okay i got about halfway through this book and decided to dnf it. there is nothing inherently wrong with this book, i just simply don't care AT ALL about june or levi. this book started and just threw you into the story of these main characters with ZERO exposition. how am i supposed to enjoy and connect with a second chance romance if you give me nothing. i have been a little distracted too while reading this book so that definitely didn't help with my confusion at the beginning of the story but it was too much for me and i am just not gonna read any further because i don't have to. hopefully june and levi have a good life and hopefully june realizes what the fuck she wants to do instated of trying to be her dead sister and run her business, oh and hopefully levi publishes that fantasy book or whatever the hell he was doing...

writing this review made me realize i apparently disliked the first 52% more than i thought i did...

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord was adorable! This was a fun, quick, enjoyable book. I loved the second chance romance type of aspect in this rom-com. The story is fast paced, has some heart and depth. I would recommend this as the most perfect beach read!

Friends to lovers, fake dating,cute,&easy read.
A good read overall, was just missing some spice for me.

👉🏼 I’m always here for a feel good romance.

•very slow burn•

I genuinely enjoyed this book so much. I will be honest, I love a good romance but typically find them fairly predictable with less depth to the characters. While I had a good inclination of where this book was headed from the start the character/plot development was such a pleasant surprise! I truly enjoyed these characters, flaws and all, and found myself so invested in their stories. I was so lucky to get this book through NetGalley and am already looking forward to reading more from this author!

This novel was an absolute delight! I thought Emma Lord did a fantastic job making the characters lovable and dynamic. The break up pact was not only a love story, but also held space for friendships and grief in a beautiful way. This book felt like a perfect beach read. I would definitely recommend this book!

Emma Lord always knows how to swoon-worthy characters that make you feel good. This heartfelt second chance romance is perfect for readers dreaming of an early summer.

June is a woman in her twenties from a small, beachside town where she has taken over her sister’s struggling tea shop/bakery after her sudden passing. She has been dubbed “the crying girl” after being blind sided and duped by her ex on a reality show. Coincidentally at the same time, her childhood friend and crush Levi was also publicly cheated on by his fiancée with a movie star. This leads Levi to coming back home and running into June. After cute pictures of their reunion surface on social media and being dubbed “revenge exes” they decide it would be mutually beneficial to fake date. June needs money and traffic to her shop, while Levi wants to win his ex back.

We get to follow June and Levi through their fake dating journey as they go on dates and support each others endeavors. The author touches on the grief each character feels towards June’s sister passing through both June and Levi, as Levi was her sisters best friend. As time progresses, old feelings start to resurface and they have to decide how to move forward but things are never as easy as they seem.

This book just made me smile. It was so light, cute and I didn’t want to put it down. 🥹 The way the author writes makes you feel like you’re in the story. It is so easy to imagine the places and people that she describes. Not to mention the scream poetry bit was absolutely hilarious. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Tropes:
↠ Fake dating
↠ Childhood friends to lovers
↠ Second chance romance

I <i>really</i> wanted to like this, but it fell flat for me. It follows former best friends June and Levi as they reconnect after years apart, and the shared history took over the book. While there's certainly a lot of action happening in the present, it keeps getting bogged down by June's explanations of how she used to feel about Levi and if she can allow herself to feel that way again, which is frankly quite boring. The book starts with the assumption that <spoiler>these two are already perfect for each other</spoiler>, and I don't buy it! There's no time to allow the relationship or the characters to truly develop in a meaningful way. The most fully realized character in the book was June's sister, and she's not even present for the story.

This would work for someone who doesn't mind second chance romance (though I think that's a stretch because they have a limited history in high school), or someone who is more willing to sink into the world of the book without necessarily looking for a strong romance payoff.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

This book made me laugh, snort and cry all in the same sitting. I loved the overall themes of waiting someone to be happy unconditionally, not living in the past, and getting what you WANT and deserve.

