I couldn’t get enough of this hardheaded snarky pair. This book transitions us from hate to lust and then to a well-developed love. Liese and fills us in on both sides of the story. Miscommunication and pure stubbornness give this book a fast-paced feeling as you flip through the pages rapidly to figure out how the other person communicates. This is an easy fun read, but it also covers a lot of big topics like grief and gaining honest trust. It was fun to see these two hit it off after being frenemies through and through. Slowly seeing their friendship go from hateful banter to something more was exciting. I loved how both Willa and Ryder went through big realizations and life changes.
I loved this book and I easily gave it 5 stars. I can’t wait for the rest of the books to come out.

Willa is a future soccer superstar who doesn't let anyone into her heart, Ryder is a shy, lumberjack type dealing with the aftermath of tragedy and is newly deaf. They are thrown together in a business class and progress from enemies to lovers.

This book was a total delight! It did have some pacing issues, but the characters were interesting and different. They both were dealing with some heavy issues, but the tone of the book balanced the heavy stuff and the love story nicely. I definitely recommend for fans of new adult fiction .

Really enjoyed this touching romance. It was a little slow at the start for my tastes but once it got going I thought it was really great.

I DNF'd this one at 16%. The main female character was infuriating from page 1. Her "temper" seemed over the top and exaggerated for the sake of the plot. I appreciated that the plot so far had illustrated that you never really know what someone else is going through and that the characters were beginning to get to know one another. However, the thing that sealed the deal and made me DNF this book was a "prank" that the main female character performed on Aidan (the main male character) in which she messed with his food in an attempt to make him sick. I felt ill reading it and I officially, at that moment, stopped any semblance of good feelings toward the female character.

She was the resident soccer star, who had built a high wall around her heart. He was the tall, dark, and quiet lumbersexual, who held the key to her passing her business mathematics class. Sparks of all kinds were flying, when they were paired together for their final, but would these two ever be able to open up to each other, and move beyond being frienemies?

I want to start by saying, that I like new adult books. I have not been reading as many, as of late, but they were always part of my TBR. That said, ONLY WHEN IT'S US sets itself apart. It was a lot deeper, than I had anticipated, and there were even some tears shed. The book began, as I expected. Rather light and breezy, filled with humorous, albeit tense interactions, marked with great banter and some serious sexual tension. But, there was so much more going on behind the scenes with our hero and heroine.

It had always been Willa and her mama against the world. Having lived the life as a vagabond military kid, Willa never got too attached to people. Though she now had a solid and steadfast friend in Rooney, she remained closed off to most. She also was not a fan of confrontation or any kind of "feelings" talk, which was a huge obstacle for her, when trying to form new relationships.

On the flip side, we had Ryder, who was one of seven children raised in a household filled with love and chaos. He thought he had his future figured out, until a bout of meningitis robbed him of his hearing.

Both Willa and Ryder were resistant to the outside forces, that were pushing them together. Their friendship was a slow, uphill climb, but it was so wonderful seeing them slowly strip away the protective outer layers, to reveal themselves to each other. They both had a journey to take, to find some peace with their past and their present, so that they could move forward. Why not do so together?

I don't think I have read too many NA books, which dedicated a great deal of time to familial relationships, but I love reading about them. The bond between Willa and her mom was quite strong. I loved sharing moments with those two. Those were the times, when Willa really got real, and revealed herself fully. She was complicated, but her mother had a way of making her open up, and the woman was also a pistol. I absolutely loved her!

And, wow! Ryder really won the parent lottery. His parents were rather fabulous, though it was his no-nonsense Swedish mother, who won my heart. He and his mom were super close, and shared a lot of similarities. Her influence on him was all good. She raised him to be in touch with his feelings, and respect women. No toxic masculinity here. She also schooled him in the culinary arts, and how could I resist a man, whose Swedish meatballs rival that of IKEA?

Romance, friendship, family -- this book had it all, and it culminated in an ending, that I would call stupendous. I know my face was hurting from the big smile I was wearing. I am very much looking forward to spending more time with this family, and seeing the other Bergman brothers get their HEAs.

Decent for sure!

I'm fairy new to new adult romance books, so it's been interesting seeing what works and what doesn't for me. Only When it's us has a little bit of both. The title doesn't really do justice to what the story is actually about: A sad female jock and a deaf man who carries some trauma connecting on a deeper level and working through their dysfunctions together. Theres a little dash of enemies to lovers, but mostly, this is a really sweet book about these people, carrying different pain healing together and falling in love.

The most surprising thing was that the book stars a "recently" deaf man- all of the descriptions seemed really focused on him being a big lumberjack type, but Ryder is a really great example of deaf representation. His disability absolutely doesn't define him, and getting his actual "POV" is exceptionally valuable in some of those early chapters when he is still navigating how he communicates. It shows the good and bad in the people around him in how they interact with him and treat him. I thought his perspective and voice was really well done.

