Reviews with content warning for War - Only When It's Us

Reviews tagging 'War'

Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese

18 reviews

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 she

ghosted 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.

Content Warnings

alithomas's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.25

Content Warnings

readwithria's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted sad 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 just know I’d rather be afraid with you than fearless with anyone else”

Only When It’s Us was a steamy, emotional, heart pounding book. Chloe Liese created such beautiful characters, and their struggles felt so real.

Read this book if you love
🩵 grumpy characters
🩶 cute nicknames
🩵 care taking
🩶 sports romance (they’re both soccer players)
🩵 Deaf/HoH rep
🩶 forced proximity
🩵 frenemies to lovers
🩶 college romance

I will say that some of the lumberjack peen puns were a little much for me, and it definitely had some parts where it felt a little slow, but with the Berkley republications coming soon I bet this book will get even better.

I will definitely be reading more of the Bergman books. 4 stars

Content Warnings

mabellene's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

allonsyahhlee's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

4.0

Content Warnings

potatogrr's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-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

3.0

Content Warnings

galleytrot's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.25

READ: Apr 2023

FORMAT: Audio

BRIEF SUMMARY:

In this contemporary romance, Willa is a full-ride soccer student who is having difficulties in one of her courses. When the professor refers her to Ryder for the lecture notes, she finds the man won’t so much as give her the time of day. A misunderstanding and some competitive spirit sparks a series of escalating pranks and shenanigans between the two as they dance around their attraction to one another, while they condition themselves to mistrust and stay suspicious of each other’s motives.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3 / 5⭐
A bit of context before I get into my review: I do not typically read hetero romances. They don’t tend to do much for me, they’re near-impossible for me to relate to, and they plain and simply tend to bore me. This series was recommended to me more than once based on the amount of representation it’s known for, and for one of the books in particular being queer. I was immediately intrigued, as I am all for people from all walks of life getting their happy-ever-afters. I am mostly interested in reading the fifth book of the series, but I figured it might be a good idea to give the rest of the series a try and expand my horizons a bit.

Alas, my personal response to this book was not what I was hoping for. And by no means was that the fault of the author, or the characters, or the representation. I simply was not the target demographic for this one. I tried to make the shoe fit, and wound up with blisters for my effort. I adored Ryder’s character well enough, but couldn’t find it in me to get past Willa’s stubbornness, suspicion, and self-sabotage. The whole prank-wars trope generally doesn’t work for me in the first place (although the term “prank” is used rather loosely – these guys’ idea of getting at each other is just making the other one sexually frustrated, with the side-effect of also making themselves sexually frustrated, ad nauseam).

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3.75 / 5⭐

I didn’t have any notable issues with the writing of this story, except maybe how the passage of time was tackled. There were a couple times where there had been some time jumps but I didn’t realize it. There were other times where I felt like there must have been a time jump, but it was only a day or two later. It’s possible I missed something from the translation to audiobook format – I find I have more trouble with time passage when I’m listening to a book instead of reading it.

Both of the narrators for this book were new to me, and I had no problems with their performances.

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.25 / 5⭐

I can understand why this book has as much appeal as it does. To the correct audience, it ticks all the right boxes. Antagonistic enemies-to-lovers, a hefty dose of angst and tragedy, plenty of spice (after it finally actually gets to the spice; it’s a pretty long wait, but there is payoff). I simply was not the correct audience, though I wouldn’t say I disliked the book at all.

This book has representation for hard-of-hearing individuals (sensorineural deafness). At least one character is a person of colour.

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.

This book contains: medical content, terminal cancer; ableism; alcohol use, heavy drinking; vomiting (alcohol induced); mentions of an absentee father; past war story involving a wound leading to the loss of a limb, mention of PTSD; death of a parent; grief, loss, depression; and, an act of blatant disrespect for one character’s body autonomy.

Content Warnings