Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This was very cute, with surprising depth. It was not what I expected, but in a good way. I thought it was going to be a light rom-com which I have realized is not my thing, so I was happy with the more serious tone. It's definitely a Contemporary Romance, not a rom-com, which is a plus for me. I adore the fake dating trope, and this had all the elements I like. June and Levi were compelling characters, and I really liked seeing their journeys.
I'm quite tired of the failing business storyline, but here it was fresh because it's tied up in love, loss and not being able to let go. The first chapter had me wary and thinking this was going to be the same old, same old, but I was happy to see that wasn't the case.
This is a really lovely read, and I recommend it.

I'm an Emma Lord stan, and I'm not mad about it. I'm always slightly apprehensive when favorite young adult authors transition to adult (ahem, Erin Hahn) but I have yet to doubt any of them. Was it odd to read spicy scenes from the Dessert Gremlin of NYC? Yes, but spicy scenes are always weird.

June Hart took over her sister's scone and tea shop after she passed away. Either we never find out how the sister died, or I totally missed it. She's just been dumped on live television by her boyfriend of a decade when her childhood best friend reappears fresh off his own heartache in a public sphere. So they team together to make it seem like they're less miserable, and in a way it works.

Not my favorite Emma Lord, but I'd recommend if someone wants a beach-y read that isn't Elin Hilderbrand.

Thanks, NetGalley!

This story reminds me a bit of a Hallmark movie but with modern ages (aka TikTok etc.). I really thoroughly enjoyed and was pulled into the story immediately. I loved both characters and how they developed throughout the book. And ah, I just love their love.


The story goes along with fake dating and second chances, but something in the plot was missing though, not sure what but just something minor. I also did not see too much of a significance of bringing up the sister and her not wanting the two characters together, since it never really gave any background to it or why. It felt thrown in with the rest of the details and just did not seem to make sense to me besides to show "why" they ignored each other... which is also ignorant, but a lot more of that is my rant of the book versus any actual 'problems'.

This book was such a delight. I enjoyed watching the characters unfold while relishing in the memories of their pasts. Emma did such a great job writing each of these characters with such heart and depth while still making this a light and fun read for all. It definitely a book to add to your summer TBR. Make sure you read it as soon as possible! This book totally gave me all the warm fuzzy feels and I know it will for you as well!

I couldn’t get into the story just as I thought. Not disappointed but need more depth, I think. I can't remember when was the last time when I read a book in which the whole plot was 100% equal to what was written in the blurb and nothing more. There was no surprise there, no resolution to any of the plot threads and the whole story was blatantly predictable and painfully dull.

I felt the set up for this book was very convoluted. Two people who haven’t spoken in 10 years decide to fake date because the girl (June) was broken up on a “Shark Tank” like show her boyfriend went to be on. And her brought his new girlfriend with him to do it on live TV. A Meme of June crying goes viral. While the boy (Levi) has his real estate girlfriend cheat on him with a movie star she sold a penthouse to and paps photo of them kissing go viral online. Meanwhile June needs to save her deceased sister’s beach side tea shop. And them dating is going to help her shop somehow? And also them fake dating will make Levi’s not ex (because he says they’re just taking a break) jealous. All this just to get to them fake dating. Too much was going into just getting the MMC and FFM together. It bogged down the start of the book.

Perfect beach/summer read covering all the best tropes- fake dating, friends to lovers, and rom com vibes! Quick & fun read!

Best friends to estranged friends to fake dating to lovers......yes, give me all the tropes!!! This has such great small town, gilmore girls vibes to it. It goes even deeper than just a love story: it has dealing with grief, social media viral moments, and even finding new career moves. There was miscommunication, which I definitely did not like but it made for an interesting read. I love the creativity that June had! Loved Sana's articles too! It was so fun!

Usually Emma Lord is an auto-buy author for me. I struggled with this one more than her others but enjoyed the setting more than anything. Thanks so much for the advanced copy.

A perfect summer beach read! The Break-Up Pact is a swoon-worthy romance with charming characters, fake dating, and a cute beachside tea shop. The romance had me invested from the start, but it's more than a typical rom-com dealing with grief and finding your path as well. I couldn't put this book down and can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is my first book by Emma Lord. I liked it fine enough, but I found the plot to be incredibly slow (possibly to be more like real life) and the characters to be frustratingly stubborn. "He isn't being open enough with me after we froze each other out for years, so I'm going to give him the silent treatment and hope he figures it out."

This does make for a light and quick beach read, though. Pros and cons.

