Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of Given Our History (audio version)
by Kristyn J. Miller

Dual Time line past/future
Single Narrator/ POV
Second Chance
Friends to Lovers
School Setting
.5 Spice minimal

“I’ve missed this, I’ve missed you”

I very rarely give anything 5 star, and while I love spicy books this one with its less the 1 spice level drew me in front the moment I started it. I absolute loved the timeline of Teddy & Clara. We start when they are 14 and end up 17 years later and I couldn't put it down, cozy minimal fall vibes,
I felt like the store was complete it wasn't rushed great pace and not overly long (audio version 10 hours)

Kristyn J. Miller's "Given Our History" is a poignant and beautifully written exploration of love, ambition, and the complexities of revisiting the past. The novel centers on Clara Fernsby, an assistant professor who has meticulously built her career, only to have her carefully constructed world shaken when Theodore "Teddy" Harrison, a figure from her past, reappears in her life. Miller's storytelling is rich with emotional depth, making this book a must-read for fans of contemporary romance that also explores the intricacies of personal growth and self-discovery.

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read Given Our History if you like….
-childhood friends to lovers
-“second chances”
-history
-academic settings
-emo music
-summer camp nostalgia
-fall vibes


The cover of Given Our History is perfect and was a major reason I picked up this book. Clara and Teddy are former best friends and are reunited when Teddy joins Clara on her college campus as a visiting professor. With Clara up for tenure she volunteers to plan a gala in hopes of bolstering her application and Teddy agrees to help leading to them spending time together and revisiting their history.

I enjoyed parts of this story but I don’t quite know what specifically I wanted but I wanted more out of Clara and Teddy’s story. I wasn’t totally sold of their chemistry/connection not really seeing past their friendship so maybe that was it. I guess I was looking for a little more angst between them and a bit more chemistry making this a true second chance romance story in my opinion.

3.5 stars

Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

The title drew me to this book and then kept me reading as I discovered that the couple featured in the story have a history as friends, a couple and then a breakup. Now Clara has all she wants as a professor on the road to tenure in the history department, a position she has strived for since her teen years. What Clara was not counting on was Teddy Harrison coming to the college as a visiting scholar in her department. He is the one with whom she attended camp every summer, fell in love and then had a heartbreaking separation. Being thrown together to plan a fundraiser was not part of Clara’s plans to keep herself on the tenure track, but she is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed in her goal. This book is told in two timelines, one in the past when the two are at camp together and one in the current setting of the college. I really liked the past scenes better because they were filled with fun and reminiscing of good times. As the book progresses, I learned more and more about how their relationship evolved and then ended. I liked the way the author led me to get invested in the lives of the characters. I was not forced to choose Team Clara or Team Teddy but rather, I was rooting for both of them to discover their inner child and the love for each other that was rooted in the past. The characters were lovable and believable and the plot moved along at a good pace. This is a good romance, with some elements of humor as well as some good advice for those who want to mend fences. Entertaining and enjoyable as well as filled with brilliant dialogue and interactions between the characters!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Clara is an assistant professor, trying to get tenure. When Theodore shows up as a visiting professor, Clara is shocked. They haven’t spoken in ten years, and now she’s drowning in memories of their time spent together at sleepaway camp. As they work together on a gala, they both start to realize that they might have some lingering feelings after all this time.

Given Our History is a slow burn romance that spans decades which makes it pretty unique. I enjoyed the academic setting and dual timeline. I think I enjoyed the chapters in Clara and Teddy’s early years best. Clara was a difficult FMC to enjoy. She was the only thing standing in her own way throughout the entire book. I really wish that Teddy’s POV had been included because I think it would have helped to develop the story a bit more. I personally didn’t feel the chemistry between Clara and Teddy. The stakes were really low and I just never felt any real emotion or connection to the story.

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

I think a lot of people will love this book. It was a second chance romance between history professors who went to summer camp together. I definitely recommend it to fans of second chance romances who aren’t looking for anything spicy, but something heartwarming.

I personally didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped and I think that’s partially because I didn’t like Clara. The book alternated between past and present and now that I’ve gotten the full picture of what happened between them, I feel like Clara and Teddy both mishandled their friendship and Clara behaved like a child in the present time. She was so stubborn.

It was a cute story, but I just wanted more from Clara as an adult. She practically tried to hide from Teddy and that felt just so weird. I think the alternating timeline just made it worse? I’m not sure. I think it’s a me problem, so I would still recommend this story even though it wasn’t my cup of tea.

I really enjoyed this!! Second chance romance is my favorite and this one didn’t disappoint. Childhood friends to lovers to strangers to lovers hits so hard. This book was full of tension, pining, regret, and hope. It made me feel exactly what a second chance romance should make me feel. The longing and regret physically hurt me. I absolutely loved that there was a dual timeline. Those are my favorite for a second chance. I loved the academia setting and the transition from summer to fall in this book. I read it at the perfect time!! I loved Teddy, he was so cute 😭 and the character development for Clara was excellent.

I really did love the romance, the dual timeline, the reunion and reconciliation between Teddy and Clara, and the setting, but there were a few things lacking to make this a perfect 5 star. While I did love the dual timeline, the past POV chapters were too vague. There would seem to be random time jumps that weren’t clear to the reader and we were told SO MUCH instead of being shown. The past chapters just seemed so rushed where I felt they could’ve been fleshed out more to give a bigger emotional impact. That really disconnected me from the story a few times. The reason behind them not speaking for 9 years was also a little unserious. I was disappointed by that tbh.

