Sophomore author takes the reader on a second chance love story with a singular timeline which actually felt kind of refreshing. For books like this, I always find them flip flopping in time but this was a storyline that brought the reader into the present and kept them there as Georgia and Eli figure out what caused the breakup when there are so many obvious links that should have kept them together.

Brought together as the two best “people” in their mutual best friend Adam’s wedding, they have the job of replanning the wedding that keeps dealing with curveballs. The simmering chemistry between them was never the issue that broke them up, it was the second place feelings she had to her workaholic ex.

I’ll say I loved You, With A View. I think it was a 5 star of mine. This was not quite the same level of love for the two main characters. I felt like it was a relationship that just needed to communicate such a basic issue. The breakup was literally over the second choice feelings of the FMC but I think for me, I wanted to just say to her, ok, this sucks. Talk to him. And understand that every relationship has its moments in the shadow of each other. It’s finding its way back out where you guys get stronger together.

So well I didn’t love it 5 ⭐️ love, I enjoyed it still. The secondary characters and the way the friendships were held with love were so heartwarming.

I have zero doubt that many will love this one. I’m picky with my contemporary romances so don’t use me as the ball marker for it.

3.5 stars rolled to 4

I am a SOBBING mess of epic proportions. I was in a horrendous reading slump and this book was everything I needed it to be and more. I can say I’ve never had a romance book make me cry like that before but now I want all romance books to make me feel the way this book did.

A beautiful, second-chance love story filled with heart-breaking truths and swoon-worthy endings. Georgia and Eli’s love story is one for the history books. Joyce creates a hectic yet beautiful scene at Blue Yonder as Georgia and Eli try to save their best friend Adam’s wedding from the curse that seems to have befallen it. The only problem is Georgia and Eli broke up 5 years ago and have been awkwardly civil since. Can they work together save their best friend’s wedding at the place where their love bloomed? Or will the memories of their summers at Blue Yonder ignite the flame between them that they thought buried 5 years ago?

I am absolutely OBSESSED with this book. It was devastatingly beautiful and truly explains true love at its core. I’ve never believed 2 characters love each other more than Georgia and Eli. Joyce not only shows the passionate and stunning side of a love story but also the ugly, hard, and devastating side of it. It’s incredibly realistic and connects with every reader in some aspect.

I can really see this being the love story of the summer. I may even read it again when I go on vacation in August because I am that obsessed with it. This is going to stick with me for a while. Well done to the author and make sure you grab this when it comes out in July!

I loved You, With a View and Jessica Joyce didn’t disappoint with The Ex Vows. This book had everything that I love: second chance romance, forced proximity, wedding hijinks, ride-or-die friend group, and big emotions. Georgia and Eli captured my heart. They were real and flawed and the reasons they fell apart, and how they came back together, didn’t feel contrived. And Eli and the paper rings!!! Oof.

It was PERFECT 🥺

Y'all, I'm already tearing up. I don't want this book to be over. I don't want to put into words what this book means to me, because my words will never be adequate. Thank you, Jessica Joyce, for bringing this story to life. Thank you, Berkley Romance, for the eARC of this one via NetGalley. Get ready for some honest thoughts.

It was PERFECT. Like... every little part and component and element to the characters and side characters and plot and settings and bickering and bantering and all of the tiny little moments... they were all PERFECT.

Georgia and Eli were originally BFFs (with Adam in their lil trio), and then they became lovers who moved across the country to chase their dreams together, and then they were nothing at all. Strangers who existed around each other within their friend group. FOR FIVE YEARS --- UGH. My poor heart. Then, Adam's getting married and all the things that can go wrong, do. Literally all of them. And the Best People, Georgia and Eli, are tasked with getting some sort of wedding together in a week for their best friend. And that forced proximity is... everything.

