Scan barcode
hanelliott7's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The cute moments were cute. The spicy moments were spicy. Character driven but sometimes our leading lady was rather annoying (also kind of “I’m not like other girls” at times). Some conflict felt easily solvable but dragged on whereas the deeper conflict felt too easily resolved. Can’t truly speak to the deaf representation, so I’ll leave it with it felt wrong/off at times with the way it was written. Overall I’d say read it if you want a quick and easy contemporary romance. I won’t be reading more of this series (at least not anytime soon)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Ableism, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Gun violence, Vomit, and War
chronicallybookish's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My review of the trad published edition circa Dec 2023
This is actually my second time reading Only When It’s Us—the first time was about two years ago. I really enjoyed it then, but I <i>loved</i> it this time around.
Willa is so spunky and fun to read about. Ryder is stoic and swoony. The chemistry between the two of them is sizzling and their banter had me kicking my feet.
I had forgotten how deeply this book dives into grief and the experiences of losing a parent. Chloe Liese’s books always have emotional depth, but this one is on a different level. The exploration and discussions of grief were beautiful, and I cried my way through several chapters. Liese is such a skilled writer who seamlessly captures and portrays emotions in a way that is impossible for you to remain unaffected by them.
Only When It’s Us, like every book Chloe Liese writes, has simply fantastic disability representation. Ryder has relatively recently become deaf, and throughout the book we see him begin to process and come to terms with that. Though not in the same way, I think his storyline is a bit of a parallel exploration of grief as well. Willa is grieving the thought of a future without her mother and Ryder is grieving the thought of a future without full hearing. They are different, of course, but there are parallels there.
As I am not deaf, I can’t comment of the accuracy of those aspects of representation. However I am disabled, and I found a lot of truth in the representation of dealing with a sudden disability. The specifics of Ryder’s experiences may differ from mine, but there are many aspects of the disabled experience that are more universally true, and Liese captures those flawlessly.
It was also interesting to reread this book, her debut, and compare it to Better Hate Than Never, her most recent release. As incredible as this book is, I was aware of the aspects of prose and character in which Chloe Liese has improved in the 3 years and 8 books since this one was first written. It leaves me excited to read what more she comes out with in the future and how she improves from here.
My Review of the self-published edition circa Jan 2022
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 18+
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Disability Rep: 5/5
My first Chloe Liese book! I learned about The Bergman Brothers series last year—and about their incredible disability rep—and have really been interested in reading them since. But they’re adult romances, which I don’t tend to read, and they’re self published which means they aren’t available at my library, so I kept putting it off.
But a few weeks ago I figured I’d check one more time, and lo and behold: My library had ebooks! I now have holds on every book in the series and am excited to get into them.
Yes, they do have some spice. I’d say maybe 2.5 stars? Too much for what I enjoy, but within the amount that I’m willing to skim over when there’s disability rep. I never factor spice into my ratings when reading adult books, so even if I don’t enjoy that aspect, I rate books based on how I enjoyed the other aspects of plot, character, and writing.
I really enjoyed the book. The banter and chemistry between Ryden and Willa was top notch from the start. I’m thinking “frenemies-to-lovers” may be one of my new favorite tropes. Both characters were so real, I felt as if they could climb right of the page. I cried when they cried and laughed when they laughed. Sure, they infuriated me at times with their willful blindness to each other’s real feelings in the first half (and Willa’s bullheaded refusal to acknowledge her own feelings). But while it drove me crazy, it was written in a way that felt natural and real.
I also really appreciated that this is a “revised edition”. In the front of a book there was an authors note saying the book had been updated and revised in 2021 with the help of someone who had lived Ryden’s disability. Chloe Liese acknowledged that in her first printing, there were aspects that were innacurate to the representation of Deaf people who lost their hearing later in life, and did what she could to correct that. Is it the bare minimum? It should be. But so many authors would never take the steps to fix what they wrote, so I appreciate it all the same.
This is actually my second time reading Only When It’s Us—the first time was about two years ago. I really enjoyed it then, but I <i>loved</i> it this time around.
Willa is so spunky and fun to read about. Ryder is stoic and swoony. The chemistry between the two of them is sizzling and their banter had me kicking my feet.
