3.5 STARS

I wanted to read this book because 1) I LOVED the cover and 2) the blurb sounded so intriguing. I ended up really enjoying Willa and Ryder’s story. The two clashed with strong personalities and there was a tangible attraction between them but my one complaints with the novel parallels and Willa pushing Ryder away after something devastating happening.
I also liked the side characters,now on to Ren's story.

**𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸**

Disclaimer - I was sent a free digital copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Firstly I want to applaud the authors ingenuity. As suggested at the beginning of the book, I listened to the playlist as I was reading - playing each song at the beginning of each chapter. What a wonderful idea, it really does enable a more immersive and enjoyable experience.

The authors writing style is incredibly engaging and I find it to refreshing when I find an author that manages to create a connection with the main protagonists within the first several chapters. I loved everything about the book and the ending had me on the edge of my seat. I will most definitely be looking out for more work from this author and I’m excited to read the next instalments in the series!

Loved loved LOVED this book. So refreshing to find a book featuring a female athlete who sorts supports her despite being permanently benched from playing themselves. Looking forward to future books in this series!

I downloaded this book on a whim. A sassy soccer player and a silent grumpy lumberjack? I thought this would be a fun new adult sportsball romance....it was but it was also so much more. And it hit me right in the feels.

Ryder lost his hearing as a teenager and it learning to adjust to a new life with new goals as well as dealing with his large half-Swedish family. Willa is a soccer player with her eyes on her goal to become a professional player. She doesn't have time for distractions.

But their lives become entwined through a series of coincidences. From enemies to frienemies to so much more.

In my opinion, the best books make you cry; either from laughter or sadness. This book did it both ways.

I'm really looking forward to reading the next book and finding out more about Ryder's brother Soren. I was a little bummed to see this was a series about the brothers because I was shipping Ryder and Willa's friends but I can let that dream go knowing that this next book will be as awesome as this one!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Only When Its Us is the story of Willa and Ryder; Willa is a star soccer player and Ryder is a quiet guy who looks like a lumberjack. Due to a miscommunication these two get off to a rocky start while being paired up for a class project but what follows is a sweet and steamy journey. I really enjoyed this book and the banter that takes place between the two main characters, Im a sucker for good banter. Both Willa and Ryder have some personal issues they are trying to work through and they way they lean on each other at times was so sweet. This book really got me in the feels and at times was crying. One of the only things I had a small problem with was at one point in the story it felt like what Ryder was going through was just "fixed" and then it was done and was no longer a problem. It was addressed again later that he was still dealing with it but it just felt kind of brushed over. Over all I really liked this book and can not wait for the next in the series about Ryder's brothers. This book comes out on April 1st 2020. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Two forces come together in this new adult/modern romance take on frenemies to lovers, one of my absolute favourite tropes ever!

Willa is tipped to be the next big thing in women's soccer (that's football for everyone non-US) and has a bit of a temper.
Ryder is a quiet giant of a man, due in part to his deafness and the fact he chooses not to speak.
So what happens when these two are paired in class? Well, there's teasing, pranking, miscommunication - and suddenly, hope, love and joy.

If you like mutual pining, steamy sexual tension, and lumberjack inspired innuendos, this book is for you.

It took me a little while to get into the story, in the beginning I thought some of the writing was a bit clunky; there was a lot of exposition of Willa's character that had me saying 'show, don't tell', but to be honest, it was a quick way to present Willa and her motivations, and get the ball rolling on the story.

The story really picked up with Ryder's point of view, and I don't know it's because his backstory just made him more interesting or because I am a sucker for this guy. Having finished the book, it's probably the latter. Like, I am ridiculously fond of Ryder, what a perfect character, where can I get a real live one?

As a romance novel, this book just ticks all the boxes. Willa's thirst is both hilarious and, to be fair, totally relatable. There's so much mutual pining, which I live for, and the sexual tension between these two is perfect and really well written.

I love these characters. Their stubbornnes and actions sometimes frustrated me, but in perfect measure, it never made me not want to finish the book. Them learning to be vulnerable was such a great thing to read, and I love how gentle they are with each other, even when they they struggle with their own problems.

I sort of wanted to just binge read the book, but I also wanted to savour it - it's a roller coaster of emotions! I cried at the sad parts, I cried at the tender parts, I laughed, I cried some more, and my heart is just full from these two.

