If you’ve ever jammed out to Paper Rings by Taylor Swift then THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU 😍

I told myself I most certainly did not have time to read another arc, no ma’am, so even though I adored the author’s first book I was just going to sit this one out until publication day rolled around…and then the author posted a carousel of snippets about the one and only Eli Mora and reader…

I caved.

Thank goodness I did too, because I devoured this book in a single day and cannot wait to read it again!

Here’s what it’s about:

Georgia’s best friend is getting married, but everything that could go wrong? Yeah, it’s going wrong. As best woman, she’s determined to save the day (with her many lists it will surely be possible) but then the best man arrives, determined to step up in ways he hasn’t until now.

Oh, and that best man? He’s her ex.

Georgia and Eli dated five years ago after being friends for years. But when their issues, including Eli’s debilitating anxiety, crept between them, the two were left heartbroken and pretending to be fine for the sake of their mutual best friend. Now, Georgia is still hung up on him and trying to keep from getting her heart broken again—a task that involves a very careful list of rules to follow.

But Eli? He’s different. And when he shows up for the wedding, he’s breaking all of the rules.

OKAY IN CASE YOU ARE NOT SOLD YET, THE BOOK ALSO HAS:
❤️ a wedding that is SO cursed
❤️ messy people navigating messy feelings
❤️ brilliantly executed mental health rep
❤️ y’all he LITERALLY makes her paper rings okay
❤️ a gold-chain wearing simp of a man
❤️ and some excellent spice

Reading this book had me laughing out loud, crying, gasping, etcetera. It’s a masterpiece and if you enjoy romance, make sure you pick this one up. You won’t regret it, I promise!!

4.25⭐️
𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 🎭: second chance romance
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚: 🌶️🌶️
𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙚 🏃🏼‍♀️: moderate/fast
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 🖤: Carley Fortune

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝:
▪️ second chance
▪️ forced to work together on common goal
▪️ childhood friend group

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞:
▪️the curse
▪️when things ultimately get sappy (this is a me problem!)

I just love Jessica's books. They have so much nostalgia, they're easy to read, the characters are lovable, and the themes are relatable and realistic. There was a bit of ✨ufda✨ for me when it seemed like the MMC was making changes after they had broken up - because of course he did. Again- super relatable.

The audio was great - I listened 1.8x to 2x for the most part. The narrator did a good job flipping between male and female voices which can be really tough to do.

I have never read from this author before but I was so pleasantly surprised. The biggest stand out of this book fro me was the writing, she could fully make you feel what the characters were feeling and painted such beautiful landscapes with her words. I loved the couple an thought it was a fun concept. Although I do wish we got to see more of the past relationship I was still fully invested in the couple and was rooting for them completely. The were such “its always been you” vibes and the paper rings mended so many cracks in my heart. I highly highly recommend.

I was ready to name Cara Bastone’s Ready or Not as my favorite book of the year, and then I read this—The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce. Georgia lives by lists, they give her a control she’s always dreamed of, but when her best friend Adam’s wedding starts to go off the rails, it’s up to her and his other best person, her ex-boyfriend, Eli to save the celebration. This was raw and beautiful. I laughed, I cried, I loved every moment of this. Georgia’s pain and emotions felt so relatable. All she wants is to find her place, and I thought her journey felt so genuine and striking. And Eli put so much of himself out there, they grow so beautifully together. As much as I would have absolutely loved some of Eli’s POV in this, I loved it was just the single perspective of Georgia. There’s so much depth in every character and interaction. It was witty and smart and raw and lovely. It was romantic and beautiful, and just everything I want in a romance. This book deserves all the stars and love!

Georgia and Eli were best friends turned romantic partners until they split five years ago due to Eli's work. Their third best friend is Adam, whose impending wedding is cursed. The original wedding site burned down and now they are moving the ceremony to a winery owned by Adam's extended family. Georgia and Eli are sent up to the winery for a week to help with wedding preparations, but the winery is also the place where they fell in love as teenagers working summer jobs. As they figure out how to work together again in order to give Adam his dream wedding, they also have to reckon with what caused their split and the lingering feelings they both have.

This second-chance romance left me swooning. You can feel Eli's pining for Georgia from the second they reconnect at the airport. I felt a strong sense of connection to Georgia because we share some of the same childhood issues and I've fought the same internal struggles she battles in the story. Great cast of characters but the wedding curses were a bit too far into the absurd for me.

Overall: 4.5/5 rounded up
Spice: 2.5/3

When I saw this book was going to be a second chance romance I was immediately sold (it is my favorite trope), and it was amazingly done. One thing I am always skeptical when reading books with this trope is the reason behind why they didn’t work out the first time and in this one it felt so real and believable.

The pacing was amazing, I binged the last 50% of the book and I just could not stop reading. Literally holding back tears at the pool because I was surrounded by other people who had no idea how much I was struggling to not cry over words on paper (correction on my kindle lol). Loved the way we got glimpses of their past and understanding why they drifted apart and also when they were just friends developing feelings for each other. The side characters were also great addition to the story, I personally loved the found family in this one.

The plot was something I’ve been struggling with other romances because some times I feel like there isn’t a balance when it comes to plot and the love story. I just loved how they went on to help their best friend’s wedding and in the trajectory finding their way back together. And one thing was not dethroned by the other (plot over love story or viceversa).

Both characters felt so real, relatable, and genuine. Eli Mora THE MAN THAT YOU ARE😭 going to therapy 😭 *new book boyfriend unlocked

You could feel the chemistry through the pages. The tension and banter 20/10. Overall, this was an amazing read and is definitely going to be one of my favorite reads of the year..

Ps. PAPER RINGS???? are you kidding me 😭 Now these are characters that are truly meant for each other!

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the arc and giving me a 5 star book <3

What am I supposed to say? I love everything this author writes. The tension is so hot! I just kept reading because I HAD to see them get together... so much angst mixed with so much swoon. I just love it.

This book had me sobbing my eyes out at midnight!

Eli and Georgia were truly everything 😭

The Ex Vows is one of my favorite second chance romances of all time!
It truly nailed the angst and feelings.

I can't wait to reread this book and listen to the audiobook!

No notes. Just pure love for this story. 5 stars. Want to cherish it :) a perfect real second chance romance

I will gladly wear all of Eli’s paper rings. That’s it. That’s the review.

Okay, okay. There’s really more than that, but, oh, that man has my heart.

Jessica Joyce knows how to make me ugly cry. Like full-out sob. Waterworks. So. Many. Tears.

And yet, her books tend to be my favorites.

This is a second chance, friends-to-lovers romance set at a wedding. (Not their wedding, FYI)

Georgia is the best woman; Eli is the best man; and they are trying to salvage their closest friend’s wedding when everything goes awry shortly before the big event.

And the new venue just happens to hold so. many. memories. for Georgia and Eli.

My heart was in my throat. My chest was squeezed tight. And the way I sobbed, y’all. (How dare Jessica Joyce make me sob so much.)

The memories.

And the friendships.

And the sense of belonging.

And the concept of home.

And the vulnerability.

And how it feels safe to be messy with the right person.

And the physical intimacy scenes that pack an emotional punch.

And how Joyce treats anxiety with such care.

Seriously, this book deserves all the stars.

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Thank you Berkley Romance and PRH Audio for my gifted copies. All opinions are my own. You, With a View was my favorite book of 2023. I can’t even describe how quickly I requested The Ex Vows.

Georgia and Eli met in high school through their mutual best friend, Adam. They were inseparable and started dating, eventually moving in together after college. It’s been years since they split and are now meeting for Adam’s wedding. Eli has always been very busy with his job often missing important moments like Adam’s bachelor party.

Everything is going wrong for Adam’s wedding so Eli and Georgia step in and show up to the venue early to help with a backup plan. As they’re forced to spend time together, it’s obvious neither is over their past.

I absolutely adored this. Their chemistry was amazing. It was obvious neither was over the other despite the rules they put in place to try and protect their friendship with Adam. They both had growing to do and I felt like we saw that for both of them. Eli is my new favorite book boyfriend. The paper rings made me swoon and tear up.

I listened to the audiobook and I loved Kyla Garcia’s narration.

Georgia, Adam, and Eli have been best friends since their teen years. As they grew up, Eli and Georgia’s friendship turned into a bit more, but when they move to NYC together and Eli’s job takes over his life, their relationship falls apart. They both agree though, as far as Adam goes, they are just fine! Now Adam is getting married and the wedding plans are falling apart one by one. When they need a crew to get everything taken care of, Eli and Georgia both volunteer. They didn’t plan that they would be doing all of this TOGETHER though…



OMG this book was just a dang delight. The relationship between Eli and Georgia was so obviously flawed, but it was so clear they belonged together that you just wanted to force it the entire read! I really enjoyed the curse of Adam’s wedding, and following along as things fell apart bit by bit. I also loved reading along as Eli and Georgia not only tried to find all new vendors within a single week, while also trying to avoid each other at all costs. The rings Eli made just absolutely gutted my heart, I could not have loved that more. Overall I enjoyed every second of this book and highly recommend it!

Thank you to @BerkleyRomance for my gifted copy of this book!

4.5 ⭐️

holy cow!!!!!!!! I absolutely adored this book!! (pls ignore the long duration in which it took me to read this book I was in a slump and not really in the mood to read but once I finally got back into it I was IN IT!!!!)

this review will be a love letter to eli mora. hey eli!!!!!! if things don’t work out w georgia PLS CALL ME!!! kidding (not really!) but eli is everything to me!!! he reignited my love for soft boys (not that it went anywhere I just needed a reminder how amazing they are!) but eli’s character growth was CHEF’S MF KISS! he said yeah I know I have things to work on AND IMMA DO IT! and wow did he 🥹 he came back ready to show up for his best friends and I loved every second of it. he proved to georgia that he was different and ready to be there for her 😭😭 let’s wrap this man in bubble wrap bc we must protect him at all costs!!!!!!! and georgia is so right it really is he quiet ones you need to be careful with bc eeeeeek eli 🧎‍♀️🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

georgia on the other hand did frustrate me a little at times but she came around to me. there were approximately 100 times (give or take) where I wanted to SHAKE THE WOMAN and say COMMUNICATE WITH HIM YOU CRAZY PERSON! but she finally saw the light and came to her senses. praise the lord.

