Firstly, thank you to Net Galley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC.

This was, without a doubt, a 5 star read for me. I was absolutely captivated by this story, and by Eli and Georgia. This is such a brilliant, romantic, emotional, second chance romance featuring other tropes such as forced proximity and ‘it’s always been you’.

I immediately knew Eli and Georgia were meant to be together, even with all the tension at the start over who would be helping Adam. They are definitely two souls that are very much intertwined. To quote Wuthering Heights ‘Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same’.

I like that we got to see their relationship in the past as well as the present, and understand what drove them apart. When she found out why he had been making and giving her those paper rings, I got a bit teary. They both had their own personal obstacles to overcome before they could find their way back to each other - you could definitely see a growth in both characters from the past and present.

There is a beautiful case of found family with this friendship group. I adored all of the friendships within this book with all of the secondary characters really helping to bring the plot to life.

Both Eli and Georgia are very relatable characters. Readers will definitely be able to see themselves in these characters. The discussion around mental health and burnout in regard to Eli hopefully will prompt more conversations on this topic with men as well as women.

4.5

A messy yet genuine second chance romance that I loved! The characters had great chemistry, both were likeable and sweet and I was really rooting for them! As with any good second chance romance, this is full of ANGST and tension and it was incredibly emotional. This really felt like reading about two real people, which I think goes to show the author's talent as making her characters feel so true to life. I do think the side characters felt a little.... flat? I didn't particularly love any of them and I didn't feel like they were all that distinguishable from each other. However, Eli and Georgia were amazing, he is THE book boyfriend, and Jessica Joyce is absolutely an auto-buy author for me now.

This is book #62 and my second 5star read of 2024.

The only reason it took me TWO FULL MONTHS to read this book is because I had to put it down every two chapters for at least a week, because I was crying. But it was really more like sobbing and ugly crying.
I was not expecting to feel all the feelings that I felt while reading. But I did.

I read “You, With a View” earlier this year and absolutely loved it, so I was even more excited to read the author’s follow up novel.

The writing was great. Really, really great. Amazing even.
The emotions? The HURT ? The FEELINGS? This book truly had everything.
And by everything, I do mean everything.

Georgia and Eli’s story is so heartbreaking (literally), but so wonderful at the same time. Jessica managed to capture all of the good, the ugly and the messy in words in a way that makes it really hard not to feel everything the characters were feeling.
I loved how we got to see the past and present and all of the change that happened in between, especially when we got towards the end and we got to see them communicating their wants and needs and figuring out their future.

I also really loved the side characters! Every single one of them. They were funny, thoughtful, loving and everything you would want to have in a really good friend.

I’m not really into second-chance romances, but if they were all written like that, maybe I need to change my stance on that.
If you enjoyed Emily Henry’s ‘Happy Place’, this might be something you want to try as well, as it has the same kind of sentiment ‘Happy Place’ has. Just worse, but in the best way possible.

I highly recommend it.

10/10 no notes.

"Al the good stuff and the messy stuff an even bad stuff. I want all of it."
If I could give this more stars I would. I loved this book so much. This second chance romance story will capture your heart. I loved Georgia and Eli, their story just made me cry. I want someone to make me paper rings like Eli did for Georgia (all I will say is wait until you get to Chapter 34).
Gorgeous gorgeous book.
Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the eARC.

I loved this book so much! I want to tell everyone to read this book because it was just the perfect romance that I wanted. I will read anything Jessica Joyce writes.

Oh wow what a great read. I laughed, cried and wanted more.

A lovely second chance romance you should definitely pick up and add to your collection.

This author is top notch and will be reading more. .

I may also be in love with those characters... In my defense, Joyce truly managed to create and write tangible characters with amazing chemistry and personality, depth and just to build up a relationship that made absolute sense. These characters made sense together in a way I just can't explain.

I really enjoyed this. Definitely preferred this to the first book and really wanted to read the story of Georgia and Eli. I found all the wedding disruptions a little unrealistic but I went with it. Overall I really enjoyed it

I’ve been so excited for this book after reading her first one, and I was not disappointed.
The tension, the banter, just everything about the 2 MC’s was incredible.
I will forever love Joyce’s writing; she’s an unforgettable author in the best way.