I still absolutely loved this read and it overall gave me what I hope for in a second chance romance. I finished it in less than 24 hours bc I enjoyed it so much!! Def recommend for a good fall time romance 🤍

Given Our History is Kristyn J. Miller‘s stand-alone second-chance romance set on a college campus. This book has dual timelines: teenagers at a camp for homeschooled kids and present-day academia.

Clara Fernsby is an Assistant Professor of History at a private liberal arts college who is on track for tenure. She has been working towards this since she was fourteen, and hasn’t let relationships get in the way. Clara is surprised when her old ex-best friend, Theodore “Teddy” Harrison, arrives for the fall semester as a visiting scholar. They haven’t spoken in ten years due to a falling out. As they spend time together, Clara realizes she’s at risk of falling in love with Teddy again. However she realizes that she hurt Teddy in the past and doesn’t know if he will trust her again.

Given Our History is an emotional story for readers who enjoy strong and smart heroines. This story is very well written, and the reader can’t help but identify with both Clara and Teddy. It’s very realistic and perfect for reading over a nice fall week-end.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for this ARC! I absolutely loved this slow burn second chance for the two main characters over so many years of miscommunications. Two professors, tweed and fall weather are the perfect combination for cozy season! I would 100% recommend.

DNF at 50%
On paper, this book should be right up my alley - I love second chance romance, especially when it’s told on dual timelines. But I really struggled to get into this one and ultimately just didn’t care about the characters. Teddy and Clara spend very little time together on page which makes it hard to get to know them and root for their reunion. And the prose is just dense and overly descriptive.

Given Our History is a sweet romance. Clara and Teddy are two shy homeschool kids turned best friends turned strangers turned couple in this second chance romance. Clara and Teddy are history professors and as a professor I loved that! I love academics in books especially realistic depictions. Tenure and committee work are a big deal. The underlining story there is realistic but also blood boiling! Being a woman in higher education is fraught with challenges.

Back to the romance- the dual timeline is my favorite in second chance romances. It is so helpful to understand when and how the characters fell in love. It's well done here. The conflict that kept them apart for a decade is disappointing. Happy they reconnected in the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press: St. Martin's Griffin for this eARC!

I wanted to like this one but I just couldn’t get on board with the characters. I did like the story being told in two timelines.

A sweet fall vibe romance read. I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters, all the history we learn about and the banter and such. I also liked the side characters and all their shenanigans as well as all the shenanigans that come with working at an educational institute.

this was really cute. i loved the timeskips, i loved the characters, i ADORED their summer camp backstory, and background character lesbians !! no notes from me.

Such a beautiful and touching love story. This book kept me glued to the pages and is definitely one of the best romances I read this year. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

If I'm being honest, I was a little disappointed by this book. Don't get me wrong—it was incredibly sweet, cozy, and good for fall/winter vibes. I loved the ending, and I adored the fact that our two MCs jammed out to My Chemical Romance instead of rhe same 2000s trash pop. For me, however, it just felt really slow. Like so much time passed, and so little happened. I can completely see how this is going to be the perfect fall read for so many people—because it is very cute, and very unique in a few small ways—but it just didn't totally hit the mark for me.

I'm a fan of a good second chance romance. This one was good with interesting characters. It's told in both the past and present. I found the segments in the past a little hard to keep straight. But overall the story was good. I kind of lost the reason the main characters hadn't talked in so many years, but regardless the story in the present was good. I enjoyed the ending and the female main character seemed to finally find herself. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Clara is an Assistant History Professor at a small university in Maryland working her way towards tenure. Teddy has been her friend since they attended a sleep away camp for home schoolers, though they had a falling out while she was working on her master’s and have not talked since then. Clara has been so focused on her goals of achieving each step in her educational and career path that she hasn’t put much effort into other aspects of her life. When Teddy pops up as a visiting professor for the semester, she must decide what is important in her life. This is a great quick read about the importance of family and friends.

I didn’t find myself reaching for this book at first but once I was in it. It was a dash to end. A VERY slow burn - I’m talking years of it. But the ending was oh so satisfying.



Clara had to seek happiness in herself before she could find happiness outside. So good!

"Love is the hard road. The person you're meant to be with is whoever you choose to be with... You just have to choose someone who's worth all that trouble, and then you have to keep on choosing them, every day."

"Given Our History" is a wonderful second chance romance set in an academia setting. This is THE perfect setting for fall -- all the cozy vibes a girl could want. My favorite part was reading about the history graduate programs. The setting of the story was very interesting and nothing like I've read before. The character's friendship was adorable. They met in camp as two awkward tweens looking for a companion. Their friendship felt extremely genuine and warm.

Sadly, I never felt a strong urge to root for the characters to fall back in love. Their reasonings for not being together fell flat for me. The chapters set in the past lost my focus. I wish there was more of them falling back in love in the present time instead. It felt very much like I was being told that they used to love each other and were still attracted to each other, but I was never entirely shown their reconnection in the present. Something was missing to make the second chance romance more believable. Their feelings felt completely based off what they used to feel as teenagers, not what they feel about the people they are now.

Read if you like:
- second chance romance
- academia setting
- dual timeline
- right person, wrong time