I went into this story not knowing much about it and this is one of those moments where I selected it based off of the cover art. Well friends…the cover art is just as cute and adorable as the story that is inside of the cover! If there are two things that I love it’s small town stories and fake dating tropes.

The story of June and Levi was so good that I couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook. I kept finding reasons to turn it back on to see what was going to happen next with their journey and relationship. The narrator of this audiobook was also amazing and gave the story and characters such life. Slight disclaimer and spoiler alert….y’all may fall in love with Levi in this book because I most certainly did!

If you are a fan of books like “Funny Story” or “The Fake Dating Game”, then I think you will love this book and Emma Lord’s take on the fake dating trope. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance reader copy of “The Break-Up Pact”.

DNF at 70%. I tried to push through this one but unfortunately it lost me around the half way mark. I am a big friends to lovers fan but the fake dating/ viral break up aspect let me down. The way it was written felt young adult then bam lot’s of random spice. Most of this is a me-thing so hopefully this one works better for others!

I love this story and Natalie Naudus was a perfect narrator! The tension between our two main characters was palpable and steamy. Childhood friends to lovers is my favorite trope but I don’t find many that are written as both a rom com with emotional grit to them. The plot is nothing earth shattering but I ate it up. The subject of grief was handled with such care and was really touching to those who have also been through something similar. I also loved the diverse cast of characters and found the side characters to be a total delight. This is my first book by Emma Lord but not my last. I’m going to be reading her back catalog asap.

Title: The Break Up Pact
By: Emma Lord

Genre:
Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance

Summary:
After a decade apart, Levi and June find themselves in a similar situation, so why not join forces? June’s boyfriend, Griffin finds the true love of his life on a reality TV show and Levi’s girlfriend cheats on him with a high profile celebrity. With both breakups going viral, and the spotlight on them both, June and Levi decide to pair up in a fake dating relationship.

Review:
This is the first adult romance book for Emma Lord. It really had potential, but I felt something was lacking. It is told from one point of view. The beginning had me hooked, relating to the characters, but I felt the overall plot line lacked depth. The tone of the book was more serious with elements of loss, grief, misunderstanding, miscommunication and the romance didn’t do it for me. The physical moments felt forced in the writing, and honestly, quite awkwardly just thrown in with no build up. I will admit the story pacing and buildup did get better towards the end of the novel. This book is a quick, fast paced read, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I listened to this version on audio and the narrator was wonderful!

Sidenote for followers - Pieces of explicit content in Chapter 16

Thank you Emma Lord, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#Thebreakuppact
#emmalord
#stmartinspress
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#netgalleyreviews

⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley Audiobook 🎧

<b>Description:</b>
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 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.

<b>Review:</b>
I usually love the friends-to-lovers/fake dating tropes, but this one had me feeling like I was on a roller coaster ride and not a fun one either. Anyone got a barf bag? First he wants his ex back, and then he doesn’t, oh wait, now he does, now he doesn’t, but then he’s going back to New York with the ex, just to “settle things” with her. She’s not much better with her constant woe is me and please come to my pity party. I wish I could come up with something nice to say about this book, but I really can’t.

Thank you? to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for a chance to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publication Date 08/13/2024

What a great take on one of the best romance tropes! Levi and June's tension flew off the pages and found themselves a place in my heart right away!
I enjoyed every second of this book and learning more about the characters. There was a touch of emotion and a small theme of grief around both characters that I think many readers will relate to and find solace in.
A perfect rom-com to read during the summer months!
The audiobook narrator was amazing! She made me feel every emotion of June's so thoroughly that she gave me goosebumps! She had perfect pauses and emotion in her voice for the entire novel!

The trick to writing a rom com is to make the reader like the characters even though their path to happily ever after is strewn with roadblocks, often of their own making. Sadly none of the roadblocks here were believable and their existence just made me be less invested in the characters.

In a sane world, June would realize after a few years (not 10)  that she and Griffin were not a good pair, contact Levi, and put her feelings on the table like a sane person with a little self respect. Levi would man up and agree. Then after the tragic sudden death of her sister, if June took over the tea shop, she'd woman up and make it her own. She wouldn't have brain fog for two years, with all respect to grief, and be incapable of making up a new effing scone recipe. And while she tried to make a go of a shop with the stupid premise of only selling tea and scones and religiously refusing to sell coffee she wouldn't be less busy than her brother and his fiance so she wouldn't have to organize their wedding, I.e. take Levi who she's not dating, on sexy cake tasting expeditions. And her weirdly stern landlord wouldn't be able to conduct an ongoing challenge on how “good” her shop is if she's paying the rent. And if people who harbour huge ill will toward her tell her Levi is back with his old girlfriend, she'd woman up and ask him. Just saying.

