The Break-Up Pact Summary, Characters and Themes
The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord is a heartfelt adult romance novel about second chances, fake dating, and finding love in unexpected places.
After going through public break-ups, former best friends June and Levi reunite in their small hometown and accidentally go viral as a couple. To turn their misfortune into opportunity, they agree to a fake-dating pact to repair their reputations and heal old wounds. But as their staged romance brings them closer, unresolved feelings resurface, forcing them to confront their shared past and what they truly want from life—and each other.
Summary
June Winters and Levi Stone were inseparable as teenagers in the picturesque coastal town of Benson Beach. Their friendship was the stuff of legends, until a misunderstanding just before Levi left for college shattered their bond.
For the next decade, they drifted apart, carrying the emotional baggage of their unresolved falling-out. Now, fate brings them back to Benson Beach—each nursing wounds from public break-ups that went viral and left their reputations in tatters.
June, a passionate but struggling tea shop owner, is reeling from her ex’s cruel betrayal. Her former boyfriend dumped her in front of the entire town and mocked her for being too emotional.
The moment was captured online, earning her the unwanted nickname “the crying girl” on social media. Worse, her tea shop, which she inherited from her late sister, is barely staying afloat. June is desperate to preserve her sister’s legacy, but her financial troubles threaten to close the doors for good.
Levi, once a hopeful novelist, is now disillusioned after years of working as a hedge fund manager in New York City.
His long-time girlfriend left him for a celebrity, turning their break-up into tabloid fodder. Tired of the city’s relentless hustle, Levi returns to Benson Beach seeking peace and clarity, hoping to reignite his passion for writing.
Their paths unexpectedly cross when they bump into each other on the beach. Although their shared past makes the encounter awkward, the spark of familiarity still lingers.
As they catch up, a photographer snaps a candid picture of them together. The photo goes viral, with the internet jumping to the conclusion that June and Levi are dating. Suddenly, they’re local celebrities, with people cheering for their unexpected “love story.”
Seeing an opportunity to change their narratives, June and Levi decide to fake a relationship.
For June, the attention could bring more customers to her struggling tea shop.
For Levi, it’s a chance to show his ex what she’s missing. Their plan is simple: attend public events, post swoon-worthy photos, and act like a couple in love—all without letting real feelings get involved.
As they stage their romance, June and Levi rediscover the deep bond they once shared.
Through their fake dates, they confront unresolved issues from their teenage years and reflect on the choices that led them apart. Levi’s encouragement helps June see her worth beyond her tea shop, while June inspires Levi to pursue his writing dreams.
But things take a complicated turn when their exes resurface. June’s ex tries to win her back, while Levi’s ex questions her decision to leave him.
The emotional tension pushes June and Levi to confront their growing feelings for each other. They realize their fake-dating charade has turned into something real.
In the end, June and Levi choose to embrace their true feelings. For June, that means redefining her relationship with her tea shop and pursuing her own happiness. For Levi, it’s about writing on his terms and staying true to himself.
Together, they prove that second chances are worth the risk—especially when it comes to love.
Characters
June
June is a multifaceted character whose struggles stem from both her past and present. At the core, she is grieving the loss of her sister, whose death has left June to take on the responsibility of running a beachside tea shop that was meant to be a legacy of her sister’s passion.
The tea shop, however, is barely staying afloat, which only adds to the weight of her emotional burden. On top of this, June has recently suffered a humiliating breakup, which has made her the subject of widespread ridicule.
The pain from this public humiliation manifests in the form of a deep-seated fear of being seen as unlovable, which continues to haunt her throughout the novel. As the story unfolds, June is forced to confront her past misunderstandings with Levi, which also involves unearthing long-buried feelings of vulnerability, regret, and self-doubt.
Her character’s growth is deeply tied to her reconciliation with both her past relationship and the responsibilities of keeping her sister’s dream alive. Through this journey, June learns to accept herself and her circumstances, moving towards a place of emotional healing.
Levi
Levi is a complex character caught between his past and his present. He is a man disillusioned by his failure to live up to his own expectations and those of others.
Once an aspiring writer, Levi now works as a hedge fund manager in New York, but this career has left him feeling unfulfilled and emotionally drained. His long-term relationship with a woman, who ultimately left him for a celebrity, has been one of the major turning points in his life.
This breakup thrusts him into the media spotlight, leaving him craving anonymity and peace, which he hopes to find in his hometown of Benson Beach. Like June, Levi is deeply affected by the wounds of the past, particularly the fear of inadequacy.
He has to learn to let go of the notion that he needs to prove something to the world, including his ex. Through his relationship with June, Levi embarks on a journey of self-discovery, moving from a place of bitterness and emotional detachment to genuine openness and connection.
The Exes
Both June and Levi’s exes play significant roles in shaping their emotional arcs. June’s ex is portrayed as someone who publicly humiliated her, which adds to her internalized fear of being unlovable.
His actions, which include humiliating her during their breakup, leave June grappling with feelings of inadequacy. Throughout the story, June works through these emotions, realizing that she doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, least of all him.
