Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the arc. This story is about Clara Fernsby, a history professor in a small liberal arts university in Maryland, finishing up her life goals of securing tenure in the same university. But before she can accomplish her final goal, Clara is informed that she is to share her office with a visiting scholar, Theodore (Teddy) Harrison, someone from Clara's past. The story, all told from Clara's POV, flashes back (17 years) to the time Clara and Teddy meet, and goes back to the present to show where their relationship currently stands. The story does these flashbacks quite a bit, which I feel dragged it down for me. I thought it was interesting to see how their relationship evolved, and cratered, and came back again, but it was too much. I did appreciate the glimpse into the academia world, i.e. tenure track, fundraising efforts, inter-department politics, etc., but the story could have been more streamlined. I really liked Clara, Teddy, and all the side characters.

Overall, I liked the story, and I look forward to reading future works from Kristyn Miller.

How can you not love two history professors that are into each other? Plus a tenure battle. And an epic misunderstanding. This one hit so many good notes. It was a bit of a slow burn but I loved the payoff at the end. The idea that they were friends first and the flipping back and forth with the timeline worked well. The author could have done a little less with her dysfunctional family but overall well done.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute and cozy read. I’m a sucker for second chance romances if they’re well done, and I couldn’t put this down once I started. I liked that Teddy and Clara were both imperfect characters and you could see their growth in both the current timeline and flashbacks.

The dual timelines definitely added to the angst factor, and while it wasn’t too high, my heart definitely did break a bit for them a points. And I wanted to shake them both to get their act together, which I think is key to a good second chance romance. If things are TOO easy for the characters getting back together it doesn’t work, but I thought it really did here.

The writing was great, and the story pulled you in almost immediately. Would definitely read this author again!

Clara has devoted her life to seeking security in her career as a tenured professor of history. Her love for history is lifelong and mostly self-taught. When Clara’s boss asks her to share her office with a visiting scholar, she is not anticipating it will be her former best friend, Teddy.

I liked that the book was set in academia, and I related to Clara’s vision for her career. The women in this book are smart, ambitious, and center stage. There is an alternating timeline that gives Clara and Teddy some depth and backstory.

Who should read the book: Academics Who Need a Break, Romance Trope Lovers, Eldest Daughters

This is super sweet.
If you’re in the mood for fall cozy academic vibes this book is going to give you that. A second chance romance told through alternating timelines, readers will root for these two characters to rekindle their love.
I will admit, some of the miscommunication did seem silly but that’s part of the second chance trope sometimes.
The friends to lovers aspect of the relationship will give you butterflies. It’s wholesome and so cute!
Recommend if you want a cozy read.

Given Our History is a second chance, friends to lovers, alternating timeline about the love story of Teddy and Clara. I really wanted to love this one, the premise sounded great- 2 old friends in a long term will they or won't they, who lost touch then suddenly meet back up? Fantastic!
Then I started reading it.
I couldn't get behind this book unfortunately. Given that childhood romance is a trope i love, this one kind of fell flat.

First off thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC. I loved it. I always love when there are multiple time lines and part of me actually really liked the use of the right person wrong time trope which usually isn't one of my favourites. I really hope that we're able to see more of Clara and Teddy's story because part of me feels like that ending leaves room for a sequel? Either way I thought this was a beautiful story.

Wholesome and enjoyable with cozy autumnal academia vibes! This is the story of Teddy and Clare, who becomes friends at camp when they're both two trivia and history enthusiastic nerds. Their story is one of friendship primarily, and we move through a few different timeline jumps before we as readers see it become anything else!

I'm not a particularly enthusiastic romance reader and I really enjoyed this! The characters were so richly fleshed out and so likable. I was rooting for them, both as a couple and as individuals. As a plus, the academic setting kept me tuned in throughout the novel - what a great environment!

Would highly recommend this one.

This was a cute and cozy second chance romance for sure! It was a bit of a slow start for me..but other than that I enjoyed it. I loved the characters and I was rooting for these two the entire time. I was completely invested in them by the end. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

This second chance romance is heartwarming. Given Our History really captures the meaning of right person, wrong time. Clara and Teddy are likeable and the writing just flows. I really enjoyed the character and how they communicated.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. I really enjoyed reading Given ‎Our History by Kristyn J Miller.‎
I could not put the book down. It jumps back and forth between two different timelines, the past ‎and the present. The story of Clara and Teddy is a heartwarming romance book with excitement ‎and disappointment. A great look at love having a second chance. ‎
This was my first time reading Kristyn J Miller's work, and I look forward to reading more.‎
‎ Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

I loved that this book was a friends to lovers, second chance romance between history professors. How perfect that Given our history had so much history between our two main characters. This is one of those books where you are just yelling at the main characters saying "get together already!" I really enjoyed how the author went back and forth between the past and present timeline. I enjoyed the flow of the story in that way. I also thought it was clever how as the story progressed, the seasons were changing. There were a lot of unique elements in this romance that made it stand out to me. For example, our main character had a sister with a huge age gap and me and my sister are also age gap sisters, so it was fun being able to read about sisters not close in age like we are. Super cure read and I'd definitely recommend!

A really sweet second chance romance that I breezed right through thanks to its tight writing and well developed characters, I adored this book and the characters. Told in dual timelines, historians Clara and Teddy were a case of 'right person, wrong time', having fallen in love with each others as teens on summer camp.

The campus setting was well fleshed out with its departmental politics (some of which made me laugh). Clara and Teddy were characters you just wanted to root for and felt their heartbreak along with them. I also understood why Clara rejected Teddy's proposal to be together (after spending years waiting for Teddy to prioritise her) and was angry on her behalf when he dated Mindy and then stayed with her for years (which was never fully explained why he did).

While I understand the book is about learning from your history, the issue I have with dual timelines is it takes away from the present day to show how they have learned from their time apart and they'll be much stronger now. While the past chapters were short and sharp, a lot of those scenes, while enjoyable, were redundant as it was already explained in present day dialogue and should've remained as dialogue. Clara and Teddy needed more bigger conversations about their time apart and the decisions they made on page.

I do love a good second chance and this book had all the hallmarks of why I love it - the pining and that special chemistry between two long loves - Given Our History had this in spades. It will tug at your heartstrings while making you swoon.

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

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Given Our History is a past and present telling of the friendship/friends with benefits/friends to lovers story of Clara and Teddy. Clara and Teddy met at camp when they were teenagers. When we pick up with them it's six years ago and we learn that something drove Clara and Teddy away from each other, though their real reconnection does not start until six years later when Teddy takes a visiting professor position at the school where Clara is currently pursuing tenure.

I love book with academic settings so that was one of the first things that drew me into this second change story. Let's also acknowledge how perfect an academic setting was to setting up forced proximity & second chances tropes. At first I’d been too drawn in to the story unfolding at the present that I was anxious to get through the flashbacks to the past, but after a few of those, I was completely enthralled in both the past and present. I think the back and forth really did help build up the story. At the time we got to the end I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these two. I absolutely loved Given Our History. I cannot wait for its release and to get my hands on a physical copy of this book. It's definitely one of my top reads so far this year. This was the first book I’ve read by Kristyn J. Miller and I’m so excited for future works!

Given Our History is a slow burn friends to lovers/second chance romance. The duel timeline covers when the two teens met as homeschoolers at camp through present day when they meet again as college professors and all the sweet and messy in between,

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

Clara and Teddy were an interesting pair. All the things that kept them together and yet threw them apart. I enjoyed them together and I wish there had been more of that and Teddy’s POV.

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

I love a friends to lovers romance and there was a lot to love about this book. However, the female main characters choices and the right person/wrong timing dilemma was INFURIATING! Their reasons for not being together didn’t work for me or feel believable.
I loved how the book jumped from past to present and we got to read about how they became friends. I also loved the fall vibes, academia setting, and all of the millennial references were on point. Overall, the main plots didn’t work well for me and it wasn’t as much as a winner as I was hoping.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I will give my thoughts once SMP addresses their readers with an explanation. Until then, all my reviews will be withheld.

4.5/5 ⭐️

More tender stories about elder emos in academia, please!

Given our History is just the sweetest, coziest story of Clara and Teddy, who never expected to make friends, let alone meet their soul persons as homeschooled teenagers at sleepaway camp. Dual timelines from Clara’s perspective follow them through seventeen years of friendship, young love, swapping history texts for mixtapes, regret, loss, and heartache until they find themselves reunited as history professors sharing the same small office space while navigating the politics of higher education.

I think this one will feel extra cozy for we early to mid-thirties millennials, because nothing inspires the warm and fuzzies quite like the nostalgia of downloading a Limewire virus to your family desktop computer. Trigger warning for the absolute shock and grief upon discovering that “Welcome to the Black Parade” is old enough to buy cigarettes now. Yes, I just heard your gasp from here.

The only thing missing was one very long epilogue about their life together as history professors in Edinburgh. Maybe a novella…or an entire second book…ok this a completely selfish criticism because I think I truly could have continued reading for a couple hundred more pages.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC! All opinions are my own.

As cozy as a knitted sweater, GIVEN OUR HISTORY captured my both my heart and my senses. Light and breezy, it's the kind of story one could soar through in just a couple days. Sure, there's barely tension; still, in a tale filled with 'autumn vibes' and 'second chances,' the lightness is a gleaming draw, marking the perfect read for those days where the leaves are turning, the breeze is crisp, and all you want is to curl up with a light story. Adored the academia setting; much like Ali Hazelwood, Miller captures the university setting, its departmental specificities and atmospheric allure, with both grace and skill, transporting the reader into a pitch-perfect campus replication. Anyone who's reminiscent of their college days, or eagerly awaiting their own time in post-secondary education, will simply adore the virtuosic landscape, and for this reason, this'll certainly become a 'must-recommend' to any fans of the aforementioned Hazelwood. The pacing is perfect, the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers second-chance romance hits on every trope desirable, and I couldn't feel more warm, nor satisfied with my experience with this read. I'll certainly be recommending this title throughout the autumn season.