- Title: The Break-Up Pact
- Author: Emma Lord
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
- Release Date: 8/13/24
- Genre: Romance
- Age Range: Adult
- Rating: ★★★★★
- Publisher’s Summary: 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 new novel from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord. 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?
Emma Lord has long established herself as one of my favorite authors. Not only is she one of my auto-buy authors, but I have made my husband read every single one of her books as well. Lord has been writing young adult books for the past few years, but she moved into the adult realm with The Break-Up Pact. It is no surprise that I absolutely loved it.
Two of my favorite romance tropes are friends to lovers and fake dating. Both are used prominently in The Break-Up Pact. Even though they haven’t spoken for years at the start of the book, June and Levi’s relationship is colored by their history. Their banter is immediate and their chemistry undeniable. That depth of their relationship is evident and makes their story compelling.
The Break-Up Pact includes everything I’ve loved about all of Lord’s other novels. Lord has a beautiful way of blending humor with emotional depth. June and Levi make each other laugh coming up with silly games to rank paintings, but they are both working through grief over the loss of June’s older sister, Annie. June is running her sister’s tea shop and is afraid to let the memory of her sister down. Lord’s stories are reminders of how laughter and loss can coexist.
Another signature of Lord’s work is a strong group of friends who are central to the story. The Break-Up Pact, June’s brother, Dylan, and his fiancé, Mateo, are core to the story. Lord does a wonderful job painting them as three dimensional characters even though they are not the protagonists of the story. The reader learns about Mateo’s sweater vests, and how the college students he teaches keep track of them on Instagram. Dylan is described as, “what happens when the Energizer Bunny has an affair with the Hulk and their love child subsequently marries a gallon of cold brew coffee to make another child.” This world-building makes every element of Lord’s work come alive.
In a similar vein, I am always floored by Lord’s vivid and specific imagery. She describes a moment between June and Levi, “I can’t remember the last time I felt like this electric, buzzing with so much energy it feels like I am outside the edges of myself, soaking in everyone else’s happiness along with mine.” She paints such a picture that the words just jump off the page.
One of my favorite little Easter eggs in The Breakip Pact is that Lord referenced one of her own viral Tweets. While June and Levi are at a bar, someone gets onstage and says, “DO YOU THINK GOUDA GETS UPSET ABOUT GETTING OLDER? NO. IT JUST GETS MORE EXPENSIVE AT TRADER JOE’S…BE LIKE GOUDA! KNOW YOUR WORTH.” Lord Tweeted this in September 2022, and it made me laugh so hard to see it appear in this book.
I absolutely loved The Break-Up Pact. I cannot wait for it to officially be out in the world, so I can make everyone I know read it.
Bubbling up with Helena 