Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC! OMG!! This was so cute! Loved the concept & the main characters. New favorite author!!

This is really 3.5 stars from me. I love Emma Lord, and there’s still a lot to love her even though it wasn’t my favorite of hers.

June and Levi are childhood friends, reconnecting after going viral for their humiliating breakups. They pretend to date because they can both benefit from extending their 15 minutes of fame, but pretending to date brings up lots of feelings they thought they left behind a decade ago.

Emma Lord has such a gorgeous writing style that makes me ~feel~ so very deeply. The parts of this book dealing with grief and longing are so lovely and grounded, the resolutions realistic.

I think the book could’ve benefited from more time in the front section (we fly through a lot of the going viral bits). I also think I would’ve preferred a dual POV here to get into Levi’s a head a bit!

But overall, still a dang delight.

This is my first book by Emma Lord, and at the beginning of it I assumed this was a debut novel, it was written with a kind of innocence that can either build a story or end up indicating that the whole book with lack depth…I’m happy to say it was the first. Lord has you on the edge of your seat, I think this book gave me “Will they, won’t they?” palpitations. There were no HEA guarantees and for awhile I began to come to terms with that and just an overall growth journey. Levi is a relatable MMC, my husband is the same away, and I felt his depth all the way through. The MFC knows she’s flawed and she’s herself for who she is, and it adds to the depth of the overall book. It’s a good one, and I would read Emma Lord again, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This rom com had the potential to be really really good but just fell flat for me. It felt very slow in the beginning and then picked up with some spice and then fell flat towards the end. 3.5 ⭐️

In Emma Lord's captivating rom-com novel, "The Break-Up Pact," we are introduced to June and Levi, two former best friends whose lives have taken divergent paths since a falling out during their teenage years. June is now the owner of a struggling beachside tea shop, while Levi is a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist living in New York City. A series of humiliating public breakups thrusts June and Levi into the limelight, and a mistakenly leaked photo of them together sets the rumor mill ablaze, convincing the internet that they are a couple. Recognizing the potential benefits, they decide to put their tumultuous past aside and embark on a fake dating pact. Their goal is to boost June's tea shop business and make Levi's ex-girlfriend realize her mistake. As they navigate this charade, June and Levi must navigate their evolving feelings for each other. They embark on five sparkling and heart-pounding dates, carefully crafting their social media presence to maintain the illusion of a blossoming romance. However, as they spend more time together, the lines between reality and pretense begin to blur. Lord deftly explores the complexities of modern relationships, social media's impact on our lives, and the challenges of finding love in a world where authenticity is often obscured by carefully curated online personas. With witty dialogue, charming characters, and a swoon-worthy romance, "The Break-Up Pact" is a delightful and thought-provoking read that will leave readers rooting for June and Levi's happily-ever-after.

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 (3.5/5)

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is about childhood friends June, who is running the Tea Shop her sister opened before she passed away, after a large meltdown while her boyfriend of a decade dumped her on national TV, and Levi, who after being dumped by his long-term girlfriend returns home to his small beach town, and the two reunite. They begin to pretend to date to get back at their exes, but are either of them actually ever pretending?

This was a cute summer read!! I loved June and really empathized with her as she tried to work through her grief, and realize she deserves happiness after losing her sister. My problem in this story stemmed largely from Levi however. I thought he had really poor communication skills, and a lot of the conflicts could have been cleared up if he had just kind of thought of someone else’s feelings for a little.

But the side characters in this one were really good, and I loved the beachy setting!!

Thank you Netgalley and SMP for an advanced copy of this one in exchange for an honest review!!

4.75 stars.
I am a big fan of Emma Lord's YA novels, so I was excited when I received this ARC through NetGalley.
The book did not disappoint! I loved the small town beach side vibes. Childhood friends to lovers is also one of my favorite troupes, so I was all in. The characters were so well developed I felt like they could be my friends in real life. It was emotional and laugh out loud funny at times. I would definitely recommend!

I usually love a good small town BAKERY set up but this was definitely the exception. This book missed the mark for me in so many ways. You know it’s bad when you’re paying your bills instead of reading. First, I am NOT a fan of a Tik-Tok set up. The fact that they both went viral on Tik Tok off of breakups seems COMPLETELY unrealistic. Two, the characters felt very immature. They were constantly having races, dunking contests, food fights, and playing truth or dare at the age of 27. Third, so many story lines were random and unnecessary to the plot (i.e Matteo’s sweater instagram and MATTEO/DYLANS WEDDING).Lastly, WHO HAS A TEA SHOP ON A BEACH BOARDWALK? The whole book just felt disorganized. As a romance reader, you want to feel the chemistry and the longing of the characters and I didn't. It was just overall dull. K? This may be geared toward a much younger generation (think like 18-19) but for me it was a snooze.



