🍇 Well, if this wasn’t one of my most favorite romance book endings, EVER! I loved it. Thank you so much to @berkleyromance for allowing me the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at this— it’s out July 16th!

🍇 What to expect:
- friends to lovers who are NOW second chance romancing
- one bed
- mental health rep
- self journeys equally important as romantic journey
- lovable characters (both MC’s and the side characters)
- open door 🌶️🌶️
- laugh-out-loud banter
- a beautiful setting

🍇 In a genre that’s saturated with somewhat ‘predictable’ stories — this really sticks out. I thought the plot was incredibly original. I adored the characters and their journeys. And my, I just LOVED the end. I thought it was surprising and lovely and just very well done. I know a lot of you will be wanting to read this after loving ‘You With A View’ last summer— and I have a feeling @jessicajoycewrites will be cementing herself on a lot of ‘auto-read author’ lists after this follow up! Again, it’s out July 16th.

This is a solid follow up to You, With a View, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The wedding chaos/hijinx were a little over the top for me and distracted from Georgia & Eli's relationship. Because of all the wedding nonsense, it took me awhile to get into the story but once I did I really enjoyed the way that we learned more about Georgia & Eli and the struggles they faced during their 5 years apart and seeing them support one another is the stuff great romcoms are made of.

Many thanks to Berkley & Netgalley for the ARC.

Bury me in Jessica Joyce books. She is incredible. Her characters, her witty banter, the way she writes SPICE. I am obsessed with her books and she is now an auto-buy author for me. This book was incredible, a perfect second chance romance and I could not put it down. It's giving major Emily Henry energy in the fact that I cannot wait to shove it into all of my friends hands the DAY it comes out.

Thank you Berkley Romance for my copy! All thoughts are my own.

I have a confession. I didn’t love You, with a View. I know, I know. I feel like I am the only person who didn’t connect with that book. So, I wasn’t sure if I would like this author’s next book. But I kept seeing people whose reading tastes typically align with mine hyping it up. So, I took a chance and my goodness am I glad that I did. This book is so richly romantic. It pulls at your heart in a way that is so deep and beautiful it aches.

I have always loved second chance romances. There is something so beautiful about characters who know each other finding each other again, at a time when they are ready to accept each other into their lives in a new and lasting way. It’s a wonderful story that will have you laughing, crying, and swooning.

Synopsis:

“Georgia Woodward lives by her lists, none more so than the one about her ex, Eli Mora. It’s full of the ironclad dos and don’ts they’ve been following since she returned to the Bay Area after their cataclysmic breakup five years ago. With the wedding of their mutual best friend, Adam, looming, and them about to step into their roles as best woman and man, Georgia’s never needed it more. She refuses to threaten their tight-knit friend group with her messy—and still very present—feelings. The rules on that list will keep her cool, calm, and compartmentalized. What’s not on her list? Eli arriving from New York with a new rule-breaking attitude or the all-inclusive venue burning to the ground, leaving the bride and groom in dire straits. Nor does she anticipate Adam asking her and Eli to help him make a miracle happen. Together.As Georgia and Eli rush up to Napa Valley to pull off the perfect wedding, their old chemistry comes back in technicolor. Somewhere between cake tastings gone wrong, disastrous DJ auditions, and Eli’s heated attention, Georgia starts recognizing the man she fell in love with before. And if she lets herself break her rules, she might find what they’re building isn’t the something old that ruined them—it’s a chance at something new.” —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Setting—I’ve said this before but for someone who had never been to Northern California or the Pacific Northwest, I am really obsessed with the idea of it. I loved the setting, from the winery to glimpses of their lives in New York to mentions of Seattle. Everything was so rich and fragrant, I felt like I was there.

The Writing—WOW the writing is incredible. The way Joyce weaved together the past and present was masterful.

The Pacing: Without needed “now and then” timelines, this book goes back and forth in time to show the reader how the relationship came to be, fell apart, and came back together. I am rarely on the edge of my seat reading romance but I was with this book.

The Characters—Georgia and Eli were wonderful leads to follow. I loved the magnetic quality but I also loved the side characters of this story so much. It was a group that felt like family and made me miss my college friends.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

I want to say nothing, but I still don’t know if this was a full 5 starts for me. I LOVED it but there was just a piece of magic missing for me to make it 5 stars. Which is picky and annoying of me, I am fully aware.

Character Authenticity: 5/5 Spice Rating: 2/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Content Warnings:

panic attacks/anxiety

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

This was just okay for me. It’s a single POV second-chance romance, which admittedly is not my favorite trope. There’s a one bed situation as well. The story was fine, but the characters felt very one-dimensional. The FMC has no backbone & the MMC suffers from bad anxiety; the supporting characters were kinda just there.

The paper ring thing was cute with how the author made that come full circle (literally) at the end though.

This is now one of my favorite second chance romance novels! Jessica Joyce sure knows how to make me FEEL so many emotions. The characters were raw and so real. I loved the mental health rep as well. The last couple chapters had me in tears… I adored this book, and now I am listening to Paper Rings on repeat!🤭

I enjoyed Jessica Joyce's first novel, You with a View, so I was excited to receive a ARC from NetGalley of her second novel, The Ex Vows. The Ex Vows appealed to me because I love a good enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance. In this case, the "enemies" were Georgia and Eli, who, after an epic breakup, have some lingering "issues" with one another. Unfortunately unlike most couples who break up, and go their separate ways, never to see one another again, Georgia and Eli share a best friend. Determined to not let their breakup spill over into their friendship with bestie Adam, they decide that the best course of action is to ignore their true feelings and pretend everything is totally fine between them.
But they are about to face the ultimate test of their "truce." because Adam is getting married and due to some epic bad luck, he needs his two best friends to go to the family vineyard in Napa to make last minute arrangements for his wedding. Georgia and Eli are forced to spend some time alone together, do some creative problem solving and eventually face the lingering feelings that still exist between them.

This book reminded me so much of Emily Henry's Happy Place, but had it's own unique charm. The end did feel a bit rushed to me, but those looking for a grand declaration of love and a happily ever after will be very satisfied with the ending. Overall this was a fun and sexy second chance romance.

I really liked the author's debut YOU, WITH A VIEW as well as loved her novella A RISK WORTH TAKING, so I was eager to dive into her follow-up THE EX VOWS. I'm happy to say I enjoyed this one!

This is a second-chance romance that worked well for me. Georgia and Eli had been friends since they were teenagers but didn't move forward in their relationship until later in college. It's only been about five years since they split, but since they are both in the same friend group – particularly, they have a mutual best friend – they were still in each other's orbits and had some interactions. So them still holding on to feelings for the other and not completely moving on made sense to me in this instance.

The story and characters gave me similar vibes as Emily Henry's HAPPY PLACE but less heavy. There's no fake dating in THE EX VOWS, but there is angst, a close friend group, characters withholding their thoughts/feelings, and anxiety representation to name a few.

I liked the set-up and how it felt natural that Eli and Georgia would have to work together to help salvage their best friend Adam's wedding. I know people often have an issue with the miscommunication trope – which this probably borders – but I also think withholding thoughts and feelings is something many of us do. Both Georgia and Eli withhold things not only from each other but from their friends too. And sometimes it is just easier to not say anything – whether you're trying to just brush things off, or not make a big deal out of something, or not rock the boat, or whatever the reason. But then it just snowballs, all those little things become one big thing and before long it feels too difficult and too late to dig yourself out. I think these stories are good lessons for all of us, that open communication in any kind of relationship is vital and important.

I do wish the end of the book didn't wrap as quickly – it felt a bit rushed – but overall I really liked this one.

After reading and giving 5 stars to Jessica Joyce’s debut novel, You With A View, I couldn’t wait to read her next book, The Ex Vows. I think I loved it even more than YWAV! I just finished watching You Again and it definitely had the same second chance romance - exes with forced proximity - help their friends with their wedding vibes! Totally suggest reading this!! It’s so much fun! Thanks again @berkley and NetGalley for my digital ARC!

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.