if you’re losing me by taylor swift was a book, this would be it.

this book is one of the rare few where you’re reading for hours on end without looking up from the page, laughing, crying and swooning and before you know it, it’s 5.30 am and you’re still giving up sleep because you can’t stop thinking about it.

characters had so much individuality and were so well developed that they felt so real and you could connect to them individually. the romance didn’t overshadow the mental health struggles which i felt on an extremely deep level.

the characters were so imperfect and that’s what i loved most of all. the relationship itself was so messy and raw, so much angst and emotion i don’t think i’ll be able to move on.

jessica joyce knows how to weave in angst and emotion into her stories seamlessly and while i did enjoy noelle and theo, i think georgia and eli are on a whole other level. emotionally, i was a mess by the time i finished this book.

there’s always a draw to the emotionally unavailable mmc but i think having an emotionally complex mmc dealing with mental health issues should be represented more often in romance books. Eli Mora is the definition of its always the quiet ones.

i think there are very few books that can truly capture the angst, passion and emotion of a second chance romance well. this is definitely one of them.

Oh my gosh! This book!

Jessica Joyce's pen is unmatched. She has a way of taking you on the most beautifully crafted journey with her. All those complex feelings associated with heartbreak which makes it so painful she is able to describe in the most stunning of ways: truthfully and poetic. The way she writes love is so heart warming and realistic, all those things which make you apprehensive to fall in love she captures perfectly.
The characters are amazing, I love Georgia so much and Eli has my heart.

This book is amazing, and I cannot recommend enough.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and RandomHouse UK for this ARC. I loved it so much!

2.5⭐️ thank-you so much to NetGalley for the ARC❤️

Nobody wanted to love this book more than me. As a MASSIVE You with a View fan, I yapped to anyone who would listen about how excited I was for Ex Vows.

So it distresses me to say I really didn’t enjoy this 😩😞

Georgia, Adam and Eli have been besties since they were 15. Georgia and Eli became an item but split 5 years ago at 23. They’re amicable for the sake of mutual friend Adam, although they rarely see each other. Adam is now getting married to Grace, it’s a wedding ‘week’ of sorts so Georgia and Eli both want to help Adam plan his wedding.

No stakes
No real tension or conflict
No climax
Stale, one dimensional characters

The last sentence at the end of the prologue: 𝙃𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣.

‘And then we’ll burn it all down’…. WELL that sounds promising?? Sounds like a messy breakup?

No. Not quite.

I HAVE NEVER FELT SO CATFISHED IN MY LIFE 😭😭 They split because he prioritised his job over her. THATS IT. And that’s not a spoiler either, it’s implied from the get go. I thought, surely it’s not that basic… that cannot be the ONLY reason they split. They burned it all down after all? But nope. He put his job before her, neglected their relationship, they didn’t have a conversation and she walked out.
I wish I was joking. It’s that boring. The only thing that burned down was Adam’s wedding venue. Literally.
Tell me again how you’re gonna write a second chance romance equivalent to an old episode of Trisha. I can’t.

The breakup/conflict for a second chance romance needs to be juicy. Not necessarily dramatic, or unrealistic. But god damn good.
I thought OH some bad shit went down. And she said he ‘broke her heart’ countless times. But no, Georgia and Eli broke up 5 years ago because he was more interested in his job 😩 I have never been more underwhelmed by a breakup.

They didn’t have a conversation, so instead broke up. Yep. Really went up in flames.

I was so bored. I didn’t care about Georgia or Eli. Because I didn’t know them.

Apart from Georgia being a people pleaser with an abandonment complex and Adam being a workaholic with anxiety, and believing the solution to solving their NON-EXISTENT problem was organising their friends wedding 🤨 who were they as people? Being a people pleaser and having anxiety cannot be your only personality traits!! They were painfully one dimensional.

What did they want? How are they unsatisfied with their life and what stopped them from going after what they wanted? What is the WORST thing that can happen for them? What’s at stake? What in the world is driving this story?
Not Georgia and Eli.
Everything was circumstantial because if Adam wasn’t getting married, the ‘story’’ wouldn't be happening. Georgia and Eli didn’t drive the plot. The plot drove them.

