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

This has all the tropes for the perfect romance, childhood friends, fake dating and second chance romance. Push through the beginning because it was a very slow start, but it’s amazing after that.

‘The Break-Up Pact’ is so much more than it’s cute cover and fun storyline - it’s heartfelt, touching, and utterly heartbreaking at times. Set against the backdrop of a tranquil beachside town, a charming teashop, and a whole let of memories, the story follows June and Eli as they find their way back to each other, and themselves, after nearly a decade apart. With a delicious cast of secondary characters (each one funnier and more like-able than the next), two viral breakups, heaps of scones, and a fake relationship, ‘The Break-Up Pact’ will keep you hooked from page one! I devoured this book in record time, and cannot wait for Emma Stone to release more books in this series, and soon!

Emma Lord dives into the world of Adult Romance with her newest novel, THE BREAK-UP PACT, about high school "just friends" who years later both end up going through public break-ups and decide to fake date each other to get back at their exes. It's got all the makings of what we've come to know and expect from Emma Lord - a quirky setting with strong NYC ties, dessert references, and a cast of lovable supporting characters. However, and this ACTUALLY pains me to write this as I love this author SO much, this book just fell completely flat. I just didn't root for the main characters! I feel like the book begins too abruptly and we only get a morsel of how June and Levi knew each other, and the foundation of their relationship is only alluded to. I think this could have been remedied with a prologue chapter of high school June and Levi shenanigans to be able to fully capture their playfulness in order for readers to understand years later how shocking it was that they were no longer talking. The MC also lacked the dimensional nature that the author expertly weaves in her other novels, and these characters just don't have that much personality (June - baker, runner, people-pleaser. Levi - writer, runner, NYC finance guy, curly hair). In fact, halfway through I found myself wishing that this was a book written about June's best friend Sanna, who was just so full of life in contrast to June (which, I get is sort of the point, but still!!) There's also this omnipresent aspect of June's dead sister Annie, which seems to totally infiltrate every aspect of June and Levi's relationship. I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but it kind of seems like. . .Annie was the worst?! Clearly she had feelings for Levi and was jealous of June's relationship with him, and it seemed like when she was alive she was doing everything to meddle with them. I also can't believe I am saying this, but even though I love Emma Lord's love of desserts coming through in her writing, this scone thing was just beaten to a pulp in this novel and it was TOO much. I also wish that the book would have ended with a scene from Dylan and Mateo's wedding. It was such an integral part of the whole fake dating thing, and then we just skipped it?! NOOO!
Okay, this book wasn't totally irredeemable though! It's the textbook definition of a good breezy, beach read. It also had a chapter with a sex scene in it, and I thought it was written well and came across as realistic without being raunchy. I also loved that it addressed the reality that a lot of romance novels glaze over, in that you need to make sure that you are actually figure out who you are as a couple before going on your way to your happily ever after.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a DRC of THE BREAK-UP PACT by Emma Lord, in exchange for my own thoughts and opinions. THE BREAK-UP PACT is out 08/13/2024.

I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this novel. Miscommunications are a hard trope for me to get behind.

Others may love these types of novels but I really struggled with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher St Martin's Press for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so cute. If you enjoy romances by authors such as Emily Henry or Tessa Bailey, I can almost guarantee that you will just adore this book! I loved everything about it. The characters, the romance, the hijinks. It was super cute. If you are having a bad day, this book will brighten your mood 100%. Emma Lord is going on my favorite author list 100%!

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If I were asked to describe this book in one word, it would be clunky. There is not enough insight into the characters' past history and evolution to where they are now. The flow is off, I had to go back to and reread sections when it didn’t make sense or read smoothly. There is no build up to the romance; it jumps straight to it despite having not spoken in 10 years. They were best friends, practically strangers for 10 years, immediately started fake dating, and then hook up almost right away. And yet, there’s still no chemistry. It is all so rushed and underdeveloped. Reading this was a chore.

This is a decent read if you need something to fill time on a plane or casually reading without wanting to really be invested

I am a newcomer to Emma Lord's books and enjoyed The Break-Up Pact. I love a good beach read, especially one that is set in a small beach town, where all the locals know each other. This story is about two very close childhood friends, Levi and June, who have intentionally lost contact after high school. Both have recently suffered very public and humiliating break-ups with their significant others. Levi returns home to recover and write a book. They hatch a plan to pretend to date and become known as the revenge exes. The story between Levi and June started off slow and picked up towards the middle of the book - so stick with it, if it doesn't hook you at the beginning. My favorite parts are when Levi and June go on "dates." The dates are funny and entertaining, and you get a real glimpse of why Levi and June would be great in a real relationship.
You learn the reason June and Levi’s friendship ended in high school, and the entire situation is frustrating and avoidable.It seems the same mistakes are being repeated again when June agrees to meet with her ex, Griffin, to film for his reality tv sow. I just wanted to throttle her because history repeated itself, and Griffin made her look like an idiot, once again. You also learn that after being in a relationship with Griffin for 10 years, he never said “I love you” to June. I can only think June’s self-esteem must have been terribly low, to be steam-rolled by Griffin for so long. Another point of confusion for me, is the relationship between June and her sister Annie, who unexpectedly died several years ago. June talks like she and Annie were so close, but from the things Annie said and did, it seems like Annie was selfish and put herself first.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those who love a funny, romantic beach read.

