I enjoyed this book. It's a good second chance romance story. I also liked the dual timeline so we could get their back story as well as the current one. Overall a good read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This is simply the perfect example of a second chance romance. It’s dual timeline, so we see their relationship develop in the past as it develops, again, in the present. I would have loved an epilogue from Teddy’s POV, but I already know anything he’d have to say would be delightful. Thanks to SMP for the arc.

Kristyn J. Miller really shows her range as an author with her sophomore adult romance. Whereas Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts was an edgy/snarky romp perfect for the beach, Given Our History is cozy like a mug of hot chocolate with fall vibes. As a reader, I loved both of them. This dual timeline second chance romance is perfect for fans of Carly Fortune.

Romance set in the academic world. Two professors one on tenure track the other a guest professor who happen to be to be life long friends. More complicated than that they have a messy history with a failed romantic relationship.
This is my second Krystyn Miller novel and although enjoyable I’m still waiting for a story to hit that sweet spot. Perhaps it’s because both Clara and Teddy were home schooled and that caused a lack of socialization?. They didn’t have great communication skills even though they both realized they were each others end game. Clara was almost stoic putting career goals ahead of any other opportunity. Even when she was sobbing it was difficult feeling the emotion. Thankfully life events and perhaps friends and family manage to shake her out of her complacency. I really thought it was a close call. Grateful to Netgalley and St Martins Griffin for the read.

GIVEN OUR HISTORY – Kristyn J. Miller
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 978-1250861900
August 27, 2024
Contemporary Romance

Baltimore, Maryland – Present Day

Assistant Professor Clara Fernsby loves history and has all the college degrees to prove it. She is currently teaching history at the college level, which has allowed her the opportunity to apply for tenure. At the start of the new school year, she was informed that she would be sharing her office with a visiting scholar. Clara doesn’t ask his name, but she gets a funny feeling. That feeling comes to fruition when she discovers the visiting scholar is her old best friend, Theodore “Teddy” Harrison. Clara now feels like the walls from her past are closing in on her.

Clara and Teddy first met spending autumns together at a sleepaway camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains as teenagers. They clicked and continued to keep in contact with each other even when they were not in camp. Their friendship lasted for years, and in GIVEN OUR HISTORY, it flips from the present day to various stages of their past. Clara had one goal in life: to finish her education and get a job at a university. She rarely veered away from her goals, and it was something she had in common with Teddy. After all, his ambitions were the same as hers…until they weren’t. At one point, her friendship with Teddy spilled over into a romance but it ended badly. With him back in Clara’s life, she is afraid of falling in love, but she may again lose the man she cares a lot for.

When Clara’s father had an accident years ago, she watched her mother go to work and she began to take care of her sister, who currently lives with her as she attends college. Clara hopes that by winning tenure she can get tuition breaks for her sister. Is she too focused on what she wants and not what she needs? Teddy is back, and the friendship resumes, as does the attraction that slowly built years ago. He will be leaving in six months, which means they will be saying goodbye again. Is that the extent of their relationship? Go into and out of each other’s lives?

GIVEN OUR HISTORY is a poignant tale of discovering your true feelings after spending your life thinking there was only one path. Clara clearly loves Teddy, but she doesn’t see a future for them. He has goals, yet they don’t apparently mesh with hers. Will something happen to make her change her mind? GIVEN OUR HISTORY is beautifully told and is a fascinating tale that you don’t want to miss.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

I enjoyed this dual timeline, second-chance, friends-to-lovers romance. It had cozy, fall vibes reminiscent of starting a new semester. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC.

What a cute second chance story! Teddy and Clara were meant to be from the start. Even tho the reader can tell this is who should be together it took a bit of time to get to the HEA they deserved. This story is a dual timeline so we get to follow these two throughout their friendship and all of the ugly with all of the good. I found the secondary characters to be just as entertaining as our main two and they added a lot of great content to make to story well rounded. The love in this story runs deep between Teddy and Clara and you can’t help but to root for them. I found ,shelf liking Teddy a lot more than Clara at times. Her hardheadedness was a turn off for me and some of the situations made me dislike her. Even tho there were moments that I didn’t enjoy some of the characters actions this was still a solid book. Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this!

What a perfect book for this season! I loved so many things about this book. The fall vibes (perfect for late August when I started reading it!), the millennial references (peppered all throughout.. ahh nostalgia), the fact that it was set in academia. I loved the FMC. I really enjoy reading romances where the FMC has a good head on her shoulders, she may be figuring it out but she is also confident in herself and her decision-making. Miller definitely achieves this with Clara.

Where this book fell a bit short for me was with the MMC, Teddy. He just did not feel fully fleshed out. I did not understand his reasoning or point of view until near the end, and even then I wanted more. Unfortunately this left me feeling a bit unsure about their relationship and their HEA. Which if we are being honest, is the point of a romance novel.

Overall, I enjoyed and would recommend this book. Especially as a transitional read into fall!

I love an academic romance and I love a second chance romance so this book is truly the best of both worlds. The flashbacks and references will make any 90s kid happy. This book was a quick and easy read.

