I have only read one of Emma Lord’s young adult romances in the past, Tweet Cute, which I gave five stars. I have always meant to pick up more of her YA books–I even have all of them on my classroom library shelf–but students almost always check her books out. I could read them in the summer, but by then, I already have so many other books I plan on reading. While I have only read the one book from Emma Lord, I do remember absolutely adoring it.
When I saw Lord’s newest release on Netgalley, I knew I had to request it. However, I did not realize then that this was Emma Lord’s adult debut. I actually was pleasantly surprised by this, even though I was expecting a young adult romance.
The Break-Up Pact will be available August 13, 2024.
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Published on August 13, 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
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?
Spicy rating: 🌶🌶
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Tropes
- Fake Dating
- Miscommunication
- Friends to Lovers
- Childhood Best Friends
The story follows June and Levi, who have both recently been publically dumped by their exes. But June and Levi also used to be best friends in high school (although, in the beginning, we aren’t completely sure why they stopped being friends), and Levi’s recent return back to their hometown has caused them to reunite for good or bad.
Enter my favorite romance trope: Fake Dating. June and Levi use a recent photo that has convinced people everywhere that they are now a couple to launch their fake relationship. They both have their reasoning: June’s business has been struggling to keep people in the door, and Levi wants to make his ex realize what she is missing.
The Review
I’m going to start by saying the tone of this story was very different from what I was expecting. Both June and Levi are still grieving the sudden death of June’s sister, and they are both in times of their lives with a lot of question marks. Basically, it was a book about two adults dealing with two very adult issues who just happened to reunite. It took me much longer to read this book because there were things that were discussed that I was just not in the right headspace for.
Even so, Emma Lord managed to create a well-balanced story. There were definitely times in the story when it felt like a classic rom-com story, but it never felt out of place. It is rare that an author can jump between two tones well, but I think this book did a wonderful job.
Lord clearly has a talent for characterization. Both June and Levi were well-developed, and I always felt that they had a reason for what they were doing (whether those reasonings were logical or not is a different story, but it felt realistic). Their history (with being best friends in high school) made their characters so much more believable, and Lord was building their chemistry from the beginning.
I adored June and Levi together!! Although they were both dealing with real issues, they never pressured each other to cope or handle their stress differently. They were just….there for each other (a wild concept, I know).
And their “fake” dates?? So adorable. I love faking dating so much because I love seeing two characters who are so oblivious to the idea that they have feelings for each other, and man, were these two absolutely oblivious. The sexual and romantic tension that was building up between the two of them was so well-paced, and the fake dating scenarios really added to that tension.
This book also has instances of the miscommunication trope, which is my least favorite trope when it is handled poorly. However, I think the reasons for the miscommunication (for the most part) were justified, especially since most of it happened when they were still in high school. I remember how I was in high school, and I probably would’ve reacted in the exact same way.
In the end, though, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. I think the time they gave each other throughout the story was necessary, but I still wanted more of June and Levi. I also felt that we were missing a lot because we did not have a POV of Levi. A lot of his feelings and actions were eventually explained to us, but if I hadn’t experienced similar feelings with him before, I don’t know if I could have imagined it as well as I did. I also think the story could have had flashbacks to them in high school. I appreciated the background information given, but it would have been impactful to be taken back to that time period.
Overall feels
The Break-Up Pact is a book that handles very adult issues but still manages to keep a light-hearted tone when needed. A book will rarely make me laugh at something out loud, and this book managed to make me do it twice. Emma Lord did a great job at transitioning into adult romance, and I hope she continues to write more adult books in the future.
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Can I please get some of your favorite fake dating recs in the comments?? I honestly cannot get enough of it!!
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