Old friends + fake dating = a real relationship...call it formulaic, but it works. The Break-Up Pact is adorable, and although some parts are slightly predictable I really enjoyed it. There were fully fleshed out characters who weren't perfect and great friendships, family relationships and found family.

I was so excited when I saw that Emma Lord was releasing a new novel! Like others, I was prepared for it to be a YA romance but was pleasantly surprised to see it was full of a lot of adult content. I feel like I've grown and developed with Emma and plan to continue following her career.

I am a sucker for a good second chance friendship turned romance. This one is even better as you get a bit of fake dating turned to love. June is such a sweet, humble, relatable character as she tries to keep her beachside shop afloat. Levi is your typical big city finance man who is just trying to make it day by day without really knowing who he is.

"The Break-Up Pact" is full of great banter, meaningful lessons, and a beautiful happily-ever-after.

I reeeally wanted to love this, but it unfortunately fell flat to me. Fake dating & friends to lovers are some of the best tropes, and this book featured both! But this felt weak.
The chemistry between the two main characters felt very off and clunky at times-- they hadn't spoken in ten years and immediately fall back in love...??? felt a bit rushed. At the end I found myself listing off loose ends and things I wished were discussed instead of being passed by and resolved per say so quickly.
Really wish there would have been more build up to the romance and more flashbacks to bring more of an impact towards the relationship between June, Levi, Annie & Dylan--to bring more of an emotional connection.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is the perfect adult romance for fans of Book Lovers and Love and Other Words.

June and Levi haven’t spoken in ten years, but when their respective breakups go viral they agree to fake date to regain control of the social media narrative about their lives. But the scheme grows more complicated when June’s very real feelings for Levi from ten years ago resurface the longer they fake a relationship … but are they really faking?

I truly enjoyed this book. June and Levi’s friendship felt so natural despite the wounds and years between them when the story starts. Their relationship continues to be messy, which caused me great emotional pain while reading, but I found to be realistic. Breakups are extremely difficult to navigate, especially when social media and other opinions are involved.

The exploration of grief was poignant, and I found June’s navigation through her complicated feelings about running her sister’s business after her death very compelling.

The seaside setting was fun, and the side characters fully developed friends and family that I think could each carry their own spinoff (especially Sana!). Equal parts amusing, touching, and romantic, Lord’s adult debut is a true joy.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the earc.

I really really really tried to like this one you guys. Truly I did. But I just couldn’t get into this story.. And fake dating is usually my favorite trope!

There was just something about this story that was so slow moving. I just felt like there were dozens of pages in a row where nothing happened. I wanted more dates and more falling in love.

I think this story could have possibly benefited from some flashbacks. I’m not usually a fan of flashbacks, but I felt so disconnected from June’s past and her sister that I felt this could have improved the storyline with Tea Tide as well as Levi’s book he had written/his teenage crush. It could have made this story come full circle.

June and Levi were find characters, but they fell a bit flat. Like I said, I didn’t know a ton about them, and what I did know felt disconnected.

*An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the author & publisher for the sweet ARC.
This book was hilarious and very cute all at once.
The book is told in June’s POV only, which I wished it would’ve been dual because Levi is ✨swoon-worthy✨ and a sweetheart. The fact that he remembers all the things about June is just 🥹🥰.
I truly enjoy the friends to lovers trope and Emma did not disappoint with this one. Fake dating obviously another huge trope in the book. This is also a slow-burn but the good kind.
✨Levi and June are like the ideal sweet couple and I like their build up. The tension between them is chefs kiss honestly 🥵.
✨Levi is very much golden retriever energy. I love me a book where the MMC isn’t some super cocky “former” playboy, those are so over done. Whenever Levi says or does stuff it’s left me giggling and kicking my feet.

“I’m not nearly as happy there as I am right here, right now.” 🥰🥰🥰🥰

✨I like how the author helps you feel the emotions that the characters are.
✨Sana is also a great secondary character. I liked the extra “fizzle” (haha) she added to the book. She was like the best secret matchmaker.
FYI the scream poetry scene was HILARIOUS❤️
💗so the fact that they’ve always had a thing for each other. I was rooting for them the whole time.

“My eyes flutter shut, my knees near to the point of buckling, and I decide if the universe takes me out like this, it will be one hell of a way to go.” 🥵🥵🥵

“You,” he says, his voice low, “are so beautiful.”

To which June eventually replies not as eloquently …. “I want you so badly I might die.”
😂😂😂😂😂🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

The ENDING 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

10/10

It looked like a cute and fun read. Almost like a palate cleanser for my thrillers and dark romance. IYKYK.

My first name is June so I said YES - how cute! And the fact that it was almost a grumpy sunshine, friends to lovers trope got me instantly. But June wasn’t just grumpy. She was straight up judgy mcjudgerpants.

