What happens when the cohost of your podcast all about hooking up and staying single decides to get married? How do you pivot and still keep your audience interested? How do you hold up your contractual obligations to your sponsors? And how do you decide whether or not those rules for staying single are still worthwhile after all?

Several seasons into their Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts podcast Margo finds herself on an island for two weeks leading up to her best friend, roommate, and cohost’s wedding. Jo has thrown out the rules and fallen in love, and the groom’s best man just happens to be that prankster Declan, whom Margo loathes from high school. Declan seems different now, though, and Margo may be interested in him—at least for the podcast’s sake.

At the beginning, Margo is more Go, her podcast alter ego, than Margo, and Go is definitely not the warm and fuzzy type. Admittedly, this one took me a while to get into, but I did enjoy watching Margo reevaluate things as she begins to realize that Go doesn't feel like a good fit anymore.

I adored Declan—smart, freckled, steady Declan—and how he isn’t afraid to stand up for himself and what he wants.

And the two clearly have chemistry together, but—even more so than their steam—I enjoyed their sweet, thoughtful moments.

I received an advance copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Thank you @smpromance for a copy of this book. I always love a book set in Southern California where I live. This one takes place mainly on the island of Catalina which is a boat ride away from LA. The story is about 2 podcasters, Margo and Jo, who talks about the single life big and Jo is getting married. Margo is at crossroads with what to do with the podcast and is reunited with her high school nemesis, Declan. The story shows how Margo's perfection of Declan is different as an adult and they have start falling for each other. Declan was a total sweet heart and I liked how he stood by his beliefs on a relationship. I enjoyed seeing Margo's growth journey as well.

Go and Jo have a podcast called Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts that is about single women not seeking a permanent romantic relationship and it has run for six seasons. Jo is about to get married and Go (Margo) is worried about how this will affect her life and season seven of the podcast that they are contractually bound to release. Thanks to a sponsorship with a resort on Catalina Island, they are headed there for a two week vacation that ends with the wedding. The downside is that the best man, Declan, is someone that Margo had issues with in high school and they will be stuck interacting during the two weeks. This is a great story about friendship and learning to adjust your mindset. I would give it 4.5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

This was a really fun read that felt a little reminiscent of The Ex Talk but also brought in some great introspection into social media. I found the banter and tropes to be funny and executed well, and I loved the open door steam! The ending felt like a bit thin and quick, but I still appreciated seeing the grand gesture. I’d recommend this for any romance lover looking for a quick read!

I am a sucker for all things enemies to lovers and this is no exception! Delightful and quick paced best friends Jo and Go revamp their stale podcast with fresh new content. Away for Jos destination wedding Go finds herself increasingly attracted to Declan. Weddings make everyone a romantic. I loved the social media posts and podcast transcripts. Really brings them to life.

💭Thoughts:
Can I go to Catalina Island for two weeks? This book had me dreaming I was right there with Declan and Margo. This was the perfect setting for a rom-com.

One of the reasons I love the enemies to lovers trope is because of the great banter it makes. This book delivered on the banter for me. The characters seemed immature at times, but it didn’t affect the story to much.

The book had a bit of a flow issue. The middle third felt repetitive and I found myself wanting to skip forward multiple times. I’ve also come to the conclusion that I don’t really like social media influencers in romance novels. The characters seem so self absorbed and unlikeable. I find it really hard to root for them finding a HEA.

This book started out strong, but sadly it ended up being a miss for me. It’s probably more of a me issue, so I’m sure lots of readers will enjoy this book.

Let me start out by saying...can we expect a number 2 because I am hooked! This book had me from the get-go. Margo, better known as "Go," is a podcaster with her best friend Jo; they podcast about being single forever and seven rules to live by to maintain single status.

They are very successful, until...Jo gets engaged and they offered a wedding venue on an exclusive resort as part of a deal that they will sponsor the podcast. Their followers start to question their integrity, and so does Margo.

When she is named the maid of honor and is invited early with the bride, groom, and best man, she becomes nervous that a person from her past will bring back bad memories for her. Instead, she is surprised by some new feelings and new memories she makes with Declan Walsh.

I don't want to give away the fairy tale ending, but let me tell you, its one to grab ASAP! This one is released on May 16th, 2023, and you must get your copy. I have never read anything from Ms. Miller, but she will be on my list to read again. What a thrill this was. It made me laugh. It made me blush. It made me long to keep reading. Five stars from me!

