The switch between past tense, present tense, and fourth-wall-breaking in the prologue was quite jarring. The writing style wasn’t for me. I stopped in chapter 1, after I realized it continued.

I’d guess it will be a solid three to four stars for the target audience,

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Another win from Jessica Joyce! Her sophomore novel hit all my favorite second chance, friends to lovers notes plus throw in the chaos of helping to pull off a seemingly cursed wedding and the drama just wrote itself.

Georgia, Eli and Adam were best friends who bonded over absentee parents. Things got serious when Eli and Georgia took things to the next level but everything blew up five years ago when the two moved to New York City for Eli's career and he turned into a workaholic with raging anxiety.

Now, reunited for Adam's Nappa Valley wedding, the two get sent ahead to help work out some last minute details and old feelings resurface. Can they stay friends and not let the past wreck the wedding or will things get messy all over again?

My only complaint was that I would have loved a dual POV story. Aside from that that though, the highlights for me included the mental health and therapy rep, Georgia's love of lists, the found family friend group and the sizzling chemistry between "Geli."

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This is a must read for fans of authors like Emily Henry, Christina Lauren and Tarah DeWitt. Make sure to get it on your summer TBRs!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing a DRC of this title.

Forced together five years after their heartrending breakup, Georgia and Eli must team up to rescue their friends’ disastrous wedding, working through old hurts and exploring whether they can build something new together.

After loving You, with a View— Joyce’s debut— last year, The Ex Vows was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Joyce totally delivered with shimmering chemistry, deft characterization, and well-drawn emotional journeys that many readers (me included) will relate to, as Georgia and Eli experience friendships changing with adulthood. Even for someone who is not typically drawn to second-chance stories or books with ~HiJiNkS~ I was so drawn in by Joyce’s luminous prose and these characters that I still fell in love with this book. I will definitely look forward to recommending this heartfelt summer romance to my patrons and to reading Joyce’s next works! 4.5/5 stars.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from her sophomore novel, but I did not think I would absolutely fall in love with these characters. Jessica Joyce is a phenomenal storyteller, as I completely devoured this book in one sitting. There is everything you want in a book.

You dive deep into these character’s flaws and what makes them a bit messy. Joyce’s writing is so vivid, I really felt like a fly on the wall watching their interactions with one another. Their friendship really comes back to surface as we watch them slowly come back together. Eli is so tender with Georgia I wanted to cry from my heart melting. The paper rings, ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Not only do we get the sweet, but we get the spicy. They are hot, they are STEAMY 🥵

What stood out the most was the dynamic of their friendship with Adam and Jamie, and how Eli and Georgia feel sort of like outsiders sometimes. That heart to heart with the four of them really is how communication with friendship should be. Sometimes feel unwanted or overlooked or even put ourselves down for feeling “needy”. We all struggle with feeling like our friends might replace us with new people, so I really connected with Georgia here.

This book is going to stick with me for a while, truly one of the best I’ve picked up in a long time.

Cute and light, very reminiscent of the film Anyone But You. Joyce has another hit with her newest novel. While I still preferred her debut more, this was an enjoyable romantic comedy to slip away into.

It’s hard not to love this book if you’re a fan of Emily Henry’s!

I was really interested in reading this book as soon as I started it. It reminded me a lot of Emily Henry’s book, Happy Place! It has a very similar concept where a group of friends are going through different stages of life and fearful of losing their connection. We have our FMM (Georgia) who had a romantic breakup with her longtime best friend, MMC (Eli) - and now they have to plan a last minute revamp wedding for their best friends in the place Georgia and Eli first got together! They haven’t spoken since their breakup 5 years ago and when they see each other there is tension, angst, curiosity, attraction, and most importantly a lot of unanswered questions.

I did feel the connection between these two characters and I am normally not a “second chance” trope fan, but I think this author did it very well!

4 ⭐️

Jessica Joyce's "You, with a View" was one of 2023's best debuts, and "The Ex Vows" is even better. Exes/second-chance romance is not one of my favorite tropes, but I thought Joyce did a fantastic job with it here.

Georgia and Eli broke up five years ago, mainly due to Eli's workaholism. Eli stayed at his high-powered job in New York, and Georgia moved home to the Bay Area. The pair had known each other since high school, when they were both friends with a guy named Adam. Now Adam is getting married to his fiancée Grace, and everything is going wrong (the wedding venue burned down, for one thing). Eli and Georgia, Adam's best man and woman, wind up having to try to help save the day for the couple, which requires them to work together. Their sexual chemistry is still there, but so are all the unresolved feelings left over from their break-up.

This is such an emotional book, with plenty of frank and open conversations as well as some hot love scenes! If you like Big Feelings, as I do, this is the book for you.

Just…. JUST… PERFECTION. I can’t. I have no words. This book was PERFECT and I cannot wait for everyone to cry over it like I did.

