Estranged former best friends, Clara Fernsby, a driven professor, and Theodore "Teddy" Harrison, a visiting scholar, find themselves reunited at the same university after a decade apart. Forced to confront their past and the reasons behind their heartbreaking fallout, the story unfolds through a dual timeline. As they work on a shared project, present day awkward interactions reveal lingering feelings. Memories of their close childhood bond and the events that tore them apart surface, challenging them to navigate unresolved emotions and the possibility of a second chance at love.

Hitting a personal milestone with "Given Our History" as my 100th book this year feels fitting, considering it's also my first ARC review! A big thank you to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The dual timeline structure beautifully weaves between Clara and Teddy's heartwarming childhood friendship and their awkward present day reunion as estranged adults. The writing is undeniably lovely, and the Allentown, PA, shoutout was awesome since I live about an hour away.

However, despite the strong foundation, I was left wanting a little more. While the exploration of unresolved emotions and second chances is captivating, there were a few loose ends that remained unaddressed. An epilogue would have been greatly appreciated to provide closure and a glimpse into their future.

Overall, "Given Our History" is a sweet read about reconnecting with a lost love. The beautiful writing and the exploration of first loves and second chances are sure to resonate with readers. However, those seeking a more definitive resolution might find themselves wanting a bit more.

I’m not normally a second chance romance girlie but I will make an exception for this one. From the first page I was hooked and couldn’t stop until the very end. I felt like the pacing and story structure was excellent—sometimes with second chances it can feel off, like I don’t know enough about them to care, but this was set up very well. I kept wanting more from them and loved seeing their story progress.

Everything about this book is geared to nerdy gals like me. I studied history in college and though I would go down the path of academia. This book definitely reminded me why I didn't pursue academia. I loved that this book touched on many readings I was familiar with when I studied history. And I adored the conversations about historiography. They even referenced Phi Alpha Theta, which I was the VP of when I was in college!

That being said, I didn't love this book the way I wanted to. This read more like 2 different books than 1 altogether. The flashback scenes took me to a YA novel whereas the present-day was adult but kind of boring. I didn't feel any chemistry between the 2 main characters. Their journey to getting back together was sweet, but it was just that. It wasn't anything special. I really would've rather the flashback scenes be taken out altogether and instead, focused on the couple as adults. I needed witty banter and sexual tension! And I didn't get either of those things. I just needed more than what I got, but it has so much potential to be amazing! It just didn't go the distance for me.

If it's a second chance, you can bet I'll give it a read. The premise of the story really caught my eye, but the execution left me a bit disappointed. I couldn't connect with the story as much, and although the flashbacks added more depth, the conflict between them left me frustrated. Also, I wish we could've known more about Teddy.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and the publisher, for sending me this ARC.

Second chance romance is my favorite trope, even if it's not usually done right. This book was disappointing and ended up being okay. This book follows Clara and Teddy, who are suddenly sharing an office and working together, after not seeing each other for 9 years. It spans their 17 year relationship.

My biggest issue starts with the prologue, which is set 3 years into their 9 year separation. Clara runs into Teddy at a coffee shop with his new girlfriend... her old college roommate (this was really weird to me). He knows at this time that she had feelings for him and yet, he continues to date this woman for 4 years. You can't sell me on "he never stopped loving her" when he chose another woman over her. I thought maybe this would explored later, at least to give insight to his relationship with her, but nope. He mentions they broke up, but that's it. They never have a real conversation about it. My other issue was there was a lot of miscommunication between the two. The reason they wound up not talking was disappointing.

I did enjoy it even with those issues. Again, I love second chance romances and academia in romance. I was happy that Clara and Teddy got their HEA.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC of Given Our History. I loved many things about this book, the academia setting, different timelines and the second chance trope is a favorite. However, I did not feel the connection with either of the main characters, in either timeline. This book has gotten many positive reviews, I enjoyed Miller's writing style but overall the story fell flat. 2.5

Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller 📚
Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐
Release Date: August 27 2024

I really enjoyed this book! It was so cute and I found the characters relatable and likeable. The characters are both professors so I was a bit nervous it might get too detailed on history references but that didn't happen and it was easy to understand and follow along with.

I enjoyed the flashbacks and how the story slowly unfolded for the reader. At some points it was a tad repetitive, but other than that it was a solid romance read.

I will be watching for more books from this author!

3.5 Stars/5

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I love second chance romances! This one was pretty good. I found had trouble engaging in the story due to the constant, almost jarring timeline shifts. Almost chapter to chapter the timeline would shift either forwards or backwards and I found that difficult to stay engaged with the story as it felt like any emotion built in the story was stunted due to the constant shifting.

I enjoyed Clara and Teddy as the MCs and their ex-friends to coworkers to lovers dynamic. I did feel that Clara had a huge internal monologue that slowed the story down a lot as well. I enjoyed the addition of her sister and the lovely dynamic between her and Clara.

