Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this earc

Unfortunately, this one just fell flat. At first, I thought it was a case of “it’s not you, it’s me” but then I realized that I just didn’t care about this book at it.

I can’t tell exactly why but by the time I got to 25% all I kept thinking is “please let it be over” but as a person who doesn’t dnf, I made it to the end.

I couldn’t connect to anything. Relationship? Boring. Plot? Boring. Even the drama was boring.

It’s ended up being one of those book I wished I never picked up

I’ve only read one other book by Emma Lord and it was a YA romance and amazing (Tweet Cute). Knowing this was another book by Emma Lord I went in with high expectations.

First, this is not a YA romance. This is a friends to lovers, second chance, fake dating romance. It is character and plot driven, full of raw emotions and somewhat intense situations.

June is running a beach boardwalk tea shop which was a dream she and her sister had since they were little. Her sister, Annie, unexpectedly died before June moved back home to help with the shop. When the novel starts, June has become a meme of “crying girl” after her reality star boyfriend of a decade dumps her on TV.

Levi was Annie’s best friend growing up and has returned to the beach to regroup and write after a bad breakup in New York. He has also made the news with his break up to a high stakes realtor who dropped him for an action hero movie star.

The two make a pact, spurred on by Annie’s friend Sana, to get revenge by being seen together and exploiting it on social media. In the middle of all of this, the tea shop is failing and June needs to save it. Her internet fame helps the tea shop more than she could imagine.

I found the emotional content of this book intense. There’s a lot of grief as the two main characters work through their feeling and guilt after Annie’s death (which happens before the book begins). I really enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down.

The Break-Up Pact is an easy to read, more adult version of an Emma Lord classic.

This book is full of tropes. It has a staple theme and a prevailing storyline but it jumps around through so many tropes. You have second chance/friends to lovers/fake dating/celeb romance/self discovery/life after loss etc etc. It covers so much ground yet I felt like I knew very little. The book begins with so little background I was never able to fully grasp the dynamics between the characters. I couldn’t connect with the story and the emotions because I never understood what they meant to each other in the past. All the major points seemed to brush right past and I felt like I missed so much! It was easy to read and had some fun elements. There was a whole wedding planning (for other people) segment that was fun and exciting to read about. I wanted to like this one so much more but I just didn’t feel any connection to it. I’ll forever read her books but this wasn’t a favorite.

June and Levi are *chef’s kiss!* It was great seeing how June handled her grief for Annie and guilt in result of it. I really enjoyed reading how both June and Levi worked on themselves to better understand and communicate. There were some times where things June said or thought made me want to pull at my hair but I was able to understand why she was doing what she was doing or having those thoughts. Also Levi when Kelly comes to town. Made me want to reach into the story and get rid of Kelly. I can also say Griffin is the absolute worst. Good riddance for June. Wish we could have gotten more of Dylan, Mateo and Sana.

This book was a cute, quick read. However, it fell a bit short for me with all the cheesy references to social media throughout and the absurdity of the plot with both main characters going “viral.” But I did enjoy the happy ending and the supportive friend group.

Childhood friends June and Levi find themselves back in Benson Brach after both going viral for nasty breakups. June is trying to save her business, Tea Tide, and Levi is trying to finish his manuscript. Despite not having been in contact for 10 years, they decide on a plan to fake date to get back at their exes. A break up pac of sorts. Throughout the whole ordeal, June has to deal with resurfacing feelings for Levi. There was tons of mutual pining from both main characters. I loved that they did a lot of self reflection before fully jumping into their relationship. Their childhood friendship was highlighted beautifully in their blooming relationship. It really fits the friends to lovers trope perfectly. I was hooked the entire time!

tl;dr: i really liked this one despite too much miscommunication and a desperate need for all the characters to go to therapy

longer version: if emma lord writes it, i'll read it. this one hooked me from the get go -- june is an incredibly likeable MC and the viral break up hook was excellent. i normally hate childhood besties to lovers and despise the second chance trope but this one was great. levi is deeply swoony and i liked how lord slowly unfurls their shared history.

admittedly, both levi and june deeply need to go to therapy as neither of processed the trauma of annie (june's sister) suddenly passing away and they're both unrepentant people pleasers who let terrible partners dictate their lives for the better part of a decade. AND a lot of the third act conflict in this book revolves around miscommunication or noncommunication to the point where it gets a bit annoying.

that being said, the strength of lord's dialogue and the strength of the chemistry between june and levi overwhelms the downsides. i really liked this one and if you're a fan of lord's previous work odds are you'll like this one too!

This was super cute! The main characters are very lovable and easy to root for. I would kill for a book about Mateo and Dylan- I love them so much.
The plot went by quick, it was a very fun read. I liked this one more than her previous books! The characters were thought out, the side stories were fun to follow without overtaking the plot, and it has some great banter!
This will be a really great beach day or pool day read!

The Break-Up Pact was an easy read with an imaginable theme. The characters were lovable and cheeky. Everyone will want to own a fledgling tea shop by the sea after this sweet read!