#NetGalley

I love a new to me author and this was such a fun set up. I am so so excited to see where this goes.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🔥🔥

Margo Anderson's best friend has put her in a difficult position. They are a popular podcasting duo who give tips on how to avoid feelings while dating. When Jo decides to get married at a destination wedding at Catalina Island, Margo is left holding the bag in dealing with their rather peeved audience. To pacify them, Margo comes up with a plan: She is going to break all of her own rules.

Best man Declan Walsh may be the bane of Margo's existence, but he is also the perfect candidate for her experiment. But the more she spends time with him, the more she realizes there is more to the smug engineer than she bargained for.

I really enjoyed this well-paced read. The main characters were very charming. While Declan was flirty and swoony, I especially love Margo and her masked vulnerability. Kristyn J. Miller did a fantastic job of striking a balance between Margo's charisma and flaws to create an easily relatable character.

Miller also finds a great pace, even with the integration of podcast snippets and text conversations. Sometimes those can take the reader out of the story, but it is seamless with the plot in this read.

I love a good enemies-to-lover banter, and this book is on par with that. I found Declan and Margo's exchanges cute, and while I wished for more spice, their connection is so fun and organic.

I highly recommend this standalone read for those who love low-angst enemies-to-lover banter.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Kristyn J. Miller, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I was very up and down with my thoughts on this book. There were just aspects that I didn't vibe with, but I don't think they are universal and wouldn't impact another person's enjoyment. I personally was uncomfortable with the manipulation aspect of this book, even though Margo felt bad about it and ultimately had a change of heart.

I also didn't love Margo and Jo's friendship. Margo at times coul be quite mean to those around her, and she wasn't a great friend. Pulling your friend aside during her wedding reception to dump a problem on her? Not cool man.

In other ways though, Margo was super relatable. Her feeling of isolation in particular, where she had crafted this box for herself that left her so lonely. Her relationship with the internet and social media, while larger scale than what most of us deal with, is super relatable.

Ultimately, I found this book enjoyable and would recommend it for anyone looking for a summery beach read if the things listed above don't bother you.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is a enemies to lovers rom-com. Margo and her friend Jo have a successful podcast together and have made a career on promoting the idea that women can hook up with out getting hurt. But now Jo has found love and is getting married and the future of the podcast is up in the air. Now Margo is looking for an angle to keep the podcast going. Spending time with former high school enemy was supposed to help her, but somewhere along the way she seems to have fallen in love.

The story shines a spot light on influencers and the the expectations and pressures that they face in creating content. The romance between Margo and Declan was good and their little fights and bickering were balanced with nice connections. The story is mostly focused on our two main characters and the secondary characters mostly remain in the background. The story kept me engaged throughout and It was a quick read.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Go and Jo have a podcast, Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts, focusing on being single, calling your own shots and not getting attached but then Jo gets engaged so what direction is next? A sponsor agrees to pay for Jo's wedding on Catalina Island in exchange for mentions on the podcast and Go, actually Margo, decides to break the rules with Declan and use that for the last season. It's a romance and you can see where this is going but the getting there was such fun. I loved the setting in Catalina, hot, touristy and beachy. Reminded me of Ocean City or Myrtle Beach. For a lot of the book I didn't like Margo much and I do not have a high opinion of influencers but maybe that changed some reading this. Go and Jo really did do a lot of work trying to get and keep sponsors and gain followers and, in their case, lay bare a lot of their lives. Declan was such a great guy I'd date him and I would love to know more about Margo's mom. Perhaps in the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

This book was okay. I enjoyed the premise of the novel- Two girls have a podcast about staying single and not settling down. Except, during season six, one of them falls in love and gets engaged. Faced with burnout and unsure how to move forward with season seven, they accept an all expense paid vacation for the upcoming wedding.

Margo, the FMC, decides to "break all her rules" and see what happens for the two weeks they are on Catalina island. She is caught off guard when she actually catches feelings for the best man and falls in love herself.

I found the FMC unlikable, though she did get a bit better as the book progressed through her character arc. Kristyn J. Miller wrote her character development well. Declan, the MMC, has apparently been in love with Margo since high school but has always been too shy to say anything. I always struggle with the believability of that premise- why didn't he say anything- though I found this book did the trope well.

While the two main characters fairly fleshed out, none of the supporting characters that we spend a lot of time with are fleshed out and are fairly one note.

All in all, I found it to be a delightfully average story. It's sweet and low spice, and would be a good beach read.

