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A review by thereadingraccoon
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Break-Up Pact is a contemporary romance novel about a twenty-seven-year-old woman who is dumped publicly on a reality show and joins forces with a childhood friend to get revenge.
Childhood friends June and Levi are both dumped publicly—Levi for the film star his fiancée falls for when she’s showing him a NYC apartment, and June when her boyfriend of a decade brings a camera crew home to tell her he fell in love with his reality show costar. Levi is back in their hometown while he figures out his relationship status, which throws him directly in June’s path, even though they’ve barely spoken in a decade. But when the internet sees photos of them together, they are deemed the “revenge exes,” and the extra attention sends customers flocking to June’s failing tea shop and makes Levi’s ex jealous. So, a fake relationship “pact” is hatched. But their past friendship and insane chemistry make it obvious to everyone who knows them (and the reader) that there is nothing fake about the “revenge exes.”
This is a romantic comedy with a fun premise and a slow-burn romance. June and Levi have a strong connection that makes the reader shout, “Just kiss already!” It also explores the more serious topics of grief and loss, as both characters have been mourning the death of June’s sister, Annie, for the last two years, and June tries to honor her memory by keeping the tea shop open. There are a few things that frustrated me, like the characters creating their own roadblocks to “happily ever after,” and there was just something that felt unrealistic and convenient to the plot about their friend group and this small beach town. I also didn’t think it was necessary to give June such a dissatisfying previous decade-long relationship with Griffin (he never said “I love you” out loud the whole time they were together…what?) in order to make things with Levi seem so much better.
Overall, this is a cute contemporary romance that takes the “fake relationship” trope and gives it a fun reason to exist. I wished the characters wouldn’t be so stubborn and clueless sometimes, but it was still an enjoyable ride.
My copy of The Break-Up Pact was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Childhood friends June and Levi are both dumped publicly—Levi for the film star his fiancée falls for when she’s showing him a NYC apartment, and June when her boyfriend of a decade brings a camera crew home to tell her he fell in love with his reality show costar. Levi is back in their hometown while he figures out his relationship status, which throws him directly in June’s path, even though they’ve barely spoken in a decade. But when the internet sees photos of them together, they are deemed the “revenge exes,” and the extra attention sends customers flocking to June’s failing tea shop and makes Levi’s ex jealous. So, a fake relationship “pact” is hatched. But their past friendship and insane chemistry make it obvious to everyone who knows them (and the reader) that there is nothing fake about the “revenge exes.”
This is a romantic comedy with a fun premise and a slow-burn romance. June and Levi have a strong connection that makes the reader shout, “Just kiss already!” It also explores the more serious topics of grief and loss, as both characters have been mourning the death of June’s sister, Annie, for the last two years, and June tries to honor her memory by keeping the tea shop open. There are a few things that frustrated me, like the characters creating their own roadblocks to “happily ever after,” and there was just something that felt unrealistic and convenient to the plot about their friend group and this small beach town. I also didn’t think it was necessary to give June such a dissatisfying previous decade-long relationship with Griffin (he never said “I love you” out loud the whole time they were together…what?) in order to make things with Levi seem so much better.
Overall, this is a cute contemporary romance that takes the “fake relationship” trope and gives it a fun reason to exist. I wished the characters wouldn’t be so stubborn and clueless sometimes, but it was still an enjoyable ride.
My copy of The Break-Up Pact was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.