Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Only When It's Us

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese

85 reviews

kaitrates's review against another edition

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Let's start with what I liked about this book.

First, the chemistry between Willa and Ryder. I loved watching these two circle closer and closer until they finally came together (literally and figuratively). I also adore a prickly (err...tempestuous) heroine like Willa who's a total firecracker with a big heart. I also mostly enjoyed the sex scenes and their creative use of the shower and the mirror. Bonus points for some light spanking and actually talking about it before doing it! Lastly, I appreciated the late deafened rep - we don't often see this in romance and I'm always here for more disabled main characters!

Oh! I also adored the roomies and every time they were on the page I was smiling.

Now, onto my issues with it.

First and foremost, there were three HP references and apparently these were not removed in the Berkley edition. They violently tore me out of the story, especially knowing Liese already pulled this book to improve the late deafened rep. Like show your trans readers the same care please and thank you.

Some of my other gripes are more objective. For example, there was a lot of inconsistency from characterisations to plot points. Time is spent telling us tha tWilla and her mom read anatomy textbooks but then she uses euphemisms for genitals? Ryder is all "it was the men, not you!" but then trashes romance novels? Money is tight but Willa has an apartment with her friend?

Similarly, there was enough telling that it got to me. Truly, this isn't something I usually notice but DAMN it was rough here! With these info dumps, there often was extraneous info that never came back up or was contradicted (see above).

I also hated that we didn't get to see Willa's growth through her grief. We get maybe a page where we're told she's really struggling

after her mom dies

but then Rooney puts her foot down and then Willa is fine-ish and back with Ryder and saying ILU? We get one reference to her work with a therapist through her inner monologue around the ILU but again: its just being info dumped to us.

Now, there were also a bunch of things that I disliked that are more subjective. Let's just make a list, shall we?

Choo cha and log(jam). 🤢
He's SO BIG and she's so ~~wee~~ compact. Like, is she a sedan?
Magic voice/hands/peen. 🤬 I hate it SO much.
Miscommunication upon miscommunication upon miscommunication. Thankfully, not because of Ryder's hearing loss though.
Adrian.
The Bergman parents meet cute aka the embodiment of "well if a boy teases you its because they like you" patriarchal BS.
7 kids in this economy?! NVM the impact on sustainability...👀
Adrian was forgiven WAY too easily.
The ILU was absolutely not earned (and he realises when he sees her naked WHAT?! THEN CRIES THE SECOND TIME?!)
His voice just comes back and he's able to use it consistently...?

I think what Liese is doing is really important AND I promised my friend I would try another Bergman book if I didn't love this one since apparently her craft improves throughout the series. So I will give her work another chance and hope there aren't nearly as many things pulling me out of the story and diminishing my enjoyment of it.

Original Review
…what?

Content Warnings

vickyreadthis's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book finally drove the point home: I’m just not the target audience for romance. Not romance with ✨spice✨ in it, anyway —I hate it when the characters’ horny thoughts about one another get in the way of the plot, however little of it there is, and I felt like that happened here every five minutes or so.

Also, how can they be so in love if they literally got to know each other in the tail end of the story? And it all happened after they got each other off?? Wasn’t that kind of the whole conflict of the book, that they don’t talk about anything personal, like ever? Is this how allosexuality works? Am I just too asexual to get it? Okay, spoilery rant over.

I was pleased to see disability rep —especially the takes on how hearing aides are not all what they’re cracked up to be in fiction— but I’m not sure how I feel about the execution as a whole.

All in all, a fun palate cleanser, just not something to rave about, in my opinion.

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lunahale's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

i cried and i laughed and i read this all in one day

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amy_in_the_city's review

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medium-paced

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

2.0

Well, I really thought I'd love this one, but I had so many issues with it.

First, this was trying to be enemies to lovers, but there was no good reason to be enemies in the first place or for them to hold on to their antagonistic relationship for so long. They jumped straight to enemies just because he didn't hear her say one thing and she didn't know he was deaf. Even after she found out that he wasn't deliberately ignoring her, she still considered him a "frenemy" (this word was used way too much). The main characters frequently acted like they were 10 years old, at one point even throwing elbows and pulling ponytails in class.

I especially didn't like Willa. She completely lost me after she

ghosted Ryder for 2 months after her mom died, not even acknowledging his presence when he showed up to try to comfort her. This had real negative effects on Ryder, and it bothered me that she didn't seem to care about his feelings at all. Then once she came back to him, she was so upset that other women were taking an interest in him that he decided to let her look through his phone so she would know he wasn't cheating on her. Who needs boundaries, right?

For the whole third act, she was so wishy washy about the relationship, and I felt like Ryder was doing all the work to keep the relationship alive. I spent most of the last section wishing they wouldn't end up together because their relationship seemed so unhealthy. With Willa being so flighty and with them demonstrating an unwillingness to face their problems together as partners, I don't trust that they will have a good relationship going forward. Even towards the very end of the book, she still got upset with him for asking her very basic questions about herself because she didn't want to open up to him at all.

