argghh, where do i start. well, first of all, i did not finish this one. believe me, i don’t usually leave books unfinished. in fact, there are only 2 or 3 books on my dnf shelf. but it was just too horrible of an idea to pass up on the wonderful opportunity of acting like i’m a picky reviewer!

Emma Lord’s debut adult romance novel was a great summer read. It had all of the ingredients of what makes a winning romance for me - likable characters, cute coastal town setting, good pacing, deeper problems, and a slow burn.

I enjoyed how it wasn’t just immediately easy for the characters to get together. Them overcoming their own problems and developing individually differentiated this romance from others. They had to grow, and recognized this instead of the insta-love without forward thinking that we so often see. Levi not immediately dumping Kelly for example, was a nice realistic touch. That is something a man unsure may do.

The scone flavors were certainly an interesting ongoing plot point, I would be interested to try the one with sriracha though??? Definitely added a dash of uniqueness. Get it?? Recipe joke!

I did find it was a little heavy on the introspection and arguing at times. At certain points, I just felt that we could get on with it instead of listening to the internal back and forth. Granted that is an important part of a slow burn, building the tension, but something about it just didn’t always sit right with me. I wanted things to be happening instead of ready SO much about feelings and insecurities.

I received this book as an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you Emma Lord and St. Martin’s Press!

Cutesy story of love and friendship with plenty of depth. June and Levi were well rounded and impossible not to root for. The story is sweet and redemptive. I have loved all of Emma Lord's novels and this one was no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found June to be very immature and immediately (and unnecessarily) horny for the romantic interest. She is also very untrusting, seems to thrive on miscommunication, and has the deepest, most flowery thoughts ever in the midst of totally normal moments. They go on for a while.

I don't know. I hated June. She makes the worst decisions with so much conviction. Makes herself the center of the world. And then suddenly has the most eye-opening revelations and everything is better until it isn't again. Levi was meh. He sounds cute but flaky.

Love Emma and her fun witty stories with heart. This was no exceptions. I’ve loved her YA and getting to read an adult from her has been a right treat, can’t wait for the next one!

The Break-Up Pact isn't your normal cookie cutter romance novel. This book is about June and Levi, former friends that have lost touch (on purpose) over the years. Both go viral as their long term relationships crash and burn. Levi moves back to their home town to get away from it all and June moved back two years previously after the death of her beloved sister, Annie. This book will give you all the feels as June and Levi navigate their hurt over the loss of Annie, their relationships and their dreams. This book takes a while for our couple to get to their HEA, and it feels so much more real and believable because of it. I really enjoyed The Break-up Pact and highly recommend it. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. Emma Lord's voice is great and the characters felt genuine. The romance started slowly but once it kicked off, it delivered. Totally recommend.

Eh, this was fine, I guess?

This was a pretty standard fake-dating story. It wasn't bad but I didn't really feel like anything stood out about it. I usually feel like Emma Lord's writing has a certain endearing charm that I just didn't feel here. I just feel like I'll have forgotten most of the plot in about a week.

I did like the parts about Annie and wish they'd been explored a little more.

The third-act conflict was also a bit too generic and predictable for my tastes. In general things relied a bit too heavily on miscommunication.

If you devour any type of fake dating book then you'll probably love this, but otherwise, you may feel like you've read this book before.

Also, this didn't impact my rating but definitely threw me for a loop- I'm used to Emma Lord writing YA / NA, but this one was solidly adult, so the ages at the beginning threw me off.

Best friends with a miscommunication that leads to years of silence…then a second chance occurs when they are both very publicly dumped and mistook as a new couple!

Second chance romance ✅
Friends to lovers ✅
Fake dating✅

Good stuff I tell you!
Do I recommend? Absolutely!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC.

A delightful and thoughtful story about two best friends who pretend to date after breaking up with their respective exes. Very reminiscent of Emily Henry's Funny People.

I was intrigued by the premise of The Break-Up Pact—a cute fake dating arrangement, set against the backdrop of a cool beach town, with a heroine who bakes scones. I was eager to read this story because I really enjoyed Emma Lord's previous book Tweet Cute.

