Love love love! This book had all my favorite elements of a romcom and made me so happy while reading. I really enjoyed how the town interacted with the main characters and the side plots that brought the story together. It had childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, second chance, small town romance… I would definitely recommend this to others!

5/5 stars. I love a classic fake dating book but I also loved how this is childhood frinds to lovers and the small town romance trope as well. This book was such a joy! I love Emma Lord’s books because they always have a great plot AND a compelling romance. Levi and June were adorable and communicated SO well which I also love to see in romance books. I was in tears by the epilogue

I think this is one my favorite books of hers to read I really enjoyed it. The story was so much fun to read and I couldnt put it down.

This was a really sweet story (pun intended). Also, I just really love scones, they are such an underrated pastry, so I appreciated their inclusion within this book.

Overall, this was a 3.5/5 star read for me, rounded down to 3 stars. It ticks all the right happy-romance-boxes, but I likely won't think of this book again now that it is done. A good "palate cleanser" between books, if you will. The characters were likeable, the setting was described in a realistic way, but I was left a little "meh" by the social-media-sensation plot, and also the feasibility of running a tea store on a boardwalk? That's likely just me being pessimistic about our economy though.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

While it took me a couple chapters to get into this book I was soon completely hooked on these two main characters and their "break-up pact"! This rom-com gives us all the best tropes from fake dating, childhood-friends-to-lovers, and small-town romance vibes! If any of these are your cup of tea (pun intended if you've read this book) then this is the one for you. I haven't read anything from Emma Lord before but I would say that this romance is up there with Katherine Center and Elissa Sussman! So if you're fans of their work I think you'll really like this new release from Emma Lord!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this new rom-com!

i think overall this book was mediocre and frustrating. i really really hate when main characters just refuse to talk things out and that’s is where all of the conflict stems. i think that june was quite frustrating in that she REFUSED to actually just talk to levi about anything but would then get mad at him for not communicating. it made it feel like their relationship is constantly hanging by a thread. levi also REFUSED to let go of kelly which makes no sense because he claims to be so in love with june. there were definitely some sweet parts that make it 3 stars and not 1 but overall it was just okay and i found myself frustrated more often than not.

This might be an unpopular review but this book just didn't hold my interest. I kept waiting to be hooked by something- events, drama, romance- but I just kept feeling like nothing was really happening. It felt like the book started and then all of a sudden the 2 main characters are agreeing to fake date. There could have been so much more done to build out the relationship and build character depth and that would have helped me connect with the characters.

The description of this book gave me really high hopes and I was so excited to read this! Unfortunately, I felt like I really couldn't get invested in either of the 2 main characters and that really impacted the entire story for me. Thank you so much Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book!

June had me laughing out loud multiple times! I loved her and Levi’s banter and loved watching them fall in love! Also, GIVE ME EVERY BOOK WITH THE FAKE DATING TROPE 👏🏼

Spice was like 1 out of 5 🌶️ but not quite closed door!


Thank you so much net galley for letting me read this in advance!

When former best friends June and Levi both get dumped in a super public way, they reunite in their hometown and are convinced to start fake dating as revenge to their exes and to help boost sales at June’s struggling tea shop after a “steamy” photo of them spreads online. They feel like this is perhaps a good time to repair their friendship and they quickly fall back into their old groove and wonder why they let this rift get between them in the first place. Can they move past that to meet their objectives or are they doomed to fail?

With a wonderful supporting cast of friends and family, the story was entertaining and thoughtful. We get to see June and Levi heal from a tragic loss and remember what it’s like to finally feel at peace at home. Life can change in an instant but it’s the people who love and support them that got them through those dark times and help move June and Levi forward while honoring a shared past.

I enjoyed this story and found myself wanting to visit this small beach town, drink a lot of tea, and call my friends to say hi. Despite a common trope, the story is fresh and enjoyable.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and all thoughts and comments are my own.

Legit the first page drew me in ! THE FMC became the laughing stock after her ex made her into a meme!
I did receive this as a digital ARC prior to the release. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this book. Look for it in August!

I unfortunately just really did not enjoy this book.
I love romance novels, but it drives me nuts when they use too much social media jargon and try to be too current. The word "meme" was used far too many times for my liking and I felt the entire concept of the "Revenge Exes" was incredibly cheesy.
I did not connect with the characters at all; I felt like they were very shallow/surface level type characters and I did not even care if they ended up together in the end.
I found myself skimming towards the end of the book because I just could not bear it anymore.
It was not my cup of tea, but hopefully it will be someone else's!

A really nice story about knowing someone in the past, present, and future, growth, and grief all wrapped up in a nice little romance trope bow. I love that June grows to learn who Levi is NOW rather than who he was when they were in high school. Sometimes it felt slow, like I was reading but nothing was progressing, but overall it was a really fun story with characters I really loved and a brilliant supporting cast set it an adorable coastal town.

