This is a sweet love story about childhood best friends reuniting after 10 years when both of their breakups go viral. This story was cute, heartfelt, funny, and with a touch of vulnerability while diving into grief and Junes struggle with saving her business.

The pacing of this book was great, it didn’t feel rushed or thrown into it at all. It has so many amazing tropes and there is a hint of miscommunication, which I don’t particularly love but made sense for the story. Also, the writing wasn’t my favourite but it was super easy to follow along with. The plot was intriguing and reminded me of a rom com movie.

June and Levi were interesting and funny characters but also a little frustrating at times. The reflecting and growth both of them did really helped put their thoughts and feelings into perspective and helped me connect with them more.

I loved the side characters, they added charm and wit to the story. June’s best friend Sana was hilarious and such a supportive friend to June.

This book was a great introduction to this author and I look forward to reading more from them!

June and Levi, who are estranged childhood friends, have both recently gone viral for public breakups. They are both back in their hometown and come up with a fake dating scheme to help draw business to June’s tea shop and get Levi’s ex back. As they pretend to date, they are left to wonder if the feelings could be real.

This was my first book by Emma Lord and it was enjoyable. I love a fake dating scheme and the tea shop setting was a sweet backdrop for the story. The grief subplot fell just a bit short of what could have been if it had been further developed and was a bit heavy for a romcom in my personal opinion. However, if you are looking for a cute romance and don’t mind heavy subplots, this book could be exactly what you’re looking for.

Thank you to Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this book - I thought the premise of the exes going viral was a great concept for a romance book and maybe went in with too high of expectations!!?

I thought it was cute - but definitely too long and drawn out - about 30% in with so much to go.... found myself wondering if I cared how it all turned out. I didn't find that the banter or chemistry between the two was particularly riveting or kept me yearning for them to get together.

When June and Levi were growing up, they were best friends. Now June is struggling to make rent on her tea shop by the beach and Levi is living in New York as a failed novelist. They both experience public break-ups and end up making juicy gossip by appearing together in a photo that goes viral.

I'm usually on board for some fake dating turned real feelings but to me this just fell flat. I loved the cover, which was SUPER cute, and loved the premise, however the plot and execution just didn't knock me off my feet.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emma Lord for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Releases August 13, 2024!

Dreading to pick a book back up is a sure sign for me to dnf. It started our well enough, but then the same information keeps being recycled over and over, and I am tired of reading the same thing told in a different way. This is a fake-dating trope story, with nothing new to it (for as far as I have read).
A dnf for me.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The cover is very pretty first of all. June is dumped on live TV by her boyfriend of 10 years. She moves back home. Her high school crush Levi who was also her best friend was also dumped. The two decide to fake date to get back at their exes. I didn’t really feel a spark between June and Levi. Levi just kept June like a second choice. It felt like he was leading her on so much. He even gets back with his exacted sleeping with June?! Just didn’t love this one.
Thank you NetGalley

A fun read with the fake relationship trope, as Levi and June pretend to date after both have embarrassing and viral breakups. Will they go back to their previous friendship, become strangers again or maybe fall in love for real?

The Break-Up Pact is a story of friendship, love, loss, regrets and self discovery while grieving the loss of a sister and friend and learning how to live life again outside of her shadow. Set in a boardwalk tea shop called Tea Tide, which also serves a variety of scones that are crafted from life stories and experiences.

June’s life is hectic as she’s dealing with losing her sister, helping plan her brother's wedding, a struggling business and a nasty breakup that goes viral on social media. Levi, a childhood family friend, who has his own problems including his own viral breakup, comes back into town after several years of being away. Together they come up with a plan that can help solve both of their problems…insert the Revenge Ex Movement and The Break-Up Pact.

Fake Dating
Second Chance
Slow Burn
Friends to Lovers
Miscommunication

This story is a good reminder of the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media. I liked seeing the character growth from start to finish. I wasn’t a fan of June to start with, she was immature and whiny but I grew to like her by the end. The love story was predictable and a little cheesy, felt more like YA which is what the author typically writes. Miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes which could be why I didn't love this one as much as I’d hoped.

I thought the way June came up with new recipes for scones, and how she named them, was pretty creative. Scones played a good part in the overall story, so much that I was craving a scone while reading this book! However, I got a kick out of the raccoon acknowledgment!

I enjoyed listening to the audiobook, it enhanced the experience and helped keep me invested in the story. It was a good performance from start to finish.

oh, i just loved everything about this book! emma lord quickly became one of my autobuy authors after her young adult releases and i've loved everything of hers since. her first adult novel did not disappoint -- it was just as funny, heartwarming and quick witted as all of her other books, with deep emotional character growth and development. if you've enjoyed her young adult books you must read this one!

• ARC REVIEW •

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 - Publishing Date 8/13

First can we just say how beautiful this cover is?! I am in loooove. This is definitely a perfect beach/summer read and was easy to get through. These two old besties who haven’t spoken in over ten years, but reunite in their hometown after both of their break-ups go viral. It doesn’t take long for them to decide the perfect revenge - fake dating one another, giving the public something else to talk about. Levi + June were such a fun storyline to engage in and is one of my favorite childhood friends to lovers plot! It was hard to not cheer for both of them individually and together. The main reason for my rounding down in stars was that I felt at times there was unnecessary parts of the book that I wasn’t as invested in. I also felt there was some repetition in her writing.

Expect:

-fake dating
-slow burn
-childhood friends to lovers
-small town romance
-second chance

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! ✨

This is my first Emma Lord novel. I enjoyed this book for what it was. It was a cute, faking dating situation but the writing and plot weren't my favorite. I will definitely give Emma Lord another try with her other books, but this one was kind of boring to me. I also think this is a cute summer read, especially if the reader is looking for a small=town romance.

This was a decently sweet, school friends to lovers/second chance romance. I would've given it a four star (possibly 3.5 rounded up) rating during the first half, but I didn't like the second half as much. Not because it was bad. It just didn't hold my attention as much.

I liked the characters well enough and the main relationship was cute. The supporting characters were solid and the social media aspect was entertaining at times. It was just all a bit bland to me. It's a decent, sweet, cute rom-com if you're in the mood for a fizzy kind of read.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I do have a history of loving Emma Lord’s books, but sincerely that doesn’t make me biased. In fact in probably makes me even more of a hard critic, since she has to live up to my expectations that I know for sure she can meet.

Thankfully this one met my expectations and I loved it to pieces.

I’m such a sucker for the friends-before-lovers trope and even more so when it is childhood best friends. June and Levi started off as part of a group of friends but then a big misunderstanding separates them for nearly a decade and not even a huge tragedy could bring them together again.

But what did bring them back together again? Internet viral status! They end up being the reluctant half of a couple of massively publicized breakups, and now they are forced to team up in a bunch of fake dates to save a business, a relationship and well, to save face too.

The CHEMISTRY is off the charts, guys. The banter and the obvious love radiating these two kept me reading nonstop. I also really enjoyed how they portrayed a very mature way to handle feelings.

And well, I do not know what else to say to make you reading except I’m sure you’re up for a super fun summer read.

This is my first romance novel by Emma Lord! June and Levi were best friends growing up- but haven’t spoken in ten years. Coincidentally, they both have huge break ups that go viral. Levi then moves back to his hometown where he reconnects with June. They use their breakups to try and help their careers and their love life’s.

This was cute! Different then what I expected it to be. I liked the viral break up/tik tok aspect because that is so big right now. Unfortunately I did not love the characters and felt it was rushed how they fell back in love. The ending was great but I was really wishing for a big twist. Overall it was cute and expected like a good romance novel.

I have the same problem with Emma Lord that I do with Lynn Painter. I love their young adult books. I mean, give them all the awards and stars love. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, their adult works fall flat for me, which is what happened here.

Unfortunately, I never felt the chemistry between the main couple. It was hard to root for or care about the happily ever after. The characters seemed one-dimensional. I also took issue with the reason the characters stopped speaking in the first place. A simple conversation would have stopped all of this.

I will continue to read Emma Lord's young adult books, but I can't say I will rush to pick up her next adult novel.

Audio Notes: Once again, Natalie Naudus delivers an outstanding performance. I would pay to hear her read my grocery list.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book insanely boring. It was a struggle to get through some of the chapters because I just didn't care anymore. Once I got toward the end of the book I couldn't understand how so much was still left. I started to skim a little bit.

I loved the idea of this book though, it seemed like such a cute idea. It just didn't work out for me.

THE BREAK-UP PACT by Emma Lord transported me to Florida beaches. Is the story what I wanted it to be? A great escape, an appealing protagonist and a second chance with the one who got away and is also hurting from being dumped, and a well-written, wonderfully crafted story. Check, check, check. I enjoyed every minute of adventures with tea and scones, strong friends and community and a love story that packed a surprising punch. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

Emma Lord’s The Break-Up Pact brings a fresh twist to the fake dating trope, following June and Levi who team up to control the narrative and become “Revenge Exes” after their breakups go viral.

The novel beautifully captures the depth of young love as it matures, intertwined with the complexities of a shared tragic event in the past. The prose is captivating, and the pining and angst are palpable, making the emotional tension leap off the page. I longed for more time to savor the slow burn aspect of the romance, and wished June and Levi spent more time apart to reflect after their conflict. The pacing falters toward the end, with a resolution that feels too quick and convenient. Despite this, the book offers a heartfelt exploration of love, loss, and second chances that will resonate with romance fans. I’ll definitely be picking up another romance by Emma Lord.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin's Griffin for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Ah. Yeah. A bunch of mostly positive reviews with one or two stars. Y’all know the only person hurt here is the author? And completely fail to help the cause you claim to care about?

Anyway:
I’ve enjoyed Emma Lord’s YA books and was glad to see her move into adult romance. The Break-Up Pact is two childhood friends who parted under painful circumstances and haven’t spoken in a decade, who end up fake dating after both of their breakups go viral. June wants to reclaim the narrative (and save her beachside tea shop) after her boyfriend broke up with her on camera and her crying face turns her into the internet’s character of the day. Levi moves home to Benson Beach relationship ends up on Page Six after his fiancée chests on him with and dumps him for the literal Sexiest Man Alive. As the two help finalize the arrangements for June’s brother’s wedding, they go on a series of increasingly steamy fake dates, that - with the help of June’s aspiring journalist bestie - begin to change the narrative. And if it helps make their exes reconsider, so much the better… right?

The only real issue I had here was that I simply can’t imagine crowds (of random people or journalists) actually going out of their way to show up at someone’s small town place of business because of a meme. But unrealistic internet fame aside, I really enjoyed June and Levi growing separately and together, learning to live for themselves and not for others. In a lot of ways, this was as much about June realizing she can honor her late sister’s memory in spirit without being stuck unchanging because she thinks it’s what her sister would have wanted.

Giving this an extra star to counteract the nonsense.

Thanks to NetGalley and Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not a good fit for me. I didn’t connect with the characters at all, as I felt like there wasn’t enough back-story or reason for me to care about them. It felt very superficial. I won’t be sharing this review elsewhere.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In The Break-Up Pact, the protagonist, June, inherited her sister’s beachside shop called Tea Tide and there were so many descriptions of tea types and the yummiest sounding scones ever. But the real storyline was that June was famously dumped by her boyfriend who was on a reality show and her high school best friend, Levi, was dumped when his girlfriend ran off with a movie star. Both were splashed all over the internet and after photos of them hit social media, they decided to become “revenge exes” and fake a relationship to get back at their exes and to increase customers at Tea Tide. This book was a quintessential beach read. It was set at the beach, it was full romcom with a will they/won’t they vibe and while they dealt with heavy grief over the loss of June’s sister, it still had that fluffy, swoony feeling that feels summery to me. I always like a second chance romance/childhood friends dating and it made me really want a scone.