June and Levi both had public breakups with their significant others*, and once Levi shows back up in their hometown, he and June rekindle their childhood friendship and start fake dating. Both benefit from the press but is it worth reliving what pulled them apart?

I mentally checked out at 67% if I'm being honest. I highlighted a few quotes but other than that I'm not sure if I remember much. The side characters were annoying. Her best friend, her brother and his fiancee, both the exes, the landlord. I put this book down and didn't go back to it for one week. I thought it would really set me down in a terrible reading slump. I realized far too deep into the story that I didn't care at all for the main characters.

The main characters haven't spoken in 10 years and had some type of trust issue but they agree to this fake dating so quickly. I don't know, I think it really could have benefited from a past and present storyline.

<spoiler> Levi and his FIANCEE didn’t break up, even tho she did run away with an actor. They were just on a break….ok lol </spoiler>

This one was a little iffy for me in the middle but overall, I really enjoyed it! I was worried that Levi was going to be a super dud, and although I didn't love some of the choices he made in the middle of the story, he redeemed himself for me! He turned out to be a pretty good book boyfriend.

This book is fake dating, friends to lovers, and somewhat second chance. I felt SUPER connected to the subplot of loss, grief, and healing. June's arc when dealing with the loss of her sister was incredible.

Emma Lord's book have become a bit static for me. I keep hoping I'll find a new favorite, but Tweet Cute is still my favorite of hers

Oh, I am such a sucker for the childhood-friends-become-lovers trope, and this book did not disappoint in that respect! I'm not a huge fan of the fake-dating trope, however, but the author makes charming use of it. June and Levi are childhood friends who've drifted apart, but re-connect in their home town after both are dumped by their exes in a spectacularly public fashion. I liked watching June and Levi's friendship get rekindled and then build into something more. The side plot of wedding planning together feels a bit much though, like another layer of forced proximity is being piled on when it's not really needed. The themes of regret and loss throughout the book give a bit of depth to help offset the shallower fake-dating premise of the main storyline. It's always nice to see a main character focus on personal growth as well as relationship growth, like June does. I gave this 3 stars but it's really closer to 3.5 stars. My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

June and Levi were best friends as kids until something happened between them and they cut one another out of their lives as teenagers and have spent the last decade rarely speaking. June is now dealing with a humiliating breakup that left her an internet meme and Levi has gone back to their hometown following his highly publicized breakup with his fiancee. When the two are caught in a seemingly compromising position by paparazzi, they are dubbed the Revenge Exes and become viral sensations. They agree to keep up the ruse by fake dating, each with something to gain from the arrangement. When the fissures of their fractured friendship finally start healing and truths about the past come to light, June and Levi are forced to face their long buried feelings for each other while both facing major changes in their lives that make their future together uncertain.

———————————————————————

It started off strong, everything you’d want in a rom com: the humor and wit had me laughing out loud and the palpable chemistry had me smiling and giggling. I loved Levi’s character. I was having a great time.

Then the angst hit and it just really slowed the momentum of the book for the last 65 pages or so.


Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Spice level: 🌶️
Was it Cute?: ❤️❤️❤️
Did I Cry?:
Did I Laugh?: 🤣🤣🤣

Tropes:

* Childhood friends to enemies to lovers
* Second chance
* Fake dating
* Past miscommunication
* Angsty 3rd act separation



Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the story line for this book from beginning to end. However, I felt that the writing dragged on at times leaving me to skip chunks of writing. ✍️

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶

What I loved:
🫖The setting. I loved the little town of Benson Beach and the tea shop. It gave me the best summer vibes.
🍪The social media aspect. I loved the viral break-ups bringing the MCs together and starting the fake dating. I think this worked really well in the novel.
🫖The heavier topics. This book was more than a light-hearted romance. I loved that the MCs were dealing with loss, grief and trying to figure out their futures. My favorite romance books are ones that include heavier topics.

All in all, this book was set up to have everything I love and be a favorite. However, it fell a little flat. The main issue keeping the MCs apart was miscommunication and it's become a pet peeve of mine in romances because of how over-used it is. I also felt there was way too much exposition to justify the lack of communication. There was a scene where Levi gets a call from his ex and the FMC has a whole inner monologue to justify her pushing him away, rather than communicate her fears and trust issues.

The beginning half of the book, miscommunication aside, was actually really good and enjoyable. The dates were cute and had good tension between the MCs. It was light-hearted and fun but still had those heavier topics for the MCs to work through. But then the second act happened and it started to be work to get through. The light-hearted fun completely disappeared. The heavier topics and miscommunication became forefront and very heavy. The miscommunication in the second half also felt very immature for the characters ages.

I will say the very end turned it around a bit for me. I think it ended well and the light-heartedness came back, but it just wasn't enough to justify the slow, painful second act.

