How does Joyce keep churning out exquisitely written romance novels? And I don't say this lightly

Let me start with a the characters. First, the side characters were perfect. They added levity to the seriousness and angsty bits of exes being forced to work together after a bad break. Each side character was distinct and funny and gave a lot of support to Eli and Georgia.

Now, Eli and Georgia. Where to begin? They were perfect. Eli was quiet, blushy, and thoughtful. And he went through a mental health journey before the book and throughout that was well written and represented. Georgia was a bit broken and list-driven and lonely. Both characters were so relatable in their own ways. it made the story that much more emotional and real. The punch at the end hurt that much more. Also, even though this is single pov, I still felt like I knew Eli really well. And the bits that were slowly revealed just amped up the tension that much more.

The romance was so, so good. There was steam, yes, but it felt emotional and vulnerable in ways that aren't easy to show. I also loved how we got to see Eli and Georgia's past friendship and romantic relationship without having to have a dual timeline. I like being able to stay in the present timeline, so it was nice to get these flashbacks as they related to the moments Georgia and Eli were having.

A few random thoughts
- paper rings (you'll know when you know)
- loved the whole "curse" plot
- the vibes were vibing

Overall, Jessica Joyce has once again knocked it out of the park and solidified her role as one of my new insta-buy authors. If you enjoy romances with some comedic moments and so heart, this is for you!

This is my first Jessica Joyce novel - I’ve yet to read You, With A View for personal reasons - and I I have mixed feelings about it. I love second chance romances but there are rarely good examples of it. This book has similar elements as Happy Place by Emily Henry that were handled slightly differently yet better. At the same time, there were a few things I didn’t like.

The first being the amount of references to Taylor Swift. Don’t come for me!

I don’t mind it, but as of recent, there are just so many romance novelists who reference the artist, integrating lyrics or motifs into their novel (saying that it’s so and so song coded, etc.), and it just gets exhausting. This feels like a trend and I’m impervious to it. This is my opinion and as someone who is not a Swiftie but respects Taylor Swift, I’m just trying to enjoy romance novels.

Secondly, I didn’t quite connect with Eli. His characterization was one dimensional up until Chapter Thirteen, which is when we, the reader, start to understand more of Eli’s anxiety and toxic, workaholic habits. But after that, Eli kind of gave me red flags. I don’t know how to explain it without spoiling the book, but I will say that if the author would’ve included Eli’s point of view I probably would have liked him more.

Lastly, I understand miscommunication is prevalent, even with people who are incredibly flawed and their traumas are permeated into their habits and personality, but waiting five years to communicate is absolutely insane. At least in Happy Place it was a few months but five years is way too long (however the social worker in me is so sympathetic I can’t help but psychoanalyze how so many people live in denial and lack self awareness to heal because of trauma and family dynamics but I could only ramble so much).

Nonetheless, I liked the writing style, the third act, and the ending. I do think it was satisfying and rewarding in a way that Happy Place was not. I do look forward to reading You, With A View and Jessica Joyce’s future novels.

I have so much to say and also don’t know how to say it. I knew I would be in love with this from the prologue. The story of Georgia and Eli was so special and this was such a well done second chance romance, but this book went even deeper than that. This book was about friendship and self growth and it was all put together so beautifully.

Reading this book in your 20s, after college, while navigating what the adult life looks like, hits so hard. Georgia’s friendships began to change shape and she was desperately trying to hang onto them, wanting nothing to change. This story depicts so so beautifully that this change is natural and can be an amazing thing. Watching Georgia grow into accepting this, but also grow into herself took this book to another level. She was constantly trying to fit into others’ lives where they would let her, never asking for what she needed from them, always fearing she was being too much. Her fears and anxieties were speaking to me on such a deep level. I don’t think I’ve ever read a character quite like her and I wanted to hug her so bad.

Eli’s character was SO wonderful and he just has such a big heart. The anxieties they both had rooted in their own deep fears made them such real and raw characters. Their love and connection runs so deep, and the way that their past was woven into the present timeline was seamless and perfect. It felt like I understood their love and heartache deeply, I was rooting for them so unbelievably hard. This book feels like it defines love and friendship so tenderly it feels precious.

