This was more like a 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. It was cute! But… frustrating.

Some of the preview reviews for this book mentioned it was a little like Emily Henry books, which I can see in that the story didn’t fully focus on romance—there was a lot of family and friendship side plot happening alongside the love story. And that’s fine!

But to me, this reminded me more of Abby Jimenez’s books because the miscommunication trope was like the entire book. (Her entire Part of Your World series is three books of miscommunication.)

Anyway, like I said, it was cute, but I kept waiting for the other show to drop. I’m just not used to books without third-act breakups.

Spice was there, but it was low. Mostly just one major scene. 1.5-2/5 🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

June and Levi were friends from childhood through high school, but June overheard Levi say he didn’t like her and their friendship ended. Fast forward 10 years and they both suffer embarrassing public breakups so they fake date to change the narrative. They grow close and admit their feelings for each other, but their exes cause issues. I enjoyed this story and the audiobook narration. The characters grow significantly individually which makes the relationship growth believable. Definitely recommend.

The Break Up Pact by Emma Lord is an easy going summer beach read about two old friends who have been estranged and find their way back to each other.

June runs a seaside tea shop - one she and her late sister had dreamed of. After going viral for a very public breakup, “crying girl” suddenly gets an unexpected influx of patrons - but it isn’t enough to stop the owner of the building from terminating June’s lease lest she can turn the shop around and go in a new direction.

Levi is an author fresh off a public breakup who has returned home to this tiny beach town in order to try and finish a book he’s been attempting to write.

Tied together by the loss of June’s older sister - June and Levi decide to rekindle their friendship by making a Break Up Pact. Faux dating in order for Levi to regain his previous gf and to help June save her seaside tea shop. Does it work - yes, sort of.

June battles with her having had feelings for Levi going back to their childhood and falling for him all over again during this process. After a slow burn they finally get together and decide to give it a go. Spice I was not anticipating added.

With their exes returning June and Levi have to decide if their fake dating was truly fake or if there is something more there.

Do they end up together in the end, of course. Was it a book that will stay with me long after having read it? No.

Would I recommend it to someone - maybe.

I will add that I heard that this was Emma Lord’s first romance novel and while this may not have been my favorite, her writing style is one I’d gladly read again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced copy.

3.5 stars! A super fun childhood friends to fake love to more trope that brings a super fun summer vibe! A fantastic heart warming pool or beach read that will have you ready to make some scones!

Loved the narration, the plot, the imagery!

Let me start by saying that The Break-Up Pact wasn't even on my radar but I needed an audiobook to listen to so I went with this one. It was incredibly done and exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the narration and the pacing of the novel. I loved the idea of revenge exes and its even better that they fall for each other again. The setting was perfect for summer and made me want to go to the beach. Definitely will recommend this to all fans of romance.

I honestly didn't think there would *be* spice in this book because it felt like it skewed to younger readers. I felt like the prose was predictable and cliché, but others may read this as fluffy and fun. It all felt too familiar to me. There's also an odd mix of underdevelopment (especially where June-'s sister is concerned) and too much rambling. I loved Levi and June's interesting jobs and backstory... but as I mentioned, something felt missing for me to recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Lord, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book.

The Break-Up Pact is a friends-to-lovers romance with fake dating at its core.

June and Levi both get broken up with in a very public, humiliating manner and find themselves back in their hometown trying to recover. Even though they haven't spoken in ten years, they decide a revenge fake dating scenario could solve all of their problems.

There are a lot of emotional moments in this novel and it has all the makings of a great summer read. Unfortunately I never could fully connect with the two leads, and their chemistry seemed forced. Not to mention their entire relationship or lack thereof (from high school to current day) is based on miscommunication and people who can't express their emotions. (And it kept happening as adults!!!) Levi and June don't seem to grow too much until the very end and it becomes extremely frustrating.

Emma Lord does sweet romance really well and that shows with her YA works. I just didn't feel like that translated well into an adult romance novel, instead it just felt like it was missing something.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

No matter which way you spin it, break-ups suck. Compound that with the utter humiliation of becoming a virtual sensations and the pain only intensifies. But when Levi and June are reunited, they agree to fake date in order to help give the impression they have moved on. Will their plan work, or will it result in double the heartache?

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord marks her departure from YA Literature to Adult Romance. While I liked seeing her writing evolve into a more mature style, I found myself struggling with the explicit content.

Other than the unnecessary steamy scenes, I found the book to be rather enjoyable.

I recommend reading if you enjoy:
-fake dating
-friends to lovers
-small town romances
-slow burns

*I had the pleasure of both listening to and reading an e-book. However, I did prefer reading over listening. The narration was fine, but definitely not my favorite.

**Trigger Warning- this book does discuss the loss of a friend/ family member in depth.

Special thanks to Macmillian Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and Emma Lord for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read if you like:
👯‍♀️ Siblings Best Friend
👧🏼 Childhood Friends to Lovers
💋 Fake Dating
🤳🏻 Viral Break-ups
🏘️ Small Town Romances
☕️ Saving a Small Business
🏃🏼‍♀️ Chasing your Dreams

This is Emma Lord’s first adult romance, and you guys! I am so excited it was my first book from her and definitely need to read her YA romances now too!

I loved the childhood friends to lovers, small town, fake dating, sibling’s best friend, and all the family and friends moments! This book truly had a great cast that came together so well to tell this story!

