Tag: Kristyn J. Miller

Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: August 27th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Academia

Purchase Links: Kindle | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Assistant professor Clara Fernsby is nothing if not driven. She’s wanted to teach history since she was fourteen, and she hasn’t let anything stand in her way—not even the love of her life. And it all paid off in the end, because she landed a well-paid position at a private liberal arts college fresh out of grad school, and this year, she’s finally up for tenure.

When Theodore Harrison is brought on for the fall semester as a visiting scholar, it’s an unwelcome blast from Clara’s past. She hasn’t spoken to Teddy since a falling out ten years ago. Now that he’s here, she’s reminded of their shared history at every autumns spent at a sleepaway camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she traded battered books and burned CDs with a quiet, dark-haired boy—and fell in love with him.

That boy might’ve been her best friend, but the man teaching HIST-322 is a total stranger. But as they spend evenings working on a shared project and brainstorming over drinks at a college bar, Clara realizes she’s at risk of falling all over again. Given their history, she knows there’s every chance he’s not interested. But history’s all down to interpretation, and this time around, she’s got no intentions of repeating it.

First Line:

I might’ve been on time, were it not for the parking meters.

Important details about Given Our History

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Clara)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Given Our History contains themes that include injury, injury detail, death of a parent, sexism, misogyny, alcohol consumption, and grief.

Language: Given Our History contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is mild sexual content in Given Our History.

Setting: Given Our History is set in Baltimore, Maryland.

My Review

Given Our History is a second chance, dual storyline book that I had no strong feelings for. It is infrequent for me not to get strong emotions about any book genre, and it is even rarer for that book to be a romance. I love romance in all shapes and forms. So, when I got the widget for this book, it was going to be something that I enjoyed. Instead, I was “meh” about it.

Don’t get me wrong; I thought the storyline for Given Our History was interesting. It tracks Teddy and Clara’s friendship from their early teens attending a camp catered towards homeschooled kids in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the event that caused them to stop talking to each other and eventually work at the same college. The author covered everything perfectly, with the main storyline split between the past and present.

I did like Clara. She was a quirky person trying her hardest to be considered for a tenured position at the college. Clara also had a lot of baggage; some centered around Teddy, but the rest centered on her home life. I loved that she was a history nerd, and the random facts that the author integrated into Teddy and Clara’s conversations (when they were teens) had me googling them. But, at the same time, I felt that Clara was too stuck on Teddy and didn’t allow anyone else in her life. The beginning scene in the prologue is where she bumps into Teddy and his girlfriend at a deli (where she is meeting a professor) and acts like a child. That theme repeated throughout the book and wasn’t a good look for a character that I otherwise liked.

I also liked Teddy. The author wasn’t as forthcoming with his life and issues as she was with Clara’s. In some spots, getting any information about Teddy other than what she shared was almost painful. Like Clara, he was a huge history nerd and had a home life that wasn’t the best.

The romance angle of the book was very slow-moving. There was a point in the book where I was mentally urging them to go faster because it was starting to bore me. I also raised an eyebrow at how old-fashioned Clara was around her younger sister (who was super spoiled). But the romance did eventually heat up, but even then, it was lukewarm.

The secondary storyline about Clara trying to get tenure made me see red when it was wrapped up. I did agree with Clara and her immediate actions after that meeting, but still, it made me so angry.

The end of Given Our History was your typical HEA. I liked that Clara and Teddy finally got together.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Kristyn J. Miller for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Given Our History. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Given Our History, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Kristyn J. Miller

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 16th, 2023

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Adult, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Travel, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&H | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love breaks all the rules.

Margo Anderson is sworn off commitment. Alongside her best friend, Jo, she runs a viral podcast featuring rules for hooking up without catching feelings. So when Jo surprises her by deciding to get married and taking up a sponsor’s offer to host an all-expenses-paid wedding trip on Catalina Island, they have the whole internet to answer to.

In a scramble for content to appease their disappointed listeners, Margo cooks up a social experiment: Break all her own dating rules, just to prove that it’s a bad idea. And she’s found the best man for the job in the groom’s best friend and her old high school nemesis, Declan Walsh. He may be easier on the eyes than Margo remembered, but he’s sure to be as smug and annoying as he was before—there is no chance Margo will ever catch feelings for him . . . until she does.