This book was emotional but also funny, and had all the tension and banter. It truly felt like a perfect mix of everything it needed, and Jessica Joyce’s writing feels very unique. The setting was beautiful, the plot was so much fun, and of course the romance of two soulmates was perfect.

what a beautiful, breathtaking, complete joy of a book this is. the second chance love story between Eli & Georgia shows such overwhelming understanding, patience, forgiveness, trust, and love. seeing them work through years-deep wounds, reconnect in new & exciting ways that also reflect their bone-deep memories of each other was so beautiful to read. many moments throughout the book left me breathless, making me sit and reflect on the words I’d read (staring at the ceiling, or with my head down) with so much reverence & feelings of being seen.

the friendships who are found family in this story provide their own beautiful love story. such dedicated commitment to showing up & keeping space for the ones we love, the ones who have always loved & kept space for us, so elegantly told a love story of friends who are our chosen family.

this story so powerfully & reverently shows how love is showing up, trying, accepting the other person for everything they are & have to give, all in the everyday moments of life & not always in a big grand gesture.

thank you so much Berkley for this ARC! I have been such a fan of Jessica Joyce’s writing since her debut published last year, and I am so grateful for having received this ARC and providing an early review.

5/5 stars! No notes

(Thanks to Berkeley Publishing Group for providing the arc).

This book gave me all the feels: happy, sad, nostalgia, anxiety, excitement, and more.

Georgia, Eli, and Adam are all three best friends. However, Georgia and Eli have a history: they dated and it didn’t end well. To prevent a tear in the friendship triangle, they’ve been pretending to get along for the last five years. Now that Adam is getting married and they’re both “best people” in the wedding, they have no choice but to spend time together. Georgia struggles a lot with worrying about feeling unwanted and being left behind. Eli struggles with anxiety and being worried about his financial stability. These are things I’m sure every 20 and 30 something adult can relate to; I know I did.

The book is funny, full of slow burn moments, and it’s definitely on my top 5 favorite reads of 2024! 💖I’ll be buying the physical copy for my collection.

Thank you @BerkleyPub #Berkley #BerkleyPartner for the free book and @PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

This cements it. I love everything Jessica Joyce writes.

Georgia and Eli broke up five years ago. But they were best friends first and remain deeply enmeshed in their circle of friends. So they have rules for how to interact, both publicly and privately. But then they have to race to Napa Valley for a week to set up their best friend's wedding after the original wedding venue is no longer available.

Jessica Joyce writes single POV so wonderfully. And this is a perfect second chance romance that takes places largely in the present. We know what went wrong as well as Georgia does.

The book left me broken and crying more than once. It felt so honest and authentic, and it made me feel seen and understood. And that's despite me having practically nothing in common with the surface level aspects of the story and characters. I can't gush enough about the writing and the beautiful representation of therapy and the necessary character growth. And the friend circle is just as spectacular as the two main characters.

Jessica Joyce is an auto-read author from here on out. All the stars for this romance! And now, I'm making plans to visit a winery with my closest friends.

Another 5 Star Read by Jessica Joyce. I was hooked from the first page! I loved every single character in this book. The group of friends is definitely something to envy! I love the incredibly sweet vibes this book gives off, with the added bonus of spice! Joyce has solidified her space as an Auto-Buy Author!

Thank you, Berkley, for the gifted book.

The Ex-Vows is the kind of book will have you sobbing your eyes out at 2 am. It’s so captivating, you’ll have to finish it in one sitting. (Speaking from personal experience.)

The premise is simple: three best friends (Georgia, Eli, Adam), two of whom are exes (Georgia and Eli), all reunite for Adam’s wedding. Georgia and Eli have made every effort to avoid each other the past five years, playing nice around Adam to preserve the peace. But after they are thrown together to save Adam’s wedding, things start getting real.

Let’s talk about the craft of this book. First off, Joyce is an exceptional writer. Her beautiful prose is lush with feeling and description, and moments of wit are intelligent and delightful. She also understands conflict, particularly the conflict that comes when writing a second-chance story.

