"Given Our History" intricately weaves the tale of Clara and Teddy, two lifelong best friends whose bond withstands the test of time and adversity. As they navigate the complexities of love and friendship, the novel delves into themes of familiarity, self-discovery, and the profound realization of never truly ceasing to love someone.

Kristyn J. Miller masterfully crafts characters who resonate deeply with readers, such as Clara, whose journey mirrors the struggles and triumphs of real-life introspection and growth. Through Clara's narrative, Miller captures the nuances of ambition, indecision, and familial dynamics, creating a character whose authenticity leaves an indelible mark on the reader's heart.

Teddy emerges as the epitome of steadfastness and devotion, his unwavering love for Clara serving as a beacon of hope and stability throughout the narrative. Miller's adept handling of their relationship, punctuated by poignant moments and heartfelt confessions, epitomizes the timeless allure of friends-to-lovers narratives done right. With its richly drawn characters, evocative dual timeline, and heartfelt exploration of love and friendship, "Given Our History" stands as a testament to Miller's storytelling prowess and is sure to captivate readers from beginning to end.

Ahhh I love this book! Given Our History is your classic friends to lovers meets second chance romance with an academic flair. It’s set mostly in the fall so it has my whole heart. Clara and Teddy met at camp (all those mid 00’s references were spot on) and the story alternates between past and present, giving us more depth to their friendship. I really loved it and can’t wait until it’s published so I can buy a copy with that gorgeous cover!

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

4.25 stars

Their love story is adorable and messy. It shows how life can derail a story and relationships. We never know how one choice can alter our paths entirely. I loved how the main character was a history professor. That she has always had a passion for history at a young age. I really enjoyed the past and present perspectives on their lives. It felt like I was watching a movie. I felt like the characters were well written and more realistic than sometimes presented in romance books.

I highly recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⚪️ Alternating Timelines
⚪️ Childhood Friends
⚪️ Right Person, Wrong Time

Clara has always wanted to teach history and has never let anything get in her way, not even love. Naturally, the year she’s finally up for tenure is when Teddy, her ex best friend (and could’ve been love of her life), shows up as a visiting scholar that she must share an office with. They haven’t spoken in 10 years and are now working together on the same committees while revisiting their lifelong friendship and contemplating where it all went wrong. Is the timing finally right for the two homeschooled history nerds?

I seem to have a knack of always having an authors debut on my TBR and end up reading their second release first. I simply fell in love with Clara and Teddy from the very beginning. Clara’s insistence to prove herself and her abilities hit home for me, and I wanted to shake her every time she went about sabotaging herself for the sake of others. Teddy gave me warm butterflies the whole way through - he’s the kind of guy I would’ve wanted to notice me at a young age, and while I had my suspicions about him, he blew me out of the water by the end.

I also really enjoyed Clara’s relationship with her younger sister - it’s not perfect by any means, but it reminded me a lot of the dynamic between my sister and myself, and how I’d do anything to help her succeed and make the world less difficult for her.

Loved this story, and the present POV mixed in with past events, giving more depth to the story. I wasn’t thrilled with the hard stop ending, would have loved to see an epilogue but otherwise enjoyed this ARC (thank you Net Galley!). The growth during the story was supported by the fierce independence of Clara and I was happy to read how she recognized positive changes. Between her sister, Izzy, Teddy & Bel - it was supportive of a full picture of her. Julien seemed like a great coworker!

The main characters lacked chemistry, it's a weird situation where they seem pretty ideal in theory but I never really felt anything for them or like they felt anything for each other. I enjoyed the academic side of things much more, although the main characters struggles with being too professional in a work setting was weird and could be better contextualised. Also the tenure committees decision felt pretty fair? So it comes off a bit entitled and weird when she is so offended after she takes a swing at a fairly unusually early shot at tenure and it doesn't work out because she needs more experience - honestly, it sounds like she does.
Overall there's nothing really wrong with this, it's just aggressively mediocre and the relationship drama is a bit tedious

I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did! This was an entertaining read, with lovable characters and a sweet romance. So cute!!!

The longing of 16 years of history, the play on the title, the ways their lives were intertwined with each others ever since they met; this book left me aching when I was finished with it. Both Teddy and Clara left such impacts on each other's lives that everything they did and held dear to themselves had to do with each other. to see them love one another, then fall apart, meet again, let it fall to the wayside, then come back together again, for good, was a delicious pull and tug, with their years of their history between each other woven in between their nows. I've been put off by other long term (years and years, they keep interacting and meeting) second chance books but none have been so articulate and well strung out and put together as this.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

2.5 stars rounded up

This was mostly boring. I had a hard time connecting to anyone in the story. The two main characters showed very little emotion for people who had known and loved each other for close to twenty years. It was a mystery to me why they couldn't connect again. They were so bland. The character of Mindy might as well have not even been in the story - that was a missing plot line for sure. I liked the academic setting but that's about all I liked.

Clara is an assistant history professor and finally up for tenure. Theodore is back in her college as a visiting scholar bringing back their ugly history. Now she's falling back in love with him all over again...

Love the characters. They are terrific. I like the academia plot. It's a sweet story. The side characters are terrific too.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

"Given Our History" by Kristyn J Miller is a captivating and heartfelt romance that explores the complexities of love, forgiveness, and second chances. Clara Fernsby's journey as an assistant professor navigating the reappearance of her past love, Theodore Harrison, is both relatable and compelling.

Miller's writing is engaging, drawing readers into Clara's world as she grapples with the unexpected resurgence of feelings for Teddy. The exploration of their shared history, from their time at a sleepaway camp to their present-day interactions, adds depth to the story and highlights the intricacies of their relationship.

What sets "Given Our History" apart is its exploration of the power of forgiveness and the possibility of redemption. As Clara and Teddy reconnect and confront the mistakes of their past, readers are taken on a journey of self-discovery and healing.

Overall, "Given Our History" is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that will leave readers rooting for Clara and Teddy's love story. Miller's portrayal of their relationship is both tender and authentic, making this a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.

Was happily surprised with this book. Lately (more because of me) I can’t find a book that can hold my attention, but this one I finished in a few days

This book had an interesting premise. (within the strict boundaries of HEA) I liked the "university history department" setting and the relationship between the two sisters. So it might not be you, it's probably me, but I tried to finish it but just couldn't. I think the number one reason (again, it's me, hi) is that I am over the dual timeline romances, especially teenage/young adult backstory. As soon as a chapter opened with more summer camp I just glazed over. So probably a good fit for readers who enjoy that format, unfortunately a DNF for me. No quibbles with the quality of the writing, it was more the plot/structure that didn't do it for me.

Tropes
Best Friends to Strangers
Second Chance
Forced Proximity
Academia
Slow Burn
Dual Timelines

Exploring the complexity of (introvert) friendships over the course of 17 years between Clara and Teddy. Told from Clara’s POV only, we get taken back and forth through a now and then of their adolescence and its influence on their adulthood. Clara’s love of history as a teen sets them both on a pathway to academia as professors of history. (As a history major, loved this).

This was a bit of right person, wrong time - but with Clara constantly unable to commit to Teddy. I felt the logic wasn’t really there to back her decisions. Especially after she knows what it’s like to live without him, and was considering losing him again. I felt frustrated with Clara and that she didn’t deserve Teddy since she couldn’t be honest with him over and over again. However, the Tudor coin got me and Clara’s realization “But there was no falling, this time around—there was only remembering how to love him, a sort of muscle memory.”

Random thought:
Really putting a divide between Pepsi and Coke (IYKYK). But now I understand. Nostalgia and memories will do that.

Overall, 3.5 star read, rounding up.

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

I absolutely love books based on these imperfect, on and off relationships, spanning years, phases of life, etc. They are messy, they can be exhausting but they are beautiful stories worthy of being told. I felt each heart tug, each long distance yearning, each inability to communicate out of fear as if I were there.

The story brought in meaningful secondary characters, told stories not just of romantic love but familial and friendly love. It introduced us to unique friendships and family dynamics and explored a unique take on a second chance romance, one where the first chance never really took.

Clara and Teddy are wonderful characters that it was fun getting to know. I wish so badly we could have spent time in Teddy’s head, but that’s just how the dice roll in a single POV.

This was really cute! I like the premise but I think I wish we would have gotten more of Teddy and Clara actually being together after they worked things out. It was a lot of back and forth, breaking up, conflicts and miscommunications, compared to the happy ending. I didn’t dislike it by any means and will recommend, but it left me wanting as a reader, since the two weren’t together for what felt like 90% the book. Super cute, and I’m glad they worked things out!

Rating: 3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4
Spice Rating: 3/5 Open door, explicit scenes
Format: E-ARC

*Thank you to NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.*

I gobbled up this friends-to-lovers/second chance romance! Told through alternating timelines starting when the MCs, Clara & Teddy, are teens who meet at a camp for homeschooled kids to present day where they're both History Professors. I loved reading how the friendship and love blossomed. I appreciated the elder emo/millennial references, and it made me warm up to read that much faster.

With fall academia vibes, this novel is for those who want a slow burn, cozy read.

I have two main criticisms. One, since it's mostly from Clara's POV, I didn't feel the chemistry and longing from Teddy. It felt too one-sided, but the characters were likeable enough. Two, this is definitely a slow burn where it took so long to get to the conflict that it felt so anticlimactic... I wanted more of that conflict and the aftermath

I love a campus romance book and as someone with a history degree, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of Given Our History. I also adore a friends to lovers journey and a bit of second chance romance, so trope wise, this had my name all over it. Miller’s writing is easy to sink into and I enjoyed Clara as a character, especially her relationship with her younger sister. She is a tenure-track academic who finds herself unexpectedly sharing an office with a visiting academic - a former best friend, almost-boyfriend called Teddy, who she hasn’t seen in six years. The story is told in alternating present and past, where we get to see how Clara and Teddy found each other and what happened to break them up.

While I enjoyed the setting and there was nothing really that brought the story down, there wasn’t much that stood out, either. Teddy and Clara didn’t have many interactions until they were suddenly declaring their love, and what encounters they did have they never really talked about anything. Conversely, there were long sections about Clara’s day to day life that didn’t really fuel the narrative. I finished with no real connection to the characters, or idea about how their relationship was going to look if Clara moved to Edinburgh. There was a real potential for some top tier yearning with the forced proximity and childhood history to contend with, but sadly it didn’t quite do it for me!

This is a great fall read! It’s perfect if you love friends to lovers/second chance romance.
Teddy is a really fun read- he’s so personable and kind. Clara is also great, but she’s a bit more stubborn. She falls into the miscommunication trope a lot. However, if you’re looking for a sweet quick romance read, this is the one!

I loved this cozy second chance romance!!

It is the perfect example of 'right person, wrong time'.' Seeing how Teddy and Clara first met and how that friendship turned into so much more. The way that they both said no to relationships because they wanted to focus on their careers but then both of them realizing they wanted more. It was a good use of the miscommunication trope, which I don't normally love. But this was the perfect use of it because it was something that was real and very big in both their lives. The love that they had for education and history was like a third party in their story.

Teddy: He was a great MMC!! The grief that he went through after losing his dad and Clara pretty much at the same time I think really built him as a character. And how much he loved Clara and didn't want to waste any more time apart from her.

Clara: I love a complex FMC. Who struggles with wanting to choose between love or a career then realizing you can have both. I think she was very well written by being a woman in a very male dominated field. She never perceived herself as weak or unworthy outwardly.

The side characters were a great addition! They didn't add any extra drama or unneeded side plot.

I would have loved an epilogue with it being a few years in the future! Just to see how their relationship worked out and how to manage to still teach or research, while being in a relationship. Just to show how you can have both.