I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

This story follows two estranged childhood best friend's after they both get burned in romantic relationships and decide to exact their revenge and take the internet by storm with their new relationship together. what the internet doesn't know is that the "revenge exes" are fake dating to make their previous partners jealous (*gasp).

june hart is the struggling owner of her deceased sister's scone shop and she was recently the victim of internet memeification (is that a word?) when her boyfriend reveals to her that he cheated on her and she becomes "crying girl". she runs into her best friend from childhood, who has had a similar experience, and they decide to have a ... fake relationship?

so idk about the rest of you, but if i ran into my bff from high school that i haven't seen or spoken to in like 10 years, my first flinch would not be "hey let's fake date and make everyone jealous". but whatever, maybe that's just me. as they continue into this fake relationship, a lot of real feelings come to the surface. i am a huge fan of the fake dating trope, so this book should have been my cup of tea. but the back and forth when we got into the meat of the story really irritated me. i understood some waffling in the beginning, but it. just. kept. going. it made it hard to really understand the characters' apprehensions about being together when from my pov, there were no more reasons, so just do the damn thing.

i also had a hard time with the long chapters. i actually fell asleep a couple times because the chapters were so long at times. but i made it to the end, and if there was one thing i really liked about this book, it was the epilogue. one part of the book that actually made me smile.

I really got a kick out of this book, and definitely will never think of Pop-Rocks the same way again.

Is this the best book I've ever read? No, of course not. But there's a lot of humor, sadness, and love to make it worth the read.

June & Levi finding their way back to each other is ridiculously satisfying. Sure, their fake dating is typical, blah, blah, blah. But outside of that they have a mature relationship/friendship that was honest, and felt true to who they were.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Break-up Pact has all the ingredients necessary to be a delightful, beach-read rom-com. It’s a good adult debut from YA romance author Emma Lord, but it wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. Some aspects of the novel were too much, and there were a lot of instances where I wanted more.

I immediately fell in love with the idea of Tea Tide. A quaint, Bridgertonesque tea shop right on the beach? Sign me up. The scone ideas that June comes up with sound delicious and creative. It’s hilarious that the lack of a sweet tooth is a point of contention between June and Levi. The tea shop also provides the perfect setting for their fake romance and allows for that social media hook. The scenes where Levi spends time writing while June is taking care of the shop really show what their future relationship could be like and forces them to confront their dreams and where they see each other in the future.

However, it was hard for me to get over my skepticism of June and Levi as a couple. They’re both creative, smart, kind people. I ate up all the instances in which Lord explored their shared history. Even though it was pretty much insta-lust on June’s behalf it made sense because there was a history of attraction between the two that was just waiting to be reignited. I wondered how far Lord would go with regards to adding sexual elements to this novel, and I was pleasantly surprised with the decision she made. Playing with the sexual tension between these characters helps cement this novel as an adult romance and brings the relationship between these two characters out of the high school realm. However, I constantly experienced frustration at the poor communication skills these two have. They both shut down instead of actually talking through their issues. They both pretend to be okay with situations in which they are not okay. There were instances where they made questionable decisions that seemed downright designed to test the other’s feelings. June is insecure and that’s aggravated by Levi’s indecisiveness and his need for other people to take charge. As much as I rooted for these two due to their shared history, I felt that they kept drowning in extremely shallow pools of water.

I loved all the side characters in this novel and their relationships with the main leads. Mateo is a giant cinnamon roll and brightens up any pages in which he appears. It's so easy and heartwarming to imagine babies June, Levi, Annie, and Mateo all hanging out together in their teens and being there during their coming of age moments; because of this Annie’s absence is deeply felt throughout the novel. I wanted to see more of the relationship between June and Dylan. Annie’s importance in June’s life even after her death is a stark contrast to how absent Dylan is in comparison despite the fact that they’re both June’s siblings. In general, I felt that the role of these characters was to move the plot along and I really wanted more depth to their personalities.

I enjoyed parts of this novel. I believe it has elements that will appeal to most people who like reading rom-coms in general and specifically to Emily Henry fans. However, to me, this novel was like an under-brewed cup of tea-- perfectly adequate, but just short of hitting the spot.

What happens when a young adult author tries her hand at an adult romcom? She goes from being one I’m iffy about and keep attempting to like, to one I finally enjoy!

