Levi and June are former best friends who pretend to date one another after their own breakups go viral. The relationship’s purpose is to boost June’s bakery sales in a last attempt to keep her store location. While Lexi is hoping to make his ex jealous so she’ll take him back. Levi and June have history from high school that must be resolved.

My heart was invested in the few chapters, but I was unable to connect much after that because the storyline was unbelievable to me. It was a little too much social media presence…in my opinion. It’s a very light read, but my least favorite of Emma Lord’s novels. I did enjoy the narrators that were chosen.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance audiobook.

I'll start by saying I'm a huge Emma Lord fan and I have loved the many other books I have read by her. The Break-Up Pact, unfortunately, just didn't hit the same as the others. It was good, but the others were great. I'm honestly not sure what felt so different about this one, but there was something missing that her other books had. Emma Lord will continue to be an auto read for me even though this one fell a little flat.

I enjoyed this audiobook, the story had a lot going on, keeping the storyline entertaining. There are also multiple tropes to this romance which add to the novel in a positive way. Tropes include fake dating, friends to lovers, and second chance. This is a title, I would like to go back and read a physical copy of. Because I listened to it and there was a lot going on, I feel I may have missed out on some of it inadvertently, when I was disrupted or distracted. The voice artist was enjoyable to listen to, which is important in my opinion because they can make or break the best of books when in audio format. I will recommend this book to others and look for other titles by the author.

Wow. This is probably the most I've disliked a couple in a long time. I don't think they should even be a couple, truth be told.
I wish I could tell you any positive characteristics about either of these main leads, but the book spent more time focusing on their "romantic tension" that it lacked any time or space to make either one of them an interesting or likable character on their own. Not that they are likable together, because they aren't. What does June like about Levi? Who actually knows. There's a lack of a coherent backstory to make us care about her relationship with him, why 10 years later she's still holding a bitter flame for him, etc. We get bits of history here and there that revolve around June's dead sister (which, interesting way to portray grief honestly. The first half of the book they are sharing memories about this sister she apparently misses, the second half of the book they make her seem like a giant bitch and use her as an excuse for their shitty behavior/choices.), but none of it builds their relationship or character into anything quite interesting or likable.
Also if I'm supposed to buy into this romance and tension between these two, shouldn't June....like Levi as a person? She doesn't like him, she doesn't take responsibility that she was willing to throw away a friendship that apparently meant so much to her that she thought about him longingly for a decade over a simple miscommunication. Even when this is explained away, she continues to expect the absolute worst of him....what exactly do you like about this man? Matter of fact, what am I supposed to like about either of you.
Perhaps this author should focus on Young Adult novels, because these two people cannot get over the bullshit they put each other to in high school and continue to act with a brain that never developed past that age.
Don't waste your time with this book.

So much more enjoyable than the last book I read from this set. This story of childhood friends-to-lovers never felt creepy or weird. A sweet and funny, and at times frustrating, tale of people navigating break-ups and grief and finding their way back to each other. Very good read.

[ Reunited since High School | Friends to Lovers | Slow Burn | Mediocre Spice ]

The novel was "okay". It's a relaxed beach read with a straightforward yet entertaining plot. June and Levi, friends in high school, had a misunderstanding and lost contact with each other. A decade later, they reconnect after enduring publicly embarrassing breakups. A viral photo of them together leads people to believe they're a couple, and they play along to spite their exes. We can all guess what will happen next!

On top of this, their professional struggles take a secondary storyline. June is having a hard time with her boardwalk bakery and Levi is torn between his professional career path choice not being his passionate one.

It has the charm of a Hallmark movie with an added dash of spice. The narrative is straightforward, allowing you to easily picture the quaint boardwalk town. I would recommend this for anyone in search of a slower paced, light hearted read ending in a happily ever after.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy of the book to listen to and review. The narrator Natalie Naudus did a fabulous job.

So, confession time- I chose this book purely for the cover. I love alternating between heavier reads with romcoms and this one just screams “beach read”. I really did not anticipate how emotional, and impactful this cute little beachy book would be. If you love Katherine Center or Emily Henry, this book is for you!

