I absolutely love a second chance romance. I love the big emotions of these stories—both the initial, unequivocal love and the ultimate painful hurt of them. The characters in this trope feel their emotions strongly—they must in order to be willing to open themselves up for a second chance.
THE EX VOWS is a tasty treat of a second chance romance. And although the characters here are extremely grounded (this is the love story of an HR specialist and a client financial strategist after all), their emotions are as swooping and overwhelming as though they think they’re the stars of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. Georgia and Eli were part of a trio in high school that included Adam. The two fell in love, but when they moved to NYC post graduation, their relationship was strained and ultimately fell apart because of Eli’s crippling anxiety around work which drove him to become a workaholic and Georgia’s constant people pleasing that made her small and take up little space. Now, five years later, the two really haven’t spoken in all of this time aside from seeing each other at one other disastrous wedding where they both had dates. Both have remained friends with Adam, though, and he’s asked them to serve as best people on his wedding day to Grace. With the wedding a week away, the event itself is in serious jeopardy with the loss of a venue, and Eli and Georgia both agree to work together to make Adam’s family’s vineyard the perfect wedding venue. Georgia comes armed with a list of things to do and not to do emotionally to get through this week with Eli, but Eli shows up with some surprises of his own.
This book is seriously swoony and full of big emotions and big declarations. It felt a little slow to start for me, but once Eli and Georgia were finally planning Adam’s wedding together, the sparks were flying. The plot of this book is pure fun too as the two have to figure out how to pull off this event in only a week, interacting with DJs who think the Macarena will get all your guests on the floor and a baker who dismisses potential clients for being on time for their appointment rather than early. I will say Adam was sort of the weak link for me in this story as both Eli and Georgia really want to please him while really he should probably be there planning his own wedding. He also loses his mind over every little thing, which ups the stakes for our duo, but was a little grating as he doesn’t seem grateful to his friends. However, I liked him much more once he actually entered the scene for the wedding, and I just chalked his early behavior up to jitters and a lack of awareness from nerves.
Georgia, meanwhile, feels incredibly realistic as she tries to protect herself from the pull of Eli. I liked how she finds independence in her arc, and their ending feels more than earned. Eli is a great book boyfriend, believable both as the dogged suitor who’s been in love with Georgia the whole time and as his earlier workaholic self who stressed about financial stability. Everything about these characters feels relatable—they feel like everyday people and it’s the circumstances that feel big and life changing.
I thought the writing here was really beautiful, and there is just some great, cinematic dialogue that was completely swoonworthy. Jessica can take even the most dialogue heavy of scenes and really elevate it through her depth and the sheer romanticism of the character. Consider her a new fave—I immediately got my hands on the author’s previous book YOU, WITH A VIEW and can’t wait to dig in! In the meantime, THE EX VOWS felt like a perfect late summer/beginning of Fall read and delivers on all the feels.
5 stars
Synopsis (from JessicaJoycebooks.com): 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.