Second-chance and bestfriends-to-lovers are my least favourite tropes. You will never see me pick up a book themed with those voluntarily. Unless it's highly praised by my fellow reviewers, whom I trust. With that being said, I didn't have any expectations going into this book. And I was left pleasantly surprised by the end.

The plot was AMAZING! Georgia, the ever people pleaser, is the best woman at her best friend's wedding and is determined to give it her all to make his special day perfect. But Adam's wedding is... cursed. One disaster after the other. Adding in a reunion with the guy who broke her heart at 23, who also happens to be the best man, doesn't help one bit. Not only that, but they agreed to not make things complicated after their break up, so for the past couple of years, they have been pretending to be chill. When they, in fact, aren't chill at all. But to keep their band of best friends tight, they pretend as if the break up didn't affect them at all in front of Adam. It was always simple, stick to the rules and go separate ways. But now Adam's wedding needs to be saved and Georgia and Eli must join forces. After the venue burns to the ground, Georgia and Eli head to Blue Yonder with the mission to put together everything within a week's time. Spending time alone with Eli was definitely not on her list, especially since the hurt from their last meeting is still fresh. But Blue Yonder brings back fond memories, and they find themselves walking down the sweet memory lane, pretending to be engaged, sharing one bed, and facing their past. A week of bliss... and then what?

I absolutely loved this book. I loved how REAL Georgia and Eli's reasons to split up were. Most second chance books have silly miscommunication as its whole plot. But not here. Jessica served in You, With A View and she ATE in this.

The whole book was Paper Rings and Labyrinth coded and it made my heart sing! Eli and Georgia are one of those couples that you know will stay together forever. I screamed (in my head) 'soulmates' literally every time they interacted. Unlike those books that lean heavily on exaggerated angst and clichéd miscommunication, this book focuses on real and genuine emotions.

Their personal growth was everything. Eli went from being a workaholic to someone who made efforts, took therapy, and communicated. Georgia communicated her fear of being abandoned by her friends and her need for reassurance that she never got before. Together, they opened up about their past feelings that they had kept bottled up and figured out a way to stay connected. They made sure that they got the timing right this time, as well as their priorities.

I loved the whole vibe. Saving the wedding, the love and homey feeling in Blue Yonder, the beauty of Napa Valley, the friendships, forced proximity, and the chemistry... phenomenal.

Do yourself a favor and add this masterpiece to your TBR and preorder right away!

Thank you so much @NetGalley and Random House UK for the eARC of this book.

3⭑

Tropes;
- friends to lovers
- second chance
- wedding setting
- anxiety rep
- single POV

I liked this but didn’t really love it the way I loved You With A View.

I really liked Georgia as a character, she was very relatable and I could see quite a lot of myself in her. I loved the friendship group in this book and loved the plot of trying the main characters trying to save their best friends wedding - this part was so fun to read about. I also really enjoyed Eli as a character!! His little paper rings that he would make Georgia are so cute.

With that being said, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance in this book but I feel like that doesn’t come to a surprise as the second chance trope really is not a favourite of mine. I wish we got to see Eli’s perspective, I think this would have helped believe how much he struggled after they first broke up and how hard he worked to better himself for her.

I think if you’re someone who loves the second chance trope, you will adore this book. Unfortunately I didn’t come to love it as much as I hoped I would.

Huge thank you to NetGalley & Penguin UK for sending me an early copy of The Ex Vows in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was such a sweet second chance romance that reminded me of Emily Henry’s Happy Place which I also loved.

Georgia and Eli were best friends growing up before becoming a couple, but after their relationship ends they are left not speaking to each other for years until they are forced to come together for their mutual friends wedding.

I loved Georgia and Eli so such they were such great characters, they were both flawed and human in a way you were just rooting for theme straight away. There’s also a great cast of supporting characters which were really well fleshed out and interesting too rather than just being background characters which can so often happen.

I’ve not read any books by this author before this one but this has made me want to read her other work, I really enjoyed it - it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside which is exactly what you want from a romance book.

The Ex Vows is an enjoyable second chance romance. It follows Georgia and Eli as they team up to help save their best friend’s wedding after a series of unfortunate events threaten to derail their plans.
This book has fun characters and I enjoyed the side plot of how friendships can change over the years and the impact this can have. I felt there was quite a bit of miscommunication in this book which I found a little bit frustrating and repetitive at times. However it was still an enjoyable romcom that I think would make a great easy holiday read.

Georgia isn't ready to spend a number of days with her ex boyfriend while they are getting ready for their best friend's wedding. But when one disaster after another happens it means that she not only get to spend time with Eli, they are both spend some very much alone time while they are trying to save said wedding since it has been moved in a new location days before it's supposed to happen.

While this will be very hard for her, she does what she does best and doesn't complain, doesn't asked for help while she is trying not to drawn.

Meanwhile Eli is as she remembers him but also different trying to decide if that is good or not is a whole other headache that might lead to a heartbreak.

You might know that second chance romance isn't my favourite but I couldn't resist reading the newest Jessica Joyce book especially after loving You, with a view as much as I did.

The Ex Vows is a very emotional book, the single pov means we only got to see what happened and everything that is going on through her eyes which leaves some things about Eli in the dark.

I liked the friendship between the main and side characters, it really showed many things about how life can change but true friendship lasts no matter what.

As for the romance, I found it sweet. There is something in particular that I found especially precious 😍 It was nice to see what brought their break up five years ago, I preferred the way the romance was in the present though as both main characters had or were willing to work on some personal issues.


* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Ex Vows' by Jessica Joyce.

This was underwhelming to say the least. Two exes reunited after a break up that causes them not to speak to plan their other friends wedding. The reason they broke up was a bit over the top and honestly, they might have gotten through their hurdle if they had actually SPOKEN ABOUT IT. Both characters were honestly boring to me and I didn't connect with either of them enough to enjoy this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this novel.

If I could give this book 6 stars I would. I have highlighted this book more than any other before it and have already preordered a physical copy so that I can annotate it.

I want to address something right away: this book is second chance lovers, but please don’t let that deter you. I would say this is similar to Happy Place in the way that it remains firmly in the present while reflecting on moments in the past, rather than spending whole chapters focusing on it. While the foundation of the relationship was built prior to the story taking place, the readers get a good sense of how that dynamic was. The characters both grow so much not only from when they initially parted ways but also in the present that we are shown. Their dynamic is perfect, and the way that they understand each other and are there for one another even when they are uncertain of where they stand made me so emotional.

Jessica Joyce is a master at weaving together small moments of joy with deeper emotions, especially grief. The grief in this story focuses predominantly on change and friendships which is something that is just not talked about enough. I think that it was incredibly relatable to anyone in their late twenties to earlier thirties going through that transition with their friends.

As well I want to address the beautiful and accurate depiction of anxiety. Both of our main characters suffer from anxiety stemming from their childhoods. This book did such a good job of showing how pervasive anxiety can be and how it can impact relationships and lives.

Overall I think that Jessica Joyce is extremely underrated and I would not be surprised if this novel catapults her to Emily Henry fame. Her heartfelt prose and deeply relatable characters will continue to set her apart in the romance genre. She is now on my list of auto-buy authors.

I am so in love with Jessica Joyce's writing. I absolutely adored 'You With a View' last year, so was beyond thrilled to get the opportunity to read and review this book. This story is absolutely perfect for fans of second-chance romance, he falls first and even friends-to-lovers.

I think, more than anything, Jessica has such a gift for writing very visceral characters. The characters have struggles and they feel so real. I can easily put myself in their shoes, and I can feel their joy, grief and everything in between.

I read so many romance novels, that sometimes I think I almost disassociate from the emotional parts of the book, the parts that are designed to make me laugh or cry. With this story I was sobbing, smiling, and kicking my feet - for me any book that can make me feel so strongly is worthy of 5 stars!

I’m destroyed in the best possible way and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after reading this book!!! This might be my favourite read this year so far and we’re only at March!