I kept telling myself to just read another of Lord’s titles because so many people love them… but I couldn’t connect to the YA books. The Break-Up Pact is a storyline I can stand behind and promote! I enjoyed this one from start to finish… maybe it’s because I like the childhood best friends to nothing to fake relationship to the real thing aspect? Fake dating is my favourite trope, afterall! Or possibly the sister having my name?

June, trying to make her late sister’s tea shop (a la bridgerton on the boardwalk), Tea Tide, survive, and also suffering an horrific public, viral on TikTok breakup by her high school sweetheart on his new reality tv show while with his new girlfriend of a week (so, a very long time beau), made me very sympathetic from early pages of the book.

Levi, her childhood bestie, but also besties with her older brother and sister, just went through an even more public and very much broadcast breakup with an actress… when he flees NYC to their home town, the pair makes a pact to lick their wounds together and pretend to be dating to show their terrible exes they have both moved on... the “Revenge Exes” plot begins.

As all of us romance readers know - fake dating stays fake about as long as it takes to finish making the pact. This was a very fun read and I enjoyed seeing how it all played out. It was delightful finding a book from the author that I finally, really liked! I definitely recommend this to all, especially if you’ve liked her YA titles, or if you’re like me and want to try again. I really wish we would’ve had more about brother Dylan and his fiancé Mateo (June’s new BFF), though. They were an adorable couple!!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and this is my honest feedback.

The Break-Up Pact is full of favorite tropes. Friends to lovers, second chance romance, fake dating, and small town romance all play a role in June and Levi’s story. They grew up in a quaint beach town and were best friends in high school, but haven’t spoken in years. June spent the last ten years traveling with her boyfriend who recently broke up with her on air after joining the cast of a reality show and falling in love with someone else. Levi moved to New York and got engaged to a realtor who was caught publicly cheating with a movie star. Now they’re both back in town. June is trying to keep her sister’s seaside tea shop afloat while still grieving her death, and Levi is trying a write a book. When a picture of them goes viral that looks like they’re more than friends, they decide to fake date to improve business for the tea shop and make Levi’s ex realize what she’s missing.

This book has a lot of favorite Emma Lord book elements. There’s the food—specifically delicious sounding scone recipes even though I don’t like scones. There’s the writer character and childhood friends who loved a fictional world together. There’s the strong sense of place and history in the town they grew up. I enjoyed so much of it, and I could tell she had a lot of fun writing the book.

I did struggle with the lack of communication between June and Levi that seems to go back a decade. I wanted to shake them both at multiple points in the story. Ultimately I enjoyed where they ended up and I did understand that they were both working through things, but I think the journey could have been easier.

I really enjoyed Natalie Naudus’s narration. She definitely grounded me in June’s character and handled her emotional ups and downs beautifully. I’d recommend this one on audio if you love a good romance, and don’t mind a little miscommunication.

June Hart came back home to take on the boardwalk tea room that she had dreamed about with her older sister Annie for years. While she was off on adventures all over the world with her boyfriend Griffin, Annie opened the Tea Tide at home and got scone inspiration from her sister. But when Annie died unexpectedly, June moved back home to take over the Tea Tide, to keep her sister’s dream alive.

Coming home was certainly easier when her boyfriend went on the reality show Business Savvy with his idea for a new startup. He made it on to the show right away, and invited June to sit with him for an episode while he explained that he and his new love Lisel have merged their business ideas and their hearts. June was caught off-guard by the news, and the shot of her crying on the show became a viral meme, with people showing up at Tea Tide to ask is she was #CryingGirl. She tells them she is and makes them buy a scone. But that is not enough to sustain the tea shop long term. June needs some inspiration.

When Levi Shaw shows up at the tea shop, or rather, outside the restaurant, June has mixed feelings. He was one of her best friends when they were growing up, but she’s barely heard from him in the last decade. They do have one thing in common though. Levi’s long-term relationship also blew up in a very public way, when his girlfriend Kelly became the realtor to hunky movie star Roman Steele. They fell for each other, and Levi was another ex for the gossip sites.

But June’s best friend Sana has an idea. She’s a freelance reporter who has been itching for a job at the popular culture site Frizzle. And she thinks that if she can takes some photos of the two of them together, as the Revenge Exes, then she can put together an article that might get her a new job. And the photos are pretty easy for them all, since June and Levi had already agreed to help Dylan and Mateo plan their wedding.

