It was cute, but kinda disappointing. The sparks were missing and I didn't really connect with either main characters. The drama felt childish at some points. The ending was great!

Review to come.

Love the cover✔️
Interesting description ✔️
Love this Author✔️

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC ❤️

Loved this fake-dating story line! It had me laughing and loving both of the main characters. Social media can take over our lives, so it was fun to read a story about how to take back control of your life from the social media aspect! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC read.

This book was really enjoyable. I love that despite being a romance novel, they still touched on heavier subjects such as grief. It gave such a human, real perspective instead of a “romance in an imaginary world where everything is wonderful” feel.

Although predictable, the plot was still enjoyable and well-written for a rom-com. The characters internal monologues and quick wit was great. Although, this book did feel very YA for a book that isn’t marketed as such.

As someone who’s not a huge friends-to-lovers fan, I still really enjoyed this and think it’s a great summer read!

I have been a fan of Emma Lord and her YA books for the last several years. I was excited to receive this early eARC copy from St Martin’s Griffin.

The Break-Up Pact was a cute story line. After terrible public breakups, longtime friends June and Levi, are together again in their hometown and decide to ban together and revenge date to get back at their ex’s. The problem is, beneath the lie there are some real true feelings they both must wade through.

Although this book is listed as a romance, and definitely leans that way with the second chance, fake dating, and semi enemies to loves (since they were not speaking before) story lines. There is also a lot about grief, and loss and trying to move forward without the person you thought would be by your side. June’s sister was just as much a main character as June or Levi, even if it is just the memory of her.

Overall The Break-Up Pact still felt a little juvenile just with a little bit of added spice. The pacing felt a little slow, then rushed all at once. It was good, I wanted to know what would happened, but I think I was expecting more.

Cute book, some part are way too long but overall it’s a entertaining. The main characters need to be developed more.

THE BREAK-UP PACT
Emma Lord

Cute and quick, like a fleeting spring morning, I had a fun time reading THE BREAK-UP PACT by Emma Lord earlier this year.

THE BREAK_UP PACT stars June and Levi. He is a failed novelist, and she owns a flailing local tea shop. He has been seen from time to time writing the next great American novel in her corner booth.

They were friends a long time ago. They haven’t spoken in some time but with hilarity, they both go through very public break-ups at the same time. On the rebound and hoping to get his girl back he convinces June to play along with a “get her back” scheme that involves a little fake dating, a few well-timed photo opportunities, and

June agrees to the pact but that’s about it. They can’t seem to agree on anything except that they will break up in the end. She doesn’t know that her feelings will change, and he doesn’t know how to write the ending to his own love story.

Will they figure it out before their respective exes realize what they’ve lost? Or will their status stay stuck on “FRIENDS FOREVER?”

This is my first time reading Emma Lord and I’m glad I started with this one. THE BREAK-UP PACT had just the right amount of lightness and tenderness and I had a lot of fun reading it. The characters were personable, and I enjoyed reading as their platonic relationship blossomed into something closer to love.

Good characters, good times, what’s not to love about Emma Lord's latest romantic comedy, THE BREAK-UP PACT.

Thanks to Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the advanced copy!

THE BREAK-UP PACT…⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this ARC!

The Break-Up Pact was a cute summer read, but I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. The plot was incredibly predictable and threw every single rom-com trope at the wall hoping it would stick.

Solid 3 stars.

The characters didn’t feel very charismatic or charming. They fell very flat, and the various underlying tensions and issues were muted and not built up enough to justify what I felt were the pains our characters felt (such as Annie’s impact).

It felt rushed but also felt like it dragged. Maybe it just wasn’t for me.

Who doesn’t love a good friends to lovers trope? I thought this one was fun overall and believable as far as their connection to each other. Social media is a tricky aspect to include in books because it can sometimes come across cheesy, but I thought the use in this book was balanced. It didn’t take away from the real-life interactions. June was a little insufferable at times, but I think her and Levi’s relationship didn’t suffer from that. Overall a fun one.

DNF at 50%. It couldn't hold my interest, even though I have loved other books from this author. I feel as though this story was supposed to appeal to a slightly older audience, and it just didn't have the same fun banter as her earlier novels.

