Great mix of classic troupes. While you can see the storyline unfolding ahead of you the mix of troupes keeps it fresh. Well done! I will be buying this book for my library and have a quite a few patrons I will be suggesting it to as soon as it comes in.

• two victims of viral break-ups decide to fake date to save a tea shop & maybe win back an ex
• second chance romance, but the reason for the tension & break up was so underwhelming, it kind of deflated the plot
• the writing felt very emily henry-esque, & was ultimately a quick read, just fell a little flat

☕️Book Review☕️
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Summary- June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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My thoughts- I have such a massive book hangover from this beauty! I loved loved this book SO much! It was so sweet and I just fell head over heels in love with Levi and June. The most lovable main characters , the sweetest setting in a beachside scone shop 🥺, and discusses grief in a really profound/relatable way. This book is so good, special thanks for @netgally and @macmillianaudio for the advanced copy!
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QOTD- what is your favorite sweet treat? Since this one took place in a scone/tea shop!

The book itself was good , but the person reading the book personally didn’t like that they read both the male and female parts of the book!! They should have gotten another voice actor to play the male section! But over all it wasn’t horrible just extremely slow also.. I enjoyed the slow burn aspect of the book as well as the fake dating !! 7/10 book 3/10 for the audio version just can’t get behind the voice actor ..

Two former friends. Two very public breakups. A fake date pact. Real feelings. What could go wrong? “The Break-Up Pact” by Emma Lord was a super cute could not put down, perfect summer beach read for me.

This book was the perfect rom-com I love reading with a slight touch of spice. June and Levi were well developed characters. I was very invested in their story.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me the advance audio book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the perfect summer romance to pick up. The characters were diverse and lovable and the location of the small town and tea shop along the sea was so cute and quaint I wanted to move in. Both the male and female main characters were lovable and we were cheering for them the whole time. A light, and sometimes emotional story of friends to more than friends. One of the best romances I've read this summer.

Former best friends June and Levi both find themselves in the same situation--very publicly dumped by their significant others. Now, they decide to fake a relationship together in order to turn public favor to them.

I LOVED this romcom! Here's what I loved:

June and Levi: They are perfect. Both are funny and flawed. Together they are even better than apart. Watching them realize how much they actually mean to each other made my day.

Second Chance(ish): While they were never together to begin with, this does feel like a second chance. They were best friends who were (obviously) secretly in love with each other. I loved getting little bits of their past friendship.

The humor and the heart: This book had a perfect combination of humor and heart break. All of the characters are dealing with the death of June's sister which affects them in so many ways. But they still have a good humor to everything they do. I also adored the beach town and all of its inhabitants.

The audio: Natalie Naudus does a great job with these characters!

All in all, I added this book! It's a perfect romcom!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy.

Two ex-best friends, Levi and June, come together under similar trauma when their break ups go viral. This gives them the idea to create a fake relationship with each other and commit to five dates.

They learn a lot about their current and past lives that make them realize they may not have known what each other were going through when their friendship went sideways.

You know the story. Fakes relationships always stay fake, right? Levi’s initially hoping to get his ex back where June goes ahead with the fake relationship to boost her publicity and career.

I felt this story did a lot of building up, and it combines friends to lovers and fake relationship tropes together nicely. The author also did a nice job with side characters and I could see more from this world by the author. Well done 👏🏼

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 8/13/24!

I had the pleasure of reading this book before receiving the audiobook version. I’ll first post my review of the audiobook aspects of The Break-Up Pact, with my original, full review added below.

I adored this book and I found that Natalie Naudus’s narration only added to my enjoyment. There’s a thing that female narrators in this genre do - their voices are soft, breathy, overly wistful. It’s fine when the emotions of the passage call for it, but the rest of the time it’s distracting and emotionally dissonant.. So when I find a narrator that doesn’t do that, I take note. Loved this performance. Loved this book.

Original Review, for the e-book version:

My first 4.5-5 star read of 2024.

I’ve read two of Emma Lord’s YA novels, both of which I enjoyed, but I was still a bit skeptical of her move into adult romance. I should have known better than to doubt her. Everything about this book feels like a shift into a more adult world - the writing is mature (and, quite frankly, beautiful), there is spice(!!), and the plot has more depth. There are so many lovely sentences and amazing ways of phrasing things - I wish I could stick them in my pocket, just to take out and enjoy later.

Emma has proven, in her earlier YA novels, that she has a good handle on pop culture, media, and social media, all of which come into play in this book. She’s also good about handling heavy emotions without coming across as exploitative. (No trauma for the sake of drama.)

In reading other reviews, I see several low ones. I guess I’m still surprised when I see so many people whose opinions differ from my own, and I’m starting to parse out why - there are two camps of Rom-Com novels, regardless of genre or trope: those that purely fantasy fulfillment vs. those that are more grounded in reality. So many of these reviews aren’t faulting these characters for being poorly written but for being *flawed*. Honestly, I’d find myself reading and enjoying both, but it’s always the latter kind of book that sticks with me. Both June and Levi have issues - they’ve got baggage to sort out. If you want to read a book that’s purely fantasy fulfillment, with a swoony MMC that already has his shit together, this isn’t the book for you. Instead, this reads much more like a Beth O’Leary or Mhairi McFarlane novel - two flawed people, trying to make it work.

Anyhow, the plot description is fairly spot-on for this one, so I don’t feel the need to rehash it.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced reader copy of this novel.

