Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this novel.

If I could give this book 6 stars I would. I have highlighted this book more than any other before it and have already preordered a physical copy so that I can annotate it.

I want to address something right away: this book is second chance lovers, but please don’t let that deter you. I would say this is similar to Happy Place in the way that it remains firmly in the present while reflecting on moments in the past, rather than spending whole chapters focusing on it. While the foundation of the relationship was built prior to the story taking place, the readers get a good sense of how that dynamic was. The characters both grow so much not only from when they initially parted ways but also in the present that we are shown. Their dynamic is perfect, and the way that they understand each other and are there for one another even when they are uncertain of where they stand made me so emotional.

Jessica Joyce is a master at weaving together small moments of joy with deeper emotions, especially grief. The grief in this story focuses predominantly on change and friendships which is something that is just not talked about enough. I think that it was incredibly relatable to anyone in their late twenties to earlier thirties going through that transition with their friends.

As well I want to address the beautiful and accurate depiction of anxiety. Both of our main characters suffer from anxiety stemming from their childhoods. This book did such a good job of showing how pervasive anxiety can be and how it can impact relationships and lives.

Overall I think that Jessica Joyce is extremely underrated and I would not be surprised if this novel catapults her to Emily Henry fame. Her heartfelt prose and deeply relatable characters will continue to set her apart in the romance genre. She is now on my list of auto-buy authors.

I am so in love with Jessica Joyce's writing. I absolutely adored 'You With a View' last year, so was beyond thrilled to get the opportunity to read and review this book. This story is absolutely perfect for fans of second-chance romance, he falls first and even friends-to-lovers.

I think, more than anything, Jessica has such a gift for writing very visceral characters. The characters have struggles and they feel so real. I can easily put myself in their shoes, and I can feel their joy, grief and everything in between.

I read so many romance novels, that sometimes I think I almost disassociate from the emotional parts of the book, the parts that are designed to make me laugh or cry. With this story I was sobbing, smiling, and kicking my feet - for me any book that can make me feel so strongly is worthy of 5 stars!

I’m destroyed in the best possible way and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after reading this book!!! This might be my favourite read this year so far and we’re only at March!

Jessica Joyce is such a phenomenal writer and it is truly criminal that i’ve only just been introduced to her. Her writing is beautifully evocative, the imagery powerful enough to touch your soul, and it’s all wrapped up in storyline that felt like a wholesomely nostalgic 2000’s romcom. She painted such a painfully stunning picture of what it’s like to fall in love with the right person at the wrong time. She showed the realities of loving someone, the messiness, the ups and down, the honesty and grace and kindness it takes to make a relationship work. It was raw, passionate, heartfelt, imperfectly perfect, but most of it all it was real!!

Books that i’m drawn towards tend to be those where i can see bits and pieces of myself in the characters, though i don’t think i’ve ever come across a character who i resonate so deeply with, to my bones, who is me to an absolute T!! Georgia was such a heartbreakingly real character, whose anxieties and feelings of inadequacies related so much to my own growing up, and it felt therapeutic to watch her go through a journey of self discovery and love. Equally Eli, a soft and quiet character with his own worries and fears of never being good enough was complex yet understandable and i loved watching his determination and effort towards being better for himself and others. Their respective self journey’s from the start to the end of this story was not only realistic, but honest and wonderful and it was truly a privilege to be able to experience their character growth’s with them!

Not only that, but the growth of their relationship, from the fractured remnants left behind in their early twenties, to the healed version in their late twenties, wasn’t rushed nor insincere. It showed a perfect picture of the human experience, of what it’s like to fall in love so young, the pain of heartbreak, but most of all, the effort and dedication it takes to make something work when it’s worth it. And don’t even get me started on the chemistry between Georgia and Eli (it was off the FREAKING charts!!)

Most of all, i loved seeing the exploration of platonic friendships. Jessica Joyce not only showed us two beautiful characters falling in love with themselves, but loving each other and their friends in the way all people deserve.

