Margo runs a podcast with her best friend, Jo, where they have 7 rules for hooking up without feelings. Jo went off and caught feelings and is now getting married and it threatens to breakup their whole dynamic. They go to Avalon for the wedding where so much is covered in exchange for shoutouts on their popular podcast. They feel that their theme doesn't fit them anymore with Jo being married and they throw some ideas around for what to do differently. Margo decides to strike up a flirty relationship with Declan, the best man who also was not her favorite person in high school. As they spend more time together, she realizes that she likes him a lot more than she thought she would and that she doesn't want to use him for the podcast. When her phone is stolen and information leaked, Declan is really upset and now Margo will have to fight to win him back.

Such a sweet rom com with a few spicy scenes. The influencer/podcaster take was different than other books that I read and I did like how they touched on having separation of personal life and the podcast. Declan seemed like such a sweetheart. Gave me How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kristyn J Miller for this advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of "Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts" in exchange for my honest review. The blurb of this book caught my eye and I am so happy I was approved! This classic enemies to lovers story was witty and fun to read. I love how podcasting was a huge focus to the plot and it made the love story feel very modern and easy to relate to. I would highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of romance books that don't make you think too hard while providing hours of entertainment!

If you like a quick, easy read about some enemies to lovers set in a bit of an island paradise, this is the book for you!
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Margo and her best friend, Jo, run a successful podcast together: Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. All about how to enjoy the single life and how to stay single in the process. So of course what can go wrong here?
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With Jo getting married, Margo has to figure out how they’re going to complete another season of the podcast. Do they have enough new content to fill a whole season? You’ll have to read to find out!
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This book had me laughing almost every chapter. The characters were funny and lovable and relatable. Would definitely recommend picking this one up when it comes out in May! Add it to your TBR!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

The blurb on this book looked great: enemies to lovers, stuck on an island together, need to work together for their mutual friends wedding, super cute, podcasty, etc. But for me it never really came together and I didn't find this particularly romantic or comedic. Unfortunately, Margo isn't a particularly likable character, and her negative attitude really overshadows everything. I don't understand really the premise of the podcast - I actually think it would have been more realistic if it was a more "Call Her Daddy"-like podcast, where the female presenters are just very open about their dating life, instead of staunchly single on purpose. I didn't like the motivation for "using" Declan, it didn't really make sense and felt icky. Overall I was hoping for more and I didn't end up connecting with any of these characters. Perhaps I'm simply to old for it as a millennial haha!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Margo has a podcast with her best friend Jo, where they live by the seven rules for breaking hearts. #singlenotseeking
But what happens when Jo breaks all the rules and decides to not only date, but get married?

Margo decides that she is going to intentionally break the rules for the two weeks that they are on a vacation/wedding retreat. So she can report back to their listeners how the experiment went.. in steps Declan who changes everything.

I really enjoyed this book. There were several moments where I was laughing out loud. I felt like I could have fit right into the friend group with Margo and Jo. I would highly recommend reading this book.

Margo, along with her best friend Jo, are hosts of a podcast all about being single. However, Jo has fallen in love and now they must push her wedding on Catalina Island (which is in California, I think? It never clarified) for sponsorships as their podcast comes to a close.
Enter Declan, Margo's high school annoyance, as Jo's husband's best man.
Do feeling sparks? Yup.
Does Margo think she should use Declan as the subject of her new podcast? Yup.
Love and betrayal? Yup.
You'll have to read the book to see if they can make it.
I especially loved this book because it was about podcasting, my other favourite pastime, next to books. The addition of scripts from the podcast was also clever.
I recommend this book if you like romance, and are ending one part of your life and shifting to another.

Enemies-to-lovers fans won't want to miss this charming new romcom! Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts has amazing banter, a sweet love story, and amazing characters. I adored this book to pieces.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was a sweet book about overcoming your previous thoughts and ideals and being open to new ideas. Fun read!

This was the perfect fun and light beach read to get me out of my reading slump. It had the right amount of sass and banter to keep me engaged from start to finish.

Margo and Jo run a popular romance podcast, focusing on hooking up without actually getting attached. However, Jo breaks the rules and decides to get married - and while one of their podcast sponsors gives them an all-expenses-paid multi-week wedding trip to Catalina Island, Margo feels the pressure of needing to come up with an idea to save the podcast, or at least keep it going herself. Problem is, she's crushing on the best man, who's also her childhood nemesis. I thought this was a cute and fun read, though Margo's immaturity was hard to take at times. I enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes look at the podcasting business world, and the romance was sweet (when I could set aside Margo's annoying self-sabotaging behavior), though predictable. Overall, a fun beach read.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts
by Kristyn J. Miller
Pub Date: 16 May 2023
St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin
Romance

This romantic comedy debut is delightful. The banter is funny and the romance is spicy. It has a sweet friendship at its core, which gives it an air of warmth and comfort. I fell in love with the main characters and the supporting cast. Kristin J. Miller's future publications will be on my radar.

Synopsis:
Margo (Go) and Jo are popular podcasters dealing with social media pressures. Their viral program encourages single women to follow seven dating rules to avoid heartbreak. Jo's sudden decision to get married and all-expenses-paid wedding trip to Catalina Island leaves their whole podcast in a quandary.