Wow, this book was a journey, and I was invested the whole way! I loved how beautifully the author portrayed love and regret and friendship and how we all must learn to cope with time and changes. I enjoyed the chemistry and slow burn (and shared history) between the FMC and MMC. However, the book was a bit unclear at times/confusing. It would have been even more interesting as a dual POV story too.

this is my first book by jessica joyce and it definitely won’t be my last. i haven’t read a good second chance romance in a while and she absolutely surprised me with this one.

georgia and eli have such an exceptional romance story and great chemistry. throughout the book, i couldn’t help but root for them to get back together. however, i also liked how their story just felt REAL. they really were right person wrong time and i loved the way jessica incorporated issues like mental health, anxiety, and insecurities and how it can affect a relationship. being able to move forward together as a couple also means taking accountability (we love a man who goes to therapy and takes care of his mental health). i would have loved to read eli’s pov, but besides that everything was exceptional.

if you’re a swiftie and you love paper rings, you’ll love this book!! thank you so so so much to net galley and berkley for the arc!

Jessica Joyce is now an auto-buy author for me ITS BEEN SETTLED! I absolutely ATE. UP. this second chance romance.

This story follows Eli and Georgia, who broke up five years ago, as they reunite for their best friends wedding. Things with the wedding are seemingly all going to hell, so Eli and Georgia team up to help save their best friends special day. As the story goes, we get glimpses into Eli and Georgia's past and boy oh boyyy when I tell y'all I could FEEL the chemistry coming off the page in waves! Even small moments between them were just riddled with tension and I felt like a fool grinning at my Kindle.

Joyce is able to strike the perfect balance of humor, romance, emotion, and hotness. There's simply nothing better when a romance book hits each point and this one did for me! Without getting into spoilers too much, I loved the development that we see from both Eli and Georgia over the course of this novel. We meet them first as teenagers and are able to see glimpses of that past, up until now when they are in their late twenties. Both of them have gone through many life changes and seeing how they both process and grew through these changes was such a joy to read!

I want to also mention the friend group in this book got me a little teary at times. Every single side character felt important and necessary to the story. I want to be in this friend group! Let me in!!!

Also, yeah, Eli and his little chain had me swooning like an idiot what can I saaaaay

Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes and boy did Jessica Joyce DELIVER! Georgia & Eli are the epitome of right person wrong time.

I could literally feel the chemistry and love between E + G radiating off the pages. I was living for those stolen glances and moments. I loved the way Jessica wrote the little glimpses into their past.

To me Eli Mora was the star of the book. MY MAN is such a simp and so babygirl. I ADORE HIM. A man who goes to therapy will always do it for me. That GOD DAMN CHAIN was my undoing. I was honestly shocked by the amount of spicy moments between these two, but I loved them nonetheless.

Georgia is a great character but I just didn’t really connect with her. I will say I was so proud of her!! I loved that she chose to find happiness on her own before exploring her relationship Eli again. & I love that he allowed her to slowly come to that realization!

If this book had a soundtrack to it it would be Paper rings 💍 & the cupcake?! 🥹👏🏼 ah! Loved the epilogue as well Eli and Georgias story felt perfectly wrapped up!

A sweet second chance romance, in which exes must cooperate to save their best friend’s wedding. Told entirely from Georgia’s perspective; I would’ve enjoyed hearing from Eli, too, as the two of them spend time together for the first time since they broke up five years ago. No huge twists here, but a satisfying story of two people finding their way back to each other, either as friends or something more.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

more like a 4.5!!
-first i want to say this is the best second chance romance i ever read!
-i loved their banter from the start and i could really feel a connection
-i think in parts it dragged and i was like cmon just get together already!!! but the ending was worth everything
-the. paper. rings. SO CUTE! (and taylor coded😉)
-i loved the little quirks from the characters that just made them feel real. and again the banter was tooo good it felt like a real conversation between two people who still love eachother but can’t work out their feelings but there’s STILL SOMETHING THERE!!!!
-i relate to georgia too much as someone who has tried to be friends with an ex when you break up…it’s hard!!! and that’s why i liked the dialogue so much i related to it.
-this book will probably become really popular and well loved it’s just one of those books that feels like a classic romance that everyone needs to read.

I enjoyed this author’s other book—You, With a View—and decided to give this one a read even though I’m not usually a fan of second chance romance.

The Ex Vows did not disappoint. Honestly, this book was great. I read it in a day, straight up devouring it.

It’s officially now my favorite second chance romance. I adored the main characters and was rooting for them to get back together. The mental health representation and the strong friendships make this a fantastic story.

Georgia and Eli are both in their friend Adam’s wedding. The three have been friends since high school, and friendship turned into romance for Georgia and Eli. Things fell apart when they moved to NY together, with Eli’s work and anxiety about success taking up his attention and Georgia’s refusal to let others know she needs them at an all time high.