This was such a great read featuring fake dating and friend to lover’s romance. June and Levi haven’t spoken for about 10 years since high school graduation and now they have both have breakups that went viral on social media so they decided to fake date to help June with her struggling bakery and for Levi’s ex to regret losing him. I love the growth of the characters with June finally realizing that she doesn’t need to keep the bakery exactly how her dead sister had it and that she can change it to something she wants and still honor her sister’s memory and Levi has to let go of the life he had now which is not what he dreamed he would be doing but he changed to have a stable income since his mom got sick while he was in college and try to get back to what he really wanted to do which is be a writer.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

I was so excited to receive this arc late last year but i waited until the summer to read it because it felt like such a summery read, and boy was i right. The only thing i wish is that i had read it on the beach, I am an emma lord stan forever. her books never disappoint

June and Levi are childhood best friends who each experience public break ups gone viral. They decide to use this to their advantage and fake date, bringing lots of nostalgic feelings to the surface.

This book too long and slow in some parts but was overall a fun and summery read! If you enjoyed Funny Story by Emily Henry, then you’ll like this one too!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Grab your copy of The Break-Up Pact on August 13th!

Emma Lord is on my list of favorite romance authors! The break up pact is clever and realistic. I would recommend it to my friends!

The Break-Up Pact

3.75 ⭐️

I was so excited to get this ARC on @netgalley. Summer books set on the beach are always so fun.

When two childhood friends both get dumped very publicly, they decide to use it to their advantage and fake date. If you enjoyed Funny Story, this one was kind of similar!

These characters felt kind of young, which I get since Emma Lord does a really good job at YA books. In the first half of the book, I loved the banter and crazy situations June and Levi got into. The second half had a lot of miscommunication, and parts felt too slow while others felt rushed. Still a fun quick beach romance!

Highly recommended for fans of Kate Clayborn and Emily Henry. This is my first time reading a book by Emma Lord, and I really enjoyed it. One warning: the official synopsis on this does not mention that a major theme in this book is the characters dealing with the death of a sibling/friend, but it is done in a very moving and sensitive manner.

June and Levi grew up together in a tight-knit friend group which included June's sister Annie and brother Dylan. The two seemed destined to get together in high school, but a misunderstanding/fear of sharing their real feelings caused them to split apart and avoid each other for nearly ten years. Fast forward to the present, both are back home after dealing with very public and humiliating breakups with pseudo-celebrity significant others. Also tying them together is the sudden and unexpected death of June's sister, Annie. To turn the tide of social media obsession with their breakups -- and to build up business for June's struggling bakery that she inherited from her sister -- they agree to pose as a couple for the summer. Their former feelings are not so former, and soon they have to confront their past and decide what kind of future they want.

While there is certainly a Hallmark-type vibe on the surface of the story, I thought the character development and exploration of how everyone dealt with grief over the loss of Annie added significant depth to the story. June and Levi are very sympathetic main characters -- each feels lost and somewhat adrift due to major life changes and struggles to find their path forward. The fake dating trope has been done extensively, but here everyone involved saw right through it from the start given June and Levi's real feelings for each other. I also liked the small beach town setting, which makes it a perfect summer read.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

Firstly, Thank you NetGalley and Emma Lord for allowing me to read an arc of your upcoming book in exchange for my honest review .

I really loved this book. I felt it really connected with me in regards to grief and finding a way to move forward. I loved the connection between the MC’s and the side characters are just *chefs kiss* I gave it 4 star only because sometimes it felt very rushed and others like it was skipping/missing details. I would find myself a little confused at times or just plain wanting alittle more background. All in all though I’d definitely read again ❤️

I’ve read every book that Emma Lord has put out, and although I started out loving them, her last couple YA titles have started to feel more and more juvenile. After her last release being my least favorite to date, I was very hesitant to give this one a go but had already been approved for the ARC.

Thankfully, The Break-Up Pact had everything that her last couple books were missing for me. The setting of the book encapsulated me from the very beginning and I thoroughly enjoyed the story from beginning to end.

I did find the romance to be a little lacking, hence the four stars. I enjoyed both June and Levi as characters, but I feel like even at the end of the book, they still had a lot of work to do to be the best people for each other. However, I did love all of the smaller plot lines and characters in the story, particularly June’s brother and his fiancé, and I honestly really enjoyed reading a romance book that wasn’t fully centered around just the fmc and mmc (I feel like a lot of popular booktok books recently lose sight of plot in favor of how many smutty scenes they can include, which I enjoy reading sometimes as well, but this was definitely a nice change of pace).

I’d definitely recommend this one, especially for a summer read, and I’m looking forward to *hopefully* more adult novels from Emma Lord in the future!

This book was so cute and fun! I absolutely adored June and Levi's dynamics. They were childhood best friends who lost touch and are now reconnecting in their hometown while going through viral breakups. The pacing was perfect but at times it felt like everything was too perfect. There weren't any big conflicts but other than that I really enjoyed it!