Thank you for my earc of this book. I enjoyed both the premise and execution of this book and in particular like the friendships and secondary characters, but I feel like it was too long at times and could have been edited down.

This book was such a ride of emotions. Not only did it touch on deeper themes of anxiety and insecurity but still made me kick my feet and giggle with glee. This is the perfect second chance romance and honestly I had slouch a good time reading it. I will definitely be checking out more of this authors work because this was a romantic masterpiece.

3.5 stars

I really struggled with this book, and it's definitely a me thing idk why but I just wasn't connecting with the story and took until maybe 60/70% to get invested in it

I love Jessica's writing and am a sucker for second chance romances so I was so excited to read this but something with it wasn't working, not sure if it's the slow burn or I just wasn't in the right reading mood when I started (also seeing everyone online saying how much they loved it when I was struggling definitely put me off picking it up cos i wasn't getting the same vibe)

I'm definitely going to give it another shot at some point

- second chance
- it's always been you
- working together to stop their best friends wedding from being a disaster
- forced proximity

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for the arc - all opinions are my own

i read jessica joyce's first book and wasn't over the moon about it, but I DID think it was clear that she could write some nice sentences so i thought i'd give her another try. i'm glad i did! i liked this one loads more!! i thought about it during work when i couldn't read it, too. my problem with her first novel was that i didn't buy it, which is such a big part of a romance novel, but i bought it here! i really had a great time reading these two absolutely whacko anxiety monsters. when they didn't communicate, i got it, because i thought their issues were so clearly spelled out.

also i just thought this was fun. i enjoyed the set up and the mild hijinx they got up too. i enjoyed reading the anxiety monster spiral about whether things had changed enough. i felt that tug of the past sinking into them. i think i didn't really enjoy certain parts of it and i don't like the ending at all (i hate an epilogue like this but that's a me thing, they're v standard for this genre). i think i ultimately thought this was very charming and it had a nice setting and flow. it felt silly and light, but also something that took its main characters problems seriously. it was really enjoyable tbh! i think maybe it was stretched a bit too much and, like i say, the end of this didn't do it for me (the last like idk 10% or so i didn't love). but up until then i thought this was a fun ride that i wanted to keep reading.

This was a beautiful love story that spanned time. Through the ups and downs of life love remained strong and brought Georgia and Eli back together.
I loved how the characters developed and overcame their anxieties but also realised they could be honest about their feelings and true love would remain.

Trigger warning this is not a closed door romance although described it's not graphic. There is also mild language.

Thank you to Jessica Joyce and Net Galley for an ARC copy to honestly review.

Second-chance romances are very hit or miss for me, I need a lot from the characters to believe they actually work together and aren't better off apart.

The reason for Eli and Georgia's split is very simple but it's made into a bigger deal through miscommunication and ignoring their feelings. I liked how the flashbacks revealed little bits of their history as we worked through the current timeline.

I did like Eli, and I liked that he took the time he needed to work on himself but I can see why Georgia didn't feel like she was worth doing it for. It's a weird one for me, we don't see a lot of Eli and Georgia in a relationship so is he really a new and improved version?

Georgia is quite an annoying character, she's a total people pleaser and apart from one outburst near the end she didn't really get any personal growth or spend any time making herself happy.

The whole plot with the wedding was silly but fun, the chaos and disasters were constant and the group of friends tackled it all. The friendship group and element of found family was well done.

i laughed, cried, fell in love. the characters are real and so messy, which i enjoyed. i absolutely adored the mcs—georgia x eli have my whole heart. ya’ll are going to love this one! Definitely a fave read of mine this year!

Georgia met her best friends Adam and Eli when they were 15 and they became her family while her dad was working long hours. The three of them did everything together but there was always an underlying connection between Georgia and Eli which was finally recognised on Georgia's 20th birthday and they finally became a couple.

Georgia followed Eli out to New York from San Francisco for his job at a bank but due to his commitment to his job, they started to see each other less and less until one day Georgia called it quits and she moved back to San Francisco alone. They remained friendly for the sake of their shared friendship with Adam but they never really spent much time together or had their "reckoning" until now.

