This was very cute!

Childhood friends reunited under some wild circumstances! A small town! Bad breakups gone viral! Simmering sexual tension!

Y'all know that fake romance isn't my fave, but it worked here. A very quick romance that was a delightful addition to my week!

Big thanks to St. Martins Press an

This was my first time reading one of Emma Lord’s novels, and WOW! It was amazing!

From start to finish, this book was captivating and evoked emotion. Not to mention, it’s extremely well-written!

While reading about the relationship struggles the characters went through and learning to trust oneself before being able to fully trust another, I couldn’t help but think about how relatable the characters were in the story! I think the themes of trust, grief, self-confidence, self-worth, and love will appeal to all readers, but especially millennials. The uncertainty of change and taking a leap, whether in love or one’s career, can feel daunting, and this book captured all of the emotions perfectly.
 
Thank you for the ARC copy of this wonderful book!

Thank you, St Martin's Griffin and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of The Break-Up Pact.

This was as cute fun beach read. I read some other reviews that scored this novel rather low (two and one star), and I really think those people are looking for more out of a novel than what this had to offer. This book gave me exactly what I thought it would: fun, love, fake dating, and second-chance romance. Emma Lord did a great job in her debut adult romance. I'll definitely keep my eye out for her next!

June is trying like crazy to keep her beachside tea and pastry shop's doors open when she sees a blast from the past, her one-time teenage friend. Levi was more friendly with June's older sister who has since passed, but there was always a current of something more between June and Levi. June carries on with her high school sweetheart, and Levi starts dating someone after his move to New York. When both go through very public, very nasty breakups, Levi finds his way back to Benson Beach and finds himself making a break-up pact with June. He wants to save his relationship with his ex and she needs help to save her floundering shop. When the fake feelings start to awaken real feelings from the past, Levi and June are forced to make a decision to bet on each other or cut ties once and for all.

3 stars for my first read from Emma Lord. I didn't find anything wrong with this book. It just won't be especially memorable for me. I would entertain reading other's from the author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced eARC copy. The Break-Up Pact is available on August 13, 2024.

This was a cute, lighthearted read from a new to me author, and I’ll be sure to read more of her books in the future.

Loved the setting and the plot about June’s tea shop, which was utterly charming and delightful. Loved the fake dating of it all, one of my favorite tropes. Loved the moment when things became real for June and Levi, when their long term attraction finally came out.

Levi did drive me semi- crazy though with what felt like extreme indecisiveness, making me dock a star. He wasn’t the best book boyfriend I’ve read, though he does start to make up for it in the end.

Thank you SMP for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book is cute. I enjoyed the premise and the writing was good. The only thing (which may be a me thing) is I didn’t really connect with the characters.

I thought The Break-Up Pact was really cute, but unfortunately, some pieces did feel a little too familiar to me. I can be a tough romcom critic and some of the plot points and dialogue felt forced and unrealistic to me. That said, it was a really easy, fun read, and I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys a Sarah Adams, Hallmark style story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really, really wanted to love this book. Small town, second chance, fake dating vibes is my thing. Sadly, this fell a bit flat for me. I never truly felt the chemistry between June and Levi - not in the past or present.

There were a few things that felt unfinished to me and others that seemed forced. The whole wedding planning plot line was unrealistic and the tension with June’s dead sister was unresolved.

While I was pleased the main characters got their HEA, I was never fully invested in their relationship and felt my mind wandering through parts of the book. I alternated between print and audio versions of the book and found the audio to be well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to access advance copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

feel like Emma Lord just is not for me.

I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters, the plot was just okay, and the pacing felt rushed.

I had such high hopes for this book!

Best friends in high school getting a chance to reconnect and fall in love through fake dating. Sounds like a solid plot! But it just did not deliver for me. The chemistry between the characters just wasn't there. The banter fell flat and the jokes didn't hit home. It was also a very slow burn, and since it lacked so much for me, I wasn't invested enough to want to keep going.

The writing is solid and the cover is super cute! It just didn't work for me.

This is my first book by Emma Lord and I enjoyed her writing style. I felt the nostalgic love between our two main characters in the way she describes how June’s body reacts to Levi. I was really into this at first but as the story went on it felt drawn out and I wasn’t reaching for my kindle often. My interest picked up again closer to the end of the book. Overall, a sweet summer read. I loved the full circle moment at the end!

Thank you for the advanced copy.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6696609521

3.5/5 I am so happy that Emma Lord is making her adult romance debut. I loved Tweet Cute so much! The Break Up Pact was a fun premise - two childhood friends go through viral break ups and reconnect to fake date to become the Revenge Exes. As always with the fake dating troupe, June realizes that her feelings for Levi may not be in the past after all.

I liked June as a narrator, but I would have also liked to have gotten Levi's POV too. I am huge fan of fake dating, but I felt it took too long for June and Levi to get together. There was a lot of description of what Levi meant to June then and now leading up to them getting together. Once they finally get together, their scene was equal parts spicy and sweet. I wish there was more of that throughout the book. I feel like we hardly go to see Levi and June as a couple. While they acted in ways that they needed, it left me wanting more of them as a real couple. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I wanted to like this more than I did, though other readers I'm sure will be right on board. For what is presented as an enemies-to-lovers fake dating romcom, grief featured a lot. I don't need that--I've enough of it in real life. Also,, the story does focus a lot on social media and going viral, Tim-Tok and the like, which again isn't my thing. But it might be yours.

My biggest complaint is that the two spent way too long avoiding just talking things out, a negative motivation that is a total buzzkill for me. There were many fun aspects to the book, making it an okay read, but I felt it could have been miles better without the dead friend dragging them down, and some real conversations to make their romance interesting.

