelings rekindle more than just friendship? Woven troughout the background of the story is the loss that both June and Levi experienced with the passing of June's older sister and Levi's friend and writing partner, Annie. June has been running her tea shop, but things have not been going well financially and June is hoping this boost will help the business. They are also surrounded by an extended friend group including June's brother Dylan and his fiancee Matteo and June's friend Sana who's overseeing their social media stories. Fun and sweet with a touch sorrow, The Break-Up Pact is a great summer read.