There’s a concrete reason why Georgia and Eli are no longer together, and Joyce adeptly navigates the “whys” of those circumstances while juxtaposing it with the love that they still share. Authors wanting to delve into the second chance waters should take note, because this is how you do this trope.

I loved this book, and already know it’s making my top ten of the year. Do yourselves a favor and pick this one up on release day!

Let me start off by saying I am not one who usually enjoys second chance romances. I feel like when people break up there's usually a really good reason for that, and I feel the same about book characters. The only exception usually being they were childhood sweethearts kr something. But there was just something about Georgia and Eli that just dragged me in. I love their dynamic and how much they love their friends. And no mater what was happening, I found myself rooting for them.

This book was provided by NetGalley but all opinions and reviews are my own.

4.5 stars from me! I had a great time reading this beautifully tender second-chance romance. Georgia and Eli's tension and chemistry is palpable the second they appear on the page together. I was so eager for them to work everything out and get back together, but I was also loved how much they were longing for each other. I'm a sucker for past/present chapters and sometimes when Georgia would go into past memories to explain things I would get a little lost, but besides that I loved these people. Eli is down so bad for Georgia and I absolutely love that, plus the little and big ways he would express his love were so special to me.

♾️/5 ✨

Is this my favorite book or the year !?
The fmc really called me out multiple times and I was sobbing by the end but I devoured this and I’m so sad it’s done

The hype around this book is well deserved! I loved the main characters and their romance was so freakin sweet. One of the best second chance romances I’ve read in awhile.

The plot of this story was really fun. Georgia’s best friend is getting married and he believes his wedding is cursed because everything that could go wrong does. Georgia and her ex Eli must work together to get make sure nothing else goes wrong for their best friends wedding.

I have nothing but amazing things to say about this book. The writing style sucks you in from the beginning. I cannot wait to read more from Jessica in the future!

Thank you so much to Berkley and Netgalley for the e-arc!

This was HOT, heartbreakingly beautiful, and so soft. Amazing characters arcs and growth. I didn't want this book to end. Not a huge fan of the traditional family and American Dream views we saw kind of woven into the story, but I loved everything else more than enough to make up for it.

Ohhh this book was everything I’d hope it would be! 🥹 The story follows Eli and Georgia who haven’t seen each other in years and reconnect as their best friend’s wedding approaches. The two work together to ensure the wedding preparations go smoothly. The story is told in the present with flashbacks from their past. I absolutely loved the characters and the side characters were fantastic too. They felt so vulnerable and real.
I enjoyed seeing the MCs growth throughout the story and how they learned to reconcile their past. I appreciated the mental health representation and Jessica handled the subject in such a delicate and respectful way. The chemistry between Eli and Georgia sizzled right off the page. I loved the tension, witty banter, and their journey back to each other. This is such an emotional, messy and beautiful second chance romance book.

Read if you like:
🍇Second chance romance
🍇Dual timelines
🍇 Forced proximity
🍇 Friends/strangers to lovers

I didn’t like this. The concept is not for me and it was so repetitive. I also hate the female main character

Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance.

What I loved: Georgia and Eli's Flaws. He struggles with panic attacks and putting work before everyone else. She is hyper independent (hello same) and can't really vocalize her needs to he friends. She thinks she is "too much" and if you haven't felt that way at one point or another in your life consider yourself lucky! I related so hard to Georgia because her friends are moving into the next stages of life and she isn't there yet. To say that's where my life is now is a complete understatement. Jessica Joyce writes those feelings so well. I felt so seen! She also writes this romance so well. You can feel the longing between them even when they are fighting. I love that we get glimpses of their original love story intertwined with their rekindling romance in the present.

What I didn't LIke: The theme of "everything going wrong" was fun in the beginning but eventually became over-dramatized and a bit unbelievable. I felt like it was taken too far. First off, if I was getting married and my wedding was getting off to that bad of a start, I wouldn't have sent my friends to fix it. I would have taken the time off work and fixed it myself. Adam was way too trusting. Also, there is a point in the book where Georiga falls with the wedding cake and Adam is more concerned about the cake being ruined than Georgia's well being and I would have been pissed.