Fun beach read. I love mixing up my genres and this was great to fit between a couple heavier works. Good writing overall, quirky characters and it hit all the boxes for a HEA ending

This was a pretty ok romance featuring an influencer having a quarter-life crisis.

The podcast she hosts with her best friend, Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts, needs a reboot since Jo is getting married. Margo (the Go of Jo & Go) is firmly a believer in being the one ghosting, never the ghosted. But she considers breaking the rules so a Season Seven will have content - and they can fulfill the sponsorship agreement giving them an all expenses paid 2 week vacation and wedding extravaganza.

It was pretty run of the mill. Not awful, but also nothing memorable either. I didn't really connect with Margo even if she had a heart of goo protected by layers and layers of teflon that was gradually worn away. I did learn you can play Cup Pong via text AND what IN n Out animal style fries are though!

*I received an advance copy of this book from St. Martins Press and Netgalley and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.

As a podcaster myself, I was immediately hooked by the set up of Seven Rules. Besties who podcast have to shift gears when the premise of their show no longer works for their lives. I'm always into a second chance romance (from his perspective), and an enemies to lovers trope (from her perspective). Loved the hot ginger nerd MMC. This would be a great beach read for this summer.

A very modern day romance driven by social media influence. Margo and her friend Jo are podcasters with a huge following. Declan is a NASA engineer and someone Margo has known since high school. It is a story about the vagrancies of living your life in the public eye and trying to please your audience. Margo finds out that real life cannot be scripted especially when it comes to love.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is a fun little rom-com for those sunny days at the beach. You always know where it is going and yet the ride is fun. Margot and DeClan are both interesting characters and I enjoyed my time with them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is the debut novel from Kristyn J. Miller, and she is a rom-com author to watch!

Margo and Jo are best friends who have a podcast about staying single and hooking up without catching feelings. But Jo has decided to get married and take up a sponsor's offer of an all-expense paid wedding trip to Catalina Island, and now they have disappointed listeners to appease. While deciding how to handle the upcoming season of the podcast, Margo's brainstorm is to stage an experiment where she breaks all of her dating rules. As her test subject, Margo chooses Declan, the smug best man, thus ensuring she will not develop feelings for him. Declan is her old high school nemesis, so when, despite everything, Margo starts to have feelings for him, will she break her own rules to let him in?

This cute, lighthearted enemies-to-lovers story is a breezy, well-written romantic comedy that would make a good beach or poolside read.
Margo witnessed her parent's marriage end badly and has actively avoided committed relationships. She is so skeptical of relationships that she's turned that skepticism into a livelihood, and her dating rules aren't just self-protective; they are part of her brand. But, as events throw her for a loop, she must decide whether those rules still serve her. Add in Margo's initial experiment with Declan, and this gave me a bit of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes. Margo and Declan were adorable together, and I enjoyed their witty banter. Presented in a mixed-media format with podcast snippets, social media, emails, etc., you also get a behind-the-scenes look at podcasting and influencer life. The beautiful setting and some spice round out a story that feels modern and timely. I will be looking forward to Miller's next book!

Margo (Go) and Jo, best friends since kindergarten, are podcasters with a large following. Their big draw is a list of seven rules for breaking hearts, which is a way to date, hook-up and avoid relationships. But things are changing with Jo getting married. There is big pressure to figure out if they can continue being social media stars and what it means for the podcasts. Jo accepts an all expenses paid wedding package in exchange for social media promotion on Catalina Island. In only a two week window all the wedding festivities, bride & groom parties, dinners etc. are happening. Margo is the MOH and is supporting her friend but she isn’t thrilled that the best man Declan was a prankster in their high school. His joke caused her an unearned reputation that still hurts. But of course sparks are going to fly between the two.

I’m not a big social media person so a lot of the talk of posting on the gram and cross promotions to increase numbers was less interesting but seems realistic. I wasn’t thrilled with Declan at first because he comes off smug and doesn’t acknowledge that pranks can be hurtful. He dismisses it saying he was seeking attention. That’s not the same as apologizing. But the attraction between the two still works as the author builds on the will they /won’t they get together. The side characters except for Jo don’t have much to do other than attend the various pre-wedding activities.

The best parts of the book are Declan and Margo as they flirt, banter and trade sexual innuendos. And I really like Jo and Margo’s relationship too. They work together and live together so I was confused that somehow Margo hadn’t met the fiancee before they get to Catalina. I like the story and it’s an easy beach read. But it could have be fleshed out further and to be more memorable. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)