Thank you so much SMP for the eARC of the Breakup Pact. Sadly, this one didn’t super click for me although normally I devour everything that Emma Lord writes.

This threw a lot of names and subplots out there right away, especially when I was trying to understand what the actual plot was and who they were. I felt like I was struggling to grasp what was going on and powered through to understand, but not my favorite read of the year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Pub date: August 13, 2024

Thank you @emmalord, @stmartinspress and @netgalley galley for this ARC.

I am fully in love with this book. I’ve been home sick for a few days and this was just what I needed/wanted- an instant comfort read. Great banter, reasonable tension, and such a fun twist on the ol’ fake dating trope.

Ugh, this is so good!! Reading this book felt like I was watching a rom-com on TV. It’s giving childhood friends to lovers AND fake dating with a hint of second chance. . . Say no more, I’m in!!

While I adore this book, the first chapter was definitely a little slow and not easily captivating for someone to continue reading. Apart from that, June Hart has returned to her small hometown to take over the Tea Tide business following the death of her sister. It's also a good thing she stuck around because her breakup went badly and her sobbing face made her an online meme. People began to visit Tea Tide expressly to see her after the split. Concurrently, June's former closest friend and childhood crush, Levi, returned to the small town following the public revelation of his own relationship breakup brought on by his fiancée's infidelity with a movie celebrity.

Now that they were both back in town, a scheme to pretend to date emerged, benefiting them both equally. In order to raise the funds required for Tea Tide to continue operating, June would bring in more customers, and Levi would be able to get his former flame back. As their time together grows, their former childhood crushes resurface, and occasionally it seems like they've forgotten they're just pretending to be dating. They soon discover that their fictitious courting has become genuine and that the emotions they experienced a decade ago have persisted, and they must now decide how to handle the situation.

I really really really wanted to love this. I love Emma Lord’s YA novels and I was excited to hear she had an adult romance coming out. I think the problem is a personal one, with me wanting her YA style of book but with spice. I just didn’t find June and Levi super interesting, which left me feeling I invested in their relationship. I didn’t like the decisions either of them made, which I know makes them flawed but for me it also made them annoying. Do I still love her and her writing? Absolutely, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195790535-the-break-up-pact

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Emma Lord for an eARC copy of The Break-Up Pact via NetGalley.

June feels like her life is falling apart. She was dumped in a very public way (with her emotional reaction becoming a viral meme), her tea and scone shop is on the verge of going out of business, and Levi is back in town. Levi was June's older sister's best friend growing up, which made him her best friend as well, but they had a falling out ten years ago and have barely spoken since. The weirdest part? Levi also had a very public breakup around the same time. The two devise a scheme to get back at their exes, with the option to end it if the plan is no longer beneficial to both of them. They have no doubt that they will come out of the fake-dating pact with no feelings involved, but with their history is that actually the case?

There were some fun parts when reading this book, but overall it just wasn't my taste. I obviously hate saying that, especially when I have the privilege of reading a free advanced copy, but I of course accept that copy with the promise of an honest review.

I did enjoy June's friendship with Sana, and the way Sana often worked in the background to capture the candid moments between June and Levi. The names of the scones were cute and creative, and it was fun to see how she used events in the books to inspire the flavors, though sometimes I was curious if they would actually work well together. I am also a fake-dating lover by nature, so even though I didn't enjoy it as much, I will always be mildly entertained by the trope. It's important to me that I acknowledge that for someone who has written YA only up to this point (as far as I know), her spice was spicing in my opinion. I typically haven't seen very detailed open-door scenes from someones early dabbles in adult romance, so I wasn't expecting it, and was surprised by how well it was written.

Ok, now to touch on what I didn't care for as much. The vibes were completely off on everyone's experience with and feelings about June's sister. Obviously they loved her, but often times it felt like they were shit talking every time she was discussed, very much like "she's totally bossy and overbearing, but of course we loved her and miss her." That was the takeaway I had throughout the book. I know that even if a person is often a pain to deal with when living, loved ones will still grieve and miss them, but that doesn't seem like the type of scenario that was needed in this romcom. June put her entire life on hold and refused to change the store even though it was failing, all for the sake of keeping it like her sister initially envisioned it. It just seems like a large contradiction of behavior compared to how they discussed her.