Now, they have to save Adam’s wedding, which has quickly turned into a disaster. His venue burns down, the DJ cancels, there’s no cake, and just about everything has gone wrong. Georgia’s reliable, eager to save the day and prove her continuous worth to her friends, but Eli wants to help, too. And with the two of them wanting Adam to not sense any lingering weirdness from their breakup, they’re stuck together while old feelings start to shape into new ones.

I’m a fucking mess.

I’ve read a lot of romance over the last few years (like many of us have). I’m convinced Jessica Joyce is the next big thing.

Her stories are beautiful. Her writing is eloquent. I alternated between laughing and crying at the raw and earnest love between Georgia and Eli.

I love them so much, and I cannot wait to see what Jessica crafts for us next.

Thank you Berkley romance for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

Well this shot to the top of my favorite romances of 2024. The Ex Vows is a swoony, angsty second chance romance full of found family vibes and set at a WINERY. Gah. Swoon.

Georgia lives by her lists. That’s how she controls her life and her emotions. The most important list she has? The list of do’s and don’ts her and ex, Eli, have been following since their devastating breakup. It is the only way they can keep their friend group together and happy. However, that list gets thrown out the window when they are forced to go to a winery together to save their best friend’s wedding. What happens when they start breaking all of their rules?

I was OBSESSED with this book. Georgia and Eli have sizzling chemistry, but are also heart-achingly sweet. I just wanted the two crazy kids to work through their emotional baggage and communicateeeee. The vibes were immaculate. The big romantic moment perfection. I will never recover.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jessica Joyce's second novel, The Ex Vows, is a swoony and deeply romantic story about two best friends finding their way back to each other after falling in love, then breaking up five years ago. Georgia and Eli are forced to work together as best woman and best man for their best friend Adam's wedding, and like in many romance novels, wedding hijinks and disasters ensue. Georgia and Eli must work together and realize they left a lot of things unsaid. I cannot recommend this book enough; I had butterflies the whole time!

Thank you so much to Berkley for approving me to read an early ARC of this book. All opinions are mine!

This book. Wow. This is an instant classic romance to add to your collection. If you are a fan of Emily Henry or Carley Fortune I think you will love this. I am not typically a second-chance romance fan, in fact People We Meet on Vacation was previously my only exception; but this book works so well, and Jessica has weaved together a story that will make you laugh, kick your feet, and cry.

Georgia is a wonderfully flawed FMC. She struggles with intense abandonment issues, and some insecurity, which amounts to an extreme people pleaser that doesn't know how to express what she needs and wants. It led partially to the break up of her and Eli five years ago, and has resulted in a not-so-unspoken list detailing what is and isn't allowed between her and Eli to maintain their friendship with Adam, their co-best friend. The Ex Vows opens with Adam about to get married, however, everything has gone wrong and people-pleaser Georgia and determined but absent Eli have to work together to make the wedding happen in one week.

I still have too many thoughts - in fact my emotions are quite messy - but I will have to make a list of everything I loved. And go listen to Taylor Swift's Paper Rings.

In "The Ex Vow" by Jessica Joyce, readers are whisked into the enchanting world of Georgia Woodward, a woman grappling with the complexities of love and forgiveness amidst the backdrop of a wedding.

As Georgia finds herself swept up in the flurry of wedding preparations, she is unexpectedly confronted by the reappearance of her ex-lover, Eli Mora. Set against the romantic backdrop of the impending nuptials, their reunion sparks a whirlwind of emotions, forcing Georgia to confront unresolved feelings from their past relationship.

What sets "The Ex Vow" apart is its captivating portrayal of love in all its forms. From the tender moments shared between Georgia and Eli to the heart-wrenching challenges they face, Jessica Joyce skillfully captures the intricacies of human relationships with sensitivity and depth.

As Georgia and Eli navigate the rocky terrain of their past romance, readers are drawn into a world filled with passion, longing, and second chances. Against the backdrop of the wedding festivities, the stakes are raised, intensifying the emotional journey of the protagonists and keeping readers eagerly turning the pages.

Moreover, Jessica Joyce's evocative prose brings the wedding setting to life, immersing readers in the sights, sounds, and emotions of the occasion. From the lush descriptions of the venue to the palpable tension between the characters, every detail is meticulously crafted to create a rich and immersive reading experience.

As the story unfolds, "The Ex Vow" explores themes of forgiveness, redemption, and the enduring power of love. Through its poignant narrative and heartfelt storytelling, Jessica Joyce reminds us that sometimes, the greatest love stories are the ones that are given a second chance.

In conclusion, "The Ex Vow" is a captivating romance novel that will resonate with readers long after they've turned the final page. With its engaging plot, well-drawn characters, and evocative setting, it is a testament to the transformative nature of love and the promise of happily ever after. This book deserves a resounding five stars.