The Break-Up Pact is the fourth Emma Lord book I’ve read, and is my new favorite of hers! I love RomComs and this checked off so many things I love about a good RomCom read:
Fun to read✔️ Likable main characters✔️ Childhood friends to adult lovers✔️ Second chances✔️ Fake dating ✔️ Past misunderstandings ✔️Romantic tension with a little spiciness✔️ A plot with substance✔️ A HEA✔️
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me this enjoyable digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Zippy Summary: childhood besties both go thru very publicly humiliating breakups, fake date in revolt only to find a heartwarming merging of their past and present (and future).

Rating: a surprising ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice?: half a 🌶 (fairly modest)

I liked this book way more than I expected. There was definitely some laugh-out-loud funny writing here. Levi and June were great characters in that, despite some miscommunications, they did actually try to talk and be honest with each other. Fear held them back more than anything. They were very endearing characters. The book did a lovely job dealing with grief as well. The only thing that felt a little weird was the fame aspects of this, which are critical to the plot line but didn’t seem like it really mapped to Levi and June’s personalities.

Read if you liked Beach Read, Will They or Won’t They or The Charm Offensive.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by this author, and I am in love. She has the perfect amount of romance elements and villains that you loathe. The villains are Exes that do our main characters wrong by cheating.

The plot moves at an enjoyable pace and is bingeworthy. The main characters have such depth with back stories and healing that needs to happen independent of the romance plot. I really enjoy characters that are layered and developed. And this author nailed it.

This author has a degree in psychology, so she has a knack for writing toxic Exes, and overcoming traumas. Also she includes LGBTQ characters in a happy and successful relationship.

Very cute story between June and Levi. I loved the banter and their dynamic. However, This book was FULL of scone details no one wants or needs (you read that right…scones), pages and pages of obnoxious wedding prep for secondary characters, that again, nobody came for, and PAGES AND PAGES of the FMC and MMC getting walked all over on by their cheating exes. Again, at the core, a cute story, but it felt like the author was trying to hit some page number quota so the fluff was overpowering. The book could have been half as long.

Oh dear lord this one was cute. Like cute cute. Like sickeningly cute almost. And I loved it. Emma Lord has been doing the hits lately it seems and this one is no exception. Thanks for the arc

This was my first read by Emma Lord and let me tell you I will be scrambling to read everything she's written. This book is *perfect*. Five beautiful stars.
The Break-Up Pact is about two people who find themselves coming back to each other after missing out on their friendship for the last 10 years. June and Levi both went through public / embarrassing break ups and are determined to make this break up work in their favor by fake dating and drumming up some press. Along the way they find out that their break from each other was not what either wanted and discovered how much they enjoy being with each other as friends and possibly more.

I think the part I loved the most about this was the honesty the characters shared with themselves but also each other. They didn't hold back and have the dreaded miscommunication trope. They put it all out there (although this development did leave me in tears multiple times).

I laughed, I cried ( a lot but I'm a baby), but I also finished this book soooo happy for the main characters. I just..I just loved it so much. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. It was such a delightful read.

I very much enjoyed this book. When I read the description I thought I knew exactly what I would be reading. I've read plenty of books with the same idea and I've loved them all! The Break-Up Pact took me down a familiar path, but the story was so well done and I found myself pleasantly surprised a few times. I love the added level of depth to the story between June and Levi- not just in the present, but their past. Kudos to Emma Lord for allowing her characters to talk about their grief and to express all the emotions that come along with it. As I got closer to the end of the book, I thought I knew how it would end. I'm happy to report I was wrong. I appreciated the realistic characters and scenarios in this book. I've already searched for other titles by Emma Lord and have added them to my TBR list.

June Hart & Levi Shaw are both back in their beachy hometown fresh off of humiliating public breakups (#CryingGirl). When they decide to strike up a fake relationship to get back at their semi hi profile exes the #RevengeExes are born. A series of Instagram worthy dates, with June’s bestie documenting a la paparazzi style, turns them into a viral sensation. When the lines get muddled, as they usually do in a fake dating/friends to lovers trope, will June end up as broken-hearted as she was at 16?

