The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord delivers a delightful blend of humor, heart, and modern romance. June and Levi, estranged best friends, find themselves entangled in a fake relationship after their messy break ups become viral sensations. The author writes engaging characters with a well crafted plot that includes witty banter, genuine emotions, and unexpected twists as the duo navigates the world of fake dating to salvage their public images. The audiobook version of this book is equally fantastic, featuring an outstanding narrator. She did an amazing job bringing the book to life, adding depth and emotion to the characters.

June Hart came back home to take on the boardwalk tea room that she had dreamed about with her older sister Annie for years. While she was off on adventures all over the world with her boyfriend Griffin, Annie opened the Tea Tide at home and got scone inspiration from her sister. But when Annie died unexpectedly, June moved back home to take over the Tea Tide, to keep her sister’s dream alive.

Coming home was certainly easier when her boyfriend went on the reality show Business Savvy with his idea for a new startup. He made it on to the show right away, and invited June to sit with him for an episode while he explained that he and his new love Lisel have merged their business ideas and their hearts. June was caught off-guard by the news, and the shot of her crying on the show became a viral meme, with people showing up at Tea Tide to ask is she was #CryingGirl. She tells them she is and makes them buy a scone. But that is not enough to sustain the tea shop long term. June needs some inspiration.

When Levi Shaw shows up at the tea shop, or rather, outside the restaurant, June has mixed feelings. He was one of her best friends when they were growing up, but she’s barely heard from him in the last decade. They do have one thing in common though. Levi’s long-term relationship also blew up in a very public way, when his girlfriend Kelly became the realtor to hunky movie star Roman Steele. They fell for each other, and Levi was another ex for the gossip sites.

But June’s best friend Sana has an idea. She’s a freelance reporter who has been itching for a job at the popular culture site Frizzle. And she thinks that if she can takes some photos of the two of them together, as the Revenge Exes, then she can put together an article that might get her a new job. And the photos are pretty easy for them all, since June and Levi had already agreed to help Dylan and Mateo plan their wedding.

Dylan is June’s little brother, and the three Hart siblings used to hang out with Levi all the time. They were a foursome, with Annie and Levi particularly close, since they were both writers. June had a big crush on Levi, but he hadn’t felt the same. And then they all left to go to college. Annie came back after graduation to open Tea Tide. Dylan came back to coach track at the local college, and he and Mateo fell in love. So sending June and Levi out to taste cake flavors or check out a deejay means Sana can get some cute pictures to leak online, so they won’t be seen as just the exes anymore. They can get their own story.

But things rarely go as planned. As June and Levi spend more time together, old feelings creep back up. But so do paparazzi. And exes. And the consequences of old choices. Until both June and Levi find themselves at a crossroads, both in their individual lives and in their new relationship. In order to move forward, they will need to face their pasts. But will they move on together, or will they be drawn in different directions?

Emma Lord’s latest novel, The Break-Up Pact tells the story of a teenage crush that ten years later turned into a fake relationship, and where it goes from there. Lord is a master of a character-driven romance, filled with heart, humor, and honesty. She creates characters with such rich stories that one of her novel equals about three novels from some other writers, so there is never a dull moment in her stories. Each character is fully-formed and really thoughtful, so the emotional journeys are always rich as well, and the romance develops between two complex characters, with autonomy and intelligence.

I listened to The Break-Up Pact on audio, narrated by Natalie Naudus, which was such a fun experience of this book. Naudus brings these characters to life with all their quirks and foibles, all their grief and humor. She does well with the denseness of the story, the richness of these relationships, and all the gossip and reality show messiness. I am a big fan of Lord’s, and The Break-Up Pact is just as entertaining and masterful as her other books. But I will add one warning about this one. You will find yourself craving creative scones, so be sure to stock up on tasty snacks for your reading or listening.

Egalleys for The Break-Up Pact were provided by St. Martin’s Griffin and a copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord was a recipe where all the ingredients for a favorite book were present, but somehow I wound up merely enjoying it and not loving it. And when I say it like that, it sounds like it was bad, but it wasn't! It was a really solid read from Emma Lord, but the way that I loved Tweet Cute by Lord has me constantly hoping for that full fledged five star, I'm obsessed with it feeling and unfortunately, that wasn't present here. That said, if you, like me, are interested in a childhood friends (who had deep feelings for one another as teens) turned strangers (New Years Day vibes anyone?) turned friends again turned lovers, this book could definitely be for you. Probably though it would help if you don't regard running as the most horrific exercise one could possibly engage in.

