Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts
by Kristyn J. Miller

Setting:
Catalina Island

Characters:
Margo
Jo
Declan

Tropes:
Second Chance Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity

Goodreads:
🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Spice:
🌶 Basically closed door

Review:
Really enjoyable story. I liked that it involved people that work in social media, Podcaster, TikTokers, etc. I thought that was cool. Felt more women's fiction than romance, but it was still a lovely story.

Margo and best friend Jo host a viral podcast about living commitment-free. When Jo gets engaged, fans feel betrayed. Struggling to find new content, Margo experiments by breaking all her dating rules with Declan, her high school rival. Instead of proving the merits of singlehood, she catches feelings. Will she let go of her preconceptions and take a chance on love?

This fast-paced book has a strong voice and vivid characters. If you like rom coms with binge drinking, emotionally closed-off heroines, and prank-loving heroes, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book was fine. I am not a huge fan of influencers as main characters, or long drawn out weddings where the best man and maid of honor enemies to lovers trope. And this book was both.

Margot and Jo have been best friends forever, and have a wildly successful podcast on how to empower women to hookup without getting tied down to a relationship or feelings. But then Jo does the unthinkable and gets herself engaged. Where will the podcast go in season 7.? Fortunately, a fancy hotel on Catalina Island is sponsoring Jo's wedding, so the whole wedding party is whisked away for the two week adventure. Unfortunately that means the grooms best friend, Declan, will be along for the ride. And he was Margot's nemesis throughout high school.

First off, two weeks for wedding activities? My hard-earned PTO would not want to use that up for a friend's wedding. Second, apparently Declan pulled a couple of pranks on Margot in high school and that made her high school experience miserable. But also, her parents blindsided her senior year in high school and announced they were divorcing because her dad had an affair, (hence, why she doesn't do relationships now). I think this book could have benefited from one of two things: dual timeline or dual POVs. The high school history needed more showing rather than telling. And Declan's POV would help endear him more to the reader, because I wasn't getting the swoon I wanted.

That being said, I think this was a fine debut book and I am curious to see what the author does next.

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest opinion.

While this books is well written and structured I found the characters unlikeable, which makes it hard for me to enjoy a book. I’m trying not to let that skew my review, however some of the characteristics in the MCs created pretty large plot holes that I didn’t feel were filled correctly.

Margo and her bff Jo run a podcast on basically how to avoid relationships. Unfortunately for Margo, Jo never actually lived and breathed the rules the way Margo did and is now getting married to some guy they went to high school with. Thanks to their viral podcast, Jo is getting a free wedding and two-week vacation on Catalina Island. The free vacation covers the whole wedding squad, Jo and Margo as well as Jo's fiance Peter and his best-man, also an old high school classmate and Margo's old high school nemesis, Declan. Turns out Declan has been in love with Margo since high school. Margo on the other hand is still all about not catching feelings. Also, since Jo announced that she's getting married, their podcast has been getting tons of negative feedback. Now Margo has to think up a plan on how to finish up the last season, which may or may not involve experimenting with Declan and his feelings.

Some random thoughts in no specific order:
1. Honestly, I love the Catalina Island setting. If this book was an ad for the island then they definitely got me because I did a whole search on vacation activities on the island after putting down this book. This is a great beach read.
2. Margo took a little bit to get used to. I did not like her to begin with and found her extremely annoying and made everything about her. How did Jo not get mad when Margo dragged her away from her wedding party for an "emergency" chat, just because some gossip blog was running an article about Margo? Margo was clearly very selfish.
3. Declan was honestly a great romantic lead. Plus he works at NASA, like come on. He's described as nerdy and hot.
4. This is semi enemies to lovers if you're into that.
5. The break-up and make-up in the last couple of chapters was a little bit of a drag for me and causing me to dock off a star, but overall a sweet romance book.

I enjoyed this book! I liked the premise of the podcast of ways to avoid getting your heart broken and then the problems that could come from that with Jo, the MC Margo’s best friend and co-host, getting married. Margo was a fun character, but I do feel like she comes across mean in several situations. I get that she’s very guarded, but she expected the people around her to have the exact same viewpoint as her.