This book was an ode to growing up in your twenties and i’d recommend it to anyone and everyone!!!!!

I absolutely love Jessica Joyce, and will absolutely read anything and everything this woman writes.

I loved her debut novel so much, and she has quickly become an author that I love and will continue to support in all the stories that she chooses to write! she writes the softest, sweetest but most relatable love stories and I'm just in awe. You can really get completely lost in her books, and I love that feeling so much!

her storytelling is absolutely unmatched, and the way she describes the characters and their emotions in this books is so raw and authentic, I could actually feel my heart bleeding for the two main characters. this was a well done second chance romance, and I appreciate how their story and relationship was explained throughout. I really enjoyed the ending, although I would've liked just a 'bit more' in the ending, during the resolution of their relationship, and to really feel that everything was hashed out and truly dealt with fully.

this was also a lot spicier than her first book and I loved it! I really like how intimate scenes were written with so many feelings and emotions in mind. you could really feel and tell that this couple had so much history, feelings, and chemistry, which came across on page really well!!!

other than that this was another fabulous love story, and I will absolutely be reading anything Jessica writes from here and so forth! X

Absolutely loved this book! Georgia and Eli are such great characters. I loved the vulnerability of their journey. Would definitely recommend it.

4.5 stars

This book was absolutely everything!! There wasn't a page I didn't enjoy reading and I was only hungry for more.

The relationship between Eli and Georgia was perfection, I loved the fact that this was a second chance romance and they have such deep history that is interwoven throughout the whole story. Them finding each other again, but most importantly finding themselves before that, was so beautifully done. I loved Eli's nickname for her, 'Peach' had my heart melting every single time I saw it on the page.

The reason they broke up 5 years ago felt so realistic, because sometime people really do get so in their head about hurting their partner which just leads to each of them being miserable. The fact that Eli never stopped loving her and the secrect messages inside the rings he left for her throughout their whole relationship and friendship before that put hearts in my eyes. Thier banter, the little gestures they did for each other, how much they loved each other (!!!) even without explicitly saying it, it was all amazingly written.

Eli's struggle with panic attacks and anxiety felt so realistic and so close to what I've experienced, I loved seeing the portrayal of that in this book and I loved how Georgia's struggles were represented as well.

Overall, words genuinely can't describe how much this book meant to me and how much I grew to love these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Joyce and Penguin for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to Penguin Books, Jessica Joyce and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I LOVE this book, the second chance romance element was executed beautifully and the angst and pining between Georgia and Eli was chemistry and tension filled. When they eventually gave in, it was absolutely explosive. I enjoyed the premise of the book, the background of a friend's wedding provides the perfect stage for the feelings to unravel.

The portrayal of Eli's anxiety was conveyed in a way that showcased how the breakdown of their relationship and external factors was the cause of the separation. I loved Georgia's character, the need to be the problem solver and the owner of all the lists, and seeing the way her walls gradually broke down due to Eli's unwavering love was so heartwarming.

But what truly makes this book excellent is the writing, so beautifully written, almost poetic in some ways, you could really feel the angst pouring out of each interaction and Joyce does an incredible job in producing scenarios (the paper rings?!) that showcased the deep love between the pair.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend!

I knew after reading her debut that Jessica Joyce was going to be an auto buy author for me and this book is another reason why I will read every book she ever writes. It was the definition of perfection: captivating storytelling, in-depth character development and the purest characters. I didn’t want to put it down. As someone who doesn’t often enjoy second chance romance this story stole my heart and is one of my favourites reads of the year.


Favourite Quotes:

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒐.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕.

𝑬𝒍𝒊 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒚. 𝑨 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

4.5 stars

God this was just gorgeous. I literally couldn’t put it down but wish I had taken a few breaks because I was totally doing that “half asleep reading and now I can’t remember what happened” thing because I couldn’t bear to not see what happened next. A second chance romance with so much growth and development, and irrefutable love. So cute and kinda smutty and I loved it.

