Jessica Joyce writes the sweetest love stories with just the right amount of spice. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors.

This is a second-chance romance about former flames reuniting for the wedding of their mutual best friend. I could not put it down and was rooting for Georgia and Eli the whole time!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

oh wow. i'm not even sure where to begin on this one. i am such an emotional wreck right now. tears are pouring down as i write this review oh dear lord.

second chance is a trope that can either be done very well, or falls the mark. and this is one that exceeds every expectation and more. jessica puts so much care into telling eli and georgia's story.

going into this book, it was not what i expected. i didn't expect to be crying every chapter and just be so intrigued and curious. the emotions that this book evoked out of me was insanity in all honesty. georgia will do everything to please people and never share her burdens. and eli's trauma is so deep rooted that anxiety takes over all. eli and georgia were messy, deep, emotional, yet beautiful. their love for eachother was so undeniable.

in every page, it made me feel. i felt all the emotions these characters were going through. i was happy, scared, confused, sad, and so on. eli and georgia's story was absolutely heartbreaking but also beautiful and real. it showed the deep ugly moments in life and the struggles of navigating relationships through mental health and self discovery struggles. this is something that i don't think many authors do, so it was refreshing to read about this. i also think shedding light on the importance of therapy was something that was talked about and done extremely well.

and can we talk about the paper rings!!!!!!!!! i started wailing like a baby i was such an emotional wreck after that. dear lord i have seen what you have done for others.

with this all being said, this was my first and definitely not my last jessica joyce book! this was truly everything i needed in my life. the way she was able to portray these characters and their hardships with anxiety and abandonment was amazing. i truly just can't even begin to explain how much i loved this book.

thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. i am so grateful <3 everyone PLEASEEEE add this to your tbr and purchase when it comes out. you won't regret it.

Rating: 4.5/5
Steam: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Cheers to the paper rings and the beautiful words JJ gave us in the Ex Vows.

Okay, I absolutely loved The Ex Vows. I actually was crying by the end of this book because it was so heartfelt and lovely.

I loved that even though this was single POV I felt like I knew Eli. I loved how much they knew each other, and supported each other even when it was hard. They balanced each other out. This book was so unbelievably horny. Yeah, I said that. Jessica wrote tension, and pining SO WELL. My god I was just waiting for them to do it. They were so emotionally connected with each other even when they weren't using their words, that it added a layer of depth.

While the overall book was fantastic, the initial 40% posed a challenge. Had it not been for a recommendation, I might have missed out on the brilliance that unfolded later in the story.

Here's what didn't work for me: Mostly Adam. The drama surrounding Adam and his wedding, with everything seemingly going wrong, became somewhat overwhelming and, at times, frustrating. Adam's lack of responsibility for his own wedding and the subsequent guilt-tripping of his friends added a layer of complexity that, for me, bordered on annoyance. Because Georgia was a massive people pleaser, she bent over backward to anything and everything in the vein of 'my best friend won't love me if I don't do this.' That aspect took off points for me.

All this to say, damn, I adored Georgia and Eli. They were so perfect for each other; this quote is perfect.

“I was wrong when I said before that we’re only good at loving each other when it’s easy. I think we’re good at loving each other out loud when it is, but we’ve silently loved each other through all of the hard stuff.”

A delightful, second chance romance with found family! Jessica Joyce is quickly becoming a favorite romance author - I really enjoyed this story, especially because of the tension and rapport between Eli and Georgia. I liked how they didn’t seem to be super mad at each other because of their past breakup; they were more insecure of themselves and working to heal and grow. Eli was willing to have the hard conversations and challenge Georgia to open up. The love confession and resolution was so sweet and personal to them!! I absolutely loved seeing their happily ever after.

I wish that the sense of setting was more prominent and developed. I would have liked to see more of the winery instead of just the cottage since it was such an important place to them growing up.

I will say one more thing and that is: PAPER RINGS!!!!! Georgia’s discovery absolutely ruined my life in the best way.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the advanced copy.

The Ex Vows is the perfect second-chance romance. I loved the characters and concept more than I thought possible, and Joyce handled the ways they fell apart and came back together with so much heart, warmth, love, and sensitivity. Watching the characters grow into versions of themselves that could build something stable and solid together made me cry happy tears, and the grand romantic gesture—and epilogue?!?!—were so earned, and some of the best I've read. A new favorite.

