Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller
Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Margo and her best friend Jo run a successful podcast about how to hook up but never catch feelings. Although the whole podcast is thrown into turmoil when Jo winds up engaged. Now with the help of sponsors, Jo is getting married on Catalina Island. The whole wedding party will spend several weeks on the island to prepare. The best man is her childhood nemesis and bully.

Don’t let the cartoon characters on the cover fool you, this is not a rom-com. It’s more of a story of self-exploration and evolution guided by a romantic interest who challenges you. Margo is left with an identity crisis of sorts when Jo, her best friend who she may be way too reliant upon, announces her engagement. Margo is still dealing with the trauma she never processed as a result of her parents divorce and her father’s cheating. She is adamant that she never wants a serious relationship. Margo isn’t likeable at first which I think is entirely the point. She keeps herself guarded and closed off in order to protect herself.

Declan isn’t exactly how she remembers him from childhood. He’s successful, kind and not interested in a one-night stand. Why he still carries such intense feelings for the girl who never once gave him the time of day over a decade later is a bit of a mystery to me.

Their romance was sweet, if not super quick by virtue of being stuck on an island for two weeks. Why they all needed to be on this island for that long still doesn’t seem realistic to me. It’s written in a quick and digestible manner there just wasn’t anything particular about it that stood out to me personally

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very cute and fun read. I love enemies to lovers as a trope. I loved the podcast and the seven rules. It added a fun element to the book I enjoyed. The location was perfect and Declan is my new fave book boyfriend

I’m calling it. DNF. I cannot stand the main character and the other characters have no personality. The story is flat and I’m just not interested. I found myself skimming because I wasn’t enjoying it and there are too many other books out there. Maybe it’s just not for me.

This book was not for me at all, I couldn’t care less about the tribulations of Go’s podcast, and then she went and used Declan and then wanted to appear like the victim? Nope, sorry but no.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the copy of this ARC!

Margo and Jo run a viral podcast about hooking up without catching feelings, but when Jo gets engaged, Margo is left wondering what will happen next for her.

This was a fun and entertaining romance featuring Margo and the groom's best man, Declan, who is Margo's old high school nemesis. I really enjoyed Declan's redhead relatability, the setting and wedding activities, and how Declan and Margo ended up compromising for each other. I do struggle a bit with influencer main characters and felt like parts were repetitive, but overall this is a good debut and beach read candidate.

Read if you:
- are looking for a beach read
- like influencer MCs
- enjoy wedding events in books

Jo is getting married! Which is great, except that she does a pod cast with Margo about how not to have a romantic relationship and now Margo has to recalibrate. And she has to get through the wedding, a wedding where her old nemesis of sorts will be the best man. Margo's history with relationships (and her parents) has made her chary of falling in love- better to love them and leave them- but now, she's feeling something for Declan. This is standard trope-y stuff in spots but it's also funny in others. You're going to find yourself rooting for Margo to get over herself and admit that she likes him, she really likes him. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A read that made me smile.

Synopsis:
Margo and her best friend, Jo, run a podcast together all about sex and the single girl. They’ve sworn off commitment and have come up with a list of rules to live by to stay single. But then Jo falls in love. And gets engaged. The podcast future is uncertain. But as Jo’s wedding day approaches, Margo decides to forgo her rules for the sake of the podcast. She believes she’s immune to catching feelings for the best man.

My Thoughts:
I did the audio on this one, and Karissa Vacker is one of my top favorite narrators, so I knew it would be a good one to listen to.

This book was fun. It was sweet. And sexy. And sassy. And I enjoyed Margo and Declan’s story. The banter was excellent. The location was perfect for a summer read. I really enjoyed this debut romance!

Read if You Like:
🌴 Enemies to Lovers
🌴 Podcasts
🌴 He fell first
🌴 Witty banter
🌴 Carnations
🌴 Influencer stories

Declan is the epitome of a man written by a woman. I felt like the emotions he felt totally valid, real and not over done. Margo, I adored. I think her fear of commitment is echo’ed by a lot of 20 something’s so I felt like it was perfect. I loved the setting and how you felt like you were really there. My only real issue was there were a few details that didn’t make total sense. I also didn’t love Jo she didn’t seem like a great friend to Margo at all.