Levi’s ex, on the other hand, left him for a celebrity, which cuts deep into his sense of self-worth. Her departure magnifies Levi’s feelings of inadequacy and fuels his desire to prove that he can be more than the man she thought he was.
Both exes act as catalysts for June and Levi’s growth, challenging their perceptions of themselves and their worth. The interactions with their exes highlight the fears they carry into their respective relationships and how these fears shape the way they engage with each other and the world around them.
Themes
Grief, Loss, and the Weight of Unresolved Emotional Baggage
At the heart of The Break-Up Pact is the theme of grief—both emotional and psychological—woven through the lives of the two protagonists, June and Levi. June’s grief is particularly multifaceted, as she not only mourns the death of her sister but also contends with the overwhelming guilt of potentially failing to uphold her sister’s dream by keeping the tea shop afloat.
This sense of loss permeates her every decision, clouding her ability to find joy or peace. The narrative further explores the psychological consequences of carrying unaddressed grief and unresolved emotions, particularly how it can manifest in a desire to prove one’s worth to others, be it through social media validation or the preservation of a familial legacy.
For Levi, his grief is both personal and public—his romantic breakup was humiliatingly broadcasted, while his dissatisfaction with his career creates a sense of unfulfilled potential. Both characters are haunted by these losses, and their journey together becomes an exploration of how people can learn to reconcile with the ghosts of their pasts in order to build a healthier future.
The Commodification of Personal Lives in the Social Media Age
The novel deftly critiques the modern obsession with social media and its ability to commodify personal experiences and relationships. June and Levi’s viral break-ups, combined with the ensuing media frenzy around their fake-dating pact, illuminate the hollow nature of online validation.
The novel takes a hard look at the way social media can both distort reality and create a performative narrative where individuals must either conform to or rebel against public expectations. It speaks to the pressure to live up to a constructed, idealized version of oneself that is ultimately detached from reality.
In this context, both characters must grapple with the fact that their authentic selves are often overshadowed by the personas they are forced to portray for the sake of public image. This theme underscores the dangers of prioritizing digital perceptions over emotional authenticity and the personal costs of feeding into this cycle for external approval.
Rebuilding Broken Bonds
A crucial and deeply engaging theme in The Break-Up Pact is the evolution of June and Levi’s relationship from childhood friends to reluctant romantic partners. The novel explores how the transition between platonic and romantic feelings is not always straightforward, particularly when it’s framed by past emotional wounds.
Their fake-dating arrangement, meant to be a calculated effort to manipulate public opinion, quickly becomes more complicated as unresolved feelings from their teenage years resurface. The story highlights how relationships are never static—whether romantic or platonic—and are shaped by the complex dynamics of timing, personal growth, and the emotional scars that people carry with them.
Through this lens, the novel becomes an exploration of how deeply entwined personal histories can impact a romantic relationship, and how both individuals must navigate the shifting boundaries between friendship and love. By the end, the narrative beautifully illustrates that the most fulfilling relationships are often built on a foundation of understanding, mutual respect, and the ability to confront past mistakes together.
Second Chances and the Search for Personal Fulfillment Beyond Societal Expectations
The Break-Up Pact also delves into the concept of second chances—not just in love, but in life, career, and personal growth. Both June and Levi are at critical junctures in their lives where they must decide whether to continue down paths that have been shaped by the expectations of others or to step into a more authentic existence.
For June, the challenge lies in deciding whether to honor her late sister’s vision for the tea shop or to forge a new future for herself. Similarly, Levi’s journey is about finding fulfillment outside of his career as a hedge fund manager and his failed ambitions as a novelist.
Throughout the novel, both characters wrestle with the societal pressures placed on them—whether it’s to succeed professionally, live up to familial expectations, or engage in relationships that fulfill social norms. Their emotional growth centers on realizing that true fulfillment comes not from meeting external expectations, but from the courage to follow one’s own desires and values.
This theme of second chances is pivotal as it encourages the characters—and by extension, the reader—to question the constructs of success and happiness that society imposes, and to find a more genuine sense of purpose through self-acceptance and the willingness to take risks.
The Lingering Impact of Past Relationships on Personal Identity and Future Connections
Past relationships, both romantic and platonic, cast long shadows over the lives of June and Levi, influencing their present identities and the way they approach future relationships. June’s public breakup—where she was humiliated by her ex—leaves her emotionally scarred, impacting her ability to trust and her sense of self-worth.
She internalizes the public ridicule and views herself through the lens of being the “crying girl,” a label that stunts her emotional growth and her potential for intimacy. Likewise, Levi’s breakup with his long-time girlfriend, who left him for a celebrity, fosters feelings of inadequacy that affect his sense of masculinity and his ability to connect with others on a deeper level.
The novel examines how unresolved feelings from past relationships can interfere with one’s ability to truly move on, showing that personal identity is often tangled with the remnants of previous loves. Both June and Levi must unearth and confront these past relationships in order to heal and open themselves up to new possibilities, not just with each other, but with their broader emotional landscapes.
This exploration serves as a poignant reminder that healing from past relationships is crucial for emotional freedom and the development of healthy future connections.