I loved the premise of this book, but it just didn’t deliver. First, there was no chemistry between the two main characters. I kept waiting for the tension, the excitement and maybe more insight into why they work together, but it didn’t happen.

Second, I didn’t believe for a second that two non-famous people would garner that much public attention for so long. I get why we needed it for the story, but it just wasn’t realistic and that kept bugging me.

Third, this is the first time that Emma Lord is writing under the “Romance” genre instead of YA and you’d never know. It felt no different than her previous YA novels and it should.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really tried to get pulled into this book. I even tried coming back and revisiting it several times. I just couldn’t do it. I had to finally call it and DNF

The Break-up Pact was an entertaining read about a pair of friends that both get dumped in a viral fashion and decide to begin fake dating in order to get the press back on their side. June and Levi have always had a "will they or won't they" vibe since high school. Ten years later things have changed a lot, but they still keep drifting back to each other.

But, the three stars are here for a reason.
-The characters seemed emotionally underdeveloped for their respective ages. Their entire relationship played young.
-The FMC and best friend Sana definitely do not pass the Bechdel test. Her character is not fully fleshed out.
-I don't think that the public has a long enough attention for the amount of fame/virality that they seem to warrant in the story.

This is a fun beach read. I have enjoyed other novels by this author and will definitely read her books again!

June and Levi are the stars of The Break-Up Pact, and who doesn't love a second change fauxmance! When June and Levi's lives go viral after mutually embarrassing break ups, they unwittingly fall into a fauxmance that benefits them both..:but what if the feelings are back from a decade ago? Emma Lord crafts a wonderfully quirky and warm story of two people destined to be.

This was a fun beach read! I thoroughly enjoyed Emma Lord’s colorful characters and setting. I loved June and Levi’s connection- you could feel the tension immediately on the page. What wasn’t as convincing was Levi’s quest to reunite with his ex. Way too much time was devoted to flushing out that plot line that just didn’t make sense with the rest of his character. The miscommunication trope also irritated me a bit but nevertheless, I still loved and devoured this story!

Despite being a “romcom” this book does explore heavy topics with realism and emotional intelligence. The ever changing faces of grief, gaslighting relationships and families. Dialogue that drew verbal responses from me causing my partner to check in.

The book fails to deliver in plot and world building though. You begin the novel feeling like you walked into a conversation already well underway without context. As you come to grasp what’s going on or developments the conversation/chapter abruptly ends and starts across the room somehow. There was a lot of insight into a few heavy topics with scenes that had so much potential.

As for world building, I thought this was set in mid to late fall until well over halfway through when the time of year was specifically referenced. The characters are all energies but not physical entities. I found it difficult to immerse myself in this read as there wasn’t that build.

Overall enjoyable but not compelling

YES! I have loved reading Emma Lord's works since "Tweet Cute" and her first adult novel did not disappoint! Can't wait to see it in stores!

I. Loved. This. Book!! This is the perfect beach read!! Fake dating, baking, social media disasters, heartache and starting over!
I fell in love with these characters and laughed and cried! Highly recommend picking this up even it comes out!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!

3.5 stars, but only because I think it was a tad too wordy at times and could be tighter. A nice entry into adult romance, and I think the fake dating trope will do well

Tea and second chance romance... sign me us! This was a fun, sweet rom-com about second chances. However, the book also addressed topics of loss and grief, self-worth, and ways we lose ourselves in relationships. This was a great read if you are looking for something light and fun that will also make you think about how you move on from loss and past hurts.

Fake dating is my kryptonite and this book was done SO WELL. This is my first venture into Emma Lord but will surely not be my last. Quirky, fun, and engaging, I loved June and Levi. The characters were real, relatable and extremely charming. The new age breakup and the social media speculation that comes with anything these days made this story all the more relevant. Adorable! 4.25/5 stars.

I wanted to love this book. I really enjoyed it but I feel like the chemistry between June and Levi fell flat. I did love the premise of the book and the writing style of the author.

I'm having a hard time getting my thoughts together on this one. I really love Lord's writing. She is so good at imbuing deep emotion into her books, and I *feel* things with the characters. This book is no exception. That said, there were a few elements that frustrated me with the book, but those mostly come down to storytelling preferences. I didn't love the long focus on Levi wanting to get back together with his ex. And while I was expecting it, the content of the "we always loved each other but didn't tell each other" secret was not great. There are so many things to love about this book. It's definitely a fun and emotional read.

Hallmark movie-like, based in a small town, childhood friends, years of misunderstanding, tea and scones, fake dates that were fun and sexy. I enjoyed this book and look forward to more books by Emma Lord.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so so much! I was already an Emma Lord fan from reading You Have A Match (another must read!) so I was super excited for this book, and her stepping into adult romcom from YA!

Two inseparable childhood friends June and Levi, loose touch for nearly a decade, and reconnect then decide to fake a romantic relationship when their post-breakup woes become internet sensations, adding a dash of joy and a rollercoaster of emotions to this super entertaining story!

I loved both June and Levi - and their personal struggles. June is forever doubting herself, and lost herself in a previous relationship. Something so relatable!!

Levi is surprisingly vulnerable and unsure of what’s next after being shaken up by his breakup.

Their story is very cute and fun to read. And there was some unexpected spice!!!

I highly recommend this book! 5 stars for me.

I loved this read! Overall it was actually more 4.5 stars for me.

June is home running Tea Tide after unexpectedly loosing her sister and is also facing her new internet fame for being viciously dumped by her ex on reality tv. But things could be worse, she could be like her former childhood best friend Levi, who's girlfriend cheated on him with a big name celeb. These two haven't spoken much outside of a few texts here and there when a video of them racing down the beach goes viral as "the revenge ex's". They both decide to go with it for their own reasons but neither are expecting to experience those forgotten feelings.

Overall, again I loved it. I thought the characters depth was amazing and I enjoyed each and every one of them. I can't wait to buy the physical copy.

I’m really disappointed. Loved Emma Lord’s other books but this one was not it. It was very tropey, tried to stay modern with all the garbage. I don’t like they’re being diversity for the sake of diversity, when the characters add nothing else to the plot. Nothing happened. Of course there’s a token gay couple too. Unnecessary bc they had no personality other than other “diverse” characters. TikTok was mentioned and that’s an instant turn off. I don’t want to hear about the garbage of modern society in books. Sorry.

THE cutest!!! The dynamic between June and Eli was so fun. Grew up the best of friends, moved away and lost touched, moved back home and found each other again. My favorite book trope! I’ll be forever recommending this book to friends and family.
If you’re looking for a cute, cheesy romance this is the one for you.

I liked this but didn’t love it. I have loved all of Emma Lord’s books but for some reason this one took me a long time to get into and I wasn’t fully engaged.

This was the story of two childhood friends that drifted or honestly chose to be apart for the last decade - circumstances led them back together and a mutual grievance against their individual ex’s made them devise a plan to get revenge. I really wanted to love this book, and there were some great parts of it - like some of the side characters and the funny or steamy moments that happened. I enjoyed the random scone flavors and the inspirations behind them too! But overall, it just didn’t hit the mark… it wasn’t necessarily bad but just felt like something was missing and I was unable to connect with the characters and I also didn’t get excited about the plot as it moved along through the book. The switch from faking (because he was pining and wanted his ex back) to them being together for real was just too drastic and sudden which did get addressed as they talked things through but to me how could he go from one side to the other so quickly? It made it harder to believe. Again, there were some LOL moments and there wasn’t anything necessarily bad, and maybe it’s just my inability to connect so I would still recommend giving it a try if you enjoy a good friends to lovers, fake dating romance!