This was another delicious read! This time it was more about the sweet side of things with June’s scone shop taking (almost) center stage in this funny, somewhat second chance, friends to lovers, fake dating romance. June and Levi were best buds in high school but ten years later they’re thrust together after each being unceremoniously dumped in the public eye. Solution? Fake date. Of course! The solution to all problems ;) Or how to creat a few more AND explore a relationship. While planning June’s brother’s wedding, because apparently that’s a theme of books I’ve read recently too.

This was a fun read - perfect for the beach or cottage!

Best friends as kids, June and Levi haven’t seen or spoken to one another in years. Until they both go viral for getting spectacularly dumped by their respective exes. So now they make a plan to fake date and show their exes that they’ve moved on.

Just from that short description, I’m sure you know where this storyline is going. And of course, so did I. But that isn’t why I read these books. Often it’s just for a fun escape. And in this case it was to keep up the summer reading vibes I had going. The author did a great job of setting us right inside this tiny beachside town called Benson Beach.

But sadly, this one didn’t work for me quite as much as I was hoping, the more I got into it. It started off strong for me, but the more it went on, I felt like it started to drag. And at a typical novel length, the page count wasn’t really the problem, more so the pacing. I felt like we got very bogged down in the details. And I think because of the slower pace, I never got those typical butterfly feelings I’m always looking for in a romance novel.

Levi and June were both working through their own issues - including finding their own dreams outside of their past partners, and the grief of losing June’s sister - and I really appreciated those aspects. But I think the slow pace and the predictable nature just made this one okay and not great for me.

This book has childhood friends, fake dating, a little second chance romance, and some secret feelings.

I loved the romance and the relationship between the main characters. It was an all around good, fun, little romance book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the arc of this book.

Feel good, second chance romance from Emma Lord that does not disappoint! Beach side setting, death of a sibling, cheating (not on each other).

June and Levi were best friends growing up but they haven't spoken in years.
June is living in their beach side hometown, running a tea shop that was her sister's dream and her legacy. Levi is living in NYC as a finance bro and aspiring novelist. They both have viral breakups and a photo of them reconnecting in their hometown adds fuel to the fire.

The 'Revenge Exes" milk the situation so that June can make enough money selling scones to pay her rent and Levi to get his ex back. They make a "Break Up Pact" to fake date until they both benefit.

The side characters in this are SO SO good, and this was so sweet with a few spicy bits. Reads a bit older than Emma Lord's previous YA works - the MC's are in their late 20's.

Within a few pages of The Break Up Pact, I knew I was going to really enjoy this story. I loved the character of June and her best friend Sana. And the whole dealing grief process of coming to terms with the loss of a loved one rang really true to me. Definitely looking forward to reading more books by Emma Lord!

The Break Up Pact is a cute story that covers all kinds of relationship. Relationships with family, friends, and significant others. I really enjoyed the general idea of the book but I struggled to continue reading. I felt like it dragged in some parts and then just shot past others leaving you wondering what just happened. I also also less than thrilled with the idea that June and Levi had SO much going on yet they were expected to plan every part of Mataeo and David’s wedding. Like it’s one thing to help, it another to do it all.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC!

Sometimes you just need a classic romcom to make things feel just right, and Emma Lord captured it perfectly.

In this one you follow June, who is best known for here meme face from a tv show, and Levi - her old best friend growing up. While making ends meet with her tea and pastry shop everything is looking down, even the paps that still follow her. When she bumps into Levi they make a plan that sounds like it will benefit them both. But what if their fake feelings turn real?

FIRST OFF, my favourite romance trope is friends to lovers. So if you make people feel like thy are 'signed' into being friends via a fake dating trope I am a sucker. The writing is so witty and easy to read that you don't want to put this one down when you pick it up. I also appreciate the amount of smut, which is not a lot! I give this one 4/5 stars.

Pub date for this one is August 13th, so i suggest you grab it than!

I really loved this book. It was super cute. I loved the characters and the writing was really well done. The story was interesting to follow along and held my attention. I laughed out loud a few times which is unusual for me so I knew right then that this was going to be at least a 4 star book. I can’t put my finger on exactly what is was but I just needed a little more for the last fifth star. I think this is one of those books that actually would have greatly benefited from flashback scenes. It’s just that they had so much history that I wanted to see scenes of them from when they were growing up but als I feel like I needed it to fully understand and get how right their bond was that they’d still be so close and easy to get back into the groove of things together after not talking for so long. But this was still a very enjoyable and cute childhood friends to lovers fake dating second chance romance. I shipped the characters wholeheartedly and rooted for theme all the tropes worked and the writing style is just amazing so I would definitely recommend this one.

this book was just what i needed! i’m a sucker for friends to lovers and when an author makes them strangers before they turn to lovers… an actual weakness of mine.

i truly did not expect this to be as good as it was! the only problem i had with the book and why i’m not giving it five stars is because i feel like the story could’ve wrapped up quicker. regardless, it was a fun read!

This book was so cute, looking for a fun little rom com, that will pull at your heart strings and maybe put it back together again. This will be your book for the summer. I enjoyed this book very much. June did annoy me though sometimes, but I understood why she was the way she was. And Levi wow he may be your next book boyfriend just saying.
When both have gone through internet breakups with well not so very nice people... June and Levi run into each other and sparks do fly. But can they both put the past friendship behind them and the death of a sister and very good friend?
Besides how to get back at a ex boyfriend and girlfriend? Well you fake date your friend is how.
With June hiding her real feelings and trying to keep tea tide afloat fake dating seems to help bring business in... But will it resurface old crush feelings?
I hope this would be a series or something, I do like the side characters. Dylan and Mateo and her bff are so cool.

The Break-Up Pact" is a fun and heartwarming story about two childhood best friends who reconnect after a public falling out. June is determined to save her family's struggling tea shop, while Levi, a writer, is back in town after a very messy breakup.

They hatch a plan to pretend to date, using their situation to gain publicity for both June's shop and Levi's career. Of course, fake relationships often lead to real feelings, and things get complicated.

This novel is a quick and entertaining read, perfect for fans of romance with a bit of humor.

I really enjoy fake dating and fast paced romance. This is a fun easy read I recommend highly.

Thanks to net galley for this digital ARC!!

This book was a much anticipated ARC for me! Thanks NetGalley! And my first book by Emma Lord.
It was a really slow burn for me. The whole vibe of the was not my favorite.
I did love the fake dating, second chance romance and childhood friendships!
Can’t wait to read more from Emma Lord

2.5⭐️ say it with me folks: GOING ON REALITY TV IS NEVER THE ANSWER TO RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS

especially if this problems were caused by reality TV in the first place!

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this one just didn’t really do it for me, I didn’t connect with the characters and ended up skimming a lot of it

still excited to read more by Emma Lord because I LOVED the Getaway List

thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book!

This was a really fun read and an easy story to follow. The found family part of it makes it even more fun. What I appreciated most was the story of coming of age and finding themselves as young adults...but not necessarily changing their dreams for the sake of a young love. Following your passion is an important part of becoming an adult and I feel like it gets overlooked a lot for the sake of comfort and familiarity. Thank you To Emma Lord for breaking away from the mold and giving them real life hardship and heart ache to deal with as they grow up. Sometimes circumstances work out and sometimes they don't.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

It was hard for me to get into this one, I will have to try it again. Don't let this sway your own opinion, I think many will like this story.

The Break-Up Pact was a fun summer read set in a cute seaside small town. Being an adult novel debut for Emma Lord - it definitely had more spice which was not a bad thing. Two former high school best friends, June and Levi, reconnect in their hometown after both have suffered very public breakups. With memes and social media comments galore criticizing them - they decide to fake date and show the world that they are both better off without their exes - becoming the Revenge Exes. They each have different motivations for this though - June is hoping to drum up more consistent business for her scone shop Tea Tide, while Levi is hoping to make his ex-girlfriend realize what she is missing so they can potentially get back together. But Levi and June are both unaware of the longstanding crushes they each had on each other in high school and soon their own chemistry starts to become obvious to everyone. June and Levi are not perfect by any means - and their journey to friends and then something more is rocky at times. Their communication is not great and they both often avoid the true and tough conversations. And it was great to see June's growth at the end of the novel. Sana, Mateo, and Dylan were great side characters. I really hope the final book includes some scones recipes or they use some in marketing this book once it comes out - some of them sounded amazing! This was the 4th novel I've read by Emma Lord so I'm looking forward to what she publishes next! Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

I rounded this one up to 4, but it’s really a 3.75.

This was a cute premise, and I love Emma Lord’s writing. June and Levi are adorable and angsty in all the right ways. Sana is the book’s MVP, as the dazzling best friend.

My disappointment came from the story feeling repetitive. Each chapter/beat of the story followed the same pattern: the characters don’t communicate, there’s a misunderstanding during a fake date, and they pine. Over and over and over. I feel like the story could have been over sooner if the MCs had one, throw-down honest conversation with each other. I also found myself frustrated by the “twist” because it didn’t quite fit, and felt more like the author trying to make it work.

That being said, I still enjoyed this one, and I think many others will too!

The Break-Up Pact felt so much more expansive than a romance novel. Navigating relationships, loss, and coming of age all wrapped up into one story, the Break-Up Pact was a really thoughtful look at the challenges we face in adulthood. Emma Lord did a great job creating characters we could root for, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching June and Levi find their way to each other.

this story was so much more than fake dating, you could really feel how much the two main characters cared about each other. they both went through a lot together & separately, and they always found a way through it/found out what and who they wanted to be. a very wholesome and heartwarming storyline, and who doesn’t love a small town with a beach!

thank you to the author, netgalley, and st. martin’s griffin for the opportunity to receive an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Break Up Pact was such an enjoyable book! After reading all of Emma Lord’s other books, I was a little hesitant about the premise of this book, but her ability to craft characters and their stories continues to amaze me. This definitely is one of my favorites of hers, which did surprise me because I mainly read young adult, and this one falls solidly into the adult category. There was one spice scene in the book and that along with the the overall romance between Levi and June was absolutely amazing. Thank you to St. Martin’s press and NetGalley for the eARC!