Emma Lord is a star writer and this book was so good! I liked everything about it, and I cannot wait to read more books that she writes!

The Break-Up Pact is about two scorned exes who return to their hometown. One a writer and the other a baker, they decide to come together and fake date to get over their break-ups. This book was a second-chance romance with plenty of cute moments and one of the best intimate scenes I've read this year. I thought the build-up was excellent, and I really liked the characters by the end of the book. I gave it four stars because I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again.

This second chance romance stars June and Levi who were childhood best friends until a falling-out. Then they both experience highly public breakups - he was dating a movie star and June becomes they “crying girl” meme when her boyfriend dumps her on a reality show. When a picture of them together goes viral on social media, the public begins rooting for their revenge romance. They decide to fake date and fuel the fire. She needs publicity for her tea shop, and he wants to make his ex jealous. As they orchestrate five romantic dates, with photo opps galore, their fake relationship begins to foster real feelings.

I enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure I would revisit it. I believed in June and Levi’s love story and enjoyed the side characters however there seem to be something lacking in their story. I’m not sure that the sisterhood / friendship and loss of Annie was fully developed the way I expected it to be. I did enjoy the book however and liked it more than the authors previous young adult book that I had read. I would read another of Emma lords books if The opportunity presented itself

I have enjoyed so many of Emma Lord's YA books for both their romance and the growth the characters experience. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.

There was just too much happening that made the whole thing feel drawn out. The writing and storytelling felt forced and just didn't flow as well as her other books. I did like seeing June's growth and how she found herself, but it wasn't enough to make this a new favorite.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.75/5 Stars

The Break-Up Pact was a cute Adult Contemporary romance featuring two favorite tropes: fake dating and childhood friends to lovers. This was my first read by Emma Lord, and I must say, I really enjoyed her writing style and how she brought her characters to life.

The storyline was fun to watch unfold, with its mix of laugh-out-loud moments and deeper, more heartfelt ones. While it didn’t quite hit my favorites shelf, it was an enjoyable read overall, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Many thanks to #NetGalley, #TheBreakUpPact, @stmartinspress, and Emma Lord for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own and freely expressed.

#BookReview #TheBreakUpPact #AdultContemporary #RomanceReads #FakeDatingTrope #FriendsToLovers

June and Levi's both had viral breakups. I like that they were old friends and willing to help each other get Levi's girl back and get press for June's tea shop. I am not always a fan of best friends/old lovers but I enjoyed this story and Levi and Junes relationship. I think it helped that fake dating was involved which I am a sucker for.

I am here to say that @dilemmalord has done it again with an absolutely precious rom-com! The Break-Up Pact has all the best tropes. Childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, second chances! June & Levi gave me all the butterflies in my tummy ✨🦋

Lord does a wonderful job of making a magical rom-com, all while tackling heavy topics such as grief in the most tender way. I was so wrapped up in this one and absolutely loved it! 💖💕

Former teenage best friends pretend to be lovers after their breakups go viral? YES PLEASE! Emma over here hitting me with all the best tropes. Also, who doesn't want to see a new love thrown in the crappy exes faces? The writing was heartfelt and easy to get lost in. I listened to it in one sitting because I needed to know how it all played out (even though we all know how it's going to end. It is a romcom after all). June and Levi were both endearing characters that you wanted to find happiness together. I highly recommend picking this one up if you like light-hearted romance books. It's perfect for a quick pick me up that will bring a smile to your face.

This was such a cute book. It managed to touch on viral shaming in the digital age, with a second chance and still lovers. I loved the writing, and I will definitely look for this writer again in the future. I really can’t recommend this book enough.

This book took far too long to get through. While the characters are cute and the second chance at love is a great theme, the story itself lacks a fast-paced desire to continue reading. Part of this story could have been eliminated to speed it up, and the love story would have flowed more seemlessly.

