A review by angelsmomreads
Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

4.0

Is there an author that you will buy every book they write?
How quick I jumped to put this set in my cart .it is definitely on the shelf " what to save in a fire , save in a Hurricaine " 

This is the @illumicrate afterlight editions.
Each naked cover has a quote in gold foil
Stenciled pages with the Bellanger a frame..with the most exquisite fall scene.
They are treasures inside and out.


I love @chloe_liese . 
Every book in the Bellanger series is a comfort read that I have read more than once.  I guarantee you , not only will you come away with more on that second , third reading ; you will still kick your heels , still laugh and still cry.
I have the audiobook..it is a treasure too.

“I want Ryder who brought me whiskey and peanut butter cups and was the first man to ever slow down and hold me and help me feel safe enough to fall apart.”

If you love these tropes:
⚽️ Frenemies to lovers,
⚽️ College / forced proximity: project partners
⚽️ Funny childish pranks
⚽️ Sloooow burn,
⚽️ Pride and Prejudice reimagining
⚽️ Steeeeeam! 🌶🌶
 ⚽️ Ryder lost his hearing with meningitis 
⚽️ Willa is a strong soccer player who has dreams of the Olympics..
⚽️ He calls her "Sunshine" when she is sparky and grumpy 

“I think that’s what it means to love the way I love you. To love so much you feel broken open and at the same time healed. Maybe that’s what it means to be vulnerable? Maybe that’s intimacy? Whatever it is, whatever it means, I don’t want it to ever end. I never want to stop feeling this kind of love for you. I want us to love each other this deeply, this powerfully, always. Promise me, Ryder.”

This  is first love . College Love lives in a time capsule; it is intense, all consuming,  and all the colors are brighter in the world. It is when we learn about intimacy,  being vulnerable,  and allowing ourselves to trust .
Chloe Liese captured all of these feelings in this book in a spectacular way.
I love the Bellanger family in a sea of books with childhood trauma and terrible parenting, Chloé s series stands out with amazing parents of a large family. This is a family that vacations together, has family dinners and group chats. It is the kind of family I always wanted to be a part of and longed for; it is what I have arrived to create with my own children.
I love that Ryder and Willa find so many connections of what they have in common and they share a love of soccer. I really hope future Liese series bring these characters back. The Bellangers go down in my fave of all time.