Emma Lord's excellent writing on a line level wasn't enough to save this second chance romance trope with two dipshits as leading characters. We romance readers are just so over “but what if he still loves the ex” and “sob sob I'm not sure who I am” and “what if I hold him back” Was it written by committee? Was much of it a first draft that they forgot to fix later? Were all the low self esteem miscommunication scenes cut and pasted? 

2.5 stars. Maybe my standards are unreasonable. Narration was excellent.
Thanks for the advance copy of this audiobook from #netgalley and St.Martins press in return for an obviously independent review. I've taken a look at other reviews and think others by Emma Lord may be worth a try.

Emma Lord Flies Under the Radar
Some authors are lucky enough to blow up on social media, influencer lists, and top 100 lists in various news outlets. Others manage a slow, slow burn that builds on itself without the threat of burn out. Emma Lord is one of the latter. Sure, I’ve seen her book covers float around. They’re cute and eye-catching, but I still feel like Emma Lord is flying under the radar, building her backlist of titles and steadily amassing her fan base. I won’t be surprised when she some day soon takes over the reading world. “The Break-Up Pact”, Lord’s upcoming novel out in August, is sure to add fuel to her fire, scorching my fellow romance readers with the heat of June and Levi.

Fake Dating? Sign me up!
June and Levi, both in separate relationships, are spectacularly dumped smack dab in the middle of the public eye. These break-ups are MESSY. Levi is cheated on, his fiancee hooking up with a celebrity while selling him expensive real estate. June’s boyfriend, a real piece of work who hadn’t said “I love you” in 10 years, creates his own reality tv show and breaks up with June while simultaneously explaining that he met someone else and they are in love and soul mates. Gross. THEN they turn her into a meme.

Heavy Hitting Topics
The romance is sexy. The tension builds right from the beginning, especially with June being unable to keep her hands to herself. However, while the ‘Revenge Exes’ burned like wildfire, it’s dampened and kept in check with the remembrance of a lost loved one. June’s sister Annie was Levi’s best friend. She passes away unexpectedly before our story takes place, but she touched everyone she’d interacted with. There’s an Annie-shaped hole that lingers in the periphery.

That’s not to say that it’s sad — the story isn’t really sad.

“The Break-Up Pact” truly makes me feel hopeful and inspired. June and Levi have spent a lot of time with regret, mulling over their choices and battling their grief. When the time comes, though, each of them are challenged to restart their lives, living for themselves and their own wants, needs, hopes, and dreams. It’s the idea of Annie, their lost loved one, who pushes them to get their act in gear and live.

Reading with my Ears

My most favored way of reading is with my eyes, either physical books or eBooks on my Kindle. Sometimes, though, a story comes around that begs to be read with my ears. I first read “The Break-up Pact” with my eyeballs. I was immersed in it, and knowing there was an audiobook as well, I jumped on it. Being able to hear some very beautiful scenes in this book read aloud felt like reading this story in a more powerful way. (I’m looking at you, Chapter 27.)

“The Break-up Pact” balances fun, feisty, friendly banter with deep, painful grief and Natalie Naudus manages to emote the whole spectrum beautifully. She captures the swing of human emotions and the quickness of how it happens with a natural grace. This would be a great story to experience via audiobook. I listened to it on the Netgalley shelf at 1.25x, which felt like the right pace for a comfortable but engaging conversation.

Final Thoughts
I wish I lived close to a “Tea Tide”-like tea shop by the ocean.

I’m DYING to try a Revenge Ex scone.

I’ll be reading through all of Emma Lord’s backlist ASAP.

This book was fine. The premise itself was very fun and I can always trust Emma Lord to tell a good story but boy - nothing grinds my gears quite like miscommunication and with June and Levi their miscommunication/lack of communication really didn’t jive for me and that kept me from connecting with either of them.

Overall this was a good story and the audiobook was done super well (love you Natalie Naudis!)

First, I will say this book is well written. The author is a great writer and I was entertained the entire time even though the word, "scone" was said a million and one times.

I did not swoon over this love story. I never believed that Levi actually loved June. She loved him since they were kids and she was just a consolation prize for him. For half of the book he was still hung up over his ex. It was the only reason he wanted to do the whole fake dating thing. Then within one chapter, without any real explanation, he changed his mind and wanted to be with June and was completely over Kelly. How? When? Then he and June finally hook up and he still betrays her by telling Kelly that he and June were fake dating! What the hell Levi?

Also, Griffin was the worst and I felt like he never got his comeuppance. He humiliates June not once but TWICE on national television and nothing even happens to him. Apparently the last humiliation backfired on him but we didn't even see the results of that. Also, in their last conversation, it is mentioned that was the first time he said, "I love you" to June. They were dating for a DECADE. What?

I would not tell someone not to read this book, it is very entertaining, just not the romance/swoony story I was expecting. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

This book was amazing 4.5 stars for me! It would have been a full 5 star if I knew about the sibling loss ahead of time. I lost my brother six months ago and I found myself sobbing throughout the book for the loss of their sister, not because of the love connection.

This was such a cute, summery read! The setting was fun, especially the Tea shop! June and Levi had great development, and I really loved their love story-- it was believable without shirking around the difficulties. This book also handled grief really well. Overall, this was a very fun beach read if you need one!!

The audio book was SO well done! Engaging and the pacing was wonderful!

Thanks to Negalley, MacMillan and Emma Lord for the advanced copy to review.

Old friends, June and Levi, reunite after several years of not speaking under very unexpected circumstances. Both have undergone very public breakups and concluded that fake-dating may be a way to detour some of the attention from their drama-filled exes. However, such close proximity and romantic situations lead them both to revisit old feelings for each other.


This was a cute story but I struggled connecting with the characters and pacing. I had a hard time with understanding how June and Levi cut-off all communication after a misunderstanding even when June's sister remained one of Levi's closest friends. The miscommunication trope was strong with them! However, I appreciated the conversations on managing the death of a loved one and finding ways to cope with their absence as life continues. The ending felt a bit rushed and fuzzy.

This book was super cute! I love a good fake dating pact and this book was no exception. The narrator did a great job of bringing June & Levi to life. I was rooting for them, along with all of the internet. 🤪

A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audio. All opinions expressed above are my own.

It was a wonderful summer romance. Perfect for staying in the AC and listening while it's too hot to venture outside in real life. I want one of those scones!!!

June has been a world traveler since she started dating griffin how ever when he breaks up with her on his reality tv show and the death of her sister she goes back to her home town and runs her late sister scone and tea shop. Levi who was dumpy by his girlfriend after she was caught cheating on him goes back to his home town and the history of him and June past.

When Junes best friend suggest her and Levi fake date to save her sister beloved tea shop they Levi is sitting right there in the tea shop agrees it could help him win back his ex and save her tea shop there isn’t anything that he wouldn’t do but when one wants out the break up happens and they go back to normal. But old feelings come up and the break up may not be happening after all


It was a cute story felt a little under developed but oka.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord is an absolute delight from start to finish! This was my first read by Emma Lord, and I loved every minute of it. The story of June and Levi, two best friends turned fake lovers after their humiliating public break-ups, is both heartwarming and hilarious. I could not put it down!

What makes this book particularly captivating is the relatable fear of being thrust into the spotlight. Never in my life have I wanted more than to NOT be part of a famous or notable person's life. I simply could not handle the paparazzi and media attention! However, Emma Lord’s brilliant storytelling makes reading about it an absolute joy. The dynamic between June and Levi is electric, and their journey from friends to fake lovers to something more is beautifully written. "The Break-Up Pact" is a must-read for anyone who loves a good romantic comedy with depth and heart. I can't wait to read more from Emma Lord!

***Thank you NetGalley and Emma Lord for the ARC read***
All thoughts are mine and mine alone.

I couldn't keep up with the on-again/off-again shenanigans in this book. Specifically when the FMC went to her friend crying about the MMC, I didn't understand why. Maybe I just wasn't emotionally invested enough...which to be fair...I wasn't. Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I felt the pacing was off and moved too fast for the story.
Even though the characters were adults this read more like a YA book.

I truly enjoyed this book and listened to it in one day. The characters were charming, and the premise was unique. Lord did a great job of including all the life "stuff" that can get in the way of a relationship. Narration here was fantastic.