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bookieboogie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
teeclecticreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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
I’ll start by saying that I think it’s really amazing that Chloe Liese not only listened to what her supporters had to say about the way the deaf rep was handled in the first writing of the book, but was proactive enough to make edits and release a completely new and improved version with changes made to better reflect accuracy with the deaf experience. That alone gets so many points in my book.
I love that deafness isn’t seen as a thing to be pitied or as a burden. Everyone in Ryder’s life was accommodating of his needs, whether by being mindful of speaking clearly where he can see to read their lips, or asking if he preferred to type or text when he began his journey with hearing aids. It may be a small thing to others, but those of us with disabilities know that these are the most meaningful ways that people can show us that they care.
Enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and while I do love the progression they had, there were so many areas of miscommunication that I wasn’t a fan of. From Aiden being dismissive about Ryder’s choices regarding his disability and putting him in an uncomfortable situation unbeknownst to him, to Willa being upset and hypocritical that he didn’t share aspects of his disability with her. Please remember that disabled people do not owe you information about their disability.
I have to be honest, Willa annoyed me quite a few times while reading this. It’s wild to me that she was hiding so much from Ryder and had the balls to get upset at him for doing the same. Also, Ryder’s friends shaving his beard while he was sleeping felt like a huge violation of person to me. I know if it were me we’d be fighting for suuurreee.
Despite all that, it was still a lovely read. The banter between the two was fun, the Bergmans were a delight to meet and Rooney is one of the best fictional best friends I’ve had the pleasure to read about. She reminds me a little of myself too because I’m very confrontational.
I’m looking forward to reading about Ren and Frankie next ☺️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
dearhaleynicole's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Only When It’s Us follows Willa & Ryder’s story over the course of a year at university. Willa is a star soccer player at UCLA, struggling to balance a ton between school, family, soccer and life. Ryder is a classmate of Willa's, who she happens to sit next to in their business class every day. After an infection two years prior took most of his hearing, Ryder is trying to find his new normal while being hard of hearing. They start out misunderstanding each other pretty strongly but then slowly developing a frenemies-to-something more relationship that i really did enjoy reading (we love good banter 👏🏻) but there were some times where our headstrong FMC Willa did frustrate me. She’s navigating an unimaginably difficult life change, but her closed-off personality just felt a bit exhausting to read chapter after chapter. I will say I really loved her passion and how it fuels her when she needs it most. Ryder was patient and understanding and just a really great partner through it all. Both MCs went on their own journeys of emotional healing and it was overall sweet to read. I will also say the slow build romance of it all was great and had me turning pages when it picked up. their relationship was equal parts playful and real. They navigated a lot in this book and i’m glad i got to read their story first 🫶🏻
This is the first in a series following the Bergman siblings (Ryder’s family) and I definitely plan to read more of them because I really loved the Bergman clan in general! The side characters in this book were very endearing to get glimpses of. I really can’t wait to read some of their stories after meeting them even just briefly in this one.
Also, the covers for the other books in this series, as well as this re-released version one, are really beautiful! I was just looking at them all and it made me really want to pick up the rest of the series sooner.
This is the first in a series following the Bergman siblings (Ryder’s family) and I definitely plan to read more of them because I really loved the Bergman clan in general! The side characters in this book were very endearing to get glimpses of. I really can’t wait to read some of their stories after meeting them even just briefly in this one.
Also, the covers for the other books in this series, as well as this re-released version one, are really beautiful! I was just looking at them all and it made me really want to pick up the rest of the series sooner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
sarahmcg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness
lunahale'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
5.0
i cried and i laughed and i read this all in one day
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism
readwithanne's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Cancer
emaretea's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, and Grief
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Well, I really thought I'd love this one, but I had so many issues with it.
First, this was trying to be enemies to lovers, but there was no good reason to be enemies in the first place or for them to hold on to their antagonistic relationship for so long. They jumped straight to enemies just because he didn't hear her say one thing and she didn't know he was deaf. Even after she found out that he wasn't deliberately ignoring her, she still considered him a "frenemy" (this word was used way too much). The main characters frequently acted like they were 10 years old, at one point even throwing elbows and pulling ponytails in class.
I especially didn't like Willa. She completely lost me after sheghosted Ryder for 2 months after her mom died, not even acknowledging his presence when he showed up to try to comfort her. This had real negative effects on Ryder, and it bothered me that she didn't seem to care about his feelings at all. Then once she came back to him, she was so upset that other women were taking an interest in him that he decided to let her look through his phone so she would know he wasn't cheating on her. Who needs boundaries, right? For the whole third act, she was so wishy washy about the relationship, and I felt like Ryder was doing all the work to keep the relationship alive. I spent most of the last section wishing they wouldn't end up together because their relationship seemed so unhealthy. With Willa being so flighty and with them demonstrating an unwillingness to face their problems together as partners, I don't trust that they will have a good relationship going forward. Even towards the very end of the book, she still got upset with him for asking her very basic questions about herself because she didn't want to open up to him at all.
I liked that there was disability rep, with a leading man who is deaf, but I kind of felt like the book treated the deafness as an obstacle to overcome before the romantic relationship really could get going. There was a lot of importance placed on him hearing her voice and on getting him to start speaking again. I do appreciate that the author took feedback from reviews after the book was originally published, made some changes, and released an edited edition to try to fix some of the representation issues, but I think some of the bones of the old issues remain. I am not part of the Deaf community, so I am not an expert on how the representation was handled, but others who are Deaf have posted their reviews, and I encourage people to read those for more insight.
This gets an extra star for Ryder. He's mostly a really great guy, and I really liked him.
I think this book also ruined the word "lumberjack" for me forever. I've reached my lifetime quota and might never want to see the word again.
First, this was trying to be enemies to lovers, but there was no good reason to be enemies in the first place or for them to hold on to their antagonistic relationship for so long. They jumped straight to enemies just because he didn't hear her say one thing and she didn't know he was deaf. Even after she found out that he wasn't deliberately ignoring her, she still considered him a "frenemy" (this word was used way too much). The main characters frequently acted like they were 10 years old, at one point even throwing elbows and pulling ponytails in class.
I especially didn't like Willa. She completely lost me after she
I liked that there was disability rep, with a leading man who is deaf, but I kind of felt like the book treated the deafness as an obstacle to overcome before the romantic relationship really could get going. There was a lot of importance placed on him hearing her voice and on getting him to start speaking again. I do appreciate that the author took feedback from reviews after the book was originally published, made some changes, and released an edited edition to try to fix some of the representation issues, but I think some of the bones of the old issues remain. I am not part of the Deaf community, so I am not an expert on how the representation was handled, but others who are Deaf have posted their reviews, and I encourage people to read those for more insight.
This gets an extra star for Ryder. He's mostly a really great guy, and I really liked him.
I think this book also ruined the word "lumberjack" for me forever. I've reached my lifetime quota and might never want to see the word again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, Death, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Misogyny, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, and War
kyleethecatlady's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism
kdscolley's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Oh man. Ryder and Willa are so damn cute. I kinda love that Aiden pushes them together. Their little pranks on each other are adorable.
Willa's mom being sick and Ryder's dad being the doctor, I sorta guessed that from the beginning, but I didn't see her going to live the rest of her days in their house. It was a beautiful piece to the story and I loved every bit of it, even when it broke my damn heart.
Ryder was patient and waited because he knew Willa needed space and time to get through some of her grief. Honestly, so well done.
Also, the representation in this story to the deaf/hard of hearing community is so well done.
Willa's mom being sick and Ryder's dad being the doctor, I sorta guessed that from the beginning, but I didn't see her going to live the rest of her days in their house. It was a beautiful piece to the story and I loved every bit of it, even when it broke my damn heart.
Ryder was patient and waited because he knew Willa needed space and time to get through some of her grief. Honestly, so well done.
Also, the representation in this story to the deaf/hard of hearing community is so well done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer