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.

Good premises on this one. June gets broken up with on live TV when her boyfriend of ten years, decides to go on a reality show. She decides to move back home to take care of her late sister's shop.
Enters Levi, her high school crush and best friend - the guy who she overheard telling her sister he did not like her in that way at all - who is going through his own very public break up. With the help of one of June's friend, they decide to start a fake relationshipm going on dates to get revenge on both their exes.

So far, pretty good. I enjoyed the general ideas this book put forward.
Then we get to the reason why Levi told June's sister why he was not attracted to her back in school and it was so anticlimactic that the whole book lost appeal to me.
There was zero communication between these two once they decided they actually loved each other. The author came out with the excuse that both of them just came out of relationships where their parteners pushed them into doing that they wanted disregarding June's and Levis' feelings. So now, neither of them want to do the same to the other. Yes, of course I get that. But telling Levi that she loves him and wants to start a relationship with him it's not the end of the world. Is it long distance when you're a 90 minute bus ride away? Not sure.

I really did not like Levi. He slept with June and the following day he ghosted her because his ex girlfriend showed up because she wanted to get back together. Then once he decided he actually wanted June he went back to NY to sort out his job and life, while at the same time living with his ex? Nope, I'm sorry, you can't keep two feet in one shoe. You decided you wanted June, move out. But I guess that was not interesting, plotwise.

Great start, great premise, but half of the book was big let down.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this arc.

This was my first Emma Lord read. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was slow for me to get into. Could just be my summer reading slump. There were cute moments for sure as can be expected with fake dating—that element was my favorite. June and Levi fall into a fake situationship after their own relationships with other people blow up. There's a little of friends to lovers, second chance, and fake dating but it's defintely a slow burn which I'm realizing I'm not a fan of. Still worth the read!

The Break-Up Pact narrates the tale of two ex-best buddies who haven't had a word with each other for nearly a decade, both navigating through the turmoil of viral breakups. They decide to create a fake date to assist June’s Tea Tide enterprise and to demonstrate to Levi’s fiancé, Kelly, the potential loss she might face. This story was captivating and filled with warmth, offering a fresh perspective on love and recovery. I completely liked this novel and would strongly suggest it. Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC!

4.5/5

The Break-Up Pact, an adult romance debut, solidifies Emma Lord as an auto-buy author for me. Her stories are always well-written, have unique storylines, and include endearing characters you can’t help but root for. It doesn’t hurt that she loves to write one of my favorite tropes: best friends to lovers.

I loved The Break-Up Pact specifically because of Levi and June, their history, their present, and their potential future. Romance novels can follow such a scripted formula most of the time, and while this book does have a HEA, there were twists and turns I can honestly say I didn’t expect.

My only small deduction to result in 4.5 stars instead of a full five is because of the pacing half of the second half. It seemed to wrap up a bit slower than it should have, in my opinion as a reader. I got to the climax, looked at the percentage done, and was still only about halfway through. This made the rest feel like it was taking too long (but was still overall enjoyable). Once again, though, it’s a minor con in a story I otherwise loved.

It made me laugh at points, tear up at others (and not just in sad moments but for cute ones too!), and most importantly it made me truly care about the characters—main and side—while I was reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

If a book has the fake-dating trope in it, you can guarantee that I will be reading it .. it is one of my FAVOURITE tropes in a book. This book did a fantastic job at executing this trope. It was a cute, quick read and I really enjoyed it. I was expecting to get a more Romcom type vibe from this book and was a bit surprised at the more seriousness that it presented. However, this book was still enjoyable and would recommend it to those who enjoy the fake daing trope.

I loved this story! June and Levi’s story was SO MUCH more than many others I’ve read with the fake dating trope, because their background and relationship was well-developed and layered. The two best friends had a multifaceted past with one another that impacts the way their relationship plays out in the present. At the same time, the evolution of their relationship is impacted by other relationships, June’s business, life in a smaller town, and the media. All of these factors made the story super interesting to read, while drawing me in to the characters more and more.

The fact that this story was complex yet lighthearted, thoughtful while hopeful, and full of storylines that weren’t challenging to keep track of made it a joy to read. The beachside setting makes it a perfect, fell-good summer read!

