This was an enjoyable read. While I loved some moments, some of the story felt disjointed a bit making it harder to fully connect to the characters. There was so much going on. The two main characters were lost in their own ways and it made the plot feel a little bit like that as well. Mistakes make us human, but I wanted to love Levi so much more. But I understand the fact that neither were confident in anything was part of this story. The steamy scene was so good! I felt all of the friends to lovers first time feels and that was fantastic!
Thank you for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I typically enjoy a good rom-com, but this wasn’t it for me. I got hung up on how much the main characters still clung to their high school days/experiences as adults. And I never could quite put my finger on exactly why, but June grated my nerves. The authors writing felt way too contrived and immature. I forced myself to finish it and was relieved when it was finally over.

In "The Breakup Pact," Emma Lord crafts a tale that goes beyond the surface of internet memes and struggling businesses, revealing the depth of her characters. June Hart, initially introduced as an internet meme and owner of the beachside cafe Tea Tide, undergoes a journey of self-discovery throughout the book. It takes time for her to unravel her true identity, culminating in a satisfying revelation that matches the creative descriptions of her cafe's scones.

Childhood best friends June and Levi both just suffered through two very seperate and very public breakups. Levi heads back to his hometown, Benson Beach, to get away from it all and runs into June at the tea shop she took over from her sister who unexpectedly passed two years prior. But these two haven’t spoken in ten years, when Levi up and ran away to New York after high school.

Through the course of this book, these two go through losing partners they thought they’d spend their lives with, grief over losing their beloved friend/sister, finding out what they really want out of life and who they want to be through it all.

Levi and June really tugged on my heartstrings. These two aren’t just a cutesy couple who engage in a little fake dating wrapped up with inside jokes (even though those parts are so fun)… no, these two are full of so much love for each other that they will do anything to make the other happy.

I enjoyed every one of these characters so much! Including the sugar loving, muscled up little brother, to the loud, out-spoken best friend. This plot was so entertaing and kept me engaged the entire time. And the beachy, small town vibes are perfect for summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I so wanted to love this, but I think there were a couple of steps missing in developing the earlier relationship of the characters and so I didn’t buy their relationship. I also think some additional time needed to be spent on the character of the sister because she is so prevalent but it doesn’t feel like we know enough about her.

I really wanted to like this book, but was frustrated by the characters and extremely slow burn. The story unfolds with unnecessary length and drags at times, which contributing to a feeling of immaturity in the characters through miscommunication or rather lack of communication.

The set up of the fake dating seemed rushed and lacked the reasoning rather than just to gain exposure to try to save the bakery. After that the rest of the book was SLOW. Overall was like a hallmark movie - lacked substance and had simple troupes.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy read and love Hallmark movies- this one’s for you. I love the character development throughout the book and you’re rooting for the protagonists the whole way through. The friends to lovers trope gets me every time!

I love Emma Lord and this lived up to all of my expectations. Fake dating? Check. dynamic characters? Check. Complicated relationships all around? Check check check

I throughly enjoyed my time with this book and would recommend to any romance reader.

Childhood friends - fake dating - secret feelings - second chance romance

This book was freaking adorable. I loved the mains, rooted for them both separately and together, and their attraction to each other was IT. I really enjoyed the characters romance developing, but also really liked the more serious aspects of the book (a sister/friend death). Super lovely book, and would be a perfect beach read!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, publisher, and author for this incredible ARC!

i liked this one! levi and june were interesting main characters. sometimes their actions were questionable and not really explained but i liked their personalities and thought they fit well together.

i’m a sucker for a fake dating story and this was definitely one that i enjoyed! i could feel the chemistry between the MCs the entire time.

i don’t really have any feelings about the supporting characters tbh lol but it wasn’t a bad cast of characters

This was so cute. I have a soft spot for book that kind of have a summer romance feel. With this being set in a beach town, it fit the bill. The friends to lovers trope is also one of my favorite. I thought this was such a cute read but there were some sad aspects of it. There were moments where I would think of how sad it all was. The situation they were in, how they were handling it. I expected this to be more of a rom-com but I did have a sad side. Levi seems like such a sweet guy but I didn’t not get why he would be ok with what Kelly did to him. I liked how out spoken June was. I loved how he called her other months too.

It has all my favorites tropes- fake dating, friends to lovers, but also enemies to lovers and partly second chance romance, made the genre refreshing. A bit annoyed as to why the title isn’t “Revenge Ex”, that fit their story more than this brief discussion about a pact. June and Levi had both been publicly humiliated when their previous relationships ended, and when the two are back in Benson Beach they scheme to change the narrative. June’s motive is to help save Tea Tides, the tea shop started by her older sister, and Levi’s reason was to potentially get Kelly back. The more time they fake date the more their old feelings return and we end with a HEA.

“So he doesn’t mean home like a place; he means the home right here in each other’s arms.”

This is my introduction to Emma Lord. I love a fake dating troupe and this was cute, but I don’t think they were ever fake dating?
Anyway, the characters were fun and likable and the scones sound delightful! I didn’t love the timeline and there was a lot that was glossed over at the end but overall it was a fun time. Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Emma Lord’s adult romance debut! I have read all of Lord’s YA contemporaries, and I was excited to read her first adult romance.

I thought the author did a good job transitioning from YA to adult. I did think the MC was a little immature at points and a little fixated on high school, but that fit with the story since the love interest was her old high school crush. I did find her to be kind of annoying in spots and she definitely made some questionable decisions. She was a little insecure at times too so overall she wasn’t my favorite character.

I didn’t like all the drama with the exes (though I was expecting it based on the blurb).

I liked the summery feels and the exploration of grief. Overall this was a cute contemporary.

The book is a bit slow starting off but when it picks up its picks up! A feel good read that will have you laughing telling the main characters to get out of their own way.
Ending was fantastic and also kind of hoping that some of the side characters (Sana) will maybe get a chance for their stories to be told?

Regardless a fantastic read !

This was a fun, easy read. Not earth shattering, but not disappointing either. A good reading palate cleanser.

Disclaimer: This book put me in a reading slump.

I read this book on my Kindle, where I usually read books extremely quick. The Break-Up Pact was an exception, unfortunately. I simply did not feel connected to the characters in this book.

The character's plot lines were disjointed and would randomly pop up throughout the book. Whether it was fake dating, baking, wedding planning, or interviewing with exes, I just wasn't invested. The main character and love interest, though old best friends and newly fake dating, lacked depth and connection.

They can't all be winners but I was disappointed by this one because I do love a good YA!

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This will be such a fun summer beach read for so many people, I'm sure of that! I enjoyed a lot of pieces of The Break-Up Pact. It's cute, timely, and has a swoon-worthy love interest. However, I didn't like the main character, June, one bit. She can't communicate like a grown up, and that's forgivable at the beginning of a book, but she didn't grow in that ability at all. I also felt like this book was trying to do too much all at once? It was sometimes hard to follow some of the little details about her family, their backstory, and their ambitions. Overall though, it's cute and fun and if you don't think too hard about it, you'll enjoy it a lot!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

Emma Lord is a phenomenal writer and I am so happy I was approved to read this one. I think my patrons will definitely enjoy this one as well.

I love a fake dating trope! Fake dating trope AND childhood friends?! *chefs kiss* Add in the fact that they’re in a small beach town? Even better!!

I couldn’t imagine having to go through a break up AND having that break up go viral? In these days, anything could go viral for any reason. I love that this book has included common day issues/common day media/social media outlets.

Thank you NetGalley for this book!