The more time they spend together through cake tastings and wedding party activities, the more Margo can’t ignore their obvious spark, and she may actually be enjoying getting to know Declan. But can she let go of the rules to let him in?

First Line:

The Blue Room was teeming with amateur influencers. The clubs in Studio City weren’t known for a cozy local vibe on the best of nights, but it was especially bad tonight.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller

Margo and her best friend, Jo, are co-hosts of a viral podcast that they made famous for seven rules for hooking up without getting feelings involved. So, the internet freaked out when Jo announced she was getting married and using a sponsor’s offer for an all-expenses paid wedding trip to Catalina Island. Also upset was Margo. She was left dealing with the fallout from Jo’s announcement. So, she devised a plan. She’s going to break her own dating rules to prove that it is a bad idea. Her victim: Declan Walsh, the groom’s best man and Margo’s arch nemesis from high school. But, as Margo spends time with Declan, he isn’t who she remembered, and she does something that she vowed never to do: She caught feelings for him. But, when a vengeful fan reveals her plan, Margo might just have lost the best thing that has happened to her. Will Margo prove to Declan that what she feels is real? Or has she blown it?

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts was a medium to fast-paced book that made me laugh in places and want to cry in others. It is mainly set on Catalina Island, centering on the resort and the town of Avalon. Having always wanted to go to Catalina Island, I enjoyed the brief forays into the water and one memorable hike to see bison. On a side note, I was surprised when that came up in this book and did a Google search of it. Seeing that it is real, I want to go there even more.

The main storyline of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts centers around Margo, Declan, Margo’s plans to do damage control, Jo’s wedding, and the various trips the wedding party takes. I wasn’t a massive fan of Margo’s plan and felt it would end badly. I did think that the author did a great job of weaving all of these details together to make a great story. Because I feel that if she had just based this book on Margo and Declan, it would have fallen flat.

I didn’t like Margo at first. She seemed immature and needy. Even though high school was ten years behind them, she was still focused on how Declan treated her. There were points when she talked crap about Declan to Jo, and that’s when I wanted to stuff a gag in her mouth and tell her to get over it. Her plan to use him for her damage control plan was pretty low. But then something happened that usually doesn’t happen if I had made up my mind about a character. I started to like her. She was acting the way she was because she wasn’t sure what her future held, which scared her. And when her phone was stolen, and everything leaked, I felt awful for her. I wish that storyline had been closure because I was heated. But the author left it as that person did it and got caught, but nothing happened. Margo, of course, got the short end of the stick there. I won’t say how, but it made me very teary-eyed.

I loved Declan. He was the complete package: gorgeous, intelligent, and built. His confession to Margo about why he acted the way to her in high school was sweet. He also dealt with everything that Jo and Margo did (for the podcast and their sponsors) in stride. There were points in the book where I thought he was a little too laid back, but that didn’t last long. But, when everything was leaked, he jetted. I didn’t blame him; it was just too much. Plus, his feelings were shattered. So, no, I didn’t blame him for what he said to Margo and how he took off.

For a romance, there weren’t a ton of sex scenes. Margo and Declan fooled around a ton, but sex was only a few times. The author did include Margo getting serviced by Declan in a dressing room and Margo returning the favor to Declan in the shower. The sex wasn’t graphic either, and honestly, I could have cared less. For me, it was the chemistry that they had and the build-up. Other people might disagree, but I stand my ground in this case. Declan and Margo had great sexual chemistry.

As for trigger warnings in this book, I can only think of two. They are:

  1. Drinking: The drinks flowed freely in this book. Margo and the rest of the wedding party were drunk up to the wedding.
  2. Drugs: One of the bridesmaids owns a high-profile cannabis store. During the bachelorette party, she brings cannabis-laced brownies and gummies to help celebrate.

The end of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts was super sad. I hated seeing Margo acting the way that she was. She was depressed and knew she had mucked it up between her and Declan. Of course, this is a romance, and you know they end up together. That scene stole my breath. And the epilogue was fantastic!!!!

I would recommend Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts to anyone over 21. There is language, mild violence, and sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warning list.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Kristyn J. Miller for allowing me to read and review Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

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