I had forgotten how deeply this book dives into grief and the experiences of losing a parent. Chloe Liese’s books always have emotional depth, but this one is on a different level. The exploration and discussions of grief were beautiful, and I cried my way through several chapters. Liese is such a skilled writer who seamlessly captures and portrays emotions in a way that is impossible for you to remain unaffected by them.
Only When It’s Us, like every book Chloe Liese writes, has simply fantastic disability representation. Ryder has relatively recently become deaf, and throughout the book we see him begin to process and come to terms with that. Though not in the same way, I think his storyline is a bit of a parallel exploration of grief as well. Willa is grieving the thought of a future without her mother and Ryder is grieving the thought of a future without full hearing. They are different, of course, but there are parallels there.
As I am not deaf, I can’t comment of the accuracy of those aspects of representation. However I am disabled, and I found a lot of truth in the representation of dealing with a sudden disability. The specifics of Ryder’s experiences may differ from mine, but there are many aspects of the disabled experience that are more universally true, and Liese captures those flawlessly.
It was also interesting to reread this book, her debut, and compare it to Better Hate Than Never, her most recent release. As incredible as this book is, I was aware of the aspects of prose and character in which Chloe Liese has improved in the 3 years and 8 books since this one was first written. It leaves me excited to read what more she comes out with in the future and how she improves from here.
My Review of the self-published edition circa Jan 2022
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 18+
Over All: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Disability Rep: 5/5
My first Chloe Liese book! I learned about The Bergman Brothers series last year—and about their incredible disability rep—and have really been interested in reading them since. But they’re adult romances, which I don’t tend to read, and they’re self published which means they aren’t available at my library, so I kept putting it off.
But a few weeks ago I figured I’d check one more time, and lo and behold: My library had ebooks! I now have holds on every book in the series and am excited to get into them.
Yes, they do have some spice. I’d say maybe 2.5 stars? Too much for what I enjoy, but within the amount that I’m willing to skim over when there’s disability rep. I never factor spice into my ratings when reading adult books, so even if I don’t enjoy that aspect, I rate books based on how I enjoyed the other aspects of plot, character, and writing.
I really enjoyed the book. The banter and chemistry between Ryden and Willa was top notch from the start. I’m thinking “frenemies-to-lovers” may be one of my new favorite tropes. Both characters were so real, I felt as if they could climb right of the page. I cried when they cried and laughed when they laughed. Sure, they infuriated me at times with their willful blindness to each other’s real feelings in the first half (and Willa’s bullheaded refusal to acknowledge her own feelings). But while it drove me crazy, it was written in a way that felt natural and real.
I also really appreciated that this is a “revised edition”. In the front of a book there was an authors note saying the book had been updated and revised in 2021 with the help of someone who had lived Ryden’s disability. Chloe Liese acknowledged that in her first printing, there were aspects that were innacurate to the representation of Deaf people who lost their hearing later in life, and did what she could to correct that. Is it the bare minimum? It should be. But so many authors would never take the steps to fix what they wrote, so I appreciate it all the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
Minor: Ableism
ericaereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
2022 Update!!!
Guys guys! Chloe Liese heard the people and released an revised edition of this title in late 2021 after consulting with a Deaf/HOH sensitivity reader. She offers a wonderful explanation of this process on her website at https://chloeliese.com/bergman-brother-books. Beware spoilers on her website, but based on the revisions she outlines I'm going to bump this up to four stars. Kudos to Chloe for doing the allyship work!
Original 2021 Review
Before I begin: Dear Authors: If you are writing a character with a marginalized identity in 2021, that marginalization is a key part of the plot, and it is not clear from your author bio whether or not you are part of that marginalized group then you are obligated to cite your sources/process in an author's note or acknowledgments. That Chloe Liese gave no context for the deaf/HOH representation means I cannot in good conscience give this book more than three stars.
While I enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Willa and Ryder, I was frustrated by how...disconnected their individual plotlines felt. On the one hand I love when romances have external-non-romantic plotlines that affect the characters' personalities and decisions, but on the other hand in this instance all the character growth felt related to those separate plotlines and therefore separate from the romantic relationship. Is this realistic and more like what happens in real life? Yes. But when I read a romance the romance has to matter and be at the center of the story and here it just wasn't.
