This story is a fake dating story with wrinkles. The main characters, June and Levi, each left their high school romance incomplete and without further contact. When they are both publicly dropped by their respective partners, they develop a dating pact in an attempt to help June’s failing business and win Levi’s partner back. I had difficulty relating to the characters, their obsession with June’s dead sister and their individual relationship with their previous partner. I have enjoyed other books by the author; this just wasn’t one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

The Break-Up Pact is a witty fake-dating trope story of two long lost best friends. Levi & June have both recently been unlucky in love - very publicly - and are on a mission to show their exes they've moved on. Along the way they find they still have a deep connection and some hard truths to work through from their past.

This is a very fun and easy read, fake-dating meets lost-and-then-found young love.

The Break-Up Pact is a lighthearted, enjoyable read. June and Levi are childhood best friends (looooove this trope) and reconnect after two dramatic break-ups. Both main characters are warm and likable, but neither is lovable or the type that you obsess over. The story lines were interesting in a fresh creative way, but, the drama/conflict of the second half was a bit underwhelming. All in all, it's a low-key, fun story, and I'm curious to read more by Emma Lord.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this e ARC to review from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Griffin Publishing (thank you so much!!!)

Tropes: fake dating, former friends to lovers

The story follows June and Levi after some very public and humiliating breakups that have spread far and wide across the internet. Levi comes back to town after years of being away and a rocky/nonexistent friendship with June. After a picture of the two of them together gets spread through the gossip mill, they decide to use it to their advantage and fake date to help each other get what they want (more customer’s for June’s struggling tea shop and a jealous ex back for Levi). Or at least that was the plan. But the more time they spend together, the more complicated that plan becomes.

I loved this sweet story for all the tender moments they shared, both happy and sad. They have a complicated history and both have been stuck in their current lives but they understand each other in such a beautiful way. Emma Lord did a fantastic job not only bringing these characters to life but getting me to feel along with them. The hurts they have held on to, the hope they want to have, the fear that comes with that hope, and just feeling stuck and not knowing how to move forward. This is my first book by this author and will be diving into her other books as well. I really enjoyed this read and appreciate the opportunity to read and review it.

Meh, this storyline was a little too contrived and drawn out for me. Two childhood BFFs who lost touch, unclear why, have reconnected after both being publicly dumped by their significant others. Why their dumping became viral is unclear. But the heroine decides that to save her business and to save face, she and the hero will fake date to get revenge on their ex's. What's in it for him? Make his ex jealous so she'll take him back. There are some secondary narratives to make the story more convoluted - both are grieving the too early death of the heroine's older sister and hero's good friend, the hero works for a hedge fund but really wants to be a novelist, the heroine is trying to make her sister's beachside tea shop profitable. Oh, and together they are trying to plan the heroine's brother's wedding. It's a lot.

This was a cute fun easy read! The plot was cute and easy to follow, the setting was adorable and there was interesting character development. The banter between the characters had me giggling throughout this book. Slow burn, miscommunication, social media influences, friends to lovers, and fake dating can all be found throughout June and Levi’s journey.

I think this is a great book to add to your beach bag or to read by the pool all summer.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book as an ARC.

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

I loved this book, it was one of those situations where I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it, Emma Lord has done it again.

June and Levi both have humiliating breakups that both happen to be very public. June's happens on a reality TV show where she is shown ugly crying so bad it makes Dawson's ugly cry meme cute. Levi has his fiancee leave him for a famous actor and is all over the tabloids. How do they connect? June and Levi were once best friends but haven't spoken since an incident in high school and now they both are trying to hide out in their hometown. However, one run-in between these two and the press deems them "the revenge exes". June needs to get sales up in her tea shop and Levi needs to make his ex jealous. They both decide to agree to a fake dating situation to get what they want or what they think they want/need. The attraction between these two was palpable throughout the book even from the beginning. Both characters have their baggage but you can't help but love the two of them together.

So good I read it twice, definitely pick this one up if you love a good rom-com adventure.

This was a cute read and pretty quick and easy to get through. I'm not sure if I missed this in the description but it had a bit of a YA feel so I found it a little young and simple for my taste.

This book was super cute. I enjoyed and liked the dynamic between the characters. I read this in one sitting!!
Thanks netgalley and the publisher

Great book full of all types of love and passion while also emphasizing the need for growth in both self and relationships. Starts out a tad slow but quickly picks up and becomes a book you can’t put down. I liked how the author chose to go on a slightly retro path and only did one pov rather than the current trend of dual povs. It added more to the tension and drama that doesn’t seem to happen in the books nowadays. Overall good book and great characters who have to navigate through grief and love in a beautiful story.

