The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a cute and easy read about June and Levi, two high school friends currently dealing with two very public and messy break-ups. When a picture of the two goes viral, along with a rumor suggesting that they're a couple, they decide to go along with it and make a pact to date for the public eye. It's brought June a lot of positive business to her scone and tea shop and it's rekindled some old feelings that she had for Levi in high school.

I do enjoy a good friends-to-lovers trope and that along with a beach theme, made it an automatic yes for me. But I was a little annoyed that there was so much miscommunication in this story. I absolutely despise the miscommunication trope in a romance. It just turns me off immediately. I also felt it hard to connect with June. I did LOVE Sana and kind of wish there was more of her in the story. :-)

That being said, I think it was a good read if you enjoy light-hearted romance with a summer theme in a beach town.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord.

This is the 1st book by this author that I’ve read and I quite enjoyed it. I’ll be looking for others to check out. In The Break-Up Pact, June and Levi are childhood friends who have drifted apart, though June who had developed a crush, never seemed to fully get over. They end up both back in their hometown going through similar experience…insert the break-up pact. This was a very light, fun read. Definitely one that would have made a fun beach read. Though, having read it as summer is coming to end and right after having my own beach trip end abruptly due to hurricane, it was fun to live life in a beach town through this book.

The “fake dating” troupe isn’t my favorite but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I thought the story line was unique for the troupe and also had a second chance kind of feel since the June & Levi were rekindling in a way. There was good character development with them both, especially about how they were in the past. It wasn’t too slow paced which is good but it had a good portion that slowed down until the closer to the end. Not to the point where you couldn’t get through, just a difference from the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

There were so many things going right for this book. Victims of viral breakups wanting to get together for revenge. "Revenge Exes". Fake Dating. Secret feelings for each other from high school. Second Chance Romance. I really thought this could blow me out of the water with the way the story was sold. Unfortunately it just fell flat. I was bored after getting halfway.

It was a fast read I will give it that. And I did enjoy the little fake dating dates and some of the banter at the beginning.

**Potential Spoilers Below **

It had the potential but where was the romance. I didn't see it. I felt like I was just told they had feelings. We got the whole story of their friendship not ending well for whatever reason in high school and then we find out the reason why being the worst kind of miscommunication. Then the spice begins. It felt like it was just put in to give it to us. I felt like the tension could have been built better. The plot could have been better. The characters and their chemistry could have been developed better.
And why was the girl made out to be the horniest girl alive? One look at his toes and she seemed to be having heat pull in her belly.

The story was here. The potential for a top selling romance here. The execution was just not it.

(NOTE: I used so much self restraint to not have this review have any beach and scone puns.)

Emma Lord’s writing style is great, but man, it was so hard to even find Levi bearable. When June eventually called him out on his wishy-washiness, it made me literally sigh in relief that I was not crazy for not thinking he was a good person. Even with a satisfying takedown, I don’t know how I can rate this highly when I disliked one part of the romantic pairing so much, so 3/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for this eARC.

Emma Lord never misses. I love how she writes about love and as always, loved the fun food inclusions. So many things I would love to bake from her books.

There’s a lot to like in this one — the cute beach setting, a sort of second chance romance, and a play on viral celebrity. I didn’t connect with it the way I wanted to, but it would still be a cute summer read!

This was not the fun summer romcom that I was expecting. While there was a romance plot it was lacking in romance and chemistry. June and Levi haven’t seen or talked to each other in 10 years, when they were friends in high school, and then they realize they each had feelings all along when they’re fake dating. But while they’re fake dating, I didn’t get any sparks or chemistry or anything to make it seem that they’re anything more than friends. I think this is because there’s so much they’re still hiding from each other about their pasts. They just needed to talk to each other about their feelings then maybe they could’ve been more believable. I also didn’t find it funny, it was more emotional with grief as June is still grieving the loss of her sister, the possible loss of her tea shop, and her most recent relationship. I did like this emotional aspect but it became very repetitive and took away from her relationship with Levi.

Overall, I wasn’t a fan of this book.

A cute book that was missing a spark between the main characters. I really wanted to love this book but it was fast paced and the romance felt forced. I enjoyed the setup and all the side character but wanted more from the relationship and the other storylines.