Noelle in YWAV was interestingggg. Everything that happened was a direct result of her actions, what she wanted and what she was afraid of. Would she have posted that Tiktok video if she wasn’t close to her Grandma, wasn’t desperate to have a purpose? Would she have gone on that road trip, connected with Theo? NONE of that would have happened if not for her actions, her wants, desires fears etc. I knew this fictional woman inside out yet Georgia and Eli? No clue 😂😂 The plot happens TO these characters not because of them.

You show me a man keen to organise his own wedding, never mind anyone elses? Georgia I can understand. But Eli? Wth. Eli having a guilt complex doesn’t justify his reason for wanting to organise his friends WEDDING. Typically men just aren’t wired that way lmfao. Fictional or not. It felt forced to suit the plot. Not because it was authentic to the character.

The ‘climax’ was predictable. If you can call it a climax 👀 The little conflict this book did have could have been solved at the start of the book. WITH A CONVERSATION 🥲

And the half-baked pRaIsE kInK 💀💀 I felt my insides shrivel when she said:

𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝.

The way she’s thinking about that around her friends 😭😭 Safe to say that nearly became my 13th reason.

I loved YWAV and A Risk Worth Taking, so I will give her next book a shot but this one was so disappointing for me!!

what do you get when you combine two people with the same attachment style (fearful-avoidant) who found their person early in life, but didn't have an example of a healthy relationship in their parents? well, two people who aren't good at communication who end up breaking it off without talking about what happened.

with georgia and eli's second chance, joyce teteers on familiarity and heartbreak so well. one minute they're falling into old habits and the other, they're reminded of the life they could've had if they were just there for each other (like going to therapy). there's a bittersweet undertone throughout the entire novel of how friendships change as people get older and move onto other life stages which hurts more when the partner georgia lost was also her best friend. this made georgia and eli's journey back to each other all the more earned.

The book had me from the first page which I thought was a good sign and I did enjoy the romance but something was lacking for me and I can’t put my finger on it. Something was holding it back but on paper it had everything but the execution was lacking for me.

The Ex Vows was everything I didn’t know I needed. It was an achingly stunning book that everyone has to read— missing out on this masterpiece would be a damn shame! I wanted to make the book last, I tried to pace myself because I didn’t want it to end, but I couldn’t help devouring this in one sitting. I blinked and the Horus had flown by and I was sobbing like a baby. From start to finish, I was enamoured with the beautiful and heartbreaking love story of Eli and Georgia. I love romances that make the connection between the two MCs so effortless, and that’s exactly what Joyce did here.

Honestly, the book made me kinda jealous of the epic love they both had😭 We all deserve someone to love us like Eli loves his Peach🫶🏻 It was truly so stunning. Trying to articulate my love for books I adored is always so hard but particularly this one. All I can say is you HAVE to read this book because you truly won’t be disappointed— the angst, the tension, the pining, the banter, the sheer love between Eli and Georgia was immaculate and now I need to read more of Joyce’s backlist… I have already purchased a paperback copy of “You With a View” I’m that obsessed with her. She’s gained a new fan today and deserves so many more!!

Just read this right now!

I haven’t read You with a View yet, but I’m off to the shop to see if I can find it today! This was such a beautiful second chance romance, I laughed and I SOBBED, and not many books can do that to me, the simmering tension between Eli and Georgia is crafted beautifully, and the way the past is revealed interspersed throughout the story was clever in that it didn’t detract from the present day story. Very well written and if You with a view is as wonderful as this I will add this author to my auto buy list. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this beautiful book.

If I could give this book 1000 stars, I would.

It's Happy Place meets Funny Story meets Love and Other Words - with a soundtrack backing of Paper Rings by Taylor Swift.

I loved Eli and I loved Georgia. It's rare that a book hooks you in the prologue, but I simply could not put this book down. Jessica Joyce's writing made me cry no more than 50 times over the course of this book and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

The way I RAN to apply for this arc after loving You, with a View last year.