Essentially, June and Levi are (a) both runners and (b) are both back in their small town. June has been for a while (a year or so, maybe?) because her sister died and she has taken over running the tea shop the two of them dreamed up when they were children. She's still grieving and having a hard time moving on, in the sense that her grief is keeping her stagnant and it's causing problems with the tea shop. June has also become a meme, The Crying Girl, because her douche canoe of an ex-boyfriend dumped her on live television. Levi, meanwhile, has come back to their small town to work on his novel and to get some space from his fiancé, who it turns out was cheating on him with a famous actor. Both of them have therefore been thrust into the spotlight, of sorts, and when the two of them are photographed together, somehow the Internet dubs them "The Revenge Exes" and the two of them decide to play along for their own reasons.

So that, in a nutshell, is the plot. This book has an interesting way of switching back and forth between some over the top ridiculous antics of viral-ness and then pairing that with some really deep and introspective moments dealing with grief or the pain of not talking to someone you never thought you would be without, so, almost a different kind of grief in a way. I think this is a tone that works for me quite often. For example, I love Beach Read by Emily Henry, which is alternatively laugh out loud funny and then also, let me cry for ten minutes because this book has me in my feels. Unfortunately, for me, I don't think I read The Break-Up Pact when I was quite in the mood for that back and forth in tone. So while I really enjoyed it, this book didn't crack the five star obsession mark. I look forward to seeing what other people thought though, because I really do think it can work for so many other people!

Oh, and, Natalie Naudus does the narration for this book and I thought she did a truly fantastic job. I really enjoy her narration style!

4.5 Stars!
This book was super cute! I really enjoyed the connection Levi and June shared, the history between them, and how they were able to work together to help each other out. I am a sucker for fake dating, so this was right up my alley. The town and community was super cute, I loved the character dynamics with the other characters, and the way Levi was just immediately not faking anything. I really loved how this book had such levity in the way they fake dated and the relationship they had, but also had more emotional and serious moments as well. It really balanced well and I really enjoyed this book.

Ehhh, this just did not hit my expectations. Maybe they were too high? Maybe this book was not Emma Lord's best? The pieces were all there, but they just did not connect into a can't put down contemporary romance. The book moved too quickly and not in a "i read this so quickly" kind of way... more a "we have not seen or spoken to one another in many years, but let's fake date" kind of way. There was no ramp up in their friendship or relationship - they just jumped right in. It made it hard to feel as if we really knew the main characters - too many important parts were either skipped over or highlighted in a sentence. All that being said, I did read this book quickly. The story line is very cute - two exes who have not seen one another for years. Both going through very public breakups (from other people). When they are spotted by the paparazzi on the beach, rumors begin flying. Instead of denying the relationship, they pretend to date. Can they keep their hearts out of it?

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader and audio copies!

Well I didn’t love it. And maybe that’s my own fault because I went into this thinking it was a rom-com. I guess when I read the synopsis on NetGalley and understood it to be fake dating I thought it would be funny. It’s not… Also the amount of miscommunication between our MC’s is extremely frustrating to me. This just wasn’t my kind of romance.

I am in love with Levi & June! I want to join this friend group and go to trivia nights, dish gossip over tea & scones at TeaTide and run (who am I kidding, walk) the beach boardwalk. The entire cast of this book is such a light, fun and entertaining bunch. From wedding planning to book brainstorming to baking, this is where I wanna be. When June and her childhood crush both end up in very public breakups, like national news type of public, the only thing to do is team-up to spin the story. But they each missed the prologue where they were secretly in love as teens. Miscommunication at its finest leads to a 7-yr absence in each other’s lives. That’s some serious pining. The tension of the will they-won’t they faux relationship kept that excitement sizzling. Caught up in every simple touch, secret look and open longing, I am here for this fake relationship- second chance romance. This was my first from this author and I am eager for more. The audio narrated by Natalie Naudus was so easy to listen to. Her voice had such comforting tones that it felt like sitting around gossiping at a sleepover.

