I really enjoyed Given Our History! The story flowed well and I liked switching back and forth between present and past tense (past tense took place over the span of several years). Both main characters are very likable and have a backstory for each. An epilogue would have been nice to get a taste of Clara and Teddy's future. I plan to recommend Given Our History as a book club pick this fall! I'm interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Kristyn J. Miller for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Given Our History hits shelves on August 27, 2024.

Sweet second chance romance. It was a page turner for me. I enjoyed the fmc and mmc. Their story is sweet and I rooted for them all along the way.

This story is told in multiple timelines and is a second chance at love romance. Clara never thought she would get a second chance to have a relationship with Teddy. The plot moves at a steady pace and explores the relationship as it develops in detail. The characters are fully formed and like able.

Thank you St Martin's Press, Netgalley and the author for this advance review copy.

I love second chance romances, however this one fell a bit flat for me. I wanted more from the present storyline - the reconnection and rediscovering each other, the pining! I wanted the past relationship to be explored more since that was the turning point for Clara, our FMC. But they didn't even talk about it (just in passing). Although that could have been read as a good thing seeing as there's no drama, the falling in love again just didn't feel that convincing.

However, I really enjoyed the past storyline: getting to know these two awkward nerdy kids who found their kindred spirits. I like that their personalities are not the usual personalities you'll see in romance books. I liked the writing, and felt the nostalgia of the early 2000s - CD players, Twilight, MySpace and Facebook! I also loved Clara's character growth towards the end.

Overall a 3.75 ⭐ for me.

This was a sweet second chance romance that gave me the same vibes of People We Meet On Vacation, although it wasn’t my favourite I can see how it will be popular for people who love a cozy romance read.

This book was cute. I typically enjoy the second-chance romance trope, and this book was just that.

All the what-ifs in life can lead to amazing things, and also lots of heartbreak. This book contained both, which worked well for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller was such a delightful romance and gave me lots of nostalgic vibes. I loved the flip between past/present perspectives and the second chance romance!

I was right at home amongst the My Chemical Romance & Twilight references, and the way this book was written had me cackling over and over. I’m also not too proud to admit that I teared up during a few points because I just really fell in love with our two main characters, and I was rooting so hard for them the entire time!

My final rating for Given Our History is 4.75 stars. I just had so much fun reading it and learning about the history of Clara and Teddy!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'll admit that this one took me a long time to get into, partially because I was busy but also because there wasn't a ton of tension in the present-day timeline for the first half of the book. But once they two love interests hooked up, things got interesting and I flew through it in a day. Overall, I loved the character growth of the FMC, Clara. I loved the history nerd stuff and the college in the fall setting of it. It was cute and fun and sexy with a realistic portrayal of female orgasm (gasp) and I enjoyed myself.

4.5 ⭐s

Second chance romance goodness! Usually we can expect some angst with second chance romances, but this one was really soft and tender.

Clara and Teddy met years ago at summer camp for homeschool kids. They become best friends, and after several years, they try for more. But after a painful falling out, Clara and Teddy haven’t spoken or seen each other in years. Now they find themselves not only teaching at the same school (he’s a visiting professor at the university she’s teaching in) but also sharing an office.

Soon they’re working together for a gala, and all the close proximity forces them to remember why they became best friends in the first place; getting to know each other again, and learning how each has grown. Confronting the past, and moving forward together.

I really enjoyed this read! I love a good dual timeline, and this one was done really well. Not only did the past timeline add tension to the present, but they were also pretty nostalgic. Calling landlines, myspace, Limewire. The music? HE BURNS CDs FOR HER??! I mean!

But what I loved best were the not-so-little tender moments between Teddy and Clara in the present. Him finding out she still wears the pendant he gave years ago. Teddy not rushing to finish sentences for her because he knows she needs the space and silence to organize her thoughts. All the sweet nothings will make you feel all the feelings.

And of course, all the heart-clutching moments that made this a second chance romance in the first place. If you love that trope, you need to pick this one up!

Now, can we PLEASE get an epilogue? Lol. Thank you so much for the ARC!

I loved this book - as an academic working on my PhD, I loved how true it was to that experience and process. I also loved the tension and the relationship between the two main characters

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you love academic romance. It's a great fall-time read.

A few issues that I had... I didn't like the jumping back and forth between the past. I would have preferred a backstory and then stayed in the present.

Where is the epilogue!!!!!!! I need to know what's happening after The End. Ugh! I think a nicely wrapped up epilogue would have made it almost a perfect read. But, that is just my opinion. I still highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Friends to lovers, academic setting…this book seemed like it was made for me. I did like it, but unfortunately the characters fell a bit flat for me. I still don’t really get why they couldn’t be together and therefore the second chance of it all didn’t make much sense to me either.

