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smartcookiesca's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: War and Injury/Injury detail
levilore_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In particular, the fact that Ryder had such complex feelings about being deaf and that the author explored the different ways he communicates was really cool. I was worried
I thought the author dealt with grief, trauma, and death in a beautiful way, especially the idea of gaining and losing family.
The only issues I had were that it kinda dragged on in the middle, beating you over the head with the Pride and Prejudice stuff (I say as a P + P lover) and sometimes the phrasing made me roll my eyes. Although overall, it was a really good story and I'm excited to read the rest of the story.
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
abicaro17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
readwithria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Only When It’s Us was a steamy, emotional, heart pounding book. Chloe Liese created such beautiful characters, and their struggles felt so real.
Read this book if you love
🩵 grumpy characters
🩶 cute nicknames
🩵 care taking
🩶 sports romance (they’re both soccer players)
🩵 Deaf/HoH rep
🩶 forced proximity
🩵 frenemies to lovers
🩶 college romance
I will say that some of the lumberjack peen puns were a little much for me, and it definitely had some parts where it felt a little slow, but with the Berkley republications coming soon I bet this book will get even better.
I will definitely be reading more of the Bergman books. 4 stars
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
potatogrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Ableism and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Gun violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A bit of context before I get into my review: I do not typically read hetero romances. They don’t tend to do much for me, they’re near-impossible for me to relate to, and they plain and simply tend to bore me. This series was recommended to me more than once based on the amount of representation it’s known for, and for one of the books in particular being queer. I was immediately intrigued, as I am all for people from all walks of life getting their happy-ever-afters. I am mostly interested in reading the fifth book of the series, but I figured it might be a good idea to give the rest of the series a try and expand my horizons a bit.
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kaydeedickins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
Minor: Sexism, Vomit, and Medical content
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism
rickireadss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5⭐️!!!
CHLOE, WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS BOOK?!?! (this is gonna be a long review so buckle up babes)
i LOVE reading books with deaf and/or mute representation because i, myself, am hard of hearing and had an aunt who was deaf. being able to see stories about people i can relate to/understand is important to me, and chloe did an amazing job at portraying it through ryder.
i bought this entire series because i follow chloe on tiktok and MAN did it deliver. this frenemies-to-lovers story about a misunderstanding between the two is just golden and i loved the banter between ryder and willa. the way they became friends with each other before getting involved romantically made my heart so warm, because it was everything i’ve ever wanted.
i fell in love with willa the moment the book started and i would do absolutely anything for ryder, hands down. also the fact that they were able to connect with soccer (my absolute favorite sport) just really hit home for me. their relationships with the sport itself were also super relatable.
this story made my heart so full and i cannot WAIT to jump into the next books because chloe delivers in all aspects. 🖤
⚠️: death of parent, cancer, terminal illness, ableism, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, vomit, war
SLIGHT SPOILER BELOW:
when willa & ryder are discussing how they want to be intimate with each other (including impact play & dominant/roughness behavior), i literally started to freaking cry because while i’m a big old virgin and have never been in this kind of situation, i have always known i wanted it to be a discussion outside of the bedroom that wasn’t uncomfortable rather than my partner just incorporating it without prior discussion or asking in the heat of the moment because i am such a people pleaser i would probably say yes even if i didn’t want it. (god that was a lot of words in one sentence 😂) also when willa brings out the mirror so ryder can see read her lips and expressions when he’s hitting it from behind?!? I DIED ON THE SPOT, my heart was so full.
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and War