Willa was fun to follow was well, because she's a bit of a hothead and not quite what I am used to in romantic book female leads. She's actually very flawed, and watching her grow over the course of the book was satisfying.

I would say my main issue with this book is that I found the prose a bit juvenile and childish. It was a little jarring and sometimes it was hard for me to get lot in the story. That being said, the author makes up for it with great characters.

I now want to read everything that Chloe Liese has written.

This was the first of her books that I took a chance on and let me tell you it was definitely worth it! I've always been the female jock that was juggling a million other things and absolutely never wanted to make the time for a relationship. This book does an excellent job of portraying a college female jock in her route to a beautiful romance with an unlikely character. I love the representation that this book presents with a main character being deaf. I felt like this book presented so many great curve balls that you were not truly expecting and also folded in literature into the story line.

I honestly wouldn't change anything about this book at all though I do question why the author took the time to indicate a playlist under each chapter. That may have been a way to give the author some understanding on what the chapter would bring. But, for me it didn't really add anything to this book.

Either way I would highly recommend that you read this book when it comes out!

Trigger Warning: Death of a parent

5 Flannel wearing Lumberjack Stars!!

It was a complete fluke that I decided to request this book. I was on Twitter and someone had tweeted about reading it and I just had to try to get a copy. I am so happy that I got to read this delightful book. I absolutely loved Willa and Ryder. They both have had some crappy stuff happen to them but they are both still trudging on. When they meet there's a big misunderstanding but thanks to a meddling professor they are now partners.

These two start off as major enemies, then move on to frenemies and then lines are blurred and while Willa is determined to keep him in the friend zone Ryder is having nothing to do with it and is determined to win her over. This book will have you riding a gamut of emotions from laughing to crying to crying while you laugh.

This book is a definite must read and I cannot wait to get Soren's book.

**Received an ARC through NetGalley. Voluntarily reviewed**

This is a NA novel that I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I like how the main characters are, since they go far beyond the typical male and female archetypes of this genre. Willa is a super talented soccer player who knows what she wants, while Ryder is a lonely boy who hides behind a beard. She judges him too easy; she assumes that he ignores her because he's a handsome jerk, but the truth is that Ryder has been battling with himself for a very long time. That's why he's grumpy, basically. Deep down, he is loving and sweet as hell.

This is a slow burn romance and I loved that. It starts as an enemy-to-lovers trope, but then their relationship changes into a beautiful and honest friendship that will enchant the readers. The chemistry between them is evident, though. So be prepared to read some sassy scenes, you guys.

In addition, the author addresses serious topics such as loss and insecurity, so the novel is much more than just a love story. I haven't given it the highest rating because Willa's attitude in the end made me quite mad. I don't think her way of dealing with her relationship with Ryder was mature enough. I know that she is scared of getting hurt again, but she simply behaves like a child instead of calming down and discussing with Ryder what she feels. That makes her human, obviously, but I'd be lying if I said she didn't piss me off.

Still, I highly encourage you to give this book a shot which, by the way, has slightly reminded me of Hoover's "Maybe Someday". I'll definitely keep an eye on the author, because I think she has a lot to say to NA fans.

4/5*

Well, this book was kind of a surprise. The banter, the character built, the happenings, the way the hero and heroine found each other.
When I started this I was in kind of a slump, nothing really grabbed my attention (considering the things going on in the world right now it's not hard to imagine).

But then I sit down and started reading this book, simply because one of my favourite tropes is enemies to lovers. The first half was something I would've anticipated after reading the blurb, but after the reason behind the frenemies situation was revealed,I realised something...

This book was more than two college student stumbling their way around falling in love.

The book incorporated tales about friendship, family, mother-daughter bond, disabilities, the fight to be professionally and privately happy, while still maintaining the banter, the lighthearted side of each trauma we are forced to face in our lives.

This book was not perfect, but perfectly suited to soothe my soul after a hard week.
One thing worth mentioning - and I think the author should reconsider while crafting the storyline - that there's only much coincidental circumstanse that could link together two people which is convincing enough to be accepted by the reading audience.

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

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Only When It’s Us is a frenemies to lovers romance. This is my first book by this author and I’m really digging it so far. This is the first in a series that will be about brothers

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I really enjoyed this book. I almost gave up on it at one point but I’m glad I didn’t.
I liked the characters and seeing them grow together. I loved Ryder immediately! Willa on the other hand almost made me not finish this book.


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This book was fun and heart warming. It’s way more emotional than I thought it would be. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Thank you to Netgalley for letting me read this early.

I can’t describe how much I loved this book! I flew through it in one day. I loved the banter, the friendships, the deaf representation (which you don’t see enough of in books!), bad ass Willa & the gorgeously sweet Ryder. I honestly can’t wait for the next book in the series! It was the perfect slow burn, frenemies story. It was exactly what I needed.