This was my first book by Kristyn J. Miller and I'll definitely read another one of her books again!

Rounded up to 5 stars because I loved this so much I read it in one sitting. Childhood friends to lovers/second chance romance are two of my favorite tropes- add in two professors, New England in the fall, and summer camp flash backs.. it's really checking all of my boxes!
I loved the socially awkward, thoughtful MMC and the all over the place, overachieving FMC. I suppose the one critique I'd have would be that Teddy's behavior in the cafe flashback seemed a bit out of character compared to his quiet, introverted behavior throughout the rest of the book. But that's all I can come up with!

Thanks NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC of this book- its pub date is a perfect one for this fall romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
⏰ Dual Timeline
💕 Second Chance
🫶🏻 Friends to Lovers
😇 Cozy Vibes

Came for the My Chemical Romances, stayed for the cozy second chance romance.

Once a friend told me there were a handful of 2000s emo/My Chemical Romance references, I knew I had to pick this one up and I’m so glad I did. Friends to lovers with flashbacks is my Roman Empire so I instantly fell in love with Given Our History.

Teddy and Clara have the sweetest friendship that slowly develops into more. We get to see small flashbacks from their tween through college years which had me super invested into where they were heading. From the beginning, you know there is history there and each flashback chapter is going to lead to heartbreak. Even though I knew where their past was going, I couldn’t put the book down because I had to know how they would find their way to their HEA.

Clara and Teddy are some of the most likable MCs that I’ve ever read. Clara felt like a kindred spirit for my millennial self. Teddy, I instantly fell in love with. He is quiet, sweet and made her mixtapes 😭😭😭

The only other thing I needed from Given Our History, was an epilogue! I desperately want a glimpse into their future.

I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy and hold it and cry.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the ARC!!

This was the CUTEST academia romance. I loved how emotional and raw it was, and the friendship? Impeccable. I love a second chance romance, and Kristyn can do absolutely no wrong.

Pre order this book now!!

This was a decent read for a debut. I am usually a huge fan of second chance romance but this one kinda felt like one big "oh I guess we should have talked sooner" and that drives me nuts. I felt like we never really knew anything about Teddy, which is odd for an MMC in a romance. Overall felt this one was slow moving and didn't have a lot of payoff. Overall, an unmemorable bingeable read!

I’ll say, the writing style was a little off in some places, and some of the pacing could have used a little work. However, I liked the main characters and the romance was still well written. The dual POV’s helped to understand the characters better, and the flashbacks helped to add some depth to the story.

It was an interesting story that had characters that work well with each other. The conflict between them is honest but also frustrating because you just want to yell at them times.

There were moments that took me out of the story and some points I felt could have been shortened but in the end it’s a satisfying story and romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eArc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a second chance romance with dual timelines and single POV. The dual timelines was fun to read and the loved the present setting of academia. The writing was beautiful and well done. I enjoyed the story but it is a very subdued tale with little action. I found it a bit off that there wasn’t more angst for the arc of the story. I enjoyed reading this but didn’t feel a rush to get to the next part of the plot. If you enjoy a light of drama story, this is for you!

I love the tropes in this book and they were well executed. A good read for fall / back to school vibes.

I loved the angsty feelings wrapped in a dual timeline in this romance from Kristyn Miller. Our main characters’ teenage feelings transported me back to days of summer crushes and the feelings of logging on to early social media in hopes of a message from the boy who caught your eye at camp. At times I was frustrated with the pacing of this story because I wanted to focus more on our how our characters were doing in the present rather than the past. We had to sacrifice some of the deeper feelings in the present tense to have better access to the backstory. Overall this was a lovely and nostalgic read and I plan to pick up Miller’s other books in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for this ARC.

Given Our History is the story of Teddy and Clara, two homeschool kids who meet at summer camp and form a long distance friendship based on their mutual love of history. The story takes place years later - Clara is a professor at Irving University when Teddy shows up at a visiting scholar she is forced to face their long history and own up to why their friendship ended years ago. The boy she fell in love with may now be a man she could see herself falling for again.

The story of Clara and Teddy feels like a warm cup of cider in fall (never-you-mind that the story takes place in fall proper). I've always enjoyed stories with characters that have history and getting to swap between present day and the past allows for context to be dropped in small bits. I loved getting to know Clara and Teddy's story and the backdrop of academia makes this a really second chance romance. I also love the author's writing style and likely will be picking up other works of hers.

The reason this wasn't a "perfect read" for me comes down entirely to personal preference. I found the characters well fleshed out, the plot engaging, and the writing style to be interesting without distracting. It just wasn't "perfect for me", if that makes sense at all. I would still highly recommend this book to anyone who loves academia, second chance romance, and an autumnal vibe.

This book was really fantastic, I loved reading it! It'll be a great, cozy, academia focused read for those who are interested in that sort of thing.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great read. I'll be looking for more books from this author!