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.

This started out so good and there was so much potential here, but poorly executed. Levi’s attachment and understanding for his ex that CHEATED on him?! Yeah, no. It totally cheapened his “feelings” for June. Don’t get me started on June and Griffin. Like can I get some satisfying revenge for at least one of these cheating exes?! Apparently not. The rest felt so cliche and without the unnecessary open door scene, this read more like a YA.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for gifted copies. My thoughts are my own.

I liked this book for the most part. Likeable characters, cute banter but this just dragged on in the last quarter. There is no way this book needed to be as long as it was. Really made me lose interest.

YEEHAWWWW This book was the full meal deal!

When two friends, who haven't seen each other in 10 years, both get dumped very publicly, they use each other to fake date to claw back some of their integrity and hopefully their exes too.

I loved loved loved this book! The characters were CHEFS KISS!!! The story was so good!! I loved the ride.

The only thing I felt needed some adjustment was maybe the last 30% could have wrapped up quicker and would have knocked it out of the park!!

I love the fake dating trope, it never fails to entertain!!

4.5 stars!!!!

Pretending to date will help June save her sister’s shop and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. June and Levi can pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?

Did this start funny and a little cute? Yes.
Did it make me laugh? Yes.
Did I pace my kitchen while crying? Also yes.
Did it ultimately end beautifully? YES!

Pros:
- Character development was incredible.
- Backstory reveal was believable and heart wrenching
- Love story was beautiful and made my heart ache (in a good way)
- Chemistry was so thick you could feel it
- The friendship as the basis of their love was so beautiful I cried A LOT
- The raw pain was so real it was almost physical
- The writing was so fluid and deep that it felt almost poetic at times

Cons:
- A bit of miscommunication microtrope which is my absolute least favorite.

Overall - Do yourself a favor - read this sweet, heart wrenching, soul punch of a modern epic love story.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is a perfect read for fans of fake dating and friends to lovers. I absolutely loved this book. It follows Levi and June whose breakup go viral. They decide to fake date to save June's shop and make Levi's ex girlfriend realise the mistake she made . Witty ,fast-paced and a page turner

I love the prospect of high school crushes coming back for potential love as an adult. This was dripping with that which would easily make it a book that I would fall for, but there was a lot more in <i>The Break-Up Pact</i> that kept me from giving it a higher number of stars.
The book is largely centered around fake viral fame. Essentially stories are made up that go viral and increases business for June's scone shop and pumps up the jealousy for Levi's ex-finance. While there was clearly a lot of love, respect and admiration for June and Levi since high school, there was also soooo much avoidance to the truth. I may have gotten a little frustrated with their interactions a couple of times.
But this was a fun story and I am really craving a scone with odd flavors right now.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

While I'm typically a fan of Emma Lord books this one fell a little short for me. Don't get me wrong - it was a cute read and everything but i struggled getting into it and connecting with the characters.

I really enjoyed this book so much that I’m getting it in a special edition box. If you like fake dating books then this one is for you.

3.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This review contains spoilers.

While I thought the story had a bit of a slow start, it was sweet and romantic with likable characters. I liked the whole idea of people going viral on Tik Tok and then using the platform to their advantage for revenge. There was plenty of romance and spice (Lord could give Emily Henry a run for her money when it comes to writing intimate scenes) and the ending was satisfying. I was a bit worried in the middle (when the couple finally admits their feelings for one another) that there would be stupid misunderstandings and more obstacles but that really wasn't the case.
I did feel like a lot of the secondary characters were not fleshed out enough. There weren't any that I was interested in.

An easy one to pass along to those looking for contemporary fiction. This will be a purchase for my public library.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it through this book. I DNFed (did not finish) it at 12%. I really liked the start of this book but couldn't continue reading it.
Thank you Net Galley and St. Martins press for the opportunity to read this book.

The Break Up Pact by Emma Lord was an okay read but I didn't end up loving it as much as her other YA books! I was quite excited about this adult romcom of hers and while it did have the usual humor, likable characters and an interesting plot, I was a bit disappointed by the romance - especially the ex drama. I love a good friends to lovers romance but I don't want one of the MCs to be actively considering getting back together with their ex for like 50% of the story 🙂‍↔️🙄

So, in this one, we have June and Levi who were childhood best friends but grew distant after high school and both of them are now internet famous for going through humiliating breakups in the public eye. June was dumped by her cheating ex after he took part in a reality show - and this was filmed and aired. Levi's fiancee was caught kissing a famous actor and he was being hounded by the paparazzi too. When Levi returns to Benson Beach to get a break from everything, he runs into June who's been running her tea shop there. And an accidental pic has them deciding to fake date each other for mutually beneficial reasons but there's no way they'd end up falling for each other right?