Overall, I did really like this book. I think June and Levi had great character growth. Sana was a good friend and side character, though I wish she was more prominent. Nancy felt like a mom-figure but was only there to create conflict with the tea shop. I wish she had more scenes and impact. I hope there are some changes prior to publication, but it was a solid read as is.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Thanks for the ARC I will be recommending this book to my friends. Loved the story and characters :)

This was a great story, with a FMC and a MMC that I really liked. I was invested in their story from the beginning. In addition to the main characters and their romance, there were dynamic and fully fleshed out side characters who were lovable and added depth to the story. The tension between the characters is realistic and they’re somewhere between enemies and friends when they meet, never quite meeting the criteria for either category. It’s a slow burn, which I love! Will they? Won’t they? 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻



Spice warning:🌶️🌶️🌶️ I personally don’t read graphic/explicit books and was unaware that this ARC has a detailed scene where sex is graphically described. It was easily skipped over, just occurring in one chapter (chapter 15). If you are looking for closed door romance, skip this one.


#netgalley #ARCreview

thank you to netgalley for the arc to review.

this book was honestly a drag for me. the characters were hard to relate to and the story was so slow. too much telling and not showing for my liking. it was very hard to get into and overall just sunk me deeper into my reading slump.

that being said though, i do see how this book could be enjoyed by someone who reads mostly romance and just wants a lighthearted story. just not for me.

This book was cute but in my opinion it was very slow moving. The characters were very likable but things were dragging along till about 80% through the book. This book makes you want to eat lots of scones & drink tea!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a free ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I am usually a big fan of the fake dating trope but there were aspects I didn’t necessarily find to be high enough stakes for either of the main character. Yes definitely gaining popularity for a struggling business is something but neither one of them are generally in the public eye as part of their daily lives so going public with a fake dating story didn’t necessarily make the most sense for them. And I know they played it off like Levi was trying to make his ex jealous but then he’s basically been in love with June since they were kids. Also they didn’t really build much before they agreed to the fake dating scheme to begin with. There was also an annoyingly unrealistic reference to their cake tasting moment turning into some viral dance. Dumb things become viral all the time but this really didn’t work for me.

I realize I’ve offered quite a bit of criticism for a book I rate a 4 but again a fake dating trope is one I generally like. I also like friends turned lover stories because there’s already so much built into the relationship vs characters falling in love after a week (not that that’s impossible but the larger population likely can’t relate to this as easily). While it did feel like the characters agreed to fake dating too soon, it still took a few fake dates doe them to realize they didn’t want it to be fake anymore. I like the slow build of that. Additionally, as someone who has lost a sibling, I appreciated how the characters navigated a world in which that sibling is no longer around.

This one was not for me. It was slow but also fast at the same time? The writing was a bit immature and I felt like there was continuous telling and not showing. So much so I didn’t feel any attachment to the story and characters I had to DNF.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Always love Emma Lord’s writing and this book is no different! I loved the characters from the start and I was hooked right away!

4.25 stars
super cute read, perfect for the summer and i absolutely love the fake dating trope! i definitely recommend if you love emma lord, childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, books with a cute setting, and/or second chance.

Thank you St. Martin’s Publishing & the author Emma Lord for the eARC of The Break-Up Pact in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I would recommend The Break-Up Pact for Emily Henry and K.L Walter fans.

This book contained a multitude of tropes and while I love most of them, all of them together was a bit jumbled and overwhelming to the reader, in my opinion. I felt it was hard to connect to the romance element of the story due to this. I did enjoy the grief processing aspect of the story, but after the characters resolved their conflicts it seemed like that entire plot line was lost/disregarded.

🤍 Fake dating

🤍 Internet fame

🤍 Childhood friends to lovers

🤍 Saving small business

🤍 Small town romance

3 ⭐️

This was the usual romcom trope. I enjoyed the ever predictable ride! But there were some twists that weren’t expected!

This book gave me all of the early 2000s rom com feels. Loved the small beach town setting and quirky cast of characters. The exes were really giving 'reality tv villains' and I couldn't stand them (which means it was well written). The premise was a little ridiculous, as all the best romcoms are. The main characters had a lot of heart and I was rooting for them from the beginning. I enjoyed seeing their shared history together and how their families were intertwined. Seeing them navigate grief in their own ways felt very real and resonated with me. There was an extended miscommunication trope, but thankfully it mostly happened off-page and before the story starts. The story itself focuses on improving their communication and creating meaningful connections and building trust, which was a joy to read.

I absolutely adore this book. I will be buying a copy for my shelf and re reading this summer! Absolutely cute and lovely. Recommend for all rom-com fans!

If you liked this season of love is blind you'll like this modern take on the "blast from the past" highschool sweet hearts story.
It's cute and light with some interesting incorporations of modern social media and reality TV.