🧡⚽️🏒 𝓘𝓯 𝓞𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾 🏒⚽️🧡

Review Time! Thank you so much to @netgalley and @centurybooksuk for an eARC! Here’s my honest and unbiased review🥰

Ok let me start off by saying I think Ziggy is my favourite Bergman (she is 👑) and I think her and Seb are my favourite Bergman Brother’s book couple😍👏🏻

I’ve enjoyed all of the Bergman Brother’s books so far and each one seems to just get better plus the spice is on.point. 👏🏻 This book was a 4.5⭐️ read for me and has ALL the tropes( I am here for it! ) You can expect:
🧡Enemies (to friends) to Lovers
🧡Fake d̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ Friendship
🧡Brother’s Best Friend
🧡Sports Romance (Hockey & Football!)
🧡Grumpy x Sunshine
🧡Bad Boy who’s a secret cinnamon roll
🧡Romantasy Reader FMC (Ziggy would be right at home on bookstagram)

I love @chloe_liese ‘s way of writing and including authentic representation of neurodivergence, chronic illness, mental health, disability and sexuality in her books. It’s so amazing to read romances with this level of realistic representation that doesn’t feel forced or done for the sake of it and doesn’t shy away from often difficult and sensitive topics💖

Here are a couple of final thoughts that iykyk:

🧡The A Frame strikes again- a true icon 😏🌶️
🧡WINGSSSS!!!!! 🪶
🧡What happens at Shakespeare Club stays at Shakespeare Club 🎭
🧡Men👏🏻 Read👏🏻Romance👏🏻Too👏🏻

A brilliant read, I enjoyed this so much that I will definitely be reading the rest of the series. A sporty bad boy/good girl romance with lots of important topics throughout. Had this read within 2 hours because I couldn’t put it down

This is the first book I have read by Chloe Liese and whilst it definitely would have been easier to dive into the characters had I read the previous novels, it definitely didn’t feel like it took anything away from the story. I loved how the feelings developed throughout the book for Seb and Ziggy and also the neurodivergent representation is always a huge plus!

Thank you to Penguin for providing me a copy of this book – views remain my own.

This is book #6 in the Bergman Brothers series, but if – like me – you haven’t read the first five, you can still dive into this one without a problem. But, fair warning, it will make you want to go back and pick up the rest, especially after seeing Ziggy’s older siblings in their various relationships. I will definitely be picking up the rest of the books as and when I can, and I’m really excited to do so.

So yes, of course, I loved this book. I’ve said it before, but for me a big part of what can make or break a romance is the characters. They have to be engaging, and I have to want to spend time with them, and in If Only You, I definitely felt like this for Ziggy and Sebastian. Both have reputation problems – Ziggy wants to be noticed a bit more, and she’s keen to be seen by her family and others as more than the youngest sibling. In contrast, Seb needs to rehab his ‘bad boy’ image, or he risks losing his place on the hockey team. So Ziggy – who happens to be Seb’s best friend’s little sister – proposes a fake friendship, allowing their reputations to rub off on one another.

The dynamic between the two is lovely, and Liese clearly has a knack for writing chemistry. From the moment we’re introduced to these two, you want them to end up together, and you see throughout why, exactly, they’re so good for each other. They’re supportive and encouraging, and there’s a real sense of admiration from one to the other. At various points, they stand up for each other without being prompted, and form a real partnership.

A big part is the fact that where everyone sees Ziggy as the youngest Bergman, stuck in their views of her formed when she was younger, and everyone sees Seb as little more than trouble, Ziggy and Seb both see beyond that, and together they help others see it, too. As I’m the youngest and only girl of three, I couldn’t help but relate to Ziggy’s struggles to get her family to acknowledge her as an adult, and it’s so crucial that when Seb ‘meets’ her (though they’ve been around each other previously, briefly), he doesn’t recognise her as his friend’s little sister, and even when he does realise who, exactly, he’s speaking to, he still treats her as more than a little sister.

This is the important thing – these two really get each other. They understand each other, in ways that others don’t. Ziggy sees the good in Seb, and Seb sees the mature young woman with a heart a gold, where others dismiss Ziggy as young and naïve. It works really well, and add into this a really entertaining side cast of characters, especially Ziggy’s family, and this book really hits a lot of romance sweet spots.

So yes, I’ll be looking to pick up books 1 – 5, and maybe even some other sports romances while I’m at it – if they’re anything like this, I definitely think I’ll enjoy them!

Oh my gosh. This book! I don’t think I have words. This book has my whole heart. Ziggy and Seb need to be protected at all costs.
Their friendship and their chemistry and them both trying for each other was just a delight to read.
Easily one of, if not the, top book of the year so far.

This book had me in a chokehold. I am obsessed with it and need to go and inhale the rest of this series immediately. I do love a good sports romance, and If Only You had both protagonists playing sports, Ziggy plays football and Sebastian plays hockey.

Sebastian has a bad reputation and has been informed by his agent, his best friend’s wife, that he needs to get his act together or he could lose his career and his sponsorships. As the youngest of a big family with six other siblings, Ziggy is fed up of being seen as a child and wants her family to appreciate her and understand that she is no longer a little girl, but a mature woman. Ziggy knows Sebastian as her brother, Ren’s moody, unapproachable best friend, but at Ren’s wedding, they have an unexpected meeting with a fair bit of tension. Fast forward and Ziggy has had enough so decides to take matters into her own hands and pays Sebastian a visit. Ziggy and Sebastian team up, Ziggy will help Seb reform his image, whilst he will her rough hers up a bit.

These two start out as pretend friends, which becomes real friends with a benefit or two, and I adored their trajectory to lovers. This book was written perfectly and I couldn’t help but fall in love with these two characters. I was swooning, squealing, and just completely in love with them. All these characters were so unique and I have nothing but praise for Chloe Liese and I will be going and reading her backlog right now, because this book made me feel a lot of things!

Ziggy is autistic and the way Sebastian understood and reacted in the right ways, and just thought about her needs was perfect. You couldn’t ask for a better man. Sebastian also discovers he has celiac disease and starts to worry about how this is going to impact his life, but Ziggy is there for him straight away, providing food and baked goods that he can still enjoy. Ziggy and Seb were perfect for each other and I honestly couldn’t love them more if I tried.

If you can’t already tell, I loved this romance and I wish I could experience it all over again!

Ziggy and Sebastian are so cute in this book, I loved reading their story and how they slowly fell in love. Its a slow burn friends to lovers storyline, I enjoyed that they were pretending to be friends at the beginning and slowly the fake friendship developed into best friends and slowly but surely they fell in love.

As always with the Bergman brothers books there was disability representation with every book and this one is no different. Ziggy has autism and we see how she wants to develop her personality and how everyone perceives her since she was diagnosed. But also Sebastian being diagnosed with celiac disease was an interesting storyline that also ran through the book. I'm slightly gutted that there will only be one book left to read in this series and it isn't going to be released for a while as I have loved every moment of reading these books.

My first Chloe Liese book and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint! Looking forward to going through her entire catalogue.

⚠️cw: Autism, celiac disease, emotional abuse, self-medicating ⚠️Ziggy (Sigrid) is the youngest Bergman, and still, frustratingly for her, seen as the baby, despite now being twenty-two. She's desperate to shed her good girl, vulnerable and immature image. Sebastian Gauthier is Ren Bergman's best friend and teammate. An unrepentant bad boy, his latest escapade means he's in desperate need of an image overhaul. Stat. A mutually beneficial fake-friends scenario might just help them both.
Ziggy has been a bit under the radar for me in recent stories, so I was looking forward to getting to know the adult version better, and I was not disappointed. I really loved the way she grew through the story, and was pleasantly surprised by her sass, as well as how she handled her brothers. I also LOVED the (kinda) meet cute at the wedding. The chemistry was palpable right from the start. That said, it took a while for the payback, so it was definitely delayed gratification (though the bookshop scene was a great tease) for THAT scene in the penultimate chapter. Sebastian was a really interesting character, and I appreciated that the author took her time with his transformation rather than have him suddenly completely perfect in a couple of days. I also appreciated the way the undiagnosed autoimmune disease storyline was written and loved seeing how he began to thrive once he was no longer self-medicating.
Both Sebastian and Ziggy were so funny and adorable, especially as their feelings began to grow, and it was lovely to witness the development of Sebastian's emotional openness. I'm also glad Ziggy was able to communicate better than some of her siblings! That said, I loved catching up with the other Bergman's, and it was awesome to see more of the Shakespeare club. I do wish we'd had more time spent at the Halloween/birthday party, because that chapter just seemed to fizzle out. Still, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the overall story.
A surprisingly sweet brother's best friend romance.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥
Emotional Rating: 💓💔🙈😂😢🙈💔😬💓🥰😉💓🙈💔😍😂🥰👏🏻😂🥰📚😍💓🥰😍😂🙈💓😍🔥🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

I have mixed feelings about this book. It kinda felt like the LGBTQ characters were there to tick boxes and not for any depth, although I haven't read any of this authors previous books so maybe that's not necessarily the case.

As an adult with autism, it was nice to feel represented in a modern romance but I struggle to relate to anyone who doesn't experience the same "symptoms" as me. I really loved Ziggy and Sebastian's characters and the bond between them but I found myself skimming the last quarter of the book as I found it quite predictable.

I did enjoy the bergmans though and will probably go and read precious books in this series and I do look forward to Viggo's story.

My first book in this series - and I've been hearing a lot about them so I was excited to read it. Firstly - I really enjoyed the playlist that came with it, although as I'm not a Spotify premium subscriber I got it in a random order rather than in order with the chapters!

So, to the actual book: I have slightly mixed opinions - I liked the idea of the plot and the family set up, but I found the writing style a little hard going. There is a lot of American style-therapy speak going on in the dialogue and that always winds me up the wrong way but also doesn't sound like how any one I know talks! It also definitely feels more towards the new adult side of the contemporary romance genre than I was expecting - but maybe that's because most of the sports romances that I have read recently are things like the Bromance Book club series which are definitely aimed at an older audience. I think this is more of a not my thing end of books rather than anything else - I suspect other people are going to eat this up with a spoon!

The Bergman series is such a comfort series for me! Was this my favourite of them all? No, but I still really enjoyed it nevertheless. I loved seeing Ziggy and Seb bond and learn how to help each other be their true selves. This is a slow burn though (maybe the slowest of them all?) and I kinda wished we had gotten to see more of the ending! It ended a little abruptly for my liking.

I had the pleasure of reading one of my favourite books from the Brothers and Series, and I can't express how much I enjoyed it. Chloe Liese , as always, delivers with her amazing writing skills, and this book did not disappoint me in any way.

What I liked the most about the book was the fake dating trope, which is one of my favourites, and the author's unique take on it. The way the story delves into the trope leaves you with a smile on your face. The romance between the main characters is not your typical one, as it slowly grows from fake to friendships to romance, which makes it all the more enjoyable to read.

The author is always inclusive when it comes to her characters, and many of the invisible struggles that are not given enough awareness in society get more recognition through her stories. The author writes reliable scenes with both good and bad moments, making it a raw, emotional, hilarious and so fulfilling story.

This book is a must-read for those who enjoy romance novels, as it has all the elements that make a good romance novel. I can't wait to see where Chloe takes us next in her writing journey.

Overall, I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with a review copy through NetGalley, and I highly recommend this book to all romance readers

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book. If Only You is part of a series but it can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this book and i read it in one sitting. The autism representation i felt was really well done and the relationship between Ziggy and Seb was great, i was always wanting more. I am definitely going to go and read the rest of this series.

Chloe liese is a master at tugging your heartstrings and making you all mushy with her romances and this one was no different. I have been looking forward to Ziggy's book since the moment she was introduced to us and I am happy to say it didn't disappoint. I loved the slowburn, friends to lovers romance too much and the angst was perfect! Both Ziggy and Seb have all my heart and their interactions and how supportive they were of each other had me in puddles. If I have one complaint, it would be that the character transformation of Seb was maybe a little rushed. I would have loved to see a bit slower growth there and maybe a bit more of foreshadowing because the reveal at the end came a little abruptly. but otherwise this was perfect. I would definitely recommend.

This book is like the perfect cute soft read about two people becoming friends then falling in love.

I can not fault either of them one bit. Sebs meant to be a tatted up foul mouthed bad boy but he is so freaking sweet. How he cares for Ziggy. It’s adorable.

Ziggy is amazing too. How she understands him and helps him is fantastic. And to see her start to stand up for herself. Like she may be the little sis and has stayed quiet a lot doesn’t mean she can’t change and grow into the women she wants to be and is. When Seb sits there quietly proud her when she sticks up for herself I am there with him.

Also as always love the family in the book. I love the little wholesome moments with the Bergmans. I love them with Seb so freaking much. Can they adopt me plssss

Imma talk/post some of my fave scenes when the book is out because I loved them and I know everyone will too


Copied from my Goodreads

Any book that made me this happy has to be five stars.

We’ve got yearning, personal growth, yearning, banter, and did I mention the yearning? Because boy do these two fucking yearn.

This was such a cozy, low conflict read, it felt like a warm hug and a good cup of tea. Seeing both the characters grow and work on themselves separately and together was an incredibly rewarding read, seeing the level of maturity with which they approached the relationship just made me root for them even harder.

I’m a shameless Bergman Brothers Stan so I’m always going to have a good time with these books, and this did not disappoint. It had some phenomenal appearances from the other characters (particularly Ren and Frankie, my babies) and a Bergman Brothers summit for the ages.

As always, the Autism rep was fantastic and made me feel so seen and accepted, watching Ziggy trying to get people to see her as she is, having done a lot of work to get there was something I can really relate to.

Reading this made me want to go back and reread the whole series (which is not something I should be doing with the amount of books on my tbr) and further solidified that Chloe Liese could publish her shopping list and I’d read it.

I will never get enough of the Bergman's; I am 100% sure of that.

I have been waiting for this book since I devoured Everything for You, and it did not disappoint. As always, the Bergman siblings are loud, childish and word-class meddlers. Only this time, the shenanigans are aimed at Ziggy, the youngest of the Bergman brood.

Ziggy is an excellent football player on both a professional and national team. Yet, she still feels stuck in the image of how she was as a teenager, the shy, anxious girl who had to drop out of school and learn to cope with her newly diagnosed Autism. She's seen as naive, innocent and in need of protection when she wants everyone, including her family, to see her as the grown woman she's become, strong, independent and fierce.

Enter Sebastian Gauthier, the bad boy of hockey, who happens to be her older brother Ren's best friend. After a steamy encounter at her brother's wedding, in which Sebastian catches Ziggy ridding herself of her underwear on a balcony, the two hatch a plan. Ziggy wants her reputation to be muddied up a bit, and Sebastian desperately needs reputation rehab. It just so happens that they can find what they need in each other, and isn't that just the tone of this book!

The two form a fake friendship, leading to an intense, intimate, personal friendship. Ziggy and Sebastian open up to each other, love each other, respect each other and help each other become the person they want to be. Within that beautiful relationship, the two fall slowly but surely in love. This means the other Bergman's know it's time to meddle.

I love the card, attention and sensitivity with which Chloe Liese writes all her characters. The love and acceptance that she writes into every one of them, how they are each a work in progress, never perfect, and yet imperfectly perfect for their significant other. She tackles mental health, autoimmune diseases, disabilities, neurodiversity and more with grace and love. It's truly beautiful, and I recommend this series to everyone.

I love this series and Ziggy and Seb’s story was such a great adventure! I will not get tired of this brood and can’t wait what’s next!

This is a brilliant addition to the Bergman family series. We follow Ziggy, the youngest daughter as she tries to carve out her own identity as an adult in the family. This leads to her forming a friendship with Sebastian, bad boy best friend of Ren. This book has great tropes, fake dating and brothers best friend, which are done really well. The characters are likable and their relationship progression and development felt realistic. I enjoyed the representation of autism and coeliacs disease in this book too.
Overall this is a great instalment of this wonderful series!