Thank you to St. Martins press for the ARC!

2.5 stars. Perhaps I was not in the mood for this book as at when I read it, but it felt like a drag. I had to push myself to finish it. I loved the concept, and I was enjoying it in the beginning but the execution seemed to be lacking. My first Emma Lord read was YA and this felt a bit too similar, grown adults who acted too much like children. It had it’s cute moments though.

This is a very cute story! Highly recommend if you love the friends to lovers and fake dating tropes! There is one spicy scene, but otherwise, if you are looking for a pallet cleanser, this is perfect! The only thing I didn’t care for is that the FMC went from hating the MMC to loving him (in a friend way) and from being angry at him and the situation to being happy with their friendship so many times I lost count.

Breakups to fake dating to maybe real dating?

This was a very cute book that you could kind of just fly through and thats perfect for me especially with the huge snow storm

I will say it was a cute plot but maybe a bit too modern for me with the addition of viral tick tocks but I give it a 3.8/5 I enjoyed it

FAKE. DATING. SUPREMACY.

like seriously, you guys. fake dating will always and forever HIT. ALWAYS!!! and especially here when we had it paired with childhood friends to lovers and a small town beach setting. June and Levi's relationship was just overall very fun to read!

i also wanted to add that after seeing mixed reviews of this book, that this is an ADULT romance novel. these characters are ADULTS and have ADULT feelings. this means their love is going to be ESPECIALLY messy. no easy to read chapters and neat little bows coming right after the characters actually admit they do have feelings for each other. they make you truly work for it and that weird disconnect and messiness added an extra deep and honestly refreshing layer to a contemporary romance novel.

and you guys...the grief in this book hit me like a ton of bricks. so beautifully written and eloquently said i truly did burst into tears after reading some lines about what it means to both have and be a sister. overall, i loved it.

special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Was so excited to read this on NetGalley! Loved this book and can’t wait to recommend to a friend! Thought this would be a great summer beach read!

I really enjoyed Emma Lord's first book, Tweet Cute and the Break Up Pact did not disappoint. I always love a fake dating trope and a cute beachside tea shop? Sign me up! The setting was cute (and made a cold January seem like a distant memory) and the pacing was fantastic. I read it curled up in my reading chair but it would be a fantastic beach read!

I think I’m coming around to the fact that this author is no longer for me. I did not connect with this story or with the characters. It’s a no for me

I loved the premise of this story and the setup of the characters. I think that, at its heart, there is a sweet romantic story between Levi and June. Unfortunately, I think that was overshadowed by June’s grief. While I understand that grief and managing the loss of a loved one can be difficult, for this book I felt like that tone overshadowed the overall plot and romantic relationship development of the MCs. I also felt that June’s entire character development revolved around her grief. Additionally, Levi’s character development and interest in getting his ex-girlfriend back made some of the romance/relationship development fall flat.

I also forgot that Levi and June we supposed to be closer to 30 years old (26-30 maybe?). Then I read that this is Emma Lord’s first Romance. I am not familiar with her previous titles, but given the current read, this makes sense as to why Levi and June read much younger than they should be.

Overall, it’s a good story, but I did think it should have either a) ended sooner or b) sped up to the third-act issues sooner. I also found myself wanting more from the cast of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3/5 stars. ⭐️ ✨✨

I loved the plot of this book. Levi and June were so sweet. I loved their childhood connection and even though I’m usually despising of the miscommunication trope, when you throw grief into the mix. It is a lot more palatable.
The main problems with this novel is I struggled to get a sense of place/ setting from what was shared, so I always felt like I missed a chapter. I even went back and look for a preface to see if there was something I missed.
Also this novel badly needed to be a dual POV. There would have been so much more understanding & depth of the relationship if we would have had Levi’s perspective as well. I also think that we could’ve gotten a better sense of the setting with Levi’s point of you. Potentially sharing what he misses of benson beach, comparing to NY, sharing the journey to get there etc.

I honestly didn’t even understand it wasn’t an island until the end of the book.

The main crux of the story was lovely, but there were some major holes

I really liked this novel, but I do not think that is was my favorite Emma Lord book that I have read. I think the concept and the characters were fantastic, and it was an really quick book to get through and I greatly look forward to seeing the novel being read by other individuals!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love everything Emma Lord writes. This book was so perfect for me and I could not put it down.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Break-Up Pact is a story about two former best friends whom haven’t spoken in about 10 years who both are dealing with viral breakups. They form a pact to fake date to help save June’s Tea Tide business and to show Levi’s fiancé, Kelly what she could lose.

It was an engaging and a heartwarming story of a second chance at love and healing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend.