as someone who absolutely LOVED tweet cute (genuinely one of my favourite books) i hate that i couldn't bring myself to love this book but i just found it so insanely boring i can't even explain it

Viral moments neither expected.

Ex best friends with something to prove.

What could go wrong?

June and Levi were childhood friends right until they weren’t, an awkward night and even more awkward revelation setting them on different pasts. After ten years, the tragic death of June’s sister, and each of their exes publicly humiliating them in equally mortifying ways, June’s best friend Sana comes up with a PR-minded idea: fake dating for publicity. For June, it’ll give the chance to save her sister’s tea shop. For Levi, the chance to potentially make up with his cheating ex.

June and Levi are characters that I felt instantly drawn to each other; the same flavor of comforting that Lord is excels at in her YA come to life in an adult setting. The chemistry between them was palpable as the book went on and I easily believed that these two were best friends who grew apart with all the things they left unsaid. I was rooting for them to “shut up and kiss already” several times which to me, speaks to the strength in building that connection. The resolution with each of the exes felt unsatisfying but this felt by design: we’re not supposed to care about getting “back” at the exes, we’re meant to care for June and Levi. In this, Lord excels.

A few quibbles that I had really lie in what feels like Lord’s continual attempt to infuse diversity into her books, which is very welcome one, only to see it just miss the mark. Sana as a character feels less sketched out beyond being “the Asian woman committed to diversity” and while it’s an improvement to me that her relationship with June feels real, Sana’s appearances felt thinly drawn which was noticeable since it was her idea to fake date in the first place. Similarly, Mateo is a lovely character that I adored for his quirks and love story with Dylan, June’s brother, but the explicit mentions of his Latinx heritage felt as subtle as a brick. Even in writing this review, sharing this feels like a nitpick since Lord’s attempts at inclusion are leaps and bounds from the countless other attempts I’ve read in romance today. Nevertheless, Lord is trying and has even improved from prior works; I know she has it within her to integrate these worlds and characters together in a way that feels more seamless.

Lord has proven herself to be a star in YA and if this is any indication of her Adult works, I know there’s only great things to look forward to. Funny, warm, and as comforting as a hot cup of tea, The Break Up Pact has all the things that make Lord’s work worth coming back to again and again.

I received this book for free from Wednesday Books in exchange for my honest review.

I surprisingly like this book the development of the main relationship was really well done, and the chemistry was great and so was the banter. I also like the character individually and the growth that they went through. Levi as a love interest was a breath of fresh air, he was awkward, he wasn’t this brooding grumpy stoic sex lord he felt very real and thats one of the things I love about this book the characters felt very real and I was very invested in the relationship and the characters themselves, so much so that I got angry at some of the choices they made but everything turn out well in the end and I mean there is no such thing as a perfect person therefore the best well written characters wouldn’t be perfect and would make stupid decisions that you as the reader wouldn’t agree with.

One thing I didn’t like about this book though was the author excessive use of similes and comparisons. No joke every two sentence we get sentences like “my heart was beating so fast like i just finished a marathon” but more eloquently written but you get what im saying. The author was trying too hard to be deep and poetic and in the first half of the book it wasn’t a problem cause i actually liked the writing but in the second half i just started noticing how often the author used similes and the word “like” and i just couldn’t look away and it was irritating because it would be just a simple scene of them hugging or just simply talking but it would become this two or three paragraph scene that is drawn out because of all the similes and the “poetic” comparisons and it would annoy me because the scene didn’t call for that type of writing and the fact that this happened all the time so it was constant and redundant it was soo irritating. Where was the editor ??? to tell the author to stop using the word like ??? So yeah thats my one complaint the other complaint I have doesn’t really have to deal with the book its not the book’s fault it’s mostly me and the problem is that this book just felt too long. Like after the 60% mark i just wanted things to wrap up and I was getting impatient because I just wanted this book to end, but again this wasn’t the book’s fault this is all on me but it is why this book is only getting a 3:75 star rating from me.

I've read a few of Emma Lord's previous novels and "The Break-Up Pact" seems to delve into more complex and heavy issues. On the surface, it seems like the novel is going to focus on the fake dating story but it's much more more than that. Yes, there are some funny rom-com type moments but it's also about learning to live with grief, changed or different expectations and more. It's about learning to respect yourself enough to not be pushed around by others or compromise how you want to live your life. The writing was easy to follow and relatable; I'd recommend this to my friends!

Big Emma Lord fan! This romcom is super fun and cute, with lots of laughs and sweet moments. Loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and Emma Lord!

I have really enjoyed all of Emma’s books, but this one is my new favorite. A second chance romance with small beach town vibes? I didn’t stand a chance and was hooked from the first page. The main characters are clearly perfect for each other and were so easy to root for the whole time.

This book was a cute little rom-com! It was predictable, but I love a fake dating trope. I live in a coastal town and this made me want to open up a little business 🥹 overall this story was decently paced, cute, and enjoyable. A great summer read!

3.75 stars! Super cute YA romance. I really liked that I could feel the chemistry between June and Levi but the concept of them going viral on TikTok, Twitter, etc. and as memes with June as the "crying girl" from their previous breakups was very cringy. At the same time, I knew social media would play a part in this book from the description, so I can't complain too much. If you take out that aspect, the book was very cute with modern summer at the beach vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Emma Lord for a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Emma Lord ever since I read "Tweet Cute" and I have never been disappointed in a book in her voice ever. I look forward to everything she writes and this one is no exception! I fell in love with these characters.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Break-Up Pact follows childhood friends, June and Levi, who coincidentally had public breakups around the same time. To save face they fake date and are coined online as the ‘revenge exes.’ June was hopeful that the social media attention would save her scone business that was slowly going under. Levi hoped the jealousy would win his ex back. While I did enjoy this read, I found the tropes and storyline slightly bland and predictable. Overall, it was enjoyable but it didn’t feel new to me. I personally did not connect with the FMC Emma, and found her friend Sama, far more likable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I believe this is Emma Lord’s first adult romance and it was a mix of fun and flirty “fake dating”.

I don’t know if it’s just me or the pacing was off but I lost motivation towards the end. There were some really cute parts to this story and overall and enjoyable read. The miscommunication in this one was unfortunate.

If you are looking for a summer read with small town romance and fake dating it’s a good fit.

“The Breakup Pact" by Emma Lord is a charming and relatable novel that navigates the complexities of friendship and young love with humor and sincerity. The author's witty prose and authentic characterizations make for an engaging read that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The story follows a group of friends who make a pact to help each other navigate their romantic woes, leading to a series of heartfelt and often hilarious misadventures. While the plot may follow some familiar tropes of the genre, Lord infuses it with fresh perspectives and genuine emotion, keeping readers invested until the very end. Although the pacing occasionally lags, and some plot points feel predictable, the overall journey is enjoyable and satisfying. "The Breakup Pact" is ultimately a story about the importance of friendship, self-discovery, and embracing the unexpected twists and turns of life and love.

Ok summer read. Some cute parts with a little steam! Just couldn’t really get into it half way through. Not a very long book but it felt like it was a lot longer. Skimmed through the last couple of chapters. More of a task then reading for pleasure.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of The Break-Up Pact.
I enjoyed reading this book and give it a 3.5 stars out of five. After this point, there will be spoilers, so do not read further if you plan on reading this book.
There were some characters I didn't enjoy, like Sana. I don't understand the dynamic of June and her friendship because of how mechanical and one-sided it felt, and her being a South Asian woman just for having a token POC didn't hit the mark. I am a South Asian woman, and I didn't relate to anything about Sana. She could have been anyone; even a robot could have replaced her. I also wish that the sibling relationship between Dylan and June had been explored a little more instead of her being designated as his wedding planner. So many of June and Levi's dates were wedding stuff. Cake tasting, picking out the color palates, and picking the location are all things the couple getting married should do. It didn't make much sense to me.
That being said, I loved how slow-burning this book was and how everything seemed to disappear when June and Levi were together. I loved how supportive they were of each other's careers and how they were best friends for so long before they decided to become lovers. My favorite parts of the book were the banter, the backstory, the morning runs, and the café. The writing style and the setting are what made the book, and I would love to read more of Emma Lord's works in the future!

3.75 ⭐️

I can see why others may not like this, but I really enjoyed it. There were cringey moments, but all rom come have them- this book felt more real with how the characters reacted. I also loved the setting; I want to have a small business on a small coastal town now. I loved the proposal scene as well.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This genre really appeals to me, however, this book didn't meet expectations and I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. It just fell flat and I didn't get any sense of being drawn to the characters.

June and Levi are childhood friends who had a falling out and are brought back together after both suffering viral breakups.

This was a cozy and sweet story. It was a bit predictable and long, but the author does a great job making you fall in love with all of the characters and root for their success.

The Break-Up Pact is a second chance/ faking dating romance novel.
June Hart has just been publicly humiliated. Her breakup with her ex boyfriend has her face all over TikTok and instagram.
And to make matters worse, the woman her ex left her for is the ex fiancee of Levi, her childhood best friend and high school crush.
One misconstrued photo of the two of them after a run takes the internet by storm, and the revenge ex fake dating plan is hatched.
For Levi, he hopes to win back his ex fiancée and for June, she hopes to save her failing surfside tea shop..

I had high expectations of this book.
I love a good fake dating troupe, and Emma Lord is a fantastic writer, Tweet Cute was adorable!
I just couldn’t connect to the characters.
I’m not sure if it was because they were supposed to have bonded over their separate, very public break-ups but that never happened.
Or, it could have been the fact that this was a slowwww burn and I am not used to that at all.
Either way, I found that I had to force myself to finish it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author, for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

This didn't feel like a full Adult Romance but it was sweet and the writing was great. I don't fully feel the romance after 10 years and then bam fake dating after seeing each other again once but I did like how it came to flourish. Her brother and best friend, adorable!, and I wanted to see more from them. Overall this is a sweet (pun intended) story but I can see it feeling "dated" so many years down the line with the references.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This novel started off very interesting with likable characters and a desire to see how it all works out for June Hart and her long time friend Levi. I found the ex boyfriend, Griffin, to be ridiculous and controlling and I couldn’t see why June allowed him to have a hold over her thoughts and actions. . It was hard for me to respect Levi, who has trouble making decisions. I’m giving the book 3 stars over the 5 when it first began because I felt it dragged and the ending was predictable.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for my honest opinion. It’s a cute book, but maybe just not for me.