Pretty sure this book got me out of my book slump because I was very much captivated from the beginning. The Ex Vows follows the story of Georgia Woodward, a list lover who tries her best to continue living a non-messy life after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, Eli Mora, five years prior. She’s going to have to pull out her Eli list to try to survive helping their mutual best friend Adam plan his wedding. There is still a lot of unsaid things and feelings swirling around Georgia and Eli that she is adamant about not getting in the way of Adam’s special day. Except that Adam’s wedding has been nothing short of a disaster and Georgia and Eli now have to work together to help save their friend’s wedding.
After intentionally trying to keep her interactions with Eli at a minimum since their breakup, it becomes impossible once they are tasked with working together to get the wedding to the finish line. The familiarity of their friendship and relationship boomeranged, complicating Georgia’s plan to keep Eli at arms length. Despite finding immense comfort in the familiarity of their former friendship and relationship, Georgia is worried this could open up the can of worms she’s been forcefully burying since they broke up.
Georgia and Eli’s relationship was a ticking time bomb once they graduated college, as Eli headed into a lucrative career in banking, which demanded all of his time and energy. After being consumed with his job, he burnt out, like a lot of us, and developed severe anxiety. What Eli and Georgia have in common is that they will do what they can to survive; to keep their heads afloat amidst anything that can potentially sink either of them. For both of them, it was a sense of stability though portrayed differently for both characters. I found Georgia and Eli’s personal struggles relatable because who isn’t just trying to survive or searching for stability? For Georgia though, it had a lot to do with building and keeping her found family even if it meant making herself smaller to do so.
Overall, I found The Ex Vows was an entertaining read with relatable characters and themes. I loved the banter between Georgia, Eli, and even Adam, as well as the shenanigans they got into in trying to help save Adam’s wedding. Georgia and Eli’s chemistry is immediate and the tension between them is palpable, which made the story that much more captivating. I loved the character progression for both Georgia and Eli, where Georgia’s choices were a big highlight for me – which I won’t spoil – but it’s something I typically don’t see in romance novels. Five out of five for me!
