Estranged exes must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance.
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.
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.
Title: The Ex Vows
Author: Jessica Joyce
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Expected Publication Date: June 16, 2024
Review:
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this egalley to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Georgia Woodward loves her lists, the most important one being the one with the rules she has about her ex Eli Mora. What she wasn't expecting was for Eli to break them or for him to be different than what she remembers from when they broke up. And being thrown into working with Eli to ensure their best friend Adam's wedding goes off without a hitch is throwing her off kilter. Georgia wasn't expecting her feelings for Eli to come to the surface, or to connect with him in a way she never thought possible. But her lists are slowly being dissolved and opening up to Eli can only lead to more heartbreak. Will this new version of Eli, can she trust they can build something new and better than they had?
I love a well done second chance at love story and Joyce truly hit the mark with this one. Add to it a close proximity trope and you've got the makings of something wonderful. But it's not just about those tropes, it's also about a journey of self-discovery, growth, and learning to trust.
The character development in this book is amazing. I wasn't expecting the growth and healing that happened with the main characters. It was easy to connect with both Georgia and Eli on so many levels. Georgia's need for stability is something I really understand. It makes her feel like she's in charge and able to dictate how her life will proceed. She needs to be in control and direct because this makes her feel safe. But life can be messy and Joyce shows us that with Eli. Like Georgia, he craves stability, but has come to realize you must be happy in life and going after what makes you happy is the most important thing. Their romance is very sweet. I love how the little things they experienced together helped build a foundation for their attraction. There's chemistry with them from the very start when she sees Eli for the first time in two years and he breaks their set rules. It also showed Eli and Georgia never really stopped loving each other, even after being broken up for 5 years. Their romance is messy, complicated, realistic, and genuine
My favorite quote from Eli: “When I say I’m still in love with you, I mean the first time I saw you and right now. I mean every second in between."
Joyce's choice to create a friend group going through life changes together was a great edition to the story. Not only was it realistic but it was a great back drop to the changes that were happening individually to the main character but also between them. I loved the banter they had, the understanding they had, the love they shared. It's so important to have your people. This was a found family struggling to adjust to the nature of how life moves forward.
The anxiety and panic attack representation was spot on. it was literally palpable in the descriptions the author used and made my own heart accelerate with the understanding of what this feels like. I feel Joyce really did her research or potentially has experience with anxiety because it was presented with kindness and grace. It was so raw and it made Eli seem so much more real. I'm also happy with the inclusion of the therapy aspect and how Eli has found this help after so many years of suffering. And he's open about it to a fault. He lays it all out on the table for Georgia to see so she can understand why things really happened the way they did between them all those years ago.
“Sometimes happiness is loud and messy.”
Books do not often make me cry. This book was the exception. There were so many times I was in a chokehold; times I felt my chest hurt with an ache that was beyond measure. I was not expecting the deep and passionate connection between Eli and Georgia given their past. And when that connection really started to bloom, I became very emotionally invested. Joyce gave us emotional dialogue that was true and honest and raw. No angst or silly misunderstandings leading to them parting and coming back together. The characters take the journey they need to come back together in the pattern that suits them best. There were quite a few moments I felt wrecked with the rawness between Eli and Georgia. I will say, all my tears had me worried how the ending would wrap up. I'm not a fan of unhappy endings, or lovers parting as friends. But Joyce did not disappoint in the end.
The only thing I didn't love about this book is that it was single point of view. I love my romance books to have that. However, this book really is about Georgia and so it is understandable we would only get her perspective so we can watch her growth. So in the end, it was redeemed not seeing some of the story through Eli's eyes.
I adored Joyce's book You With a View. It's one I recommend often. This book will take a place on that list. I was totally invested in the story and characters the entire time. This has also solidified Joyce as a go to author for me; a read whatever she writes because I know it will be that good author. If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. My only complaint is that it's over and I can't read it again for the first time. Fans of Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez will enjoy this book for sure!
Author:
Jessica Joyce lives happily-ever-ongoing with her husband and son in the Bay Area. When she’s not writing character-driven, realistic and relatable tales of millennials who are just Doing Their Best while falling in love, you can find her listening to one of her dozens of chaotically curated Spotify playlists, trying out a new skincare face mask, crying over cute animal TikToks, or watching the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice.
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