June and Levi were childhood friends but drifted apart over the years. Suddenly they’re back in each other’s lives after they both go through public breakups. Naturally a picture on the internet leads the public to think they are dating. June and Levi decide to go along with it and fake date to get back at their exes. Will they end up rekindling old feelings while trying to get back at their exes?
Overall this was a cute, fun, easy read! This was my first Emma Lord book and I can’t wait to read more.

Thank You Net Galley for this ARC

This is the first Emma Lord book I have read so I wanted to like it, honestly but it was a struggle to read. I rarely have to force myself to finish a book, with this one I had to & even then there was a lot of skimming over. The book does have that cute beach town vibes so I wanted to like especially having a coffee/tea shop that is totally my dream but it just wasn’t there for me in this story of June & Levi.
I do not want to give any spoilers away but it dragged,& I think the transitions in the story were not great.
I do have to say Sana was my favorite just her character & how she protected June fiercely, may we all have a Sana in our lives who loves us that deep & stands by our side in all our joys & sorrows.

Where do I start? I was majorly enticed by the adorable cover and the synopsis for this book! I was super excited when I got an arc, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press andddd the wonderful Emma Lord for hooking me up for my (very) honest review.

But let's just get right into it, shall we? I will start by saying this was a super fast read. I read it in a day. Sadly, I was pretty underwhelmed and I think that's why it was such a fast read. There wasn't a lot to it? Just very mindless. Which I actually really enjoy a lot of the time when the mood fits. And perhaps the mood wasn't there and I was looking for something with more content. But this just felt like something was missing.

We've got main characters June and Levi and they were just okay. I had no major connect with them. They had been friends since little kiddos and then stopped talking, chased other dreams and then randomly bump into each other and start to fake date. Legit the words used, fake date...and I just didn't like it. They do it to make their exes jealous but during their fake dating sesh, discover all their old feelings for each other and actually decide they want to real date.

I usually love the friends to lovers trope, but not even sure that's what this was and not sure why it just didn't hit for me.

The writing was fine, the plot was fuzzy, the mention of scones (man these people can talk about scones!) was a lot, and the ending felt a little bit pushed.

Read it for yourself and see what you think!!

3.5. I loooove Emma Lord books but this one was just not at the same level as the others. I feel a bit lenient in my review because i know this is her adult debut but I just found the characters less entertaining than they were in her other stories. In theory the plot would have been interesting but I think it just needed something more

This book was so fun! Emma Lord does it again! One of my favorite authors and she truly never disappoints. I loved June and Levi— they both felt dynamic and multifaceted.

This was really cute. I liked the messiness of it, the social media dynamic of their fake dating situation, the friends to lovers, etc.

"The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord? Let's dive into this delightful rom-com, shall we? Picture this: June, running her late sister's dream tea shop by the beach, and Levi, living the New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager. Childhood friends who drifted apart, they're suddenly back in each other's orbit after their very public and humiliating break-ups go viral. Cue the accidental photo that has the internet convinced they're a couple. With the world rooting for them, they hatch a plan to fake date for their own reasons, and thus, the "Revenge Exes" are born.

Despite my rating of 3.75 stars, I have to say, I really loved the premise of this book. Fake dating? Sign me up! Emma Lord weaves a story filled with beachside charm, humorous mishaps, and a sprinkle of romance. June and Levi's journey, from childhood friends with secret crushes to fake-dating revenge partners, is both entertaining and heartwarming.

Now, let's address the elephant in the room: the miscommunication trope. Yes, it's present, and yes, it had me wanting to scream at the characters to just talk to each other already. But amidst the frustration, there were still sweet moments that kept me turning the pages. And while the single POV from June was a bit limiting, it didn't detract from the overall charm of the story.

Levi may have been frustrating at times, but the slow-burn romance and the chemistry between the characters kept me invested. Plus, the supporting cast added depth and charm to the narrative, making the beachy setting of Benson Beach come alive. Overall, "The Break-Up Pact" is a light-hearted read with lovable characters and a heartwarming storyline that's perfect for a day at the beach or cozying up with a cup of tea.

Big thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and freely given.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord follows June and Levi, former best friends who haven't spoken in a decade. Their respective break-ups go public in a viral way and while Levi grapples with his break-up and floundering dream of being a novelist, June struggles to keep her tea shop afloat. When a photo of the two of them sparks rumors of a romantic relationship, they decide on a fake-dating ruse as a way to boost June's business while making Levi's ex jealous. It's an easy sell as many of their high school friends comment on "it's about time you two got together!" As they stage a series of Bachelor-level swoon worthy dates, the act blurs with reality as they confront old emotions.

Full of humor, heart, and romantic tension, The Break-Up Pact is a charming novel about friendship, love, and the power of being true to yourself.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Emma Lord for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for this book to publish 8.13.24!

Overall a sweet second chance romance and fake dating story. The best parts are the interactions between the main female and male characters and seeing their relationship evolve from strangers to friends to lovers. The death of the main female character’s sister plays quite a prominent role, to the extent that it starts feel a bit unnecessary. The story starts off slow and at times feels drawn out, so while I enjoyed the story, I didn’t devour it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a preview copy.

This book made me feel cozy and happy the whole time. This is a book that I would read again just to feel the warm fuzziest all over again. Best friends growing up to almost completely losing touch with each other and then back to falling for each other all over again.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.