While I found the author's unique voice and clever writing style engaging, the story itself didn't quite hit the mark for me. I hate to say it, but I'm finding the viral breakup and famous exes thing rather implausible. Maybe the market has become too saturated with this inciting incident? The miscommunication and lack of chemistry between the hero and heroine left me feeling a bit disconnected from the characters, and as a result, the plot sort of falls apart about halfway through. The friends to something more concept didn't quite progress to the page-turning slow-burn I'd hoped for.

I appreciate the creativity and effort that went into this book, but it ultimately wasn't a fit for me. I do, however, think that fans of Emma Lord's work will appreciate her signature style and might connect with this story in ways that I didn’t.

Thank you to the publisher for the complimentary copy.

The Break-Up Pact started out strong and then headed downhill. I really enjoy what I thought was to come and then it just got boring.
I think this could have played out better and been more engaging. I didnt connect well with the characters. Some chapters were just long and drawn out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

I typically love best friends who become more in addition to a second chance relationship. This one just didn't give me all the warm heartfelt feelings I was looking for. It starts with June becoming a meme due to the fact her boyfriend breaks up with her out of the blue on live TV with a new love. Her crying, emotional fit turns her into someone who is mocked and made fun of as "crying girl"...WHY? Why would the victim in this situation be the one victimized again?! Then Levi (her previous best friend who disappeared from her life) is also dumped by his fiancée for someone famous. This leads to a fake dating relationship between the two June and Levi. While I could totally support a reawakening of friendship and establishing a real relationship, there were too many red flags. The main one is Levi was still contemplating getting back with his ex until late in the book. Then all of a sudden, he turned his devotion to June. I just needed more...Also, I didn't like the miscommunication that led to their separation over the years and the dead sister's part in not wanting them together. I know she is dead now, but she seemed very selfish in life. I hated there was no closure or further explanation for her actions. Some parts were cute and sweet...the rest just didn't feel genuine.

I will still check out Emma Lord's next writing since she is usually a hit for me!

3 stars

June Hart is the owner of her late older sister Annie’s tea shop Tea Tide, which is on the brink of collapse due to its lack of customers. Her ex, Griffin, revealed he was cheating on her on national television and she became a meme.
June and her childhood friend Levi embark on a fake dating scheme to boost her business and help Levi win back his cheating fiancée. While their staged relationship practically breaks the internet, the narrative takes readers on a delightful ride through fun dates at the museum, trivia nights, and cake tastings. However, the romantic aspect of their relationship may come across as somewhat immature, laden with the overused misunderstanding trope that echoes a middle school rom-com rather than a story about mature adults. The pace is slow in the beginning as the author takes time rebuilding a broken relationship that's grounded in some difficult past issues and playing out in the limelight. Contemporary romance. Second chance, friends to lovers, and fake relationship troupes. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher.

I absolutely adored The Break-Up Pact and was so happy that Emma Lord branched out into Adult Rom-Coms. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed all of her YA books but I love June and Levi even more. It's a slower burn while they learn how to be friends again and deal with the tragedy that shadows their past. The banter is witty and charming, and the tension is perfection. Despite some heavier tones, it's still a light enough, fun read.

This was... so frustrating. But I feel like that's how every romance I've read recently has been. June and Levi were childhood/teenage friends who never became anything more. Now Levi is broken up with by a semi-celeb and June is broken up with her long-time bf who was never really nice to her and lo and behold... they're gonna get together.

I'm not going to lie... I don't remember much about this book. I'm doing this review a full month and a half late, but everything was out of my brain within a day or two after reading. The characters were forgettable (if actually quite aggravating), the plot was barely there, and the initial concept was just kind of silly. A break up going viral on TikTok (not only one but TWO) would maybe hold my interest for a day... if that.

June is annoying for not wanting to change anything about her sister's tea shop. While I understand grief and wanting to hold onto the things that were your sister's are things that are hard to break, I think I'd feel worse knowing my sister's shop actually went fully under because I wasn't willing to change. BUT THAT'S JUST ME and I can see how it's relatable but GOSH I was annoyed.