If i could “fix” anything in this book, it would only be to make it a duel POV. Like seriously Levi, i need you to explain yourself and your relationship with Kelly.

Tropes covered:
- Second Chance
- Childhood besties
- Fake dating


Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for this advance E-copy <3

I really liked the idea behind this book, it seemed to have it all, fake dating, friends to lovers, childhood crushes, but I wished there was more depth to the Main characters’ interactions. Overall I thought it was cute fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This book is practically a resident of trope jail. The main characters' interpersonal conflicts mostly stem from a decade-long miscommunication, and they barely scratch the surface of addressing them. Instead, they dance around their feelings and dodge direct conversations while constantly lamenting their undeniable attraction and deep connection. As a love story between June and Levi, I’m just not buying it.

HOWEVER,

The subplot focusing on June's journey through grief over losing Annie and grappling with her guilt for not being there to support their shared dream is incredibly moving. Witnessing June's evolution as she learns to accept loss and rebuild her life without her sister is truly inspiring. I found her journey of accepting support from her community and family, while letting go of her self-imposed burden of doing it alone, incredibly powerful. The book's true strength lies in its portrayal of familial and sisterly love.

This book follows June and Levi. They were friends in highschool and now, a couple years later they reunite after their public break-ups hit the internet. When a photograph makes the internet think they are a couple, they engage in a pact to fake date. But during that journey they end up falling in love again.

Something I want to address before this review begins is that, in my opinion Levi and June jumped into the fake dating way too quickly. It took barely no convincing, he was just like “let’s do it”. Also I don’t like the reason they started fake dating in the first place (especially on Levi’s part)

Onto the review

Something that was really getting on my nerves was the miscommunication. For example, Levi and June were friends in high school and then they drifted apart right so we’re all wondering why didn’t they talk for that long and when it was revealed turns out it was just miscommunication 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ That really annoys me.

Levi and June were really back and forth, it was quite annoying.

Characters
June : she was getting on my nerves a little but I could relate to her sometimes.

Levi : In all honestly, I really disliked him in the beginning because he kept defending and excusing the fact that his ex cheated on him? That is not okay. But he grew on me, he’s definitely the more mature one in the relationship.

I really enjoyed the side characters like Sana and Dylan.

Thank you to netgalley and st martins press for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Love Emma Lord’s books, and this is no exception! I fly through them. The characters and setting, along with the witty banter, make this a treat to read.

I adored Emma Lord’s TWEET CUTE, so when I saw this title available for request, I had to try!

Levi and June’s fake dating pact is a beautiful set-up for old friends reuniting and clearing up some misunderstandings from their past. Emma Lord’s take on this timeless trope had my toes curling, my heart thumping, and a huge smile on my face throughout the entire story.

I actually loved them so much that I want a sequel already!

summary: so this is a beachy, second chance, fake dating book. once a photo of the two main characters leaks. they agree to fake date to gain benefits for the both of them.

footnotes: this is a open door romance, with spicy scenes. please make sure you are old enough to read this book.

thoughts: I loved this book so much! I thought the romance, the banter, everything was perfect. This book perfectly explores the effect of social media on relationships, how we talk with each other, and the authenticity of our relationships. The dialogue was laugh out loud funny, with cute banter that had me SWOONING. overall, i enjoyed this book a lot. i would recommend this to anyone looking for a beachy, fake dating romance with a bit of commentary about technology sprinkled in.

3.5 stars.

I really loved both Levi and June and I thought their chemistry was amazing. However, I wasn’t a fan of the fact that neither of them had the ability to communicate with one another. I know their lack of communication is what drives a portion of the plot, but it just bothered me so much, and I wish this had been handled differently. I also wish that the reader had been given a better understanding of what happened to Levi and June years ago that kept them from talking for so long (at least from June’s perspective). I spent a large portion of the book confused about why they hadn’t spoken for years, and when it was finally revealed it turned out that it was a misunderstanding due to their lack of communication.

