Thank you NetGalley, St Martins Griffin and Kristyn J Miller for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clara and Teddy met when they were 14 while attending a summer camp for homeschooled kids. They promised to be friends and over the next several years their friendship grew. With a passion for learning and history they stayed connected. As they got older their relationship became complicated. They both wanted more but also wanted to focus on their education and goals.

This story is told in multiple timelines - initial meeting, friendship breakup and present. Each timeline gives you pieces of information that put the story together of this friendship.

I enjoyed the story and Teddy and Clara’s connection/comfort with each other but was frustrated with the “friendship breakup”. It seemed like a slight overreaction by both Teddy and Clara but we’ve all been there! The romantic connection was a little lacking for me but I am partial to a lot of tension.

This book was really lovely and heartwarming. The setting really appealed to me and I loved the little teacher politics side storyline that was going on. Such a sweet and easy read, I really enjoyed it!

An autumnal, academic delight – perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood.

We’ve all heard of dark academia, but let’s call this one cozy academia. Think trees changing, crisp air, start-of-the-semester vibes.

The setting was as charming and nostalgic as the characters.

When this comes out in late-August, readers are going to love experiencing Teddy and Clara’s story at the start of fall.
In short, I flew through Given Our History. These are characters you can root for, ones many of us can relate to. It was refreshing to have a 30-something FMC.

There are many science/STEM romances out there, but this is one of the first ones I’ve seen with a commitment to the humanities, which I suspect will resonate with many other book-lovers with a liberal arts degree, as it did with me.

The story is a single POV structured between flashbacks and present day. Miller captured the impossible situation so many academics find themselves in: choose between the job or a personal life (be it in friendships or in love).

Clara has moved through life ticking the boxes, not wanting to end up making choices from the heart instead of the head. She is now an assistant professor at a liberal arts college, and has been invited to apply for tenure. But along with the invite for tenure comes a request - share her office with a visiting scholar. The catch? The scholar is the first love of her life and childhood best friend, Theodore Harrison, whom she hasn't spoken to in 10 years.

(There may be mild spoilers in this review. No spoilers as to major plot points or twists.)

What I loved: Clara is a well-drawn character. The descriptions of her home-schooled childhood felt real without making Clara seem socially awkward or weird, while also acknowledging the difficulties she has making friends. and the barriers she faces later on from colleges who reject her based on her homeschooling. I also loved the descriptions of her campus, being a professor, and her relationship with her younger sister. I loved watching Clara figure out her priorities and grow emotionally, both in the present day and in the flashbacks.

What I didn't love: Teddy. Even in flashbacks he doesn't get much on-page time. Aside from having curly, swoopy hair, being homeschooled like Clara, and getting into history like she does, I don't feel like I know anything else about him. He seems to have some trauma that isn't addressed or worked through at any point. I feel I don't know enough about him or see enough of their interactions to understand the attraction past or present.

I've only docked one star because the book is still well written, it kept me engaged, and I was invested in the outcome. If you like ex's-to-lovers, you'll probably enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet, sentimental read. I'm not a romance fan, but I do like good writing. The writing was excellent without distracting from the storyline itself. Although we always know there's a happy ending, the journey through the past and present was a nice touch. We've all been that young teen in love and we've all wondered what happened to a teen crush. It was particularly nice to see the main protagonist's background in homeschooling - something I've never actually seen referenced in any novel. Seeing her as an adult and the complexity of her emotions and thoughts was refreshing and realistic. An enjoyable and relatable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with this arc for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This book was so cute and hit all the right tropes for me. Right person wrong time, friends to lovers, the exchanging of music and books, and even an academic setting! Teddy and Clara are one of those couples that everyone is rooting for and are so obviously in love with each other. I loved the flashbacks and watching their relationship grow over time. The only issue I had with the book is that the pacing was just a little too slow for me, but after the second half it picked itself up quite nicely.

