The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a light-hearted romp through the world of fake romance and second chances. June Hart and Levi, childhood friends turned distant acquaintances, find themselves embroiled in a social media storm after their break-ups go viral. In a bid to salvage their reputations, they embark on a fake dating scheme that leads to a series of entertaining dates and hilarious mishaps. While the chemistry between June and Levi is undeniable, the romantic aspect of their relationship feels somewhat immature, and the subplot involving June's sister adds little to the overall narrative. Despite these shortcomings, the book offers moments of sweetness and humor, making it an enjoyable read for fans of cozy romances with a modern twist.

June Hart’s life is a mess. Her business is failing, her long term boyfriend dumped her live on a reality tv show and she's become a viral meme know as “Crying Girl.” June’s just about reached her limit when her childhood best friend, Levi Shaw, unexpectedly returns to town. Levi ghosted her after high school and June’s not sure she can handle having him back in her life. But she and Levi have found themselves in very similar circumstances. Levi’s girlfriend was caught cheating on him with a famous Hollywood heartthrob. June and Levi are both internet famous for all the wrong reasons. When June’s younger brother asks them to help plan his wedding, Levi and June are forced to spend time together and their internet fans take an interest believing they are dating. Reluctantly, Levi and June decide to take advantage of their social media status as “Revenge Exes.” The notoriety will bring bodies into June’s tea shop, Tea Tide keeping it afloat while Levi hopes the situation will force his ex to finally make a decision about their relationship. But things don’t go as planned and the former friends become closer than ever. Will their plan work or will the “Revenge Ex” pact end up exploding in their faces?

Emma Lord’s stories are fun and heartwarming while also showing great emotional depth. The characters’ lives are never perfect. They struggle with hard situations, loss, humiliation and heartbreak, but Lord always brings light and humor and hope to their difficult times. The Break-Up Pact was no exception. Levi and June’s lives are falling apart, but there is still laughter and hilarious happenings. They bring joy to each other and through their fake dating shenanigans to their friends, family, and the world at large. The Break-Up Pact is also bursting with great secondary characters. Sana, Dylan, and Mateo are so supportive of Levi and June. They’re each warm, unique and quirky in their own ways and are so much fun. This book is chock full of the best romance tropes….friends to lovers, second chance romance and fake dating. It’s wonderful and sweet and the perfect summer read!

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.

June and her childhood friend Levi embark on a fake dating scheme to boost her business and help Levi win back his cheating fiancée. While their staged relationship practically breaks the internet, the narrative takes readers on a delightful ride through fun dates at the museum, trivia nights, and cake tastings. However, the romantic aspect of their relationship may come across as somewhat immature, laden with the overused misunderstanding trope that echoes a middle school rom-com rather than a story about mature adults.

The character arcs of June and Levi, though resolved, could have been more finely executed, as their growth seems hindered by the miscommunication trope that lingers from their high school days. The narrative unfolds with unnecessary length and occasional dragging moments, contributing to a feeling of immaturity in the characters. Despite the humorous elements and the beachy setting of Benson Beach, the book falls short of the expectations set by Lord's previous works in the YA genre.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. They have barely spoken in years. But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. 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 was such a fun read! It will be the perfect beach read. I enjoyed the writing and the character development. This story gives off small town & Hallmark vibes. And I cannot recommend it enough. It was a very quick read that I couldn't put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In her YA novels, Emma Lord creates endearing characters and entertaining situations in which there is love to be lost, or found. The Break-Up Pact offers more of the same, but with a decidedly more adult perspective. June and Levi, are both back in their hometown after having recently starred in separate, but equally viral, internet break-ups. When the former besties decide to join forces for revenge (and hopefully boost sales at June’s local tea shop), their fake dating re-ignites some long dormant feelings while breaking the internet. Once again, Lord has written relatable mains for whom the reader will inherently cheer toward success, in this case, both in business and in love.

Friends to lovers, second chance romance. Although I enjoyed the start of the book, it felt like it dragged on for a bit too long for my liking. Lots of miscommunication which isn't my cup of tea. Overall the writing was good, and I would try other books from this author in the future.
Easy rom-com that delivered on its HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was my first Emma Lord book and it did not disappoint! I loved the characters especially the FMC. Friends to lovers isn’t my favorite trope but it definitely worked it this book! 🫖🌊

-Friends to lovers
-Slow burn
🌶️🌶️

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6358609109

I have posted my review on Goodreads. I also posted a short review on my instagram story that will be saved on my ARC highlights.

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord's upcoming release and one I was so excited for. Set to hit shelves in August 2024, this is also Lord's Adult Romance debut.

In this story, we follow June and Levi, who were best friends as teenagers. A misunderstanding just prior to Levi departing for college, resulted in a falling out, and the two have essentially lost touch ever since. Now as adults, they've both returned to their hometown of Benson Beach.

June is struggling to maintain the beach-side tea shop opened by her sister. She also has just had a very embarrassing, very public break-up, resulting in her being dubbed 'the crying girl' on social media. Humiliating!

Levi has returned to town after an equally public break-up, wherein his long-time girlfriend left him for a celebrity. Everyone is talking about it. Trying to escape the limelight for a while, Levi flees NYC and returns to Benson Beach, where he can focus more on his writing.

As Levi and June come back into each other's orbit, they begin talking and catching-up. After a picture of them caught in a very suggestive position goes viral, they decide to go along with the charade and pretend to be a couple. If it's drama and intrigue the people want, it's drama and intrigue they shall get. The bonus being extra business for June's shop and both of their ex's getting jealous.

I love a fake-dating trope and I thought it was well-executed here. Both June and Levi were compelling characters and I enjoyed learning about their past history, as well as watching them learn about each other all over again. They are both dealing with some fairly serious adult issues, with their careers and their recent break-ups, and the examination of those things does take up a good portion of the narrative. Because of that, this has a much more serious tone than Lord's previous works, IMO, but it makes sense.

In an adult world, adult things happen. It's not always sunshine and rainbows. Businesses end up in trouble. You end up in a career you aren't passionate about. You worry you wasted time with someone who was never going to be the one for you. You worry that you are never going to find the place you really belong. You lose friends, you lose loved ones; these are all things that most of us can relate to...

My concern for this novel is that people will go in expecting a super punchy, witty, fun Rom-Com and they'll be surprised by the more serious tone; maybe causing them to not rate it as highly. I would pick this up expecting an Adult Contemporary with a convincing fake-dating trope. It's not all giggle and laughs and swooning; although there is some of that too.

In my eyes, this is a successful transition into the Adult space for Lord. I thought the characters were very well-developed and it did fill my heart watching the evolution of their relationship. I feel like as far as couples go, Levi and June are perfectly matched. I did enjoy how this was paced. I thought it had a fun introductory section and then it slows down a bit as we get into the meat of their relationship. As the fake dates begin, it does pick up again and then as we get closer to conclusion, it speeds along at a great pace.

In addition to the likeable main characters, I loved the side characters in this as well. June's best friend, who helps the couple with their plot, and June's brother and his fiance, all had fun-loving, supportive roles, that truly added to the feel of the narrative. Overall, I think this is a very solid, heart-warming story. I enjoyed going on this journey with both of these characters as they found themselves, and each other at the same time.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I adore Emma Lord and will continue to pick up everything she writes. This was super cute and I'm proud of her for branching out into the Adult Contemporary space. Well done!!

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Publishing date - 08/13/24
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. Perfect summer/warm weather read! Second chance and small town romance … very Hallmark movie vibes. It was my first book by this author and definitely not my last.

I enjoyed this book. It took me a little longer to get into than I had expected but was a quick read.

While This book has fake dating, friends to lovers, sort of a second chance, humor and some cute romance it just didn’t hold my interest.

I just couldn’t get into the characters and it dragged on for me a little bit. I do appreciate the opportunity to read this book.