Eli has shown up over a week early for Adam's wedding determined to be a better best man after missing so much already, including the bachelor party. He's come at the right time as well, because Adam is convinced he's cursed as everything has gone wrong with his wedding - the venue had a fire, the DJ broke their arm, the caterer can no longer make the cake. He needs his best people - Eli and Georgia to help him fix everything. They take off for Adam's family vineyard in an effort to fix everything.

It's clear they both still have feelings for each other and while Georgia is happy to fall back into bed with Eli she doesn't want to discuss anything about their past or future, even though Eli keeps trying to talk to her. I didn't particularly like Georgia as a character, she came across as needy and pathetic, she only seemed to care about how she was feeling (which was left out) and how her friends moving forward in life would affect her. Her communication skills are dismal as well, instead of talking to Adam, her best friend, she just pretends everything is fine until she breaks down on his wedding day. Talk about bad timing!

As for Eli, he's actually recognised his failings and is attempting to correct things. He left is super demanding job in New York, is moving back to California and has been seeing a therapist to help him navigate his panic attacks. He's doing all the positive things he needs to do while Georgia whines about everything.

Saying all that though, I did enjoy the book. I just wish Georgia had used her words instead of pretending everything was fine. The steamy scenes were great and I loved the end when she finds out the meaning behind all the paper rings Eli had given her over the years.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Loved it so much, another great, emotional, heartfelt journey from Joyce who is really making a name for herself in this genre! Can't wait to see what she writes next!

I absolutely loved The Ex Vows, which is without a doubt my favourite romance of the year so far.

I read it on a flight (on my way to a wedding, which made it extra fun) and devoured it completely in one sitting. I loved the relationship between Eli and Georgia - the forced proximity, the second chance romance and their friends to exes to lovers again arc - and the problems they faced were relatable and emotionally gut-wrenching, though I did cry happy tears rather than sad ones by the end!

I was a huge fan of You, With a View so I knew I’d enjoy this one, I just didn’t realise how much. Jessica Joyce is definitely an auto-read author for me now. A massive thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for the e-ARC.

You know when you read a book and it has such a profound effect on you? Like it really does change your brain chemistry? That's how I feel about this book. I'd heard mixed things about this book from various mutuals in the book world, and I went into this one with an open mind having never read from Jessica before. It took me by surprise, I won’t lie to you.

Tropes to expect here:
- Second Chance
- On a time limit
- "It's always been you" vibes
- Forced Proximity
- Slow Burn
- Dual Timeline

I love Second Chance romances, so that put this one in a good position before we even started. Georgia and Eli were childhood friends to lovers, but ended their relationship 5 years ago and subsequently their friendship fell apart. Their mutual best friend is getting married and, as his best-man and best-woman, he tasks them with ironing out all of the issues that have cropped up in the imminent build up. What could possibly happen?

There is a great dual timeline running sporadically through this book which gives you little snippets of their childhood relationship, adult relationship and the reasons why they broke up. Although the book is written in Georgia's POV it becomes apparent that Eli has changed his ways over the years, and this leads to a 'on a time limit' style re-kindling of their romance with such a bittersweet ending as they both go their separate ways after the wedding. Don't worry though, this is not the end of the book, and a HEA is coming your way.

The character development and individual growth in this book was immense. I loved their dynamic as both friends and lovers. Great banter. Lots of angst. Perfect chemistry and tension. I didn't expect a ton of spice in this book, but what we got was wonderful, and really cemented Eli as a deliciously handsome MMC I will be thinking about for eternity.

The paper ring reveal has to be one of my favourite moments I've ever read in a book; Reason 199 was the ruining of me, and I sat with tears dripping off my chin and gasping for breath for what felt like forever after. The single POV really bolstered the meaning of this moment, and I think a dual POV would have totally ruined the magic of this moment, so if you're turning your nose up at that, please stick with it.

Overall a really solid read and I'm going to get myself together and read You With A View, because Jessica is a wizard and I'm under her spell.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC copy of this book. What an absolute treat!