I have a read a lot of Emma Lord books and this one just kind of falls in the middle.
It wasn't bad but also wasn't anything special. June and Levi are a good match and I think the chemistry showed through the pages but the storyline itself just felt like it has been done before, but with that being said I will still be picking up Emma Lords books going forward.

STORY LIKES
⭐⭐⭐

SPICE
🌶️ mild(ish)

RECOMMEND
💳 yes

Emma Lord's "The Break-Up Pact" is a short and sweet story about two high school friends who've lost touch only to find each other after they've been publicly dumped by their respective partners.

"The Break-Up Pact" is a sweet friends to lovers romance with a bit of miscommunication and it's always been you micro-tropes.

"It's love and it's fear and it's everything in between. It's ancient with understanding and fresh with desire. It's everything I feel reflected back at me, anchoring me in this moment so surely, so steadily, that if feels every bit as shocking to my system as everything that came before it."

June and Levi were best friends growing up, but certainly no longer. However, they both recently went through a breakup, a public and mortifying break up for each of them. So when someone grabs a photo of them together and the rumors start flying about them dating, they wonder what would happen if they make a pact? They will pretend to date, and make sure it is very public to show how well they are both doing. Could it work?

3.5 stars, The first thing I thought while reading this book is why the heck are Levi and June both still in contact with their horrible ex’s? I really didn’t understand why either of them wanted them to still be in their lives after they had broken up with them, and in mortifying and public ways. I enjoyed the story overall, but I did feel like it was missing that extra spark that Lords books usually contain. I just found myself wanting a little bit more from Levi and June’s relationship, but I still enjoyed the story for a quick fun read!

Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy of this book!

After the loss of her sister Annie, June has returned to her beachside hometown to run Annie's scone and tea shop, but she's struggling with grief and to make the rent. To top it all off, she's gone viral after her boyfriend, a contestant on a reality show, dumped her on national television. Her high school best friend Levi, with whom she has barely spoken in the last 10 years, also shows back up in town after a viral breakup of his own, when his fiancé hit tabloids for an affair with a People's Sexiest-type actor. Through a confluence of events they end up making a fake dating pact to work the social media moment in their favor - to get customers to June's shop, and to get Levi's fiancé to come back. Until, of course, sparks fly in another direction. I am a huge fan of Emma Lord's YA rom-coms (especially Tweet Cute and When You Get the Chance, but I'm afraid the transition to "adult" rom-com didn't work so well for me. The characters were young enough and were pretty much 100% still friends with their high school pack and still reminiscing so much about their high school days that it felt young - but then it lacked the cute, carefreeness that YA rom-com can have, and also it felt very jarring to have a really hot & heavy sex scene thrown in sometimes... And meeting this pack of friends 10 years after their high school glory days felt confusing at times, and like I didn't really know the depth of their history well enough. This one is for people who like a small-town or old, close-knit group of friends vibe, have a sweet tooth, want an escape to a beachy boardwalk, enjoy friends-to-lovers romance and/or fake dating trope, or get really into a social media viral moment. I received an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ★★★.25

Summer is quickly passing and I am trying to savor all the summer beachy vibes for as long as I can.

The Breakup Pact offers the perfect small beach town romance vibes. Our love interests are old childhood friends both suffering from painful (and very public) break ups while simultaneously sharing the experience of grief of the loss of a loved one. This story has both second chance romance and fake dating tropes and a whole host of supporting characters. For fans of small town romance, baking romance, and revenge plots.

I will say that I struggled with the pacing of this book. The beginning felt very bumpy and as things started to roll more smoothly it felt slightly dragged out. That being said, I adored the ending and the very beautifully handled grief representation.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the fake-dating trope with a healthy dose of realistic issues, including the loss of a loved one, small business troubles, break ups, and not feeling fulfilled in your career.

The tea shop by the sea was a super cute idea and I really loved following June’s small business journey. It was a cute and quick read.

I was so excited to try another Emma Lord book after reading all of her YA books.
June and Levi were best friends until they weren't. Levi moved away and June was traveling the world with her boyfriend until her world came crashing down and she had to return home. She inherited Tea Tide from her sister and wants the legacy of her dream to live on, but she is struggling. All the while, her boyfriend of 10 years dumps her on national televison and she is now viral for her crying face meme.
Levi also has a very public break up and once he returns home to hunker down and focus on himself, he goes to a place he feels at ease.. until June comes out and smashes that all up.
They divise a plan to fake date so the internet will get off their backs, but you know what they say about fake dating your former BFF.. its fake until it isn't. I understand the breakups were fresh but the chemistry between June and Levi was instant. You could feel that there was so many things left unsaid and unfinished business between them. There were parts of his story that I didn't love, but I really loved June's story of navigating her way through what she has always done and realizing that it is ok to have a new dream after one might have not panned out the way it was supposed to. So I am rounding up to 4 stars for her journey.
Thanks to St. Martins, Netgalley and Emma Lord for an early copy.

4 ⭐ 2 🌶 4 🎧

I really loved this story. Fake dating combined with unrequited love is one of my favorites and the back story for these two was just so casually heartbreaking and beautiful.

I really couldn't stand their exes. June's was a delusional a hole and Levi's was a catty bee 🙃 I wish they got better comeuppance, but this story was really about Levi and June rekindling their friendship above anything else.

For Emma's first adult novel, I thought the spice was perfect. It was exactly what I was expecting, an angsty slow burn with minimal details that still hit just right.

I'm really excited to see what's next, be it YA or New Adult, if Emma writes it, I'm reading it. Or listening! This audiobook was really well done and I loved Natalie Naudus as June and co.

Thanks to St. Martins's press and Netgalley for access to an e ARC for review purposes.

This was a very cute romcom and very well performed on the audiobook. The Break-up pact is a second chance friends to lovers fake dating romance with an entertaining premise. June and Levi are friends who fell out at the end of high school. June has always believed it was because she had feelings for Levi that were not returned. Now, 12 years later, both June and Levi are facing embarrassing public break ups with high profile x's. Thus the fake dating begins.

While their story is cute and quite funny at times, the story also shows June coming to terms with the loss of her sister (also a close friend of Levi). It has some important insights into grief and letting go, as June is stuck living the life she thinks her sister wanted instead of the one she may want.

My only complaint about the book is that is a bit too long. Some of the chapters seem repetitive and the characters do make mountains our of molehills on occasion. But Lord's prose was not for me in places where it seemed like she wanted to be profound, but couldn't quite get there

Even so this would be a fun read for any romance fan and a perfect beach read for the end of the summer.

I love Emma Lord's YA novels, so I was excited to get to listen to her adult debut, which is narrated by one of my favorite narrators. While Natalie Naudus' narration was stellar, it couldn't save this story for me. I cannot stand adults who just can't communicate and this entire book is based on miscommunication. I was left feeling frustrated most of the time. I also struggle with childhood friends to lovers, and maybe should've passed based on that, but I had high hopes that I would love it because of the author. This wasn't for me, but I know it's getting the love from readers who love these types of stories.

very cute book from emma lord, an absolute banger of an adult debut. it’s just as sweet as her YA novels!

DNF. I tried to get hooked on this one but I just couldn't get over the juvenile beginning. Too many things to overlook

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Spice Level: Spicy! Sex on page (and it went on for pages—which means I skipped that part)
Language: Smattering of profanity, including f-bombs
Representation: Gay side characters
Tropes: Friends to Lovers, Second Chance Romance, Fake Dating, Cozy Shop with Baked Goods

Jane and Levi (the former high school friends and love interest) are both likable and interesting people. Because of knowing each other as kids, they have the same background and overlap in their trauma of Jane's sister dying before this story begins. But they've only superficially kept up with each other for the last ten years.

Both of their love lives have exploded over social media. And that's where the fun begins. They fake date for different reasons. Levi hopes his former love will come around and June needs an influx of money for her tea shop on the seaside. But fake dating leads to them better understanding their falling out as teens and all of their decisions since then.

If you've read other Emma Lord books, or authors like Emily Henry and Sophia Kinsella, then this is the perfect book for you.

Happy reading!