Former best friends enacting a fake dating plot after they both got virally dumped. Oh the set up of this book had me so excited!! June and Levi have barely spoken over the past 10 years but after being on the receiving ends of massively public break ups they find themselves both back in their home town. The first half of this book flew between the fake dates and tension. The second half dragged on a bit but I loved the call backs in the epilogue!

A friends to lovers book with a really fun twist, I love how this plays out on a national and local stage!

June is a pretty fun heroine — even if she makes some frustrating decisions in the name of protecting herself. It was nice to watch her process grief, and how she loves the people around her so well. And her longing for Levi’s friendship is so pure and good, and relatable. And the way she falls into that is so satisfying.

Levi is making some terrible choice we all can relate to when we love someone for a long time… and then June shows up and gives him a bit of power back. I loved him and his soft spots.

My biggest frustration was with the clear miscommunication… or more accurately, REFUSAL of communication because no one says anything they feel, from chapters 16 through 22 or 23. It made me not want to finish it. The character’s decisions were very frustrating. BUT they were realistic in their stupidity. But they did have a lot of internal problems they needed to solve so the chapters are necessary… Although if miscomm is a huge red flag for you, maybe skip those chapters. . .

But the end was sweet. I was happy I finished it when I got past myself. All in all, about a 3.5 read.



CW/TW: loss of sibling before story; one chapter of sex on page, easily skippable;

. . . ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭒
Hallmark movie vibes live here friends, and if it weren’t for the fact that it’s summer, this bad boy would be all over my TV during the holiday season.

This completely served its purpose, and checked the boxes for a lovely summer vacation read. Small town romance? Check. Friends to lovers? Check. Fake dating? Check. Some spice, solid banter, and plenty of baked goods? Check, check, and check. While enjoyed the dynamics between June and Levi, I also really liked both the friendship that June held with Sana, and the relationship between Dylan and Mateo. These small town interconnected relationships usually have a tendency to hook me, but I quite enjoyed the ones in this novel.

Epilogues don’t really do it for me, and I feel the same way about this one; happily-ever-afters don’t have to be served on a silver platter, complete with a proposal. This is fully a personal preference, so it’s not that there was anything about this one that I disliked, I just find the last chapter is the true end of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this cute summer romance and would definitely pick up something else by this author.

~👩🏻‍🦰

The story begins with June who is fresh out of a 10-year relationship and due to her ex being on reality TV, she’s since become a meme. She’s also struggling to run The Tea Tide as business is slow. However, things only get stranger as she runs into Levi, her former friend who was also publicly dumped by his fiance.

I’m sure you can see where this story is going. Levi and June agree to fake-date as a way for June to help keep her business afloat while Levi wants to make his ex jealous. Of course, old feelings start to come back and the connection between these two is undeniable. While it seems like this book would hit the normal fake dating beats, Emma Lord really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster with this one.

The Break-Up Pact is a lot about the romance between June and Levi, but it’s also about their shared bond with Annie. Annie is June’s sister and Levi’s best friend who passed due to a brain aneurysm. The two are still dealing with a lot of grief, related to that and it has impacted their lives in different ways. It’s honestly hard to read at times so if you’re in the midst of grief, I’d suggest sitting this one out.

Aside from the grief featured in these pages, the story does focus a lot on social media, going viral, and dealing with the aftermath of that. If you enjoy drama, reality TV, and TikTok, then The Break-Up Pact is exactly what you need. On the whole, this book was fun and felt very akin to Lord’s YA titles so I think this would be a great stepping stone if you’re looking for something more from her.

The only real critique I have about The Break-Up Pact is how much June and Levi avoided having big or hard conversations. The two of them couldn’t just sit down and talk which aggravated me. Either way, this feels like a great start to Emma Lord’s adult romance writing journey.

The Break-Up Pact, a small town romance, follows childhood friends June and Levi as they both are recovering from their separate very public, viral breakups. I really enjoyed the overall premise of the book, the fake dating, in an effort to salvage their reputation and in Levi's case, to get his ex back. The romance fell a bit short for me, I just did not feel the spark as much as I wanted to and the fact that for most of the book, Levi had the intention of getting his ex back gave me the ick - it made the connection with June seem rushed. You have lovable side characters, like June's best friend who helps orchestrate the fake dating and her brother and his fiancé. They are central parts of the book, which also covers second chances and grief.

*4.5 Stars*

After a public break-up, June is known across social media as 'the crying girl'. Now she has lost her regular customers and maybe her business that was opened by her sister. When Levi, a friend from high school who is also going through a public break-up comes back to town, they soon find themselves back in the social media gossip when a photo that gets leaked onto the internet perceives them as more than friends. Now instead of crying girl, Levi and June are known as the revenge exes. The two decide to keep the rumor going and create a pact to act like a true couple. What could go wrong?

I was surprised on how much I loved this book. The narrator did a great job for this story, and I ended up finishing this book in two days. I love June and Levi as main characters and as a couple. I loved their chemistry with each other and the comedic situations they got themselves into. Overall, I highly recommend this book for fans of the fake dating trope.

The Break-Up Pact is out August 13th.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review The Break-Up Pact. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Break-Up Pact is a cute summer read about June and Levi who are childhood friends that lost touch due to not sharing their feelings for one another. They’re also dealing with the grief of June’s sister and have both recently been broken up with in very public and humiliating ways.

This story had a lot of potential but ultimately fell kinda flat and left me feeling meh. I think for such a short book there was too many subplots happening which left me wanting more in so many aspects.

I think I’m in my slow-burn era because it was just so hard to believe that these characters could jump right into a fake relationship with all the drama they’ve gone through even with their history. It was hard for me to be invested in these characters.

Overall, it was an easy summer read that was cute but left me hoping for more.

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