What can i say other than there’s no point where i’ll ever dislike a book with second chance, it’s one of my favorite tropes to read and Given our history did not disappoint, especially when you add academic romance. I WILL OBSESS OVER THAT ANY DAY! Clara and theo were able to give me that 2000’s romcom feel, but also make me sympathize with their past and their hardships. I can see myself rereading this book in the future when i need a lighthearted read to make me giggle and kick my feet with romance.

It started off strong. I enjoyed the prologue but then the details between past and present lost me. Even though the chapters are titled between past and present, I think in the flow of reading it wasn't as clear and I found myself confused. I also felt like the conflict of Clare's sister and her tuition was a bit forced. I don't know, I didn't like that little detail of the sister being what was fueling her to tenure, I feel like it caused the conflict to go off track only to be quickly resolved. I did like the chemistry between Clare and Teddy but again not sure I fully grasp why they went their seperate ways in the first place.

This book was just a pleasant experience! It takes place at a college campus in the beginning of the school year. (Aka the perfect time to read this!) Past and present, what could have been, friends to lovers to enemies are my favorite type of story. I loved the history professors, it was so interesting to me and something I haven’t read before. Her writing is very strong, and kept me intrigued the whole time. I only wish I felt more chemistry between our main characters, maybe more tension and longing to make the sweet moments/love confession hit harder.

I love a good second chance romance but I couldn't get into this book. It wasn't bad by a long shot but it didn't suck me in or captivate me. I found myself getting distracted fairly often while reading. Like I said it was not a bad book by any means but it just wasn't for me.

A very atmospheric romance. I loved the setting that the author created. The romance itself felt pretty familiar and predictable, but I still ultimately had a good time with this one.

Given Our History was a highly anticipated read for me, and it didn't let me down. Clara was a relatable heroine and Teddy a soft, sensitive hero. I enjoyed getting the perspective of college adjuncts and professors, which is not something I've encounter often in fiction.

Second chance romance can be hit or miss for me, but Miller's approach of sprinkling in the past 17 years and explanation for why Clara and Teddy didn't work out when they were in school worked.

The side characters were wonderful - I would read more about Bel and Izzy!

Given Our History
Kristyn J. Miller
Pub: 8/27/24
4☆

This was a cute, second chance romance. I enjoyed the past and present timelines, the banter, and the academia setting. Teddy and Clara have the sweetest friendship and it was fun watching it slowly develop into more. They were a tad too wishy washy for my liking but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to more from Miller.

What I enjoyed;
🍁 Second Chance Romance
🍁 Friends To Lovers
🍁 Women in STEM
🍁 Alternating Timeline
🍁 Millenial References

If you’re in the mood for a cozy fall romance, this will hit the spot. And that cover… so dang cute.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Readers who love second chance x dual timeline x friends to lovers are going to eat this book up. While that is not my favorite combo, I did also overall enjoy the read.

Clara and Teddy’s friendship has spanned over 17 years, though after a falling out over if or how to move their relationship forward, they haven’t seen each other for years before Teddy shows up as a guest professor at the same university Clara works at. Their story unfolds in alternating past and present timelines from their meeting at camp to their reunion and hopeful happily ever after.

I mentioned the trope combo of this book is not my favorite, but most specifically I just don’t love dual timelines. It does work well here to establish Clara and Teddy’s history, but my own personal preference is that I’d rather spend most time in the present. Readers who love having that past time are going to be fed by this one. There is a lot of meat to the story that is found in Clara and Teddy’s past, which makes it make sense why it was told this way.

While I did want a bit more conversation between Clara and Teddy upon their reunion and more time spent on overcoming their past issues, I really loved the way things ultimately play out in the end. The book really ended on a high note for me and left me with a good feeling.

I also really enjoyed the academic setting and the secondary characters. Reagan was a great addition to Clara’s life and her little sister role provided some of my favorite comedic moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“The hardest part about loving someone is, in my experience, stopping.”

🍂🍸✨☕️📖

A cute and cozy romance that has major fall vibes. I really enjoyed this one, it was a super quick and easy read. It was well written and entertaining. I loved the dual timelines and settings from when they were 14 years old at camp to being history professors.

Clara seemed kind of immature when it came to her reasoning for her and Teddy’s relationship but in the end I’m glad she allowed herself to be happy. I really love the friends to lovers trope. I loved seeing them meet for the first time at 14 years old and becoming friends to slowly becoming more years down the line. Teddy was so supportive of Clara’s dreams and independence. I thought they were adorable and sweet together, I just wish that there was more tension between them throughout the story. There was also a bit of the miscommunication trope thrown in there but it wasn’t a huge focal point. The side characters were funny, quirky, and super supportive, and it added lots of character to the story.

I also wish there was an epilogue so we could get more of a glance of them being together in a couple months or a year down the line. But it was overall, a good read. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves dual timeline, second chance romances.

Nerdy and sweet with a little bit of spice and just enough backstory to fill in the gaps. Clara may have been frustrating at times, but certainly realistic.

Really enjoyable academic romance, I looove second chance romances its my favorite trope and I LOVE ME A DUAL TIMELINE THANK YOU AUTHOR! this was funny and well written. The early 2000's setting was executed perfectly, all the deets were there. Would have loved a bit more depth in their adult romance but it was a thoroughly entertaining story to read anyway. 4/5 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion