4.5 stars

I loved “You, With a View” and had high hopes for this book, too. While it has a completely different tone than the first book, it did not disappoint. I enjoyed both Georgia and Eli and appreciated the emotions from both of them. Five years of unresolved feelings is a long time. The secondary characters in this are all wonderful, too—especially Adam and Cole.

“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.” Swoon. When I read this I immediately highlighted it and melted.

Eli and Georgia were friends and then a couple for a long time. It’s been five years since they were together, but now he is back in San Francisco for their mutual best friend’s wedding. Now the two of them must work together to fix the “cursed” wedding. Georgia’s not sure how she is going to get through the next week being so close to Eli.

This is such a wonderful romance. The ending was just beautiful, too.

The Ex Vows is a romance full of second chances, self-discovery, and unexpected wedding mishaps.

I was excited to read this after adoring Joyce’s previous novel, You with a View, and the same amount of charm, banter, and sweet romance carried over into this story.

I did find myself not connecting as instantly with this new story as I did with You with a View. I felt the relationships, conflicts, and dynamics in this book were difficult for me and didn’t sweep me away and into this story as seamlessly as her previous one.

The scenery and chemistry-filled romance (with a touch of Happy Place vibes) were some highlights, and I am looking forward to seeing what future stories Joyce will write!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Head over heels for second chance romance. Give me more, Jessica Joyce writes amazing stories. I just eat it up. I loved the romance and the growth that happened. I saw myself in the main characters and books like that always stay with me. So so good.

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce 🍷

This is one of those reviews that I am kind of nervous to write because I know I won't do the book justice with what I say. As I was reading it there was never a doubt this would be anything but a 5 star read. The love between Georgia and Eli was so beautifully written and proved that a second chances deserve to be given. I no joke tabbed and underlined something every other page and actually ran out of tabs and had to get more. Love, love, love this book so much and it's one I'll be thinking of for awhile.

I loved that this was told in single POV. Georgia was incredibly relatable for me and I loved getting to be in her head. The loneliness she felt as all of her friends seemed to be moving on to new stages in her life hit so hard. How she was making sure to put on this brave front for her friends to prove she was okay even though she wasn't. Meanwhile while we don't ever get a look into Eli's thoughts as the reader, we get to see it through his actions and words to Georgia. He is also dealing with feeling lost from his friend group and being unsure about his next stage in life.

Georgia and Eli met in high school through a mutual best friend. Their romance starts when they're in college and then ends up not working out. It's something we get to figure out along the way and adds tension to the story. Especially as Georgia and Eli attempt to handle all the mishaps of their best friend's upcoming wedding together. Seeing them interact had me being like why aren't you two together, you're obviously perfect for each other. But along the way I realize that they needed that time apart from each other to grow in to themselves.

The grand gesture that Jessica includes in her books are next level. I will never look at a post it note or gum wrapper the same again. If you know, you know. I refuse to give you any more context or hints to it than that cause it had me tearing up with how sweet it was.

Please read this book!

❤️ second chance
🍑 nickname
👥 close proximity
🥹 best friends to lovers to near strangers to lovers
🫶🏻 found family
📝 grand gesture
💭 sprinkles of flashbacks

single POV
5/5 stars ⭐️
1.5/5 spice level 🌶️

Possible spoilers ahead.

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I’m a sucker for second chance romances and childhood friends to lovers, so I wasn’t surprised that, when I finished this beautiful romance, my first thought was “Such a beautiful love story!” Having said that, after finishing the book, I decided to read some reviews and was very surprised to see how polarized they were. The vast majority of readers loved it, but those that awarded it either 1* or DNFed it made some valid points. I just don’t agree with them. I do get the comparisons to Henry’s Happy Place and People We Meet on Vacation and Lauren’s Love and Other Words, but I don’t see that as a detriment.

