ARC Review: "The Break-Up Pact" by Emma Lord ★★★★

ARC Review: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

This fake dating, second chance small-town romance is a quick read that is both fairly amusing but ultimately very sentimental, with important messages to always stay true to yourself and that love is a messy thing but it’s all about who you choose to be messy with. Perfect for the transition between summer and autumn (the book is set in August). For lovers of Jessica Joyce and Emily Henry with a touch of Abby Jimenez. An all-round lovely story!

“I love you, June.” He says it plainly, sincerely, but with more depth in his voice than I’ve ever heard before. Like he’s pulling it out from the blood in his veins, the marrow of his bones. Some thing that is every bit as much a part of him as the pieces that keep him alive. “It’s the only thing I’m certain about. The only thing I always will be.”

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
27-year-old June Hart is the owner of her late older sister Annie’s tea shop Tea Tide, which is on the brink of collapse due to its lack of customers. Her ex, Griffin, revealed he was cheating on her on national television and she became a meme. Tired of everything, June is going to tell the freeloader sitting outside to clear off (the only customer there), who is none other than her estranged childhood friend, Levi Shaw, a 28-year-old failed novelist turned hedge fund manager from New York.

The two of them are in quite a predicament: both are under public scrutiny after their exes cheated on them in viral ways (June’s boyfriend Griffin after announcing he is with Lisel during a reality TV show; Levi’s fiancé Kelly after being seen kissing film star Roman Steele). After a picture of them together has the public believing June and Levi are together, they form a pact: they pretend to date in retaliation for what their significant others did (the “Revenge Exes”), their viral relationship will restore Tea Tide’s popularity and lease, and also make Kelly miss Levi and get back together with him.

As the first public date turns into five, and as June’s younger brother chooses them both to organise his wedding, feelings are caught big time. But it is all complicated. June has always loved him, but circumstances in their past (partly concerning Annie) that made them estranged make this impossible. And what if Griffin and Kelly do return into their lives? Can they put aside their past, cope with the present, and determine their future without hurting feelings again? Or will it all crumble, like Tea Tide’s impending doom?

This is told from the first-person present-tense POV of June.

“It’s a date.” The words are still rattling between my ears as he leaves, the full impact of them settling in. It’s a date. It’s a pact. It’s a new chance. But more than that, it’s something to feel.

OVERALL OPINIONS
This story really gave me the Jessica Joyce vibes, particularly her latest book The Ex Vows in terms of both plot and writing style as June and Levi, like Georgia and Eli, are asked to help prepare everything for a wedding. Emma Lord’s style here is quirky descriptions (like Emily Henry) but with many deeper elements to the narrative (Abby Jimenez), just like Jessica Joyce. A few descriptions I enjoyed that reminded me of Emily Henry:
•I glance down at the display case, searching for my last shred of dignity. Nope. It’s just rows of unsold scones.
• I will stuff this unwelcome hurt so far back into a “return to sender” box that I won’t even remember opening it.
• icing on the “June’s life is falling apart” cake
At times the relationship was secondary to larger aspects which is akin to Abby Jimenez. The main thing is June’s older sister’s death (a constant reminder to June that nothing is permanent) and the struggles still there not only moving on from that but the rift between June and Levi because of Annie and also June’s struggles of keeping Annie’s dreams alive through upholding her visions of the tea shop – despite it not being how June would like the place. This comes into play with the relationship between June and her younger brother Dylan; she accidentally pushes him away or forgets to show up to events or is too busy, going it alone and forgetting she still has a living sibling to do things with and not take for granted. I like that Emma Lord circumnavigates all the affairs of the heart from friends to family to loved ones.

The other element is that of their exes and the cheating. Both Levi and June have been with Kelly and Griffin respectively for a while and both were subsequently moulded into a form of themselves that was not really what they wanted to be, an extreme version:

“Levi and I spent most of our adult lives with people who pushed us. Who amplified qualities that were already there, but to serve their own purposes. Kelly took advantage of the part of Levi that wanted everything settled and planned, and Griffin took advantage of the part of me that loved exploring new things. They didn’t just push us, but pushed us too far.”

I think Lord covered this really well: the hindsight that occurs after coming out of a relationship with the wrong person. From realising all the red flags you missed, them showing their true colours, the sex was missing something... for me, this was all completely accurate, and I loved this – and June’s growth in this book. I will be reading more from Emma soon, I think.

And we really need to talk about that one acknowledgement that really made me chortle at the end of the book, an utter masterpiece on its own:

I would like to first and foremost thank the wild raccoon that snuck up on me and put its little paw on my keyboard while I was writing the first draft of this in Central Park. Your input was not necessarily welcome, but appreciated; if you want to discuss plot details on fu ture novels any further, you (unfortunately) know where to find me.

<< Positives >>
🠚First of all, the cover! Stunning, fun, again reminds me of Emily Henry.
🠚Excellent descriptions (see my favourite quotes at the bottom of my review)!
🠚Their relationship is so lovely and healthy, and how supportive they are of each other. Bless! I like that they go from having options “off the table” to “This time we leave everything on the table”
🠚*That* spicy moment was everything. I really loved the sensuality of it, Emma really captured that moment where being with someone feels so right it cannot be imagined differently.
🠚The uncovering of the mystery as to why June and Levi have not spoken for a decade was a very satisfactory show not tell. I adored how it was uncovered and the reaction.
🠚The handling of the loss of a close family member was unparalleled.
🠚I love the support June gets from everyone.
🠚The realistic issues of public scrutiny, the positive and negative impact of the media and memes.
🠚Gay representation and diversity through supporting characters.

<< Negatives >>
🠚The pacing felt off at the start which impacted my perception of their chemistry. They are quickly thrown together and then she very quickly bumps into him again and then before we know it, they are fake dating. Perhaps this is meant to be reflective of Levi himself, jumping into things, but this impacted scenes afterwards. Some of the chemistry was somehow not there.
🠚This had a lot of rom-com moments, but I honestly thought this would be funnier. Don’t get me wrong, not a laugh-a-minute thing. There were so many serious underlying things that made the romance come second.
🠚What really annoyed me was when June says her situation with Griffin is “complicated”. I am absolutely on Sana’s side with this (our dear voice of reason): “what’s complicated about Griffin cheating on [her] and turning [her] into a laughingstock”?! I get this is to emphasise her good-hearted nature and that she considers him a close friend. There is nothing complicated about cheating: regardless of however long you know the person, it is not right. (Absolutely cut them off if this happens to you)
🠚Something that was missing was June’s parents. I wanted something more from them as they are only ever mentioned.
🠚The slowburn felt so slow, there was only one spicy scene. I would have loved another.
🠚I thought there would be more about Dylan’s wedding, considering June and Levi organised so much of it.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ June꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She has a lot of “hart”, ‘scuse the pun. And girl I too would blush if someone remembered my order after a decade! I relate a lot to her, (unfortunately) being cheated on, liking routines, hating being pushed out the comfort zone (though that is where the similarities stop, kudos to her for getting out there and doing all that). I am glad she gets closure for her awful relationship.
🠚When she said “it’s almost impossible these days to meet people in a way that gives you time to be friends first, to feel each other out. Most people expect to know whether you’re attracted to them on the first or second date. But it’s never been like that for me.” I felt this in my soul!
🠚And when she said “I have no plans. I’m around literally every moment of every day. Weird how that sounded less pathetic in my head.” I felt that – how dare you! 🠚The bond between her and Annie really tugged at my heartstrings, especially that moment where she feels so lost without her – and this description: “When you have a sister, you don’t realize how much of the way you exist, is framed not just by your own thoughts, but hers”. I could not imagine losing either of my sisters. Again, Emma covers this so well!

“I don’t think anyone ever gets to be settled in life. I think you just find people who weather it with you.”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Levi꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ We have to talk about Levi making her a scone himself, with his own ingredients! Like, stop it, this is the cutest thinggg! Marry this man! –Oh wait, she does!!
🠚I too want someone to look at me the way Levi looks at June. We adore asking for consent to kiss her like ahhh! Also, something about “Let me look at you” goodness! Also it’s really cute that when he is annoyed with her he names her a different month of the year (or all the latter half of the year) “June August September October November December Hart” – not sure why July was missing though.
🠚I love that the stories he wrote when they were younger were all loosely based on them.

“I will be here, and I will love you, no matter what we are going to be to each other. And if you need time, I can give that to you, June.”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Other characters꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Sana has to be my actual favourite character here. I think this book will be a standalone due to its structure but I would not mind reading her newly-acquired love story. I love how hard she ships June and Levi though she was very demanding actually trying to get them together. But also, I love her fierce loyalty to June and defends her, we all need a friend like that: “Take that picture and I will throw your phone so far into the ocean you’ll start getting texts from Poseidon.”

FAV QUOTES
• I look up at him and see one of those full Levi smiles— the kind so broad and bright in his eyes that it puts the sun behind him to shame— and I can’t help but feel smug knowing I’m the one responsible for it.
• “Do you trust me?” | “Unfortunately,” says Levi, without missing a beat.
• “BOLD OF LEVI AND JUNE TO HAVE AN ORIGIN STORY SO ICONIC THAT THEY SINGLE-HANDEDLY DESTROYED EVERY DATING APP ON MY PHONE.”
• “Anytime I felt out of place, I would think of you. Something funny you might say. And then I didn’t feel so out of place anymore.”
• The kiss didn’t end anything. It opened up an entire world, one that stretches far beyond this place, past the parking lot and every road it will take to get us home. One with enough potential to spill the ocean, into the night stars
• Levi watches me, his hands still coursing through my hair. “You have all of me,” he says. “However much you want.” And my throat aches almost as much as the rest of my then, because it’s one thing to know it, but another thing to hear it. Sweeter than dreams, sharper than hope.
• I spent the same years missing him, every version of him I could imagine. The Levi who was my best friend. The Levi I fell for in high school. The Levi he is right now, because there is no iteration of Levi I haven’t pined for, haven’t wanted at my side. When you love someone the way I love Levi, it becomes every bit as much a feeling as it is a part of your own soul. Something inevitable. Something permanent. Something that never quite had a clear beginning and will never end.
• He knew he couldn’t handle me trying to reach my best, so he dumped me in a way where he could put me at my worst. But I’m still here. Stronger than ever. And with one look at his uneasy face, I can tell it’s driving him up the wall.
• I’ve been so busy trying to hold on to the past that I lost sight of the present, and now it feels like it’s all falling out from under me, making the future hazier than it’s ever been.
• For a moment, there’s only us— two people who have weathered a storm and come out together on the other side. Two people built to withstand more of them, when they come our way. Two people built to last.

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Emma Lord, Little, Brown Book Group, and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“The Break-Up Pact” is out August 13th