Levi was just... there. He didn't seem like the best book boyfriend of all time, and his little jokes of calling June other months as nicknames got old. Was it a bad book? No, but it was incredibly mediocre and forgettable. I recommend grabbing some others first.

3+

I hadn't realized this wasn't YA. It might be the first book by Emma Lord that I read that isn't but it's kind of funny. Her last book was still officially YA (although about a character in college, it had all the other elements) but you already felt it was trying not to be it. Meanwhile this book is about two adults well after their college years, dealing with their careers and relationships, but it had a very YA tone to it. June may have been the owner of a tea shop by the beach, but I was always surprised whenever they mentioned something teenagers shouldn't be doing.

I'm saying it as a good thing, by the way. At least for me. I love YA's, and it was good to see one dealing with conflicts closer to my reality but maintaining the ways I love so much about them. But I do understand it could sound like criticism and even push away some potential reader who prefers more mature stories.

Another theme present in most of Lord's stories is also here. Grief. The loss of a loved one. In June's case, it's her sister, who suddenly died while June was away, living adventures to follow her boyfriend. Yes, the same boyfriend who'll dump her before the beginning of the book in the most humiliating way possible. I found it surgical how Lord managed to explore such a sad theme in a way that isn't light, that isn't insensitive but that doesn't drag the whole story with it. It's very real.

Okay, so about the main story, we've got to estranged friends who meet after many years in new circumstances, they both broke up in a too public way. And so they're thrown in the great trope of pretend lovers. At first, I expected them to argue more, they did give those airs since whatever business that had pulled them apart was far from solved. But really, this is a very friends-to-lovers story. And it's undeniable that June and Levi make a cute couple.

So why I'm rating it more like an average book? It is indeed not average, but those above were the points that would make it stick out. In other words, I don't think they were memorable enough for four or five stars. It's not your everyday "let's pretend this is a date" story, but even if I knew it was different, and it wasn't a bad different, it still wasn't that exciting. To be honest, most of the time the two already felt like a couple. It was realistic they still needed to solve issues to get to together, but just realistic isn't enough to make it a fun read. It was good but it wasn't a blast.

I do recommend this to all those older readers of YA, it was lovely.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a charming exploration of the blurred lines between friendship and romance. The story follows two best friends who make a pact to break up if they ever date—a plan that, of course, goes awry.

Emma Lord captures the awkwardness and excitement of falling for someone you’ve always known, with plenty of humor and heartfelt moments. The characters' chemistry is undeniable, and their journey from friends to something more feels authentic and relatable.

Overall, it's a sweet and engaging read about the risks of love and the strength of true friendship.

I went into this book totally blind and I'm glad I did! I think sometimes it is more exciting, especially if you're in a reading slump or switching genres, to go into a book blind.

This book is all from June's POV and tells a deeply woven and emotional story about her and Levi, her high school crush and best friend, and her life now. Learning to live without her big sister who passed, trying to keep everything in her life exactly how it was before she lost her sister, so it can still feel the same, all while dealing with the chaos of being thrown into the media and realizing you lost yourself in your last relationship which took up the last decade. Think that's not enough?? Then throw in some fake dating and falling in love!

This book really was a lot of fun - I loved seeing Levi and June explore old times again while making new memories. I loved watching them learn how to navigate a future where things have changed, life looks different, they are learning to move on without certain people around. I found this book enjoyable to read, but not too standout-ish. I give it a 3.5/5 stars personally, but Goodreads doesn't do half readings. I thought the writing was done well, the characters were fun and unique, and I loved all the supporting characters. I found myself at a few times being frustrated at June saying how Levi has to communicate, do better, but that repeatedly watched her not communicate her feelings and just let him know she is there.

I look forward to reading more by Emma Lord! I think her writing is well done and the stories she writes leaving you able to visualize all of it, which I personally love.

Thank you to Emma Lord, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! It really means a lot to me :)

Cute little story of friends who should have been lovers. Unrequited love, turned into second chance romance. Funny and sweet. I can always count on Emma Lord to tell a sweet summer story filled with great banter.