An absolute 5 star! I laugh, cried, and did everything in between.

Second chance romance, isn’t my absolute favorite trope in the world, but this was executed perfectly. We got to see every bit of their relationship, and I love Eli and Georgia more for it. I was sobbing at some points because I could feel their pain and sorrows. Eli and Georgia are soulmates and you can never convince me of anything different. Jessica executed the mental health aspect in such a real and raw way.

I loved this book so much, and I hope everyone picks this one up!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

i am so happy to say that this is a 7 star read for me 🫠 😭 i cried (too much), i laughed, i smiled, and everything else in between.

second chance romances have to work really hard to please me (i’m not talking about you, happy place). i normally don’t love the notion of exes getting back together (i mean, there’s a reason they broke up, right?), but this book executed this trope perfectly and completely erased by doubts. we got to see the beautiful beginning of their relationship to the rocky downfall, and all of it made me love them even more. every feeling eli and georgia felt, i felt tenfold. i mean, when i tell you i was sobbing, i was SOBBING. eli and georgia are soulmates to the umpteenth degree and you can never convince me otherwise.

the reason eli and georgia broke up when they were 23 was so real and although a lot could have been solved through communication, that’s not always possible. i felt their pain, their longing, and their love for each other in a way that felt like my own feelings.

georgia is the people pleaser, libra woman of my dreams. being a people pleaser, libra woman myself, i felt deeply (and scarily) connected to georgia and her extensive lists. eli is the anxious workaholic who just wants to take care of those he loves. we all know and love a man like eli, who we just want to hug and remind him that everything will be okay. these characters are vulnerable (when they want to be which is so relatable), raw, and real. it takes a lot for me to get so attached to characters, but i want to hold eli and georgia in my back pocket for the rest of my life.

i also want to applaud jessica on the way she wrote eli’s anxiety and mental health struggles. it can be so difficult to accurately portray how anxiety feels, much less how anxiety can feel for men. it was so gutwrenching to see his panic attacks, but seeing georgia help him through them made my heart heal itself.

a short list of things i loved (extremely shortened list because i could go on and on)
- the tension-filled errands
- PAPER RINGS
- the pacing
- mental health representation
- how t-swift coded this is (labyrinth x maroon)
- the banter

thank you x10000 to berkley and netgalley for the arc. this is a new all time favorite book. jessica joyce supremacy!

don’t know where to start with this and I’ve been thinking on it for 24 hours. You, With a View is one of my favorite books in the world so I expected a lot from this and somehow it exceeded my expectations.

This book felt so real. I felt like I was reading about real people with real problems. The fmc, Georgia, was so relatable with her people pleaser tendencies and her fears about the future. Eli is a therapy positive mmc who acknowledges his wrongs and has worked so hard to be better. I fell in love with both of them. The side characters are also excellent and contribute a lot to their story. I loved them all.

This is a second chance romance, one of my favorite tropes ever, and it was done perfectly. I don’t have a single complaint. Their reason for splitting up felt so authentic. Right person, wrong time in life and they both knew that. There are a few scenes / thoughts from the past that really helped me understand why they fell apart. Their character growth and reunion felt real and like they were ready for each other. Sometimes second chance reasons for breaking up are silly or don’t make sense, but this felt like a real life situation.

I loved the wedding plot with Georgia and Eli having to put aside their feelings to work together to save their mutual best friend’s wedding. Even just the character growth through that was excellent.

All in all, this book was everything I hoped for and more. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot, everything about it. Please add this to your tbr!!

Jessica Joyce is a magician when it comes to writing books that just squeeze your soul right out of your body and this one is no different. The Ex Vows is a masterpiece of a 2nd chance romance, capturing so diligently and authentically what it’s like to love someone in your youth, to lose them in the complications of adulthood, and to wonder what could have been (even though you know you shouldn’t). It’s a love letter to who we once were, who we often become in spite of what we want, and who we might still be if we do the work to disassemble what we’ve built and re-build it better.