Read if you like friends to lovers, second chance romance with some forced proximity. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 7/16

rating: 3.25 stars

i wanted to like this book more than i did *cries*

it’s not that i didn’t like it… but i struggled to really sink my teeth into the characters. second chance romance is my favorite trope, but i also think it’s one of the trickiest (for me to like). why? because i need to have a super solid understanding of the FIRST relationship to feel invested in the SECOND. what this book needed was some flashbacks. that’s really my only qualm with it. that, and i am over the whole “save a wedding together” gag (my problem, and this was actually done well because the wedding took a backseat to the characters). anywhoooo….

i started to feel more attached to the characters like 2/3 in. the ending is phenomenal. the lines eli delivers are WOW. i squeaked.

overall, i think others will really enjoy this book and while it wasn’t my favorite i will def read jessica’s next book because her writing is top notch!

thank you to berkley for my e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jessica Joyce writes beautiful stories and The Ex Vows is a 2024 top favorite for me.

It's been five years since Georgia and Eli broke up and the anticipation of seeing her ex has Georgia feeling all the feels. Georgia and Eli will be in each other's space again to see their best friend Adam get married, and my heart is in my throat, wondering how this would all go. There seems to be a curse on this wedding that made it seem almost like an impossibility that it would happen but that these two would be responsible for getting the wedding planned in a few weeks for their very best friend, the forced proximity of being in each other's space felt more like fate was playing a role in pushing these two back together. My heart and mind already so hopeful for what was to come. GAH!

Being a part of this couple's journey felt so profoundly intense and encompassing—from the unresolved feelings to the longing looks, to the paper rings, to Eli calling her "Peach", and oh the delicious chemistry and messy feelings that never went away... I laughed, I hoped and prayed for more, and I cried while understanding what went wrong the first time and wishing for their happiness this time around.

Without revealing more, I loved this book SO FREAKING MUCH! Can we all have an Eli because this soul mate kind of love is why we read romance. Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes and when we see growth and development with the characters, that make them even better this time around, where you know that this love is forever, it just makes my heart SO SO happy. I love the found family aspect too... this group of friends was so relatable and makes you wish that you were a part of their circle too.

Joyce knocked this book out of the park! Her words and storytelling are so very special and I am looking forward to what she has in store for us next. She has a forever fan in me—I am in love with all of her words.

Favorite Quote:
“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."

Jessica Joyce has one again written the book of the summer! A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the advanced digital copy. My review is honest and voluntary.

I fell in love with You, With a View last summer and was so excited when I was approved for a digital ARC of Jessica Joyce's newest one this year!

Eli and Georgia have been best friends since they were teenagers. When their romantic relationship catastrophically fell apart five years ago, so did any normalcy between them. So they developed a set of rules to follow to not make any interactions weird. Now, as best man and woman for their other best friend, Adam, they are forced to be together way more than either one had planned as they help Adam deal with his "wedding curse." The more time Georgia and Eli spend together, the more they realize their chemistry is coming back and they realize that maybe rules are meant to be broken.

I fell in love with the MMC, Eli. His love to Georgia was palpable from the start. Georgia is a really relatable character. She's experienced a lot of heartbreak in her life and her walls are so tall in order to protect her feelings. The chemistry between Eli and Georgia was electric and I loved watching their story progress.

The side characters are top-notch. Everyone deserves a friend group like Eli and Georgia have! I also loved how relatable it was to have a friend group as an adult - everyone wants it to be like it was, but with the addition of partners and children, things change.

If you don't have this one on your TBR, you should because Jessica Joyce did it again! Another amazing summer read!

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce is a poignant testament to the enduring strength of love and the possibility of redemption. This captivating novel had me laughing, swooning, and shedding tears, all while feeling grateful for the emotional journey it took me on. Jessica Joyce's talent as a writer is undeniable, making her a formidable force in the literary world.