OMG, the PAPER RINGS.

That's it. That's the review.

(Just kidding. BUT IT COULD BE, BECAUSE OMG, THE PAPER RINGS.)

The Ex Vows made me an absolute sloppy mess. (Apparently, this is a Pisces trait, or so this book has informed me?) There was an awful lot of snort laughing at the beginning, which shifted into not a little aggravation around the middle (we only get Georgia's POV and it's obvious that there's a lot going on with Eli that she's too afraid to ask him about and instead is filling in the blanks herself--for a while there I was terrified that this was going to turn into Happy Place part 2, but thankfully it didn't).

The day of Adam and Grace's wedding was a train wreck I couldn't look away from, but it had me sobbing and laughing (and laugh-sobbing) before it was over and then the last 25% of the book? I don't even have words. All the feels. So. Many. Feels. Thank goodness I'd already taken off my makeup for the day ;)

I've always been a second chance romance can *maybe* work, if given the right circumstances kind of girl, and good golly are THESE the right circumstances.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

A steamy second chance romance about estranged exes who must work together to pull of their mutual best friend’s wedding after a string of misfortunes puts the big day in peril

I LOVED Eli and Georgia. The Ex Vows was sweet, sexy and everything you could want in a second chance romance. Eli and Georgia gave me all the feels. Their chemistry and connection was amazing. Best friends turned lovers, turned exes with all the feelings still brewing, despite trying to hide it from each other.

It was evident that Eli came to the wedding celebrations ready to win Georgia back and I was so there for it. This book touched on relationships, friendships, mental health and therapy in a way that was both endearing and moving. I loved how they both grew, apart from each other, so that when they reunited they were able to be stronger together.

Such an easy 5 stars!! Beautiful, perfect, amazing. What a freaking gift of a book. This might be the best second chance romance I’ve ever read. Georgia and Eli deserve the world. Ugh, I love Jessica Joyce’s writing so much.

Wow, this is going to end up being one of my top romance reads in 2024… The setting, the wedding bad luck, the tension, the paper rings... This second chance romance was perfect.

I loved it even more than 𝗬𝗼𝘂, 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 and that is saying a lot. Jessica Joyce, you are an auto-buy author in my book!

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleyromance for the advance e-copy!

I don't even know where to begin with this review because I read this book months ago, and while I still think about it and how it made me feel, I believe I've blocked it from my memory because of how gut-wrenching it was.

When I read *The Ex Vows*, I felt like my heart was shattered into a million pieces, only to be put back together in the end. That's exactly how Jessica Joyce’s book made me feel, and I absolutely love that. Eli and Georgia's (or Peach’s) connection was sexy and full of banter, with so much tension 😌. I loved every single aspect of the plot; the character development was top-notch. This is one hell of a second-chance romance novel that everyone should read!

In case you haven’t heard about this book—which I doubt—it’s about Eli and Georgia, estranged exes who are brought back together when their best friend is getting married. They are forced to save a doomed wedding after a series of disastrous events. To do so, they come together for their friend, following a set of rules made by Georgia, to peacefully help fix things. In the process, they are forced to confront the circumstances of their past.

If Jessica writes it, I am gonna read it and I will cry about it. This was phenomenal and a perfect second chance romance.

i FLEW through this which is impressive for me cause I never really binge read books. That being said, I don’t remember a single thing. I remember loving the characters and the anxiety rep. LOVED the second chance romance, but nothing really stood out to me to set it apart from a lot of the other romance novels I love

Did this just become my new favorite contemporary romance??

I absolutely adored the journey of these two characters finding each other, losing each other, and then finding their way back. Felt so real and genuine - almost like it happened to a friend of mine instead of a fictional character.

Found myself getting choked up multiple times by just how sweet this story is. Highly recommend for fans of second chance romance - this book absolutely nails everything good about romance.

There are some books that remind me of why I love reading romance. This is one of them. I am a huge fan of second chance romances however, I do think that they are not always written in a way that has me rooting for the characters to get back together. This is a perfect example of one that is done perfectly.

Eli and Georgia broke up five years ago and are reunited as their best friends are getting married. After several things go wrong with the wedding, they are tasked with helping their friends get things done last minute. It is a slow dance between the characters as they tip toe around their feelings and the intense chemistry they have for the other. It was the perfect balance of glimpses of them in the past and moments in the present that made me feel their connection and understand why the time apart was necessary for both of them. I could feel the growth of Eli's character even though he does not have POV chapters, which shows how talented the author is. I wouldn't say this was a particularly angsty romance, but it definitely had moments of angst and longing. There were times that my heart was in my stomach. And the tension?? HOT.