Harriet and Eli met at age 15 and the attraction was instantaneous although they didn’t act on it until their junior year in college when Eli transferred to Cal Poly and they shared their first kiss on her 21st birthday. After graduation, Eli convinced her to join him in New York when, fast forwarding two years, they broke up because he was a workaholic and, in her loneliness, she felt her only option was to move back home to San Francisco where her friends lived, especially their mutual best friend Adam. The story opens five years later when Adam, a hyper Type A worrier, is freaking out, convinced that his and Grace’s wedding is cursed, with the DJ out of commission, the wedding venue burnt to the ground, and more. As his best man and best woman, Eli and Harriet, who have barely spoken since their breakup (by mutual agreement, they’ve hidden their emotional distance from Adam), are pressed into service to work miracles in just over a week by finding alternative arrangements. So, against their better judgment, they drive up to Napa to Adam’s family’s vineyard and use the time they’re forced together to finally talk about what went wrong, why they didn’t fight for each other, and perhaps find a way forward.

Let me tell you, this dispassionate summary doesn’t begin to do this amazing love story justice. Author Joyce’s storytelling is beautifully poetic, complete with necessary angst when needed and a depth of emotion that made me alternate between laughter and tears more than once. In my opinion, Eli and Harriet were just too young and emotionally vulnerable to navigate a relationship when they both had quite a bit of baggage and lacked the proper communication skills needed to express their feelings. Yes, five years is a lot of time to let pass without having had proper closure, but it doesn’t take too long for readers to realize that they never stopped loving each other, even if they couldn’t see or admit it. The question is, will the combination of much-needed and long overdue therapy for Eli and the willingness on Harriet’s part to let go of the lists she lives by and to finally communicate her needs be enough for them to risk another try?

I’m not a fan of a single POV from the female MC but, for some reason, it wasn’t as noticeable in this story, perhaps because Joyce allowed Eli to express himself in the dialogue. As the story nears its end, there’s also an unveiling of sorts that is one of the most romantic things I’ve ever read. Yes, I cried! So, if you’re a fan of second chances and soulmates, you won’t want to miss this one. Highly recommended.

💭 MY THOUGHTS: My favorite thing about this book was the characters. Georgia and Eli have the sweetest relationship even when they’re not sure what their status is anymore. Their inside jokes, shared childhood memories and complete understanding of one another had me rooting for them.

One of my least favorite tropes is slow burn and I will say this was quite slow. Georgia is in her head about their relationship and her feelings. But the fun antics leading up to the wedding kept the story pleasantly moving along.

I also totally wanted to be a part of Georgia and Eli’s friend group. They’re all ride or dies and have a blast when they get together.

Read for:
🎮 Childhood Friends
💫 Second Chance Romance
💍 Best Friend’s Wedding
🛏️ Forced Proximity
🔥 Slow Burn
🚻 Cast of Characters

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ / 5

“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.”

This book was SO good! I was feeling all the feels! I was laughing out loud and tearing up. It was the perfect second chance romance!

I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of second chance romances... they have to deliver on so many factors for me to consider them a win, and The Ex Vows did not do that for me. The single POV really put a damper on the whole story and emotional side, I love angst and pining but only being able to read about it from one side of a couple when there were two very emotional journeys in the story definitely impacted my reading. Regardless of the romance, I was also just bored, there's a lot of internal monologue and coming to grips with feelings, that were not balanced out well enough with the humor and banter that I needed to stay engaged in the book. By no means is this a bad story, I can absolutely see so many people liking this, it just wasn't for me.

“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙄’𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣.”

𝘞𝘖𝘖𝘞𝘞𝘞𝘞𝘞! This book is SO GOOD! 🥹 I am taking 𝙕𝙀𝙍𝙊 criticism towards this book! Everything was perfect! A second chance romance needs to be done right and @jessica definitely 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥!

If you love 𝖸𝗈𝗎, 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺 𝖵𝗂𝖾𝗐 then you are going to fall even more in love with this book! It’s giving “𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦” vibes! I love the character development especially on Eli’s side! Their past was a big part of the story to see how they grew from it and how it came down to how they were in the present time. It’s a story of self-discovery and growth. I loved their friend group so much! It really shows you a realistic changes that happen in life between friends from college, marriage, etc.. I have to say that I can relate to Georgia so much! A people pleaser and someone that bottles up her feelings, it makes you go and say “just tell him how you f*cking feel!” And Eli, he is perfect in his own little way.. Handsome and the perfect lover! And his 𝙥𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨! Get ready for them! They had me swooning on chapter 34! 🥹🥰

The way I devoured this book. I haven't read much contemporary romance lately and this really made me question why the heck not. I stayed up too late to finish, I snuck reading a few pages on my phone when I had a quick moment, it consumed all of my thoughts until I was able to pick it back up (and finish it within 30 hours of starting it).

First of all, I am such a SUCKER for a second chance romance. But it needs to be done right - the characters need to have grown and have acknowledged/worked on the reason the first chance didn't work. Now, I will say that change was not immediately clear here. Georgia most definitely did not have that change when the book started and I thought it was glorious that we got to see it happen over the course of this book. It was like a slow burn emotional growth and I was cheering for her the entire way. Now, Eli - I wish we got his POV but that would have really changed the game from the beginning. As readers (and as Georgia) we got to slow peel back his character growth and LET ME TELL YOU - SWOON WORTHY. The author blurbed Eli as the embodiment of Hozier's Work Song and I AM HERE FOR IT. So down to the last few chapters, I was entirely loving this second chance and seeing them come into themselves as individuals and themselves as "us."

I also really connected with the awareness of their major relationship hurdles stemming from childhood trauma. There was never any real animosity but understanding even though it hurt. Although it did get a bit repetitive at time to be reminded of this. I think it really hammered home the right person, wrong time and the need to focus on yourself to give YOUR PERSON the best person you can be.

It also have some lovely areas on friendship, how life and friendships change over time, scary exciting changes, taking leaps of faith. Just concepts that will always resonate with readers (because who hasn't had a friend move to different life stage through marriage, career, and kids sending them into an emotional spiral).

This book is my new obsession. I preordered a copy for my favorites shelf before I even finished (and let me tell you that ending is AHHH SO GOOD).

The whiplash I had with this story.

Romance: 15/10 adorable, loved it, almost squeezed out a tear.

External plot: 2/10 hated everything about it and just heard Yakety Sax every time something went wrong AGAIN.

I went into this book with very high hopes because I loved Jessica Joyce's first book so much. This one started slow but grew on me towards the end. It was probably a 3-star book up until about halfway through, but the story started to pick up when the main characters finally started acknowledging they still had feelings for one another. I don't want to spoil anything, but the sneaky thing the MMC has been doing that is revealed near the end of the book deserved its own star; it was so cute. I think any issue I had with this book has to do with myself and my own tastes. I think that a lot of people who enjoyed <i>You, With a View</i> will enjoy this book. I have also seen this book compared to <i>Happy Place</i> by Emily Henry (admittedly, it's my least favorite of her books), and I think this book is better than that one, so if you like that, this book will be perfect for you.

This book was a sleeper, because while I read and enjoyed the first half of the book, I was surprised that I wasn’t feeling that emotional tug that I usually do in a romance. Cut to 60% and I’m crying on the couch. Jessica Joyce pulled the wool over my eyes and lured me into a fall sense of security and then had me feeling my own feelings in the blink of an eye.

Georgia and Eli were delightful, but they really shined in their present interactions. Seeing the past from Georgia’s perspective was important to understand the hurt and pain she experienced. I loved that the forced proximity helped them get back to their true selves though, and damn do I wish I was at that vineyard.

Are you ready for your heart to get ripped out by fictional characters? Do you want to feel the pain of not being with your soulmate? Are you prepared to be personally victimized by the next book you read? If you said yes to all of those, this book is for you! This is the second chance romance/best friends to lovers tropes at their absolute best!

Georgia is everything to me. She’s the best friend you could ever have, the girl with a thousand lists, and I completely understand why Eli could never get over her. I can so relate to her fear of being forgotten while everyone else around her seems to be moving forward with engagements, marriage, children, moving…It’s a terrifying feeling. Because of her childhood trauma, she wants nothing more than to hold onto the friends that she considers to be her real family. I have a feeling a lot of readers in their 20s will see a bit of themselves in our little Georgia peach.

And then there’s my sweet Eli. You could feel this boy’s pain from a mile away. Like Georgia, he had a rough childhood, which evolved into some unhealthy work habits in his adulthood. He lost the love of his life who also happened to be his best friend and now he has anxiety. He’s been through it, but he’s putting in the work to get healthy again. A man who goes to therapy will always be attractive to me! And the mouth on him? In Georgia’s words, “Eli is the living embodiment of it’s always the quiet ones.” And that goddamn gold chain? Too hot to handle, honestly.

I truly can’t speak enough about how much I loved this book. It was an incredibly vulnerable story that highlighted the complexities of love and the significance of found families. Jessica writes it, and I will surely read it!

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Georgia and Eli were an intriguing pair to read about. I was team Eli after she described seeing him at the airport. I also really loved Georgia and Adam too. The cursed wedding made for a fun read, but Eli at the winery made it an even better read. I knew how it would end, but watching everything unfold was an entertaining ride to be on. The author did a great job building her world and characters.

Call me an official Jessica Joyce stan!

I absolutely loved You, with a View, so you can imagine my excitement diving into this sophomore novel. I'm thrilled to announce that I was not disappointed!

One of the things I loved most about You, with a View was how Jessica Joyce was able to blend a fun story with a swoon-worthy romance. The Ex Vows was no different. The shitshow that was Adam's (cursed) wedding was such a fun backdrop to Georgia and Eli's love story!

And, whew, what a love story that was! I'm usually not a second-chance romance girly, but this one had me by the throat. I was obsessed with them from page 1. However, I will admit that I was hoping for a bit more pining before they got together. That being said, I still absolutely love how Jessica Joyce wrote their story. It was clear that these two were meant to be together.

I am very excited to read whatever else Jessica Joyce comes out with in the future!

I loved The Ex Vows. I may have cried significantly. Georgia and Eli have my whole heart, their second chance romance was beautiful. I loved their story and their friend group. I’ll read anything Jessica Joyce writes at this point!

This book really made me feel all the emotions.

Jessica has writing that can make you laugh and cry in a beautiful way. It can be so poetic and descriptive.

The story is full of relatable characters and I loved them both so much. This makes me want to read her other books as things my very first and I loved it so much. I saw some of my own life in this book and it made it all the sweeter. The romance gives all the swoons! A perfectly well done second chance romance.

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

BOOK REVIEW: THE EX VOWS 🍇💍💝

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Estranged exes Eli and Georgia come together to save their best friends wedding which seems to be cursed bc literally every single aspect is going awry. This premise and the cover drew me in and once I started reading I was HOOKED!

I’m completely obsessed with this book!!! This was my first Jessica Joyce book and I absolutely devoured it. Her writing style is impeccable - the way that she beautifully writes heart-wrenching memories of Eli and Georgia’s past inter-mixed with funny one liners was done so well. This book gave me all of the feels and I just love Georgia and Eli so much 🥹🥰

I’m not usually the biggest fan of second-chance romance but it was done SO so well in THE EX VOWS! For me, the well-established friendship turned relationship with a 5 year time gap and having the story told on one timeline and POV worked so well!

Some of my fav aspects of this one were the therapy/mental health rep, strong friendships, and navigating your late 20s. And can’t forget about the Blue Yonder winery setting - I will simply never be over this book! 🥹🥰🫶🏻

Now I gotta go immediately pick up a copy of @jessicajoyce other book, YOU, WITH A VIEW!

I really took my time with this one because I knew it was going to hurt and hit close to home and damn was I right. From the very beginning, it felt like Jessica herself had installed cameras in my apartment because everything was SPOT ON. The way Georgia and I are so similar was scary but it also felt so validating and comforting to be seen in that way. She has a fear of her friends moving on without her and not fitting into their new lives they're creating and it was just so rude of Jessica Joyce to call me out like that!!

There were so many emotions throughout this book and I never knew what to expect with each chapter. The history between Georgia and Eli only added to their tension during their friends cursed wedding and I was holding my breath during some moments. I loved Eli's personal journey and growth with his anxiety and was able to be vulnerable with Georgia. Although both of them were struggling to articulate their current feelings and pent up emotions over the last five years, I really liked that they both took time after their friends wedding to adjust in their new lives and become their own person.

There were some moments where I couldn't pick this one up just because how emotional I was while reading certain parts, but I liked it in the end!

I can't wait to see what's next for Jessica to write because she has instantly become a favorite author of mine! Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.