now i’m not typically a second chance girly like the trope never calls to me BUT it hit HARD in this book omg. THE LONGING!!!!!!!! I wanted to pull my heart out I was like omg pls be together I need it for my own good. there were so many beautiful moments where miss joyce described their feelings for one another that just had me absolutely heart sick!!!!! but in the best way possible. like “eli can’t see my heart, and it’s for better bc he’d see his name everywhere in it. but it’s for worse bc he doesn’t see that his name is EVERYWHERE in it.” I mean *SCREAMS FOR ALL OF ETERNITY*!!! overall it was such a beautiful book. from the setting, to the plot, the friendship dynamic, eli 🥰🥰🥰🥰, and seeing eli and georgia work through everything and find their way back to one another. absolutely adored and am (im)patiently waiting for the honor to listen to it on audio!!!

tysm to berkley romance and netgalkey for the arc!!!

It's like Jessica Joyce paid off my therapist to give her access to all of her notes in order to write this book. This story felt PERSONAL. Which, of course, its not. But it just goes to show what an incredible writer Jessica is. There are so many things I loved about this book! It was angsty and tender and raw. It brought me to tears and laughter often and, sometimes, simultaneously. It made me reflect on life and truly think about love in such a unique way, We've all heard the phrase "you're your own worst enemy" and in this situation, similarly to many, its so relatable. Prioritizing yourself and your mental health is HARD. Standing up for yourself is HARD. Asking for what you need is HARD. But unless we're willing to get out of our own way, we'll be stuck in the same patterns forever. Not to mention, the chemistry was INSANE. Talk about BLUSHING in public??? Wow, just perfection in a book. Absolutely LOVED every bit of it.

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

paper rings by taylor swift

this one is for the girlies that love lists and making them.

i'm sorry to say but this did not hit for me. it took me a bit to get into. idk the writing felt all over the place and there wasn’t really a flow. once i was halfway through the book, I realized wow this is kinda boring

Honestly I was excited for the idea of exes forced back together to help plan a friend’s wedding but the execution felt lackluster

honnestly i wish we got eli’s pov. that might’ve helped esp with seeing his perspective and feelings.

there wasn’t much character building in this one which was disappointing because i loved getting to know the characters in the first book. most of the characters felt one dimensional to me. like I wish we got to see how/why Eli has anxiety and why working gives him stability. the book also involves a friend group that i didn’t felt a connection to bc there wasn’t much details about them or like friendship moments together idk at times i forgot the main character gerogia had friends besides adam

this is a story about history between two exes as well as history within a friend group that the exes eli and georgia do not want to ruin but WHERE WAS ALL THE HISTORY

there’s a lot of history between ell and georgia which are heavily detailed to us but I wish the author SHOWED us the history such as through flashbacks

ngl this was boring for me i feel like there wasn’t really any angst or tension. like what the author did best was tension in the other book but this one was eh

It’s crazy how short this book would be if they communicated. The way they FINALLY communicated after 80% of the book makes me want to rip my hair out. I usually don’t mind the miscommunication trope but this book felt it was dragging.

I wish I could rate this higher -- I loved Joyce's first book, but this one completely lacked the heart and soul of YWAV. This is, at its core, a story about some very boring wealthy people who seem to really still believe that a wedding is the most important thing ever. The characters all suck at communicating and the entire grand gesture seemed forced so it could be a Taylor Swift song reference. Joyce is a stunning writer and I'll still keep reading her work, but this was an incredibly disappointing sophomore effort.

BIG FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a beautiful second chance romance. The emotions are tangible and relatable and it's messy in the best possible way. I genuinely enjoyed the flawed characters, an objectively terrible event that is somehow perfection, and MCs who are working to be better for themselves as much as they are for their partner. "The Ex Vows" is a great choice for a rainy weekend.

NetGalley provided the ARC, opinion is mine.

This second-chance rom-com amidst a wedding backdrop is the perfect thing for this upcoming summer! With a mixture of hilarious and heartwarming moments, it tugged at my heartstrings and pulled them back together all at once. This story is a great reminder that nothing has to be perfect, it is more realistic because it is messy.

If Jessica Joyce writes it, I will read it.

Second chance romance, roadtrip to celebrate a wedding for their mutual friends - so many problems that they have to try to fix (which not admitting that they want each other’s help).

Jessica Joyce writes in a way that brings a lot of emotion into the story and really brings the characters to life. You fall in love with the characters, root for them, swoon over them, and just want a happy ever after. I also appreciate that she’s not afraid to bring emotion & honest mental health situations into her book.

I absolutely loved Georgia and Eli & I know anybody who reads this book will love them too.

Huge Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!