I was invested from the first page and was shocked when I realized the book was almost over. One of my favorite reads of the year.

This was absolutely amazing! Definitely one of my favourite romance reads of the year so far. There was so much chemistry and tension between Eli and Georgia througout the entire book, and I loved it so much. Jessica Joyce is such an amazing new romance author, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!! :)

Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley, for the complimentary advance review copy; all opinions are my own!

Tender and vulnerable and sexy and touchingly realistic, THE EX VOWS beautifully navigated the complexity of relationships over time, championed therapy and self-care and personal growth, and gave us such a believably imperfect, lovable, easy-to-root for couple in Georgia and Eli.

I enjoyed and loved THE EX VOWS so much more than YOU, WITH A VIEW. I totally felt for Georgia—the sense of belonging, the fear of both love and loss, and the effervescent list-making. Such a sweet second chance romance with mutual pining x forced proximity. The wedding planning mayhem, the friendships, the fun side characters, and of course the swoony hero Eli all made this such a perfect summer binge! I was actually on the plane to attend a destination wedding, so it was definitely on point with the mood. Highly recommend!

The Ex Vows is the most perfect second chance romance I've ever read. After reading Jessica Joyce's debut last year, I didn't think I could love her next release as much as her first — and dare I say, she proved me wrong?

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. Second chance romance can be really hard to get right and I feel like Jessica Joyce hit all the right spots with this one. The characters pull the reader in, the silly and unbelievable moments happening to Adam bring humour and the romance is full of swoon-worthy moments. Combined with Jessica Joyce's incredible writing, this book has all the ingredients for perfection.

I can't wait to re-read this one (and her debut) and pick up whatever she writes next!

Highly recommend picking this one up!

DNF @63%.

I wanted to love this and I tried. I tried so hard. I absolutely loved this authors last book and I desperately wanted this to be the same and it’s just not.
I am so bored. This is the fourth time I’ve tried to make progress in this book and nothing is going on. There is no connection. There is no tension. I don’t feel like the characters have much depth. I wanted so much more and this is just not giving.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I was blown away with how good this book was, one of the best I have read all year. I had heard rumors it was really good, but it blew all my expectations away. Joyce writes beautifully and this book really showcases her talent of being funny, sweet, and heartbreaking throughout the story. This book was the sweetest second chance romance I have ever read, and I don’t usually like second chance romances. I think a lot of times second chance romance is too angsty for me and I can’t understand how people would break up and then just magically still be in love, but this book solved all of those second chance issues through softly showing how trauma and mental health issues can pull people apart. This book cemented Jessica Joyce as a must read for me and I highly recommend it for fans of Joyce and Emily Henry, second chance, and great contemporary romance.

This book was SO CUTE. Honestly I didn't know much about it aside from what I saw on social and I ate this up. The chemistry, the tension, the characters were just...ugh. I LOVED this and can't wait to share an in depth review on social. Thanks again!

I loved “You with a View” and was super excited for Jessica’s newest book.
It did not disappoint! She captured the angst and longing of exes so perfectly, and the backdrop of the mutual best friend’s wedding and the California wine country setting made the whole package “chef’s kiss.”
I loved all the friend group and all the flashbacks and also the idea of moving on and the struggles of adult friendships and how they grow and change.
I’ll definitely be reading any books she writes in the future!

If Jessica Joyce isn't on your auto-buy author list yet, then she definitely will be after THE EX VOWS! What an incredible second-chance romance -- we need more books with this trope, and more books by the amazing Jessica Joyce!

Friends-to-lovers
Second chance romance
Wedding plans gone wrong
Forced proximity
Found family

The Ex Vows is an angsty second-chance romance that hit all the right notes for me. It has all my favorite tropes! I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only complaint is I would've loved to read the story from Eli's POV, not just Georgia's.

I just adore this author and her ability to really draw you into the characters. You feel for them and you champion for them. I definitely did with these characters. With a slew of bad luck, some nuptials, and two exes who must play nice for the sake of their friends, this book had me swooning.

Jessica Joyce is truly an author to watch out for because she has this ability to make you feel present in the story. I loved the whimsy of this book, as well as the tremendous amount of heart.