I've always enjoyed Emma Lord's YA Romance novels, so I was excited to see her release an adult romance, and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. This is the perfect small town, light-hearted romance to help get me out of a reading slump and I had so much fun with it. I really enjoyed the character development that we saw from both June and Levi throughout this novel. I also loved seeing the side characters, but I enjoyed that they did not have too much page time. The focus of the story was June and Levi and their fake turned real relationship, and that is exactly what I want to read in a romance novel. I will definitely recommend this to a friend, and I look forward to more Emma Lord adult romance novels.

huge thank you to NetGalley for the chance to review my first ARC!

fun, cute, great beach read potential. if you love friends to lovers, slow burn, fake dating tropes then this is your book.

my main issue was the main characters fell a little flat for me. the bff sana was my fav. i kept forgetting their real ages because the drama and angst felt so much younger than people in their late 30s.

i love the beach town vibes and there was some funny banter and dialogue that i enjoyed.

cute brain fluff read

A lighthearted read that had me wanting to whip up some themed scones and be dramatic with my love life online.

I am always ready to read a fake dating drama piece because I secretly think it would be a fun, dramatic start to a relationship. (The apps just aren't working.) Personal hopes aside, I truly enjoyed the ups and downs that this book gave. Without giving too much away this read gave all of the warm feelings of two people trying to figure their next steps while giving themselves space to be honest on where they are.

After reading Emma Lord's The Getaway List, I knew that The Break-Up Pact would be another sweet romance that would take me out of the insanity of life and leave me with warm fuzzies and the slight encouragement to find what these characters have.

This is a very cute rom-com! I enjoyed it. There were parts that are predictable but overall a good story.

I love the way that The Break-Up Pact discusses love. In this book Lord establishes love as something that June and Levi grow into and it was so, so beautiful to read.

Friends to lovers isn’t always my jam, but the way that Levi and June ached for each other and fit so naturally made my heart swell. This book was achingly tender at times while still being fun and lighthearted.

Lord doesn’t shy away from the deeper side of things. She tackles grief in an intimate and very real way. This is the most life-like approach to extended grief I’ve seen in a while.

For my friends who are concerned about steam, there was a steamy scene or two but they were fairly easy to skip over.

Also, I don’t want to spoil too much, but the third act conflict was actually so satisfying and well done. It felt very rational and real and I actually loved it.

Basically, I love Emma Lord and I love how she writes about love. I hope she writes more romcoms in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Levi and June are my favorite kind of fictional couple.

1. They are both realistic. The kind of people you probably know in real life. Maybe you went to college with them. Maybe they live in your building. But they are not cliches or caricatures. They aren't too good to be true. They are likable, flawed humans who are easy to root for.

2. They have a real connection. So many romance novels rely on physical attraction and sexual chemistry to sell the "love" the characters have for each other. But in doing so, they cheapen whatever semblance of a connection there might actually be. Levi and June have a history. Shared memories. Shared grief. Common experiences and a deep respect for each other that goes beyond the physical. It was truly lovely reading about them.

3. They encounter real roadblocks. I've grown tired of the predictable third-act miscommunication or reveal that makes the happy couple question whether they could actually end up together. But Levi and June don't have a complication shoe-horned in at the 11th hour. They merely are facing different facets of the small conflicts that have kept them apart throughout the story. And rather than resolving them in a single conversation, it takes time and effort from both parties to work through their challenges.

I'm always here for a fake-dating trope or a friends-to-lovers, slow-burn, mutual pining situation. I also love a meaningful subplot, especially when it pertains to grief and loss. So perhaps this book was simply mixed up in a lab specifically for me. But I think it's more likely that Emma Lord is a fantastic writer and this book deserves a read from all the girlies this summer!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This was my first Emma Lord read and it definitely won't be my last! Can't wait to work my way through her catalogue!

my favorite part of the book is that it did genuinely make me laugh out loud. I did enjoy June and her brother but I felt disconnected. I needed more. I wish there was more stories about their friendship growing up to feel more of a connection.

Content warnings: grief, loss of a sibling

June moved back home from traveling the world with Griffin, the guy who dumped her on national television and turned her face into a meme called "Crying Girl." She runs a tea and scone shop by the beach called Tea Tide that June and her sister started. But Tea Tide is in trouble and the Crying Girl tourists are bolstering sales. Her sister died prior to the novel, and June is struggling with keeping the business faithful to her sister's vision.

June's childhood crush and BFF Levi comes back to town after his also public breakup, and a photo of the two together makes #RevengeExes a social media sensation. June and Levi agree to keep the Revenge Ex thing going to help June's business and Levi's relationship. But all the things they buried after high school come bubbling back to the surface...

The novel is a fun beach read, but June is also a complicated character that is refreshing in a romance novel. She has major flaws that she will need to confront before she can be with anyone, because she doesn't know how to be alone. Recommended for readers who are looking for a beachy summer romance.

Representation: Asian-American side character