I’ll read this author again, but I wouldn’t really recommend x this one.

A sweet tale that moves back and forth in time to give Claire and Teddy a second chance at love. They met at a camp for homeschooled kids but lost track of one another. Now, they're teaching at the same small college and forced to work with one another on a project. Yes it's trope-y (second chances, forced proximity, misunderstandings sunshine. grump) but it's also got well rounded relatable characters and fine storytelling, Thanks to netgalley for the arC. A good read.

Given Our History is a second chance, friends to lovers romance that follows Clara and Teddy’s love story. Through flashbacks to their childhood and college years, these two find themselves sharing an office as Teddy is a visiting professor at Clara’s employer. With a tumultuous past, a shattered friendship, and unspoken longing on both sides, Clara and Teddy realize they can rewrite their story and get their happy ending, despite their history.

I loved the look that this story gives into the academic world of college professors and tenure. Having two main characters who are in academia and reading along as Clara goes through the tenure process definitely gave me a new perspective on what my college professors had to deal with for their careers. I loved that both Clara and Teddy were utter nerds, and I found their love of history to be very endearing.

The flashbacks into their childhood camp days and years that followed help to flesh out their story, but it also did leave me quite bored in the beginning. I couldn’t really get into the story until about 25% of the way in, but then I flew through the rest of the book.

If you like second chance romances, books set in an academic atmosphere, or the friends to lovers trope this one is definitely for you.

**Take this review with a grain of salt, I'm going to try to be objective, but given current life circumstances, my view on everything is tainted**

For this time in my life, it was nice to have a little escape into somewhere else and I probably would have rated this higher had I finished last week.

For a right-person-wrong-time, dual-timeline story, I thought this was well-done. My biggest complaint is from the present perspective, I feel like the time jumps were often and obvious (within a single page, weeks would go by.. I expected more time planning the gala than only a few chapters). The past timeline was full of all the throwbacks from when I was a teenager and very nostalgic feeling. I didn't think the fall-out between Clara and Teddy was as dramatic as they were building it up to be, I definitely expected more.
Overall, I would recommend this book - it was cute and light-hearted.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! Review live now on GoodReads and StoryGraph

I picked this book up because it looked like a cute second chance romance set in the fall time. But honestly, I found it boring. The characters were underdeveloped and I didn't feel like their relationship had any chemistry. I liked the beginning of it and some of the past timeline, but there was no major conflict so it failed to keep my interest.

This was adorable! I absolutely love a dual timeline second chance romance. However, the miscommunication will have your eye twitching, but I suppose that's just part of the fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Kristyn Miller and the publisher St. Martins Griffin for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

ARC Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for Given Our History by @kristynjmiller

A contemporary, second chance, friends to lovers romance with an academic setting. Clara and Teddy are childhood friends, who become history professors and reconnect at Clara’s job.

I firmly believe that when you read a book is almost as important as the contents of that book. Back to school/beginning of fall is my absolute favorite time of year. It’s cozy, comforting, familiar, and of course full of new beginnings. Our Given History is set during that time and absolutely delivered on those vibes for me.
Clara and Teddy’s relationship is so sweet. The story is told in current time and with flashbacks to their meeting as teens. The nostalgia of a first love mixed with all the early 2000s pop culture references had me fully invested in their adorable story.

Definitely go grab this one on August 27th, 2024

Thank you #netgalley and SMP for the opportunity to read this arc.

Things I loved: Second chance! Light academia! 90s nostalgia! Yes please.

Things I didn’t love: the pace is very slow, which might be on purpose to mimic the way academia moves. The emotional development of the main character left room for more exploration. They had been together as teenagers and now back together as adults it isn’t much different.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book! This is my honest review.

3.75 stars rounding up!

Assistant Professor Clara’s semester is off to an interesting start- she’s been encouraged and recommended to apply for tenure early, but she also has to share her office with a visiting professor, who just happens to be her childhood ex best friend with a rocky history. GIVEN THEIR HISTORY (see what I did there), things are tense and old feelings are popping back up all over the place. Told in dual timelines, this story moves us gently through young Clara and Teddy’s beginnings, and older Clara and Teddy’s rekindlings!

What was weird to me was that young Teddy and adult Clara were separately so interesting to me, but older Teddy was kind of meh and young Clara needed to get her shit together!! These are two driven, crazy intellectual, and slightly awkward humans who just happen to be perfectly made for each other if they can only get their heads out of the sand!

This also was a great insight into the college and professorial lifestyles, I was so in on all of Clara’s dealings on campus, her tenure application, and thinking about what it means to be a Tudor researcher in Maryland!

Thank you so much to Kristyn Miller and NetGalley for a chance to read in exchange for an honest review