Jessica Joyce is such a phenomenal writer and it is truly criminal that i’ve only just been introduced to her. Her writing is beautifully evocative, the imagery powerful enough to touch your soul, and it’s all wrapped up in storyline that felt like a wholesomely nostalgic 2000’s romcom. She painted such a painfully stunning picture of what it’s like to fall in love with the right person at the wrong time. She showed the realities of loving someone, the messiness, the ups and down, the honesty and grace and kindness it takes to make a relationship work. It was raw, passionate, heartfelt, imperfectly perfect, but most of it all it was real!!

Books that i’m drawn towards tend to be those where i can see bits and pieces of myself in the characters, though i don’t think i’ve ever come across a character who i resonate so deeply with, to my bones, who is me to an absolute T!! Georgia was such a heartbreakingly real character, whose anxieties and feelings of inadequacies related so much to my own growing up, and it felt therapeutic to watch her go through a journey of self discovery and love. Equally Eli, a soft and quiet character with his own worries and fears of never being good enough was complex yet understandable and i loved watching his determination and effort towards being better for himself and others. Their respective self journey’s from the start to the end of this story was not only realistic, but honest and wonderful and it was truly a privilege to be able to experience their character growth’s with them!

Not only that, but the growth of their relationship, from the fractured remnants left behind in their early twenties, to the healed version in their late twenties, wasn’t rushed nor insincere. It showed a perfect picture of the human experience, of what it’s like to fall in love so young, the pain of heartbreak, but most of all, the effort and dedication it takes to make something work when it’s worth it. And don’t even get me started on the chemistry between Georgia and Eli (it was off the FREAKING charts!!)

Most of all, i loved seeing the exploration of platonic friendships. Jessica Joyce not only showed us two beautiful characters falling in love with themselves, but loving each other and their friends in the way all people deserve.

This book was an ode to growing up in your twenties and i’d recommend it to anyone and everyone!!!!!

I absolutely love Jessica Joyce, and will absolutely read anything and everything this woman writes.

I loved her debut novel so much, and she has quickly become an author that I love and will continue to support in all the stories that she chooses to write! she writes the softest, sweetest but most relatable love stories and I'm just in awe. You can really get completely lost in her books, and I love that feeling so much!

her storytelling is absolutely unmatched, and the way she describes the characters and their emotions in this books is so raw and authentic, I could actually feel my heart bleeding for the two main characters. this was a well done second chance romance, and I appreciate how their story and relationship was explained throughout. I really enjoyed the ending, although I would've liked just a 'bit more' in the ending, during the resolution of their relationship, and to really feel that everything was hashed out and truly dealt with fully.

this was also a lot spicier than her first book and I loved it! I really like how intimate scenes were written with so many feelings and emotions in mind. you could really feel and tell that this couple had so much history, feelings, and chemistry, which came across on page really well!!!

other than that this was another fabulous love story, and I will absolutely be reading anything Jessica writes from here and so forth! X

Absolutely loved this book! Georgia and Eli are such great characters. I loved the vulnerability of their journey. Would definitely recommend it.

4.5 stars

This book was absolutely everything!! There wasn't a page I didn't enjoy reading and I was only hungry for more.

The relationship between Eli and Georgia was perfection, I loved the fact that this was a second chance romance and they have such deep history that is interwoven throughout the whole story. Them finding each other again, but most importantly finding themselves before that, was so beautifully done. I loved Eli's nickname for her, 'Peach' had my heart melting every single time I saw it on the page.

The reason they broke up 5 years ago felt so realistic, because sometime people really do get so in their head about hurting their partner which just leads to each of them being miserable. The fact that Eli never stopped loving her and the secrect messages inside the rings he left for her throughout their whole relationship and friendship before that put hearts in my eyes. Thier banter, the little gestures they did for each other, how much they loved each other (!!!) even without explicitly saying it, it was all amazingly written.

Eli's struggle with panic attacks and anxiety felt so realistic and so close to what I've experienced, I loved seeing the portrayal of that in this book and I loved how Georgia's struggles were represented as well.

