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

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.

Content Warnings

natshu's review

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emotional hopeful reflective

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

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

Content Warnings

bookishval's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have mix feelings and such a complicated history with this book.
According to my goodreads activity, I marked this book as to-read on February of 2022. I don't remember when I started reading it, but it was around that time.

Thanks to this book, I realized how important trigger warnings are for me and that Grief was an issue for me. I didn't know grief was going to be portrayed so raw and explicit in this book, and even though I was enjoying the story, when Willa's mom died, I found it difficult to continue reading.

Here's the thing. I read as an escapism, and I prefer to read rom-coms with a HEA. So, I tend to avoid romances with sad endings. However, before using Storygraph, I did not know when books dealt with sensitive and delicate topics unless it was written on the synopsis. So I was taken aback with this book, and it helped me know that grief, and especially reading about the death of a mother, was difficult for me.

So, after the death of Joy, Willa's mother, I had to stop reading the story at 77%. I tried, but since her terminal illness was brought up I was hesitant to keep reading.

I didn't think I would pick up the book again, but I wanted so bad to read the second one in the series and I knew reading them in order was kind of important. I believe they can be read as stand-alones, but since Ryder's siblings are so present in the book and the next ones are about them, I felt like I had to at least finish it. Besides, I was only missing 13% of the book. So, I read it quickly relying on the audiobook and here I am.

I honestly don't remember my feelings toward the book and the characters before the death of Willa's mother made me stop reading. And I even had to read other reviews to remember some important moments and roles other characters had in Willa and Ryder's story. So, my opinion is not reliable, and I'm pretty sure all of the things I just mentioned before proof that my issues with this book were mainly on me.

Also, it's not helpful that from the beginning, the book I most wanted to read in the series was the second one. I read the first one partly out of obligation, and that's not a great way to start a book. It's one of the worst, in fact.

So, overall, I did enjoy the book in the beginning, not so much Willa's character to be honest. I liked their bickering and chemistry, but at times I found her character frustrating. The chapters from when Willa's mum moved in with Ryder's family to when Willa had to deal with her grief were difficult to process and tedious, not something I enjoy reading and hopefully will avoid in the future thanks to trigger warnings.

Unfortunately with this book, the bad (things I remember clearly), outweighs the good (positive things I have a hard time remembering). I do want to you to know that I love how Chloe is careful and caring while writing. She knows how to write complex and well-thought characters, and I really appreciate it. This was the third book I read of hers, and even though it was my least liked, I'm looking forward to the others in this series, hoping this book opened good stories for me.

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