Declan, Margo's high school nemesis, is Jo's fiance Peter's best man. Declan is a red-headed NASA engineer. He ignites a flame with Margo at the wedding, and sparks fly. Margo questions the seven rules that she and Jo teach on their podcast. Is she willing to break her own rules in order to win Declan's heart?

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this cozy romance set on beautiful Catalina Island. I appreciate your kindness.

What a fun read! The location was fun, and the characters were well rounded. The storyline moved at a great pace. Enemies to lovers trope, a touch of spice and friendship dynamics set in a gorgeous place make this a great summer read! Kristyn J. Miller had me rooting for Margo in her personal and professional lives. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy!

This book is an absolutely adorable romance that will serve as a perfect beach read for many. Margo is a podcaster who has made her living off of encouraging other single women to follow seven dating rules to avoid getting their hearts broken. Then her best friend (and co-host) Jo decided to get married, and the trip and wedding that ensue leave Margo questioning everything about her career, her personal life, and the validity of the rules they've been preaching.

I truly enjoyed everything about this book. Go is an admittedly imperfect heroine, and Declan is the kind of love interest that is sure to leave romance readers swooning. The book is well paced, and the cast of secondary characters are both unique and interesting. This is a book I will definitely be recommending to all my book loving girlfriends as they pack their bags to head on this summer's vacations.

*A special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts in exchange for an honest review*

Best friends Margo and Jo are the hosts of the viral podcast “Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts,” where they share all the ways you can successfully hook-up without catching feelings. When Jo surprises Margo by ignoring these rules and deciding to get married, they owe the internet an explanation. Since a sponsor is hosting the all-expenses paid wedding, Margo needs to come up with some content for their listeners and she needs to do it fast. She decides to conduct a social experiment breaking all her own dating rules- and who better to do that with than her high school nemesis, Declan. Sure, he’s definitely hotter now. But he’s still arrogant and annoying and there’s no way she will ever catch feelings for him. Until she does.

Cute and fast enemy-to-lovers read with lots of tension and a bit of spice. The back-and-forth between Margo and Declan was entertaining, you obviously know Margo is going to catch feelings for this guy. But I still liked getting to that point in the book. I also enjoyed the BFF relationship between Margo and Jo. The author did a great job handling what it was like for them to be at different points in their lives and how one friend inevitably feels left behind. Definitely something that happens in real life friendships that I’m sure we can all relate to! I’m a huge fan of the “chicks in the office” podcast and this book was giving me all the vibes.

If you’re looking for a cute ETL romance, be on the lookout for this to drop on May 16!

3 Stars!

This book was really cute and fun! I enjoyed it.

I’m going to be honest, the first few chapters were really hard for me to get into and I had the feeling of, “uh oh, I’m not going to like this.” The main character, Margo, came off as so pessimistic & bitchy—just really unlikable in my opinion. I’m glad I stuck it out and kept reading though because it got better and so did Margo.

I loved the vacation setting of this book and how it gave opportunities for interesting activities like kayaking, hiking, zip lining, etc. If Margo at first came off as unlikable Declan was the exact opposite. He was so lovable and one of my new favorite book boyfriends.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martins Press for the ARC! Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts will be release 05/16!

Overall, this was a cute and quick read but left me wanting more.

I wanted more character development and dialogue from Margo and Declan. I think having more insight into Declan's thoughts and where his mind was throughout the book would have added that extra level. While their chemistry was great, and I was left wondering nonstop if they were ever going to get together, I just wanted something a little deeper and felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

TLDR: Sexy, joyful debut and I'm already excited for whatever Miller is planning next.

I read this book in one night (ok, well into the morning hours) and smiled the whole time. The whole time! Not only was I thoroughly charmed by each of the characters and the little twists and turns, but I really just adored the way this was written.

I'll start with Margo and Declan. I love them, full stop. I don't want to give anything away but I just felt it so much between these two. Single-POV romance is so fun because it makes revelations and misunderstandings so honest (and tense!!). We meet Margo at a tough point in her life and get to see her perspective grow which had me feeling like the Grinch when he learns the meaning of Christmas. And Declan... my guy. So soft and so hot. Which I'm now realizing is my favorite kind of romance hero.

As for my reading experience: Miller's writing style is my absolute catnip. Each scene and setting is so grounded and vivid, and her little nuggets of description--of a character, an idea, a place--are itty-bitty shots of dopamine. Yum, I tell you. YUM.

It was a good boom once I got into it and it was a fun little read I would definitely read this author again

This was a cute little enemies to lovers rom-com! Loved the island setting and the red haired love interest lol you don’t see that often. I thought the plot was interesting, with the podcast and them straying away from it and everything. The kayak scene was so funny!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a cute book! It’s a fun, summery enemies-to-lovers rom com. If you know anything about me, you know I have a thing for redheads, so I could relate to the attraction that Margo had for Declan. I inevitably loved his character and was so happy with the ending of the book. I also thought it was fun watching the development of Margo’s character. I liked how social media and the podcast excerpts were incorporated into the story. With that being said, I do feel like the book was a little slow and overall kind of hard for me to get into.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.