Second chance romance is my favorite! I will admit that at times the tension between the two main characters got a bit annoying, especially in the beginning but I still found this book to be so adorable. Right person wrong time is now one of my favorite tropes

A heartwarming tale of parallel souls, love and second chances. The alternating timelines add depth and the characters come alive on the page. A beautiful story.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read this ARC.

This book had me obsessed by the prologue. The tension had me by the throat. Finding out that your ex best friend that you're still in love with is dating your old college roommate? Crazy.

I loved the academic setting of this book. It reminded me of an Ali Hazelwood but make it history instead of science. Romance books that are a little nerdy are just *chefs kiss*.

The flashbacks to their friendship before during their teenage years had me hooked to find out why they had a falling out. I read this book in a day to find out what happened.

This is the first book I've read from this author, and I can't wait to read more!

Thank you NetGallery for this amazing Arc!! I really enjoyed this one and as someone who went to overnight camp, loved that the characters met and went to an overnight camp! I enjoyed the plot and that there were two timelines going on. Some parts I did get bored at but it was a quick and easy read!

writing: loved it | plot: love a dual timeline | ending: yay

my opinion

I am quickly learning that I am a hoe for an academic romance. Nobody asked but my OG career dream was being a professor LMAOOOO. Anyways. The dual timeline had me up until 1:30 am. Usually I enjoy seeing how their relationship develops over the years in the flashbacks, but in this case, I was more tickled pink by how accurate the time period was depicted. Mall Madness? Yu-Gi-Oh? MSN? Secretly downloading Nelly Furtado, The Black Eyed Peas, and Akon songs to burn onto a CD and listen to via walkman???? I felt fully transported to the past. Loved the nostalgic vibes.

Okay, when you really deep it, their adult feelings were based on teenager feelings which were based on vibes and horniness, BUT I don't care. Kristyn somehow bamboozled me into feeling like they were soulmates who NEEDED to be together. I liked their dynamic together. Instead of an opposites attract situation that you usually see in books, Clara and Theo were both nerdy introverts, but Clara was slightly more extroverted. And while they both had family baggage, Theo definitely shouldered his differently. I like that they didn't have to become different people to be with each other.

Clara is the perfect example of how to do "quirky" without slamming on other women. She was supportive of her outgoing sister's lifestyle and never condescending about her behaviour or choices. TAKE NOTES PEOPLE. WE NEED MORE CLARAS.

Funny, well-written, and made me feel things... easy four stars. Looking forward to more from this author.

pros & cons

pros: love an academic romance, Clara and Theo were a great match, Clara was a fantastic FMC, FUNNYYYY, all the nostalgic vibes – she nailed the early 2000s, dual timeline!!!!!!! (not insta love for once)

cons: wish their connection had been a bit deeper during their college years but c'est la vie, great book overall

This was an adorable dual POV, dual timeline story about two homeschool kids rediscovering their love.
It's even better that they're two history professors who know the importance of the past.

Thank you so much Kristyn Miller, publishers, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC!

I just had such an amazing time reading this book. The characters and the situations pulled at me and when it was over I immediately felt like reading this again. That’s the sign of a great story in my opinion.

Teddy and Clara are interesting, relatable, intriguing, complex, wounded, entertaining characters. The path to their HEA is full of twists and turns (that we get to see in present day and the past) and is entertaining to read. I enjoyed these two characters and their relationship. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher! Overall, this was a sweet friends to lovers, second-chance romance. Recommend if you need a palette cleanser after reading books with heavier content.

4.5 ⭐️
🌶️

Given Our History is a second chance romance that follows Clara and Teddy who met as teens at a camp for homeschooled kids. The story follows a present day timeline where Teddy and Clara reunite as well as a timeline of their past.

This story is just so sweet and cozy. It takes place on a college campus where Teddy and Clara are history professors and has light academia vibes.

If you love fall vibes and a super sweet friends to lovers, second chance romance this is a lovely story.

Second chance romances are usually my absolute favorite tropes, but this just didn’t capture my attention as much as I hoped. The dual timeline was so good, I actually loved the past one more.

This was a sweet, dual timelines, second chance romance. Unfortunately, it just was a bit of disappointment for me. The past timeline was more interesting, as we get to see our two main characters become friends and eventually fall for one another, but the present timeline was a little bit dull. We get party planning and wondering if the main character will get tenure. Overall, it was a nice story, it just didn't captivate me.

