This book was really sweet. I thought that our two main characters were easy to follow and I loved the snapshots of younger them that we got to see. I thought that there were some moments throughout the book that were a little annoying, but overall it was a really sweet second chance(ish) romance!

Closed Door Modification: Chapter 15

I was sent an ebook ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

I loved the premise of childhood best friends that lost touch, only to reconcile and make a breakup pact to get back at their ex’s. June and Levi both had public, humiliating breakups. When a picture is taken of them without their knowledge, they are dubbed the revenge ex’s. Using this to their advantage will only help them both out right? Or maybe the only thing it will help is them coming clean with how they really feel about each other. Funny and full of witty dialogue, this is the perfect summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the arc.

I enjoyed reading this second chance / best friends to lovers story about June Hart and Levi Shaw. June lives in a small beach town an hour and a half away from New York City, where she runs a tea shop. June is in a deep funk, though. June is still grieving the death of her sister, Annie, two years ago. Annie conceived and opened the tea shop, and June is just trying to keep it open. But, June's reaction to breaking up with her boyfriend, captured and shown endlessly through social media, starts bringing visitors to the tea shop. And one of those visitors is an old friend from high school, Levi Shaw.

Levi, coincidentally, is also experiencing social media fame due to a messy break-up with his fiancee. June and Levi used to be best friends back in high school, but June's unrequited love admission to Levi ten years ago left them incommunicado for two years, and sporadic text messages exchanged the remaining eight years. But June and Levi agree to fake date, getting labeled the "Revenge Exes", and milk their notoriety for the future of the tea shop, and to potentially rekindle Levi's relationship with his ex.

I honestly thought this was going to be a quick and sweet love story, not expecting all of the angst experienced by June, angst for Levi, angst for her sister, and angst for future, in addition to the tea shop's future. I appreciated the angst, but the story dragged around the 70%-85% mark. There was a lot of second guessing and introspection done by June during that section, and I lost interest in the story. I did like June and Levi, and enjoyed reading about their friends. I want to read more from Emma Lord in the future.

This book had the potential to have everything I love in a book. A childhood best friends to strangers to take dating to lovers/second chance.
And it was cute, I did enjoy it. However a bit of the plot was confusing, like why was every one of their "dates" planning someone else's wedding? I found myself hung up on this a little bit. They spend so much time planning for June's brother's wedding while the brother is nowhere to be seen and call these dates? Why isn't the brother involved in his own wedding planning?
The lack of communication from the main characters also got me frustrated.
The entire time so much could've been different if they just talked.
Other than that, it was a cute story though.

**thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

I am a big fan of friends-to-lovers/enemies-to-lovers, and basically all of the romance tropes you can get, but this book fell flat for me. I didn’t connect with the characters and the back stories were somehow both overly mentioned and not explained enough, and overall it just didn’t click for me. June and Levi have had a massive friendship breakup rooted in a terrible tragedy, but it feels like their connection comes back a little too quickly and easily for them to pull off the fake relationship facade. I struggled with both stories of the breakups and the “revenge” aspect, that felt kind of unresolved. The connection between the two main characters was not that exciting for me and I found myself not caring about them or their fake relationship. There were also so many side stories I felt like were just filler that I was not invested in. Overall, this was just not the book for me.

I'll preface this by saying that I haven't read any of Lord's YA romances yet, but I felt that this was a quite strong adult debut. It does such a great job of capturing a very specific stage of life, where you feel almost adrift solely because you've been trapped by the very circumstances you think you're expected to be in. June and Levi's dynamic was what had me returning to this book time and time again, even above her relatable struggles. The one aspect of this book that made it a bit less diverting at times was the single POV; it felt as though issues were only persisting solely because June wasn't privy to what was really going on from Levi's perspective, and without that withholding of information, some of the tension would have been resolved a lot more quickly otherwise. But the emotional center of this book was strong enough to counteract any plot contrivances, and I'll be looking to read more from Lord again in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to see Emma Lord dive into an adult contemporary romance after loving her YA novels! You will feel connected to these characters thanks to the depth and feeling Lord puts behind her writing. There’s definitely some spice here but I love it! It all ties up in a way that is ultimately pleasing and this book is bound to be one talked about a lot this Summer!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I love Emma Lords YA books so I was excited for her to put out an adult contemporary romance book. Lords books always feel a little deeper than your average romance and this book was no different. There is depth, complexity, romance and one hell of a love scene. Overall, I was happy with this book. It did start to feel a tad bit long towards the end but it wraps up really nicely. A great summer romance that you won’t be disappointed in.

Old friends to lovers, fake dating tropes. Very good chemistry between the main characters. I wish we had a bit more time with the secondary characters. They were so funny. There was one aspect that didn’t get tied up that feels slightly unsatisfied. Enjoyable read overall.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.

This book was okay for me. The ending dragged out a little longer than I wanted it to, and among the sea of romcom novels right now, this one didn’t especially grab me. It did make me want to bake scones though!!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy.

What was most appealing about this book was the town of Benson Beach and the minor characters that filled out the story. There was also a touching backstory of the main character losing her older sister unexpectedly. Otherwise this was a solid romance that could've used a little more messyness in the middle.

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers, for letting me read this arc for an honest review.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, fun read then this book is for you. It was funny and cute, and I read it in two days. The first half of the book I had a hard time liking. The story went way too fast, as in the main characters haven't seen or talked to each other in ten years, they run into each other, and bam! let's fake date to solve all our problems. They had so many communication problems and were both suffering very public and social breakups.

But I guess that's what made me like the second half. They actually worked out their problems and voiced all their fears. They talked it out so there was no miscommunication. They worked together going from friends to strangers back to friends to end up as lovers. Both of their exes are jerks, the guy more so than the female. But the main characters knew they should've ended things way before the other broke up with them.

I loved how this book was more than just a romance book. It was about all of the friends and family's hardships and problems. Everything that makes a community a community. Both the main characters lost the same person, his best friend and her sister. She was their glue and it was sweet how they both worked through that loss and moved forward with their own lives. Overall it was a very sweet and fun read with just a few annoying moments.

A great quick read, perfect for an evening reading in the sunshine. It definitely gave hallmark movie vibes which is just perfect for a beach read or cozy Sunday. I really enjoyed it, the second chance trope was 👌

Thank you for the arc Net Galley and St Martins Press.

I had so much hope for this one after reading the author's other books but I was a bit disappointed. The premise was cute but I could not relate well to the main female character. She annoyed me and I couldn’t feel the chemistry. If you do like slow burn rom coms this book could be for you.

It was cute, but kinda disappointing. The sparks were missing and I didn't really connect with either main characters. The drama felt childish at some points. The ending was great!

Review to come.

Love the cover✔️
Interesting description ✔️
Love this Author✔️

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC ❤️

Loved this fake-dating story line! It had me laughing and loving both of the main characters. Social media can take over our lives, so it was fun to read a story about how to take back control of your life from the social media aspect! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC read.

This book was really enjoyable. I love that despite being a romance novel, they still touched on heavier subjects such as grief. It gave such a human, real perspective instead of a “romance in an imaginary world where everything is wonderful” feel.

Although predictable, the plot was still enjoyable and well-written for a rom-com. The characters internal monologues and quick wit was great. Although, this book did feel very YA for a book that isn’t marketed as such.

As someone who’s not a huge friends-to-lovers fan, I still really enjoyed this and think it’s a great summer read!

I have been a fan of Emma Lord and her YA books for the last several years. I was excited to receive this early eARC copy from St Martin’s Griffin.

The Break-Up Pact was a cute story line. After terrible public breakups, longtime friends June and Levi, are together again in their hometown and decide to ban together and revenge date to get back at their ex’s. The problem is, beneath the lie there are some real true feelings they both must wade through.

Although this book is listed as a romance, and definitely leans that way with the second chance, fake dating, and semi enemies to loves (since they were not speaking before) story lines. There is also a lot about grief, and loss and trying to move forward without the person you thought would be by your side. June’s sister was just as much a main character as June or Levi, even if it is just the memory of her.

Overall The Break-Up Pact still felt a little juvenile just with a little bit of added spice. The pacing felt a little slow, then rushed all at once. It was good, I wanted to know what would happened, but I think I was expecting more.

Cute book, some part are way too long but overall it’s a entertaining. The main characters need to be developed more.