I found great pleasure in reading this book. The writing style captivated me, and I appreciated the element of unpredictability in the storyline. The author skillfully portrayed the main character's journey through grief after losing her sister, highlighting the process of rediscovering oneself. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and eagerly anticipate exploring more works from this talented author!

I’m a big Emma Lord fan, so that may be influencing my opinion of The Break-Up Pact and causing me to round up from 3.5 stars. June and Levi (friends from high school who haven’t seen each other in 10 years) both find themselves on the wrong end of a breakup and decide to fake date each other. Levi’s motivation is to make his ex jealous and win her back while June’s is to boost her failing tea shop. Yes, you’ve read this book before but the banter is good, the MC is a sweetheart and I appreciated their shared, sad backstory.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend, but it didn’t knock my socks off.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for this free advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

The Break-Up Pact is a friends-to-lovers, fake dating to get back at their ex's story. The two MCs being former best friends with a ton of history made for deep, rich backstories. I loved the connection and reconnection Levi & June have. But the story left me wanting more. Without giving any spoilers away, I wanted more revenge, more build-up to the spice, more insights into the MMC since the story is told from the FMC POV.

There were a lot of heartfelt moments and the stories of self-discovery and grieving loss that are woven throughout create a meaningful subplot than just a typical friends-to-lovers trope.

Solid 3 out 5.

The Break-Up Pact is a story that's part rom-com, part heartwarming nostalgia, and overall just an amazing read. This book is about June and Levi, who were once inseparable childhood friends, haven't spoken in a decade but when their breakups with their partners end up going viral, they decide to fake date and the internet becomes obsessed with this idea. What I loved about this in particular is that you can feel June and Levi's chemistry through the pages, and their banter is cute and comforting. It does have a bit of a modern twist to it, such as tiktok and instagram but it's only mentioned a few times. When reading this book you can expect a bit of cheesy lines and a slow start but it does build and it doesn't leave you hanging. So, if you love second chance romance and childhood friends to lovers, this book is for you!

This book covers so many tropes! June and Levi grew up together and were friends until it was time for Levi to head off to college. Thanks to some drama they became "enemies". Levi returns to Benson Beach after both he and June experienced dramatic public break-ups. They're fake dating to grow a business, get an ex back, and maybe even rediscover who they are.

I will say this was a slower read for me. I just couldn't get lost in the story. The characters are decent, but we only see depth between the two main characters and a character they all share grief over. The grief is a big part of this novel. There is minimal spice, so if that's something you are looking for, skip this one. Overall, a decent read, but not one I would rave about. I enjoyed the development of the relationship, the healthy communication and giving space when needed. Awesome that the author touched on gaslighting and even how exes try to keep a hook in our lives. I definitely would have been interested to read more about the reality show that started it all.

3.5 stars, rounded up. This was very cute and a definite improvement from the last Emma Lord book I read, so I'm glad that I was able to give her another chance! There are times when I feel like the exposition goes on too long and these people should all go to therapy, but it was an inventive and cute take on the fake dating trope.

I received an ARC of this book for free in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

The Break-Up Pact is set in a cute beach town. June owns a tea shop, The Tea Tide, that her sister who started a few years ago. Her sister passed a few years before and June is still struggling to find her path. Enter Levi - June's best friend from high school, who was also good friends with her sister. Levi and June haven't spoken in ten years but both experienced very public breakups. They decide to fake date -- and quickly slip into their old friendship. Can they stay friends or will it become something else?

I really enjoyed this book. Levi and June had really fun banter and I enjoyed them re-discovering their friendship, as well as individually seeing how they have grown and need to continue to grow. There were a number of side characters, which I thought could have been streamlined, but I liked the small town community and how everyone knows each other from years past. Social media was also another large theme throughout the book.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

i enjoyed this book! seeing levi and june reconnect and build there relationship was super cute ! also loved the pop rockets and actual connections to the “real world” like uptown funk, ect. i will definitely recommend this book when it’s released!

I really enjoyed The Break-up Pact! This book does a nice job blending the childhood friends to lover trope and fake dating with a cozy, small town seaside setting! June and Levi had such fun chemistry throughout the book! I really enjoyed all the side characters, they helped make the world feel more real! While the end wraps things up kind of quickly, I’d rather it do that than drag on for too long! I love when books have characters who are writers or readers, like Levi! I wish we could seen a little more of his writing, but it makes sense that June’s Tea Tide was the main focus since it was her POV! Overall, I think this would be such a fun beach read for the summer!

Fun, fast read. Perfect for my girls who love smart stories! Emma Lord does not miss. Her understanding of the anxiety and joy of teens is wonderful!

I could not have loved this book more! So many favorites - enemies to lovers, fake dating, childhood friends getting together. The stories of family and friends all convening together made me so happy and I couldn’t put this down.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do it for me. I liked the concept (I’m a sucker for someone who just got dumped finding love again), and the setting was very cute, but I just didn’t find myself caring about the romance.