The Break Up Pact by Emma Lord was my fourth book by this author, but this was not the YA for which she is known to me. Her first book Tweet Cute is one of my favorite in that genre and I’ve loved her books in the past. When an opportunity came for me to have an ALC of her new book, I jumped at it. She has dropped her YA and moved into steamy adult romance and I didn’t realize. After a particularly steamy scene I pulled up Goodreads to confirm.
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Honestly, even without the open doors that I don’t prefer, this book didn’t land with me the way her previous books have. That is probably a situation with this reader. Her writing is still wonderful. Her descriptions of settings and scones were well thought out.
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The narrator, Natalie Naudus, did a great job with the narration. She gave the story life!
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If you like open door books and you are a romance reader you may want to check this out. Emma Lord is a good author.
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Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

❥ Thank you for the free audiobook, author Emma Lord, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley.

This was a fun fake dating romance story. I adore Emma Lord’s books, and this was another enjoyable read for me. Similar to Tweet Cute, another title I had recently read by the author, social media had a central role in this story. I quite enjoyed that aspect. Although I think June and Levi were immature for their age and the story’s pacing was slow at times, I still came away with a smile. Oh, and a craving for scones!

❥ Listening to this via audio was excellent. Natalie Naudus did a wonderful job with the narration.

Overall, I loved the way this book combined humor and emotional depth. This was a fantastic rom-com that also tackled difficult issues, with the sweetest childhood friends to lovers romance at the heart of it. I found myself rooting for these too characters so hard!

*Title: The Break-Up Pact-a standalone

*Release date: 8-13-24, Read: 8-12-24

*Author: Emma Lord-I've read The Getaway List and gave it 5 ⭐

*Format: E-book and audiobook

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC! I voluntarily give an honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

*Narrator: Natalie Naudus voices all characters. The narrator's voice fit the characters with standouts from Levi and Sana. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along with the E-book and audiobook.

*Run time: 9:18

*Setting: Benson Beach

*Genre: Rom-Com, Women's Fic

*Tropes: sister's BFF, small town, friendship, fake dating, reality TV, viral moments, LGBTQIA+ rep, Asian American rep, second chance

*Look out for: death of a sibling and BFF, the hero and heroine are cheated ON, side character had cancer

*Synopsis: Two friends June and Levi haven't spoken in ten years, but when both their break-ups go viral, they reunite. June runs Tea Tide and owes rent money, her BFF Sana is a freelance writer in need of money, and Levi wants his fiancée Kelly back. June and Levi agree to fake date using the paparazzi, but they have unfinished business from high school.

*FMC: June Hart-runs seaside tea shop in honor of her deceased sister Annie who ran it before her. She just broke up with boyfriend Griffin Hapler-a famous reality TV star on "Business Savvy." He cheated on her and now the world knows. Her brother Dylan is also getting married, and she is helping with the arrangements.

*MMC: Levi Shaw-lives in NY as a hedge fund manager. He is also a writer. His fiancée Kelly cheated on him with superhero movie star Roman Steel. They are separated with the hope of getting back together.

*Review: June and Levi knew each other since childhood along with June's older sister Annie and her younger brother Dylan. For a second, I thought Levi would confess to being in love with Annie, but he only had eyes for June. They liked each other in high school but their pride got in the way, and they became estranged. The attraction between them was still there, but they had to reconcile the past to start anew.

*Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
*Spice level- 3/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

First off, Happy Pub Day to Emma Lord for The Break-up Pact. Go grab a copy today and a scone. Trust me on that last one, if you don’t you’re going to wish you had!

The fake dating trope is the basis is of this book, so high five right away for that! One of my favorites! June and Levi haven’t spoken in 10 years, but get thrust together in their hometown after break ups with exes go viral for both. Both of these two are struggling to be their authentic selves through out the book. It’s definitely a lesson in being who you are and following your dreams. June runs a tea shop, started by her late sister and they make scones. Those scones really come into play in the second half of the book and honestly, I’m ready to quit my job and go open a bakery that makes scones! I do love to bake so it really struck a chord with me. But I must confess that I have never had a scone until today. I just so happen to have some in my freezer and while finishing the last few chapters knew today was the day to make them. They aren’t half bad and my mind is racing with ingredient combos that could be put together!

Back to the topic at hand. Love rekindles between these two, or maybe never really died away. You will love the cast of characters in this one and find yourself smiling throughout.

Now off to go eat more scones!