Dylan is June’s little brother, and the three Hart siblings used to hang out with Levi all the time. They were a foursome, with Annie and Levi particularly close, since they were both writers. June had a big crush on Levi, but he hadn’t felt the same. And then they all left to go to college. Annie came back after graduation to open Tea Tide. Dylan came back to coach track at the local college, and he and Mateo fell in love. So sending June and Levi out to taste cake flavors or check out a deejay means Sana can get some cute pictures to leak online, so they won’t be seen as just the exes anymore. They can get their own story.

But things rarely go as planned. As June and Levi spend more time together, old feelings creep back up. But so do paparazzi. And exes. And the consequences of old choices. Until both June and Levi find themselves at a crossroads, both in their individual lives and in their new relationship. In order to move forward, they will need to face their pasts. But will they move on together, or will they be drawn in different directions?

Emma Lord’s latest novel, The Break-Up Pact tells the story of a teenage crush that ten years later turned into a fake relationship, and where it goes from there. Lord is a master of a character-driven romance, filled with heart, humor, and honesty. She creates characters with such rich stories that one of her novel equals about three novels from some other writers, so there is never a dull moment in her stories. Each character is fully-formed and really thoughtful, so the emotional journeys are always rich as well, and the romance develops between two complex characters, with autonomy and intelligence.

I listened to The Break-Up Pact on audio, narrated by Natalie Naudus, which was such a fun experience of this book. Naudus brings these characters to life with all their quirks and foibles, all their grief and humor. She does well with the denseness of the story, the richness of these relationships, and all the gossip and reality show messiness. I am a big fan of Lord’s, and The Break-Up Pact is just as entertaining and masterful as her other books. But I will add one warning about this one. You will find yourself craving creative scones, so be sure to stock up on tasty snacks for your reading or listening.

Egalleys for The Break-Up Pact were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin and a copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord was a recipe where all the ingredients for a favorite book were present, but somehow I wound up merely enjoying it and not loving it. And when I say it like that, it sounds like it was bad, but it wasn't! It was a really solid read from Emma Lord, but the way that I loved Tweet Cute by Lord has me constantly hoping for that full fledged five star, I'm obsessed with it feeling and unfortunately, that wasn't present here. That said, if you, like me, are interested in a childhood friends (who had deep feelings for one another as teens) turned strangers (New Years Day vibes anyone?) turned friends again turned lovers, this book could definitely be for you. Probably though it would help if you don't regard running as the most horrific exercise one could possibly engage in.

Essentially, June and Levi are (a) both runners and (b) are both back in their small town. June has been for a while (a year or so, maybe?) because her sister died and she has taken over running the tea shop the two of them dreamed up when they were children. She's still grieving and having a hard time moving on, in the sense that her grief is keeping her stagnant and it's causing problems with the tea shop. June has also become a meme, The Crying Girl, because her douche canoe of an ex-boyfriend dumped her on live television. Levi, meanwhile, has come back to their small town to work on his novel and to get some space from his fiancé, who it turns out was cheating on him with a famous actor. Both of them have therefore been thrust into the spotlight, of sorts, and when the two of them are photographed together, somehow the Internet dubs them "The Revenge Exes" and the two of them decide to play along for their own reasons.

So that, in a nutshell, is the plot. This book has an interesting way of switching back and forth between some over the top ridiculous antics of viral-ness and then pairing that with some really deep and introspective moments dealing with grief or the pain of not talking to someone you never thought you would be without, so, almost a different kind of grief in a way. I think this is a tone that works for me quite often. For example, I love Beach Read by Emily Henry, which is alternatively laugh out loud funny and then also, let me cry for ten minutes because this book has me in my feels. Unfortunately, for me, I don't think I read The Break-Up Pact when I was quite in the mood for that back and forth in tone. So while I really enjoyed it, this book didn't crack the five star obsession mark. I look forward to seeing what other people thought though, because I really do think it can work for so many other people!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, heartwarming and didn't want to put it down. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

Second-chance romance ✔️ Fake dating ✔️ Small town ✔️ Lord’s adult debut was everything I hoped it would be. For me, a good romance novel needs to make me smile and swoon like a giddy schoolgirl, and the chemistry between June and Levi did just that. Two former best friends are hiding out after very public and embarrassing breakups. When they decide to fake date to make their exes jealous, well, you know what happens. While it starts out slow, the payoff is worth it. Think “Gilmore Girls” meets Abby Jimenez.

