To start this review, I want to preface that this was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I absolutely LOVED this author’s debut novel ‘You, with a View’ so naturally I was really looking forward to reading this. When initially reading the blurb, it reminded me of ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry and was slightly worried that it would be similar. Fortunately, they are distinctly different, and while I did enjoy ‘The Ex-Vows’ I didn’t find myself connecting with the story the way I thought I would. I did like the writing style (I knew I would because of the first book) and it also has one of my all-time favourite tropes which is second-chance romance. It did seem like the breakup between our two main characters, Georgia and Eli, could’ve been avoided with a simple conversation. Maybe if the breakup time had been a few months rather than years it would’ve been more realistic…That being said I did like the personalities of both the main characters, especially Georgia. She kept her emotions to herself, putting the needs of people she’s closest to above her own, which I found myself relating to. I also enjoyed the growth that Eli and Georgia had as a couple especially when Eli would be the only one to see how she was actually feeling behind those fake smiles. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend to others…thank you to the publisher for providing me with an early copy.

When Georgia's and Eli's best friend's wedding turns into a disaster, they are thrown together to fix the situation...

The only problem is, they used to be a couple.
The tension is simmering and it's pretty clear there are a LOT of unresolved feelings. And oooooh the mutual pining!

Both Georgia and Eli are relatable, beautifully written characters and the feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and loss of a relationship are dealt with perfectly.
It's easy to make one-half of a couple to blame in 2nd chance stories, but in this book, you can emphasize with both sides of the story, which makes it feel so much more real. Life and love is messy! It takes two people to make it work.

Needless to say... I cried.
This book will break your heart — in all the right ways!

🌟 4.5/5
🌶️ 2/5
Genre: new adult romance
POV: single, first person

Tropes:
✨ second chance
✨ friends to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ it’s always been you

Georgia and Eli became best friends the moment they met at 15 years old. Along with Adam Kim, they were a solid trio. It was only years later when they gave into the romantic feelings they had.

Eli is a complex character riddled with career anxiety and obsessive with providing financial stability. Georgia gives more than she takes. And when Eli’s career bulldozes over their relationship, she retreats. Until one day, enough is enough. She deserves more.

5 years later and their best friend Adam is getting married, and they are the best man/woman tasked with saving a cursed wedding.

Eli is different, something has shifted in his mindset. He’s back to make amends. Oh and he’s quit the job that forced Georgia to break up with him.

The story is a beautiful second chance romance. It discusses anxiety so well. As well as highlighting the realities of love. It’s messy. Complicated. But it’s the people who want to love you through the highs and lows that are the special ones.

It made me cry in the last 20%. If your love language is words of affirmation you will love it 😭❤️

Another beautiful story by Jessica Joyce!

The writing was very “my boy always breaks is favourite toys” for Eli and Georgia was definitely a mirrorball girl. Definitely gave summer vibes with two exes coming together to plan their best friend’s wedding, when everything keeps going wrong.

The paper rings Eli made for Georgia was the cutest thing ever. The extra surprise that Georgia found in the paper rings made me sob it was so sweet.

I did find it hard to connect to the characters, the chemistry didn’t always feel there with the Georgia and Eli. Maybe because I’m not a huge fan of second chance romance. I would have also liked to see Eli’s POV, to really understand how much he struggled when they broke up.

I liked this but not as much as You With a View.

This whole story line was so fun and unique. I really love second chance romances. Eli and Georgia used to date but had a bad breakup over five years ago. I truly feel this is perfect example of right person wrong time. Eli and Georgia were just in a place where they needed to find themselves, grow and experience things in their own to truly realize what they needed in one another. They were soulmates. I loved the banter. I laughed, cried and felt all the feelings as these two worked to try to give their best friend Adam the wedding of his dreams. Such a fun enjoyable story.

4.5⭐️

What a beautiful story of two gorgeous characters! I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Happy Place or Just for the Summer, as it has those vibes to it.

I’ve read a lot of reviews saying that Eli should have grovelled but I disagree. I don’t feel this story was about who was right or wrong, more about two people in love and trying to find a way back to each other without further heartbreak. Eli used “actions speak louder than words” and made himself a better person for Georgia, what’s more romantic than that?

This book had ups and downs, a little bit of spice and so much romance it even gave me butterflies haha and his lists 😭😍 so cute

I dropped half a star because I felt like it could have been a tiny bit shorter and still got the story across, but overall it’s a lovely wholesome read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-ARC

This book is fun, sweet and emotional. It deals with anxiety and panic attacks. Second chances, friends and found family. It's a great book, and i really enjoyed it.