This book follows June who owns a beachside tea shop and is struggling to keep up with her rent, and then is suddenly broken up with on her boyfriends tv show. Levi is a struggling novelist in new york city, and is cheated on by his girlfriend very publicly. The two were friends in high school and hadn’t spoken in almost 10 years, and then happen to run into each other again in their hometown. A photo of them together happens to convince the internet that they are a couple and they are named “The Revenge Exes.” The book follows them fake dating their way through this so Levi can get back with his girlfriend and June can drive business to her tea shop!
This book has me hooked right from the start and i had so much fun reading it! I really enjoyed the whole plot line and loved all of the characters (especially Sana she’s my favorite!) This story was everything and more i would expect from Emma Lord and i cannot wait for it to come out so everyone can read it!

This was a cute story and concept, but it just wasn't my cup of tea (pun intended). The premise was unique- two childhood friends both find themselves going through public breakups and decide to fake-date to get back at their exes and turn the publicity around to help the main character's failing business. First, I really loved the writing style- there was lots of great banter between the characters and several laugh out loud moments. There definitely was chemistry between the two leads and I liked them both as characters. There were also lots of great secondary characters- I loved June's friendship with Sana and the fact that she and her brother/his fiancé were so close. The setting was super fun and I loved that it focused a lot on her business "Tea Tide"- a tea/scone shop on the boardwalk. I think my biggest issue with the book is I just didn't buy into the whole "revenge exes" thing. I am just not sure this would really get publicity/go viral in the way the story insinuated it did, and so it all just felt a bit silly. I also found the constant mentions of her deceased sister to be a bit of a downer in what is otherwise a pretty fun/light book- it just felt a bit out of place, and I don't think it really added anything to the story.

I could definitely see this being an enjoyable story for lots of readers- particularly if you are a fan of YA and the fake dating trope. This was my first Emma Lord book, and while I didn't love the story, I DID love her writing and I look forward to reading more from her!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy for review!

I really enjoyed this one! It was a quick read and kept me entertained. The cover is super cute also - bookshelf material!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for feedback. I really like fun beachy literature. I feel like I haven't been reading enough fun books lately. It was my first time reading from the author Emma Lord. I didn't really know what her writing style was like.

The book was pretty easy to read. Fairy short chapters. It goes back in time to earlier days sometimes. A fairly easy book to follow. The characters are easy to remember and follow.

The book was a little too predictable for me. There were no shockers. Not enough character development or character growth. The story was sweet. The characters were likeable.

If you are looking for a light enjoyable book this is it. If you want a book to change you or make you think a little differently this isn't it. It is a sweet fun book.

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read this book. I would be interested in what her other novels are like.

Ahh, the fake dating trope. Classic.

June and Levi are childhood friends who come to each other's aid when both of their very public breakups become meme-worthy. June wants the attention that consistent buzz will bring to her struggling business, and Levi wants his ex to realize the error of her ways. Old crushes never ruin good plans like this, right?

While this is definitely a romance (and a very cute one at that), one of the big underlying themes of this book is dealing with grief. We see both of our main characters who have lost a mutual close friend/sibling struggling with guilt and grief throughout the story. You can sense the pain that they feel when they talk about the time lost, how they still are trying to make them proud even when they're gone, and the guilt they feel when they have a flicker of desire to think of themselves and move on. This was a very beautifully written story. Bravo, Emma Lord!

P.S. I will never be able to go to a museum again without playing what is by far the best game ever created.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

June and Levi are two extremely charming characters, and you can’t imagine why they didn’t get together years ago. That is quickly explained, and then we’re off! With a fully realized, can’t look away plot, and a truly likeable cast of supporting characters, this novel was a perfect summer read for me, even as I was deep in the throes of a midwestern winter.

What I thought was going to be a very typical theme ended up have some very deep moments that caused me to really think. I think we all knew how it would end but it’s the middle that really provides the depth to the story. I loved the growth that each of the characters experienced throughout the book (well all but Grifiin lol). Quick, easy read that was enjoyed.

"The Break Up Pact" by Emma Lord is a fun, quick read about June and Levi, who break up with their exes in very public realms and decide to make them jealous by fake dating each other. It's a friends-to-lovers story that's full of humor and romance. The book moves fast, and Emma Lord's writing keeps you hooked. By the end, you'll be craving scones .

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emma Lord for the opportunity to read this rom com!

I've been a longtime fan of Emma Lord's YA books (I've read *all* of them and passed them to my teen daughters immediately) so I was absolutely delighted when I heard she was writing an adult romcom, I might have done a happy dance. I stalked it on NetGalley and and read it as soon as I was approved. Y'all. I was not disappointed! This second chance romance (LOVE) between friends who crushed on each other while they ran cross country together was funny, sappy, sad, and heartwarming with the best banter. As with her other books, Lord weaves more difficult subjects into her books that seem lighthearted on the surface. In The Break-up Pact, she weaves in themes of grief, dealing with problems in a healthy and unhealthy way, and what internet fame (or infamy) does to a person. Highly recommend. But a warning -- because it is a not YA, it is spicy.

I really liked this book! the ending felt predictable, but I hate a rom com that doesn’t have a happy ending!! That said, the way the story got there was so unique. I loved the conflict and it felt so real. I also really enjoyed the writing style - it felt so descriptive and like I was truly in their world.