I made SO MANY NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS. I can't wait to physically hold this book one day, cry into the pages (because I cried at least 3 times), highlight, underline, reread, and make this book mine, because I already feel like it is. So.... let's talk about some of the parts that I loved:
- The opening lines are... intriguing. Hooked me from the very first three sentences.
- The presence in the flashbacks. I felt like I was with Georgia and Eli for eight years. I knew how they always felt. I knew the comfort and love and pain and hurt and disappointment. Told you this book made me emo (Pisces babe wallowing in alllll my feelings for this book)
- The freaking BANTER. These two, once they finally reacquaint themselves to each other and open themselves up a little bit, are ALWAYS doing a bit. Their banter is amazing and funny and touching. Just one more reminder how well they know each other. Fated mates style :)
- The little touches that meant everything
- THE PAPER RINGS!!!!!! THE ALCHEMY!!! This book could accidentally be considered a love story to Taylor Swift and I'M HERE FOR IT because it was SUBTLE and felt authentic to who these characters are together!
- THE NICKNAME (PEACH, BECAUSE HER NAME IS GEORGIA), BUT IT'S ACTUALLY JUICY AND SWEET COMING FROM *ELI*
- The tension and slow burn leading up to the "just while we're here" moment, which could no longer be denied.... it was... ohmygodddddd so good
- LIL CAMEO FROM OUR YOU, WITH A VIEW FRIENDS:):):):):):)
- When Eli takes such good care of Georgia, knowing and respecting boundaries she hasn't even stated, noticing when she spaces out or drifts out of a conversation, bringing her food, calming her with a touch, and not letting her do things alone, especially when he knows she's scared
- The connection you feel when things finally dial up, heat-wise... it's the wildfire that's burned them to the ground but times a million because they've been apart for FIVE FREAKING YEARS. So good.
- Oh my god a man in therapy who is in touch with his emotions and is actively trying to be a better person.......
- The powwow in the bathroom before the wedding, that leads to Georgia getting REAL with her BEST FRIENDS who SEE HER AND KNOW HER HEART.
- IT'S THE FREAKING QUIET ONES YOU GOTTA WATCH OUT FOR. JEEEE-ZUSSSSSS.
- THE PAPER RINGS (I CAN'T SAY MORE, BUT YOU'LL KNOW)

The depth with which I felt this story in my soul is hard to put into words. It was raw. It was vulnerable. There was hurt. The was community. There was fear. There was rejection. There was hope. And there was so much love is makes my heart ACHE. Just a really beautiful, lovely story about people who love each other. Cannot wait for the world to read these words. This is possibly my favorite 2024 book. Amazing. More than all the stars in the galaxy.

Oof, my heart! No one does pining and sensuality and big, relatable emotions like Jessica Joyce. This hurt in all the best ways. A true romance lover's romance!

Always a sucker for second chance romance so this one’s an easy4/5! This is my first Jessica Joyce. Such an amazing writing. What I love about this book is the tension she built between the characters and although there are sweet and cute scenes, they didn’t have to be cringe-y!

I am convinced that any book I read by Jessica Joyce will be an instant five star read. I am in the biggest book hangover after finishing this one - I did not want it to end!

Now listen, I am not typically a second chance romance girly, BUT this was so incredibly well done!!! Not over the top or cheesy, and felt realistic! I think that’s what I love about Jessica Joyce is her books never feel far fetched. They feel real, and raw, and vulnerable, all with the sweetest love stories you could ever imagine!

I am SO grateful I received this early and am so bummed I have to wait another year for her next one! She’ll always been one of my favorite authors!

What a book! Thank you so much NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

This was my first book I’ve read by Jessica & goodness gracious give me all the books she writes now please!

The details, the freaking heart wrenching moments, the flirting, the friend group, the flashbacks! This second chance romance was done so, so good. I’m such a sucker for second chance romance & Jessica did it so good!

Eli & Georgia’s story is so real & so many emotions.. I felt it through the pages. Georgia is such a list person, doesn’t like telling people what is wrong without being prodded for a long time which is SO much like me so it was really easy for me to relate to her!

