Given Our History

For this earnest contemporary, Miller (Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts) combines two popular tropes: friends to lovers and second-chance romance. As teens at summer camp, history nerd Clara Fernsby befriended Teddy Harrison, who absorbed her academic enthusiasm. Their friendship lasted well into adulthood, but when, in grad school, Teddy expressed his interest in something more, Clara’s insistence that the relationship stay platonic so she could focus on her career drove them apart. Ten years later, Clara’s a history professor at a small liberal arts college angling for tenure and trying to be a role model for her college-age sister, who lives with her. She’s thrown when her new colleague turns out to be Teddy, who’ll be sharing her office. Teddy is eager to rekindle the old spark, but while Clara never recovered from losing him as her closest friend, she’s afraid of making choices they both might regret. The academic setting feels somewhat dry and Clara’s determination to stand in the way of her own happiness makes her a frustrating heroine, but readers will appreciate Miller’s examination of the challenges of balancing career and romance. It’s a familiar formula, but it works just fine. (Aug.)