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

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Break-up Pact


3.75⭐️3🌶️

Contemporary romance
Break up romance
Celebrity/public breakup
Small town
Small business owner FMC
Friends to lovers
Fake dating
🏳️‍🌈 side characters
Grief


The set up for the friends to lovers is so good. The out of touch childhood friendship/crush was a great way to established that familiarity with out making the reader feel like they were dropped into the middle of the story with no context.

The shared grief for the loss of the FMC’s older sister creates such a close bond. The sisterly feelings are very real and very touching. 

There is a lot of nostalgia and slow burn. 

The book had a lot of inner monologue that circled a bit. Making the FMC seem immature, but trying to move past it. 

I didn’t love how often social media was mentioned. The TikTok references made it really cringy in those moments. 

I wanted a little more heat to the slow burn. It felt a little like a pop-flash then lots of emotional excuses and avoidance. 

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own