Georgia and Eli first met each other when they were teenagers. They were best friends for a few years before they got together. They broke up a few years later, and the story is now 5 years later when they are going to try to save their best friend's wedding as the best people.

A big portion of the book is about them not communicating, especially regarding the important parts. This was annoying at some points, because it was very obvious where everything was going. I'm not sure I felt like everything was talked about by the end, but at least I feel like it was solved in a good way. The way it handled friendship and new, scary things was really good and nice to see.

4,5⭐️

This was EVERYTHING. I couldn't put it down, such a wonderful second chance romance. I absolutely loved both Georgia and Eli, and their friends too! They were raw and going through real-life things and feelings which made it completely relatable. Reading You, With A View earlier this year and now this has made me a big fan of Jessica's writing and I can't wait for what's next to come!

REVIEW
cw: parental abandonment, anxiety, panic attacks, abandonment issues, hyper-independence

Ex's Georgia Woodward and Eli Mora's best friend's wedding planning has turned into a comedy of errors. It's one catastrophe and cancellation after another. So, when Georgia and Eli have to step up to avert yet another list of crises, they finally have to face the unspoken reasons why they split up five years earlier.

'You, with a View' was one of my favourite books of 2023, and I am happy to say Jessica Joyce has done the same with her follow-up novel! This was such a gorgeous second-chance romance.
Aah. The simmering tension between Georgia and Eli was palpable even from the early stages of the story. Chapters 17 and 21 were so hot but also left me desperately wanting to hug both characters. The mutual pining, combined with the very clear and unresolved pain both were still carrying was SO well-written. I felt like I was on the verge of tears myself so many times. The author incorporated the pain and fear of being alone and essentially treading water as everyone around you moves into the next phase of their life/relationships incredibly well. Georgia's loneliness and abandonment fears were especially well-written. I completely empathised with her struggle between asking 'too much' of friends and doing everything herself. In less skilled hands, I think Georgia's reluctance to talk about the breakdown of her relationship with Eli could have become frustrating, but Jessica Joyce did such great work in giving the reader an intimately painful insight into Georgia's turmoil, and her fears of anything 'messy' or outside of her control.
Meanwhile, Eli's self-deprecating observations about how absent he'd been with his friends AND Georgia felt so raw and broke my heart. His pain was tangible and I wanted to hug him so many times. Even though I hated how much his terrible work-life balance had hurt Georgia, I completely empathised with his reasons for getting to that place. His anxiety was particularly well-written, as was his desperation to communicate his feelings to Georgia. The scenes with the cake, and the prospective DJ had me in stitches as well as swooning. Seriously, Georgia and Eli's chemistry was so tangible. I adored the thoughtfulness of the bachelor party. Meanwhile, Eli's paper rings were SO stinking cute. That man made me swoon so much, so many times.
I love a meddling friend, and Cole's silent conversations with Eli were perfect, while Jamie had great advice for Georgia. The bride and groom-to-be offered lots of comic relief, especially Adam's meltdowns. But this was a story that focused predominantly on the two main characters, and because a lot of the book was spent with them together, I was rooting so hard for them, while giggling, swooning, fanning myself, or sobbing heartbrokenly. I LOVED that both characters did the work in this story, especially reflecting on their mental health. Chapter 31 absolutely WRECKED me, but Chapter 34 made my heart explode. And that epilogue? Utter perfection.
If you love lots of swoons with a dose of angst, this one's for you.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥.5

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

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.

Whatever time someone has to give me is what I give back in an attempt to be unobtrusive.

“In thirty seconds, you’re not going to want this, and I can’t pull away, so you’re the one who has to.”

“This is going to mean something to me.”
It’s a last warning, but I don’t need it.
“It’s going to mean something to me, too.”

His mouth drifts to my ear. “I love it when you beg, Georgia. You never ask for anything.”

“F**k, the way I’ve wanted you,” he breathes against my mouth. “I don’t know how anyone can look at me and not see it.”

“You’re always taking care of other people. Who’s taking care of you?”

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

“I can’t say what I really want to,” Eli says hoarsely. “So right now I’m going to say thank you and hug you because if I don’t get my hands on you in some way I’m going to f**king lose it.”

