I enjoyed this book and the characters in it, however it did take me a while to get through. I do agree with other comments that claim it feels as though somethings missing. This book could have easily been much longer, it has a great base and an admirable energy to it-yet I wished there had been more scenes we got to know the side characters and how they interact with the main characters. I liked how Emma lord wrote the chemistry between June and Levi, it was beautifully articulated and emotional. Overall the plot was a little slow for my liking but in was a cute and fun read. Thank you for the arc, Mwah.

Two words….sloooooooooow burn. The story was great and the writing was good but I found myself bored more than I wanted to. I wanted to like it more then I could just for that fact.

Anyone skeptical as to whether Emma Lord can break out of YA into women’s fiction should immediately read The Break-Up Pact. Absolutely no doubt as to Lord’s range and ability to successfully write compelling YA and adult fiction.

June and Levi are childhood friends who mysteriously lose touch for ten years. What happened? Is their easy friendship forever changed, or can they pick up where they left off? Add in the complications of two viral breakups—one for June and one for Levi—and living with the ghost of June’s sister Annie, who was also Levi’s best friend, and you have a story that was difficult to put down.

The tension and chemistry were off the charts. A wonderful come-into-your-own plot line mixed well with the romance. There is a whole lot of “leaning in” in this book—at least 37 iterations of the phrase. This would be my only critique. But it certainly gets the body language point across. These two are magnets.

The FMC and MMC are from the same hometown. When they both have viral break ups at the same time he comes back home to hide out. The two form a pact to fake date to get back at their exes.
Overall, there's a fake dating, and miscommunication troupe. The timeline for their break ups were just a bit too coincidental for my taste, but it's an enjoyable read and perfect for fans of Christina Lauren.
Thanks #netgalley for the ARC!!

I really enjoyed this super sweet and fun book. Childhood friends haven’t spoken in years and reconnect for a fake dating trope after their failed relationships go viral. “The Break-Up Pact” is an easy and enjoyable read that everyone will enjoy. Thanks Net Galley for the ARC.

"Break Up Pact" by Emma Lord takes readers on a heartwarming journey of rediscovered friendship and romance. June and Levi, once inseparable best friends, find themselves thrust into the spotlight with viral break-ups, leading to a charming scheme—pretending to date for the world to witness.

The book is filled with swoon-worthy moments and fake dates. While the plot follows a familiar romantic path, it still brings a sense of lightheartedness, making it a great escape. The childhood friends-to-lovers story between June and Levi is portrayed with a sweet charm that is sure to resonate. The book falls into the category of a cute, yet very predictable, romance

While the characters could have been explored more extensively, they contribute to the overall feel-good atmosphere of the book. The side stories occasionally diverted from the main plot and added unnecessary layers to the narrative. I also wish the author would have dived deeper into the couples relationship from their childhood to give us a bases to root for.

"Break Up Pact" offers a delightful choice for those in search of a breezy and heartwarming romance. The plot is entertaining and story is a cute escape, for anyone craving a feel-good love story.

Thanks to @netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to review The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord. I absolutely adored this SUPER sweet second-chance love story. Levi and June have been dumped in completely embarrassing, viral ways. In order to get back at their exes, or to get their exes back as in the case of Levi, they pretend to be dating. Levi is a broody writer and June has a bakery - they were the best of friends when they were running cross-country together. So fun.

Childhood friends, fake date, social media madness and miscommunication galore.

This was a fun book that I enjoyed, but left me wanting more. I’m not a huge miscommunication trope fan, but in this case - I could understand the inclusion of it, but it didn’t make or break the story for me. I wish we knew more about the connection our main characters have. We get a bit of a peek into their past, but the tension was so palpable in the first half that it made me wanting more info. I also wish the ending didn’t feel so rushed and tied up as nicely, but June is so sweet to a fault.

Overall though, this was an easy book to enjoy with some moments of laughter and unexpected tears. The writing was enjoyable and I loved the bit of spice I wasn’t expecting!

This was a cute, but predictable, romance novel. I wouldn't say there was anything about it that made it especially stand out from other romance novels. The characters were not so well developed that I was worried one way or the other too much about how things would turn out for them. I also don't know if the side stories about Annie and Dylan were needed. I would recommend it if you are looking for an easy breezy read where you don't need to think too much about what might happen next.

ARC releasing 8/13. Two childhood best friends that lost touch find themselves getting broken up with in the same week, with their breakups going viral. This was not it for me. Not only were the characters super unlikable and one dimensional, but it felt like the author was trying too hard to stay modern and relevant with the ‘going viral’ thing.

This is an adorable break up/love story.

It includes some interested character dynamics (dead sister, gay brother, ex childhood crush) but not much more than a mention and brief conversation about these interesting tidbits.

Definitely would recommend, and even read again, but it didn’t blow me away.

Cute rom com! I love a friends-to-lovers trope, and this satisfied that in a fun, light way. I can see my high school patrons eating this up, as contemporary rom coms (closed door, of course) are the most requested. My favorite aspect of the book is the building tension (good writing!). Also, this captures grief in a beautiful way.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book.

The premise is cute, however the depth was sincerely lacking. The friends to lovers trope felt really under developed. No real attachment to the characters and took a while to complete the story wanting to skip over bits at the end. The conflict wasn’t heavy enough to be believable and just wanted to get to the happy ending.

