Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - If Only You

I was really disappointed in this one. Rating is higher than it probably should be, mostly because I love Ziggy and was so excited for her book, but this was a slog to get through, I felt there were a lot of unresolved threads, and to top it all off, there were SO many formatting errors that made reading it unenjoyable. Hopefully Viggo’s book doesn’t suffer from the same problems…

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hazelgirl21's review

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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headinthepages's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

If this is your first Bergman Brothers book, rest assured this can be read as a standalone. For those of you who have been reading this series all along, you know the Bergmans are incredibly supportive of one another; very morally upright, defenders of those that need defending, etc., etc. I respect authors who write big, wonderful families like this but still let the reader see that even the best families have their flaws. Especially when those flaws push the love interest into indignation protection mode. While nobody treats Ziggy poorly, her family still treats her like she’s a child who needs constant protection and vigilance. Being the “outsider”, Sebastian notices quite quickly how condescending they are to her without any of them realizing that’s what’s happening. I loved it!

Ziggy and Sebastian are a pairing nobody in their lives expected. Yet his best friend, Ziggys brother Ren, seems the most accepting and even glad they found each other. Of course, he was being told they were just friends. But Ren seemed to hope for more between the two, obviously realizing they would be good for each other. With Ziggy’s patience and the fact that she went into their “friendship” with no expectations, she’s able to handle Sebastian’s pushback with aplomb. This gives Sebastian room to breathe and get to know Ziggy without scaring her away. The two have fantastic chemistry, whether on a friend date or when they finally give in and kiss. I’d definitely classify this as a slow-burn type story, but the author kept the fires stoked throughout so I never got frustrated with the pacing. This story is a true friends to lovers because the majority of the book is spent with Seb and Ziggy developing a beautiful friendship. A friendship neither wanted to lose so they continued to hold off the other emotions so they could get their lives in order first.

This book also helped me to understand Viggo a bit better. He has been my least favorite character throughout the series because I often feel he crosses a line. He doesn’t seem to have boundaries and has made some pretty big blunders in the past. Although Sebastian and Viggo seem to have little in common, Seb seems to understand Viggo on a level his siblings do not. (The whole “family keeping you in one neat box” thing is at play again here.) Through Seb, I found sympathy for Viggo and just know the author will find a way to knock him off his feet when his story is told. After all, Viggo thinks he has all the romance answers with his love of the Romance genre.

As for the couple in this book, Ziggy and Sebastian get their HEA of course. It’s very satisfying. It’s everything Ziggy deserves and more. And it’s everything Sebastian didn’t know even existed.

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