We follow June, who is REALLY going throughhhh it. Someone recorded and posted a video of her being dumped and now her crying face is viral, her tea shop is about to get evicted and she’s generally uninspired. When her long lost childhood friend, Levi, shows up outside her shop one day, old memories and feelings surface. And better yet, Levi has also been dumped in a very public way. Naturally, in pure romcom fashion, the two decide to fake-date and make their exes (and the internet) see that they’re ok, and worth a second glance. But history has a way of repeating itself, and those old feelings surface quickly.

The thing about feelings is, they’re complex. And sometimes when one feeling bubbles up, a lot more follow. Like grief, frustration and fear.

The depth and emotion this book explored was unexpected, but beautiful. I was crying at the end and really was so happy I gave it a chance. 4 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
I really love Emma Lord and this was a really wonderful, quick and fun read.

Rating: 5 stars!

I told myself if I thought about the book a couple days after finishing it, I would keep my 5 star review. And sure enough, June and Levi live in my mind rent free.

June and Levi are best friends when they were younger. Growing up, they split ways cold turkey and dont speak for years. After June's sister's death, June comes back to their beachside tea shop to take over. After a humulating TV breakup for June and Levi's famous girlfriend leaving him for a new man, the break-up pact is formed to get revenge on the situation.

I love the friendship, the bonding, the found family, the small beach town.. Just everything about this.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review
2.5⭐️
I wanted to love this so bad. I was excited to see an Emma Lord adult novel and have had this in mind for MONTHS, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I think a big part for me was that I didn't feel their connection from their past friendship, but also, their coming together in the beginning was so unrealistic to me. In my mind, you can't go that long without talking to someone and then immediately wanting to fake date. If I were seeing someone for the first time in that long, with no social media connection in between, I would want to know everything about that last ___ years. Not to mention, how realistic is it that you're even the same person after that long that you can just assume the other person is worthy of this favor in the first place? There were aspects of this book that I did enjoy, like dealing with grief and moving on from someone else, but the majority of it was just not my cup of tea unfortunately.

I am embarrassed about my recent consumption of romance/smut audiobooks. They are all pretty similar. A girl is running a shop and it is about to go under and then she ends up with an old friend or enemy, they have hot sex, and then fall madly in love. Or they've been in love for years and just figured it out.
And I love it! I loved this one especially because it is all wholesome and there is diversity and love and then BAM a hot sex scene, and then back to wholesome.
The narration was perfect. I will be listening to more.

Uhmmmmm.

I adored Tweet Cute (like have reread it multiple times type of adoration), but no other Emma Lord book since has done it for me like that one. Her writing style is very distinct- chipper, fun, ~cool~ and I do like it, but the stories never stick with me for long. This one in particular took me 6.... SIX.... rereads of the first 15% to get into. I'm honestly surprised at myself for not adding it to my DNF shelf and moving on, but I persevered. We're kind of just thrown into the middle of things at the start and it's hard to recover from it. The middle and end of the book are fine. The story definitely settles as we learn more about the past and the characters do grow on you eventually. Keyword: eventually. But overall, it's almost as messy as this pre-coffee review. Just not the one for me.

Also, I listened to this one and I have to say Natalie Naudus can do no wrong. She has narrated so many of my all-time favorites and adds life and depth to stories that barely even have any. She's honestly an icon in the audiobook world and I am obsessed. Definitely recommend going that route with this one if you pick it up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audio copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

**𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘** 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌-𝑼𝒑 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝑬𝒎𝒎𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅

Release Date: August 13, 2024

4⭐️3🌶

This a fun and sweet rom com book, that's giving Emily Henry or Christina Lauren vibes. I love these sweet little books that give me a break from the broody darkness that fantasy and romantasy can be sometimes.

June is a small business owner who is trying to keep her bakery/coffee shop open after her partner/sister dies suddenly. Not only that, but she is very publicly dumped by her long time boyfriend on reality television. When her childhood crush/friend returns to town after his own brutal break up, they decide to fake-date in order to put a new spin on their story in the face of the media. Also, it drums up business for her bakery.

I looooove the fake-dating and friends-to-lovers! So, this book is definitely up by alley.

4/5

I did enjoy this book, however it had such an obscure and unlikely plot. For both of them to have breakups that go viral at the same time, and they happen to be childhood best friends who never got their chance to be together as a couple; it just felt too unrealistic. Also, it definitely has the miscommunication trope, and the characters make dumb choices that delays their HEA that were frustrating. Regardless, I did like both June and Levi as characters, and they were really cute together. A decent read.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

As a huge fan of Emma Lord’s YA books I was thrilled to see she was writing an adult romance. And it did not disappoint! The Break-Up Pact was such a fun, second chance romance full of heart, humor, and all of the quirkiness you’d expect from one of Emma’s novels.