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

Man. I love Clara and Teddy. AHHHH. I could spend an entire therapy session yapping about why this should have been an uncomfortable reading experience given my own history, but I absolutely loved these two little history nerds so much that it was just a delight to see their relationship as teens and as 20 to 30-somethings. It's an absolute NEED in my mind to have a sequel of them living together in Edinburgh.

Also-- I was inhaling this book so fast that I needed to take a two day breather so that I wouldn't read the rest of it in one sitting and then be disappointed when I finished it (like when you reach into a bowl of chips and realise you've eaten them all...), but I swear I could have read this in four hours if I didn't have self-restraint.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this eARC! I look forward to (nicely) forcing all of my history-major friends to buy this book when it comes out in August

Wow. What a book! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The story revolves around Clara and Teddy, who share a 17-year friendship that evolved into a complicated relationship. After a falling out years ago, they stopped talking for nine years. Now, Clara has applied for tenure at the university and needs to prove herself, and Teddy, now a visiting professor, is eager to help her with her project. This raises the question: why is he so willing to help? Is he looking to rekindle their relationship?

Clara struggles with her feelings and needs time to process them. The back-and-forth timelines effectively illustrate the depth of their relationship. I was anxious to learn what had caused their drastic fallout.

I had some dislikes, particularly Clara’s parents. It was sad that she lacked a social group growing up, and I wondered why her parents didn't notice. Being homeschooled doesn't mean being antisocial! There were also moments when I didn't like Teddy; some of his behavior and attitude towards Clara were unfair. However, I enjoyed the parts where they rekindled their relationship. They were adorable and sweet together, and I appreciated Teddy's unwavering support for Clara's goals. I loved how Clara ultimately chose happiness.

I wish the ending had a more detailed epilogue, covering what happened in the following months or years. I wanted more closure. Overall, it was a really good second chance romance between two likable characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

After reading and being hooked by Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts I was excied to request this second chance romance. It ended up being an okay read for me, I didn't feel very invested in the characters. The duel timeline felt off to me as well.

I did love how they met and found friendship in each other and I am obsessed with the cover.

An academic romance novel with a friends-to-lovers storyline that is cute if not totally groundbreaking. Fun side characters that I could see getting more life in follow up novels.

I'm a sucker for a contemporary romance set in Academia. As a liberal arts college graduate, it was easy to pull me into a world that felt familiar and like coming home. I really enjoyed this story and how easy it was to fall into.

I read this book in one sitting. I really enjoyed the characters and although i think it would have been helpful to have more of Tedd's perspective in this i really did enjoy it.

Given Our History 🧡 Arc Review
. . .
TROPES:
🍂 Second Chance Romance
🍂Friends to Lovers
🍂Women in Stem
🍂Forced Proximity
🍂Soulmates
🍂Dual Timelines
. . .
I don’t think I’ve ever loved an arc more than I’ve loved this one! 🥹 Here we have a beautiful story about life and love, bad decisions and second chances, timing, family… There’s so much to say about this novel!

In this book we follow two people who were undeniably made for each other, they become friends in a camp for homeschooled kids and it just makes sense.🩵 They just make sense. That is until life gets in the way, and priorities shift, and future plans turn into tunnel vision, and they fall apart. Years later, they meet again, forced to share an office and to confront their past.

This is a slow burn ❤️‍🔥 (which I absolutely love), the chapters alternate between “before” and what’s happening now, the settings are so well constructed and described, the pacing is exactly what this kind of “second chance” needed, the side characters bring light to the story, the writing was so good… there’s not a single bad thing to be said about this book, in my opinion! ✨

Imagine my surprise when I found out this is only the author’s second release.🤯
Can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Given Our History is a slow-moving, friends to lovers romance. It was a nice story, written with a past/present format that brought a great understanding to the characters and their actions, but did little to keep my interest in the long haul. I'll admit, alternating chapters of past/present information is my LEAST FAVORITE format when reading. Although the author did a great job with it, that back and forth did nothing to pull me further into the story.

The main characters, Clara and Teddy, were okay. I didn't get that "compelling" feeling that usually drives me to turn the pages faster than I can read. All-in-all, this book was well-written and somewhat interesting, but it just didn't grab my attention and pull me in so I never wanted to stop reading. That doesn't mean it won't interest you. I definitely think it's worth the read to find out. Grab yourself a copy and give it a try!