This one was okay.
It wasn't bad, but it was missing the quirky banter I always associate with fake dating.
I enjoyed the plot and if I had not been expecting said banter it likely would have worked better for me🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my ALC.
This is out today and I would love to know what you think.

The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Contemporary romance. Second chance, friends to lovers, and fake relationship troupes. Trigger warnings of off page and prior to story loss of a sibling.
June and Levi were childhood friends. He moved to New York for a job and they soon lost touch. Ten years later, after both experience a viral public breakup, they find themselves together again at her boardwalk tea shop, tentatively renewing their friendship. The come up with a scheme to fake date after a second viral moment and the slowly realize they want their old relationship back and perhaps to make it real this time.

🎧 I alternated between an ebook and an audiobook in reading this, and often read the two together, which is a favorite way for me to enjoy the book. The narration is performed by Natalie Naudus who does a wonderful job with the different voices for the two main characters and also another four prime secondary voices. I like the smoothness of her voice and the fact that the different characters are still at the same audio level which is important. Emotions come through clearly. I was crying at the 85% which was mostly from the narration. I heard the loss and introspection and it got to me.
This narrator has done a few hundred different stories that include romance, urban fantasy and thrillers. A great professionally done recording.
As usual, I feel the recordings are too slow for the Midwest, so listened at 1.5 which also more closely matches my reading speed.
For this particular book, I felt the audiobook held my attention more than the ebook.

It’s always interesting to me how two people can read the same sentence and hear or empathize something different. This came up multiple times in this book. Is it a cultural difference, or additional knowledge about the character? A different perspective in age? I don’t know. It does throw me out of the book because I’m hearing it differently than I read it. That is the downside of doing the two formats together but I enjoy it because I’m more immersed in the story and characters.

The premise is a bit sad to start off with on a couple of levels but most of that is prior to the start of the story. There are emotionally draining moments and there are emotional romantic and lovely scenes. Overall I enjoyed the romance and friendships as well as a couple of petty “what you deserve” moments.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Audio.

Estranged best friends to fake dating to lovers. June moved home to run her deceased sister’s scone shop when her long-term, thrill-seeking, narcissistic boyfriend breaks up with her on reality television. Levi, former best friend of June returns home after a very public cheating scandal has his relationship with his girlfriend on pause. Both exes have publicly moved on while June and Levi are publicly humiliated (and June a viral meme)… Until an idea is born. The revenge exes quickly take twitter by storm, rocketing the infamy of the scone shop. Will they realize they’ve always loved each other or will they allow their hate-able exes to continue to weasel jn and control their lives?

This was a cute story and it was well written, but the themes just didn’t resonate with me. I certainly enjoy reality tv, but I couldn’t see the feasibility of twitter or TikTok really caring about this random coupling. I wasn’t sold on the “why the world is suddenly so interested in this lady and her hot fake boyfriend” after she was made irrelevant by being dumped on tv - highlighted by the fact that producers didn’t play him up to be a jerk after the viral crying meme fiasco. Maybe a note from Ariana Maddox and Scandoval would’ve helped to play up why the fake dating was relevant. Or maybe I’m just not hip to twitter culture!

The narrator was good, but I would’ve liked to hear more of a regionally appropriate intonation in the narration and less high-rising intonation (I.e., valley girl speech pattern). I found some of the character voices carried too much uptalk.

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

Childhood Best friends June and Levi both had public breakups. As a picture of them surface together, they decide to keep the facade going and make people think they are a couple.

This book is a much more serious and less rom com compared to how the book is presented. There were some slower points of the books and the author thoroughly describes the complexity of the characters and their past together. That being said the main plot progressed rather quick.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

The Break-Up Pact may not be the most believable story, but it’s still a decently entertaining beach read, full of plenty of fake dating fun. Perfect for when you just want a light romance.

Natalie Naudus did a decent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I so enjoyed three of Lord's YA books (rating each 3.66 stars), that I was really looking forward to her adult romance/rom-com debut. Sadly, I didn't find this book even remotely as charming as her previous books. I might be judging these still-young adults (the main characters are in their late–twenties) too harshly in the maturity department, but I don't think so.

