All of Emma lords books are cozy and cute with a very soft hearted love interest and this one is no different. However this one might be my least favorite of her books just because I'm not a huge fan of friends to lovers especially when we never really got to see their friendship form. A beachy rom com perfect for people who read her other books and books similar like emily henry and Samantha markum.

I love a fake dating story and this one did not disappoint! Emma Lord's books are always lighthearted and fun and this book was the perfect end of summer read.

When June's boyfriend publicly dumps her and she's caught crying in public, she doesn't think life could get worse. Then her old friend/frenemy Levi shows up and he's going through something similar. Could they team up and drum up better publicity for the both of them? What happens when the line is blurred and old feelings resurface?

Cute romance with some spice! Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press!

The Break-Up Pact was a great end of summer read and had a great atmosphere of a quaint little beach town. This was my first introduction to Emma Lord and I would definitely be interested in checking out some of her backlist and future books she releases. The book contained two of my favorite romance novel tropes which are fake dating and friends to lovers, I did feel that at times it felt a little instalove and unrealistic that the characters had spent the last 10 years pining after each other despite little to no contact over that timeframe. Overall this was a very enjoyable, quick and cute read.

As someone who has loved a few of Emma Lords previous books, this one didn’t capture me like I was hoping. I DNF at 48% unfortunately.

I have read nearly every single one of Emma Lord’s books and I can say with confidence, she NEVER MISSES.

Of course, this was her adult romance debut, so I’ve been used to reading her YA work. But , she completely knocked it out of the park once again!

With loveable, realistically flawed characters, Emma crafts us a story about grief, loss, and learning that sometimes, you are the one holding yourself back. Both Levi and June needed to realize what they really wanted in life, and BOY WAS IT FRUSTRATING!! The amount of “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER” I was screaming in my head was off the charts. Miscommunication trope through the ROOF here. One thing I also did like is that there really wasn’t that last minute conflict that threw the relationship for a loop at the end. Sure it was rocky for our characters but they…genuinely got through it time and time again.

The Break-Up Pact hooked me right from page one. I laughed and cried my way through (as I pretty much always do with this authors books), and enjoyed every minute of spending my time in Benson Beach with June & Levi.

This was an easy, typical read. It was kind of hard to get into and I didn't feel any type of connection with either of the main characters. I kept thinking that the likelihood of two childhood friends becoming so famous separately as grown ups was hardly believable. Predictable.

I loved the fun and colorful cover. It instantly drew me in. Unfortunately, this storyline felt like it was missing something. This book just wasn't for me.

The Break Up Pact by Emma Lord is a contemporary. June and Levi were best friends as teenangers. They had a falling out before Levi left for college. They both end up having really public breakups and move back to their hometown. Social media plays a large role in this. They are assumed to be a couple and roll with it. Pretending to date will help June get her bakery back on it’s feet. Levi is hoping that it will help his ex realize that she made a mistake. During their time fake dating they have a spark. However they have a terrible time with communication.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a fun romantic comedy. June and Levi were best friends in high school. They have not talked in years. June is running her sister’s tea shop and Levi is living in New York in Finance. They both experience a humiliating viral break-up. They take on a fake relationship with each and become known as the revenge exes. So, do they become more than friends?

This story was all things glittery and fun. I loved the banter, chemistry and deep friendship of June and Levi. The story magically takes us through their past and present of their relationship. The themes of walking through grief, being true to yourself, and not letting the past define you resonated with me. There were several laugh out loud moments and I enjoyed the photo ops to make their relationship real!

This friends to more story was a great read. I enjoyed the characters, fake dating, beach town and great themes. I recommend The Break-up Pact by Emma Lord!

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

I found the The Break-Up Pact to be quite mediocre. The plot felt cliche and predictable, and the characters were not very well-developed. The humor also fell a bit flat for me, and I didn't find myself laughing as much as I had hoped. Overall, I would say it was an okay read, but nothing to write home about.

So I'm all for the tropes of fake dating and childhood friends to lovers, but not when the pair just seems unable to communicate basic thoughts. June, one half of our couple, drove me a bit insane. She's grieving the loss of her sister, of course, who passed away two years ago and feels like she must operate Annie's Tea Tide shop just as her sister did. But, at the same time, June is an incredibly frustrating and stubborn individual who shuts down instead of talking to people, makes problems simply by being unable to deal with things, drags stuff out for no reason, and seems to have stayed with a guy for ten years just because she didn't want to cause trouble.