I don’t know why I thought this was a YA book because it definitely was not and I was thrilled about that. Very adult book with adult problems, content and open door romance. Always love friends to enemies to lovers, so this entire story was right up my alley. I liked how it covered dealing with grief after the fact, not right at the moment of impact and how you can find people to lean on when you’re going through it. I really enjoyed June and Levi and thought their chemistry was fantastic, so I was rooting for them to entire story. This was my first book by Emma Lord and it definitely won’t be my last!

3.5 stars – The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is about June and Levi. They were friends in high school that liked each other but never shared their feelings. The “relationship” basically ended. Fast forward to both June and Levi being famous for each of their relationships ending on social media (not in a good way at all). They see each other again and decide to fake date to get the public off their backs and help June’s business.

I’m not sure where this story went off track. It has many fun story elements: fake dating, second chance romance and a VERY slow burn romance. The story seemed to drag a little bit and it would have been good to hear Levi’s perspective/feelings on the relationship. I had a hard time sticking with this one. I usually love Emma Lord books, but this one just wasn’t my favorite. Onward and upwards to her next novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for allowing me to read an ARC.

I LOVED THIS. The amount of joy this book brought my heart was incredible. I love that this book was light and funny and just all around a warm-fluffy feeling of a book. This is the kind of book that I would ready sitting at the beach or curled up by the fireplace in the middle of winter.

My favorite part about this book was how much I felt myself relating to June. I loved how she grew mentally and emotionally throughout the book. (We love a strong and powerful business woman!)

Shoutout to NetGalley and Emma Lord for the ARC of this book!!

My first book by this author and I enjoyed her writing. I enjoyed some of the topics the author kept bringing up through the main characters. It showed more depth and self development.

Second chance romance and fake dating are two of my absolute favorite tropes so when I read the synopsis for THE BREAK-UP PACT I just knew I’d love it!!!

While the book started off a little slow in my opinion, I found that the pacing picked up and remained pretty consistent throughout the entire book. I really enjoyed learning about June and Levi’s past and thought that the reason for the fake dating pact was pretty cute.

Overall I thought this was a quick, light, fun read with major summer vibes! I wish I could’ve read this at the beach or by the pool!!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC of THE BREAK-UP PACT by Emma Lord in exchange for my honest review.

June and Levi have been friends since childhood. They haven't talked for many years. They are both subject to public break-ups. Levi is back in their hometown that June moved back to two years earlier because of a family tragedy. A photo of them together starts trending. They decide to fake date so it will bring in business to her flailing tea shop and make his ex-fiance jealous and return to him.

This book brings the unique take on the fake dating trope with 2 people going through public and humiliating break-ups at the same time. I found it entertaining to see all of the dates they went on. I found it a little hard to believe that neither one of them questioned if it was a good idea for them to get together without possinly wrecking the repaired Friendship. The characters were well developed and I felt for them (especially when she met up with Griffin. I was like "No, girl, what are you thinking?!) It showed the needed growth they both needed to do. I would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for providing this ARC!

A fun and beachy second chance romance! June and Levi were best friends growing up but have lost touch after high school. When they both have very public breakups from their respective partners and find themselves back in their hometown together, the “Break-Up Pact” is formed - and their spark is rekindled. Will their exes get in the way...?

I didn’t like the reasons that June and Levi started fake dating - it wasn’t believable to me and the whole setup felt forced, even though I do love the fake dating romance trope when done well. For that reason the first half of the book wasn’t my favourite, but it picked up towards the middle and the ending was sweet. I liked the small beach town vibes and I thought that the relationships with Annie could have been explored more deeply to give further emotional backstory for both main characters.

Overall a fun read that will make you crave a baked good because the word “scone” was used approximately one billion times!

The story line of the break up pact drew me in. I liked the book minus some parts that were unnecessary. It was confusing at times between June and Levi, but still a good story. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I really wanted to like this book. I've been eating up second chance romances like candy but I was just bored.

I liked both main characters - they weren't unlikable. They were just boring.

*possible spoiler* I also thought the sibling death would hit me a little bit harder but that was also lacking any depth.

This book also felt like it was 600 pages and not 300. Just never ending.

I'm honestly sad I didn't like this more. 😭

This was a really cute summer read. I love a good “one that got away” romance and the beach town setting made me wistful for summer

I love Emma Lord’s YA books and I was excited to see what she would do with adult characters. I didn’t connect with this book quite as much as I had hoped, but I’m definitely excited to see if Emma will write more adult romances (although it was really jarring at first to read a steamy scene in an Emma Lord book!)

I have no doubt many people will love and connect with this story

This was a great friends to lovers/fake dating rom com. I loved the characters and each of their journeys. My only complaint is that it was a bit too long and stalled in parts for me. Thanks to netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy!