A review by stephsnextread
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

3.0

June and Levi were best friends in high school but haven’t spoken in 10 years. Now they have both been through very public breakups and agree to fake date in order to help June’s struggling tea shop and make Levi’s ex choose him again.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed: Sana (June’s best friend), Tea Tide and the scone descriptions, and the beach town setting. The audiobook is narrated by Natalie Naudus, and I thought she was great. I liked her pacing and voices for various characters.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time with the romance. There was so much indecision and misunderstanding. I felt like I was missing why June and Levi were right for each other in high school, and why they work now. I think either dual POV or dual timeline could really have added to the story. It also read to me like a closed door romance, but then there was one spicy scene that felt out of place. I know that Emma Lord writes amazing YA books, and I’d love to read those because this one felt a little YA and I think I would’ve liked it better if it had been. Overall, this was a quick and easy summery listen but it just didn’t click for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Emma Lord, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC in exchange for my honest review.