A review by sarahfrances52
Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese

emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really have a love-hate relationship with this series of books. I think this has the bones of a really great romantic comedy book. Willa and Ryder are very well suited for each other and I enjoyed watching their playful relationship. However, I think the author could have done a much better job of showing instead of telling. Willa’s mistrust of men, Ryder’s stoicism, and their eventual reconciliation of those issues are things that we as the reader just had to accept as true without seeing or understanding the deeper motivations of the characters. I wish this book was longer if only to give the readers a clearer understanding of why Willa and Ryder take so long to get together. Both of them clearly have trauma, but skipping through that work to get to the sweet romantic end does the characters and their relationship a disservice. I would have been much more excited to see Willa find love with Ryder if I could understand why she was so distant and distrustful of men in the first place. Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I will definitely continue on with this series. 
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