With that being said, I reiterate that I did love these characters and their chemistry. I love the fake dating trope, and thought that portion of the storyline, and its ties to social media, was pretty creative. I also loved their friend group. I’d love a book about Sana later 😊

A big thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

June and Levi have a long history but haven’t spoken in years, until he shows up in front of June’s tea shop after suffering a similar viral break-up as she has. Their revenge-ex plot follows some twists and turns and doesn’t end up exactly where either of them suspected. Thank you to Net Galley for this early access copy.

to be honest, a good friends-to-lovers story is always a hit or miss, and this one was a miss. the main characters, june and levi, were generally all over the place and i really did not like part of the reason why they started fake dating to begin with.

not only that, the pacing of the story felt so rushed and sloppy. like june and levi hadn’t really talked in 10 years and they had trust issues but for some reason jumped straight into fake-dating so quickly? it didn’t make sense.

lastly, tiktok was mentioned 6 times and that’s one-too many times. when will authors realize that constantly using pop culture references doesn’t age well and makes their readers cringe 99% of the time?

overall, this book just wasn’t for me. i couldn’t get into it no matter how hard i tried, and i often found myself force-reading to finish it instead of enjoying it. sure, it had some cute, romcom-esque moments that i really liked, with fun banter, but that wasn’t enough for me as a reader.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

What would you do if your childhood best friend stays in town for a few weeks, after you both just went through very public break-ups? June and Levi decide to make a pact in order to save face, increase business in June's small-town tea shop, and rekindle the spark in Levi's previous relationship. "The Break-Up Pact" is a comforting, wholesome story of two people who restore their friendship after losing touch from a decade ago.

I really loved the writing style in this book and I think using only one perspective (June's perspective) was efficient. However, I think this book would have also been amazing as a dual POV book. Emma Lord is an amazing writer. It felt like I was watching a movie of this book as I was reading it --- that's how good her imagery is. I also felt every emotion the characters were feeling. She did a very good job at describing the emotions of the characters, rather than just including the dialogue of the characters and having to figure out what the characters were feeling.

I was very invested in this book and found myself not being able to put it down at some points. I think this book was the perfect length, as well. At some points I thought it could be a little shorter. However, after finishing the book, I thought each scene and moment between Levi and June just added to their story and I loved it all.


Overall, I would rate this book 4.25/5 stars. I don't really have any complaints, but I don't think I was attached to any of the characters so much that I would think about this book very much afterwards. However, I did really enjoy the story.

June's boyfriend broke up with her on a TV show and she became a viral meme. At the same time, her childhood best friend Levi, found out that his girlfriend was cheating on him with an A-list action star through internet gossip sites. A photo is taken of the two of them after a chance encounter on the beach in their hometown and the internet dubs them “The Revenge Exes". June wants to save her sister’s beachside tea shop and Levi wants to get his ex girlfriend back, so they decide to fake some dates and use the publicity to do just that.

Emma Lord is a favorite of mine and her first foray into adult romance did not disappoint. The Break-Up Pact has the emotional depth I have come to expect from her YA novels, but the main characters are closer to 30 than high school graduation. There is still plenty of angst, especially as June and Levi work through the reasons they have barely spoken since high school, but there is the added level of maturity. Both June and Levi are very sweet, slow to anger, and eager to forgive (which I found personally frustrating since I am not any of those things and my revenge for what their exes did would have caused far more permanent damage than images of me fake dating someone else…), and their group of friends are completely lovely and wonderfully supportive. The small beach side town, and June’s quirky tea shop in particular, are an ideal setting to make this book your next beach read, or to transport you back to summer as the colder weather starts setting in. It really is a great story that has everything you have come to love and expect from Emma Lord, but in a more grown up package.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Emma Lord for this advanced copy. The Break-Up Pact releases August 13, 2024.