Given Our History is such a cute romance. It’s a slow burn that I was able to read in one day. I was hooked instantly. Clara’s character is quirky, anxious, smart and very relatable. Don’t get me started on Teddy. I love, love, loved him! He was so charming and soft spoken, you couldn’t help but fall for him!

If you like estranged friends to lovers, academia, and split timelines - definitely try this one!

Spice: medium, open door
Language: mild

My only critique is of the pop culture references. I don’t feel like the book needed them and could have been stronger without them.

Super cute second chance romance story. The book bounces back and forth from present to teenage/college age to tell the story of Clara and Teddy. Even with the time hopping, the book moved quickly and was a fast read. There are some very light spice scenes and shouldn’t put off anyone who prefers chaste romances (there wasn’t a lot of description). If you liked Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, or Carley Fortune stories, you’ll enjoy this.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Five Word Book Review: 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, “𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.”

Clara and Teddy met as preteens attending a late summer sleep away camp for homeschooled kids. Clara was a bit bumbling but outgoing enough to offer up friendship to the awkward and painfully shy Teddy. At the end of the week, they exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch.

Fast forward 17 years. Clara is a professor on the tenure track, teaching history courses, living with her sister. There’s no significant other, no sign of Teddy.

Until.

Until she finds out he’s been brought in for the semester as a visiting lecturer. And he’ll be sharing an office with her. And they’ll have to confront everything that’s kept them apart for nearly a decade.

Told in alternating timelines, they begin to peel back the layers of their relationship, past, present, and future, and wonder, will they find a path that leads them to one another?

I had two problems with this book, both related to character motivation.

First, the flashbacks don’t give anything more than best friend feels. There isn’t a chapter (minus the college move in) where it seems that they feel romantic love for each other. Plus, Clara presents as somewhat heartless, and honestly, I’m not sure why Teddy keeps going back.

Second, when they get their chance to be together - not once but twice - Clara pushes Teddy away. She doesn’t want either of them to give up anything to be together. But isn’t that the very definition of love? Bending (but not breaking) to reach out and grasp someone else’s hand? And even when Teddy tells her he wants her over anything else, more than once, she doesn’t trust him. Which, fine. But then in that backstory the reader should have been given a reason Clara struggles with trust, but there isn’t one. There’s no reason to believe she can’t trust him.

The writing is good, the story flows, but I just wasn’t invested the way I was supposed to be.

Thanks to @netgalley and St.Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review. Available August 27, 2024.

4⭐️ This book was thoroughly enjoyable - perfect for those who appreciate friends-to-lovers romances, academia settings, and dual timelines. Teddy is a soft spoken, slightly awkward guy (in the most endearing way) who absolutely stole my heart. I loved Clara’s character development, and the side characters added some great liveliness to the cast!

Think “People We Meet on Vacation” meets “Love Hypothesis” vibes.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ multiple open door scenes
Swearing: Some

I would have liked to have seen fewer pop-culture references because sometimes it pulled me out of the story - as opposed to feeling nostalgic.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I read this one in one sitting, and in the first half of the book, I couldn’t put the book down. Then, in the second half, I just had the urge to skip pages. It's insane how often I've checked to see how many pages I still have left.🥲✋🏼 Also, this book included a ton of miscommunications, which is one of my least favorite tropes!! So it wasn’t really enjoyable for me.☹️

ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:
⊹ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ
⊹ ᴡᴏʀᴋᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ, ᴡʀᴏɴɢ ᴛɪᴍᴇ
⊹ ꜱᴇᴄᴏɴᴅ ᴄʜᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ᴍɪꜱᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ (ᴇᴡ)

𝚂𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎: 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝙼𝚈 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚝.🫂

!!𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻'𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗻 𝗝. 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!!

Given Our History was a sweet love story told in both the past and present. Teddy and Clara met and connected when they were very young. They knew they had something special, but each had to grow a bit before they could make it work. It’s probably a very common story in real life, and therefore not all that exciting but still enjoyable as it unfolded. The elements of homeschooling and that both ended up working in academia added some interest to the book. Overall, it was well written and pleasant, but in my opinion, not necessarily something that will make a splash. I’d say this is rounded up from a 3.5. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

I coudnt get behind this book unfortunately. Given that childhood romance is a trope i love, this one kind of fell flat. The characters had no chemistry , the fallout reasons were a lil stretched. Maybe the author was going for realism here, but some things were overdone.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a good story and I could relate to some of it. I would recommend this book for sure.

Very good autumnal, academia vibes here. I loved the bond of history books and homeschooling, plus I found out I knew nothing about homeschooling before reading this and Miller provided a unique look in on it. A strong debut that will put her future work on my radar for sure.

Great romance with background and detail. I loved these characters as kids and identified with them as adults. This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review

Given Our History is a second chance, friends to lovers, alternating timeline about the love story of Teddy and Clara. They first met as teenagers at a homeschool camp where both were drawn into a trivia game. From there, they kept in touch over the phone or through email/Myspace (those were the days!) and continued to meet up at this annual camp.

In present day, Teddy and Clara find themselves teaching History at the same university but are a little awkward around each other due to their falling out a few years back. When both of them are paired together to plan a gala for the university, old feelings creep back up and they will have to decide if they want to give their relationship a second chance.

This is my first read from Kristyn J. Miller, and I picked up this book because of the cover and title. I enjoyed the alternating timeline more than I thought I would. I also loved the nod to millennials (i.e. Myspace, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Guess Who, and Limewire). I liked how they became best friends and how Clara's love for history influenced Teddy's life.

But, I had a hard time getting into the book and finishing it. I really wanted to like this book because of the back cover synopsis, However, the story was slow for me (and I don't just mean a slow burn, though there is that, too). There were a lot of descriptive paragraphs that I found myself skimming. As for the love story itself, Teddy and Clara's reason for not getting together sooner didn't convince me that it should have taken them 15 years. I wish there was a little more angst or ramped-up chemistry between them.

Overall, if you like slow burn, second chance romance, childhood best friends to lovers, single POV, alternating timeline, and a healthy dose of history--this could be the book for you!

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

This story revolves around Clara and Teddy who meet at a summer camp as kids and reunite there every year. They come together again many years later as adults when they work together as history professors at a college. The chapters go back and forth between their teenage/college years and present day.

This has a friends-to-lovers trope with miscommunication/no communication and the old “should we/shouldn’t we” dilemma. I mostly enjoyed it, but felt frustrated at times with the repetitive nature of their relationship cycle over the years and how simply not communicating led to it taking forever for their story to conclude. I haven’t read a ton of romance, but my guess is that this plot has been done many times over. Readers that still enjoy the repeated romance tropes will probably eat this one up.

*Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced “read now” copy. This book hits shelves on 8/27/24.*

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.
This wasn't a bad book, but it took nearly 300 pages to say * I have always loved you let's get together after years apart*.
There was somehow not much happening, and events that were completely rushed (fundraiser banquet was being set up- then it was just....over?)

Maybe I'm in a bad mood because this took me much too long to slog through, or maybe this book was just OK.

2*S

Wow! I really enjoyed this book! I think it’ll be the perfect fall read when it comes out in August.

Clara is a burgeoning history academic up for tenure in a “boys club” type department. When she’s asked to share her office space with a visiting professor, she quickly learns said scholar is her ex-best friend Teddy. Estranged for nearly a decade, the two form a tentative friendship as they learn to navigate their new shared space (campus), responsibilities (fundraising committee), and their long shared history. Will Clara and Teddy rekindle what they had, or will their history remain in the past?

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book! I particularly liked the chapters that took place in the past, which I felt really gave depth to the characters. I could feel the two fall in love over two separate timelines and I swooned the entire time. Plus the writing was so beautifully done, I couldn’t help but binge read the entire book.

I had not read anything by Kristyn J. Miller before, but she is definitely on my radar now! If you loved Love and Other Words, Every Summer After, and Same Time Next Summer, you’ll definitely love Given Our History.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!