My Afterlight subscription is hit or miss. But I prayed, lord I prayed for this book to be good, because man was the special edition pretty. And I am proud to say I get to keep this bad boy on my shelves.

📕 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

📙 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Standalone

📗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: Audiobook, borrowed on Libby app.

📘 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Contemporary romance

📔 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: Friends-to-lovers, fake dating, reality TV, she's a baker, he's a writer, all the feels, beach vibes.

📖 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: June and Levi were both dumped in spectacularly public fashion, and as luck would have it, the old friends are back in their beachside hometown to lick their wounds. When they realize fake dating would get the press, and their friends, off their back, they take a chance on each other.

 🌟 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: I mean we know the deal by now, right? Pretty covers and don't always translate to great books, especially when they're trad published. I find myself hit-or-miss on most trad published books these days (usually more on the miss side) so I didn't know what to expect here.

But I felt like the overall vibes of this book fit my mood for the beginning of the year perfectly.  Based in the summer, in the warmth of a boardwalk tea shop, it took me out of the doldrums of winter and firmly into fiction land. 

Beyond that, I loved that these characters weren't one dimensional. There was a depth to them - centered around the recent death of June's sister - and then this grief aspect of the story that really made me root for them. I know sometimes readers don't love a FMC with a lot of self-doubt, but June came off relatable and her insecurities resonated with me. There was no third-act breakup, but there was a lot of feels and drama, and I felt like the journey the characters went on was responsible and done with care. 

Overall a really good introduction to a new-to-me author, and I am so happy to keep this beautiful book on my shelf where it belongs.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: 3/5 🌶🌶🌶