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.

Break up pact

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Levi and June have both just gotten very publicly dumped by their long-time significant others. Levi comes back to Benson Beach to re-group where June is running Tidal Tea. When they run into each other on the beach, a plan to pretend to be dating to get some of the pressure off themselves. They become known as the Revenge Exes. But June was interested in Levi when they were younger. Old feels don’t go away so easily….

I enjoyed it. SPOILER: I didn’t really like how Levi was somewhat using this pact to try to get his ex back, even though June was aware. I think it made him a little less likable in my opinion.

ARC 8/12/2024

I was able to read an ARC of this story on NetGalley courtesy of St. Martin's Griffin Publishing! This book will be released on August 13, 2024.
I'll be so honest going into this book I was nervous because I am not the biggest fan of "fake dating" BUT this story had two other tropes that I LOVE. "Friends become more" and "slow burn" are my two favorite tropes and made this book a 4/5 star story for me! I really started to enjoy these characters about 1/3 of the way through and I truly couldn't put it down after that.

Levi Shaw was so well written and was the most perfect guy to fall in love with ( I want a guy that will bake me scones!!). June and Levi had such a cute story that had themes of grief, love, heartbreak, family, and friendship. This was my first time reading a novel by Emma Lord and she has a new fan!

This heart-touching story of two childhood best friends coming together after almost a decade apart was one that I could not put down. The whole ordeal started as a fake relationship with the goal to win back his ex-fiancé and to save her failing tea shop — but that seems to change when they catch feelings. It’s a moderately spicy novel that was an easy read. Would recommend!

This story reminds me a bit of a Hallmark movie but with modern ages (aka TikTok etc.). I really thoroughly enjoyed and was pulled into the story immediately. I loved both characters and how they developed throughout the book. And ah, I just love their love.


The story goes along with fake dating and second chances, but something in the plot was missing though, not sure what but just something minor. I also did not see too much of a significance of bringing up the sister and her not wanting the two characters together, since it never really gave any background to it or why. It felt thrown in with the rest of the details and just did not seem to make sense to me besides to show "why" they ignored each other... which is also ignorant, but a lot more of that is my rant of the book versus any actual 'problems'.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for letting me have an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5
I'm a simple woman - of Emma Lord writes it, I immediately want to read it. If she wants me to suspend my disbelief and join her on a wild ride? I'll do just that!
THE BREAK-UP PACT did everything I could ask for from a romance - it delivered protagonists that felt fully realised outside of the romanced, but worked oh so well together that you had to see the evolution of their relationship, it had the addition of a wonderful ensemble of secondary characters, a charming setting and a fun compelling plot. I simply could not put this down (nor did I wish to) and had the best time with it.
I fully support making it your summer beach read!!

Listen, I loved Tweet Cute. A cute little YA novel that made me feel warm and fuzzy. So I went into this book with the expectation that I’d be reading another YA book. WRONG. The adult content is what I lived for. Emma really shines with adult content and I will read more if she wants to write it (please). Love love love the setting of the book. This is one of those summer rereads for me. Can’t wait to own a copy!

This was my first time reading a Emma Lord book and its safe to say I'll be reading more! The Break Up Pact was such a cute quick read, taking place in a small beach town, this book made be feel like I was on vacation. If you love a small town feel, fake dating, and don't mind social media in books, this is the book for you!

I enjoyed the concept of this book a lot, however, it was just not for me. I felt like everything happened so fast. The main characters went years without seeing each other or talking to each other to fake dating right away. I also didn’t really like the female main character. I felt like she was annoying for most of the book. The writing is pretty good and I am so sad I didn’t enjoy the book like how I wanted to .
Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the arc in exchange for a honest review!!

I would give this a 3.8. I’m always a fan of rekindled relationships and fated second chances oh and making the ex jealous is always a fun add in. What was interesting in this book was the inclusion of “social media” or “viral” videos. We all know these can truly happen.
June and Levi seem to have a history but one that just never felt right. And somehow an internet mishap goes viral and they’ve teamed up for some real fun!
The romance heats up meeting the typical friends to fake lovers theme. I love that the author included a backstory on Junes sister, which played as an emotional connection between the two. It was a slow romance, one that kept you holding on to see how it eventually unfolds. There was cute ah moments and some moments were almost too typical, but still a decently written quick read.

Thank you Net Galley, Emma Lord & St. Martins Press.

June and Levi embark on a pretty standard friends to lover journey in this book after both are left wounded by their very public and viral breakups with their partners. While there were aspects of this book that I loved, it took me an unnecessarily long time to finish it. The miscommunication was palpable. All of the conflict between the two of them after their YEARS of no contact could have been fixed with the simplest conversation. It felt like every side character was just there to aid in their journey, none of them had their own personality outside of being a wingman. The wedding plot line could have been forgone entirely and the book would have been the exact same. That being said, there were some cute parts to this book. I really like the baking scenes and Levi’s character as a whole. This book was just average in my rankings, not overly bad but not fantastic. It wouldn’t be at the top of my list of recommendations, but I wouldn’t be adamant on making sure my friends strayed away from reading it.

You will like this book if you love:
- friends to lovers
- slow burn
- miscommunication
- pining
- fake dating

Thank you Netgalley for the Arc!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

This is a sweet little romance story about two old friends from high school fake dating to get back at their exes. Everything you expect to happen in a fake dating scenario happens pretty much. Not a mind blowing story but cute nonetheless.

I really found this book delightful overall! I enjoyed spending time with the main characters, and I think The Break-Up Pact does an excellent job of digging into deeper topics within a light romance without weighing the story down. The way June reflects on her late sister Annie feels incredibly poignant, especially thinking about how someone grieves a loved one while acknowledging their flaws. It’s a difficult and messy process, and I thought The Break-Up Pact truly did that justice.

I also felt like I believed the romance between the two characters, even though they both had their own issues to work out. I feel we don’t see enough main characters in romance books that have realistic backstories or struggles, it often feels overly specific or fantastical. But the idea of staying in a relationship that wasn’t working and then trying to figure out what’s next after it ends felt so relatable, and it created a conflict that worked rather than feeling overly manufactured.

I felt the writing was weaker than I hoped. More specifically, I felt the book over-explained things at parts and occasionally felt repetitive. It felt like the book was holding my hand a bit too much.

Still, I enjoyed The Break-Up Pact enough to put Emma Lord’s other books on my to-read list!

In "The Break-Up Pact," we follow June and Levi, two former best friends whose lives have taken divergent paths since a falling out during their teenage years. A series of humiliating public breakups thrusts June and Levi into the limelight, and a mistakenly leaked photo of them together sets the rumor mill ablaze, convincing the internet that they are a couple. They embark on five sparkling and heart-pounding dates, carefully crafting their social media presence to maintain the illusion of a blossoming romance. It has witty dialogue, charming characters, and a swoon-worthy romance.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!

The premise of this book is very cute. The two friends that must band together to save their reputation, the forced relationship trope, the journey to watch them fall for each other, it all works, absolutely. For me personally, I feel like this scenario is a bit overdone. The famous-ish friends that are in the spotlight and have to find a way to save face so they lean on each other and fall...I feel like I've read this a few times before. I think if I hadn't recently read another similar storyline, this would have rated higher for me.
The characters are likable, the connection to reality and the importance of social media in our lives was realistic, and they way they connect and come together in the spot light is super cute, but in the end, it's a bit overdone. Again, this could be because I recently read a similar book, or perhaps this just isn't my favorite trope, but all in all, it's a quick, fun read.