Eli & the paper rings.. I can’t even handle it. SWOON.

All in all please read this when it comes available & add it to your TBR immediately!

Tropes-
Friends to Lovers, Second Chance Romance, Forced Proximity, Banter, Mental Illness Rep, Found Family, Single POV.

Again thank you NetGalley for this ARC for an honest review.

JUST WHEN YOU THINK JESSICA JOYCE CANNOT WRITE A MORE HEART-WRENCHINGLY PERFECT BOOK, SHE GIVES YOU *THIS*.

Going into this book I knew it was going to be a five-star read for me, and yet I was still taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. Jessica Joyce is a master of tenderness and pining. As far as second chance romances go, this is one of the best I've ever read. From the prologue alone the chemistry between Georgia and Eli was off the charts, and it continued into chapter one, then chapter two, and managed to get more and more intense until I was swooning and clutching my chest and bursting out in tears.

Eli and Georgia's romance is one of intense longing but also intense hurt. Teenage best friends to college and post-college lovers to five long years of being exes, all the pain and memories and love shin through with every chapter. We get to know their big hurts, their little hurts, and all the things that made them fall in love despite them. We also get to meet their friends—a small but instantly lovable cast of characters whose love stories I would 100% read about in a heartbeat if they weren't already coupled up.

We also get anxiety representation, which, as someone with anxiety, I absolutely loved. There's lots of talk of therapy, healing from past pain, and what it means to trust and love yourself.

Definitely a romance for the ages <3

This is the book of the year. I truly have no words to describe the love i have for this book and more importantly the amount of love that is shared between the two main characters. It is rare to read a book told in first person and being so sure of the other persons feeling with no words being said. Eli and Georgia are soulmates and I will forever wish for their type of love. Jessica Joyce did it again. 5 stars.

Jessica Joyce knows how to write a story with characters who grab you from beneath the page and pull you in. I loved this second chance romance, and the dual timelines especially were so powerful.

Emotional, heartfelt, and lyrical in its portrayal of a second chance romance, this book swept me up and had me so invested in the characters! I kept flipping pages to see how they'd overcome their obstacles to get their happily ever after. Jessica Joyce does it again!

OH MY GOD?

Is there enough time for me to even begin talking about my love for this book!!!


I started this second chance romance between Eli and Georgia and thought okay second chance sure why not, not my favorite but I’ll read anything Jessica writes!

PHEW WHAT A BOOK!!

The first half I was liking it nothing crazy, I love the friendships Georgia has especially with her group Adam who is currently needing help planning his wedding and Eli who is coming back into town to help!

Adam believes his wedding is cursed and thing after thing goes wrong when Georgia must travel out of town to help her bestfriends wedding go off without anymore issues until Eli volunteers to tag along!

The second chance relationship you see is in snippets of the past struggles Eli and Georgia had specifically with him not showing up for her due to his work life which is why he feels guilty for not being there for Adam and wants to make up by helping plan the wedding!!


So forced proximity ??? YES PLS!


Now the second half is where it’ll sneak up on you because when you see Eli showing up for Georgia throughout the chaotic wedding week and her working on her communication skills and letting him show up for her, oh it’s a treat baby!


The ending? I sobbed on ft with my friends with how romantic it was. The love, the pining, the romance I just ATE IT UP!!



An absolute gem in this book is how friendship relationships are described. Georgia has this fear of being forgotten in her friend’s lives as everyone moves on in their next stage of life and I fear I resonated TOOOO close to that. I loved how they reinforced their presence in her life and validated her feelings that they would be there no matter what changes were to come.


It’s a book about relationships and up keeping those relationships through various life stages and I found it so beautiful I can’t wait for everyone to read it!!


Thank you Berkley romance for sending me an ARC!!

It’s been a while since a romance hit me so hard in the feels that I sobbed happy tears. But Jessica Joyce’s upcoming book, The Ex Vows, caused a waterworks, and I loved every minute of it.