June was a crappy sister to her brother. There was very little involvement of her brother through the entire book; only a few instances of him asking her to come to the bar with him, her scheduling a bar hangout only to show up on the wrong date and not be able to go when he had planned, and just generally ignoring him. It was addressed later in the book with a very short conversation where he confronts her about it and she apologizes, but it felt like he was only included so that his wedding could provide events for June and Levi to attend as their "dates". I wish this wasn't how Lord chose to have June treat him, it makes her come across as self-centered and though I know she's grieving, it's not really acceptable because they're living in the same town, it's been two years since her sister's passing, and there was no legit reason or decision that she wasn't spending time with him, just that she basically "forgot".

The romance between June and Levi felt very immature. They had their huge miscommunication ten years ago, which is a long time to not speak to someone, and it felt like they just went right back to being good with one another after only a couple of awkward conversations. They were basically children when they had the fight, and would be completely different people ten years later, so the thought that they could love each other after only a few weeks (and more importantly the fact they allude to the love actually never having went away), is not plausible. As someone who haaaaates insta-love, this was teetering a very thin tightrope for me. I'd also like to note that though Levi seems like a golden retriever/perfect man, he withheld very important information (the sharing of their fake dating plan to his ex), and made the choice to move back in with her "for closure reasons" immediately after sleeping with June? Hellllll no. The relationship wasn't given time to become healthy, if it ever could, before the book ended. The ending of their love story felt rushed, and it felt like there were too many liberties given to one another without much hashing out of their behaviors towards one another.

Of course, these are just my opinions and takeaways when I was reading it, maybe I mistook meanings when I was reading and I'm off base with some of my opinions, but I stand by the fact that this one just wasn't my cup of tea (see what I did there?).

Overall, I would recommend this to fake-dating and second chance romance lovers, but with the caveat that there are some emotional shortcomings and that it may not be the perfect example when thinking of books within the scope of those tropes.

"Hey Siri, play Uptown Funk!"

This book is like the Levi scone: an amalgamation of tropes baked together into a delicious story. We have revenge, fake-dating, friends-to-lovers, and second chance romance all wrapped up in a cute costal tea shop setting. I have read some of Emma Lord's YA works, and really liked how her writing style translated into an adult romance.

June and Levi had a relatable love story. I found the themes of fear of confrontation, miscommunication, and grief were explored in an honest way that felt true to how I might feel in these situations. There was definitely malicious intent of some fringe characters, but never between the main characters. Also, without getting into spoiler territory the behaviour it is called out for what it is and I appreciate that clear language in the writing. I love a story of self growth, and June truly transforms from the beginning of the book to the epilogue.

This would make a great vacation book, especially for a beach trip or a trip involving lots of good food. Would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. The Break-Up Pact gives fake dating and friends to lovers in the world of social media and going “viral” in a small beach town. I loved the setting and the characters, and as someone who does not usually enjoy social media in books (I do not personally TikTok), I thought it was done very well. There was a lot that happened in this book, and while some have mentioned it made it fly by, it took me much longer than usual to read this book. I am glad I made it though because the ending and watching Tea Tide progress may be my favorite part.

What can I say for this book? It was cute and funny. A little on the predictable side but the tension between the two main characters made up for it in my opinion. The fake dating trope done right!

I read the ARC through NetGalley and I absolutely loved it . This book had romance, drama , comedy and a great happy ending. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys real life romance as I like to call them . This is a must read .

I am usually a huge fan of both Emma Lord and the fake dating troupe but this book was a DNF for me.

Emma Lord is one on my favourite authors, but this book really failed to grab my attention. The burn was waaay too slow, with annoying miscommunication trope and lack of spark between the two main characters,

I still recommend Emma Lord wholeheartedly, but cannot recommend this book in particular.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

Pretty fun romance - Loved the lack of miscommunication in the story though I suppose it began with one
Fell a bit flat at times, the intensity of emotion was not there
3.5 Stars

This is my first Emma lord book and I loved how she made me love these characters. June & Levi meet again after years of not seeing one another and come up with a fake dating scheme. Levi trying to win back his ex and June trying to garner more attention for Tea Tide cafe that she’s been struggling to keep afloat. I loved how effortlessly they fit back in to each others lives like 2 missing pieces of a puzzle. Definitely read this if you love second chance romance, small town, and fake dating! Thank you to NetGalley and Emma for this ARC!

The Break-Up Pact was my first read from Emma Lord. I picked it up looking for a light-hearted romance and I love the small town beach vibe. This was a quick read. It would be a good read for summer vacation, preferably on the beach :)

Friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, fake dating, miscommunication tropes.