This was my first (but not my last) by Emma Lord. While the story, as lots of romances, was predictable at times & the revelation of why these two had a falling out all those years ago fell a little flat for me I really loved the characters (although I wanted to shake Levi at times) & their small, seaside town. I do wish we were along for the wedding of June’s brother that the characters spent the entirety of the book planning. I mean, who doesn’t love a wedding?!

All in all this sweet romcom, with its anticipated release date of Aug. 13th, has the makings of a top beach read this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martins Press for this ARC & the opportunity to soak up a little summer sunshine during a snowy New England January!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy!

The Break-Up Pact had me hooked right from the start, following June’s journey of a messy and very public break-up after a 10-year relationship. She is also struggling with keeping a bakery afloat that she and her now deceased sister dreamed up.

Levi comes back to his hometown after also enduring a very public break-up and is determined to win his ex back. With the help of June’s friend, they hatch a plan to pretend date each other to gain publicity for the bakery and to catch the attention and win back Levi’s ex.

As one of my favorite friends turned lovers tropes goes, June and Levi soon develop, or rather, redevelop feelings for each other and deal with the ramifications of their pact.

4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this read! I thought it was light and funny, warm, nostalgic. All of the above.
Sana was probably the funniest best friend a girl could have. Levi and June’s relationship was pure and aside from one blip, so truthful. A past experience kept them at distance for far too long, and I found that so relatable.
I would 100% recommend this to anyone to read.

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this ARC!

This was my first Emma Lord book, and I had high hopes for it because I love second chance romance/friends to lovers. I’m struggling with how to rate and review this book more than any other I’ve reviewed. While it was well written, had lighthearted and funny parts, and had a good premise, there were quite a few things that made it difficult for me to enjoy.
The characters were not very likeable, especially Levi. I have a hard time with any book where one of the characters is in a relationship because it feels like too quick of a turnaround for them to enter a new relationship. This one was just off putting to me since he was pursuing his ex-fiancée for over half the book. Instead of the reader getting to see why Levi was such a catch, we were just told by the FMC over and over that he was a trustworthy and great guy, as he’s doing some not so great things right before our eyes. The “third act breakup” was too long and drawn out, and pretty anticlimactic. It felt like the characters were never really broken up but also not really together either for 40% of this book. It made it feel weird and made me not want to root for them, and by the end I was just ready to be done with their problems. I felt like the first half of this book flew by and was entertaining and sweet, and the second half was slow and a little convoluted. Too much was going on and yet almost nothing really happened. There was too much description of how the FMC was feeling and viewing the situation instead of just letting the situation play out. I needed less telling and more showing.

I don’t want to dump too hard on the book, because it had a lot of good aspects to it and it made me interested in reading more of Emma Lord’s books, however this one wasn’t my favorite.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me, but I think other readers may enjoy it. There did not seem to be very much character development and the pacing was slow. It did not keep my attention and I found myself picking up other books.

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

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review can also be found on Goodreads.

This is my first time reading Emma Lord, but it definitely won't be the last. The Break-Up Pact is a fun romance that has all the fun tropes you want in a beachy lovers story.

June Hart and Levi Shaw have many things in common. At this point in their adult life, they're both currently internet memes and viral sensations due to their very public breakups.

When Levi's fiancé is caught cheating on him with a huge Hollywood star, he retreats back to his hometown of Benson Beach to weather the storm. June, who is facing her own issues with her crying girl meme from being broken up with on television, is trying to take things day by day as she runs her late sister's tea shop, Tea Tide, on the Benson Beach boardwalk. When Levi suddenly shows up on Tea Tide's patio, June has a record scratch life pausing moment. Levi is back. Her Levi is back.

We soon realize June and Levi have a deep past. They grew up together as best friends, started falling in love with each other in high school, and then it was all over from a simple misunderstanding. Ten years go by before they finally see each other again. Now, as they both are the laughing stock of the internet, they're thrown into a complex fake dating plan in the hopes of getting their ex's back in their own way. But what happens when Levi and June are forced to face their truths?

This was a fun plot with forced proximity, fake dating, slow burn romance, and a sweet friends to lovers story. I really enjoyed June and Levi's backstory and character development. The side characters in this book are lovable as well. The beach town setting and tie in of Tea Tide provides the perfect summery vibe. I did dock one star because, once their fake dating plan was busted in the story, I felt the romance and direction of June and Levi were a little lacking. Other than that, I loved this read and it was the perfect summery pick me up.

This book was adorable.

I loved the childhood friends to fake dating to HEA. I’m a sucker for well-done, well-written girly romance novels and The Break-Up Pact checked all the boxes. I also appreciate that it felt very “now” with all of the trends and social media references but it didn’t feel silly or over done. Thank you for also incorporating some heavy topics with care and grace, I cried reading about Annie and their sister relationship, as I am a sister too. All in all, a solid 4 stars and cute read. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

Ahhh! I was so giggly reading this! I loved the YA books from Emma Lord and adding the lil bit of spice into the mix was a perfect combination. There was a bit of whiplash and not quite enough backstory at the beginning of show they "hated" each other and moved on so quickly. And I also am not the biggest fan of an insecure FMC. But June and Levi were so cute.

2.5 rounded down. After now reading two second chance books from Emma, I'm convinced that I don't enjoy the trope from her. 🤣 It's also my first adult title from her, which I'm glad I still liked! Overall, I enjoyed this better than her other title releasing this year The Getaway List since it felt a bit more focused while still leaving room for other characters to have their developments too.

While there were a number of things I liked about it, honestly the romance was a tad bit frustrating because I feel like they would have important conversations without touching the root of the problem or would brush things over to "not cause problems" so the misunderstandings got a bit frustrating at times. But I did like June's character arc overall, and how Emma touched upon grief and moving on in life and finding one's way again, as both Levi and June were both at a crossroads in their lives. The small beachtown vibes was here, but I think we could've spent a little less time on the viral aspects to add more of the regulars in town and building that up or getting some more history too. I did really enjoy what we do get with the side characters though! This book also really would've benefited from having Levi's POV even though I get the focus is more on June's journey. It would've helped since I had trouble connecting with certain aspects from him and some of the logic.

Overall, I feel like the pacing was a little off, particularly with the romance, and also with some of the plot since the switch from fake to real felt a little abrupt, and also there were was one event that was building up the whole time and there's no payoff with it. I had a few question marks, but that's kind of reminiscient of June and Levi's journey in a way too, and fits with the theme of "not an ending, but a new beginning," so I can respect that.

An absolute delight and everything I ever dreamed of for Emma Lord's adult debut. With the same punchy, voice-driven magic found in her YAs, The Break-Up Pact will be a fast fave for adult readers, no doubt about it. This book has quickly become one of my all-time favorites.

I have very mixed feelings about this read. Emma Lord does a good job creating generally likeable characters and a story that works, despite how far fetched it may seem. But it really did kill me that June was so self destructive as a character for most of the book. Yes, I get growing up and growing into yourself through adversity, but there was a point at which I had to just step back and focus on Levi because she irked me with how she was basically so caught up in her own drama and downward spiral that she couldn't even see that her brother was missing her and that Levi cared about her. Gah!

I get wanting to honour her sister's memory with the tea shop, but obviously she was also stuck in a cycle of letting other people call the shots that she couldn't move the business into solvency because she couldn't see past the instructions her dead sister left her.

I did, however, like that Levi and June had a history, that they came together as a couple as friends (or former friends finding their way back to friendship) first, and that the orchestrated fake relationship was founded on something that existed before. And by the time things started to really go south for June, I was definitely invested in her as a character, flaws and all, enough to want to kick people on her behalf.

Sana was by far the most entertaining character in the book, and I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed by what she ended up doing to break into her dream job. But I loved her vibe. And Nancy was such a nice person that I couldn't be mad when she threatened June with eviction.

All in all, not my favourite Lord book. And definitely still a fun beach read.

4.25★

The Break-Up Pact is such a fun and sizzling take on the fake dating trope. These characters and their emotions felt so real, I was beyond blown away by Emma Lord’s writing! This is my first read by her and it definitely will not be my last. The issues that the characters go through really resonated with me and I felt a strong connection to June.

Tropes: fake dating, childhood friends to lovers, small beach town, second chance romance

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was in such a bad reading slump, reading the first page of several promising books but none of them kept my attention. I picked this one up, and before I knew it I was in chapter 2. I loved it sooo much! That first page hooked me, and I just kept going, finishing it in one day.
So good!

Read if you like….
-unrequited
-second chances
-great friend group
-small town

Closed door mod: skip ch 15