Margo, along with her best friend, Jo host a successful podcast about single life. In their show, they share trade secrets on how to date without despair. In fact, they encapsulated their tips into a dating commandments of sorts- coining them rules for breaking hearts.

But their perfect partnership hits a snag when Jo essentially flies the coop and falls in love. While Margo is happy for her friend, she’s also bummed about losing her other half-and worried about what this will mean to their audience, in particular, their sponsors.

While abating some level of ultimate fallout, the women go on an all expenses paid trip to Catalina Island where, in exchange, Jo’s wedding will take place. On the surface, Margo is all bridesmaid dresses and bachelorette parties, but behind the scenes she’s scrambling for their new anti amorous angle.

Then she meets, or rather is reintroduced to her high school rival, Declan Walsh. Declan, even more dashing than Margo remembers, just so happens to be the groom’s best man. Acknowledging Declan is attractive is easy, but deciding to make him her dating don’t du jour is a whole other level. But as Margo breaks all her rules in the name of curated content, she slowly starts to realize some rules might be meant to stay broken.

Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts is a breezy rom com perfect for summer reading. While I enjoyed Margo and Declan’s banter, I still found myself wanting more out of their relationship. In the beginning, Declan seems rather aloof towards Margo, so when it’s ultimately revealed he’s felt the exact opposite for years, it comes out of left field. Then there’s the issue of their time spent together in the present, which seemed rather stilted in relationship to how quickly Margo began to question her own girl code.

I wouldn’t rule out Seven Rules For Breaking Hearts as a worthwhile romance. That being said, I was still a little heartbroken there wasn’t more depth to the story.

4 stars
What's that saying about the best-laid plans?
Margo and her best friend Jo are determined to avoid the inevitable - or at least what they think is inevitable. All around them, relationships are imploding, so why get involved? Stay entangled. They've even centered a successful social media and blog brand that touts the seven rules for protecting your heart. Until Jo loses her heart and <gasp> gets engaged..

During a 2-week destination wedding on Catalina Island, Margo proceeds to break all her own rules just to prove that she was right all along. But, was she? Is she <gasp> catching feelings for Declan, the obnoxious best man?

Fun, spicy read. Perfect for pool or beach.

Thank you St. Martin's and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller is a cute rom com with the typical second chance romance and misunderstandings that threaten new love. I thought the plot was cute overall, but this is not a clean romance and these parts were really unnecessary to the overall story. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I really liked the concept of this book being based around 2 podcasters and their seven rules for breaking hearts. It was an easy read but I definitely saw the plot line coming.

If there is one thing I always appreciate in a book, it’s consistency. I appreciate when characters have personalities that flow and change, but at a pace that makes sense. Unfortunately, the only thing that is consistent about Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts, is its utter inconsistency.

First, let's talk about the main draw of any romance, the characters. The only character with a consistent personality and realistic motivations was the main love interest, Declan. He was a good character that left me rooting for him in this otherwise rollercoaster of a relationship both at the story and at the outline level. On the other hand, our main character, Margo, was an inconsistent character with confusing and contradicting motivations and character flaws that didn’t make her unlikable, but they did make her uninteresting. Despite it being a season of change in her life, Margo's focus on her problems was simply annoying. She didn’t care at all about her friends or other people in her life, but rather that their lives didn’t do what she wanted them to do. That kind of selfishness is hard to support and it made for an MC that was hard to root for.

The writing style was engaging nonetheless with excellent descriptions of the world around our characters. Despite this being set in our world, and thus not really requiring world building, it did a really great job of setting our scenes and describing the island in which Seven Rules was set upon.

The overall story was hard to engage with at times. The core hook of the book, the Rules for Breaking Hearts, didn’t play enough into our story. The plot of this book would have continued on as it was whether or not the rules were followed or broken. This combined with our inconsistent MC, made for an overall mediocre novel. Read it for the setting, skip it for the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started this book but the last 40% of the book I read very fast and really enjoyed it. I really liked the concept of this book and how it incorporated a podcast because I think if the podcast was real I definitely would've listened to it. I think the overall plot of the book was a bit predictable but I still really liked it!

I could tell that the idea of breaking these 7 rules was going to end up backfiring but I think in some ways it unfolded in an unpredictable way which made me want to keep reading. I also really liked the characters in the book and wanted to know more of how the ending was going to come about because I am a team Declan fan for life. I definitely recommend this for anyone who likes a light-hearted romance and a quick read :)

Thanks NetGalley, Kristyn J. Miller, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Margo and her best friend, Jo, run a podcast sharing rules for how to take control of relationships to prevent getting a broken heart - basically, don't fall in love and don't get into a committed relationship.
But then Jo falls in love and now they are spending 2 weeks on Cataline Island, full of activities paid for by podcast sponsors specifically as a wedding trip.
Now they have to figure out how to explain to their listeners about Jo's change of heart while also figuring out new content. So they have an idea for Margo to start a social experiment - break her own dating rules to show why the rules matter. The guy? The groom's best friend and her high school nemesis.