Other frustrations included repeated phrasing and descriptions, as well as concern about the deaf/HOH representation that felt increasingly ableist as the story continued (and, as I said above, Liese doesn't offer any information about research, sensitivity readers, or her own experiences in the community in her acknowledgments, which makes this aspect especially problematic).
However, the relationships and plotlines outside the romance were well developed and, if I'm honest, were what kept me invested in the story and characters. So give this a try if you're interested in romance that feels more like literary fiction with some steam on the side.
Guys guys! Chloe Liese heard the people and released an revised edition of this title in late 2021 after consulting with a Deaf/HOH sensitivity reader. She offers a wonderful explanation of this process on her website at https://chloeliese.com/bergman-brother-books. Beware spoilers on her website, but based on the revisions she outlines I'm going to bump this up to four stars. Kudos to Chloe for doing the allyship work!
Original 2021 Review
Before I begin: Dear Authors: If you are writing a character with a marginalized identity in 2021, that marginalization is a key part of the plot, and it is not clear from your author bio whether or not you are part of that marginalized group then you are obligated to cite your sources/process in an author's note or acknowledgments. That Chloe Liese gave no context for the deaf/HOH representation means I cannot in good conscience give this book more than three stars.
While I enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Willa and Ryder, I was frustrated by how...disconnected their individual plotlines felt. On the one hand I love when romances have external-non-romantic plotlines that affect the characters' personalities and decisions, but on the other hand in this instance all the character growth felt related to those separate plotlines and therefore separate from the romantic relationship. Is this realistic and more like what happens in real life? Yes. But when I read a romance the romance has to matter and be at the center of the story and here it just wasn't.
Other frustrations included repeated phrasing and descriptions, as well as concern about the deaf/HOH representation that felt increasingly ableist as the story continued (and, as I said above, Liese doesn't offer any information about research, sensitivity readers, or her own experiences in the community in her acknowledgments, which makes this aspect especially problematic).
However, the relationships and plotlines outside the romance were well developed and, if I'm honest, were what kept me invested in the story and characters. So give this a try if you're interested in romance that feels more like literary fiction with some steam on the side.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism and Cancer
I wouldn't call the death in this book graphic, but Willa's emotions of the caregiving and grieving are intense (and well-written) enough that I decided to list it as graphic. Please use care if this is a trigger for you.madmordigan's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- 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
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Ableism
Moderate: Abandonment
hayleehar93's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Ableism
sringdahl's review against another edition
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Death of parent, and Mental illness
decklededgess's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
trigger warning: audism, meningitis leading to loss of hearing/deafness, cancer, death of parent, sexual content, alcohol, sexual content
This was such a spectacular start to the series. It's one of the few genuine hate to love/enemies to lovers I've read that has actually pulled off a short "enemies" period without compromising the trope at all.
Willa and Ryder were such spectacular leads. I loved the learning curve for both of them as they start to like each other as people but are still so confused that they're on the verge of murder every time they have a conversation. It's chefs kiss.
Aiden's meddling ass got a great intro here too because I was ready to kill him. It sets him up really well for the third book because Aiden and Freya's marriage problems bleed through a bit here too.
LOVEEEEE
This was such a spectacular start to the series. It's one of the few genuine hate to love/enemies to lovers I've read that has actually pulled off a short "enemies" period without compromising the trope at all.
Willa and Ryder were such spectacular leads. I loved the learning curve for both of them as they start to like each other as people but are still so confused that they're on the verge of murder every time they have a conversation. It's chefs kiss.
Aiden's meddling ass got a great intro here too because I was ready to kill him. It sets him up really well for the third book because Aiden and Freya's marriage problems bleed through a bit here too.
LOVEEEEE
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
_skyler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I kept seeing this book on e-libraries that I used but wasn’t too sure about it. But dang I throughly enjoyed it and wished I’d read it sooner. Good pacing. A few not picky things knocked a star off that I don’t want to ruin for anyone else. Pick it up and read it if you love a good contemporary romance. Comparable to Christina Lauren or Sally Thorne.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Ableism
kalin_grace's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Sexual content, and Ableism
andreamargarita's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism