ALC Review: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
Release date: 13 August 2024
Rating: 3/5
Narrator: Natalie Naudus
Narration Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: 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 novel.
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?
Review
The more romcoms I read, the more I realize exactly which authors I will like and tropes I know, if present, will be a story I can totally vibe with. Upon finishing The Break-Up Pact, in addition to a couple of other romcoms I’ve read before, I know now that I do not like social media as a character or plot device in books. Additionally, I know I also do not like the miscommunication trope. I’m sure there are books with these specific tropes I would enjoy; I just haven’t read them yet. Now, before I give the impression that I’m rating a book 3 stars because of tropes—fear not—I don’t do that. The plot in this one got bogged down in repetition for me. Despite the book being only 320 pages and the audiobook taking me only a part of a day to listen to, the experience felt much longer than it should have.
For second-chance romances to work for me, there must be more extenuating circumstances and a fantastically, logically sound excuse for the first separation. I don’t quite buy June and Levi’s first break-up. If miscommunication is the only thing that breaks a couple up, I’m out. Folks can talk to each other and confront things. I will admit, getting June and Levi back together with fake-dating to bolster June’s business and make Levi’s ex jealous is clever, but it needs to come with some more substantive foundation that what we get in the story. The plot here really feels thin and hastily thrown together. It gets repetitive, stock, and downright boring. If the book hadn’t been so short, and I hadn’t been occupied with chores while listening, I probably would have dnf’ed and moved on.
Despite the plot flop and thin excuse for a first break-up, Lord sure does know how to write people that really need a good throat punch. June’s ex is a classic narcissist and just aggravates the living daylights out of me, and wouldn’t we all love to strangle the beautiful, snobby little ex-girlfriend who only wants her cast-aside man back when he’s happy with someone else?
Naudus does a fantastic job with narration here, which I have no doubt helped keep me motivated to finish. Audiophiles may recognize Naudus from books like Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, both of which I highly recommend checking out as well.
My thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.
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