The Ex Vows follows Georgia and Eli. Once the best of friends, now exes, who are best woman and best man for their mutual best friend's wedding. Despite their awkwardness being around each other, the pair must work to keep the peace as they help the bride and groom with disaster after disaster with the wedding. Second chance romance, a fun group of best friends, and figuring life out in your 20s.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I think a lot of people will love this. The plot was fun and I could absolutely see myself in Georgia - someone who would do anything for her friends, existential crisis-having woman in her 20s worried that all her friends are moving on without her. Eli was also really relatable - work above everything (insert sh*tty boss) for fear of losing it all. I really appreciated the representation of Eli's anxiety and him managing his panic attacks.

With this in mind, Georgia and Eli did feel a little one-dimensional to me. Georgia is a people-pleaser (girl, same), and Eli lives to work and really struggles with anxiety (...also, same)...and that was kind of it? While completely relatable I just wanted a little more from them as characters. I also wished that there was more of a sense that they were exes - Georgia would mention that she had her heart completely broken and for me that just didn't come across as much as it could have. I think a little more time in the 'awkward' phase of them working together would have helped a bit here. The resolution/'get back together kinda' was a little quick for me. A little more awkwardness 'will they, won't they' would have been a little more interesting for me.

I could completely understand both characters, their journeys and how they wound up back together (although I have to wonder if the wedding wasn't happening, would they have been reunited anyway? not sure on that one). Loved the wedding hijinks. I'd still recommend this if you're after a light romance read!

Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

[ARC provided by NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Penguin. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Ex Vows.]

Rating: 5/5

Well, if anyone was going to make me love a second chance romance then it was obviously going to be Jessica Joyce. Having adored her debut, ‘You, With a View’, and also her novella, ‘A Risk Worth Taking’, I’m not at all surprised that ‘The Ex Vows’ is another diamond. Reading a book written by Jessica is reminiscent of holding up a mirror and finally accepting those cumbersome traits that you didn’t think you could ever love about yourself. Georgia and Eli made me cry in the best way possible and I was genuinely sad to reach that final page, for no other reason than wanting to stay with them longer.

The Ex Vows follows Georgia and Eli, two exes who must play the parts of Best Woman and Best Man for their mutual best friend. Five years have passed since they broke up and despite lingering feelings and a firm set of rules that they abide by to keep the peace, the pair must work together to save their friend’s doomed wedding. From ruthless bakers to hilariously outdated DJs, Georgia has to work closer than she anticipated with the man who still owns her heart, and despite any attempts that she makes to thwart the re-emerging feelings between them, letting the possibility of trying again slip between their fingers becomes more terrifying than facing the reasons that led to their split in the first place.

If you’re in your 20s, or at any stage of adulthood where you feel like you’re drifting through the motions, unsure of where you’re heading and who will stick around for the journey, then this book will feel like the warmest of hugs. I felt incredibly seen watching these characters go through the highs and lows of early adulthood because it’s where I’m at in my life. Georgia is such a relatable FMC and her thoughts felt like my own more often than not. She struggles with something so familiar, the horribly inescapable process of losing or drifting apart from friends as is common when you get older. And then the realisation that you’re perhaps not moving at the speed that they are, that you aren’t filling your life with those crucial milestones like marriage and children, and that maybe you’ll be left behind. A quote that really stuck out for me was, ‘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 realising none of them do.’ It’s a thought I’m sure many of us have faced at some point and unfortunately it rarely gets easier.

Eli is another character who I came to love dearly because he’s also going through something that many of us face in our professional careers. Having grown up in unstable financial conditions, his aim of job security is more important to him than almost anything else. To the detriment of other areas of his life, he’ll do anything to reach this goal, and unfortunately that meant losing the love of his life. I could really empathise with Eli’s situation and honestly, I just wanted to give him a big hug and tell him it’s okay to slow down and take a breath, but fortunately he’s on his own path of growth that made me feel more and more proud of him as each plot development came to light.

