OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK!!!

Audiobook narrated by Kyla Garcia

Published 2024 by Berkley Romance

Soundtrack: Smash into You by Beyoncé

Tender, passionate, fun, and full of pinning, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘹 𝘝𝘰𝘸𝘴 is a beautiful take on second chances, found family, and reckoning with your flaws. I teared up so many times reading this book— both the joyful, love-is-my-favorite tears and the wow, I-forgot-how-heartbreak-feels tears. 

Set in idyllic wine country in California, around a mutual best friend’s wedding, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘹 𝘝𝘰𝘸𝘴 stars Eli Mora and Georgia Woodward, childhood friends who have never dealt with the moment they fell apart and are now spending a week in the place where they fell in love.

Oh, Eli and Georgia. Their love was just so palpable here. I love second chances, where the love seems frozen in time, waiting to be revisited, and I could feel it from the opening sentences. The pull between these two was so evident to the reader, and I adored watching them find their way back to each other. 

While I love a passionate love declaration, it is the little acts of intimacy that always make me feel genuinely connected to the characters. While single POV from Georgia’s perspective, Eli is written with such tender care that you can feel his love. Eli is actively working on his mental health, and I loved the positive representation of therapy and the up-and-down journey of mental health.  Georgia hasn’t quite come to terms with her flaws, and I loved that her friends saw the pain she so valiantly tried to hide. Finally, the secondary characters felt supportive, fully formed, and critical to the narrative. 

The Ex vows feels similar to two other fantastic second chance romances. Happy Place by Emily Henry and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. Both feature second chance romances with strong found family vibes, and a location that has defined their relationship.

Kyla Garcia’s timbre is warm. She cracks at emotional pinnacles and transports the listener into Georgia’s mind. Her intonation, combined with Joyce’s mesmerizing prose, will fracture your heart and then fold back together again. I enjoyed her range of voices and, at times found myself forgetting this was a single POV. 

I am unsure what spell Jessica Joyce put me under, but I still have not recovered. This a must read for all my found family, second chance, and hopeless romantic loving friends!