Georgia and Adam were childhood best friends, and when Eli moved to town, the group became a close-knit trio, as much family as friends. That closeness remained as they went to college. Then Georgia and Eli fell in love, moved in together, and slowly but surely, their relationship disintegrated, as much for what they didn’t say as what they did.

Now, Georgia and Eli haven’t seen each other in 5 years. She’s back home in the Bay Area, while he is in NYC. But with Adam getting married, and their both being his “best people,” it’s coming time for them to see each other again. They’re both determined not to fully reveal how far apart they’ve drifted; instead they plan to present a united front for Adam’s sake.

As disaster after disaster occurs in the week before the wedding—the venue burns down, they can’t find someone to make them a cake, their DJ fell through—Georgia and Eli band together to solve all of the crises. At the same time, they both realize how intense their feelings still are for one another, despite both dealing with their own crises and issues. Can they have a second chance, or will the same things doom them again?

I seriously loved this book, with its friends-to-lovers plot as well as chosen family. It’s emotional, seriously steamy, funny, and absolutely beautiful, and I love Joyce’s treatment of anxiety and fear. I could totally see this as a movie!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy! The book will publish 7/16.

Meh this was average. Nothing special. It had some solid points but nothing to run home to mama about.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an advance copy.

This book is a read in one sitting kind of book. Read it by the pool. Just read it.

The two of them are estranged since their breakup 5 years ago and are thrown together to help fix this disaster of a wedding for their mutual best friend. Neither of them does a great job not being silently thirsty as all hell despite it because their love for each other wasn’t the problem.

The banter. The tension. Chef’s kiss.

Also this book gave a tiny bit of Veronica Mars x Logan Echolls vibes (grown up Logan not disaster teenager Logan). Met as kids, bit of a break, man is nothing short of in love with her the whole time with good banter.

None of this is a surprise because it’s in the blurb but the wedding is a complete disaster and it was straight up the most joyful wedding I’ve read about it a long time. Most books would have had them save the day but this wedding was next level because of the “curse” and eventually everyone just leaned into the chaos of the day and it was better for it.

An absolutely gorgeous exploration of friendship, love, and second chances. Jessica Joyce's writing is so beautiful I could read it forever.

For an author with only 2 novels under her belt so far, Jessica Joyce is a master of contemporary romances. I’m so impressed by her writing, her poeticism, her ability to craft palpable chemistry between characters—romantically and platonically. The relationships in this book feel so real. This book made me laugh and cry and text my best friends that I love them. I would highly recommend to any romance or women’s fiction reader!

And for what it’s worth, she literally thanks multiple Taylor Swift songs in the acknowledgments. If you’re like me, that’s a selling point.

I believe in Jessica Joyce’s supremacy. The drama, the angst, the pining, the constant will they or won’t they; all of that is balanced with a lot of focus on character development and swoon worthy romance. I would definitely be recommending this to all the romance lovers.

I finished The Ex Vows at nearly 1am and I'm a mess writing this review. I don't even know where to begin.

I've never particularly cared about second chance romances but The Ex Vows has absolutely changed my mind on them. I loved seeing Georgia and Eli rediscovering themselves and each other. Their self growth was phenomenal and their journey in this book was so emotional. There was so much pain and angst and pining. I ate it all up.

I really appreciated that The Ex Vows dealt with the pain that is navigating friendships after college and marriage and feeling like your friends are all too caught up in their daily lives and slowly drifting away. It is so hard to ask people to make more space and time for you without feeling like you're being needy and demanding so I related to Georgia very much on this aspect. Anxiety representation is also always appreciated.

Overall, this book was so incredibly emotional and had me feeling things I haven't felt in a long time. You think you're ready for this book but you're not. I suggest having some tissues on standby.

PS. The Ex Vows is so Paper Rings by Taylor Swift coded.