Picture this: your boyfriend just broke up with you on TV, your crying face became a meme, your scone cafe is crumbling down and to top it all off, people now think that you’re dating your high school crush to get back at your ex. Summer couldn’t get any worse, could it?

Oh my god, this book has it all. The pipeline from childhood besties to high school crush to not speaking for years to fake dating to being so utterly in love with each other made me realize how lonely I was, lol. June and Levi’s relationship didn’t seem to work at first, but boy was I wrong. The chemistry, the unspoken understanding they have of each other.

I was so glad to see how it all played out without unnecessary 3rd act break up, with a little jealousy and drama, but our heroes still emerge victorious and in love with each other. I loved every second of it and long for more 😭

Go Girl, give us… nothing.

“The Break-Up Pact” is a story about the importance of working on ourselves before committing to a relationship we know it's not right for us, at least not at that moment.
Ignoring things is not the solution, pushing people away is not the solution, and shutting down is not the solution. Yeah, you got it right: communicating is the only way for the other person to be in your head, even if sometimes it might feel unnecessary.

But, unfortunately, what’s missing from “The Break-Up Pact” is the romance.
Besides a very hot chapter and some butterflies here and there near the end, the fake dating didn’t make me feel anything.
It may sound weird but, when people pretend to date, it's also kinda a slow burn - they realize they like each other, they wanna spend time with the other, and then one of them goes too far and bum, how can't they be in love?! But it's under everyone’s eyes that June and Levi find each other hot and like each other - and not just like best friends -, so every little moment of pure joy when they were supposed to pretend was so obvious that it just didn't give me anything.

Also, romance aside, the whole plot of the book is that these two became internet famous after having been dumped on national television (June) and being cheated on by a People’s Sexiest Actor of the Year (Levi), so everyone is now obsessed with them being together.
And my only question is: why?

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Fake dating and second chances? Yes please! I love the fake dating due to it usually end with them getting together! I liked this book. Gives an important message about always staying true to your self and that love can be messy but so worth it.

Main Characters:
-- June Hart – late 20s, owner of Tea Tide café in Benson Beach which she took over running after her older sister Annie died unexpectedly a couple years ago, recently labeled Crying Girl after her boyfriend broke up with her on camera and the video went viral
-- Levi Shaw – late 20s, grew up in Benson Beach, went to high school with June and Dylan, was Annie’s best friend, moved to New York and works in hedge funds, recently went viral in online headlines when his fiancée ran off with an action movie star
-- Dylan Hart – June’s younger brother, a university track and cross-country coach, planning his wedding to Mateo
-- Mateo Diaz – Dylan’s fiancé, full-time professor at the same university where Dylan works, has known June and Dylan since he and June were 10 years old
-- Sana Chen – freelance writer, June’s current best friend, trying to earn a full-time job with the pop culture website Fizzle

I love me some Emma Lord. 😊

June runs Tea Tide, a beachside café in the small community of Benson Beach, about an hour and a half bus ride from New York City. Business had been down after her sister Annie’s unexpected passing a couple years ago. June has struggled to keep coming up with scone flavors as specials of the week, and she struggles even more to pay the rent and needs to figure out a way to change up the business plan without letting go of Annie’s dream. These days, most of her “customers” just want a picture of June as Crying Girl, who went viral when her boyfriend Griffin broke up with her on camera after meeting someone else during his stint on the reality show Business Savvy. Can’t get much more publicly humiliated than that, right?

Levi left Benson Beach for college and never looked back. He and Annie had planned to pursue writing together, but something changed, and he headed to New York where he ended up in a career as a hedge fund manager. His fiancée Kelly, a high-end real estate agent, left him for an action movie star in the same month as June and Griffin’s split. When he starts to appear in all the headlines, he takes a leave from his job and heads back to Benson Beach.

When Sana suggests they fake date as #RevengeExes, June gains visibility for the café and Levi hopes to make Kelly jealous to win her back. Of course, June had a crush on Levi in high school, so spending time in such close proximity to him does nothing to help her quash those feelings that come roaring back.

This is kind of a new play on a second-chance romance because June and Levi were never a thing. I know some people prefer closed door romance. This one has a single chapter with some heat, and it’s a great story to boot. The execution of June and Levi’s love story does not disappoint.

Aside from the romance, I love the way Lord gives June some closure. She has struggled in the two years since losing her sister, but there are so many things she needs to find her way through. It almost feels like the classic idea that you have to hit bottom before you can find your way.