3 -⭐⭐⭐

The Break-Up Pact is an adult standalone contemporary romance following June and Levi, two people who find themselves fake dating to help each other after viral and public break-ups. Yet the history between June and Levi is loaded with things unsaid and as they are forced to hang out more and more they begin to wonder if maybe the feelings they felt back in high school never went away.

This book has a lot of promise and I enjoyed aspects of it but there were some misses.

June is character trying to keep herself afloat with her coffee shop at risk of being closed down - said coffee shop being her late sister's legacy. I admired her tenacity and using this bad situation to try to help her business. At times I felt she acted before she thought things through, though.

Levi was a character I struggled a bit with. He is a character struggling to find himself after his fiance publicly cheated on him and he's hesitant to end the relationship - saying they're just taking time to figure things off...meanwhile his fiancee is continuing with the guy she cheated with. I wasn't a fan of this passiveness as it took away from the romance because I felt he wasn't ready. Yet his banter and teasing of June was adorable at times and when it was just them I had a lot of fun with him.

“Running is tiring!”
“So is pretending not to have feelings for people.”

This book does contain spice. This is more of a slow burn with spice not developing until the 60% mark, mainly because Levi appears to be holding a candle for her fiance. I felt the spice was well written and drew me in but I would have liked a bit more stability afterwards as these two struggled to find a balance with each other.

In terms of story I like the premise with the fake dating. I enjoyed Levi and June’s dynamic and LOVED June’s brother and wedding premise. I will say I struggled with Levi and June’s romance which made it hard to connect. The quick transition from no communication for 10 years to fake dating, the insecurity towards each other, and the long plan miscommunication just didn’t hit right with me. I felt the writing was easy to follow and it was a book I could devour in a sitting.

Overall, I felt it was a good book but didn’t give me the romance I usually look for. If you like your pining and denial romances this will be your cup of tea!

Thank you so much for the ARC!

I love a friends to lovers, fake dating romance trope so I was really looking forward to Emma’s first foray into adult romance.

I really enjoyed the scenery in this book, and I thought the side characters were fantastic. However, I had a few issues with this book. First, I didn’t connect with June who I felt was very judgmental. Next, I felt like Levi’s indecision around whether or not he wanted his cheating ex back, was also annoying. It’s hard to care about a book where both MC’s aren’t people you want to root for.

Overall, I felt a bit of a disconnect with this book.

This one was just OK for me. I found myself disconnected from June, a tough place to be when she's our narrator. I also didn't totally buy into the connection between June and Levi - there was a lot of telling us that they had great chemistry and everyone knew it, but not showing us that chemistry. The third act conflict also didn't work super well for me.

** I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an easy read and fun story. I love a friends to lover trope. It was hard to connect to the main character. There were sweet moments and I enjoyed it overall.

I am having some mixed feelings about this one. I really liked the premise and the small beach town setting immediately had me intrigued and I was excited based on the trope line up as well. But with all that potential, I feel like the execution just fell a little flat for me.

It wasn't bad, and there were many components I felt worked and I enjoyed, but I wanted more from it.

I really liked Levi - he was a sweetheart. However, June left much to be desired in my opinion. I was waiting for some character growth and development, but it never really came. I would have loved to see more of June working through her grief for her sister - I just felt like all of her character growth happened very quickly and all at once.

I think what it comes down to, is I had high opes and really wanted to love this one, but it just missed the mark for me.

- sister's best friend
- estranged friends to lovers
- fake dating
- small beach town
- bookish character

Ehhh, this just did not hit my expectations. Maybe they were too high? Maybe this book was not Emma Lord's best? The pieces were all there, but they just did not connect into a can't put down contemporary romance. The book moved too quickly and not in a "i read this so quickly" kind of way... more a "we have not seen or spoken to one another in many years, but let's fake date" kind of way. There was no ramp up in their friendship or relationship - they just jumped right in. It made it hard to feel as if we really knew the main characters - too many important parts were either skipped over or highlighted in a sentence. All that being said, I did read this book quickly. The story line is very cute - two exes who have not seen one another for years. Both going through very public breakups (from other people). When they are spotted by the paparazzi on the beach, rumors begin flying. Instead of denying the relationship, they pretend to date. Can they keep their hearts out of it?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader and audio copies!