Reading a book by Emma Lord is always such a delight! I love her YA novels, so I was very excited to get my hands on her adult debut. The characters in this novel have a lot of depth, especially June as she grieves the death of her older sister. Levi is THAT book boyfriend, the perfect boy-next-door character. Overall, this love story was as sweet as the baked goods at June's tea shop!

I didn’t realize how much I would like a fake dating trope until you throw in some unrequited feelings, a little bit of family trauma and a small beach town. June and Levi had great chemistry through most of the book and their together only to take some time apart felt rushed, there was no denying they were ultimately staying together.

DNF'd about 14% into the book. I didn't really enjoy the characters, it wasn't anything special, and I didn't feel it was a good use of my limited free time to read the rest of it.

DNF. It pains me to say this because I usually love this author but this one wasn’t for me. It felt juvenile and just overall lame. I know this is her first adult romance but the YA vibes took over. I didn’t care enough to keep reading and find out why these two are acting so immature around each other

June just got humiliatingly dumped by her boyfriend of 10 years on national television. She's trying to build her life back up but the curious masses are making life at her seaside tea shop impossible. Meanwhile, Levi, one of her high school best friends and crush with whom she hasn't spoken in 10 years, is also in town after his fiance very publicly cheated on him with one of the biggest superstars on the planet. A random snap of them together gets shared on the internet and blows up so they decide to pretend to be dating in order to get June's shop back on track and Levi's fiance to realize what she's missing. Except things aren't that simple and emotions long buried refuse to be ignored any longer.

Emma Lord never disappoints. Her stories are always funny and emotional and focused on the deep connections that friendship and shared experiences create. Her heroines have to face up to the truths of their lives and not only rise to the occasion, they crush it, all while slowly and deliciously falling in love with someone that you just know is perfect for them.

You know June and Levi are going to end up together from the first moment they interact on the page, yet even knowing the ending, the journey to them voicing their feelings and acting on them is a great read. The mandatory drama of will-they, won't-they moments are handled very well by Lord in that it feels serious enough to be a bump but not big enough that you can see June and Levi not ending up together.

It's a very sweet and romantic story that I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the sweet romance read!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

This was a super cute romance! I loved the small town romance aspects of it, especially the fact that it was a beach town with a cute tea business. The setting was probably my favorite part of all of it! Of course I also really enjoyed the fake dating part of the plot. That trope never disappoints :)

The overall plot was very unique. Both of the main characters go viral during their breakups and then fake date to get back at them. It was pretty predictable, but honestly most romance books are and there wasn’t anything bad about this book.

This is the third book I’ve read by Emma Lord, and it matched my expectations. I’d only read her ya novels before this. I still liked it, but it did read a little younger than a usual adult book would, although that makes sense due to her being a ya author.

I’ve really enjoyed Emma Lord’s YA novels (literally purchased Tweet Cute for my niece’s birthday about 6 hours ago) so I don’t know why I was nervous about jumping into her adult debut - I loved it. I loved Levi and June’s history, I loved their friendships with the other characters, I loved the familial bonds that were layered in. I wish Annie had been a little more fleshed out, however I think that also would have slowed down a very well-paced novel…so I’m not mad! Emma Lord was already an insta-buy for me, but this just cemented that no matter the genre I’ll read it and love it.

This one was not the romance for me. I felt like things were both very slow and very undetailed. I stopped reading at 50% and did not post a review anywhere online so I didn't hurt ratings.

I'm honestly surprised my second-hand embarrassment let me get through this book - which starts with both main characters experiencing viral breakups - but I ended up really enjoying The Break-Up Pact!

The estrangement between June and Levi felt very realistic to me, as they both dealt differently with the grief from losing June's sister. It wasn't quite enemies to lovers, but a spin off - estranged childhood best friends to lovers. My heart broke over and over for June and Levi, but it was still a very sweet romance, with great chemistry and scenes that give you butterflies in your stomach.

I'll definitely be reading more from Emma Lord!