I couldn’t really get into this book, it wasn’t bad but the main characters were both dating influencers until they broke up. It did have the second chance friends thing going for it and also all the yummy food (she owns a tea shop bakery), but it felt almost emotionless to me. Otherwise, it was a quick predictable romance—nothing wrong with predictable btw. Also, it seemed odd that their parents never showed up but are talked about and they all live in the same town with all the other family members making appearances. The narrator was good, the book was only from the FMC PoV, so the singular voice worked.

*Provided an ALC (advance listening copy) audiobook from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

This was so fun on audio and made for a delightful listening experience! It was engaging and made me laugh out loud. I felt the plot had some holes and the characters could have been expanded on a bit more. Overall, this was a quick and easy summer read! My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 21%. Couldn't get into this. Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advance copies.

This book is giving Funny Story, but second chance/ best friend version.

The story follows two besties who haven’t talked in a while and are both going through VERY public breakups. After being spotted and photographed by the media and named “revenge exes” they agree to fake date to make their exes jealous. However, feelings be in the way!

I will not lie, before I hit the 50% mark I definitely considered DNFing. Here’s why: the book would have greatly benefited from past/present chapters to connect us more to the FMC and MMC, their friendship before they stopped speaking, and the death being talked about in the book. Once I hit 50%, I was able to connect more to the FMC, the MMC stopped being a mystery to me, and the plot of the book started to truly blossom.

It’s a very light read and the narration was enjoyable. Definitely recommend as a buffer after a heavy read and a feel good vibe.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ✨

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced readers copy of this audiobook.

This was a nice fluffy, summer read. Quick and perfect as a vacation book. The story is cute, but predictable, and not spicy. Might be a perfect read for some, but I prefer more spice.

[SPOILERS]
TL;DR: Long time friends who have lost touch are both scorned by their current loves. Life brings them back together. He's grumpy and stuck in a life he doesn't want, she's the sunshine that's trying to keep her (dead) sister's dream alive and keep the struggling tea shop from failing. They fall back into step as friends, the attraction is tense. Fake dating turns to real love... with a 3rd act break up. [bum bum] In typical form, true feelings surface, and fate brings them back together.

📚Trope(s): Friends to Lovers, Second chance romance, Fake dating
What you get: 🫖🧁💒🏖️
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 4/5
🌶️Spice: 1/5

As one of my favorite tropes, I definitely enjoyed this “fake dating” read! The main characters were both absolutely lovable! The chemistry was great! I absolutely loved the setting and it made for a perfect summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for the early audiobook copy!

This was my first time reading this author; it seems like most of their work is YA, with this book venturing into more “adult” type themes.

A few aspects of the book didn’t work for me, such as the overall pacing (MCs see each other after years of no contact and suddenly decide to fake date? And the reasoning behind the fake dating? Nah, not it). I also thought much of the writing was expository and -told- me about their past or what was happening, instead of dialogue or actions to drive the story/characters.

I just don’t think the author is for me, sadly!
2/5 stars.

THE BREAK UP PACT

June and Levi were bffs but haven’t spoken in 10 years. They both recently went through their own respective humiliating breakups that went viral and when a photo of June and Levi goes viral and everyone assumes they’re dating so they decide to go with it and pretend they’re dating.

Pick this one up if you’re looking for:
🤫fake dating
🌶️some spice!
⛱️small beach town setting

This was a cute summer rom com! I liked it and alternated between audio and physical but I can’t say it was a fav for me since I just didn’t feel very connected to the characters and don’t know if it will be super memorable in the long term. If you’re looking for a quick and easy romcom this one may be for you!

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of The Break-Up Pact in exchange of my honest review.

I really like Emma Lord's books and that's why I picked The Break-up Pact. I went caustiously because I am weary of miscommunication with second chance romance books but this one was very well done that made me enjoy the story.

June is in a tough situation. She is struggling to keep open the bakeshop that she and her sister that suddenly passed away, dreamed on having, while dealing with her break up turned her as an internet meme.
To make matters worse, the guy that broke her heart as a young teenager is back in town, also recently out of a relationship. The deal was simple: they would fake date. She would get some publicity to have "moved on" to her bakeshop while he would try to get the attention of his ex back.
But of course, those old buried feelings are threatening to come back.

The story had adorable moments of light banter and fun situations with deep and vulnerable talks. I really appreciate that the author took her time to make the earlier miscommunication from their childhood not overpower their current relationship. I was so glad that they properly talked through it as adults.
There are other interesting themes as grief and toxic relationships that permeate the story that gave depth to the character's relationship with the world around them.

Overall a solid romance book that I really enjoyed!

This book contains many of my favorite tropes, small town romance, second chance romance and fake dating. June and Levi were best friends in high school, until there was a falling out and went their separate ways. Ten years later, they both have suffered humiliating break-ups that have gone viral, and have returned home to regroup. When a picture of them together hits the internet, social media is abuzz with the two wronged exes becoming a couple. So they forma pact, to fake date to improve their images.
This was a really sweet book, with two characters June and Levi, that I absolutely cheered for. The book starts off a little slow, but it's really worth staying with it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy. This was a wonderful audiobook, and Natalie Naudus was an amazing narrator. I highly recommend this charming book.

I received an audiobook arc of this book through NetGalley and its publishers.

I gave this book 4 stars..

This was a very sweet summer romance with write a few tropes: friends to lovers, fake dating, serving chances.

June and Levi were close childhood friends who had been estranged for awhile. They both experience humiliating viral breakups, and Levi ends up back in his hometown where June still lives.

When Levi first returns there is some tension due to Levi’s leaving, but they soon reconnect and find the friendship they once had. They also come up with a plan to get back at their exes.

Levi and June have a very sweet, deep relationship and they are also trying to figure themselves out after such big life changes. While they help eachothers, there is a lot they need to figure out for the future.