We have been fans of Emma Lord and her YA romances for years and jumped at the chance to read her first adult romance.

In The Break-Up Pact, she brings two childhood friends back together as they fake date after their respective viral break-ups. June and Levi have a complicated history with secret feelings for each other and it kept us turning the pages.

This book was a little more serious than we expected. It dealt with grief, questions about their careers, feelings of having wasted time with the wrong person (romantically). June and Levi had depth and we were invested. It was a perfect way for Emma Lord to jump into this genre!

Read if you like:
▪️Fake dating
▪️Childhood friends to lovers
▪️Slow Burn
▪️Secret feelings
▪️Small Beach Town

<b>no stars</b>

this book ABSOLUTELY SUCKED. the first half was decent, and then it just went so downhill.

THE MISCOMMUNICATION. seriously why is this a trope????? they didn't talk for YEARS all because of a MISUNDERSTANDING

they acted like teenagers, and the author writes like a teenager. i dont want to listen abt the new tiktok trends, or your “uptown funk” dj music

the blurb sounded really good, and this was one of my most anticipated reads.. well, y'all can pick my reads now because all i keep reading are 1 stars

i genuinely wished the MC's didn't end up together.

<b>levi,</b> was annoying. he was talking about how he wanted to get with his ex so he tried to make her jealous by fake dating the fmc, then suddenly hes in love with her. and he got so upset when she didn't communicate with him but the man ignored her for YEARS because she didn't recuperate his crush in highschool - which was also a misunderstanding

<b>june,</b> just no. she was so horrible and annoying.

i let out an audible “yessss” when i finished the book because i'm <b>finally</b> done with this 🙏🏻

<i>Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my<i> <s>hate</s> <i>honest review.</i>

I'm going to start this review off by saying this was enjoyable. Definitely not a new favorite but it was still decent, just nothing ground breaking to me. I really hate hate hate giving somewhat bad reviews on ARCs but this one just didn't really do it for me in the way I hoped. I think the main reason why it fell a little short is just the super quick development, it felt rushed and just a little too fast? For the most part I liked the FMC, June, but she was a bit too judgy for me and I actually connected with the best friend a little more than June, Sana was pretty funny.

Though I will say, my absolute FAVORITE part of this whole book was the MMC, Levi. Oh how I loved him. He felt like the perfect amount of grumpy and just all around he made the book for me. I am a little sad it didn't hit like I wanted it to, fake dating is usually a top 3 fave trope but for some reason it just missed the mark. Also I can't end this review without mentioning the TIKTOK reviews immediately turned me off. Overall, it wasn't the worst read but it wasn't the best either. It was a good medium!! I definitely am not turned off of this author due to it though, I do like her writing style and there were some very cute moments, so I look forward to her work in the future and I'll absolutely give her another chance. Thank you to Emma Lord and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Break Up Pact is Emma Lord’s debut into adult romance, and I thought it was a fantastically done break through into the adult romance genre.

Fake dating and second chance are two of my favorite romance tropes and in this book they were executed so well.
June and Levi were great characters you can’t help but root for, relationship wise, and just generally, especially after everything they’ve both been through.
I loved experiencing them coming together again after being estranged for so long, as well as learning about their past, together and separately.
There’s more of a serious tone to this book, in comparison to what one would typically think a romcom is, while the weighty issues of careers, grief, and trauma are explored, which does take up quite a bit of the narrative in addition to the romcom aspect.
In addition to having enchanting main characters, I really loved the side characters too. They were quirky and lovable and absolutely added to the story.

Overall, I would consider this a successful crossover into the adult romance genre. I had a great time reading it, and actually finished most of it in one sitting.

Thank you to the author, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the gifted ARC through NetGalley.
Publication date 8/13/24

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a cute romcom. I’ve been a fan of Emma Lord’s YA romances in the past, and I was excited to see what she’d do for an adult romance.

The Break-Up Pact was a quick read that had me craving pastries and cup of tea from a tea shop! I enjoyed the best friends to lovers trope. I can’t wait to see what Emma Lord writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Griffin for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.