Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese

14 reviews

readwithria's review against another edition

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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
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potatogrr's review against another edition

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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

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galleytrot's review against another edition

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  • 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.
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cady_sass's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Meh. I picked this up because I inadvertently read #2 in the “series” without realizing it’s a series, but it’s really not. Each book is a standalone about a different brother. I appreciate what the author did in both books with normalizing disabilities and making them accessible to the layman, but the overall story here just falls flat for me. #2 was much better.
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kaydeedickins's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.25

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dianaschmidty's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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rickireadss's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

5.0

*reread july 2022 as the audiobook: AMAZING!!! the narrators were perfect for willa&ryder and i loved being back with them because they might be my favorite couple (which is so hard to choose istg)

5⭐️!!!

CHLOE, WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS BOOK?!?! (this is gonna be a long review so buckle up babes)

i LOVE reading books with deaf and/or mute representation because i, myself, am hard of hearing and had an aunt who was deaf. being able to see stories about people i can relate to/understand is important to me, and chloe did an amazing job at portraying it through ryder.

i bought this entire series because i follow chloe on tiktok and MAN did it deliver. this frenemies-to-lovers story about a misunderstanding between the two is just golden and i loved the banter between ryder and willa. the way they became friends with each other before getting involved romantically made my heart so warm, because it was everything i’ve ever wanted.

i fell in love with willa the moment the book started and i would do absolutely anything for ryder, hands down. also the fact that they were able to connect with soccer (my absolute favorite sport) just really hit home for me. their relationships with the sport itself were also super relatable. 

this story made my heart so full and i cannot WAIT to jump into the next books because chloe delivers in all aspects. 🖤

⚠️: death of parent, cancer, terminal illness, ableism, grief, injury/injury detail, medical content, vomit, war

SLIGHT SPOILER BELOW:

when willa & ryder are discussing how they want to be intimate with each other (including impact play & dominant/roughness behavior), i literally started to freaking cry because while i’m a big old virgin and have never been in this kind of situation, i have always known i wanted it to be a discussion outside of the bedroom that wasn’t uncomfortable rather than my partner just incorporating it without prior discussion or asking in the heat of the moment because i am such a people pleaser i would probably say yes even if i didn’t want it. (god that was a lot of words in one sentence 😂) also when willa brings out the mirror so ryder can see read her lips and expressions when he’s hitting it from behind?!? I DIED ON THE SPOT, my heart was so full.
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kshertz's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

3.75

This was cuuute. Super unrealistic but all romance books are right? The angle of someone struggling with their hearing and sports was interesting. I loved their bantering. The whole beard drama was hilarious. Her mothers story was tragic and heart wrenching. The coincidence of their families knowing each other felt unnecessary . But it kept me reading and it was cute 🥰 
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traceyanderson's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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thefatpaperback's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll get a happily ever after. This is a “he falls first” frenemies to lovers rap ver romance that was impossible for me to put down!
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