This book was so interesting! It kept me hooked from the first page. I was already recommending it to a few friends before I even finished the book.

Thank you so much to the publisher for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller. This is one of those books that will definitely have you feeling all the feels! Oh my goodness, I loved it so much. It features one of my favorite tropes-second chance romance, as Clara and Teddy knew each other "in another life" and have reconnected, and although there is history there, they have both changed. It's like getting to fall in love all over again, who wouldn't love that? I was fully invested in their love story from start to finish, and I found myself rooting for them the entire time. I love the parallel stories and thought that was a brilliant way to tell us Clara and Teddy's story. This was also a refreshing palate cleanser and reminder of why I fell in love with the romance genre!

3.75 🤍 Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for an ARC of this book.
Okay yes!! I absolutely loved the setting!! Light academia, fall vibes. It was so cozy!!
Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes so i was really excited to dive into this.
Teddy and Clara were relatable, funny, and lovable. I loved them together so much!!
i loved all the little easter eggs through the chapters and how everything ending up connecting in the end. The writing was beautiful and very atmospheric.
It felt a little slow at times but I think it just helps it fit into that cozy vibe. Other than that, I really really enjoyed this read and will be definitely looking for more academia books to add to my tbr!

𝐀 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬-𝐭𝐨-𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐨𝐟-𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬?! 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. (𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥-𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐞𝐭𝐜. 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧!) 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥-𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥.

𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 (“𝐓𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲”), 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧, 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠… 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐭.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒦𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓎𝓃 𝒥. 𝑀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃'𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

What a sweet book! I really enjoyed this second chance romance. It has everything, childhood bffs, friends to lovers, and a dual timeline. The dual time line made this book as you can see how the decisions Clara and Teddy made led them to where they were in the present. The romance was so sweet and I loved the college professor side to this book.

The author did a great job making me feel like I was back on a college campus and I have to say I even imagined Clara and Teddy could be my professors! This was a great fall romance and I highly recommend. I look forward to reading from this author in the future!

I was hooked in the beginning with this one and was easily a 4 star for book! Also, let’s give a moment for the cover! It’s currently so hot and I cannot wait for the cooler weather.

Clara and Teddy are homeschooled kids that are sent off to summer camp. On a rainy day, playing a board game and trying to prove that Clara and her friend can win at trivia, Clara meets Teddy and declares that moving forward he will be her friend. Thus begins years of a tumultuous friendship.

During their teenage years, they begin to question whether what they feel for each other is more than friendship. Sadly their attempt at something ends up fracturing their friendship. Clara focuses her eyes on her future and what it can be. Growing up with tragedy striking her family, she’s firm on making sure she has an education and means to support herself. Years later, Clara ends up working at a college and is informed that she will be sharing an office with a visiting professor, her Teddy that she hasn’t seen or spoken to in 9 years.

The book goes from present to the past and I loved the build up in finding out what exactly had fractured their friendship. I also really enjoyed knowing behind the scenes of the academia world. I’m a sucker for second chance romance and miscommunication trope and this one definitely delivered but differently. Clara and Teddy were both set on their goals. Probably Clara a lot more than Teddy and I think that made her feel like she couldn’t have it all. In a way, she put all of her family’s burden on herself. There’s also the miscommunication trope but I didn’t find it annoying. It felt realistic given their age at the time.

Here’s what I would have liked: I wish we could have gotten a bit more about their relationship. I feel like they didn’t spend anytime as a couple in the book. I appreciated their friendship because that’s the foundation of any good relationship (imo) but I wanted a bit more of what made them work as a couple. And more communication once they were working it out. Also, the spicy scene after the gala….🫠. I actually had to reread it a couple times because I wasn’t sure what I had read.

Though the second chance romance trope is one of my least favorites, my absolute devotion to academic romance outweighed my misgivings about this book.

This is a book where the MCs were childhood friends as teens, and had baby crushes on each other as teens. My biggest complaint about this book is that their grown-up feelings for one another are based on those teenager feelings they had years ago. But, I guess as far as a foundation goes, it's better than nothing. And they did grow up and mature throughout the story. There is a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding that happens (another one of my cringes), but I really liked Clara as a character, her initial immaturity aside. She is witty and funny and does grow into her maturity.

Overall, a quick, uncomplicated read great for this time of year. (Cover love!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc of this book.

The fall vibes were everything. Not to mention, I would be best friends with Clara. She's a vampire-loving, MCR-listening, super nerdy history professor <333
More importantly, this romance felt very grounded in reality and it was a breeze to read. Clara and Teddy are two highly educated individuals in their early 30s who actually act like their age. Their relationship was sweet, low-stakes, and respectful, which is SO REFRESHING. The only downside to me was the dual timelines from when they were teens, but that is purely a personal issue. Despite my objections, I still found moments of their younger interactions adorable.
These two nerds were made for each other!

I love second chance romances, so I was really excited to read this! I loved the flashbacks to when Clara and Teddy were growing up. Their friendship was real sweet and they both felt very relatable.

It took me longer to appreciate the present day timeline. Clara felt very immature for a ~30 year old woman, and I wanted to get to know Teddy better. It felt like the current relationship between Clara and Teddy got a little bit stalled because we weren’t supposed to know their entire history yet.

Once we finally got more scenes of them together, I really enjoyed their relationship! They were both funny and supportive of each other. Clara’s little sister was also a great addition to the book - I loved the humor she added! Also - is trivia a big trend in romcoms right now? I’m not mad about it…I love the competition and the funny trivia team names! 😂

All in all, this was a solid second chance romance with good fall vibes!

Given Our History was such a sweet romance for fall! If you like the friends to lovers and second chance romance tropes, and a bit of an academia setting, this is a good one. This book is told in a single POV but with a dual timeline. In the present day timeline, FMC Clara Fernsby has always been very career-oriented and is working toward reaching tenure as a history professor. She’s told that for a short time during the fall semester, she’ll need to share her office with a visiting professor. She soon realizes that the professor she’ll be sharing an office with is her old summer camp best friend, Teddy, who things had ended badly with as friends started turning into more when they were younger. With the dual timeline, I also really enjoyed getting the history of Clara and Teddy’s relationship.

I haven’t read many academia-focused adult romances, so I felt like this book was unique in that respect. I’m also a big friends to lovers trope fan and enjoyed watching the evolution of Clara and Teddy’s relationship. I liked Clara’s character and felt like she was very relatable—balancing being career-focused, while still needing to remind herself that she can still be successful while also enjoying life outside of her job. Some of the history humor in here, given that Clara and Teddy are both history professors, was cute. As a 90’s/early 2000s kid, I also appreciated all the nostalgic things that painted the picture of the historical timeline: Myspace, burning CDs, and the issues with dial-up connection, anyone? Ha.

If you’re looking for a fall romance, I’d recommend! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of Given Our History (audio version)
by Kristyn J. Miller

Dual Time line past/future
Single Narrator/ POV
Second Chance
Friends to Lovers
School Setting
.5 Spice minimal

“I’ve missed this, I’ve missed you”

I very rarely give anything 5 star, and while I love spicy books this one with its less the 1 spice level drew me in front the moment I started it. I absolute loved the timeline of Teddy & Clara. We start when they are 14 and end up 17 years later and I couldn't put it down, cozy minimal fall vibes,
I felt like the store was complete it wasn't rushed great pace and not overly long (audio version 10 hours)

Kristyn J. Miller's "Given Our History" is a poignant and beautifully written exploration of love, ambition, and the complexities of revisiting the past. The novel centers on Clara Fernsby, an assistant professor who has meticulously built her career, only to have her carefully constructed world shaken when Theodore "Teddy" Harrison, a figure from her past, reappears in her life. Miller's storytelling is rich with emotional depth, making this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance that also explores the intricacies of personal growth and self-discovery.

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read Given Our History if you like….
-childhood friends to lovers
-“second chances”
-history
-academic settings
-emo music
-summer camp nostalgia
-fall vibes


The cover of Given Our History is perfect and was a major reason I picked up this book. Clara and Teddy are former best friends and are reunited when Teddy joins Clara on her college campus as a visiting professor. With Clara up for tenure she volunteers to plan a gala in hopes of bolstering her application and Teddy agrees to help leading to them spending time together and revisiting their history.

I enjoyed parts of this story but I don’t quite know what specifically I wanted but I wanted more out of Clara and Teddy’s story. I wasn’t totally sold of their chemistry/connection not really seeing past their friendship so maybe that was it. I guess I was looking for a little more angst between them and a bit more chemistry making this a true second chance romance story in my opinion.

3.5 stars

Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

The title drew me to this book and then kept me reading as I discovered that the couple featured in the story have a history as friends, a couple and then a breakup. Now Clara has all she wants as a professor on the road to tenure in the history department, a position she has strived for since her teen years. What Clara was not counting on was Teddy Harrison coming to the college as a visiting scholar in her department. He is the one with whom she attended camp every summer, fell in love and then had a heartbreaking separation. Being thrown together to plan a fundraiser was not part of Clara’s plans to keep herself on the tenure track, but she is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in her goal. This book is told in two timelines, one in the past when the two are at camp together and one in the current setting of the college. I really liked the past scenes better because they were filled with fun and reminiscing of good times. As the book progresses, I learned more and more about how their relationship evolved and then ended. I liked the way the author led me to get invested in the lives of the characters. I was not forced to choose Team Clara or Team Teddy but rather, I was rooting for both of them to discover their inner child and the love for each other that was rooted in the past. The characters were lovable and believable and the plot moved along at a good pace. This is a good romance, with some elements of humor as well as some good advice for those who want to mend fences. Entertaining and enjoyable as well as filled with brilliant dialogue and interactions between the characters!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Clara is an assistant professor, trying to get tenure. When Theodore shows up as a visiting professor, Clara is shocked. They haven’t spoken in ten years, and now she’s drowning in memories of their time spent together at sleepaway camp. As they work together on a gala, they both start to realize that they might have some lingering feelings after all this time.

Given Our History is a slow burn romance that spans decades which makes it pretty unique. I enjoyed the academic setting and dual timeline. I think I enjoyed the chapters in Clara and Teddy’s early years best. Clara was a difficult FMC to enjoy. She was the only thing standing in her own way throughout the entire book. I really wish that Teddy’s POV had been included because I think it would have helped to develop the story a bit more. I personally didn’t feel the chemistry between Clara and Teddy. The stakes were really low and I just never felt any real emotion or connection to the story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I think a lot of people will love this book. It was a second chance romance between history professors who went to summer camp together. I definitely recommend it to fans of second chance romances who aren’t looking for anything spicy, but something heartwarming.

I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped and I think that’s partially because I didn’t like Clara. The book alternated between past and present and now that I’ve gotten the full picture of what happened between them, I feel like Clara and Teddy both mishandled their friendship and Clara behaved like a child in the present time. She was so stubborn.

It was a cute story, but I just wanted more from Clara as an adult. She practically tried to hide from Teddy and that felt just so weird. I think the alternating timeline just made it worse? I’m not sure. I think it’s a me problem, so I would still recommend this story even though it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I really enjoyed this!! Second chance romance is my favorite and this one didn’t disappoint. Childhood friends to lovers to strangers to lovers hits so hard. This book was full of tension, pining, regret, and hope. It made me feel exactly what a second chance romance should make me feel. The longing and regret physically hurt me. I absolutely loved that there was a dual timeline. Those are my favorite for a second chance. I loved the academia setting and the transition from summer to fall in this book. I read it at the perfect time!! I loved Teddy, he was so cute 😭 and the character development for Clara was excellent.

I really did love the romance, the dual timeline, the reunion and reconciliation between Teddy and Clara, and the setting, but there were a few things lacking to make this a perfect 5 star. While I did love the dual timeline, the past POV chapters were too vague. There would seem to be random time jumps that weren’t clear to the reader and we were told SO MUCH instead of being shown. The past chapters just seemed so rushed where I felt they could’ve been fleshed out more to give a bigger emotional impact. That really disconnected me from the story a few times. The reason behind them not speaking for 9 years was also a little unserious. I was disappointed by that tbh.

I still absolutely loved this read and it overall gave me what I hope for in a second chance romance. I finished it in less than 24 hours bc I enjoyed it so much!! Def recommend for a good fall time romance 🤍

Given Our History is Kristyn J. Miller‘s stand-alone second-chance romance set on a college campus. This book has dual timelines: teenagers at a camp for homeschooled kids and present-day academia.

Clara Fernsby is an Assistant Professor of History at a private liberal arts college who is on track for tenure. She has been working towards this since she was fourteen, and hasn’t let relationships get in the way. Clara is surprised when her old ex-best friend, Theodore “Teddy” Harrison, arrives for the fall semester as a visiting scholar. They haven’t spoken in ten years due to a falling out. As they spend time together, Clara realizes she’s at risk of falling in love with Teddy again. However she realizes that she hurt Teddy in the past and doesn’t know if he will trust her again.

Given Our History is an emotional story for readers who enjoy strong and smart heroines. This story is very well written, and the reader can’t help but identify with both Clara and Teddy. It’s very realistic and perfect for reading over a nice fall week-end.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for this ARC! I absolutely loved this slow burn second chance for the two main characters over so many years of miscommunications. Two professors, tweed and fall weather are the perfect combination for cozy season! I would 100% recommend.

DNF at 50%
On paper, this book should be right up my alley - I love second chance romance, especially when it’s told on dual timelines. But I really struggled to get into this one and ultimately just didn’t care about the characters. Teddy and Clara spend very little time together on page which makes it hard to get to know them and root for their reunion. And the prose is just dense and overly descriptive.