It took me a chapter or so to get into this book, but once I did I could NOT put it down. I was so invested in Margo and Jo and Declan and the podcast and everything!

I loved how the author included tweets, clips from previous podcasts, texts, etc. I think it added a nice touch to some of the chapters. I saw other reviews about the formatting being weird, but it seemed fine to me.

I also really enjoyed how the conflict in this book wasn’t the typical romcom conflict - at least, it didn’t feel that way to me. Declan was the perfect romcom boyfriend, and Margo, although flawed, came through in the end.

Overall, I really loved this book! Thank you so much to Kristyn Miller, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the eARC!

Another thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC! Pub date May 16, 2023.

I’m usually hesitant to read books about social media but I love a good podcast so I dove right into this one!

Things I loved:
* Despite being considered as influencers, Jo and Go didn’t show much entitlement
* Declan is not your typical male romcom lead. I actually found myself poking my husband multiple times and to tell him the similarities between him and Declan. Must be an engineer thing 😂
* The relationship timeline between Margo and Declan is super realistic!
* Use of podcast episodes, social media posts and texts throughout the story

Things I didn’t love:
* The formatting of the text messages on my Kindle was very off. This might be an issue with the eARC that will get fixed but it did throw me off every time it happened

Lighthearted, fun and fast read. If I owned a physical copy, I would recommend and loan it out!

This book was such a sweet, awesome read. The characters had amazing chemistry and I love how Margo’s character development ended up. The friendship between Jocelyn and Margo could’ve used a little more development, but they were both written so well and it was great to see how it was all wrapped up. I blew through this book in just a few days because I was dying to see what would happen with them all. Absolutely looking forward to more fun reads from Kristyn Miller.

I requested to read and review this book for free from St. Martin Publishing Company! It can be read anywhere and by anyone! There alots of great characters in this book like Jo, Margo, Declan and even Peter! This story has romance, some drama and I think a little mystery. Can we truly like or even possible love someone if we aren't sure what that is? Do we need to be happy with yourself before we can see that someone else can love you as well? Our past plays a part of how we see ourselves then and now. Can we overcome our demons to find happiness?

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. The story was cute, if a bit predictable. The dialog seemed realistic. The setting was beautiful. I liked the male main character; he was such a sweet nerd. I thought the podcast duo was inventive, and it was good to see Margo grow up. However, she felt one-dimensional to me, she felt selfish and didn't seem to care about her friend.

Overall, it was a quick, easy and fun read.

Thank you to Kristyn J. Miller and St. Martin's Press for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
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I wasn't sure what to expect with this and I knew it would either be a hit or miss and I can easily say that this one was definitely a hit for me.

I absolutely loved watching Margo grow into herself and Declan was the perfect book boyfriend <3 like I actually loved him so so much. and I wasn't expecting it.

I enjoyed that the enemies part of the enemies to lovers wasn't too drawn out. It was giving some How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days vibes.

Also I A-D-O-R-E-D the texts/emails/social media posts/podcast formatting that Miller included, they just added so much.

Anyway, I loved this one and totally recommend.

4/5

You know how some books just hit you different because the characters are so relatable? Well this was one of those for me. Parts of both Declan and Margo were like an eerily accurate portrait of what its like to be single in the age of influencers and social media. It definitely hit me in all the feels. Even if you aren't single this is a really fun story.. A little bit modern How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a little bit modern Sex and the City, a little bit its own creation, this is a really great read.

Unfortunately i put this book down after a few pages. As I was reading, the storyline was quite predictable and I felt like I already knew how the story was going to play out before i read it.

A great read by a debut author: Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is sweet and endearing, with plenty of tension and just a touch of spice. I loved it!

I am not one that reads or listens to podcasts, blogs, etc. So to me it was humorous. Why put your life out there to be criticized. The story is from Margo's viewpoint. Her best friend, Jo, is a big part of the story. The podcast was centered on being happy single with 7 rules to help. Then Jo falls in love. The wedding is being paid by a sponsor. So for 2 weeks the wedding party is busy having fun. Go is the maid of honor and Declan is the best man. They have not seen each other since high school. 2 weeks to find new content for the podcast with Declan as the center of the new subject. But he doesn't know it.
I thought the book was cute, funny and full of misunderstanding, Lots to like in this story.

