tl;dr: i really liked this one despite too much miscommunication and a desperate need for all the characters to go to therapy

longer version: if emma lord writes it, i'll read it. this one hooked me from the get go -- june is an incredibly likeable MC and the viral break up hook was excellent. i normally hate childhood besties to lovers and despise the second chance trope but this one was great. levi is deeply swoony and i liked how lord slowly unfurls their shared history.

admittedly, both levi and june deeply need to go to therapy as neither of processed the trauma of annie (june's sister) suddenly passing away and they're both unrepentant people pleasers who let terrible partners dictate their lives for the better part of a decade. AND a lot of the third act conflict in this book revolves around miscommunication or noncommunication to the point where it gets a bit annoying.

that being said, the strength of lord's dialogue and the strength of the chemistry between june and levi overwhelms the downsides. i really liked this one and if you're a fan of lord's previous work odds are you'll like this one too!

This was super cute! The main characters are very lovable and easy to root for. I would kill for a book about Mateo and Dylan- I love them so much.
The plot went by quick, it was a very fun read. I liked this one more than her previous books! The characters were thought out, the side stories were fun to follow without overtaking the plot, and it has some great banter!
This will be a really great beach day or pool day read!

The Break-Up Pact was an easy read with an imaginable theme. The characters were lovable and cheeky. Everyone will want to own a fledgling tea shop by the sea after this sweet read!

June and Levi were childhood friends but drifted apart over the years. Suddenly they’re back in each other’s lives after they both go through public breakups. Naturally a picture on the internet leads the public to think they are dating. June and Levi decide to go along with it and fake date to get back at their exes. Will they end up rekindling old feelings while trying to get back at their exes?
Overall this was a cute, fun, easy read! This was my first Emma Lord book and I can’t wait to read more.

Thank You Net Galley for this ARC

This is the first Emma Lord book I have read so I wanted to like it, honestly but it was a struggle to read. I rarely have to force myself to finish a book, with this one I had to & even then there was a lot of skimming over. The book does have that cute beach town vibes so I wanted to like especially having a coffee/tea shop that is totally my dream but it just wasn’t there for me in this story of June & Levi.
I do not want to give any spoilers away but it dragged,& I think the transitions in the story were not great.
I do have to say Sana was my favorite just her character & how she protected June fiercely, may we all have a Sana in our lives who loves us that deep & stands by our side in all our joys & sorrows.

Where do I start? I was majorly enticed by the adorable cover and the synopsis for this book! I was super excited when I got an arc, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press andddd the wonderful Emma Lord for hooking me up for my (very) honest review.

But let's just get right into it, shall we? I will start by saying this was a super fast read. I read it in a day. Sadly, I was pretty underwhelmed and I think that's why it was such a fast read. There wasn't a lot to it? Just very mindless. Which I actually really enjoy a lot of the time when the mood fits. And perhaps the mood wasn't there and I was looking for something with more content. But this just felt like something was missing.

We've got main characters June and Levi and they were just okay. I had no major connect with them. They had been friends since little kiddos and then stopped talking, chased other dreams and then randomly bump into each other and start to fake date. Legit the words used, fake date...and I just didn't like it. They do it to make their exes jealous but during their fake dating sesh, discover all their old feelings for each other and actually decide they want to real date.

I usually love the friends to lovers trope, but not even sure that's what this was and not sure why it just didn't hit for me.

The writing was fine, the plot was fuzzy, the mention of scones (man these people can talk about scones!) was a lot, and the ending felt a little bit pushed.

Read it for yourself and see what you think!!

3.5. I loooove Emma Lord books but this one was just not at the same level as the others. I feel a bit lenient in my review because i know this is her adult debut but I just found the characters less entertaining than they were in her other stories. In theory the plot would have been interesting but I think it just needed something more

This book was so fun! Emma Lord does it again! One of my favorite authors and she truly never disappoints. I loved June and Levi— they both felt dynamic and multifaceted.

This was really cute. I liked the messiness of it, the social media dynamic of their fake dating situation, the friends to lovers, etc.

"The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord? Let's dive into this delightful rom-com, shall we? Picture this: June, running her late sister's dream tea shop by the beach, and Levi, living the New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager. Childhood friends who drifted apart, they're suddenly back in each other's orbit after their very public and humiliating break-ups go viral. Cue the accidental photo that has the internet convinced they're a couple. With the world rooting for them, they hatch a plan to fake date for their own reasons, and thus, the "Revenge Exes" are born.

Despite my rating of 3.75 stars, I have to say, I really loved the premise of this book. Fake dating? Sign me up! Emma Lord weaves a story filled with beachside charm, humorous mishaps, and a sprinkle of romance. June and Levi's journey, from childhood friends with secret crushes to fake-dating revenge partners, is both entertaining and heartwarming.

Now, let's address the elephant in the room: the miscommunication trope. Yes, it's present, and yes, it had me wanting to scream at the characters to just talk to each other already. But amidst the frustration, there were still sweet moments that kept me turning the pages. And while the single POV from June was a bit limiting, it didn't detract from the overall charm of the story.

Levi may have been frustrating at times, but the slow-burn romance and the chemistry between the characters kept me invested. Plus, the supporting cast added depth and charm to the narrative, making the beachy setting of Benson Beach come alive. Overall, "The Break-Up Pact" is a light-hearted read with lovable characters and a heartwarming storyline that's perfect for a day at the beach or cozying up with a cup of tea.

Big thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and freely given.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord follows June and Levi, former best friends who haven't spoken in a decade. Their respective break-ups go public in a viral way and while Levi grapples with his break-up and floundering dream of being a novelist, June struggles to keep her tea shop afloat. When a photo of the two of them sparks rumors of a romantic relationship, they decide on a fake-dating ruse as a way to boost June's business while making Levi's ex jealous. It's an easy sell as many of their high school friends comment on "it's about time you two got together!" As they stage a series of Bachelor-level swoon worthy dates, the act blurs with reality as they confront old emotions.

Full of humor, heart, and romantic tension, The Break-Up Pact is a charming novel about friendship, love, and the power of being true to yourself.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Griffin and Emma Lord for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for this book to publish 8.13.24!

Overall a sweet second chance romance and fake dating story. The best parts are the interactions between the main female and male characters and seeing their relationship evolve from strangers to friends to lovers. The death of the main female character’s sister plays quite a prominent role, to the extent that it starts feel a bit unnecessary. The story starts off slow and at times feels drawn out, so while I enjoyed the story, I didn’t devour it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a preview copy.

This book made me feel cozy and happy the whole time. This is a book that I would read again just to feel the warm fuzziest all over again. Best friends growing up to almost completely losing touch with each other and then back to falling for each other all over again.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.

Break up pact

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Levi and June have both just gotten very publicly dumped by their long-time significant others. Levi comes back to Benson Beach to re-group where June is running Tidal Tea. When they run into each other on the beach, a plan to pretend to be dating to get some of the pressure off themselves. They become known as the Revenge Exes. But June was interested in Levi when they were younger. Old feels don’t go away so easily….

I enjoyed it. SPOILER: I didn’t really like how Levi was somewhat using this pact to try to get his ex back, even though June was aware. I think it made him a little less likable in my opinion.

ARC 8/12/2024

I was able to read an ARC of this story on NetGalley courtesy of St. Martin's Griffin Publishing! This book will be released on August 13, 2024.
I'll be so honest going into this book I was nervous because I am not the biggest fan of "fake dating" BUT this story had two other tropes that I LOVE. "Friends become more" and "slow burn" are my two favorite tropes and made this book a 4/5 star story for me! I really started to enjoy these characters about 1/3 of the way through and I truly couldn't put it down after that.

Levi Shaw was so well written and was the most perfect guy to fall in love with ( I want a guy that will bake me scones!!). June and Levi had such a cute story that had themes of grief, love, heartbreak, family, and friendship. This was my first time reading a novel by Emma Lord and she has a new fan!

This heart-touching story of two childhood best friends coming together after almost a decade apart was one that I could not put down. The whole ordeal started as a fake relationship with the goal to win back his ex-fiancé and to save her failing tea shop — but that seems to change when they catch feelings. It’s a moderately spicy novel that was an easy read. Would recommend!

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'.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for letting me have an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5
I'm a simple woman - of Emma Lord writes it, I immediately want to read it. If she wants me to suspend my disbelief and join her on a wild ride? I'll do just that!
THE BREAK-UP PACT did everything I could ask for from a romance - it delivered protagonists that felt fully realised outside of the romanced, but worked oh so well together that you had to see the evolution of their relationship, it had the addition of a wonderful ensemble of secondary characters, a charming setting and a fun compelling plot. I simply could not put this down (nor did I wish to) and had the best time with it.
I fully support making it your summer beach read!!

Listen, I loved Tweet Cute. A cute little YA novel that made me feel warm and fuzzy. So I went into this book with the expectation that I’d be reading another YA book. WRONG. The adult content is what I lived for. Emma really shines with adult content and I will read more if she wants to write it (please). Love love love the setting of the book. This is one of those summer rereads for me. Can’t wait to own a copy!