I am kind of obsessed with the fake dating trope, and this one was pretty high stakes since it was pretty clear both MCs had feelings for one another before they started! Going viral for being "revenge exes" might have been enough, but capitalizing on the momentum by allowing their fake relationship to be made public on social media upped the skin in the game.

What I liked: The conversation that happens when it becomes clear there were feelings and there was no need to hide them, the tension created by a mutual friend (and sister) whose memory keeps them both stuck and kind of easy to manipulate, and the races which end in the best stakes of all time

I did feel like this could have gone with the dual POV, and it would have fixed the parts of the MMC that felt a little incomplete. It allowed the reader to feel all the angst of the FMC and not know whether or not the MMC was really having his cake and eating it too for a bit.

Overall, it was a solid read.

Content warning: an open door scene and swearing

June Hart is a meme. The internet has dubbed her “crying girl” after her boyfriend broke up with her on a reality show. She’s just trying to move on with her life and her tea shop when Levi Shaw, her childhood best friend shows back up. Levi has also just been publicly cheated on, and, despite the fact that they haven’t talked in years, the breakups bring Levi and June back together. They decide to start fake dating to get back at their exes, but in the meantime, they’re finding themselves again too. Emma Lord’s foray into the adult romance genre has the same charm as her YA novels. However, the characterization wasn’t as strong. There was both a lot and nothing going on for these characters. Readers learn little of their shared past, and even their current relationship just feels…well, fake. Unfortunately, this book fell flat especially in comparison to Lord’s other work.

June and Levi were childhood friends growing up in a small beach town. Their worlds collide as adults when they both experience separate but both viral breakups and end up back in their now what feels like smaller home town and fake (dating) it till they make it as they June runs her late sisters beachside tea shop and Levi pens his newest novel.

This book was a quick and easy read that made me giggle and tear up a bit. I love fake dating and a second chance romance so count me in!! Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of this book!!

Overall this story had likable characters and witty dialogue, with decent romantic chemistry. I also enjoyed the exploration of friendship and the evolution from friends to lovers felt authentic. However, the plot often felt predictable and the miscommunication trope felt too easy.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

First thought: This was a fun, cute, creative and angsty book. Be warned it does deal with grief and moving on after the loss of a sibling and a long term relationship. If you’re looking for a good summer read that has some depth, this one’s for you. But be sure to grab a scone as this will have you craving them by the end!

June was just blind sided with a break up on live tv and she went viral as the ugly crying girl. The last few years have been rough after losing her sister, moving back to her hometown and taking over the Tea Shop which is on the verge of losing its lease. June feels stuck and doesn’t know how to navigate forward.

So when Levi comes home for a few weeks escaping his own viral relationship drama, things get even more confusing. June has loved Levi since high school but when he graduated he ghosted her for the last ten years. She’s angry with him but also misses what they had.

But after a run on the beach with Levi Nd a friendly race, leads to the two of them being photographed and tagged as “The Vengeance Exes”. Now they find themselves fake dating and blurring the lines between real and pretend. See how things unfold and June figure out what her future looks like and who should be a part of it.

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Fake Dating for the Internet
* Childhood Besties to Lovers
* Viral Meme
* Revenge Scones
* Slow Burn & Angsty
* Death of Sibling
* Miscommunication
* Small Town Beach
* Mild Spice🔥

This book was so cute, I loved the characters and the setting. The plot was fun and I loved the second chance trope!

the pacing for this was very off and the miscommunication (while i understand that it can happen in life too) was just too much for me. i also could really connect with the characters as i would have liked too.

this book reminded me a lot of beach read by emily henry (my favorite book) and it filled the void of finishing all her books. emma lord writing seems fresh and romantic and i cannot wait to read more from her

The author's writing style is excellent. I enjoyed how thoroughly detailed but not overbearing it was. The little details she added were really enjoyable. However, I was so bored reading this story. The characters weren't flat, but they didn't make me want to like them. I just felt sad for them. Childhood friends to lovers mixed with the second chance trope has been gaining a lot of popularity lately, and i don't know if it's because i've just recently read a lot of similar books (such as the ex-vows or every summer after) but i didn't not want to keep reading. DNF at 55%. Usually once i get to that point in a book i'm motivated to atleast continue, but i still wasn't drawn in by the characters at that point and didn't want to waste more time. Because the author's writing was so good, I will definitely try one of her other books, this one was just a miss for me. Thank you for the chance to read it.

I enjoyed the journeys the MCs went on in this book, both together and separately. Sometimes the lack of communication was a little extra but overall it was a fun read, and I loved all the food talk as they came up with special scones.

An emotional summer romcom with beachy vibes! There were so many things I enjoyed about this book. The small beach town setting, the main and supporting characters, the exploration of overcoming grief and the beautiful and sentimental ending! However, much of the book was such a slow burn and some chapters felt very long and drawn out. I also felt there were some unrealistic moments and so much miscommunication. And while there were a few spicy chapters, I was hoping for more romance and steam. My feelings are definitely mixed with this one but if you’re seeking a friends to lovers beach read, give it a try!

This was my first Emma Lord book and I absolutely loved this book. I love June and Levi. I love that June is a female business owner and fell in love with Tea Tide. This is a childhood friends to lovers, which isn't my favorite trope but the author did a great job with it. They aren't just friends turned lovers - they are friends who have had crushes forever finally turned lovers.