I’m such a sucker for fake dating and thought it was done so well here. This is a second chance romance between childhood friends June and Levi. It’s been years since they’ve talked to each other, but when they both go viral for being dumped, they decide to turn this into a mutually beneficial fake romance. There’s a lot of history between the pair, so it’s not long before they’re not sure what’s fake and what’s real. Even with all the time that has passed they’re still able to slip into their old relationship easily. While this was set entirely in the present, I felt readers get enough memories to make their relationship feel legitimate.

Even though I liked the relationship between June and Levi, I think my favorite part of The Break-Up Pact was the beach town it was set in and all of the inhabitants. The author really brought Benson Bay to life and I felt like I was there. All of the secondary characters were fleshed out and I loved seeing June reconnect with her brother and friends from high school.

The audiobook narrator did great job with this one. She was clear and easy to understand, with each character being easy to distinguish from the others. It was easy for me to get lost in the story and I will definitely listen to books narrated by them in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a review copy.

* childhood friends to lovers
* fake dating
* small town

I love Emma Lord - she always has a way of pulling ALL of the emotions out of me! And while I didn't LOVE this, I did like it! I actually felt like the romance was, sadly, the weakest part of this story? I feel like this story was much more focused on individual growth (which is DEF a strength of Emma Lord's, as we see in her YA novels), but for adults, the handling of everything felt very amateur? Pushing people away and ignoring problems... feels very YA-ish.

All that being said, I still felt A LOT while reading this but I wanted more romance from Levi and June.

Rating: 3.5 stars

June Hart and Levi are high school best friends who find themselves in the middle of two messy viral breakups! NOTE: believable in this day an age because everyone has their 5 min of fame!---They make a pact to FAKE DATE each other to get back at their exes. All is well, until feelings start getting real and suddenly their exes are interested once again! What to do? What to do?

This book wasn't bad but it wasn't great. It definitely feels like a story I already read or want to read! Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advance copy. Overall, the cover is catchy! If you like:

-Small towns
-Sea side
-Friend to Lovers
-Tea and Scones

Go get this book! Enjoy

The Breakup Pact
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Super cute little Rom Com. It was fun. It made me smile, laugh, & fall in love, with the Characters. It was really enjoyable after a super intense book. It is a great feel good Beach read to just sit back & enjoy!
Thank you NetGalley!!

Following a break up that went viral June has become a meme and has nosy tourists flocking to her beachside tea shop. A tea shop that she’s been trying to keep afloat by herself since her sister’s death. June is at a loss of how to keep the tea shop moving forward until an opportunity presents itself in the form of Levi, her best friend who she hasn’t spoken to in ten years. Levi has recently gone through the same viral break up situation and can relate to June. Together they come up with a plan to fake date in order to help June get back in her feet with the tea shop. Their ‘celebrity’ status will have customers lining up at the door to get a glimpse of ‘the Revenge Exes’. Fake dating never goes as planned and this time around is no exception. Will Levi and June be able to make it out of this with their friendship in tact? Or will their friendship turn into something more?

I was drawn in by the cover of this book and was ready for this fun romance. It didn’t disappoint. I enjoy a good friends to lovers romance and fake dating is always fun, even though we always know it’s not going to go as planned. I liked June and Levi together and enjoyed finding out about their pasts together. The romance was sweet and perfect for a fun summer romance read. Each character had their own baggage and grief that needed to be sorted through and I think this added a lot to the story and their relationship. I enjoyed the main characters, but I really want to know more about the side characters and see their own stories play out. I know this isn’t a series, but I did grow attached to some of the side characters and wish I could see how their lives unfold. Overall this was a fun, lighthearted summer read that is great for romance fans!

“It isn’t the love that scares me. It’s what might happen to it.”

Two best friends who haven’t spoken in a decade pretend to date after their recent viral break-ups. What could go wrong?!

This was such a sweet slow-burn romance that also had some heavy hitting topics weaved throughout, giving the story some depth.

The narration was spot on for the emotional turmoil these characters experienced.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.