This will be a perfect summer/warm weather read. It wasn’t too serious, but still had meaning and stakes for the characters.

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me read the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review.

One of my favorite trope is fake dating so this book was right up my alley! However, the reason behind the why they weren't friends for 10 years was so insane that I almost rolled my eyes out of my head. The banter between the couple was cute and made me laugh out loud in a couple pf points. Overall a cute story, but the ruined friendship/history between the main characters just didn't make any sense.

This book was so good!!!!
I absolutely loved the best-friends to lovers trope. There’s something so magical about best friends realizing there never was anyone else but their bestie.
I also really loved the “revenge exes” and fake dating!! All those tropes together in one book made it such a good book!
It was my first book by this author and definitely not my last!

I had quite a few issues with this book unfortunately. The book is both too fast and too slow for me. The pacing was all wrong. The MCs go from seeing each other for the first time in about 10 years to fake dating about 30 mins later… and yet every feeling that was had by the FMC was described thoroughly. Just over the top. I honestly forgot what I was reading with all of the descriptions to try and summarize a feeling or thought.
The MCs were two dimensional and I really didn’t care for either of them. There wasn’t any chemistry. I love fake dating but this did not work for me. Emma’s YA books are much better in my opinion. I have to give it 1.5 stars

This book was not my favorite that I've ever read. It was really hard to get through. The book reminds me of a Hallmark movie, predictable romance. I will give this author another chance, but this one fell flat for me.

This book was pretty disappointing for me. Part of my disappointment was because I read it between two books in a series that were very engrossing/action packed. But I think even without that context I would have been unimpressed, which was extra disappointing because I loved Emma Lord's young adult's books. I really disliked the character development, it felt like everyone in the story was in on the backstory except me the reader, and then when they introduced the backstory it was just like one sentence with not a lot of detail either. The characters had so much history and the reader wasn't really tuned into it ever.

I took a week long break and when I came back I had to drag myself through the last 40 pages.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Whew. I would like to break up with this book. The premise is our FMC Jane is now famous crying meme because her dirt bag boyfriend broke up with her on the taping of a reality show he's in. Coincidentally, her estranged high school best friend, Levi, had a similar viral social media thing happen when his girlfriend broke up with them. So, of course they decide to band together and fake date to get that social media nonsense behind them. This will help her preserve the memory of her dead sister tea and dessert shop which Jane now runs and is running into the ground. And help Levi get back his ex? The motivations were kind of weird.

Anyways, this book was pretty joyless to me, I did not connect with either of the leads, the side characters were blah, and the big, bad thing that "destroyed" their friendship in high school was such a let down.

3.5 stars!

Fake dating is my favvvvvv trope, so I was pumped when that was the premise for this book. Especially when it’s to get back at gaslighting exes.
I loved the friendship between June and Levi, along with all of the other characters in the book! Dylan and Mateo are cuties.
I also was appreciative of the way they discussed grief and loss throughout the book. It was a beautiful way to wrestle with a tough experience.
It was a little too cheesy for me at times, (and maybe that’s a me thing so so sorry for that!!!)
But overall, a v cute book. I enjoyed Tweet Cute and this one, so safe to say Emma Lord is an auto buy for me now!

This one was totally fine. It was a bit tough to keep some of the characters and their connections/back-stories straight initially. I really loved the beach front scone shop, although not as much time was spent discussing that. The creative scones were the highlight of the book. Interesting premise but the story didn't set me on fire for the couple. I appreciated why they got together and what kept them apart but I just had trouble believing it all. Not a bad story but one I won't be shouting about from the roof tops. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I find myself a little disappointed with this book. I love Emma Lord’s books, love the friends-to-lovers/fake dating trope, but this one just wasn’t it for me. It was still a cute story, I adored the setting and the plot was fun, but I wasn’t as hooked as I was like with other books.

For whatever reason, I couldn’t find myself connecting to June and Levi, and I really wanted to! While this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I’m sure this will be for someone else.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!