June and Levi were best friends as teenagers until something happens and now they haven't spoken in 10 years. That is until they both go through very public breakups. They decide to fake date to help them both but the fake part starts to become very real.

I have mix feelings with this book. I love June and Levi but they are both so toxic. Like both were destroyed over their exes but also can't speak about their feelings for each other. It leaves for a lot of drama that they both have to endure. I did love their dynamic and how even with years apart they fell right back in sync with each other.

Not a bad book by a long shot, I really enjoyed it. I just think even fake dating shortly after a breakup wasn't ideal for 2 people who haven't moved on. Again I loved June and Levi and I love the ending but to get there made me upset with both characters multiple times. Like OMG just tell each other how you feel.

Thank you for providing me with an early access copy of this amazing romcom!

This was the perfect book to listen to as I did things around the house. It was easy to follow along, kept my attention, and was very enjoyable.

You’ll fall in love with most of the characters (you’ll def dislike the ones that aren’t supposed to like!) and you’ll have plenty of emotions play out while listening.

I did increase the play speed, but I do that for all audiobooks. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life.

The Break-Up Pact, while offering an engaging story with witty dialogue reminiscent of Emily Henry, ultimately fell short of my expectations. Comparing anyone to Emily Henry is some big shoes to fill, and I partially blame that for this review being harsh, BUT one thing that I did find misleading off the top was that this book dove heavily into grief and how it impacts a person, even years later. That was not at all what I expected from the cover or description.

There is a Hallmark-esque plot, complete with small-town charm and a stereotypical "big city" male lead, and an evil big city ex girlfriend who comes in and ruins everything. June's self-awareness and her strong friendship with Sana added depth to the narrative.

Some elements were a bit outlandish, like the activities scream poetry, the reality tv, ETC. and I felt like June didn’t get any resolution that would have satisfied me about what happened with Levi and Kelly. Why didn’t he text her back? What was with the scone scene? The scene on the beach??? I will never know.

Overall, "The Break-Up Pact" is an enjoyable read with relatable characters and heartfelt moments. However it was not a standout for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read and review this book

This book is so cute. Friends to enemies to lovers, second chance. Juni, her siblings and two of their closest friends were woven tightly together through their childhoods. The unfortunate and untimely passing of her sister left Juni with the business they envisioned. When the best friend that had drifted with her sister's loss comes back and they're seen together after both having public and Internet famed breakups, media followed them, insisting they're now together, creating a narrative to allow healing from their last relationships, their pasts and ideas towards their futures.

#arc
#netgalley
#thebreakuppact

June and Levi were inseparable as teenagers—until everything changed. Now, June is barely keeping her beachside tea shop afloat, while Levi is living a New York dream turned sour, working as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and nursing the wounds of a failed novelist career. They haven’t spoken in years—until a viral video brings them back together in the most unexpected way: a fake relationship.

Emma Lord’s The Breakup Pack was a fantastic summer read, with just enough tension between the main characters to keep you hooked. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

This was a fun, light-hearted love story that was a good summer read. The characters were interesting, and I finished the book quickly.

Levi and June are former best friends who pretend to date one another after their own breakups go viral. The relationship’s purpose is to boost June’s bakery sales in a last attempt to keep her store location. While Lexi is hoping to make his ex jealous so she’ll take him back. Levi and June have history from high school that must be resolved.

My heart was invested in the few chapters, but I was unable to connect much after that because the storyline was unbelievable to me. It was a little too much social media presence…in my opinion. It’s a very light read, but my least favorite of Emma Lord’s novels. I did enjoy the narrators that were chosen.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance audiobook.

I'll start by saying I'm a huge Emma Lord fan and I have loved the many other books I have read by her. The Break-Up Pact, unfortunately, just didn't hit the same as the others. It was good, but the others were great. I'm honestly not sure what felt so different about this one, but there was something missing that her other books had. Emma Lord will continue to be an auto read for me even though this one fell a little flat.

