We chat with author Jessica Joyce about The Ex Vows, which follows estranged exes who must stick close together to save their best friend’s wedding after a string of disasters in this swoony and steamy second-chance romance.
Hi, Jessica! Welcome back! How has the past year been since we last spoke?
It’s so great to be back! I think the best word to describe it is whirlwind—amazing but with moments where I’ve felt like I’m getting pulled around in a funnel cloud! I’ve loved seeing people discover You, with a View and now The Ex Vows. I’m convinced the best people find my books; readers have been so lovely to me.
Your latest novel, The Ex Vows, is out July 16th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Hot people going to therapy.
What can readers expect?
I think by now they know I’ll take them on a ride of emotions (perhaps even a whirlwind, to repay the favor?!). I’ve gotten a lot of crying selfies from early readers, but I can never keep it too serious for so long, so there are a lot of hijinks baked into the plot thanks to Georgia and Eli having to help save their best friend’s wedding, where literally everything that could possibly go wrong does.
What I love most about The Ex Vows is that it’s first and foremost a book about a romantic relationship, but it’s also a real homage to platonic relationships and found family. I love the idea of soulmates and think you can find them in all sorts of different relationships, and in some ways this book is a love letter to that idea, that your best friend can be your soulmate as surely as your partner or spouse.
Where did the inspiration for The Ex Vows come from?
I wrote a very different version of The Ex Vows back in 2021 and queried it (with no success, a blessing from the universe in hindsight!). The previous version was friends to lovers but was set at a wedding, which I think adds a lot of natural tension to characters who ultimately (because this is a romance, after all!) get an HEA of their own. When I got my deal with Berkley, I decided I wanted to rip it down to the studs and do it all over again. I loved Georgia and Eli so much as characters, Georgia in particular, and really wanted to do their story justice. In the previous version, there was one line I wrote: “It’s the perfect day for a wedding.” It resonated with me, but in the opposite way—what if everything actually went wrong instead? And what if these two people, who are exes now, have to help save it? The thought of thrusting two people who loved each other so deeply but couldn’t make it work into the middle of a situation that was all about forever felt very delicious to me.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Georgia leaped off the page to me from the beginning. I always sprinkle a little bit of myself into every character I write, and with Georgia it was this fear of letting people see the messier parts of her. Getting to dig into the root of her people pleasing tendencies and helping her heal from that was so rewarding. I always want my main characters to leave a book more authentically themselves than when the book started, and for Georgia in particular that felt very true. There is also a specific moment I absolutely adore, but it’s a major spoiler! You’ll know it when you read it!
This is your second published novel! Were there any key lessons learned between writing the two?
Oh gosh, this is one I continue to sit with: you have to write for yourself first. This is where I’m so Georgia: I love people being happy with me! I went through part of the drafting process where all I thought was, what will readers think if I do this scene this way? What will they think of Georgia says this? Ultimately, I have to write the book I want to tell to myself, and I have to love it more than anyone else can. The external validation is mercurial and not sustainable; the love of writing and the stories you tell is the gas that will keep you going.
If you had to pick a top three for your favourite romance tropes, what would they be?
I’m a tension and angst monster, so second chance will always do it for me. Enemies/rivals to lovers is probably next, again because of the tension and that delicious moment when you see them give in. I also adore fake dating/marriage of convenience! That “my wife” will hit every time!
What’s next for you?
Writing, writing, and more writing—I have two romance books scheduled with Berkley. And hopefully less social media so I can do more of the writing part!
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed so far this year and are there any that you can’t wait to get your hands on?
I haven’t been able to read much this year, but the ones I have read have been incredible! One on One by Jamie Harrow is a spectacular debut coming out in September, and A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson just came out and is so immersive and beautiful. It truly feels like sunlight. I can’t wait to get my hands on Claire Gilmore’s next book, Perfect Fit, Denise Williams’ 2025 release, Just Our Luck, and a physical copy of Ellie Palmer’s Four Weekends and a Funeral, which I read (and LOVED) but want to tangibly hold!