There are a few spicy scenes but I would consider this low spice, which is perfect for those who don't like a lot of spice in their books. l

I cannot wait to read more by Emma Lord.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I was excited to start this one as it seemed like it would be a cute summer read and though it had its moments .. overall it wasn’t for me :/. I didn’t enjoy either characters as I found both to be childish, so I wasn’t interested in their relationship. Though this book was a miss for me, I would still be interested in reading other books by Emma Lord in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

3.5 stars rounded up!
I really liked this book, I was just itching for more the whole time.. more spice, more drama, idk!! This book truly made me drink a cup of tea with every reading session and crave a scone lol.

the one spicy scene though..wowza, perfect for this book.

What really gave this book the extra rating boost for me was the writing. Not that it was anything spectacular, but I thought Emma did a fabulous job creating sentences and conversations that really made me pause and think wow. I highlighted more in this book than I ever have any other. She did a killer job with creating this yearning between characters and feelings and making me want to be a part of this small beach town love story! She's also hysterical. So many lines I laughed out loud!

I loved all the characters, the descriptions, development, the dialogue. The plot was exactly what it should have been..an easy beach, summer read. It was perfectly romantic, spicy, dramatic, funny, and heartfelt.
I felt like this plot wasn't completely unrealistic like every other book nowadays. As far fetched as the dual viral breakups are, the story itself was sweet and small town romantic believable.

okay writing this, yes the dual viral breakups are extremely unbelievable LOL.... the first half was a real drag for me, but once I hit the 50% mark, I flew threw and really started to love the story, characters, and their world.

Full review coming to YouTube and or Cover to Cover Girls bookclub podcast!

Thank you to Emma Lord, net galley, and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I really like this book. I am pretty sure this was more ya but I still really liked the story the same. I haven't read much from this author but this wont be my last one.

The Break Up Pact follows June and Levi fresh out of publicly humiliating breakups with their respective partners. When Levi arrives back in Benson Beach where June has been not-so-successfully running a tea and scone shop, it is only a matter of time before June and Levi create a pact to fake date. With the help of her best friend Sana, all their cute and “fake” moments are captured and shared online. Old and new feelings, dreams, and priorities are naturally put to the test.

I quite enjoyed this book. The side characters, although not given that much page time, were fun and helped to move the story along. The pacing was fine, some moments read faster than others, but I felt myself wanting to get to the end to see how it all played out with June’s shop and Levi’s writing. I found the elements of grief over the loss of Annie, June’s older sister, to be written well because it showed how each character handled it differently.
Overall, although not a scone person myself I actually wish I could visit Tea Tide. I enjoyed my time with these characters although I would have loved to have had more of Levi's background/ arc be more developed. Having been told in June’s POV solely, we get very limited development of the other characters. I would recommend this book to others who love the fake-dating trope. This was a solid 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

<b> Emma Lord is one of my favorite YA romance authors, so I jumped at the chance to read a digital ARC of her adult romance debut <i>The Break-Up Pact</I>!</b>

<b>Tropes:</b>
-Friends-to-Lovers (though technically they were best friends through high school, then didn't speak for ten years, then reunited because of public breakups and a fake dating pact helps them rekindle their friendship before diving into romance)
-Fake Dating
-High School Crush

<b>Content Warnings:</b>
-Loss of sibling for FMC/best friend for MMC (off-page, sudden) weighs over a lot of the book
-Cancer - MMC's mom is in remission during the book but the emotional and financial stress of her treatment is discussed
-Cheating - both MCCs public breakups were instigated because their partners cheated on them

<b>Review:</b> <i>The Break-Up Pact</i> is an emotional summer romance. The overall tone is a bit more melancholic than I was expecting but it suited the book perfectly considering everything the characters are coping with - the loss of June's older sister/Levi's best friend, the impending failure of Tea Tide, Levi's stalled writing career, and their failed relationships/public breakups. It's a lot, but Emma Lord handles it all with great care so it never feels like it's too much emotional labor for readers. As with all Emma Lord books, I found her main and side characters to be delightful. June and Levi are both beautiful messes that I couldn't help rooting for. I do wish their exes got a smidge more pages just so we could see them both get their comeuppance because I feel like they got off relatively scot-free (especially Kelly). I really enjoyed the community Emma Lord crafted in Benson Beach, it comes across as so homey and carefree.

I look forward to seeing what Emma Lord comes up with for her next adult romance, and of course, I can't wait to read her next YA romance!

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's, and Emma Lord for the chance to read this digital ARC.</i>

The premise for the book was interesting and promising however, there were a few aspects to the plot that I did not enjoy. The miscommunication on the second half of the book really irked me. Typically fake dating is used as a means to spend time with the FMC you are interested in but in the case, the MMC was trying so hard to win his ex back — this is not really how a fake daring trope should be used. The focus and the fall-out for me didn’t quite click as well.
I think that certain plot elements was just not for me.
The writing is absolutely fine, it was just a struggle for in the end.

thank you Netgalley for this sweet book!
it was about second chances and learning to not let fear get in the way of living.
there were certain parts of the book that weren't my favorite but the love everyone had for each other and the ending had me giving it four stars.
☕️ 🫖🏃🏼‍♀️💛📖

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 stars

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord’s adult romance debut. It is about two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral.

This was a sweet romance with plenty of vibes and banter. However, I wasn’t as invested in the romance like I usually am with Lord’s books. Overall, a cute and fun romcom.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.