There is an entire chapter devoted to June and Levi's first time having sex with each other. It could have been omitted completely and the book would have been hotter. Maybe this is why I prefer Lord's YA—there's attraction, but nothing steamier than kissing, which leaves room for anticipation and imagination. Too, I think it could have been a more fulfilling story if it was less about fake dating to make their exes jealous—which is immature at its core—and framed more as a second-chance romance (even though they're still quite young—they knew each other as teens). I won't spoil the source of the couple's estrangement. I will tell you that it only added to my frustration and disappointment in the book.

I liked June's best friend, Sana. [I read with my ears, so I'm spelling her name the way it sounds to me. Maybe someone will let me know how close I came?] Right out of the gate, she's funny, if a bit pushy. In all fairness, she was the only driver of forward movement in much of the story. I also very much liked June's future brother-in-law. There you have it, folks—my two favorite characters in the book are truly minor. I also liked the setting.

Despite my disappointment based on my previous experiences, I will gladly continue reading Lord's work. She's not the only author who has written a single book (or even a couple books) that just didn't work for me, but who generally entertains admirably.

The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus, whose work I have appreciated much more often than I realized for not recognizing her name right away.

This unbiased review is based on an audio ARC supplied by the publisher—Macmillan Audio. Publication is expected August 13.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s for the free audiobook and finished copy!

Overall rating: 4.06

What I liked:
- June and Levi’s relationship, their fake dates, how they reconnect and are pushing each other to find the happiness they deserve.
- The setting! Most of the scenes take place at the beachside tea shop, at the local non-tourist bar, or on the beach itself, and it feels like it! The writing brings the setting and the story to life.
- I liked the overall story! It gave me big “The Enemy” by Sarah Adams vibes — both set in a beach town where she’s a baker, both feature high school friends that reconnect and discover deeper feelings for each other, both feature FMC’s named June! No complaints… I loved The Enemy!

What didn’t work for me:
- There’s so much going on with Levi and June: their viral break ups (not with each other), their fake dating pact and the feelings it stirs up, the fate of June’s tea shop, Levi’s writer’s block, the (off-page, previous) death of June’s sister who was Levi’s best friend, and planning June’s brother’s wedding. While the author does a really fantastic job of weaving everything together so the narrative is cohesive, the wide breadth reduces the emotional resonance of any single plot point.
- It’s a liiiiittle far fetched — both June and Levi go viral for their break ups at the same time and just happen to be from the same small town and are former friends who secretly like each other? Okay…

Not a like or dislike, but wanted to note that the cover of the book doesn’t really have the same vibes as the story. The cover is flirty and fun and bright with June and Levi turned away from each other, adversarially. The story is more serious and angsty than fun and flirty, and June and Levi collaborate and have fun together for the vast majority of the book. Not a big deal, but please know what you’re getting into!

Audio: The narrator, Natalie Naudus (Exes and O’s, Gigi Listening, One Last Stop), performs brilliantly as usual. She’s a narrator that just sounds exactly like a narrator should with the right diction, pacing, and emotional response based on the scene. Great one to pick up on audio!

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.06
10-pt star rating: 4
5-pt star rating: 4

Attribute ratings
Characters: 4
Atmosphere/Setting: 4.5
Writing Style: 5
Plot/Pacing: 3
Intrigue: 4
Logic: 3
Enjoyment: 4.5

In this cute modern romance we follow June Hart & Levi Shaw who were really close when they were younger. They fell out of touch after a misunderstanding and went their separate ways. They reconnect years later in their hometown, Benson Beach. June is trying to keep afloat her beach side tea shop that was opened by her late sister Annie. She recently broke up with her now ex-boyfriend Griffin in a very humiliating way, and it was very public. Social media named her the crying girl and she become a meme, which was very embarrassing. Levi returns home after an equally public split from his now ex-girlfriend. He leaves NYC to come back to Benson Beach where he can focus on his writing. Levi and June come together and make a plan to pretend to be a couple after a very suggestive photo of them goes viral. They feel it may help increase business at June's tea shop and also a way to get back at both of their exes. June & Levi go on several dates and the more time they spend together, the more June realizes that her high school feelings for Levi never went away. Does Levi love June back? I recommend you read this novel to find out!

I enjoyed learning about both Levi and June and I found the character development to be very well developed. The secondary characters were fun too, and there weren't too many to keep track of. Emma Lord’s writing style creates a narrative that kept me wanting to know what will happen next. I kept rooting for that happy ending that we all want, call me a hopeless romantic! This was a great summer poolside read.