2 stars.

I will be withholding my review for the time being as support of the SMP boycott, which I was just recently made aware of.

Once the boycott is over, I will be editing this to share my full review and I plan to post on Goodreads and Twitter about this review.

This book had me smiling throughout! I could totally imagine this cute town and these fun {and flawed!} characters in the book. Honestly, I wanted to be friends with June. She was feisty, determined, and loyal. When Levi hops back into town {temporarily} she is conflicted. Some parts of it were highly unbelievable but honestly, I'm not reading a rom-com for its believability! Super cute light read!

Super fun romance! This is going to make a great beach read! I am a fan of Emma Lord's other novels and I cannot wait to read the next one!

This book was such a quick read it sucked me in! I’m always a sucker for the fake dating trope and this one was no exception. It was also mixed with childhood friends and second chance romance which I loved! All the emotions in this book got to me and they were beautifully written. The big focus on social media elements wasn’t my favorite but it did not make me stop reading.

Childhood best friends, June and Levi, are reunited after their respective break-ups go viral. Unintentionally, they start some gossip of their own when they are spotted together and are rumored to be a couple. The internet dubs them “The Revenge Exes”. June and Levi both decide to capitalize on the publicity and continue to fake date. Through the process, old feelings are brought to the surface and their relationship is tested.

The story had a lot of potential. There were a lot of things I like: friends to lovers, small town, second chances, found family. The side characters were phenomenal. Everyone deserves a best friend like Sana. I also really appreciated the theme of grieving a sibling. As someone who can relate, I found the author’s representation 100% accurate. It made the book a little extra special for me.

The love story missed the mark for me. Every time I sat down to read it, I fell asleep. The story took a while to get to the point and then once it did, I felt like the conflict just wasn’t really a conflict. Overall it was just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book, unfortunately, wasnt for me. I loved the concept and the fun/unique scones, but it just didn’t do anything for me. The characters had a good amount of characterization, but didn’t actually embody any of it, the writing style wasn’t my favorite, and Annie’s friendship with Levi was bothersome. My full review is up on Goodreads.

I enjoyed the writing and character development but overall felt like it wasn’t super exciting and I was just waiting for something big to happen. It wasn’t a “can’t put it down, have to finish asap” for me like other Emma books have been. I definitely could have used more dramatics unpredictability.

To quote the book itself, "Um I love this so much I'm gonna throw up glitter." It's one of my favorite romance books that I've read recently and I'm excited to read more of Emma Lord's work!

And everything was very personal to June throughout The Break-Up Pact because this girl was going through it. I enjoyed how June's character was written by Emma Lord. I felt like June's character traits made her shine through and created this believable and likable character who is going through the loss of her sister, a ten-year relationship, and possibly her small business. And then the cherry on top of this miserable sundae is her old high school crush/family friend Levi shows up in the small town they grew up in!

After I first finished the book, I felt a little annoyed with the lack of communication between the main characters June and Levi. I felt like some of the problems could have been solved in the book by just talking and being honest! But they came to this point in their lives with a lot of baggage, so it makes sense if you think about them as real people.

I went into this book expecting a cute YA romance because that's what I've read from Emma Lord before. I was not disappointed in this book at all with those being my expectations. The book was NOT YA, though-- just a warning. The friends-to-lovers and fake dating trope worked very well in this book and created a very cute romance that felt authentic.

Overall, I'm happy that I read this book and will be recommending it! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This one took me forever to read. Emma Lord has been hit or miss with me. And the Break-up Pact was a huge miss. Sounded promising…fake dating and childhood friends to lovers, but no. The plot dragged, I never connected with June and felt hardly any chemistry between her and Levi. The fake dates June and Levi embarked on were cute and entertaining at times, but the characters were too underdeveloped, leaving me bored and disinterested. If you want to read an Emma Lord book…try Tweet Cute.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! I liked following the progression of June and Levi’s relationship and their relationships with their family and friends. I think the book could use some more description of the beach town, because I couldn’t place whether Benson Beach was a northern or southern beach town and I noticed a few typos that will hopefully be resolved before release. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to others!