4.5/5 for me!

A woman named Margo has a pretty popular podcast for how to hook up without catching feelings or getting into too serious of a commitment. But when her best friend and podcast mate ends up falling in love and getting married, their podcast show suddenly doesn't seem to make much sense. So while on the wedding vacation, Margo decides she needs to try something new and ends up breaking her own rules. That's the premise for this fun romance book that I ended up quite enjoying!

It was a really quick read with an enemies to lovers premise - the enemy being a guy from high school who ended up being the best man at the wedding. It had some funny moments, a decent amount of steam and an overall good plot. A little bit predictable for sure, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. I would recommend this for your romance reading and it would make a great read for summer! Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my review copy.

So good. I loved the chemistry between Margo and Declan. My favorite part of this book is that despite the book being about a podcast/social media, it didn’t take over the book. I have read so many ‘influencer’ books where I feel like I am missing the relationship between the two main characters and only reading about their life as an influencer. Yes, the podcast played a crucial role in the story however I still felt like I got to know the characters as people and see their relationship develop.

This was a fun and light romance novel! I the podcast snippets and social media posts were a fun touch!

This gives all the beach/summer/vacation vibes. There’s zip lining, hiking, kayaking, a tour to see some Buffalo. Plus, all the wedding things with Margo & Declan planning for their friends.

Margo was very frustrating at times. She was super skeptical about love and so guarded. So this was a romance novel but also Margo opening up more and wearing her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see!

Declan and Margo together were cute! I loved their interactions, banter, kisses, everything. It was super sweet. ❤️

“But life certainly looked a little brighter, from my standpoint, ever since I’d found someone I wanted to share it with.”

Read if you like:
•enemies to lovers
•He falls first
•forced proximity

steam: 3 spicy scenes - mild details

[ Thank you to the publisher & netgalley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller is a delightful and fun summer read that will leave you with a smile on your face. Margo and Declan's witty banter and undeniable chemistry make for a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable romance. The premise of breaking dating rules for the sake of a social experiment adds a unique twist to the story, and Miller executes it flawlessly. The setting of Catalina Island is also a lovely touch that adds to the charm of the book. Overall, Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is a must-read for anyone looking for a lighthearted and romantic escape. So add it to your to-be-read list for the perfect summer read!

This book was an easy read, and one that I couldn't bring myself to put down. I am absolutely in love with the main male character, Declan, even though I had to change his name in my brain because that is also the name of my 1 year old nephew...

Declan was such a sweetheart. I appreciated how he continued to try to be real with Margo, and express his desire to pursue a relationship with her. The fact that he has had a crush on her since high school is adorable, and I am so here for it. Margo, on the other hand, got on my nerves repeatedly throughout the book. She was super grumpy about everyone and everything - including holding a grudge about 2 pranks that Declan pulled on her in high school , even though she admitted he pulled pranks on just about everyone. She was super rude to Jo leading up to her wedding - and even on her wedding day! This made me mad as someone who has not only been the MOH in a wedding, but planned a wedding where my MOH backed out last minute.

I also think that for someone who is an "influencer" she complains a lot about being...an influencer. If you don't like it, than maybe you should pursue another career path? I also don't understand how - as an influencer - you just leave your phone laying around. I wonder, as well, if the bartenders were really that rude, or if it was just her jaded sense of self that made it appear that way.

I would still recommend this book to someone looking for a quick, easy read with a swoon-worthy main male love interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts
by Kristyn J. Miller

Setting:
Catalina Island

Characters:
Margo
Jo
Declan

Tropes:
Second Chance Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity

Goodreads:
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Spice:
🌶 Basically closed door

Review:
Really enjoyable story. I liked that it involved people that work in social media, Podcaster, TikTokers, etc. I thought that was cool. Felt more women's fiction than romance, but it was still a lovely story.