Thank you the NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity the read and review this book. The first half was, for me, 5 star heaven. It brought all the things together that make a great rom-com. Things that made me laugh and tear up, side characters that enhanced the story in the best way(Dylan abd Mateo 4ever). Then at about 60%, something happened. Levi and June needed to grow up. And it did happen, sort of. They agree that they are a mess but they will be a mess together. I don’t know, it lost my 5 star love. I am happy I read it, I just wish for better development. 3 1/2 stars.

I have seen a lot of reading goals for the new year to only read things you enjoy. This was not it but I stuck it out anyway. I am not sure why. I should maybe follow everyone else's goals. This was my first Emma Lord read. I know her young adult reads have rave reviews. This will not be a rave review.

Once upon a time, I was good friends with a boy. We flirted the line of dating over the course of several years but never really found the right time for us....mostly him probably want to play the field a bit to be honest. So when he is ready to settle down...there I was to be right? Wrong. The day said boy expresses his love for me I said "no you don't. You drug me along and now you are ready? No. Not interested in being a convenient choice." You know where we are today: happily married to OTHER people. Point being, just because you are good friends with someone does not mean you are destined to be together.

It's hard to get invested in a book when both the FMC and MMC are both duds. I never once felt a passionate history from them. In fact, I feel like the MMC might be more into the FMC deceased sister. Her name was in all the stories that I begin to wonder if she was the FMC. These two characters should not be together. I said it. They both seem toxic and the history of them seems pretty one sided. I am not buying into or supporting this love story. They are not good together. Lots of unhealthiness relationship patterns here.

I have other beefs with this book:
1. Why is FMC and MMC planning her brother's wedding? He can plan his own damn wedding. I don't want other people deciding my cake flavors and DJ for my wedding.

2. Where are these people's families at? Hometown friends? I think I was hoping for more small town dynamics and characters. This didn't have any of that Hallmark feeling good stuff.

3. Don't even get me started on her immaturity by accepting to go on the ex bf's show. Woofta. Neon signs and buzzers going off saying this is a bad idea but FMC thinks opposite.

4. Did FMC even want this business? I never connected the dots if she actually wanted to be running the tea store scone shop or if she was just doing it because her sister started it and couldn't say goodbye to it. 300 pages later and I still don't know who this girl is.

5. Nothing happened. Lots of back history that bored me.

In the end, I had to force myself to finish this. I did not enjoy my time with it. Rolled my eyes plenty at choices being made. The blurb sounded like this had so much potential to a fun, cute read. Unfortunately, this read fell short and was just not for me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC! All opinions are my own.

Best friends to enemies to fake dating to lovers? Sign me up. The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord follows June and Levi, two childhood best friends who have recently gone through very public breakups. For June to save her scone shop and Levi to save grace with his ex, they begin to fake date to catch the media's attention.

One of my favorite scenes of the book was very spicy which is especially impressive as this is Emma Lord's first adult romance. Watching June and Levi's relationship shift and change held my attention for most of the story.

The romantic tension builds really slowly in this book, which makes the read both enjoyable and extremely frustrating. While this book was fun and flirty, I didn't necessarily care for any of the characters, especially June's sister Annie who had passed away. Many of the characters seem to be just thrown in there and don't experience much development. I also didn't understand some of the reasoning behind character decisions, which sometimes made the book difficult to read.

Overall, I thought this was a good book, but nothing really stood out to me as being especially unique.

3.5 ⭐️

This book was a fun read while also being stimulating, in the sense that the writing/character’s views have you reframing some of your perspectives at certain points throughout the story.

Emma was able to portray those slightly abstract feelings in a messy way that mirrors the reality of it running through you, while also articulating those inner thoughts/turmoils clearly, so that the mess of it only makes more sense.

I loved the friends to lovers arc between June and Levi. As characters, they were flawed, but in a way that didn’t cause that frustration on the reader’s end that so often happens. Some things felt a bit repetitive, but overall, I really enjoyed the structure of the plot. It didn’t feel like the predictable ups and downs of most romance novels.

I have enjoyed Lord’s YA novels and enjoyed this one as well. What’s not to love about unrequited childhood best friend love, baked goods, books and a smidge of celebrity/hollywood?! Loved Levi and June’s sweet connection. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced digital copy!

The Break-Up Pact has the same very feelings-heavy writing that shines in Emma Lord's YA books. I loved the setting of this story and June, but didn't feel quite as connected to the story as I have with Emma's YA work despite being older than June. Something with the romance didn't click the way in the way I'm used to Emma absolutely nailing. Still, I really enjoyed reading The Break-Up Pact and hope Emma continues to write both YA and adult romance.

This book was delightful, charming, emotional, and I couldn't put it down. June is a delightful tea shop owner who is just trying to make ends meet to keep the dream of her and her sister alive. Levi is living in NYC doing the big hedge fund shenanigan's while dreaming of being a writer. They were best friends as kids, until they weren't, and they haven't spoke in 10 years. Insert my favorite plot, they are both broken up with, and those break ups go viral, the two pair up and fake date. I love fake dating so damn much.

Anyway, I as I said, this book was so good. I loved the nicknames and the sweet moments, the romance and best friends. Thank you for letting me read this early. This is my second Emma Lord book and I am, once again, not disappointed.