Mental health rep and depictions of anxiety, which I really appreciated.

Positive portrayals of friendships, and platonic soulmates 🥹

An emotional and hard hitting story that was so full of love.

Definitely picking up You With a View next!!

Review copy from NetGalley 💗

I absolutely loved Jessica’s debut novel “You With a View” and I was so excited when I got approved for an eARC on Netgalley for her next book, “The Ex Vows”.

The reason I am not giving this book 5 stars is because I got fed up with all the drama surrounding Adam and Grace’s wedding. Anything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong and at one point it became very annoying that NOTHING was going good for them, it was just too much and I felt like it took away the nice vibes of the story and it was just frustrating.

I love Eli and Georgia’s relationship though, a very well done second chance romance that I devoured. Wish we had a little bit more of them and less of the wedding drama, but I get why it had to be this way, it just wasn’t my favorite thing.

Jessica Joyce is absolutely an auto buy author for me at this point. I LOVED you with a view so I was absolutely delighted to have been provided with an ARC of The Ex Vows in exchange for an honest review.

Eli and Georgia are spectacular. Their whole story - friends to lovers to exes to circle back round to each other through forced proximity, is stunning. The longing and the angst throughout this book, Jessica Joyce ripped my heart out and put it back together again, in the best possible way. I loved the characters and their story so much; the whole book was an absolute delight. 10/10, do not skip this book!!

Perfect 👌
I absolutely loved this and am guaranteed to want to read everything Jessica Joyce writes from this moment on.

If you liked “You, with a View” you will like this. Exes thrown together to plan their mutual best friend’s wedding one week before the date, in the location that they fell in love. A nice second chance romance with forced proximity. At times it felt like it dragged on and I just wanted to get to the happy ending—this may be because I read this after two 5 star reads and I was sort of in a book hangover. Light enjoyable rom com

This is a five-star read that is as sweet as a peach. This one will keep you on your toes, can you think of anything worse than spending the week with the ex you hate, I honestly don’t think I would do it even for my bestie who is convinced their wedding is cursed. As this story unfolds you will be swept away in the beauty of the Napa valley, you will be tasting the cake flavours as you read them, it pulls you into the moment so well, you will be there holding the rings, every single one of them. Adam was someone I warmed to the more I got to know him, as he reveals more of himself, you can’t help but get to know the real him, and cant help yourself for falling for him. Pick up this story and get swept away with the craziness that is weddings, but the joy they bring as well. I can not wait to find what this author will bring us next, as so far the two stories I have read, have become firm favourites of mine.

Tropes: second chance, childhood friends to lovers, forced proximity, fling, pining

"I'm in love with you."

"Again?"

"Still."

Oh my god. OH MY GOD. This book made me cry 4 TIMES. I genuinely don't know if I'm about to get across how much I loved this book but goddamn I'm going to try.

With a second chance romance, there are two key moments of potential failure - the reader not understanding why the couple ever split up, and not understanding why they would ever get back together. This book side steps these pitfalls with EASE.

The Ex Vows tells the story of Eli and Georgia, from friendship to lovers to putting on a show of friendship to lovers again, and in each of these stages their care and love for each other is clear. It is a beautiful, deeply romantic, love story about personal growth and taking another chance on the person who has the potential to build you up or to break you.

As well as writing an incredible romance, Jessica Joyce perfectly describes that period in your 20s where everything is changing and you have to learn how to be a person all over again.

Thank you to Jessica Joyce, Random House UK and NetGalley for the free e-arc. All opinions are my own.

This one just added Jessica Joyce to my auto buy list! This is my first book by her and I'm absolutely now going to find her other work to add to my library!

This is such a warm comfort read about love and friendship. It's a second chance romance trope which is beautifully done. I liked the setup of a wedding and the need to be friendly due to the group dynamics. There's also the part on moving away and trying to maintain the level of friendship which felt very realistic.