Margo and best friend Jo host a viral podcast about living commitment-free. When Jo gets engaged, fans feel betrayed. Struggling to find new content, Margo experiments by breaking all her dating rules with Declan, her high school rival. Instead of proving the merits of singlehood, she catches feelings. Will she let go of her preconceptions and take a chance on love?

This fast-paced book has a strong voice and vivid characters. If you like rom coms with binge drinking, emotionally closed-off heroines, and prank-loving heroes, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book was fine. I am not a huge fan of influencers as main characters, or long drawn out weddings where the best man and maid of honor enemies to lovers trope. And this book was both.

Margot and Jo have been best friends forever, and have a wildly successful podcast on how to empower women to hookup without getting tied down to a relationship or feelings. But then Jo does the unthinkable and gets herself engaged. Where will the podcast go in season 7.? Fortunately, a fancy hotel on Catalina Island is sponsoring Jo's wedding, so the whole wedding party is whisked away for the two week adventure. Unfortunately that means the grooms best friend, Declan, will be along for the ride. And he was Margot's nemesis throughout high school.

First off, two weeks for wedding activities? My hard-earned PTO would not want to use that up for a friend's wedding. Second, apparently Declan pulled a couple of pranks on Margot in high school and that made her high school experience miserable. But also, her parents blindsided her senior year in high school and announced they were divorcing because her dad had an affair, (hence, why she doesn't do relationships now). I think this book could have benefited from one of two things: dual timeline or dual POVs. The high school history needed more showing rather than telling. And Declan's POV would help endear him more to the reader, because I wasn't getting the swoon I wanted.

That being said, I think this was a fine debut book and I am curious to see what the author does next.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest opinion.

While this books is well written and structured I found the characters unlikeable, which makes it hard for me to enjoy a book. I’m trying not to let that skew my review, however some of the characteristics in the MCs created pretty large plot holes that I didn’t feel were filled correctly.

Margo and her bff Jo run a podcast on basically how to avoid relationships. Unfortunately for Margo, Jo never actually lived and breathed the rules the way Margo did and is now getting married to some guy they went to high school with. Thanks to their viral podcast, Jo is getting a free wedding and two-week vacation on Catalina Island. The free vacation covers the whole wedding squad, Jo and Margo as well as Jo's fiance Peter and his best-man, also an old high school classmate and Margo's old high school nemesis, Declan. Turns out Declan has been in love with Margo since high school. Margo on the other hand is still all about not catching feelings. Also, since Jo announced that she's getting married, their podcast has been getting tons of negative feedback. Now Margo has to think up a plan on how to finish up the last season, which may or may not involve experimenting with Declan and his feelings.

Some random thoughts in no specific order:
1. Honestly, I love the Catalina Island setting. If this book was an ad for the island then they definitely got me because I did a whole search on vacation activities on the island after putting down this book. This is a great beach read.
2. Margo took a little bit to get used to. I did not like her to begin with and found her extremely annoying and made everything about her. How did Jo not get mad when Margo dragged her away from her wedding party for an "emergency" chat, just because some gossip blog was running an article about Margo? Margo was clearly very selfish.
3. Declan was honestly a great romantic lead. Plus he works at NASA, like come on. He's described as nerdy and hot.
4. This is semi enemies to lovers if you're into that.
5. The break-up and make-up in the last couple of chapters was a little bit of a drag for me and causing me to dock off a star, but overall a sweet romance book.

I enjoyed this book! I liked the premise of the podcast of ways to avoid getting your heart broken and then the problems that could come from that with Jo, the MC Margo’s best friend and co-host, getting married. Margo was a fun character, but I do feel like she comes across mean in several situations. I get that she’s very guarded, but she expected the people around her to have the exact same viewpoint as her.

The overall conflict of the story didn’t feel very realistic, and I would’ve loved a Declan POV, but the setting is phenomenal. I was looking into booking a trip to Catalina Island. This book made me feel like I was there! I loved reading about it.

Overall, I recommend checking this book out!

I enjoyed Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. It was cute & funny. I really liked Declan & Margo, and I was invested in what would happen with them. I just felt like it took a little too long to get there.

Enemies to lovers
Best friends wedding
High school nemesis
High school crush
Podcaster best friends