June and Levi are former high school buddies, bonded by their close relationship to June’s deceased sister. Another thing they have in common is that they both recently got dumped very publicly and have famous exes. The two of them, along with their mutual friend, agree that it could help Levi’s former relationship and June’s business to pretend to date each other. As you can imagine, they end up discovering they have feelings for each other in the process.

This book just didn’t feel realistic to me. It wasn’t the famous exes, or the Tiktok reactions to June and Levi’s romance, I just didn’t buy their feelings for one another. Not once did I get that “butterflies in your stomach” feeling while reading their love story. It just felt like two generic good looking people who decide to date. I also didn't care for reading about the wedding side story with June's brother. The conflict in the book could have gone much, much further and I found myself disappointed and underwhelmed by the ending.

As I mentioned earlier, I actually thought this book had an interesting concept. Folks who are fans of fake dating, beachy love stories, and second chance at love might want to check out this book, especially if you want a very light read without much conflict or emotional stress. I thought the writing was good but the story was just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of The Break Up Pact. I wanted to love this book but it just didn’t work for me. The premise had all the makings for a winner - old friends to lovers trope, set in a beach town, with a tea shop, and a love of running. It just didn’t come together. It was a little too slow and winding. There were too many details in some areas and many others that felt undeveloped. This book was a pass for me.

I've got such mixed feelings about this one! Pretty cover, interesting description, one of my favorite tropes (friends to lovers). I was all in! **Spoiler** But the hero spent over half the book hoping to get back together with his ex. Ugh. That dragged on for way too long! And because this was a single POV (the heroine's), all I got as a reader was the hero wanting to be with someone else. This wasn't just a case of the ex still being in the picture, but the hero actively wanting to be with the other woman.Not what I sign up for in a romance! When the Levi and June are together, it was magical. Too bad the OW drama overshadowed their story.

After two very public and viral break ups Levi and June, two ex-best friends, decide to fake date to ease their humiliation and not come off as total losers. This is a coming of age, second chance romance served up to us in a fake dating present. If you have read any of my reviews you know that fake dating/marriage of convenience is my absolute favorite trope. Fake dating and second chance love. And this is a wonderful, witty addition to both those genres.

Levi a writer who has been working on his grand opus manuscript but things are not going very well there. June is a struggling owner of a tea shop - read scone shop- but things are not going ell there either. When their famous partners break up with them Levi comes back home from NY to write and he an June decide to fake date for a while. But they’ve got a history and things heat up very fast. Levi is a wonderful intense character who is honestly grappling with all the changes in his life. At least he’s trying to be honest with June while figuring out what is true about his life and his relationship with her. June is also struggling, she thinks she is struggling with her tea shop but that’s also a cover for, well, for becoming her own self. Shades of coming of age trope. It lacks, thankfully, that ‘miscommunication’ tack as they honestly communicate with each other. taken by so many miscommunication tacks taken by

There’s a small sexy, not graphic, bit for those to whom it matters. There were times when it was a slow read but it was so sweet and the characters so real and lovable that I’d give this a solid 4.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

That was the first Emma Lord book I read, and it didn't click for me.
I couldn't vibe with the characters or buy into their romance. The male lead got cheated on by his gf, but he still wanted to get back with her, saying he "understands why she did it". I mean... what? And he even ghosted the female lead one day to meet up with his ex.
Yeah, nop. This book was a big no for me.

This ranks about the same as Emma’s other books. I think her writing translates well from YA to adult fiction. Childhood best friends to lovers is a favorite of mine which made for an easy read.

There were a few things that I found myself having a hard time suspending my disbelief for though. One, I think it was hard to believe that either of these situations would ever go viral so the reasoning for the fake dating felt pretty far fetched. I also think the character growth at the end felt kind of rushed. Both Levi and June seemed to pick up the pieces of their lives and magically fix everything within a few weeks.

Overall a decent finish-in-a-weekend read.

While this book had some very cute moments, it was a little hard to get through. The beginning was VERY repetitive and overall it was one of those books that could have been MUCH shorter. There were alot of far fetched moments that I believe could have been made more believable. The book didn’t really pick up for me until about halfway through. The spicy scene is really one of the main reasons it’s getting three stars and not any less. The ending felt rushed, yet it was still satisfyingly sweet. You may like this book more than me, but it just wasn’t a favorite.

This book was an enjoyable read. I kept cheering for the characters to work out. It was a roller coaster of emotions throughout the book, but I enjoyed the read. Perfect beach read for summer!

Two of my favorite romance tropes are friends to lovers and fake dating- so I was so excited to receive this ARC that wrapped both of those tropes into one really enjoyable read!

I laughed, I cried and I couldn’t help but to dream of tasting all the flavors of the scones from Tea Tide.

Even though it may be hard to believe that two people who have been lifelong friends could both go viral for their breakups and then fall in love, it didn’t feel that way while reading. All the obstacles of navigating love in the real world were there, and I appreciated that it wasn’t so far fetched. I think that really helped me connect to the characters and the story.

This was my first Emma Lord book, but it definitely won’t be my last.