Some books don’t hit the mark when it comes to believable banter but the chemistry that Georgia and Eli share is undeniable, and that paired with their hilarious friend group made me laugh along with them on multiple occasions. There was no doubt in my mind that these characters had been in a relationship before because whenever they were together the tension was palpable. They longingly orbit around each other despite having split up five years ago and I was rooting for them from page one.

I’m so happy to have read this book in my late 20s and I’ll be recommending it to quite literally anyone who will listen. The Ex Vows will go down as one of my all-time favourite contemporary romance reads and I have a feeling that I’ll be revisiting this from time to time to remind myself that it’s okay to go at my own pace, and that there’s more to life than the daily grind. Thank you, Jessica, for this stunning book and as always, I can’t wait to see what you write next.

4.5 stars

I love Jessica's writing so much.

This is a second chance romance written with so much heart, with a wonderful cast of characters and a beautiful love story!

I loved Eli and Georgia's relationship. The way we learnt about their past was quite refreshing, not info dumped at the start but blending so well with what's happening in the present. Everything had a purpose.
It all felt so real and raw, showing all the messy bits but also having the wholesome moments shining through. You can't not root for them.

The friendships were also well established and I found them as endearing as the relationships :) adored Adam, Grace, Jamie and the rest of the group.

I took off half a star because of pacing but I am a very impatient reader!

If you loved You, With a View then you’re in for a treat because Jessica Joyce has done it again. The Ex Vows is devastatingly beautiful and you’ll find yourself falling in love with Eli Mora the same way that Georgia does.

This second chance romance has likeable secondary characters. Georgia and Eli’s story captures the essence of falling in love and getting your heart broken in your 20s.

I absolutely loved this book. If you’re a fan of Emily Henry, I think you’ll also love this one.
I really enjoyed the wedding theme and discovering the characters through memories was great.
I can’t wait to see what else JJ writes!

♾️⭐️

This book was everything. I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions while reading and I thank Jessica Joyce for this masterpiece.

Seriously, this book joined my favorites list.

I want to hug Eli so tight. I love the second chance trope and loved how it was done. You can feel the mixed feelings between Eli and Georgia and especially the love that still exists between them.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this ARC

I could not stop reading!!
All the emotions were there and it was so well written that I went on the rollercoaster with these two main characters. I loved their friends, I loved their history and I was shipping them 100% but you could see that their struggles were not just the standard oops miscommunicated at around 75% of the book but something that you would want to overcome and be stronger together for. It was a well thought out dilemma with an even better written HEA.
This is the second full length book by Jessica Joyce and I have read both and can honestly say 5 stars (for both)!!

I received this as a free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This novel was simultaneously heartbreaking and deeply romantic and fulfilling. It’s rare to read a second chance romance with such emotional depth!

The Ex Vows is a thoughtful tale on how adolescence can shape your adulthood, how childhood wounds can be hard to shake, and how to navigate it all so you can readily pursue your happiness.

Eli and Georgia’s journey back to each other was so beautiful, and so were the friendships surrounding them. Adam, Grace, Jamie… they both learned a little bit about love from their loyalty too.

And the grand gesture/big moment at the end… not sure I’ve ever read anything more romantic. I would melt in a puddle on the floor if that happened to me.

Highly recommend this book for any second chance romance lovers, or anyone looking to go on a seriously emotional journey!

Oh dear god Jessica Joyce you little BEAUTY. I swear this woman could write a shopping list and I would DEVOUR it (we all know we love a list)
This book is EVERYTHING - it’s messy, complex, pure, indents cute, heart wrenching and incredibly relatable.
I was giggling, I was sobbing and I was everything in between.

Also sorry the SIDE characters were just impeccable, more Jamie pleaseeeee. I disliked Adam for a period of time because I felt like he was incredibly demanding and should’ve known that G would never want to let him down, even to her own detriment but fair play he crawled it all back.

Eli you quiet little devil in disguise. You beautiful beautiful man.
Georgia, the most relatable FMC for me. I could feeeeel her presence and emotions the whole book.


God damn, just god damn.