This was a good read, definitely a lot less Rom-Com and much more serious than i had thought i would be reading but overall it was an easy, fun, fast read.

I’ve had my eye on this book for a while, and once I finally decided to pick it up, I enjoyed it so much more than I was expecting! Estranged childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, a wonderful beachy setting, and just enough emotion to pull at the heartstrings, this is a perfect sumer romance that I HIGHLY reccomend!

I love Emma Lord but this book wasn't a hit for me. It fell a little flat and I just didn't connect with the characters.

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

The character arcs of June and Levi, though resolved, could have been more finely executed, as their growth seems hindered by the miscommunication trope that lingers from their high school days. The narrative unfolds with unnecessary length and occasional dragging moments, contributing to a feeling of immaturity in the characters. Despite the humorous elements and the beachy setting of Benson Beach, the book falls short of the expectations set by Lord's previous works in the YA genre.

I loved the beginning of this book. June and Levi are both great characters and I liked them together. Unfortunately, there was a lot of miscommunication and I felt like the story dragged out a little longer than it needed to while also feeling like it ended a bit abruptly. There are some wonderful parts of this book and I don't regret reading it but I don't think I'll reread it.

I loved this one — Emma Lord's adult debut! And it was better than I could ever imagine. It still had all the sweetness of her YA novels, but had a little *fire emoji* so well executed! Loved the characters and the fictional boardwalk — just such a fun read!

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a cute rom com. This is both a second chance romance and a fake romance turned real. The characters and their fame make the story more interesting. I think readers of rom coms will enjoy this book greatly. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This adorable and touching tale of estranged friends pretending to date is the perfect beach read. Even if it is the end of summer. June and Levi experience two very public (June’s was viral) break-ups. In an attempt to save her coffee shop, June tries to leverage the attention to bring in customers, but she ends up with far more than that. She learns to start living for herself, not the ghosts who haunt her.

CW: grief of loved one.

I received "The Break-Up Pact" through Netgalley and here is my honest review: Be still my beating heart, "The Break-Up Pact" is a great beach read to end my summer! Sweet, sensitive, and bashful Levi is such an endearing character and I was pleased by his character arc. Same goes for the tough, disheveled, and loyal character of June. I've read a couple books written by Emma Lord and this has been by far my favorite. I loved the beach town, the reliable and loving friends and family that June and Levi have, and the absolutely annoying and manipulative antagonists. The will-they, won't they, while usually isn't my favorite trope, was a lot more palatable in this book than what I've read in the past. There was far less miscommunicating which I think is part of why I was able to enjoy this sort of trope. So many of the wishy-washy romance books usually have miscommunication galore to amp up the "Ross and Rachel" style romance. Which makes me want to break out into hives for the ridiculousness of it all. June and Levi didn't do that to me. There was of course some assumptions made by both characters, but they actually adulted-up and talked about their feelings and why they were doing what they did instead of just, straight up letting it fester and make things worse. I was a little desperate to get a dual point of view, since I would have loved to know what was going on Levi's head during the scream poetry night, but alas it was only June's perceptive throughout. Overall, I was pleased with this book!

This is a perfect little romance novel that is like a warm hug and a cool breeze on a summers day.

June and Levi were best friend as teenagers until Levi left for a life of his own. The had a falling out before he Left. A slight misunderstanding.

June is struggling with her scone shop, after the death of her beloved sister. June is trying to keep her sisters dream alive. She doesn't want to let her down. Can she pull it off or will she be kicked out of her rented place? She also has suffered a bad break up seen in front of many people. She has been dubbed the crying girl. YIKES.

Levi and June have a rocky start over. But agree to a fake dating scheme to make their exes jealous. This is my favorite part! The fake dates that are steamy and the jealousy that Ramps up.

Is this a fake relationship? This story is absolutely heart warming and exactly what I needed. Emma lord has a another hit! I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and st martins press for giving me a copy of this arc!

Oh man. Sorry Emma but this was slow going for me. I didn’t end up loving the characters like I usually do with this author. I did like the setting and idea. I want to go to the little shop and eat a scone and drink some tea!