I enjoyed this audiobook, the story had a lot going on, keeping the storyline entertaining. There are also multiple tropes to this romance which add to the novel in a positive way. Tropes include fake dating, friends to lovers, and second chance. This is a title, I would like to go back and read a physical copy of. Because I listened to it and there was a lot going on, I feel I may have missed out on some of it inadvertently, when I was disrupted or distracted. The voice artist was enjoyable to listen to, which is important in my opinion because they can make or break the best of books when in audio format. I will recommend this book to others and look for other titles by the author.

Wow. This is probably the most I've disliked a couple in a long time. I don't think they should even be a couple, truth be told.
I wish I could tell you any positive characteristics about either of these main leads, but the book spent more time focusing on their "romantic tension" that it lacked any time or space to make either one of them an interesting or likable character on their own. Not that they are likable together, because they aren't. What does June like about Levi? Who actually knows. There's a lack of a coherent backstory to make us care about her relationship with him, why 10 years later she's still holding a bitter flame for him, etc. We get bits of history here and there that revolve around June's dead sister (which, interesting way to portray grief honestly. The first half of the book they are sharing memories about this sister she apparently misses, the second half of the book they make her seem like a giant bitch and use her as an excuse for their shitty behavior/choices.), but none of it builds their relationship or character into anything quite interesting or likable.
Also if I'm supposed to buy into this romance and tension between these two, shouldn't June....like Levi as a person? She doesn't like him, she doesn't take responsibility that she was willing to throw away a friendship that apparently meant so much to her that she thought about him longingly for a decade over a simple miscommunication. Even when this is explained away, she continues to expect the absolute worst of him....what exactly do you like about this man? Matter of fact, what am I supposed to like about either of you.
Perhaps this author should focus on Young Adult novels, because these two people cannot get over the bullshit they put each other to in high school and continue to act with a brain that never developed past that age.
Don't waste your time with this book.

So much more enjoyable than the last book I read from this set. This story of childhood friends-to-lovers never felt creepy or weird. A sweet and funny, and at times frustrating, tale of people navigating break-ups and grief and finding their way back to each other. Very good read.

[ Reunited since High School | Friends to Lovers | Slow Burn | Mediocre Spice ]

The novel was "okay". It's a relaxed beach read with a straightforward yet entertaining plot. June and Levi, friends in high school, had a misunderstanding and lost contact with each other. A decade later, they reconnect after enduring publicly embarrassing breakups. A viral photo of them together leads people to believe they're a couple, and they play along to spite their exes. We can all guess what will happen next!

On top of this, their professional struggles take a secondary storyline. June is having a hard time with her boardwalk bakery and Levi is torn between his professional career path choice not being his passionate one.

It has the charm of a Hallmark movie with an added dash of spice. The narrative is straightforward, allowing you to easily picture the quaint boardwalk town. I would recommend this for anyone in search of a slower paced, light hearted read ending in a happily ever after.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy of the book to listen to and review. The narrator Natalie Naudus did a fabulous job.

So, confession time- I chose this book purely for the cover. I love alternating between heavier reads with romcoms and this one just screams “beach read”. I really did not anticipate how emotional, and impactful this cute little beachy book would be. If you love Katherine Center or Emily Henry, this book is for you!

We follow June, who is REALLY going throughhhh it. Someone recorded and posted a video of her being dumped and now her crying face is viral, her tea shop is about to get evicted and she’s generally uninspired. When her long lost childhood friend, Levi, shows up outside her shop one day, old memories and feelings surface. And better yet, Levi has also been dumped in a very public way. Naturally, in pure romcom fashion, the two decide to fake-date and make their exes (and the internet) see that they’re ok, and worth a second glance. But history has a way of repeating itself, and those old feelings surface quickly.

The thing about feelings is, they’re complex. And sometimes when one feeling bubbles up, a lot more follow. Like grief, frustration and fear.