I liked that there was disability rep, with a leading man who is deaf, but I kind of felt like the book treated the deafness as an obstacle to overcome before the romantic relationship really could get going. There was a lot of importance placed on him hearing her voice and on getting him to start speaking again. I do appreciate that the author took feedback from reviews after the book was originally published, made some changes, and released an edited edition to try to fix some of the representation issues, but I think some of the bones of the old issues remain. I am not part of the Deaf community, so I am not an expert on how the representation was handled, but others who are Deaf have posted their reviews, and I encourage people to read those for more insight.

This gets an extra star for Ryder. He's mostly a really great guy, and I really liked him.

I think this book also ruined the word "lumberjack" for me forever. I've reached my lifetime quota and might never want to see the word again.

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kyleethecatlady's review

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emotional funny sad 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

4.5

Content Warnings

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

This was the book club’s pick of the month for February, I suggested this book because I loved Chloe Liese’s Wilmot Sisters’ series and was planning on carrying on with more of her work this year. I adored this book; it was so sweet.

This book has two points of view. The first is Willa Sutter. She is the feisty, tempting chaos. She is the top striker for her football team, and she is working her ass off to get signed when she leaves school. She is dealing with a professor who likes to bust her balls and not let her off just because she plays football. To make matters worse, she is sat next to a silent, surly, mountain man that ignores her when she asks for his lecture notes, and they must work together for their final project which takes up most of their grade. The second point of view is Ryder Bergman. He knows that Willa hates his guts from the moment she sat next to him. He doesn’t care that she hates him, she is too wild and bad-tempered for his quiet, tidy life. The thing is that Willa doesn’t know is that Ryder is hard of hearing. He lost his hearing a few years ago and has been struggling to get his life back. Willa is determined to understand why Ryder hates his and with them being forced to work together, they begin a game of pranks and practical jokes, each determined to come out as the champion. But once they catch unexpected feelings, victory begins to mean something else – winning each other’s hearts.

I adored this book and these characters. I related to Willa a bit too much from how strong and tempered she can get and then how she wants to keep people out even if that means she’s alone, but then at the same time she loves so deeply and stands up for her friends and family. I wanted to hug her so tight when she went through the difficult parts of this book. Ryder was hot, sexy, broken and I love him. Again, I love that he came off as like a rude boy but it’s because he is deaf. Like the deaf representation was needed and I think it was done so well. I liked how he went from being so frustrated that he couldn’t hear but didn’t want to do anything about it, to wanting to try and get help even if it was hurting him or frustrating it. I really enjoyed the introduction to the brothers and the family. I loved the parents; I love that they are used to being in a house with 7 boys that they are like right enough or I'll kick you out. I cannot wait to see more of them.

I think the thing that stopped this being five stars is Willa was a bit annoying at times especially when she was being a bit of a hypocrite, like she knew Ryder was hard of hearing, but was annoyed when she found out she could hear sometimes because of his hearing aid, but then didn’t tell Ryder her mum had cancer, but then was annoyed when she found out he knew and didn’t tell her. Like make your mind up woman. The book was a bit predictable at times – the dad being Willa’s mum doctor, the brother-in-law being the professor, it was a bit easy to guess but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable i just wasn’t gobsmacked or shocked by any of the twists in it.

Just from the little glimpses that we got of these brothers; I cannot wait to see more of them. I am so glad that this has been planned that every single brother is getting a happy ending.

Content Warnings

jaklyn_heath_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

I did not anticipate loving this one. It took me completely by surprise!

Things I loved:
-Willa. Sunshine.
-Ryder. Lumberjack.
-Grumpy meets sunshine trope
-"Enemies" to friends to lovers
-Supportive family and friends
-Realistic
-No third act break up!
-Steamy scenes
-Pacific Northwest love
-Loss and grief handled in realistic and responsible ways
-Harry Potter references

Things I didn't love:
-I'm not a big soccer fan, so the soccer aspect of Willa's life was not as engaging for me but I appreciated that there weren't a ton of soccer scenes. Very minor complaint honestly.

Things I'm not sure how to feel about:
-The disability (deaf and hard of hearing) representation. I am not deaf or hard of hearing so I don't know how someone from that community may feel about how Ryder's disability was portrayed. I felt like it was done with intention and handled gently and respectfully (it didn't feel like it was just to check off a diversity list, in my opinion). Someone from the deaf and hard of hearing community may feel differently given their own experiences. I'm interested to see if anyone has written a review about this aspect.

This was a wonderful romance. I really loved it and can't wait to read more in this series.

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dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Closed Door Mods: Chapter 18 (some parts), Chapter 27 (some parts), Chapter 29, Chapter 30 (some parts)

Such a cute read! Loved Liese’s writing style and her inclusion of disabled leads (also, I think Ryder Bergman is my new book boyfriend). Some parts of the ending could have been condensed, but epilogue was adorable. Will definitely be reading her future works and you need to read Only When It’s Us if you’re looking for a slow-burn, frenemies-to-lovers book with a disabled main character and has great banter.

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whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Well I sobbed my way through at least half of this book. To the point that I'm surprised I could still read the words on the page.

Content Warnings

readwithria's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

“I just know I’d rather be afraid with you than fearless with anyone else”

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

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