The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce [ARC Review]

*I’d like to thank NetGalley, Random House UK and Jessica Joyce for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

“The Ex Vows” by Jessica Joyce is a contemporary, 2nd chance romance novel and tells the story of Georgia and Eli. They both met at 15 when Adam and their mutual friends introduced them to each other. Six years later they were dating, five years ago they broke up. The heartbreak lingers, yet Georgie and Eli vowed to each to keep their broken bits to themselves and fake a friendship for Adam. Now Adam is getting married, but everything that can go wrong goes wrong, and Georgie is here to save the day with her lists. And surprisingly Eli, her workaholic ex-boyfriend, offers help too. Stuck together at a vineyard planning the wedding of their best friends brings up old memories, and the sparks fly. But the reason they broke up still lingers, and Georgie has a new life set up ahead. Is there a 2nd chance for them, or is it finally time to let it go for good?

“The Ex Vows” is a touching story about grief, growth and second chances. Georgia, who was abandoned by her mother as a child, and grew up with a father glued to his work phone, always felt unworthy for the love of others. To compensate she became that friend who’s always there when needed, equipped with a list to undo the chaos and secure her friend’s love. Her hyper-independence as well as people pleasing tendencies made it hard for Eli who fought his own demons. Especially when Eli’s anxiety about financial stability turned him to an absolute workaholic blind for the needs of Georgia. Their break-up wasn’t sudden, it crept onto them.

I think the dynamic and aspects of Georgia and Eli’s relationship are very real and honest. They are both flawed and carry the burden of their childhood. They both needed some time to undo the damage before they could let each other in fully. I especially loved the fact that Eli recognised his own mistake in the relationship, and started working on himself. He also didn’t let Georgia flee their rekindled feelings, because she was simply scared. He held on, and that was exactly what Georgia needed: reassurance.

The longing between those two was almost unbearable (in a good way!). And the best part, everyone around them saw. Their friends knew before them that what they had never left, they just needed time to grow.

Georgia is such a relatable character. I think Joyce truly has a talent to take the turmoil that is your twenties into beautiful, hope giving stories about growing-up and figuring things out. Too well I can understand Georia’s fear about moving away from her friends and families, and her sentiment of feeling behind everyone else. I think many young women relate to her people pleasing tendencies which is a common struggle nowadays. Joyce does all of these themes total justice. And the best part, Joyce doesn’t dissolve all those struggles by the ending. No, she shows that one has to simply keep moving, and eventually it does get better. Sometimes the future we envision doesn’t look like the future we will have and that’s ok. Often the reality is even better.

On top of all the emotion and important life lessons is also a lot of passion. This novel will make you reach for a tissue to wipe your tears, and a few chapters later a blush will creep up your cheeks from all the steam. The intensity of the love scenes perfectly mirrors the intensity of all the emotions. It’s beautifully written. None of the more intimate scenes felt out of place.

I am usually not a crier when reading, but this story brought me to tears. It’s a very vulnerable story with so much more to it than romance. I can’t wait to see what Joyce writes next!