Two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral, in this delightfully fun and deeply emotional novel.
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?
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?
Title: The Break-Up Pact
Author: Emma Lord
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Expected Publication Date: August 13, 2024
Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
What happens when your childhood best friend who you crushed on in high school suddenly reappears in your life? June is struggling to make her business work after her sister died and her boyfriend broke up with her very publicly shooting her into internet stardom. When her childhood best friend Levi has a similar experience with his girlfriend, they end up in each other's orbit and hatch a plan as revenge-exes to help Levi win his girlfriend back and June get her business where it needs to be so she won't lose it. Along the way, old feelings come back to the surface and June realizes she never truly got over Levi. And the fake dating is just showing her that her heart may be broken all over again. But Levi is holding on to a secret of his own about June. Fake dating doesn't mean falling in love, right?
This is my first Emma Lord book. I have always heard great things about this author and I was excited to jump in and see what her writing was all about. Plus, I love a second chance romance and a friends to lovers trope!
Right from the start I knew I was going to fall in love with these characters. Their chemistry shows through in the first pages of the book when their friendship is rekindled. And, of course, their past is crucial to how they act together while fake dating. There's no denying they both are holding on to the secrets of the past which, of course, they don't talk about.
June is a great character. She smart and not afraid to go after what she wants, or at least what she thinks she wants. But her heart is tied up in her business because it was the one she and her sister Annie, who died two years ago, built together. June is insistent on keeping the business just as Annie wanted it and is afraid to move forward or change things in a way that may help her business thrive. She holds on to the past because she feels if she lets go, she's forgetting Annie and not living up to what her sister would have wanted for her. I felt for June the entire book. She had such a hard time doing things that would make her happy because she felt beholden to the things of the past. At times, I wanted to give her a little nudge and a "snap out of it" smack so she could see what was right in front of her. She settled for so much with her ex and how they lived their lives. She never let herself live the way she wanted to. Always conforming and worrying about not being what others wanted her to be. Such a hard mold to break out of.
Levi was similar in how he was living his life. Doing things he needed to make sure his family was ok. Settling for someone he thought would make him happy. But he, too, was holding on to things from the past. Things he never told June. Annie was his best friend and that relationship was so special for him. But she was angry with him for choosing the path he took.
I did adore Sana, June's best friend. She pushed June to do better and be better. She helped June find herself a bit and wasn't afraid to point out June's flaws. She was the perfect BFF.
The pacing of the book is great. I will admit, the first few chapters are a little slow to build. But I liked that Lord didn't jump right into the meat of the relationship between the FMC and MMC. She gave us some background to help build it up. Lord easily transition from one chapter to the next as the relationships between the characters are revealed. I didn't want to put the book down because I was invested in how June and Levi would make their relationship work. Each chapter revealed more of their past together which helped shape their current relationship. Lord easily incorporates all the what ifs many adults face in life. What if I wasted my time with this person? What if I chose the wrong career path? What if you cannot find a place where you belong? These are all compelling and important aspects of being an adult and choosing a path that makes sense for you. While Lord does incorporate some rom-com into her book, this one is definitely has a more serious tone to it. The exploration of life and the questions that come with it are of great importance in how the story plays out.
So why did I not give this book 5 stars? A few reasons. First, I would have seen more build up of the relationships outside of Levi and June. I would have liked to see more flashbacks of June and Annie, considering how close they were, to solidify their relationship. Rather than June telling us how close they were. I also would have liked to see more of a relationship build between June and her brother Derrick. June touches on the fact that she doesn't really allow Derrick to get close to her. That even though one of her siblings has died, she neglects to see the other one who is standing right in front of her and going through the same struggles of grief she is feeling. My second reason this does not get 5 stars is I really would have liked to see Levi's POV. We get his whole personality and character development from what June tells us and I just feel like there could have been so much more to him if we saw things through his eyes. Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope. I know it happens, that's life. But it was stretched through the entire book and it kind of annoyed me that these once best friends could not come to terms with how things went down in high school. Even after 10 years. They buried it under the rug and I felt like they almost refused to bring it back to the surface, even though they both know it's what has been holding them back for 10 years from being happy. They both know it but it takes until the end of the book for them to talk about it. I just felt this was a bit childish and would have liked to see it brought out into the open earlier and then worked through to help their characters heal through the story.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this. It made me laugh, cry, hurt my heart a bit. And I liked that Lord did not make it easy for the characters to be together. She puts many obstacles in their paths along the way that help show their growth and development. Readers who love Christina Lauren and Tessa Bailey and a solid heart-warming story will enjoy this title.
What happens when your childhood best friend who you crushed on in high school suddenly reappears in your life? June is struggling to make her business work after her sister died and her boyfriend broke up with her very publicly shooting her into internet stardom. When her childhood best friend Levi has a similar experience with his girlfriend, they end up in each other's orbit and hatch a plan as revenge-exes to help Levi win his girlfriend back and June get her business where it needs to be so she won't lose it. Along the way, old feelings come back to the surface and June realizes she never truly got over Levi. And the fake dating is just showing her that her heart may be broken all over again. But Levi is holding on to a secret of his own about June. Fake dating doesn't mean falling in love, right?
This is my first Emma Lord book. I have always heard great things about this author and I was excited to jump in and see what her writing was all about. Plus, I love a second chance romance and a friends to lovers trope!
Right from the start I knew I was going to fall in love with these characters. Their chemistry shows through in the first pages of the book when their friendship is rekindled. And, of course, their past is crucial to how they act together while fake dating. There's no denying they both are holding on to the secrets of the past which, of course, they don't talk about.
June is a great character. She smart and not afraid to go after what she wants, or at least what she thinks she wants. But her heart is tied up in her business because it was the one she and her sister Annie, who died two years ago, built together. June is insistent on keeping the business just as Annie wanted it and is afraid to move forward or change things in a way that may help her business thrive. She holds on to the past because she feels if she lets go, she's forgetting Annie and not living up to what her sister would have wanted for her. I felt for June the entire book. She had such a hard time doing things that would make her happy because she felt beholden to the things of the past. At times, I wanted to give her a little nudge and a "snap out of it" smack so she could see what was right in front of her. She settled for so much with her ex and how they lived their lives. She never let herself live the way she wanted to. Always conforming and worrying about not being what others wanted her to be. Such a hard mold to break out of.
Levi was similar in how he was living his life. Doing things he needed to make sure his family was ok. Settling for someone he thought would make him happy. But he, too, was holding on to things from the past. Things he never told June. Annie was his best friend and that relationship was so special for him. But she was angry with him for choosing the path he took.
I did adore Sana, June's best friend. She pushed June to do better and be better. She helped June find herself a bit and wasn't afraid to point out June's flaws. She was the perfect BFF.
The pacing of the book is great. I will admit, the first few chapters are a little slow to build. But I liked that Lord didn't jump right into the meat of the relationship between the FMC and MMC. She gave us some background to help build it up. Lord easily transition from one chapter to the next as the relationships between the characters are revealed. I didn't want to put the book down because I was invested in how June and Levi would make their relationship work. Each chapter revealed more of their past together which helped shape their current relationship. Lord easily incorporates all the what ifs many adults face in life. What if I wasted my time with this person? What if I chose the wrong career path? What if you cannot find a place where you belong? These are all compelling and important aspects of being an adult and choosing a path that makes sense for you. While Lord does incorporate some rom-com into her book, this one is definitely has a more serious tone to it. The exploration of life and the questions that come with it are of great importance in how the story plays out.
So why did I not give this book 5 stars? A few reasons. First, I would have seen more build up of the relationships outside of Levi and June. I would have liked to see more flashbacks of June and Annie, considering how close they were, to solidify their relationship. Rather than June telling us how close they were. I also would have liked to see more of a relationship build between June and her brother Derrick. June touches on the fact that she doesn't really allow Derrick to get close to her. That even though one of her siblings has died, she neglects to see the other one who is standing right in front of her and going through the same struggles of grief she is feeling. My second reason this does not get 5 stars is I really would have liked to see Levi's POV. We get his whole personality and character development from what June tells us and I just feel like there could have been so much more to him if we saw things through his eyes. Finally, I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope. I know it happens, that's life. But it was stretched through the entire book and it kind of annoyed me that these once best friends could not come to terms with how things went down in high school. Even after 10 years. They buried it under the rug and I felt like they almost refused to bring it back to the surface, even though they both know it's what has been holding them back for 10 years from being happy. They both know it but it takes until the end of the book for them to talk about it. I just felt this was a bit childish and would have liked to see it brought out into the open earlier and then worked through to help their characters heal through the story.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this. It made me laugh, cry, hurt my heart a bit. And I liked that Lord did not make it easy for the characters to be together. She puts many obstacles in their paths along the way that help show their growth and development. Readers who love Christina Lauren and Tessa Bailey and a solid heart-warming story will enjoy this title.
Author:
Emma Lord is the NYT bestselling author of YOU HAVE A MATCH and TWEET CUTE, a BuzzFeed market editor, and dessert gremlin living in New York City, where she spends whatever time she isn’t writing either running or belting show tunes in community theater. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in psychology and a minor in how to tilt your computer screen so nobody will notice you updating your fan fiction from the back row. She was raised on glitter, a whole lot of love, and copious amounts of grilled cheese.
