The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce
Contemporary Romance
July 16, 2024- Berkley
ARC

Review by Angela

Y’all, this book wrecked me. I mean I had high expectations after reading this author’s previous release, You, With a View, but I had no idea how utterly ruined I would be after reading.

This is a second chance romance, which admittedly is one of my favorite tropes. Maybe because these books have the potential to be so emotionally messy. Maybe because I love seeing people in love make their way back to each other and do the necessary work to repair their relationship. I don’t know–but, I gravitate towards these romances.

The Ex Vows is the story of Georgia and Eli, who meet as teens when they are both befriended by Adam Kim. Their friendship grows into a love story, and then a breakup that has haunted Georgia for the last five years. They’ve tried faking friendliness to save their friend group. They are brought together again by the wedding of their shared best friend, Adam. A wedding that has been nothing but one disaster after another. After another mishap at the wedding venue, they somehow both agree to travel to the groom’s family winery to make a wedding, that is nine days away, happen.

First let me say, I had all the emotions while reading this book. There are so many mishaps that had me laughing out loud. The intimate scenes are breathtakingly sexy. The entirety of the book is told from Georgia’s POV, and I connected to her immediately. As a list maker myself, I understood her need for control. Her love language is helping her loved ones and being the one to fix their problems. Her childhood experiences have taught her that being too needy is bad, and people leave, so she’s afraid to ask for too much. She never shies away from herself about just how devasted she was by her and Eli’s breakup, how she’s still emotionally fragile, she just puts on a face for her friends and decides to act like it’s all fine.

Eli is another ball of wax, with a ton of anxiety and fear issues stemming from his childhood. But when he comes back Georgia notices changes in him and that he finally seems to be dealing with those issues in a healthy way. They are forced to work together to make the wedding of their friends Adam and Grace happen, and watching these two circle each other, their hearts on their sleeves, was a joy.

This book is deeply romantic. And the conflict is believable with realistic problems that any couple could face. Deep seated fears left over from childhood that manifest into anxieties that ultimately led to breakup. A love that has never gone away, no matter the time or distance between them. The chemistry between the two main characters is off the charts. They had banter, and sweetness, and intimate knowledge of each other than pours into every conversation. Like I mentioned above, the sexy times are incredibly sensual, but there are also tender, gentle moments that were just as profound.

The last few chapters had me tearing up and then sighing with the revelations. I couldn’t love the HEA any more. It must be said that this author writes all kinds of relationships well, including friend groups. This one was so lovely. I kind of fell hard for every single one of these characters. Make sure you put this one on your TBR. You won’t regret it.

Grade- A