I didn't go into this book expecting much but I was hooked from the start. I loved the chemistry between the characters and it's always so nice when a book's side characters are just as memorable as the main characters. I really loved the growth and character development. I was rooting for Margo and Declan to admit their feelings for each other because I loved their interactions so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this ARC. My opinions are 100% my own.

3.5
I'd like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. I'm not sure if it's an enemies to lovers or maybe Declan was annoying in high school and Margo seemed to be his target. I enjoyed the fact that the story involved a podcast influencer who's show premised around never committing to a relationship. Her podcast is already taking a hit because her cohost is on her destination wedding and now she is spotted at said wedding with Declan. Her show is in crisis and Declan thinks that she is using him for her show.

Loved the story line. Love Declan and Margo's chemistry. I think Margo can be a little annoying and the reason for my 3.5 rating. I did like how she kind of stalked him - it seemed pretty realistic. Perfect summer read!!

Looking for a fun summery read?! Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts will fit the bill!! Margo and Jo have a podcast about rules for young women to date and not catch feelings. Things begin to change when Jo gets engaged and gets a free, sponsor hosted wedding on Catalina Island. One problem for Margo is the best man is a guy she despises from high school. I bet you can guess what ends up happening there! The other problem is figuring out how Jo’s new marriage will change their podcast. A look into a bit of the business side of a podcast was interesting and the wedding festivities were humorous. There were a few situations that seemed unreal and made me roll my eyes, but overall it was such a fun read!

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts is out now! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my e-arc!! #netgalley #sevenrulesforbreakinghearts

I DNF’d this very quickly. I couldn’t get into it. This super modern take on relationships and how to avoid heartbreak revolves around a girl, Margo, who runs a podcast.

I was immediately immersed in this story. I loved getting to know Margo and Declan’s story. I loved the friendship between Margo and Jo also. I was surprised at how much I liked this cute story. Can’t wait to read more from this author!

This is an enemies to lovers, second chance trope. When Margo’s podcast cohost gets married it is a big deal. Why? Because their podcast is advice for single girls. Throw in someone from Margo’s past in the wedding party…and you know it is going to be interesting.

To be honest, I thought the reason that Margo didn’t like Declan was kind of weak. It was something stupid he did in high school. I never really felt the true chemistry between them. There were many moments throughout the book that I eye rolled through, as I felt like Margo was kind of immature. She was so focused on the rules and what she was and wasn’t supposed to be doing. Grow up and live your life. I didn’t DNF the book, so there is that. I am not one to hesitate to quit something. I love a good enemies to lovers trope. I wanted more from this one, but it also wasn’t the worst book I read lately. Maybe if I were a bitter 20 something I would have liked it better? But I felt a little old reading this.

Bottom Line: This passed the time just fine, but it wasn’t my favorite.

**I received a copy of Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

A blast from the past turns into a lifetime of happiness. Margo never forgave Declan for playing a joke on her during high school and when she meets him years later at her best friend Jo's wedding, she doesn't mind coming up with a way to "use" him to come up with new material for her podcast. Will Margo finally see beyond the rules that she set up to protect herself from hearbreak or will those rules end up being her downfall?

As prickly and uptight as Margo is, Declan is literally the sweetest romcom hero I've seen in a while.

Thanks to Netgallery and the publisher for the arc.

This book was super fun. I really enjoyed the podcasts aspects thrown in, and thought they added something different to the story. I didn't love the friendship, they didn't feel like they supported each other as "best friends" should, but enjoyed the relationships overall. I recommend this for summer reading.

Although I found Margo a little annoying at times, I did enjoy reading about her and Declan’s relationship. Looking forward to reading what’s next for this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

This was actually so freaking cute and I’m in love with them and their love.

It’s so fun when the MCs are just sort of suspicious of each other but also clearly into each other, so they’re just circling cautiously until one of them decides they’ve had enough already. And even then, these two are the definition of cautiously optimistic. Even when they’re having an absolute blast they’re side eyeing the heck out of each other and I am here for it.

I also love (love) when their friends and family members get involved and are basically eye rolling them both while also being supportive. If your friends don’t adore you even when they’re mildly exasperated, are they even really your friends?

This book was so clever and was an excellent summer read. I appreciated the wit of the writing and the chemistry between the characters. I am fully convinced and rules adjacent book is just better!! So good.

A fun summer romance awaits! An enemies to lovers tale between a feminist podcast host and childhood nemesis. Margot runs a podcast (think Call Her Daddy) with her friend with tenements to dating and hooking up. One of the main rules is never get serious = but her co-host and a best friend drops the bomb - she's getting married! I liked the premise but didn't love Margot - she was so close-minded.

A great enemies to lovers quick read!! I also loved the destination wedding vibe & books about podcasts are so fun

Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J Miller

This book was released last month, and is a cute contemporary romance with vacation vibes.
This novel is just what I needed this weekend; a getaway, in the form of a written romance.

I was shocked by the amount of character development packed into this story; I think I was expecting more of a gooey romcom, but I was met with a well thought out story instead. The forced proximity sets the stage for this budding romance, and by the end of the novel, I was excited for both of them to have found each other. All in all this book had everything I was looking for in my weekend getaway; a story where he falls first, where enemies become lovers, there is a second chance at romance, and it is all woven together with fun, playful banter.