I just finished reading The Ex Vows and my heart is very full. This summer I read You, With a View and loved it, but I think this book is even better. I can’t remember the last time I read a love story that was so tender and thoughtful - that was so interested in the very real messiness of human beings and how often we get in the way of our own happiness, not because it’s a convenient plot device but because people truly are complicated and flawed (and often in need of a huge amount of therapy).

But also… I am pleased to report that no one is writing better chemistry than Jessica Joyce. The tension! The banter! The pining! Impeccable. A million out of ten. No notes. This is a lovely dream of a book that made me laugh AND cry my eyes out, and if you are a fan of Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, then you’re going to adore this.

4 stars ⭐️
Where do i begin? Jessica Joyce has such a phenomenal way of writing characters, and the tension and longing and chemistry between them. In this book? the chemistry was sizzling!

This book follows Georgia, and an emergency call from her best friend Adam, his wedding planning is in ruins! but Georgia isn’t the only best friend he calls. Enter: Eli Mora, the third and final person of the trio and also, Georgia’s Ex. Can both Georgia and Eli make amends to save their best friend’s wedding? Well…no comment, go read the book on July 16th 2024 to find out!!

my fave parts!
💍 eli’s paper rings
💍 the trio friendship
💍 jamie & georgia’s friendship
💍 eli & georgia opening up (was so scarily relatable, Jessica did you read my journal?)
💍 the longing looks…had me swooning

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

If you tear through my skin, tissue and ribs you’ll find this book nestled into my heart 😭😭

Currently I’m slapping myself for NOT reading Jessica Joyce’s books sooner, because this was pure and utter perfection from start to finish. The stunning cover and the tropes (second chance is my kryptonite) called to me and I knew I had to request this and the second I was handed the arc I dived into the story head first and didn’t once come up for air until I read “The End”.

Eli and Georgia broke me in the best possible way but also mended me back together complete with a pretty little bow. I don’t even know where to start 😭 Georgia is one of my favourite heroines ever, her personality was so endearing and fun, she had me laughing one second and sobbing the next because I related to her abandonment issues so hard 😭 the fact that she thinks she can’t be too needy or clingy or show how much she needs Eli because of her dad hurt me so much, I was screaming at my book “JUST TALK TO ELI” but it’s never that simple. My girl needed to be made the priority for once in her life, and when Eli did that? Her communication was ON POINT 👏🏽

This brings me onto Eli. I know it’s only the 2nd month of 2024 but I’m already claiming Eli as my book boyfriend of the year. This is how you write a real man. I could feel how much he loved Georgia, how he never actually stopped loving Georgia from the very first page 😭 I know that miscommunication played the biggest part in their breakup 5 years ago, and maybe they could’ve avoided the breakup entirely if they just talked but I’d argue that Eli needed to make those sacrifices for himself first before he could ever put Georgia first. They both needed the time away to work on their own independence, especially Eli with therapy and his job. Watching him flourish and give Georgia space and respecting her boundaries whilst still not giving up and fighting for her? This is what cinched it for me. Eli Mora the man that you are 😭🩷😭🩷

On top of loveable main characters who I was rooting for, the plot of the book was amazing. I mean the best man and woman trying to plan their best friends “cursed” wedding was the comedic relief this book needed. I adored how love and friendship was at the forefront of this novel. As much as this book was about Eli and Georgia finding their way back to eachother, it was also about how they supported and loved Adam unconditionally, and the lengths they would go to ensure everything was perfect for his big day.

Another big positive for this book is the way it’s set out, I’m not a huge fan of books which have dual timelines and go back and forth chapter by chapter with past vs present chapters. I’m always more invested in one timeline over the other. What was amazing about the ex vows is that Eli and Georgia’s history was portrayed through memories/flashbacks which gave us a big insight into their past without it taking over the story and putting the present in the back burner.

All in all The Ex Vows went from one of my most anticipated releases of the year to one of, if not the best, book of 2024 for me 😭 I need it to be July already so I can hold the paperback in my hands. This book is perfect for fans of second chance romcoms such as Happy Place by Emily Henry, Every Summer After by Carley Fortune & One Day in December by Josie Silver!

A huge thank you to netgalley, the publishers and Jessica Joyce for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!