The depth and emotion this book explored was unexpected, but beautiful. I was crying at the end and really was so happy I gave it a chance. 4 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
I really love Emma Lord and this was a really wonderful, quick and fun read.

Rating: 5 stars!

I told myself if I thought about the book a couple days after finishing it, I would keep my 5 star review. And sure enough, June and Levi live in my mind rent free.

June and Levi are best friends when they were younger. Growing up, they split ways cold turkey and dont speak for years. After June's sister's death, June comes back to their beachside tea shop to take over. After a humulating TV breakup for June and Levi's famous girlfriend leaving him for a new man, the break-up pact is formed to get revenge on the situation.

I love the friendship, the bonding, the found family, the small beach town.. Just everything about this.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review
2.5⭐️
I wanted to love this so bad. I was excited to see an Emma Lord adult novel and have had this in mind for MONTHS, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I think a big part for me was that I didn't feel their connection from their past friendship, but also, their coming together in the beginning was so unrealistic to me. In my mind, you can't go that long without talking to someone and then immediately wanting to fake date. If I were seeing someone for the first time in that long, with no social media connection in between, I would want to know everything about that last ___ years. Not to mention, how realistic is it that you're even the same person after that long that you can just assume the other person is worthy of this favor in the first place? There were aspects of this book that I did enjoy, like dealing with grief and moving on from someone else, but the majority of it was just not my cup of tea unfortunately.

I am embarrassed about my recent consumption of romance/smut audiobooks. They are all pretty similar. A girl is running a shop and it is about to go under and then she ends up with an old friend or enemy, they have hot sex, and then fall madly in love. Or they've been in love for years and just figured it out.
And I love it! I loved this one especially because it is all wholesome and there is diversity and love and then BAM a hot sex scene, and then back to wholesome.
The narration was perfect. I will be listening to more.

Uhmmmmm.

I adored Tweet Cute (like have reread it multiple times type of adoration), but no other Emma Lord book since has done it for me like that one. Her writing style is very distinct- chipper, fun, ~cool~ and I do like it, but the stories never stick with me for long. This one in particular took me 6.... SIX.... rereads of the first 15% to get into. I'm honestly surprised at myself for not adding it to my DNF shelf and moving on, but I persevered. We're kind of just thrown into the middle of things at the start and it's hard to recover from it. The middle and end of the book are fine. The story definitely settles as we learn more about the past and the characters do grow on you eventually. Keyword: eventually. But overall, it's almost as messy as this pre-coffee review. Just not the one for me.

Also, I listened to this one and I have to say Natalie Naudus can do no wrong. She has narrated so many of my all-time favorites and adds life and depth to stories that barely even have any. She's honestly an icon in the audiobook world and I am obsessed. Definitely recommend going that route with this one if you pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌-𝑼𝒑 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅

Release Date: August 13, 2024

4⭐️3🌶

This a fun and sweet rom com book, that's giving Emily Henry or Christina Lauren vibes. I love these sweet little books that give me a break from the broody darkness that fantasy and romantasy can be sometimes.

June is a small business owner who is trying to keep her bakery/coffee shop open after her partner/sister dies suddenly. Not only that, but she is very publicly dumped by her long time boyfriend on reality television. When her childhood crush/friend returns to town after his own brutal break up, they decide to fake-date in order to put a new spin on their story in the face of the media. Also, it drums up business for her bakery.

I looooove the fake-dating and friends-to-lovers! So, this book is definitely up by alley.

4/5

I did enjoy this book, however it had such an obscure and unlikely plot. For both of them to have breakups that go viral at the same time, and they happen to be childhood best friends who never got their chance to be together as a couple; it just felt too unrealistic. Also, it definitely has the miscommunication trope, and the characters make dumb choices that delays their HEA that were frustrating. Regardless, I did like both June and Levi as characters, and they were really cute together. A decent read.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.