“Don’t think I’m taking this moment for granted, Georgia, or any moment you’ve given me this week.”

“I told you we were going to have a reckoning, Georgia. That I’ve spent too long not saying the things I want to say, and I’m done not saying them.”

"You were always enough for me, Georgia. I wasn’t enough for myself. I had to get there, and I’m so f**king sorry I hurt you along the way.”

The Ex Vows is the cutest most romantic story of best friends to lovers second chance romance. I couldn’t stop reading and rooting for Georgia and Eli. This book made me smile and feel so emotional once I’d finished.

I was so excited for The Ex Vows after reading and loving You, With a View last year (if you haven’t read it, please do: it’s brilliant). Although Jessica Joyce’s second book isn’t quite as good as her first, I still flew through it and thought it was a great summer romance. It’s steamy, realistic, funny and fast-paced, and I genuinely enjoyed every page.

Second chance romance isn’t usually high on my favourite tropes list, but it really works here with Georgia and Eli. They’ve been separated for five years and unexpectedly find themselves in each other’s orbits for a week, and what follows is a whirlwind of emotions and buried feelings. I admit I was expecting a bit more drama pertaining to their previous messy break-up, but I wasn’t too disappointed. There’s plenty going on in the present, including many longing looks and scorching hot cottage sleepovers, not to mention some very welcome anxiety rep!

The Ex Vows is such a fun story, particularly because it’s centred around a wedding that’s slowly falling apart. Everything that could possibly go wrong does, and I was very amused by it all. I also pretty much fell for Eli instantly (who wouldn’t?!), and ended up wishing Georgia’s friends were all my friends. Aside from a couple of slow sections and a lack of dramatics, I have no complaints about this book, and I already can’t wait for Jessica Joyce’s next offering.

thank you Jessica and Netgalley for the Arc in exchange for an honest review and believe me when I say this is worth the 5 stars.

I am a great lover for a second chance romance but this book felt utterly different as it was taken to a whole new level. I kept wanting to know more about Georgia x Eli when they were younger, and what happened to cause their breakup. When they reunite to help their best friend with his wedding, I don't know, it was a little bit of a slow burn. You could feel the awkwardness between them, but *sighs*.... you could still feel the love.

The pace was slow but I feel like it matches the theme of this book - good things comes to those who wait. And boy... did the paper rings scene just crush me..it broke and healed my heart simultaneously.

How mental health is depicted in this was beautifully written, and all the emotions coming off G & E were raw and you can't help but tear up. It was real. And how Joyce writes about the benefits of therapy just warms the soul.

I only wish this was dual pov..or we had a bonus scene from Eli's POV about the day his confessed his true feeling when they were in college or him making his way to Seattle for her birthday.

ARC Review

Days after reading and I still smile when I think about this book.

This is one of the best second chance romances I've read in a long time, probably because I relate so much to Eli. Throughout the crazy highs and lows of navigating multiple wedding disasters, we get to see more aspects of the deep rooted connection between Eli and Georgia. They had cute playful banter, the pining (especially feom Eli) really made me swoon. At times Georgia's instincts to push things away out of fear did get frustrating, however this book also focusses heavily on character growth and learning to understand how to work through the underlying anxieties that heald them back in the past.

Things I loved:
The flashbacks of their relationship through time.
The paper rings.
Their friendship group and minor dramatics that came with it.
The dramatic
Eli Mora

4 / 5 🌷

This book was right person, wrong time and for me it felt like right book, wrong time. I say this for a few reasons, having to read this on my phone is such a turn off (but I do because I can only seem to read Netgalley arcs on the app) so that played a role in my view so whilst this ever so slightly missed the mark for me, I do feel it was more me than it was the book. (however, you know when you read a book and you go this could be settled right now if we just hashed it all out, ripped the bandaid off, yeah kinda felt that with this.)

Secondly, it was so happy place coded and I did love that vibe, I just didn't connect and it felt a little disjointed. It was a second chance romance it was executed so well and I did really enjoy it. Also scrolling through reviews and reading <i> Eli is so 'my boy only breaks his favourite toys' coded and Georgia is so 'the prophecy' coded </i> I was oh yeah, that's so true. This book was also so 'this is me trying' and mirrorball' which happy place also emulates.

I love the representation of anxiety (especially for the mmc) also this man goes to therapy which is like the biggest green flag out there. However, he deserved to grovel and I feel since the plot was surrounding the wedding we only got to hear of his growth, not see it and also he doesn't really make up the hurt he caused Georgia.

there's some incredible quotes though (slight spoilers ahead):

♡ “because when he's messiest, that's when I see myself reflected in him.”
♡ "the specific alchemy of his skin that winds itself around my body and heart"
♡ “sometimes happiness is loud and messy.”
♡ "when i say i'm still in love with you," "I mean today and yesterday and this entire week. I mean at Nick and Miriam's wedding and I mean for the past five years." "When I say I'm still in love with you, I mean the first time I saw you and right now. I mean every second in between."

Five impossibly easy stars to give for this second chance romance. This was a truly perfect read and I honestly can’t get over just how much I loved it.

After a cataclysmic break up five years ago, Georgia and Eli are forced into close proximity whilst they help their best friend organise for his wedding they’re both in the party for. This drags up all their unresolved feelings, with the conversations they never had an added weight on the situation.

I always find with second chance romance that unless I’m immediately invested in the couple’s break up, where it didn’t feel like it should have just had a simple communication, it doesn’t click for me. But there were so many parts of this book that resonated with me personally, which I think only heightened my love for it from the very first page. From the anxiety Eli suffered from, to the desperate want to be needed from Georgia and keeping her feelings locked up. I love how relatable Jessica made the plot of what it feels like to grow up and head towards your 30’s, with the scary changes that you’re not sure you want or not.

If you’re a fan of Happy Place by Emily Henry, this is a must-read book for you 🫶🏼 it’s swoony, has the best banter and the tension was actual perfection. The Ex-Vows is one of my favourite romances I’ve ever read and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to read more of what Jessica Joyce writes!

DNF at 23%. So bland and boring. All the characters are boring, the plot is boring, zero stakes, I can just see where this is going from a mile away so I don’t really want to bother reading any more of it.

This was like the perfect second chance romance. I always love this trope when it's well written, and in this case, it truly was.
Going into this book, I wasn't sure what to expect because I hadn't read any work by this author before, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised by her writing.
I loved both Eli and Georgia so much; they were both so mature and I really enjoyed how they resolved their issues together. The story was addictive and very bingeable. Once I started it, I only wanted to keep going. One of my favorite parts of their story was definitely the character development; individually and as a couple. I especially enjoyed all the cute moments they had together; the tension, the angst, ... were everything. I'd for sure recommend reading this. As I said, it's a great second chance romance.
I'll definitely be reading more books by Jessica Joyce, as I really liked this one.

✨️ Has a man ever been this in love? ✨️

I have been sitting on this review for days, wondering how to put my feelings into words. In the most wonderful of ways, my words have no weight against the love that I have for The Ex Vows (and Jessica).
This book is the perfect second-chance romance - my favorite trope, I am particular about it, so TRUST ME. It serves angst, yearning, love, understanding, heartbreak, friendship, and characters you'd root for.
I could write a paper dissecting this book. There are some pivotal scenes that really stand out, including the prologue. FYI, both times I read it, the prologue completely took me out. I had to put down my Kindle and take a few breaths before I could continue. With hindsight, it feels like every little thing that happened throight this story had a deeper meaning, or reason.
Sometimes I go a little nerdy about how story structure makes the story flow so damn well, and I have to say this: Jessica Joyce did a phenomenal job with crafting this story - not only story-line-wise itself, or with respect to character arcs, but in the way everything is structured to enhance the story itself.
Anyway, congratulations to Jessica Joyce for making me cry again. My tears for your beautiful stories, forever and ever ❤️.

Jessica Joyce has an unbelievable talent to structure the most beautiful romance books (and I read a lot of them!), the characters will steal your heart and take you on the most delightful journey of love and self-discovery. Eli and Georgia’s love story hit you in the most incredible way, chapter 31 in particular!! Ex-lovers reuniting at their best friend’s wedding, attempting to save the event after a series of unexpected accidents it’s full of hope, tension, friendship, flirty banter, spice, more tension and the most beautiful paper rings (I’ll say no more about these… other than emotional).

I feel like Jessica Joyce should pay for my therapist’s bills. This book is everything. It’s heartwarming, sexy, emotional, funny, … it made me cry multiple times which I didn’t expect at all. I love Georgia and Eli and could identify with Georgia a lot. Usually I’m not a huge fan of second chance romances but this one was perfect. It’s been some days since I finished it, but I still can’t find the right words. One of my favourite reads of 2024. Everybody please go and read it.