The Ex Vows

This second-chance rom-com amidst a wedding backdrop is the perfect thing for this upcoming summer! With a mixture of hilarious and heartwarming moments, it tugged at my heartstrings and pulled them back together all at once. This story is a great reminder that nothing has to be perfect, it is more realistic because it is messy.

“I’m in love with you.”

I get out a strangled, “Again?”

He’s not smiling, but his mouth is soft, his eyes are soft, this word is soft: “Still.”

This is the first book I have read by Jessica Joyce and I need to now read “You, With a View”. Technically, this is Jessica’s first book but she set it aside for ages dissatisfied with it until inspiration struck some time after she released “You, With a View”.

 was not expecting such depth and growth, inner healing and forgiveness being key themes throughout – I thought it would just be the exes and the romance. In that regard, this is reminiscent of Abbey Jimenez’s works as she is known for having romance as a secondary aspect to bigger themes or issues. I found this to be the case for her book “Just For the Summer”

I am also reminded of Emily Henry, because it follows a similar storyline to her “Happy Place”:

• the main character Harriet has also broke up with her significant other, in this case Wyn her fiance (interestingly the exact same number of letters are used for Georgia and Eli’s names)

• he also shows up at the airport

• they also want to have fun for a week except they do the opposite of Georgia and Eli and instead of pretending they are good friends because their friends don’t know they haven’t been on speaking terms, Harriet and Wyn pretend they are still together as nobody knows they ever split.

• the story shifts between the past and present

I got major vibes of the film “About Time” (2013) reading this – of course, without the time-traveling. Tim and Mary’s wedding day, like Adam and Grace in this book, was also a mess and was raining too, but they made the most of it. I love when Tim asks Mary if she would have wanted a different day (with the secret intention of going back in time and changing it), Mary says no, it is perfect as it is.

The writing style itself is in many ways alike to Emily Henry as well. Both authors use quirky and hilarious descriptions and you will know exactly what they mean. For example, in this book:

• A gold star materializes on my mental chart; somewhere, an HR angel gets its wings.

• I struggle to find a word that isn’t too big or small for what this is, the Goldilocks of It’s Complicated.

• It’s a truth universally acknowledged that people who use the phrase “no offense, but” are the most offensive people on the planet.

I love all references from other media/stories. From the examples above, we have references to It’s a Wonderful Life, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (one of my favourites here) respectively. There were also references to the three musketeers due to the tight friendship between Eli, Georgia and Adam.

Of course, my own personal favourite, being the Tolkien fan that I am, has to be the “Lord of the Rings” reference

 There are other great descriptions in general. Jessica Joyce is incredibly poetic and her way with words made me want to read on. There are far too many examples of great quotes (which I will leave further down) but this was one of them:

He’s the same and totally different. The fifteen-year-old boy I liked and the twenty-year-old man I loved, and the twenty-eight-year-old I have to keep right here, because at one point he was the twenty-three-year-old man who broke my heart.

When I tell you this book made me laugh and at times get emotional, I mean it. I genuinely laughed out loud when Georgia and Eli were in that first bakery doing the cake tasting, it is just so funny! But then the moments where Georgia has her mental breakdown in the bathroom, and the confession moment in Chapter 31, the paper rings reveal – oh my goodness, I was a mess and in the best possible way.

I think it would have been nice for this story to have been a dual POV so we could have heard Eli’s point of view too but, all around, it was a great book. The pacing was decent, some aspects typical and predictable but did not detract from the story. The plot was good, the spice was good, the angst was good. I myself am a huge sucker for second-chance romance if it is done well, and it was done very well here!

The only negative thing I'd say is: I felt like their sudden morning making-out moment came rather out of nowhere? Like I expected a proper kiss turned makeout like something out of “The Notebook” be it an argument turned kiss or a romantic moment – potentially even from the night before. Not Georgia waking up to *that*.