I feel terrible for not finishing as I HATE dnf-ing but I did. Maybe I’ll come back to it in the future.

“ Yesterday, Levi and I were
sad B-characters in other people's romances. Now we're hijacking the stage”

A perfect beach read.

After ex childhood friends respectively get virally dumped they come back to their small beach town to lick their wounds. Then they come up with a plan to pretend to date each other to get revenge.

This is well written with diverse side characters that are all surprisingly fleshed out for a romantic comedy. The dialogue is witty and funny and it tackles some emotional issues a little deeper than the normal fare. (Or they just resonated deeper with me, hello problems with molding myself for other people).

All and all up there with Ali Hazelwood or Abbey J. I will be definitely recommending this to my friends this summer.

I love Emma Lord, but unfortunately her Adult debut wasn’t for me. I would go into why, but I honestly think it’s more of a preference thing and not a ‘here’s a list of issues this book has’ thing. I can absolutely see this book getting her a lot of well deserved attention, and becoming very big this summer. It reminded me a lot of ‘Love And Other Words’ and ‘People We Meet on Vacation’, which is probably what through me off, since neither of those are my favorites by any means. But, a lot of people love them, and I think those same people will love The Break-Up Pact.

Emma Lord is a QUEEN and her writing is phenomenal. I never really know what I'm going to get out of her books and I've loved every single one so far. Can't wait for more!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The fake dating troupe!!!! Yessss. Always a favourite. I found some heavy moments in this book but overall a good read!! Friends to lovers….fake dating.

This was such a sweet book! I loved the characters, and their love story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Break-Up Pact is a story about two former best friends whom haven’t spoken in about 10 years who both are dealing with viral breakups. They form a pact to fake date to help save June’s Tea Tide business and to show Levi’s fiancé, Kelly what she could lose.
Glows-
🌷 fake dating and second chance troupes with a bit of small town and miscommunication
🌷like how the history and chemistry of the main characters is explored
🌷 supporting characters
🌷writing about the grief process
Grows-
🥀 the miscommunication between the two main characters got redundant
🥀words and phrases often repeated throughout the book

Overall great quick read perfect for the summer or beach!

Another engaging rom-com from Emma Lord. June and Levi are childhood friends who reconnect after they both go through very public break-ups. They form a pact and pretend to date each other to get back at their exes, but old feelings make things more complicated than they anticipated. While the basic premise doesn’t lend itself to a lot of surprises, an unexpected, but poignant, plot-line has June learning to move forward after the death of her sister. This novel feels more grown up than Lord’s previous books and I can’t wait to see where she takes her readers next.

This was a fun read, but also tied conflict of grief, growth, and of course some great rom-com moments. I loved the descriptions in the writing, it made it easy to picture the time and place the characters were experiencing. The story takes place in a beach town, hometown to two people that were very close growing up and have gone their separate ways and drifted apart. After both have public breakups, they come up with a plan to get back at their ex’s and go viral. The story takes off from there. I don’t always notice the acknowledgements, but make sure to catch the fun behind-the-scenes story the author throws in before moving on to your next read.

This was a cute and fast paced book!

If you love friends to lovers, this’ll be perfect! Plus the fact that they are fake dating… even better.

Levi and June were perfect for each other!! All it took was a photo together, and speculation they were dating for them to actually fall in love. Again, perfect!

I recommend this if you’re looking for a fast paced, childhood friends to lovers, and fake dating trope romance book!!

Emma Lord seamlessly transitions from YA to adult with The Break-Up Pact. It was sweet, it was slow-burn, it was spicy. The perfect read. The chemistry between the characters was SO well written, and it was easy to fall in love along with them.

FAKE. DATING. SUPREMACY.

like seriously, you guys. fake dating will always and forever HIT. ALWAYS!!! I love the fake dating trope sm and especially here when we had it paired with childhood friends to lovers and a small town beach setting. June and Levi's relationship was just overall very fun to read!

This book is the perfect mix of childhood friends to lovers and fake dating. I absolutely ate this book up.

Childhood friends June and Levi, who have barely spoken In the last 10 years, each have breakups that cause them to go viral.

June runs a struggling tea and scone shop. Levi wants to make his ex jealous. Sana, June’s best friend needs a breakout article to try and land a job with Fizzle. The breakup pact is the perfect way for all them to get what they need. Between fake dates, viral posts and lots of rumors, June and Levi’s old feelings for each other surface and plans change.

This book had me laughing, smiling and so engaged the entire time. I can totally see this being made into a Hallmark movie. There is just something about childhood friends and fake dating that gets me everytime.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for sharing this digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Withholding my review in solidarity with the readers' strike with Readers for Accountability: https://www.instagram.com/readersforaccountability/.