I FLEW through this book in about 3 hours, which is a true testament to Emma Lord's writing style. I haven't read any of the Author's other novels, but am interested in doing so now, especially with the prose within the YA category.

The Good:
- Premise was really interesting and engaging
- The prose! I really love Lord' dialogue and internal monologues
- Setting and vibes were descriptive and immersive

The Could Be Better:
- I didn't really love either main character. There was something about them that didn't really invite me in quite enough to be rooting for them, either individually or to end up together. They were likable, but forgettable.
- I thought the romance could have used a little more tension toward the end. Maybe if one of them chose (wrongly) to go back to their ex, and realize their mistake, or be a little more torn on the decision, I think it would have been a bit more believable.
- I think because this Author has been in YA, she might need some more time in the adult space to not have it feel so juvenile. I had a hard time believing that the characters were in their late 20s with some of the mannerisms - not to mention the sex scene. It was almost there, just not quite.

Overall, I still thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend as a beach read to anyone this summer. Thanks again for letting me read!

A delightfully fun rom-com read. This book will have your heart melting at all the feels. Recommended beach read!

This was a really fun and simple romance book. I love the banter and just had fun with it. There was nothing crazy new about the plot, but I did appreciate how the woman stood on her own, he was still there to support but didn't rescue her.

This was absolutely adorable! Emma Lord made this characters and setting so vivid and beautiful! I loved every second of it and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

I really was not a fan of this one. Not for me. The pacing was not hitting right for me- it felt really too fast, but also a drag to get through this. I really was disappointed with this one. Not for me, but may be for others!

Overall a really cute book! Personally I'm a huge fan of second chance friendship turned into romance (i this case via fake dating) type books, so seeing June and Levi reconnect and move forward was such a fun journey!

This was such a fun and light summer read. I loved the friends to lovers romance and the family component.

June finds herself as the newest meme on the internet after a very public and hysterical breakup with her boyfriend of a decade, Griffin. As June is reeling from the break up she is also trying to keep her sister’s legacy alive in their tiny seaside tea shop named Tea Tide. At the most in opportune time walks her previous high school crush Levi who has also just been very publicly dumped by his very famous girlfriend. June and Levi decide to try and make the best out of a bad situation and decide to start fake dating and publicly share their adventures deeming themselves “Revenge Exes.” But as Levi and June fake date each other to get back at their exes they discover what has kept them apart since high school. Do they really have what it takes to make a real relationship work now despite their completely different lives?

I loved the relationships between June, Dylan, Mateo and of course Levi. There were so many cute things like the racing in the sand and the speciality scones that really made this book memorable.

"BE LIKE GOUDA. KNOW YOUR WORTH."

Plot- 4/5🔆


This was a fast, easy read. It felt pretty low stakes and like I could just read and enjoy the plot. The conflict between main characters was resolved quickly which I am a huge fan of. I hate miscommunication tropes that drag out. All of the characters were enjoyable. It felt like a grief healing journey for everyone.

4.5 stars
I have loved all of Emma Lord's novels thus far and I am so excited to see her venture into Adult Romance.

June and Levi are childhood friends who have barely spoken in the last ten years, but after they both go through embarrassing, public break-ups, that go viral across social media, Levi returns to their hometown where June is running a failing tea shop. A photo of them together spreads online leading the internet to believe they are a couple. They decide to seize the opportunity and keep up the ruse in hopes that the increase in business will be enough to save June's shop and that Levi will be able to make his ex jealous.

I really loved this novel. I have adored Lord's writing in her YA novels and I am pleased to say that I felt the same about this one. Something that I have always loved about her characters is the growth that they go through as they are learning who they are and coming into adulthood. I worried that I would miss that in a romance with older characters, but June and Levi are also at a real crossroads in their lives and I was happy to find that they too went through a lot of personal growth and discovery.
The fake dates were fun and quirky in the delightful way they only can be in rom-coms. I really felt the connection between them and was rooting for their love right alongside all of their online shippers. This novel did feel a bit heavier than Lord's other ones, due to the recent passing of a loved one, but I thought it was well balanced with her beautiful words on grief and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.