I really did enjoy the writing in this one because it was effortlessly funny and witty at the same time just like her YA books. The characters were pretty interesting on an individual level and they had their own things to deal with along with some shared grief. I think I felt more sorry for June since the book was from her pov - she had a lot on her plate but she was also a bit too forgiving at times. I think Levi was supposed to be a cinnamon roll at first glance but his indecisiveness and avoidant tendencies pissed me off. After so many pages of fake dating I was expecting a solid relationship but what we got was more ex drama or angst at weird points. I think their reactions to certain situations were authentic but it also ruined the romance for me.
In the end, it was an okay read for me and others might enjoy it more? But I'm gonna stick to her YA books after this.

This one also wasn't for me. I picked up you have a match years ago and have yet to find another Emma Lord book I like as much, maybe that one just hit me at the right time.

I Rachael Shaffer:
I love Emma Lord books. I really do. And I always say that I wish I could’ve read them as a teenager, because I would’ve been even more obsessed with them. So when I saw she was writing an adult book with characters closer to my age, I was so excited!

All that to say, it went into it with the right attitude, I promise.

I don’t know, I just don’t think this book was for me. It was too angsty without nearly enough resolution to make up for it. I think I was at about 80% when I started to question if we’d even get a happy ending…a satisfactory happy ending, that is. And we did, mostly. But holy cow, you’d think the books about teenagers would be the angsty ones! I also felt like the MC didn’t really make a ton of progress in overcoming the things that were holding her back, which was surprising again since Emma’s books are usually so great at that.

Things I liked about the book: her brother, the setting, parts of the romance.

I think you should still read it and decide what you think for yourself—it’s an Emma Lord book, after all—but this book was fairly average for me.

i liked! it was a fun rom com with a satisfying ending. i would recommend this to other readers looking for a light quick read.

I have read almost all of Emma Lord's previous books so I was very excited to receive an advanced copy of her first adult novel. I really enjoyed it, I love her writing and characters.

June and Levi have both had public and somewhat disastrous break-ups, when they decide to fake-date. They were good friends in high school but the tragic death of June's sister, also very close to Levi, has driven them apart in recent years.

I loved both June and Levi, as well as the supporting characters -- especially June's brother and his fiancé. I loved all the parts with the wedding planning -- they were fun and sweet.

I also love her setting descriptions -- I could picture them running and picture the shop so well.

As with Emma Lord's other books, the food descriptions in this one are great and I very much want to try some of the scones!

I will continue to be an enthusiastic Emma Lord fan and will read whatever she writes next. It was nice to read characters that were older and had more life experience -- I appreciated that in contrast to her previous books (which I also love!).

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Love this debut in the adult romance genre! This
Book was such a fun summer read. I loved the characters of June and Levi. This story had fantastic banter and I just loved the fake dating aspect of the story. Also some of my favorite tropes childhood best friends to lovers, second chance romance made this such a likeable easy to read story. It was a great escape and perfect summer read.

This was a fun little summer romance. If you’re a fan of friends to lovers and fake dating tropes - definitely pick this one up! While it’s a little bit of a slow burn, the characters are endearing, there’s lots of funny moments sprinkled in with the sweet and ultimately it’s a feel good way to end the summer!

If you like the fake dating trope this book for you! It’s a cute romance about June and Levi, who were best friends in HS but never see each other anymore. June owns a scone bakery that her deceased sister started, and Levi is a finance guy who’s always wanted to be a writer.

They both went viral for their recent breakups, June’s ex is a on a reality show and Levi’s ex is a real estate agent who ran off with a movie star.
They decide to publicly fake date, “the scorned exes find romance.”
Levi wants to get back together with his ex, and June is hoping for publicity to help her business; her lease on the store is in jeopardy

Their relationship takes off as they spend time together, after a while maybe it’s not so fake anymore.
The book is well written and engaging, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I’m a big fan of fake dating and friends to lovers in romance novels, and was so happy to find them both in 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤-𝐔𝐩 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐭! At times, I felt that the novel was moving a bit too slowly, which ultimately left me slightly disengaged. Still happy I had the opportunity to read this one with its charming beachy waterside tea shop!

✵𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖲𝗍. 𝖬𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇'𝗌 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌＆ 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝖦𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝖽𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋’𝗌 𝖢𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.✵