I also loved that both MC’s had childhood dreams that they fully supported the other to work towards achieving in the light of a tough circumstance with both having very public and viral break-ups that lead to them fake dating as “the revenge exes”

I also really appreciated the history between the characters and the gaps of knowing each other from them both leaving their small town and being apart for many years.

Thank you so so so much to MacMillan Audio for my gifted audiobook and St. Martin’s Griffen for my e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Emma Lord's adult debut is a fairly solid, if forgettable, romance. The audiobook was narrated well and quite enjoyable to listen to. I didn't love the plot but I enjoyed it enough to finish the book. I would recommend the audio to anyone who wants to read it.

The only other Emma Lord book I have read previously was a YA novel, and I definitely liked it better. The Break-Up Pact didn’t feel like a true adult romance, but also not a YA book. At about 50% in, I felt like it really could have been wrapped up, and I wondered how the author was going to keep going for another 100+ pages. Not a great sign.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen and review The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord.

This book takes place in Benson Beach where June tries to keep her sister’s dream of owning a tea shop at the beach alive. Tea Tide Tea Shop is just barely keeping the doors open for customers to enjoy some vanilla almond tea and scones. With a humiliating breakup from Griffin, June tries to take life day by day, struggling to make ends meet. Life turns around a bit when Levi, a childhood friend, resurfaces and gives June’s life new direction and a clearer meaning. This cute romance story about two friends reconnecting in Benson Beach is a cozy summer read. Out for publication on August 13th! 3 ½ stars

The Break-Up Pact, by Emma Lord, is a novel I enjoyed so much I wanted to listen to in audiobook format too. I've read the authors previous books, which were more YA, and love her style so I had a feeling I would would be a fan of The Break-Up Pack, which features more adult characters- though they met as teens and we see their relationship develop. There is a breezy, natural tone to Lord's voice, and it feels like listening to a friend telling a story about real people rather than fiction. The narrator was absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend!!!

- Fake Dating
- Former Friends to lovers
- Second Chance-ish
- Grief/healing

Overall I thought this was a cute, fake dating romcom with a good message of being true to yourself and living your life for yourself and not for someone else. It definitely had a bit of a Hallmark movie feel to it. I personally wasn’t a big fan of the miscommunication/lack of communication explanations throughout, but I can’t say I expected much else. I thought the narration by Natalie Naudus was great.

Excellent set-up and narrated by one of my favorite audiobook narrators, Natalie Naudus. We have a single POV novel with June having been dumped on national TV, turned into a meme, and now dealing with her struggling tea shop on a beachy boardwalk. She runs into childhood friend Levi, who has also been virally dumped recently, and somehow they get caught up on a social media storm calling them the Revenge Exes. They decide to awkwardly follow through with some fake dating so that June can get more customers in her store and Levi can show his ex-fiancee what she’s missing. It’s messy and complicated, especially when we factor in June’s teenage crush on Levi, and his rejection and radio silence for the past ten years. We also get a fun cast of supporting characters in the form of June’s brother, his fiancee, and another one of June’s best friends. This book is funny and sweet and cute and steamy and emotional, all in one.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord was a fun read, but it didn’t quite blow me away. The premise of a pact to avoid heartbreak was intriguing, and I enjoyed the witty banter between the characters. However, some parts felt a bit predictable, and I wished for more depth in the character development. It’s a light, entertaining read perfect for a cozy weekend, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. Overall, a solid three stars for a sweet story with a few missed opportunities.

I read this book as an ARC earlier this year and just HAD to listen to the audio because I adored it! I love love loves the narrators for this book! Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to listen! Four stars!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a great book!! I loved the story and the writing style. Such a good romcom! It was exciting from page 1! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! My first for this author but will not be my last!

2.5 stars.

This book gave me Emily Henry vibes, but not as well done. Emily Henry writes these books that you think are going to be light and fun, but end up having these very serious tones in them. This book had those serious tones with the death of June's sister, Annie, a couple years ago, but the book just didn't seem balanced. It jumped around with a few flashbacks to high school, but the flashbacks felt more like mentioning of something that happened instead of full flashbacks. You get the second chance romance with June and Levi finding each other again, but to be honest, I wasn't even rooting for them by the end.

I went into this book thinking it would be this funny, witty fake-dating storyline to make both their exes super jealous. Levi was hoping the fake-dating would help him get back together with his ex-girlfriend. June thought the publicity of the fake-dating would help save her tea shop. Levi and June have some SERIOUS history. They both had crushes on each other in high school, but Annie talks Levi out of pursuing the relationship. To be honest, I didn't like Annie in this book. Which was hard because she was dead. There was no redeeming qualities for her to reveal in the future. She was just plain selfish in my opinion.

My biggest problem with this book was how bad of a sister June was to her brother. June and Levi decide to help her brother plan his wedding in a few months. But June is constantly forgetting to meet up with him when they schedule something. Or she mentions needing to remember to respond to his texts to meet up, but she says she will worry about it later. June and Levi have all this time for these fake dates, but she can't make time for her brother? Yes, she was busy with trying to run a business. But why not simply ask her brother to hang out while she is baking? Between Annie and June both being not the best sisters, it just made me not care how it ended as much.

What did I love about the book? Tea Tide - the tea shop. I loved June talking about baking all the different kinds of scones. It definitely made me want to stop at a tea shop (coffee shop) to pick one up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me an advanced copy.

I was so excited when I saw that Emma Lord was coming out with an adult novel. I have loved her YA books and couldn't wait to read this one. I feel that this reads like a YA novel that she just aged up the characters a little. While it wasn't my favorite of her books, it was a good first attempt at writing for adults.