I honestly think I’m being generous by giving this three stars. There was just so much off about this book. I feel like my main issue was the pacing of both the plot and the relationship. By the time the two main characters got together I felt like I was reading a totally different book. The characters changed so much that I can’t even call it development, it genuinely felt like a whole new story.

I will say that I did really enjoy the sex scenes as they were filled with communication and consent! They got smutty which I am always a sucker for. I just wished I liked the couple more, aha.

Also, this book is pitched as a new adult sports romance. Could this classify as new adult? I mean, yeah since they are in college, but it just didn’t have the NA feel to it. I was also so excited to see a sports romance where the female was the athlete, but we literally never saw her play soccer (except for maybe one scene). So that was disappointing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story of a young athlete in college and her relationship with a classmate. I read about 30% and decided to stop because i really wasn’t enjoying the story. Just not my cup of tea.

It’s not often I find an author that I just love everything they write. But Chloe Liese is absolutely one of them. I could not put this book down, from the enemies to lovers trope, the misunderstandings and some heartbreaking moments, the intense chemistry that was built up by this incredible slow burn, I just finished it and I already wish I could read it again for the first time. It made me feel such a wide range of emotions and I am more than a little bit in love with Ryder Bergman! Without a doubt, my favourite read of 2020 so far!

I finally found what I've been missing since The Winston Brothers!

I know I've found a new auto-buy author here. "Only When It's Us" is a sweet (and steamy) New Adult romance novel starring a female college soccer star and her hearing-impaired classmate.

There's something very lived-in about the novel that's hard to put into words. Like you know when you're watching a movie with very bland set design with no personal touches? Then you watch something like "Stranger Things" and notice things like notes on the fridge or gum wrappers on a desk. Liese added those touches. The characters get to know each other on and off the page, and what they learn about each other in those blank spaces adds a nice layer of warmth. We don't need a page or two dedicated to one character discovering another gets cold easily, throwing out such details in a one-line exchange is just as potent.

Very cute, very hot, very fun.

Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese is smart and witty, full of lovable and relatable characters, and just the right amount of steam. I loved the banter between Willa and Ryder and I found both of them to be compelling, complex characters that I wanted to learn more about as I read. I read this romance in one sitting because I absolutely couldn't put it down because I had to know what was going to happen next. I loved all the references to Pride and Prejudice, one of my favorite books, and I think the different tropes that Chloe Liese used in this story perfectly melded together to create a realistic and heartwarming romance.

I am so excited that this is just the first book of a series because I definitely want to read more about the Bergman Brothers!

This has one of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers. A slow burn one at that! The angst was REAL. But, this was definitely deeper than I had anticipated it would be. I don't want to spoil anything, but this book had a lot of heart. I also really liked this the female was the one with the commitment issues. There is something very refreshing about a male character that can express how he feels. I would definitely recommend this to someone that needs a book to escape into for awhile.

I loved Only When It's Us!

This was a steamy read about Ryder and Willa, two college students who become frenemies. Willa is a soccer star, soon to go pro. Ryder is a former soccer player turned "lumberjack" in his flannel shirts. Ryder is hearing impaired and is worried that Willa will think differently of him because of it, but she doesn't even think twice and accepts him as is. That is- as her class partner and frenemy. Or is there something more?

The story is told by flipping back and forth between Ryder and Willa, so you get both points of view. This was important for Ryder's character, as he doesn't speak, so we got to hear his side of the story.
It is hard to talk about "hard stuff" in any relationship, but this one has even further complications when you really can't talk about it.

I loved how Ryder had a weakness without being weak. I viewed him as a strong, stable character who had already coped with his loss. He is able to help Willa through the tough times she goes through.

I loved the characters, loved the plot line, and thought it was the perfect pace to keep things moving and me entertained while giving the characters enough time to grow and develop.

🚨TRIGGER WARNINGS at the BOTTOM.


Willa and Ryder are two classmates who "hate" each other because of a misunderstanding.
Both of them have an erroneous image of one another that leads to a hate/love relationship.

Although they hated each other Willa and Ryder actually care about the other so it was really cute to read their witty comments and hilarious banter.

It's been a while since I read a NA book and this one was a breath of fresh air. There's no slut-shaming, the hero is actually a feminist and consent is really present in the sex scenes.

Most of the times in NA books is the hero who is more "rude" or grumpy but in this case it was Willa. She was a hot-head and she often acted recklessly but she was always aware of her flaws and that made her a more relatable character.

I didn't read it in any other review and I don't want to give a spoiler but Ryder is deaf. I think it was handled well, it wasn't something that the author used just to make him a more "interesting" character and everybody treated him like a normal person as it should be.

Towards the end the pacing dragged a bit and the plot relayed on a few unbelievable coincidences and the novel switched from a fun light NA romance to a sadder tone.

Aside from that I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers romance, it was my first time reading this author and I'll definitely read the second book.

I would recomend this book to fans of sports romance who wants to read something more orginal and don't mind the juvenile tone.



TRIGGER WARNING: Deafness, Breast cancer, death of a parent.