The overall conflict of the story didn’t feel very realistic, and I would’ve loved a Declan POV, but the setting is phenomenal. I was looking into booking a trip to Catalina Island. This book made me feel like I was there! I loved reading about it.

Overall, I recommend checking this book out!

I enjoyed Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts. It was cute & funny. I really liked Declan & Margo, and I was invested in what would happen with them. I just felt like it took a little too long to get there.

Enemies to lovers
Best friends wedding
High school nemesis
High school crush
Podcaster best friends

I’m sad to have to give this a negative review. I saw this book and thought cute romcom with some female empowerment and owning of her sexuality.

So I requested the ARC. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this.

What I got was an insufferable main character who thought of herself as better than everyone, spoiled alert she’s not. I found the storyline slow and boring while simultaneously having plot holes. Overall just very disappointed.

A fun, fast-paced rom-com with a well fleshed-out setting, lots of wry banter, an engaging narrative voice, and main characters with realistic flaws and relatable questions about life and love? Yes, please! I suspect romance readers will devour this one, partly because Miller's prose and dialogue are so swift and keep the action unfolding while romance blossoms and conflict looms, but also because within that breezy prose are some really sharp comments about the ways men and women are socialized differently with regards to sex and our bodies; the ways the self can become a brand on social media and that brand can start to diverge from who we actually want to be; and the ways setting rules for ourselves can do more harm than good when the rules don't allow some flexibility for new circumstances or outlooks. The setting feels lush and fun and like a vacation, and Miller doesn't just mention a couple of palm trees and call it a day. Every chapter gives us a little more of the world we're inhabiting in our imaginations, such that by the end of the book, I not only felt like I'd been to Catalina Island, I felt like it was the only setting in which this particular story could unfold. I also appreciated that the story centered around a heroine who enjoys casual sex, and that even when she comes to understand that she may have hit a point in her life where she finds a long term relationship fulfilling, it doesn't undercut her previous lifestyle, such that the book doesn't moralize about marriage as the only meaningful or acceptable way to live one's dating life. We also get a steamy jeans shopping trip, a fabulously comedic hike to see the bison, a strong female friendship, and a well-paced third act wherein the central conflict resolves in realistic and still joyfully romantic ways. Can't wait to see what Miller follows up with.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller is a perfect summer romance read! It follows Margo who runs a podcast with her best friend and Declan who she went to high school with. Margo holds a grudge against him for all the pranks he pulled on her but she has to be nice since he's the best man at her best friend's wedding. Margo and Declan had great tension from the beginning and I applaud the author's great writing and storytelling for that. I was impressed to see that this is her debut novel! There is a lot of talk about social media and influencers in this book since it does revolve around the main character's podcast but it was not overdone. Sometimes talk of social media can make me dislike a story but considering the importance of it to this book, it was included nicely. I also liked the discussion of Margo's struggles and anxiety over social media. We see her get treated differently than others by people who look down on influencers. It shows that their life may look glamorous but they have struggles too. I did really love Margo and Declan's romance even though it did not start in the best way. Margo was planning on meeting a guy and using him for the podcast and Declan turned into that guy which isn't a nice thing to do to someone. I was glad that she quickly changed her mind about using him for the podcast and let thhings happen naturally. But her initial choices do cause some future issues. I was glad to see Margo's mindset on the podcast change and allow her to stop letting it run her life. She had great character growth. I would definitely recommend this book if your looking for a funny summer romance!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review!

I seem to have a hard time resisting books with numbers in the title ("Ten Rules For Faking It," "Eight Perfect Hours," etc.), and here comes "Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts." Margo is a podcaster and child of divorce whose strict set of guidelines is supposed to enable her to have fun with men without getting hurt; in her mind, the worst thing you can do is "catch feelings." When her co-host Jo gets engaged, however, Margo is faced with the fact that sticking with their whole "single-not-seeking" philosophy may not be as easy as it sounds.

Jo's fiancé's best man Declan just happens to be one of Margo's former high school classmates. She's held a grudge because he played pranks on her back then. Now, he's all grown up and handsome. She decides to "break the rules" for a couple of weeks, in hopes that it'll give her something to discuss on the podcast.

