The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord was such a sweet summer small-town romance. I loved June and Levi and their fake-dating scheme. Their chemistry was unmatched and I loved their growth throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this Advanced Reader's Copy.

The forced Proximity is off the charts. Emma Lord is a genius. Her books are always a must! Don’t skip on this must read. The banter is beautiful and you’ll be rooting for them to work out what feels a bit contrived in the beginning. It’s not my favorite of Emma’s but still worth reading.

this book was sadly not for me. it had its cute rom com vibe to it so I would definitely recommend it to others but I just couldn't get into it. I found the main character to be very icky so I couldn't connect.

Thank you so much to net galley and the publisher for this ARC!!

In this fun romance beach read, you get to enjoy The Break Up Pact!! In a plot for one friend to save face and another to win back a love, The Break Up Pact is filled with ups, down, hard times and good. This is truly a fun read which leaves you rooting for June and Levi as they reconnect after 10 years and a tragedy ago!

The Break-Up Pact is a fake dating, childhood friends to lovers book, but it’s also more than that. It’s a book about grieving, and healing. June Hart lost her sister two years ago and is running her sister’s tea shop and bakery trying to keep it afloat. Levi Shaw is a writer, an old friend of the Hart family, best friends with Junes brother Dylan, and comes back to the small town after the loss of their sister. He and June have been elected to help Dylan plan his wedding, and send them out on many tasks. Levi’s big city famous girlfriend had dumped him publicly on live tv, something similar to what happened to June with her boyfriend of 10 years. So when people see them together and think they’re dating, suddenly people are drawn to the tea shop and June sees it as a way to keep the shop afloat. No harm no foul right? So they make the break up pact.

This story is both light hearted and emotional. I feel like it’s a good description to say this book is for adults who enjoyed Sarah Dessen novels in their teen years. The characters are both so lovely, and together they’re so healthy for each other. It’s soft, comforting, healing, it made me tear up a little. It’s also a great spring and summer read. Takes place on a beach with sand, clubs, a cozy tea shop with inventive scones and creative and sassy side characters you also can’t help but love.

I read romance but don’t often highly rate it, because I like Good romance. This is Good romance. With a capital G.

These are the trigger warning I collected: grief, loss of sibling, cheating

The Break-Up Pact comes out August 12, 2024!

Thank you Emma Lord, NetGalley, and St. Martins Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The writing in "The Break-Up Pact" is sharp and engaging, with Lord's signature wit shining through in every page. The dialogue is snappy and relatable, and the pacing is spot-on, keeping readers hooked from start to finish. Lord also incorporates elements of social media and technology seamlessly into the story, adding a modern twist to the classic tale of friendship and romance.

Overall, "The Break-Up Pact" is a charming and heartfelt novel that will resonate with readers of all ages. With its lovable characters, engaging storyline, and poignant themes, it is a must-read for fans of contemporary YA fiction. Emma Lord has crafted a gem of a novel that is sure to leave readers eagerly awaiting her next book.

I have been trying to read this for too long and I'm throwing in the towel. This is so annoyingly predictable, and while we love romance for that, the writing for this book put me off. You forget the main characters are in their late 20/early 30s, they act like teenagers fresh out of high school (and with the amount of times they reference things it makes it harder to remember this fact). The writing I find sub-par and the constant repetitiveness of Annie was started to get annoying. I understand the use of her to bring the main characters together, but holy cannoli it's overkill (sorry not sorry).

I didn't even get to any spicy scenes, I DNF'd at chapter 15 where it looks like they were finally going somewhere but I honestly am so un-invested I'm not even going to try to see if that can save my opinions of this book. This could definitely be pitched to new romance readers who are just getting their footing in the genre, but now that I've been around the block a few times there are just so many better ones that I'd recommend than this.

Thank you for this ARC, still glad I got to try it but we can't love every book!

thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely loved this book! June and Levi had a crush on one another in high school, until something happened that caused them to not speak to each other for a decade. Both end up in the tabloids for unfortunate breakups and wind up being in their hometown at the same time. They decide to use the big breakup as a way to benefit both of them, by fake dating. But of course fake dating ALWAYS turns into the two falling for each other.

Second chance romance done in a cute way. enjoyed the characters. Felt really surface level though, even through there were heavy some heavy topics. Lots of good concepts and ideas but felt it could have been executed better

A fun friends to lovers book. It started off a bit slow for me but I enjoyed it and it was a quick read!

Cute and fluffy with all the tropes: fake dating, childhood friends-to-lovers, and the ultimate millennial dream of running a tea shop on the beach in a small town.

Well, this was adorable. Aaaaand, it had some of my favourite book tropes bundled neatly into one sweet package. The second-chance romance. The friends-to-lovers. Excellent secondary characters that weren’t just plot points to further the story, but had their own fleshed out backgrounds.
Ugh. It was so cute… and I want to visit Benson Beach to meet them all SO BADLY.
The only thing that could have made this book better would have been the addition of a few scone recipes sprinkled in at the end. I desperately want to try some of the Scone Specials!
Big thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy. I will definitely be recommending this one to our library patrons!

I give this book a solid three stars.
A story about friends turned lovers after a ten year gap of no communication. Both of the main characters went through a vicious public breakup that went viral. When they decide to “fake date”, old feeling a start to come alive and they end up revealing how they truly feel for each other.

The story was hard to pick up at first. The first few chapters talked about the past and why they haven’t spoken in a while, then the pact was made. After that, I felt the story started to get interesting and I was able to finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC version of the story.

Thanks to Emma Lord, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of “The Breakup Pact”.

Two friends end up not speaking for 10 years due to a series of misunderstandings and tragedy. I liked the friendship and evolving romance, a second chance friends to lovers is always a trope I enjoy. I really was invested in learning about Annie, and seeing June outgrow the shadow of her deceased sister. I enjoyed the tea shop and scone recipes-genius! What I didn’t like or relate to was the paparazzi being so invested in these two characters because of their ex’s. That part of the story felt like it jumped the shark.

The writing is well done and the tension between Levi and June works. Definitely worth a read and a good bit of escapism.

The Break-Up Pact review:
What I loved about this:
•The tea shop with adventurous scone recipes!
•Revenge-Ex’s. This is a badass concept.
•Scream poetry
•Sana’s Fizzle article
•the handful of clever jokes throughout


This has:
•second-chance romance
-friends to lovers
•fake dating

A small seaside town, two messy viral breakups, and a reunion of childhood friends June and Levi. June Hart never expected to run into her high school friend and unrequited crush Levi Shaw mooching off the Wi-Fi in her seaside tea shop. BUT THERE HE IS. After almost 9 years of essentially ghosting each-other, they come up with a mutually beneficial arrangement to win back Levi’s fiancé and to bring in more revenue for Junes flailing tea and scone shop.

What I didn’t like:
•the romance progresses way too quickly for me, it’s too early when the playful, sexy, roughhousing begins.
•I think this is missing something to really captivate the reader. I found this pretty put-down-able with the most interesting character being Annie, the deceased sister. I just couldn’t get invested.
•Also I found myself wondering, why are these two non-celebs constantly getting papped? It just seems a little out of place.
I’m just not buying that these characters are interesting enough to warrant the fan base they have.

The Break up Pact was a very detailed, emotional story. The pining and chemistry was evident from the beginning. There’s a lot of growth and grief the characters work through together and on their own. The only thing I felt missing was a dual POV. Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC to review.

I really did enjoy this book. I could not put it down and was fully invested to see what was going to happen and play out. I really loved the characters but I feel like the ending was a tad too long. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me.

I adored Emma Lord's YA books so I felt certain her adult debut would make me feel the same way. Filled with all the nerdiness, humor, and heart that's so quintessentially Emma, her adult debut shines!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

This story was funny and cute. It started off a little rocky to me -- we learn about tensions between the main character and her ex, but they get resolved very quickly. After that, though, the book feels much more cohesive. Lord does a great job showing how the ex's presence transforms the main character, and I enjoyed reading all about the tea shop the main character owns too. I love how the story ties something timeless like a tea shop to a viral breakup moment. Definitely a good, speedy read!

I really enjoyed Emma Lord’s Tweet Cute (and monster cake), and while her other books haven’t called to me, I was excited to read this, her first adult romance. Parts of it still felt a little young-adult, there were times when I wanted a little more depth to their characters and the plot itself, and there was a bit too much focus for me on the villainous behaviour when I cared more about our main characters and their friend group. But that said, it brought the summer feeling I’ve been craving with a small beach town, a supportive friends-to-lovers relationship, shared grief and the exploration of dealing with change when you want to hold on.