I had so much fun reading this book! I am not usually a fan of friends-to-lovers romance books, but the chemistry between June and Levi really put it over the top. I do think some of the enjoyment was pulled just because of the miscommunication trope, but not enough to put me off it. It was funny, romantic, down-to-earth and such a fun read!

Huge thank you to NetGalley for giving me this digital advance copy to read.

I was completely gone for the moment I read Levi and June's first interaction. This is the kind of book you cannot help but to fall for. With the great writing that is emotional yet entertaining and characters that are loveable and real, my heart never stood a chance. The one thing I will always appreciate about this author is how genuine her books are. The progression from start to finish is set in realistic pace and never feels dramatized.

The tension between Levi and June played out in a way that made your heart ache for them. Every moment between them was sweeter because of their history and every action was loaded with so much angst I was about to explode. I couldn’t get enough Levi and June.

This book is perfect for the romance readers who want it all. A book that will make you laugh while tugging on your heart strings. It’s well written and is easy to devour in one sitting. If you haven’t read anything by this author yet, make sure you check out this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC

The Break-Up Pact is a wild ride, a romance with telereality elements, it was quite hilarious. In the beginning it was quite steamy between June and Levi, inter-dispersed with memories from high school and their terribly bad breakup stories, you can’t help but root for them. With unexpected depth lended from June’s older sister’s death, this book was sweet and three dimensional.

I rated this book a 4 because it really pulled me in. Unfortunately it isn’t a 5 star to me, as the romance gets less steamy and more needlessly complicated after about 70%. No spoilers, but I think the story could have finished stronger.

Cute and fun concept. I didn't connect with the characters, though, so I didn't really get tugged into this one. I think it will be enjoyed by others, though.

I was really excited about the premise of this book, unfortunately the execution just didn't work for me. The plot was sort of circular instead of linear to me. I was confused in certain places about the nature of the two main characters pasts with each other. At some points it felt like a triangle situation with Levi's circumstances. Both characters were a bit stagnant and I didn't feel any chemistry especially from the supposed hero in Levi. There were some cute parts and instances that I enjoyed as well as the friendship between June and Sana.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Break-up Pact" and all opinions expressed are my own. First time reading this author and I will try another one of her books. The story was cute and funny at points. Fake dating romance story was interesting but at some point I just wanted to finish, maybe 3/4 of the way through. Overall okay.

I usually love Emma Lord, but this one just didn't do it for me. I usually love a friends-to-lover trope and I really loved June and Levi's friendship, but they lacked chemistry when an actual relationship came into play. While I did chuckle quite a bit at some parts, a lot of this book felt long-winded and I just wanted things to get to the point and find out what happened! This won't stop me from reading more of Lord in the future (love love LOVED "Tweet Cute!"), but this one just wasn't for me. Thanks so much for the ARC!

This was a cute read. If you like fake dating meets childhood friends meets small town. It’s messy and wonderful at the same time!

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. There were parts of it that were slower paced but it was a relaxing, beach romance. There were a few subplots that I didn't think added much to the story and instead were what made the story seem slow at points. Levi and June were sweet and easy to root for.

friends to strangers to friends to lovers!

I was a really big fan of this book! I loved the characters, especially Sana, she was an amazing hype bestie for June. I would love a spinoff about Sana! I really liked the dynamic of them all being friends in high school and then coming together later in life, I felt like it really added to the drama of the break-up pact. Another part I really enjoyed was learning about Annie and her effect on everyone in the past and present. I LOVED the slow burn of them becoming friends again and eventually more, however, it felt very formulated like exactly at the halfway point they finally kissed and then the conflict brews at the ¾ point. The second half of the book felt rushed and jumpy in some parts, and the miscommunication was killing me. I’m not a big fan of miscommunication, especially when the main character actively avoids it on purpose. Overall, this book was a very lighthearted read and a PERFECT book for the beach! 3.5 ⭐

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!