A review by graciesbooknook
Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 ⭐️!!!

3 🌶️

There are not enough words in the English language, let alone any language, that could ever describe how much I absolutely LOVED this book. I had to force myself to take several days to read it and savor each page even though I wanted to devour this book as quickly as possible. 

From the beginning of this book, I had immediate connections with the main characters. They felt very three-dimensional and I loved that each had their own quirks that followed them throughout the years. Through the duration of this book, I enjoyed the development that these characters underwent both together as friends, as a couple, and individually. 

The number one trope that I am a sucker for is second-chance friends-to-lovers. Two of my favorite books are People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry and Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren. Whatever kind of magic those two books are composed of, Given Our History was hit with the same exact dose. Reading this book felt like a warm hug; it was nostalgic and brimmed with such longing that I felt all of the emotions that the characters did. 

One of the things that I especially loved about this book was the dual timeline. I love when there is an event that has happened in a book that has broken up a pair of characters but the reason isn’t revealed to readers until later in the book. There was a certain scene in this book that I will keep a secret for the sake of dramatic effect for future readers, that literally had me sitting straight up and gasping at my Kindle. 

My favorite quote from this book was: “Falling in love was like falling asleep on a long drive: you let yourself get comfortable and then suddenly you wake up and you’re already there. Falling out of love, in contrast, was like a car crash: you slam on the brakes, but you don’t just stop, because the momentum is still there. And years later, you might’ve recovered, but you still have the little aches and pains, and maybe you’re a little scared every time you hop back behind the wheel, because look what happened before.”

I will definitely be purchasing this book as soon as it releases, and will be recommending it to customers/followers. I am so excited for it to have a place it can call its home on my bookshelf. This novel will go down in my book journal as one of my favorites of this year, and quite possibly of all time. 

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Kristyn J. Miller, and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to enjoy this advanced reader copy of Given Our History. 

I will say, the singular thing that I did not enjoy about this book was that it looks like Teddy’s head is on backwards in the cover. However, that is easy to look past in the grand scheme of how incredible this piece was. 

Content Warnings: sexual content, death of a parent (mentioned)