I had a hard time getting into this one. It was really solid in the beginning but then just fell flat. I’m also coming out of a reading slump though, so perhaps that’s why. I won’t post this review on Goodreads as it *might* just be me.

This was a three star read for me. I had to start it numerous times before feeling a slight interest in the story and characters. A three star read, for me, means I fully acknowledge I could have been out of sorts or in a funk and due to that, this has elements that will certainly be an easy four to five star read for someone else.

That being said, in 'The Break-Up Pact' by Emma Lord, two old friends, June and Levi, find themselves in an unexpected situation after both experience embarrassing, viral break-ups. June, who now runs a small beachside tea shop, and Levi, a hedge fund manager with dreams of becoming a novelist, decide to fake a relationship. Their goal? To get some positive attention on social media that might help June’s struggling business and possibly win back their exes. But as they navigate five "staged" dates, they start to wonder if their fake romance could turn into something real.

Again, I didn't feel especially connected to their story but I certainly recommend it and will continue to be super excited to read other works from Emma Lord!

I am a sucker for a good second chance trope, so this book looked like it would be right up my alley. And I was right -- this one was super cute, but, I will say it's much less romance and moreso women's fiction. I feel like this story was much less about Levi and June, and much more about June getting out of her sister's shadow and living her own life. In fact, that was my favorite part. I love to see a woman succeed!! If you're looking for an easy read with minimal drama, with a sprinkle of romance on top, you should for sure pick this up!

If you know me you know that friends-to-lovers trope is one of my all time favorite trope ever! So I had to read this book. That being said, it did kind of fall flat, but it was sweet and fluffy if that's what you're looking for.

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord's adult romance debut following a number of successful YA romance novels. After viral break-ups, childhood best friends, June and Levi, team up to fake date each other to get back at their exes and boost their business prospects. Of course, pretending to date turns into actually dating as they rekindle old feelings they held before they fell out of touch.

Romance is a hard sell for me, so I was never going to be the intended audience for this book. Even still, this book relies on overdone tropes that I think we could all afford to break up with.

❌ Second-chance romance
❌ Miscommunication
❌ Acting childish / over-reacting
❌ Third-act break-up
❌ Rushing into a relationship

Your mileage may vary, but in my opinion, this book was not a standout in any way.

I am so bummed. Typically I adore all of Emma Lord's books but for some reason this one just didn't hit home for me. It was probably more of a me thing than the book, but I just didn't connect with any of the characters & had a hard time even rooting for them to get together. I'll still always be a fan of Emma's but this one was just a miss for me sadly.

This book ended up being a DNF for me. I just couldn’t get into it—I realized it felt a bit too young for my taste. I think I’ve outgrown YA books, so this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally. That said, I know others have really enjoyed it, so I recommend checking out other reviews if you’re a YA fan!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This just wasn’t for me, but it had its cute moments. I did love how these two reconnected after both going through viral breakups. I thought that was an interesting and very modern premise.

The cover of The Break-Up Pact is what drew me in. I was hoping for a cutesy rom con and found one with this book. I enjoyed the fake dating trope, however I was not a big fan of the miscommunication trope. Having to yell "would you just TALK TO EACH OTHER" at a book is not something I particularly enjoy. That said, I did connect to and relate with the main character and enjoyed the humor and romance.

a second chance friends to lover rom com type book that I just ate up both of our mc has had their hearts broken recently by the people they were dating now they come together to get revenge but does it get a little too serious? that I'll let you find out by reading it for yourself over all i enjoy this story and did i say there is a tea shop in this story? if not there one not I will say there is a trigger for lost it doesn't happen in this book but it mentioned a few time in the book and it deal with our fmc dealing with it over all I gave this story 4 stars and i can't wait for the next book from Emma lord

Fun, sweet, and hilarious—this book is another hit from Lord. If you loved her YA novels, you'll love The Break-Up Pact and I can't wait to see what other adult romances she writes next.

This was a short beach read. The book was confusing for how everyone knew each other and the random dead sister that was there, but not really explained. It was on okay second chance romance.

A cute romance that is easy and breezy. It's a cute second chance romance that allowed for each character to grow and grow together. Best friends will always find their way back to each other, an adorable summer romance book!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This was a cute romance with unexpected backstory in the sister of the main character having died previous to the start of the book. June and Levi growing as the book went on was well done and I did enjoy the ending with it all tying together. While some of the plot points were a bit hard to believe, the overall message came through and was a quick read. 3.5 stars.

First, I was immediately confused by how everyone knew each other. Supposedly, these two life-long friends both go through public break ups with famous people (what a coincidence) and then both reconnect in their home town and decide to fake-date to make people pay attention to them? It was a little far fetched as a concept. It almost would have made more sense if they were strangers and not life-long friends. Throw in a dead sister (who we learn NOTHING about) and...still not sure. There are references to her and all of them growing up together, but some of the stories make it seem like she was the one with the crush on Levi but that is never addressed. It also took me half the book to realize the sisters were not twins. I also needed more backstory on why a tea and scone shop. I always like reading about characters re-connecting and realizing their feelings, but it could have been better done here with better communication. Even though the characters are 30, they come across as still immature and acting like they did around each other in high school.
All in all, I like the concept of the book, I just found the connection lacking and the length too long.

A sweet story about a two friends who grew apart only to come back to their home town and find each other again. Second chance in life and in love.

Fun summer read. Love the beach setting and the relationship between the characters. This is based on the fact that best friends will always come back together. Loved the banter and funny situations these 2 got into.

Being humiliated online is bad. Getting humiliated deliberately is worse. Humiliated during a public breakup is the worst. June is trying to endure her 15 minutes of notoriety, hoping that the “silver lining” might be that the extra business at her bakery will finally put it in the black. And- at least she isn’t Levi, her former friend from high school, who just had something similar happen except he’s sort of standing by his woman and waiting for her to return after she finishes her fling.

June and Levi were very human. Sometimes I wanted to encourage them, sometimes their characters irritated me. Levi especially made dumb decisions, but I think they’re decisions a person might actually make even though the romance side of me might have written a more “heroic” character trait.

June had a lot of grieving and coming to terms with how to go on with her life. I applaud the ending, but will say that I sometimes didn’t feel the emotion in her struggle. I think the book could have been more powerful with more emphasis on her growth and change. This sub-plot was important.

I give this four stars.

I'm usually a pretty big fan of Emma Lord's books, but this one missed the mark for me in a lot of ways. It's the first that's marketed as an adult romance fiction, but it honestly felt exactly like her YA books but with added steamy scenes. While the steamy scenes were good, it just felt off when the rest of the book felt very young adult written. I liked both the characters, but it wasn't enough to keep me fully into it. I wanted so much more from their romance, considering Emma Lord is usually so good at building up her characters relationships. Next one!

Thank you to the publisher for the arc, The Break-Up Pact was a read I was saving for the last days of summer and while I did love the setting and premise, I could not get into the story, The romance between Levi and June was not quite there for me but I liked the friends to lover trope in a cute beach town. If you like summer romances with a beachy town setting featuring friends to lovers, try this out!