Fake dating romance between two old high school friends who have fallen out of contact but both have viral break ups at the same time.

This is a super cute, fun romance novel. Perfect for a summer beach read but with some underlying themes of grief and loss which hit quite powerfully.

Loved the characters and the banter between them and the fake dating scenario actually worked quite well.

Really enjoyed it and will read more by Emma.

This copy was provided by the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Tells the story of two kids who grew apart and then reunited to support each other's personal development and growth. I thoroughly enjoyed this story about friends who become enemies, and then become friends to lovers again. I found myself immersed in the major characters' storylines because of how well they were written. Every character was carefully considered and developed well. This is a wonderful love story with two likeable characters, thus I would suggest it to everyone who enjoys reading romance novels. Just remember it is a SLOW-BUURRN romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group Uk for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

I liked this book but the story fell a little flat for me. It started well and I enjoyed the setting, but the miscommunication and June annoyed me and the romance somehow felt rushed.

Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

In The Break-Up Pact, former best friends June and Levi are recovering from humiliating break-ups, which have taken TikTok by storm. Both back in their beachside hometown, a photo taken of the pair on the beach one morning makes everyone, including talk show hosts, think they're together, and putting aside their differences, they decide to roll with it and convince everyone they're a couple, if only to help June with her store - which has had more custom in the past few days than ever before - and make Levi's ex jealous. They know each other inside out, so it won't be hard to convince the world that they're in love. The hard thing will be convincing themselves that it's all 'pretend'.

I have loved all of Emma's YA books, so seeing that she had an adult book coming out, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. As soon as my eARC arrived on my kindle, I had to dive in, and it was so worth it! Levi and June were the best of friends all throughout their childhood. But a misunderstanding in their senior year led to a break in the friendship that has never recovered. Facing public humiliation at the hands of their ex's, and both home, they reminisce on the beach one morning, and a would-be pap's photo soon goes viral. Rather than face more humiliation, they decide to let bygones be bygones and have a bit of fun with it all. Pretending to be in love isn't hard when there's always been feelings there, and a few well time photos will help convince the world that they're over the break-ups, and don't need any more pity. This book had one of the best fake-dating plot lines that I've ever seen, and it's always better when there's a past there to give the romance stronger foundations. The book isn't all fun though, there's some really hard hitting plot points, especially with June's struggles with the tea shop. However, Emma executed them carefully, and they helped the story, rather than hindering it. Such a solid adult debut from one of my already favourite authors!

The writing made every scene vivid in my imagination especially with characters that felt realistic. The plot was based around two childhood friends who had what they thought was an unrequited crush in their teens. After some distance and a time gap a second chance emerged after both had experienced public and somewhat humiliating break-ups. As a ‘revenge’ pact they agreed to fake date to maximise social media for a flailing business. The writing dissects the couple’s history and feelings. During their journey they come to terms with grief and loss of varying kinds. This was a quite the emotional story but with some glimpses of joy and humour to lighten it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book follows June and Levi, childhood friends who drift apart when they get older. They reunite after each going through very public breakups. They then decide to join forces and have a fake relationship to help June's shop and to make Levi's ex realise she's made a mistake. I really liked the idea of this book. However, the execution fell flat for me. I enjoyed the fake dates that June and Levi went on, but most of the book was not enjoyable for me. I found June a little unlikeable in certain parts of the book, and it felt like there was a lot of unnecessary miscommunication.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters I thought were fantastic. A very easy to read and absolutely fabulous book. One I will definitely recommend.

I had a good time with this one. I’m not a fan of the second chance trope but I think in this one it mostly worked because the two main characters nevrr actually dated.

I found June to be very relatable. Many people end up in relationships where they lose a little bit of themselves just to make the relationship work. Good for her for ditching her ex. I also really felt for her for losing her sister and losing herself a little bit after it.

I had two issues with the book which made me gave the book 3.5 stars. The first was that the book was severely lacking in Levi POV. I find it really lazy when the only reason the two main characters are not together is because of a miscommunication which the reader would know of if we had two POVs. This book very much relied on the miscommunication and that lost me a bit.

The second one was that I’m not a fan of aocial media playing a big part of a romance and this on again very much heavily relied on it.

Overall, I had a good time with this one. It’s a nice read and would generally recommend it.

This book was so cute and it made me smile a lot, it was such a fun and easy read with relatable characters. Loved the small town atmosphere.

This was hilarious and heartfelt. My first read from Emma Lord and definitely not the last. I quite enjoyed the banter between the characters and the friendships and relationships throughout! Sweet and perfect for an end-of-summer read!

Having never read a book by Emma Lord before, I think The Break-Up Pact was the perfect introduction to her writing. I always enjoy a good childhood friends to strangers to friends again to lovers (a lot of words, I know) trope and this book does it sooo well. And with a dash of fake dating too. I’ll say one thing; it was very easy to fall in love with June and subsequently with Levi; both of them are going through a lot; the grief of losing someone, the fact they suffered very public breakups and a viral photo leads to people thinking they are dating…I wanted to give both of them a hug. It was pretty much clear from the start that the two had never stopped caring for each other; it was so nice to see them fall back into old patterns, of becoming friends again, of recognizing each other’s old habits. And their chemistry? Off-the-charts, insane, wild. And the tension….oh my god, the tension!! Even before they kissed for the first time, you could feel their passion on the page. I honestly felt like I was intruding on a personal moment.

Emma Lord writes in a style that is so pleasant to read; this is the type of book that I would want to curl up with on my couch after a long, long day. The Break-Up Pact was a wonderful read that I know I’ll be revisiting later! And I will definitely be pushing Emma Lord’s books onto my priority TBR!

I enjoyed this story.

I felt an instant connection with Levi, June and the rest of the cast. Especially romantically between Levi and June. I enjoyed how their history rolled out through the story, how they used their past to overcome their difficulties.

This book had me crying and then laughing a minute later. The author handles grief in such a raw and informative way and that really was the icing on the cake for me.

One of my favourite reads of 2024 for sure.

A cute and fun read that made me smile. It has themes of love, friendship, loss, grief, heartbreak and family. It is quite light and fun to read. It has the friends to lovers, fake dating and second chance romance tropes that I enjoyed reading.

The two characters reconnect after their public breakups which was very well written. The supporting characters too add to the story. Overall a fun holiday read.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

this started off so well and j was really intrigued by the small town setting. But between the poor pacing and constant miscommunication, this became a slog to finish. I think the romance aspect moved too quickly and the MMC was a dickhead.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC

I was very excited to read this book. It was an easy and fun read. I am more of an enemies-to-lovers trope girl, but this book made me see the friends-to-lovers trope in a new light. While I loved the book up until it reached the middle, I started losing interest after that. This book is more of a one-time read for me. I am sure readers who love romance in a small town setting and love the friends-to-lovers trope will enjoy this book.

this is perfect for fans of emily henry.

i was expecting a bit more bit overall enjoy.

Tropes & Themes:
🍪 second chances
🍪 best friends - to strangers - to lovers
🍪 small business owner
🍪 small town setting

To you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending my an e-arc of The Break-Up Pack by Emma Lord.

I think this book is very cute. This book talks about grief and is very realistic with it. It just felt a little flat on some occasions and I had a hard time actually caring about some of the characters. I think I got confused in the beginning with the siblings and friends' name. So many names were thrown at me and I just could not handle it (it's definitely on me)
I also was disappointed because we talked about Matheo and Dylan's wedding ALL THE TIME and we actually did not see any of it... Such a shame.

I loved the dynamic between June and her friends (especially Sana) and her dynamic with her brother, really cute.

I loved this book so much! June and Levi's story is so touching. And all the secondary characters really add to the story. I really like the way the story navigates the grief and inaction that often settles when you loose a loved one. I will be carrying this story with me and recommending it to friends.

June and Levi were childhood friends who lost touch following a misunderstanding just before he moved away. Following two heavily media-involved breakups they make a pact to fake date to get some benefits from their media attention.

This was a fast paced novel and had a great balance of swoon-filled romance alongside the harsh realities of adult life.

I think this story had a beautiful exploration of grief and with the anger you can feel towards someone which you wouldn’t blink at normally but have to deal with the guilt now they’re no longer here.

I think at the start of this book there may have been a few too many pop culture references which as a personal choice is something I don’t enjoy in books.

I would have loved to see a social media resolution due to the themes of the book but on the other hand I understand why it was passed over. Also I would have loved a bit more development of the sibling relationship between June and her brother.

(Ps I don’t care about any justifications Nancy sucked)