Finally, one of my favorite things about this author—besides her fantastic plotlines—is her ability to paint a picture and create realistic dialog (i.e., banter) that makes me smile.

“It’s only a matter of time before he’s pulled back into the orbit of the other lifeless hedge fund drones he calls coworkers, who break the time-space-sanity continuum by working thirty-hour days and turning their blood into Red Bull. I can count on none fingers the number of times he’s been home for more than a few days since he graduated from Columbia.”

“‘I’m not seven anymore,’ I remind him. ‘I’ll squish you’
“‘I’m not eight anymore,’ says Levi, affronted. ‘And you’re pocket-sized. Give my muscles some credit.’”

“‘That’s it,’ I say flatly. ‘I’m breaking up with you.’
“Levi doesn’t even glance up from the table. ‘Well, we had a good run.’”

If you’re looking for something fun, a little beach, a little romance…pick up The Break-Up Pact. You’ll be happy you did.

The Break Up Pact is fast paced, though could be a bit shorter. I liked that it was new adult, not young adult. Its about post-college characters so they were a little more mature than younger kids. I do think the miscommunication here was a bit annoying, but I think of myself in my early 20s and I probably didn't communicate very well then either. To this point, it was well written!

I'm withholding my review of The Break-Up Pact in solidarity with the #SpeakUpSMP boycott. Please visit https://r4acollective.org/about/ for more information.

The Break-Up Pact is Emma Lord’s debut into the adult world, after having read her YA work I was curious about this one. It checks all the boxes you’d want in a romcom, and is well rounded but felt it was a simply standard romcom and didn’t give me any swoony or fuzzy feelings I’d want in one.

It really might just be me but I think I’ve realized I don’t really vibe with the fake dating trope, or feel they are all the same. In this story, the two MCs also help plan a wedding for their friends, and having just read a book with the same wedding planning situation, it took my enjoyment out of this one. I did really enjoy the last half of this book and the epilogue gave me those fuzzy feelings I would have wanted throughout.

June and Levi were best friends in high school. After not having spoken in ten years due to a fallout, and each going through very public, viral, breakups, they decide to fake date to get back at their exes.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed this, but I did feel like it was kind of all over the place at times. I wish we had gotten dual perspectives because I would have loved to gain more of an understanding of Levi's intentions as he processed multiple past, current, and future relationships. It was a bit confusing, and I was sometimes unclear about the characters' intentions.

3.75🌟
This was a sweet summer read! I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, it was exactly what I needed! It’s definitely more of a contemporary romance I think personally, then a rom com which I was expecting but I’m not mad about it! I loved the emotional and more serious aspects to the story giving it some depth, and both June and Levi were real, loveable characters. Also I’m a sucker for fake dating and small town romance so ate that up!! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a heartwarming summer read!

The Break-Up Pact is a lighthearted and perfect beach-read romance. June and Levi have both been publicly dumped by their exes. June is trying to keep her shop going and preserve her sister’s legacy. Levi is desperately trying to finish a manuscript. When they are photographed together, they are assumed to be a couple and getting revenge on their exes. Suddenly, business at the shop picks up. Levi and June agree to fake date- what could go wrong?

The Break-Up Pact is filled with Emma Lord’s signature witty writing. There are so many delicious dessert details! I really enjoyed learning about June’s relationship with her sister and why it was so important to her to keep the shop going. Levi is adorable and such a genuine guy. The setting of the town feels cozy and welcoming. Check out The Break-Up Pact if you enjoy sweet characters, fake dating, and witty dialogue.

Thank you to Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for this ARC

Totally enjoyed this story of estranged friends coming together to avenge their recent exes who broke up with them in very public (and viral) ways. They are also at professional crossroads in their lives. So they pretend to fall in love via social media, and in the end, really do fall in love and find success in their loves. I found June and Levi (and their friends) to be relatable and their relationship path a fun journey to read.

4.5 stars!!!
I love love loved this book! I wanted to be in Benson Beach and become friends with the characters. It was so relatable & felt so real. I was smiling and filled with joy at times, but I also had furrowed brows and felt tight pulls in my chest. Emma Lord was able to pull me in & keep me drawn in chapter after chapter! I cannot wait to read more E. Lord books!
June is a twenty-something who is broken up with on live TV and made an internet meme. Her childhood crush and friend Levi is going through a hard breakup as well. Both return to their hometown of Benson Beach and are seen together. Quickly they are known as the revenge exes. They agree to continue fake dating in hopes of benefiting themselves. June needs the attention for her scone shop, Tea Tide & Levi wants to win back/make jealous his ex Kelly. Throughout the story, their old feelings resurface and they start to wish the fake dates... weren't so fake.
If you love cute romance novels, you NEED to go out and get this book and some scores when it comes out on August 13, 2024!
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Thank you, NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Favorite quotes:
-"Anytime I felt out of place, I would think of you. Something funny you might say. And then I didn't feel so out of place anymore."
- "I could fall into these words like warm sheets and tuck myself into them."
- "What I felt for you then? What I feel for you now? It never went away."
- "When you love someone the way I love Levi, it comes every bit as much a feeling as it is a part of your own soul."
- "So he doesn't mean home like a place; he means the home right here in each other's arms."

I didn’t love this one as much as I loved the authors previous book. It was a little slow getting going, and could have used more spice!

I have kind of been putting this review off for a while because I feel really bad about it.

First off I want to thank the other and NetGallery for giving me the opportunity to have an ARC of this novel. I am a big fan of romance reads (or romantic comedies) which is why when I read the synopsis I thought this was a book for me.

When I started reading the novel however I found myself having a hard time getting through the book and almost DNF. Its really a 1.5-2 out of 5 stars for me.

While a second chance romance or friends to lovers tropes are not my ideal reads I do not mind them, that being said I really was hoping for more revenge on their exes I guess. The characters were just to nice in my opinion.

Then everything just kind of seemed rushed by the time they finally get together and the end. It just didn't flow well in my opinion.

I would probably recommend this book to very tame readers.

June and Levi were best friends when they were younger but had since grown apart. Recently they had both gone through some very public breakups.

June owns a tea shop by the beach and is struggling to make ends meet. Levi is a hedge fund manager in New York City and a failed author. He comes back into town to try and make amends as well as try and get back into writing.

June and Levi start talking again and end up having pictures of them posted on the internet which go viral. Due to that June's tea shop business starts taking off with lines out the door to get in. They decide to make a break-up pact to help benefit both of them, Levi with his ex and June with her tea shop.

I thought this fake dating trope was done very well in this story. I enjoyed both stories of June and Levi, it did have some serious moments but it was well handled.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sadly, this one wasn’t for me. It felt very under developed. Having tropes for the sake of tropes and very little character depth.

I was bored and not invested in any of the characters. Felt very YA.

The Break-Up Pact
By: Emma Lord
Review Score: 4 Stars

Boogie’s Bulletpoints
•I love June and Levi, and how their lives are interconnected in so many ways.

•This is fake dating at its finest!

•While a story with a lot of fun, there is also a lot of emotion (Lord honestly writes the best characters).

•June really has to go through so many phases to get where she needs to go, and I think we can all relate to that.

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The Break-Up pact follows June and Levi, two people who were both broken up with by their significant others in a way that goes viral. These two actually have history, and so they start fake dating (a favorite trope of mine). Obviously, old history is brought up and feelings are shared.

While this book has all of that, it has heart too. No spoilers, but June and Levi have both lost someone very close to them, and those feelings shape who they are. I really resonated with that throughout the story.

Such a cute read! I’ll definitely be recommending it to my followers. June Hart and Levi Shaw were so easy to love as was the seaside town of Benson Beach. I wish Tea Tide was a place I could actually go and sit down with a book and a cup of tea. Emma Lord created such an amazing setting for such a great text book rom com. The banter was superb and I caught myself laughing out loud. Sana was the best kind of best friend too. Overall loved this book and can’t wait to read more from Emma Lord.

June and Levi were best friends in high school; however, neither could figure out their feelings for each other. Levi left for the city and June helped her older sister open a tea shop on the board walk. Years later, Levi is back in town after a break up and June is also recently single. Together they are planning June's younger brother's wedding and decided to fake date their way through the breakups to make them seem not so bad. Are they able to figure out their feelings for each other this time around?

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun romance to read by the water. I was cheering on June and Levi throughout the book and I so badly want to visit June's tea shop. Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, but I had an extremely hard time really getting into and connecting with the characters. I felt that there were several sections of the book that were unnecessary and those parts in particular made it hard to keep my attention. I also felt that the "ex" portions of this book were very unrealistic.