This rom-com was a lot of fun! Margo (Go) doesn’t feel like your typical rom-com MC at the start, but as you learn more about her (she played the tuba, she’s not as fond of her current career as one might think, Her parents’ divorce scarred her pretty well with regards to her view of lasting relationships) I realized she is the perfect rom-com MC. She’s also not 100% likable at the start of the move, but it leaves her a lot of room to grow.

The setting is a love letter to Catalina Island, and her supporting characters were fairly well rounded as well. All in all, a run romantic romp and a story about finding your real path and of healing old wounds.

A quick, easy beach read! The beginning started a bit slow for me but I loved that the author dove into the complexities of childhood that can lead to some of our decisions as adults.

A cute summery read releasing on May 16 2023!

This book revolves around main character Margo (Go) and her best friend Jo. Together they are the voices of the Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts Podcast. The podcast concept is a little strange. They developed rules to help themselves NOT get attached to guys (the only way to keep your heart safe). Only here’s the twist…. Jo is getting married. What???? For someone that preaches staying blissfully unattached, that’s a recipe for a lot of angry podcast listeners. So Margo is attempting to navigate rough waters as she supports her bestie’s decision to get married but tries to stay true to the podcast. As they rapidly lose listeners, Margo wonders if maybe she needs to do change things up. And thus a plan is born! Margo is going to ignore the rules for two weeks and who better to test this new freedom on than the best man. Unfortunately, she isn’t exactly upfront about that tiny detail. As always, things get terribly complicated and feelings are bound to get hurt.

It’s a debut novel by author Kristyn Miller. For her first novel she did a wonderful job. This was a solid 3.5 stars for me (rounded up to 4). Not groundbreaking, but a really cute read nonetheless. The characters were very funny. They had some great one liners that had me giggling. The banter was good, and the relationships between all the characters made for interesting conversations. That being said, I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. Jo seemed very selfish, and Margo was just as bad. Both just seemed very stuck in the center of their own universes and were hard to like in the beginning. Margo started to grow on my as the book progressed. Peter, Jo’s fiancé, was the most likable. He’s the golden retriever of the group. Declan, the love interest, was okay. He was kind of lackluster for me as a main male character. He was charming but there was something about him that kept me from liking him fully. I think getting the book only from Margos perspective made it hard to really understand Declan’s motivations.

As for the plot itself. The pacing was incredibly slow. There was a moment when I debating DNFing because I felt like the story was progressing quick enough, but I’m glad I stuck through to the end. Its always worth it when things end happy.

A plot device that I thought was interesting was the use of social media, emails, and podcast transcripts throughout the book. It added context and helped the reader understand the behind the scenes of Margo’s job. This is definitely a perfect summer read. The setting is the ultimate vacation spot and had whimsical vibes. Along with the underlying wedding storyline, it made for lots of adventurous shenanigans. The book was very wholesome and cute. So much so that I think it would be suitable for a young adult to read. There are a few very tame open door spice scenes, but nothing completely scandalous. More like, the door is ajar. You know what’s happening but it’s not being described in great detail. (But also this is coming from someone who reads straight up smut. So perhaps my viewpoint is a little skewed…)

The conflict was a little frustrating. Margo kind of gets dealt a crappy hand, and everyone treats her like she’s evil. I was really disappointed in how Jo handled the conflict. Even though Margo wasn’t my favorite human, I think the way everyone went down was incredibly unfair. I felt like we missed out on what could have been a heartfelt conversation between the best friends as they dealt with the conflicts fallout.

On the opposite spectrum, I liked that it took Margo and Declan some time to work things out, but they still get their happy ending. So often the resolution gets rushed, but it was refreshing to see two characters take a step back. By the time they crossed paths again they had really done some soul searching and knew exactly what they wanted.

All in all, this was a cute read. If you need something light and fluffy this one is great. It’s not too serious and it’s a very easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the early copy. I’m very excited to see what comes next for this author.

For a debut, I thought this was well-written and a clever idea. Margo, our heroine, is a quintessential grump who is afraid of commitment. Her love interest, Declan, is the fun jokester who she has some bad high school history with. When her podcast cohost and best friend Jo gets engaged to Declan’s best friend, the two are thrown together as the maid of honor and best man. Set on scenic Catalina Island, the two are given the opportunity to get to know each other while helping their best friends prepare for their wedding. Unfortunately a misunderstanding relating to Margo’s podcast brews just as Margo opens her heart, and we are left waiting with baited breath for the two to reconcile.

Honestly, I thought Margo was a bit annoying and I was glad to see her forced to reckon with her issues and come out on the other side. Declan was almost TOO nice by comparison. I thought both characters developed throughout the novel though, which kept me reading.

I’m looking forward to her next one!

Thanks to Kristyn Miller, St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this debut romcom by Kristyn Miller! She has a very confident and witty writing style that you don’t typically see in a debut. The inclusion of the podcast transcripts as a framing device was clever and fun.

One of my favorite things about this book was how vividly (and accurately!) the author described all of the SoCal locations. This really felt like a love letter to Catalina Island, and it also made for a unique setting.

The love story was sweet, and I really liked Declan, although I had trouble following his logic throughout the book. I guess if I had one complaint, it would be that Declan made some assumptions and had expectations that he didn’t communicate, and then blamed Margot for not meeting those expectations. But that’s how romcoms work!

Five stars for me, looking forward to more from this author!

Mein Leseerlebnis

Der Liebesroman ließ sich an sich gut lesen und der Einstieg mit der Podcast-Ankündigung wirkte auf mich sehr frisch und einnehmend. Danach hatte ich richtig Lust darauf weiterzulesen. Doch schnell stolperte ich über ein paar Aspekte in der Geschichte, die ich komisch fand oder nicht unterhaltsam.

So fand ich es z.B. sehr komisch, dass Margo Jos Verlobten erst kurz vor der Hochzeit trifft/wiedersieht, obwohl die beiden Frauen beste Freundinnen sind, zusammen wohnen und arbeiten. Das machte für mich keinen Sinn.

Zudem fand ich alles rund um das Influencersein in Bezug auf Jo und Margo nervig. Von so etwas bin ich oft kein Fan in Liebesromanen und mir war vor dem Lesen nicht klar, dass dies ein wichtiger Betsandteil der Geschichte sein würde. Dass Jo sich die komplette Hochzeit sponsern lässt, fand ich z.B. geschmacklos.

Die Hauptcharaktere und Liebesgeschichte waren an sich ok, konnten mich aber nicht vollends überzeugen und faszinieren.

Nehme ich das alles zusammen, so war die Liebesgeschichte leider für mich nicht so gut wie erhofft. Hier und da gab es zwar unterhaltsame Passagen, insgesamt war mir das aber nicht genug.

🖤🖤3/4

Für wen?

Wer Liebesromane mag, in denen aus “enemies” (übertriebene Beschreibung) ein Paar wird und in denen die weibliche Hauptfigur einen bekannten Podcast betreibt und als Influencerin agiert, sollte sich den Roman mal näher anschauen.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

It's going to be a no from me. The characters, dialogue, plot was just okay if a little boring. There were some funny moments but overall it was pretty forgettable. I stopped trying to force myself to read it and DNF'd at 60%.

This book wasn’t my favorite, but it did have some funny and romantic moments. The conflict could be seen from a mile away, but it was executed well timing wise. I think the book wrapped up really well and didn’t feel rushed.

When it comes to the characters, i wasn’t Margo’s biggest fan. She said she was Jo’s best friend, but for almost the whole book was unsupportive and self focused. When it comes to the romance, the author really didn’t paint her in a good light. I think I would’ve been more sympathetic and understanding if the author developed Margo’s backstory more. While we found out she’s adverse to love because of her parent’s divorce, it didn’t feel as impactful to me as a reader to the extent where she made money and revolved her life around single nights with strangers. Add in having her target an incredibly sweet man for the sake of more podcast content, and I’ll admit that I really didn’t like her for some of this book.

As for the podcast, I’m sorry but the concept is just sad. It’s original alright, but who would seriously want a lifestyle keeping you from meaningful relationships long term?

This was a cute rom com with a swoony hero and a really fun setting on Catalina Island! I really enjoyed this book although I did have a hard time with Margo's likability for the first half of the book. However, once she started owning her vulnerabilities, I really fell in love with her character and was rooting for her hard! The development of her relationship with Declan was really lovely to watch unfold - I adored watching her break her own rules :). I also really loved this author's writing style and I look forward to her future books!

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller
I was lucky enough to get this book as an ARC from NetGalley. I predominantly read thrillers but I’m trying to branch out this year and in the past I’ve enjoyed some rom-com style books. This one was adorable!! The characters drew me in right away and their antics were hilarious. The chemistry between the MCs was so well written and even though romances follow a “formula” sometimes this one was fresh and different. I highly recommend checking this one out when it hits the shelves on May 16, 2023!