Overall, words genuinely can't describe how much this book meant to me and how much I grew to love these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Joyce and Penguin for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks so much to Penguin Books, Jessica Joyce and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I LOVE this book, the second chance romance element was executed beautifully and the angst and pining between Georgia and Eli was chemistry and tension filled. When they eventually gave in, it was absolutely explosive. I enjoyed the premise of the book, the background of a friend's wedding provides the perfect stage for the feelings to unravel.

The portrayal of Eli's anxiety was conveyed in a way that showcased how the breakdown of their relationship and external factors was the cause of the separation. I loved Georgia's character, the need to be the problem solver and the owner of all the lists, and seeing the way her walls gradually broke down due to Eli's unwavering love was so heartwarming.

But what truly makes this book excellent is the writing, so beautifully written, almost poetic in some ways, you could really feel the angst pouring out of each interaction and Joyce does an incredible job in producing scenarios (the paper rings?!) that showcased the deep love between the pair.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend!

I knew after reading her debut that Jessica Joyce was going to be an auto buy author for me and this book is another reason why I will read every book she ever writes. It was the definition of perfection: captivating storytelling, in-depth character development and the purest characters. I didn’t want to put it down. As someone who doesn’t often enjoy second chance romance this story stole my heart and is one of my favourites reads of the year.


Favourite Quotes:

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.

𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑰 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒐.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕.

𝑬𝒍𝒊 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒚. 𝑨 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

4.5 stars

God this was just gorgeous. I literally couldn’t put it down but wish I had taken a few breaks because I was totally doing that “half asleep reading and now I can’t remember what happened” thing because I couldn’t bear to not see what happened next. A second chance romance with so much growth and development, and irrefutable love. So cute and kinda smutty and I loved it.

Mental health rep and depictions of anxiety, which I really appreciated.

Positive portrayals of friendships, and platonic soulmates 🥹

An emotional and hard hitting story that was so full of love.

Definitely picking up You With a View next!!

Review copy from NetGalley 💗

I absolutely loved Jessica’s debut novel “You With a View” and I was so excited when I got approved for an eARC on Netgalley for her next book, “The Ex Vows”.

The reason I am not giving this book 5 stars is because I got fed up with all the drama surrounding Adam and Grace’s wedding. Anything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong and at one point it became very annoying that NOTHING was going good for them, it was just too much and I felt like it took away the nice vibes of the story and it was just frustrating.

I love Eli and Georgia’s relationship though, a very well done second chance romance that I devoured. Wish we had a little bit more of them and less of the wedding drama, but I get why it had to be this way, it just wasn’t my favorite thing.

Jessica Joyce is absolutely an auto buy author for me at this point. I LOVED you with a view so I was absolutely delighted to have been provided with an ARC of The Ex Vows in exchange for an honest review.

Eli and Georgia are spectacular. Their whole story - friends to lovers to exes to circle back round to each other through forced proximity, is stunning. The longing and the angst throughout this book, Jessica Joyce ripped my heart out and put it back together again, in the best possible way. I loved the characters and their story so much; the whole book was an absolute delight. 10/10, do not skip this book!!

Perfect 👌
I absolutely loved this and am guaranteed to want to read everything Jessica Joyce writes from this moment on.

If you liked “You, with a View” you will like this. Exes thrown together to plan their mutual best friend’s wedding one week before the date, in the location that they fell in love. A nice second chance romance with forced proximity. At times it felt like it dragged on and I just wanted to get to the happy ending—this may be because I read this after two 5 star reads and I was sort of in a book hangover. Light enjoyable rom com

This is a five-star read that is as sweet as a peach. This one will keep you on your toes, can you think of anything worse than spending the week with the ex you hate, I honestly don’t think I would do it even for my bestie who is convinced their wedding is cursed. As this story unfolds you will be swept away in the beauty of the Napa valley, you will be tasting the cake flavours as you read them, it pulls you into the moment so well, you will be there holding the rings, every single one of them. Adam was someone I warmed to the more I got to know him, as he reveals more of himself, you can’t help but get to know the real him, and cant help yourself for falling for him. Pick up this story and get swept away with the craziness that is weddings, but the joy they bring as well. I can not wait to find what this author will bring us next, as so far the two stories I have read, have become firm favourites of mine.