Eli and Georgia are imperfect people who love each other imperfectly but wholly, and this story weaves us through their journey of coming to the realization that that is enough. Coupled with a beautiful setting, well-formed side characters, and the right mix of humor, heat, and nostalgia, this book a shoe-in for a top 2024 read.

Somehow, Jessica always manages to capture the feelings that we’ve all had, the desires we’ve all kept hidden behind our ribs, the ways we’ve all felt like not enough and too much, and the fear that we might get left behind when the people we love chart new paths for their lives. She makes a reader feel fully seen. This isn’t a book, or an author, that you’ll want to miss!

The Ex Vows cemented my initial gut reaction to You, With a View- that Jessica would be an auto-buy author. She has a way with words that feels so simple and natural and yet so emotionally evocative. Second chance romance is my favorite romcom trope and yet the hardest, in my opinion, to properly execute. The angst and pining in this was off the charts. My stomach was actually hurting at one point, and I LOVED IT. I would let Jessica stomp all over my heart and thank her for it. 10/10 stars. Highly recommend.

4.5/5

Okay wow. This is my first book by Jessica Joyce and it blew me away. This reminded me why second chance romance books are just so amazing. The tension between Georgia and Eli was through the roof. As described, Eli is the definition of “it’s always the quiet ones.” This man was just such a sweetheart. I absolutely adored being able to see such beautiful characters work through their insecurities alone and then together as a team. It was beautiful to see them work through their pain and come out even better in the end. I did feel like some parts were slightly slow or felt longer but otherwise this was truly such a beautiful story.

Read if you like:
Second chance romance
Friends to lovers
Single pov
Forced proximity
It was always you
Spicy
Only one cottage

5 stars.
The angst! The pining! The emotional growth! I’m not usually a book crier but I literally actually physically cried when reading this. In a good way. A cathartic little sob.
Second chance romance is hard to pull off - but Jessica Joyce nailed it.

Also?? The prologue actually knocked me to the ground. Like OMG.

But this book wasn’t just about the romance. It’s about friendship, finding where you belong, and confronting the wounds of the past. And there are so many quotes highlighted in my arc because Jessica just *gets it*.

So final verdict: read it. And bring some tissues.

A beautiful, gut wrenching, romance story. This is what second chance dreams are made of. While reading this, I felt like I was looking at a mirror. What a charming and delightful way of portraying how two soulmates can get back to each other after drifting apart due to life circumstances.

Eli and Georgia made me feel all the sentiment that comes with growing up, being excited for the future but having to deal with all the not so positive aspects of leaving your friends and family behind and giving all your time to trying to do better and please everyone. The fear of disappointing the people you love the most and losing yourself in the process.

I loved how gracefully the author dealt with the mental health aspect in this book. There's something about a man seeking out therapy that will always do it for me. These two characters were made for each other and I loved how they worked individually to be a better versions of themselves, acknowledging their past mistakes and owning them. It was beautiful to see and it made me sobbed uncontrollably.

The pacing was perfect. The back and forth between the past and present events was excellent and I loved the banter, the steam, the love confessions and every single detail of this story. I am in awe with all the emotions that this book made me feel and I can't wait for everyone else to read it.

Side note: if you loved "happy place" by Emily Henry you'll probably love this one. A lot of themes were also similar to the ones portrayed in "The Seven Year Slip" by Ashley Poston and I loved to see those in books.

This is also for the Swifties. Paper rings????? SOMEBODY SEDATE ME

“‘There you are.’ A smile melts across his face, slow and sleepy. ‘Hey, Peach.’”

I absolutely adored You, With a View, and this one was just as good! Sometimes it’s hard to follow up amazing debuts, but Jessica blew me out of the water. Second chance is my favorite trope and I knew from the prologue that this was going to be good!!

The Ex Vows is incredibly romantic, emotional, and REAL. Georgia felt very relatable especially with her dependency and anxiety struggles, and I felt the same way about Eli. The mystery aspect was also super fun and I love that Jessica provides little snippets into their past throughout the book.

I do wish we got Eli’s POV or even some chapters focusing on their past more, but I felt like Jessica did an amazing job illustrating the unraveling of their relationship five years prior. I teared up so many times during this read, especially when things start coming to light about their history. The forced proximity also worked so well for this story. This book felt very realistic which is one reason I loved it so much — specifically the idea of growing up & growing apart in their own relationship but also with friends.

Plot wise, I definitely got Happy Place vibes which I loved!!!! THE SETTING!!!! The paper rings had me SCREAMING!!! I loved the found family aspect too. Jessica Joyce does not miss and I expect amazing things for her as an author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced copy.

A second chance romance you will not want to pass up. The most beautiful love story. A book you will not be able to put down.

I do not know what I was expecting when I started this book but it was not how obsessed I ended up with it. I cannot stop thinking about the book. Everything about it was so perfect. The pace, the writing, the characters, the tension/ chemistry between the main characters, and the love story. Jessica Joyce nailed it all and just did not disappoint with her second novel. In hopes of not spoiling the book for anyone, I have decided not to go into more detail. It's been a full week since I finished the book and I still cannot get over it and I will be talking about it non stop. The characters are very relatable which is always very important to me as a reader. I felt like I could connect with them and that they could be a real person. I found myself crying and just feeling all the feeling which doesn't happen often unless I really feel connected to something. Overall, it was a very well written read and enjoyable that I believe every reader needs to pick up.

This book completely reshaped my bookish preferences. I never thought I could adore a second chance romance so intensely.

What a journey. The characters captured my heart, and the tension, chemistry, and banter between them had me alternating between screams and giggles. The romance was nothing short of fantastic, they were undeniably meant for each other. Every aspect of their story was truly beautiful. What's more, I deeply connected with both main characters, making the entire experience even more special.

This is an exceptional romance, easily one of the best I've ever read.

A second chance romance for childhood best friends turn lovers, turn exes. I was excited for this book and it is a good book, I just felt that it was quite slow for the first 60ish percent of the book. I love a good slow burn but I found myself getting bored and quite frustrated (just talk to each other already!!!!) until the last 30%. But that 30% was so good and I finally found myself really rooting for Eli and Georgia. 3.5 stars.

For fans of Emily Henry's "Happy Place" and Taylor Swift's "Paper Rings" comes a tender second-chance romance, "The Ex Vows"

Jessica Joyce's greatest strength is in alluding to what characters are really thinking and feeling without having to say it. Even in the beginning, when there is tension between Georgia and Eli, you can feel the irresistible pull he feels toward Georgia. Georgia is a little slower to unravel (as is her biggest hurdle to overcome), but when she finally, finally, finally gets there, it is the most satisfying experience as a reader. The anticipation swells and pops, and the emotions just overflow!

Which reminds me--the slow burn! WOW! It was so good. And the steamy scenes were top-notch. Everything about this book felt like it was handled with such intention and care, especially the mental health rep, which I loved. The banter was also incredible!! I laughed, I cried, I cringed, and I swooned so hard I didn't want this story to end. 10/10 would recommend!

Absolutely adored this book- it was unputdownable. Joyce's voice just SINGS through every single line. A story of self-love as much as romantic love, and a true pleasure to sink into. Joyce has a forever fan in me!

You. You. You.

THIS BOOK. I’M STILL NOT OVER IT. Jessica Joyce is a STAR.

I like KNEW I’d love this book, because I LOVED You with a View, but I honestly didn’t know I could love it so much. This book is deep, the emotions are so raw, the yearning, the angst and the tenderness, it all felt so so real. I felt like I was going through a break up in this book, finding love again and then finding myself again. It was a whirlwind!

So, beautiful love story…CHECK.

Now let’s talk about the friendships in this book. The dynamics portrayed in this book are so real, in fact I feel like I have been going through the same thing as Georgia for last few months. It’s about how life just gets in the way, no matter how fiercely you love your friends. But the way they come together and show out, it was just beautiful.

Beautiful friendships.. CHECK.

Now let’s talk about the anxiety rep - again, so real. I thought it was perfectly depicted, and so relatable. I felt for these characters as they went through their waves, and I thought it was shown in such a powerful way.

Representation… CHECK

I could GO on and ON but I’ll stop because I don’t want to ruin this for folks, but here are my final last words:

MVP of the whole story: Eli’s Chain