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

“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

Content Warnings

soulwinds's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

snipinfool's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Willa Sutter was a star on UCLA's women's soccer team. Her time was stretched between classes, soccer practice and games, and time with her mother. Willa was doing her best, but she was not doing well in her Business Math class. Often, she barely made it on time to class after team practice. Willa planned to play soccer professionally, but she was in danger of being ineligible for the next game due to her grade in the class. Usually, professors had no problem accommodating her for away games by helping her catch up with notes for the classes she missed. She was balancing on the border between a C and a D and needed to raise her grade quickly. Professor MacCormack's told her to "figure it out" and to get the notes from Ryder Bergman. Willa noticed Ryder had printed notes given to him by Professor MacCormack. She tried several times to get his attention to ask if she could copy the notes, but Ryder would ignore her. He usually just looked at her and left the classroom once class was dismissed.

Ryder Bergman was a quiet guy who usually sat on the first row of his classes. His life changed dramatically two years previously when he got bacterial meningitis. Ryder recovered, but his life was forever changed. A major difference was that he no longer played competitive soccer. Ryder loved the game and had come to UCLA on a athletic scholarship. He planned to play as a freshman starter on the men's team. When Willa Sutter, the women's soccer star, sat next to him in Business Math, he was reminded again of his loss. Ryder was confused as to why she seemed to dislike him. He often looked up and saw her staring at him angrily. Ryder was confused by her actions, but didn't try to figure out why. It was a shame she felt the way she did because Ryder found her very attractive.

I loved their story. This was a very slow burn frenemies to lovers romance. Once they got past their communication issues, Willa and Ryder's relationship took a turn for the better. They were no longer at odds with each other and became someone the other could depend on. The secondary characters in the story were relatable and helped to carry the story forward. The loving relationship between Willa and her mother was very touching. This book is the first in the seven book Bergman Brothers series (7 siblings- 5 brothers and 2 sisters). I love a good series and I can't wait to meet Willa and Ryder again in the upcoming books. I am sure they will still be living their happily ever after.

Content Warnings

kirareadssometimes's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.5

The main characters in this book have such a fun dynamic. Enemies to frenemies to friends to lovers and everything in between. As a hearing person I can’t speak to how accurate the deaf representation was but I loved that it was there, and from my perspective treated with respect. I also loved Willa going to therapy. Felt like a very realistic and healthy way to cope. Really enjoyed the moments of sexual tension that led to momentary exploration. I feel like I don’t find that very often in books or only for one scene. Made me cry but at this point what doesn’t. Great read

Content Warnings

cates_reading_nook's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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thelostartofsecretkeeping's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful tense 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

Content Warnings

galleytrot's review against another edition

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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

READ: Apr 2023

FORMAT: Audio

BRIEF SUMMARY:

In this contemporary romance, Willa is a full-ride soccer student who is having difficulties in one of her courses. When the professor refers her to Ryder for the lecture notes, she finds the man won’t so much as give her the time of day. A misunderstanding and some competitive spirit sparks a series of escalating pranks and shenanigans between the two as they dance around their attraction to one another, while they condition themselves to mistrust and stay suspicious of each other’s motives.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3 / 5⭐
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.

Alas, my personal response to this book was not what I was hoping for. And by no means was that the fault of the author, or the characters, or the representation. I simply was not the target demographic for this one. I tried to make the shoe fit, and wound up with blisters for my effort. I adored Ryder’s character well enough, but couldn’t find it in me to get past Willa’s stubbornness, suspicion, and self-sabotage. The whole prank-wars trope generally doesn’t work for me in the first place (although the term “prank” is used rather loosely – these guys’ idea of getting at each other is just making the other one sexually frustrated, with the side-effect of also making themselves sexually frustrated, ad nauseam).

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐

I didn’t have any notable issues with the writing of this story, except maybe how the passage of time was tackled. There were a couple times where there had been some time jumps but I didn’t realize it. There were other times where I felt like there must have been a time jump, but it was only a day or two later. It’s possible I missed something from the translation to audiobook format – I find I have more trouble with time passage when I’m listening to a book instead of reading it.

Both of the narrators for this book were new to me, and I had no problems with their performances.

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.25 / 5⭐

I can understand why this book has as much appeal as it does. To the correct audience, it ticks all the right boxes. Antagonistic enemies-to-lovers, a hefty dose of angst and tragedy, plenty of spice (after it finally actually gets to the spice; it’s a pretty long wait, but there is payoff). I simply was not the correct audience, though I wouldn’t say I disliked the book at all.

This book has representation for hard-of-hearing individuals (sensorineural deafness). At least one character is a person of colour.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains: medical content, terminal cancer; ableism; alcohol use, heavy drinking; vomiting (alcohol induced); mentions of an absentee father; past war story involving a wound leading to the loss of a limb, mention of PTSD; death of a parent; grief, loss, depression; and, an act of blatant disrespect for one character’s body autonomy.

Content Warnings

fbzreadswhatever's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

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