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

*reread july 2022 as the audiobook: AMAZING!!! the narrators were perfect for willa&ryder and i loved being back with them because they might be my favorite couple (which is so hard to choose istg)

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.

Content Warnings

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.0

So I almost dnfed this book... at about 30-40% in. Through the whole beginning of the book, Willa is a fairly unlikeable character, and Ryder honestly wasn't far behind her. They were really kind of shit to each other and it wasn't entertaining to read? I was getting so frustrated. I took a break and decided to give it another try, and I'm glad I did. The second half of this book is much better than the first. BUT I still had quite a few issues with it... I will say that the scenes with both the moms were fabulous and I teared up more than once. And of course the HEA was cute. I liked the teasing and ribbing far more closer to the end since it was more real and sweet - not mean like at the beginning.

The couple things I struggled with:
- the HP references. It said in a foreword that the book had been edited for some reasons and I cannot understand why those weren't taken out too. There are quite a few pop culture references actually - some were fine, minor, but I wish authors would just stop using them when some don't age well...
- it felt a bit long... the build up and tension, the teasing and pranking (read kind of bullying) went on for waaayyyy too long and that was a big part of me being less interested.
- I'm not sure if this is just me... but it felt... off that Ryder doesn't speak or use hearing aids for basically the first 1/3 of the book, and by the half to the end, he is solely apeaking and using hearing aids. While it was great to see his growth with them and acceptance, it was kind of weird that the only references near the end was him taking his hearing aids on or off for sex or things... but obviously I cannot speak to the hearing loss rep, so take that with a grain of salt...
Anyways, it was fine.

Also side note - the side characters just drop off the face of the earth at points which was strange because they were kind of integral in the first half.

Content Warnings