At the beginning of "Seven Rules," Margo struck me as hopelessly immature and rather cruel, but she does learn and grow a lot during the course of the novel! I was pleasantly surprised at how she faced her fears about commitment and came to the realization that in order to be happy, she would have to open herself up and take risks.

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy, via NetGalley.

From the beginning, I felt like the story was pretty predictable. Girl doesn't want to fall in love but ends up anyway more specifically with the guy she absolutely hated in high school. I will say that I did enjoy their relationship due to it feeling very... normal, like this can happen to anyone. The only thing that I didn't understand was how she thought they were enemies but he was always around and she never had a clue he liked her? Overall, I thought it was a cute story.

Margo and Declan are Maid of Honor and Best Man for their friends wedding on Catalina Island. The story unfolds during their two week stay, as they help plan, prepare and carry out their wedding duties. There are a lot of social media references and I enjoyed the podcast snippets. This was a quick enemies to lovers read and would make a great beach/poolside escape!
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (sex scenes included, but not detailed and could easily be glossed over)
I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the unique concept of this book. At first the main character annoyed me, however, as the story went on she grew on me. She stubbornly stuck to the seven rules for what felt like a second too long. However, I love that her feels really made her question everything she thought she knew. There were a lot of lessons learned and mistakes made along the way that made the story very engaging. Great character development and of course the classic enemy turned to lover. Overall a great read!

A cute "childhood nemesis/enemies to lovers" romance with a lot of personal growth for the female main character, who has a staggering amount of baggage to process. Interspersed with transcripts of the podcast run by the female main character and her best friend, most of the action takes place in the days surrounding a destination wedding on Catalina Island, so the vibe is very vacationy

S W O O N 💕 W E D N E S D A Y featuring “Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts” by Kristyn J Miller!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Besties Margo and Jo have an anti dating podcast that talks about what rules to follow in order to stay single and NOT catch feelings 🫦

But then Jo suddenly shocks all their loyal followers by announcing that she is getting married! That is the biggest RULE BREAK of them all! Jo is also offered a sponsored all expenses paid wedding on Catalina Island … and Margo is the MOH! She suddenly becomes reunited with her high school nemesis who just so happens to be the best man! Margo is destined to not break her rules … but is a summer “fling” possible without heartbreak???

Read this if you love:
🏝️ How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days
🏝️ Enemies to Lovers
🏝️ Opposites attract
🏝️ Beach reads
🏝️ Lots of witty banter
🏝️ Catalina wine mixers

Thank you kindly to St. Martin’s Press, Kristyn Miller and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This cutie debut releases on May 16, 2023!

Thank you to Kristyn Miller, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a quick, cute read. There wasn't much spice. But that's okay. That's not a make-or-break for me. The banter in this book was my favorite part. This is definitely a feel-good summer read. 3.5 stars

Didn't really like Margo until the second half of the book. Obviously the author was trying to escribe the "influencer" life, but it got a little grating at times. Enjoyed the enemies to lovers banter though.

She has a podcast with her best friend about having no strings relationships and avoiding commitment. But when her best friend gets married, it's impossible to avoid her high school nemesis and best man. If she decides to also give into commitment, can she overcome the rules set up to avoid relationships?

Cute little rom com, has all the things expected and is written well. The vibe of learning to grow up and be ok moving on is strong and worked through throughout - always nice rather than avoiding problems all together.

#arc
#netgalley
#sevenrulesforbreakinghearts

Rating: 4/5⭐️
Spice: 1.5/5🌶️

Summary: Go and Jo are best friends and have a popular podcast covering their single lives and the rules they follow to avoid catching feelings. Jo throws the entire dynamic out the window when she follows her heart instead of the rules. Go is left considering how to carry on and decides to challenge the rules herself.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the plot on this book a lot! It also had a nostalgia factor to the romcom movies I used to love when I was younger.

I absolutely loved the setting and felt the author did an amazing job in providing exquisite detail to make you feel like you escaped to Catalina Island.

I didn’t connect very much with the main characters. There were times when I really disliked the main character, Go. But they did feel incredibly genuine.

Overall, this is a fast paced, adorable read. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for my honest review.