This guy, Griffin, breaks up with June on reality TV, around the time that her childhood friend, Levi, sees his fiancee publicly leave him for a famous actor. When Levi and June are photographed together, the "Revenge Exes" are born, and the two agree to fake date. It will help June save Tea Tide and it will help Levi get back his fiancee.

The beachy setting is fun here, as are the scones baked for Tea Time (do not read this book hungry). June comes up with a ton of flavors, all of which are wild and crazy, but sound delicious. June and Levi have crazy chemistry and when they are actually together, they work well. Their fake dating convinces them that they have a spark. It's when they are apart that they have issues--talking, expressing their desires, etc. When we learn about why they have spent the last 10 years apart, it's so lame and frustrating!

This book deals with grief, social media, and family relationships well. June's brother and his soon-to-be husband are adorable. I just wish June and Levi's relationship had a more realistic communication style, or a better reason for their 10 years apart.

Oh man this book could have been so much more…😢 I love a great fake dating story, but this one just lacked chemistry. One huge plus was that this read was FAST, so that made all the tropes that Emma Lord tried to cram in this book tolerable…I guess?! I do hope that Sana gets a novel of her own- cause she was the best character in the book!

I'm a big fan of Emma Lord's books, and was excited to read her latest release, The Break-Up Pact. It definitely didn't disappoint! I loved the evolving friendship between June and Levi, and loved how they dealt with their very messy (and viral) break ups.
This was such a fun read, and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
A huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for gifting this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great second chance romance/ friends to lovers/fake relationship read. Cute seaside love story about two people who grew up together and then had grown apart. After both experience public humiliating break ups they find themselves together again and forming a dating pact. I mean what could go wrong?

Definitely adult! A fun romance read, a HEA, quick and light.

*4.5

I was very intrigued to see Emma Lord's first adult book and I loved it. I like that they were able to build off of what they had when they were younger. They both had a lot of stuff to figure out and I liked watching them grow.

The book had great pacing. As the story went along all of the history between Levi and June was explained so you could understand how they got to where they were in present day. There is some romance but I feel like is a more relationship heavy versus romance heavy story.

This was an easy read with a fun coastal setting. The writing was good, and I like the way Emma wrote about the topic of grief in the novel.
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This is a second chance and friends-to-lovers romance, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to the main characters and the story moved too slowly for me. It didn’t work for me, but I hope it will for you!

Emma Lord's entry into contemporary romance is fun and full of her unique brand of story magic.

THE BREAK-UP PACT introduces us to former best friends June and Levi, who have each recently suffered devastating (and viral) break-ups. After not having spoken for a decade, Levi returns to Benson Beach, and soon he and June are convinced into a fake dating relationship to enact revenge on their exes.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years. They're both also navigating the grief from the death of June's sister, and Levi's best friend Annie.

When photos of Levi and June together has the internet convinced they're a couple, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s struggling tea shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time. But what happens when old feelings resurface and the fake becomes...not so fake?

Despite being contemporary (and including spicy scenes), I'm not entirely convinced that this book *feels* anything other than YA. I just think Emma Lord does YAs so well that it seeped naturally into her attempt at adult. It's still warm and funny and charming, it's not quite adult-feeling. I think the more the author writes in this genre, the more it'll feel--for lack of a better term--grown up, but ultimately, I still think YA is her bag.

Also, I need way more backstory to invest in a friends-to-lovers/(sort of) second chance romance, and Levi's handling of his relationship with Annie soured me at times.

But still, always fun to read Emma Lord!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

This was ultimately a good read. I really like Emma Lord's YA reads, so I was excited for her adult debut. I had a hard time getting into and eventually switched to the audiobook which really helped. I think was me issue and not the book itself. Overall, I liked the second chance aspect of it and I think both characters really grew a lot throughout the story.

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord's launch into adult romance, and it didn't disappoint.
After their breakups go viral, June and Levi come together in this fake dating romantic novel.
I loved the chemistry between them. I really liked how June and Levi were childhood friends before coming back together. I liked the fake dating. It was a fast read, I read it in one day.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this e-Arc.