This is Emma Lord's first adult romance, however it still felt a bit YA to me. The main characters felt pretty immature for their age. Their behavior and drama seemed more like they should have been in their early 20's. All of the social media focus was a bit much for me.

I liked the characters okay but June really drove me nuts with how forgiving and calm she was about everything. I just wanted her to get mad (and get better revenge on Griffin). I also didn't like Levi at first, as his whole reasoning for doing the fake dating was so he could win his Ex back, even though she cheated on him. Why are they so nonchalant about being cheated on???
Sana was my favorite character, I would love more of her!

I really hate a miscommunication trope. I was confused for a large portion of the book why June and Levi had stopped talking for so long and once it was reveal that it was due to a misunderstanding from lack of communication I was extra annoyed.

I did enjoy the clever banter and the small town vibes. Overall it was a cute book that I would recommend but not one that I would read again. I will be reading more from this author though.

A big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Breakup Pact is a cute little rom Com by Emma Lord.
This story is about Levi and June. Childhood friends who grew apart. Recently back in each others lives because of viral breakups for both parties. With the help of their friends, end up fake dating to exact revenge on their exes.
This book wasn’t the fluffy read I was anticipating but it was mostly enjoyable if not slightly too long. 3.25 stars.

The Break-Up Pact is a friends to lovers romance with a beautiful beach boardwalk setting. June is a struggling new(ish) business owner who takes over the tea shop after the passing of her older sister Abbey. Levi has grown up with Abbey and June but moved away to New York City after graduating college. Both Levi and June rekindle their friendship after both go viral after very public break ups. To get back at their exes the form a fake relationship to spin the story to their benefit.
I tried really hard to stay engaged in the story and kept taking breaks when reading in hopes to gain interest but I struggled getting through the story. I didn’t feel a genuine romantic connection between June and Levi. It all felt too forced and too blurred at times. There were some sparks occasionally on their dates but I just didn’t find the storyline or interesting very interesting. I really appreciate the read!

The Break-Up Pact - Emma Lord

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“The kind that makes me appreciate the little things he must quietly notice about people, about the world. The kind that makes you linger on a page too long because he's just put a hazy feeling into such concrete words that it pulls old memories from your own life into the text.”

Childhood friends June and Levi are reunited in their hometown as they both are going through very public breakups. They concoct a scheme to get back at their exes and boost their own careers, through a fake relationship of their own. But as their fake feelings turn real, June is forced to reevaluate her feelings for him and the future with him in it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC! This rom com had so many of my favorite tropes: second chance romance and summertime on the water but it kind of fell flat for me. I still don’t really understand how any of these people are “famous” and the weird love rectangle they formed. Neither of these two had great communication skills and I’ll never understand why people enjoy that as a trope because it’s so frustrating. I did enjoy the side characters more than anything in this slow burn romance.

I tried for 2 weeks to read this book and I couldn't do it. I didn't even make it half way. I didn't find the characters likeable at all even with their history from when they were kids. It just moved to slow for me. i won't be recommending this book. Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley. #BreakupPact #NetGalley

In my opinion, this was a great example on how to recapture childhood memories and show us how deep the connection is between two characters. I LOVED June and Levi together and I actually really liked how June contemplates her actions as the friendship with Levi rekindles. There were many times where she could have just immediately blown up on someone but we see her try to step into their shoes and really think about how she responds. I think that is part of the appeal of an adult romance novel rather than a YA one. Aside from all of the media attention they were getting from their relationship, I thought it was sweet and endearing how June and Levi were able to help each other find closure after the loss of Annie. I really enjoyed this book and will be purchasing the physical copy when it is released!

This book was cute, and it featured social media drama. The author's writing makes you feel like you are in the story. The book's premise was fun and convenient to the characters since everybody knew each other. Would've loved a not-so-easy fake dating situation, but still, the book was great.

3.25⭐️ a cute lighthearted, low stakes, romance novel.

This was cute! I laughed out loud several times. I definitely got frustrated with both main characters (good lord Levi, make a decision for yourself for once in your life). And now I really want a scone. I had a good time reading this. Not too much drama, not too much spice, just an all around good time.

I would have liked to see more of how Levi and his ex fiancé finalized things, and there were times when June’s inner monologues droned on, but I would say this is a good casual book for romance readers.

I appreciated the added plot of grieving the two main characters had over the sister who passed away. That created a whole dynamic that was unexpected. There was spice, but it was kind of awkward…maybe that’s just me…