I like how the characters acknowledge their issues and try to work on them. I loved Eli's character and Georgia was a fabulous female lead. They had me shipping and invested in them from the beginning. But it was also the friendship between all the characters that's absolutely all heart.

This book is the one you read with a warm cup of coffee and blanket. A perfect summer read that I cannot recommend enough as it makes you feel with the characters and at times relate!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

I cried for a full week reading this... I had the best time.

I always thought my favourite trope was enemies to lovers, but recently I have really gotten into second chance romances. This was an excellent one.

The emotion could be felt in every word Jessica wrote. At times I was sobbing and couldn't quite explain why!

Jessica Joyce has made it onto my auto buy author list and I'm already waiting for her next book!

Reading the Ex-Vows was torture... in the best way possible. The longing, the pain, the heartbreak, the joy. It was all too much and I couldn't put it down. Jessica Joyce has become an auto buy author for me after this one. She really proved that second chance romance is the superior trope.

Watching these characters circle around each other while planning their mutual friends' wedding was excruciating. It was so clear that despite their heart-wrenching break up 5 years previously they were still in love. The tension was done so well, the spice was immaculate and it was intensely emotional.

Eli 'its always the quiet ones' Mora is my new book boyfriend and Georgia was such an intensely enjoyable main character. The anxiety rep was done really well, with Eli having to do some intense therapy after almost letting it destroy his life. Georgia did some serious growth throughout the story too, learning to put aside her people pleasing tendencies and speak to her loved ones about her needs. Having the characters grow separately (often with the first break up acting as a catalyst) is the key to a truly superior second chance romance and Jessica Joyce hit the nail right on the head.

This book was about romantic love but the platonic love was what really did me in at the end. The friendships between these characters was so strong, so warm, so unconditional.

I have no notes. 10 out of 10. Amazing. Marvellous. Magical. Perfect. Infallible. I will be thinking about this one for months to come. I can't wait for Jessica to break my heart again. Siri play 'Paper Rings' by Taylor Swift.

Thanks to Transworld/Penguin for this review copy.

Jessica Joyce has a knack for writing deep, emotional stories that can wreck a girl. The Ex Vows is a second-chance romance between childhood friends turned lovers turned exes, Georgia and Eli.

After five years of avoidance and fake friendship for the sake of their mutual best friend, Georgia and Eli and forced to work together to save Adam’s wedding. Neither of them has faced the mess together of what was left behind after the end of their relationship and being in such close proximity only brings all that pain to the surface.

This book destroyed me; it ripped open my chest, plucked my heart out and laughed while it smashed it under its heel. Sounds dramatic but it’s exactly what happened. The joy, the pain, the friendships, and the emotions pulled at me with every page, and the tears were not far behind. The love that existed between Eli and Georgia was wonderful and painful and made me cry far more than a girl needs to cry in one day, let alone in an afternoon. But while the story of these two did its best to pull me apart, it was so worth it to watch them grow and piece themselves, and each other together again.

Oh my goodness! This book has my heart and so does Eli Mora ❤️

Jessica Voyce is now an autobuy author for me.

Estranged exes Georgia(amazing name choice) and Eli Mora are forced to work together to save their best friend Adam's disaster of a wedding. Eli wants Georgia back, but is scared to open up. Georgia is afraid that trying again will break her heart for a second time and ruin their friendship group.

The chemistry these two characters had was palpable and undeniable. Every look and word spoken had me on the edge of my seat. I love that it showed the true reality of many relationships where work can distract and consume you so much so that you forget about the person you live with and love. I think I'm in love with Eli myself now with the way the author described every little poignant detail of their relationship. I love a second chance love story.

I loved the whole wedding planning aspect as it reminded me of what I went through a few years ago where it seems like everything is going wrong and then on the actual day you don't care anymore and just go with it. I love the friendship of Georgia and Adam and the little gang.

This book has everything I love in a romance book. I can't wait to see what this author does next.