TL;DR : yeah, it's a frenemies to lovers story, yeah, there's sports in there, but the story goes so much deeper than that, definitely go read this book!

Ugh... I feel bad about my rating on this one. I get what the author was trying to do. And it had the potential to be great. Unfortunately I found Willa too stressy and angry for my tastes. I didn't really enjoy reading from her POV.

And the transition with Reilly from deaf/mute to seemingly perfectly normal, really took the shine off the book for me. If you've read Colleen Hoovers 'Maybe Someday' then you'll understand what it means to highlight a disability and take it through to the end. Without needing to erase it completely. With a few edits this could of been a brilliant read.

3.5 star
Unputdownable
.
Ok, so I looked at the cover and I just knew I had to read it, I was really hangover on this other book and something on the cover made the connection.

And I was in for a really good surprise, this book was wonderful and very enjoyable.

The frenemies to lovers theme is not particularly one that I look for but I enjoyed the banter and tension in this one.

I really liked Ryder’s character, he was interesting and developed well, I could see why he does things and why he thinks this way, and he had such an interesting background.
And of course the rugged lumbersexual look.

Willa I didn’t like much, I can understand her trouble with speaking her mind and sharing with others, but I didn’t really like her impulsive behavior and I was annoyed with her at times.

I literally could not put the book down.

But I did have a few issues:
Too many coincidences!
Repetitive
And too explicit for my taste
But I would certainly look into reading the rest of the series.

I loved everything about this book. I laughed quite a few times while reading this book - which isn’t easy to do. This is a classic enemies to lovers story with the best banter and tension. Their chemistry is insane! I loved Ryder and everything about him. I also love how Willa and Ryder brought out the best in each other. Ryder was such a gentleman and absolutely amazing to Willa’s mama. I just can’t recommend this one enough! I am so excited this a series on Ryder’s family. I can’t wait to read about the rest of the brothers and more on Ryder and Willa.

I liked this a lot. I enjoy romances set in college.

One thing that made me say "huh?" was when Ryder showed his phone to Willa to show he hadn't been texting with other girls. How were their names in his phone? He would have had to given them his phone or entered the numbers himself. I know this is really nit-picky, but it was weird and not necessary in the first place.

I received this book for free in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

"Only When It's Us" brings us two very different characters - Willa, a soccer player with a temper and Ryder - a somewhat of a recluse due to an illness that impaired his hearing. They are forced to work together for a class but both have many issues with each other. They start out as frenemies but soon discover that they have more in common with each other than they figured.
The banter was great in this book, however it didn't sound super organic in some places. The author used some of the words (e.g. bee-kissed lips, lumberjack etc) so many times that it because redundant. Even though I overall enjoyed the story, I felt it was a bit raw... I was sad that we couldn't read about some of the main issues and how the main character worker through them. Rather we were told about the more stressing parts and were able to read about the easier parts. I think if the author had written those situations out we would have connected on a more emotional level to the characters.
I also have to mention that there were quite a few typing errors in this copy and hopefully they will be fixed before the release.
Overall, I am interested in this authors work and would love to read the next books and see how she develops. She definitely has talent, she just needs some work :)

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my honest review.

Only When It's Us follows two main characters: Willa, who is a Division 1 soccer player struggling to balance soccer, school, and her mother's illness, and Ryder, who has pretty much become a recluse ever since he lost the majority of his hearing two years ago. The two meet in business mathematics class and are pretty much forced together by their professor. Their frenemy relationship is full of witty banter, lots of competition, sexual tension, and unexpected secrets.

One of my favorite things about this novel was the Spotify playlist accompaniment. I always find that when I'm writing, music can set the mood. As a lover of both music and writing, I truly appreciated the music that went along with each chapter. I had fun listening to the song before I read the chapter and getting little clues about what was going to happen next. The mood changes so much in the book, and the Spotify playlist is a perfect reflection of that.

As far as characters go, I really enjoyed Ryder. There were times when he was frustrating, but he definitely showed the most growth throughout the novel. What I liked about his growth was that it was gradual and believable. There was one point in the book where I was like "I hope he's not doing this all for Willa," but when you learn about the dynamic of his family and peel back the layers of his past, you can tell that Willa is a good excuse for him to make some big life changes, but she isn't the only reason he would want to. Of course, at the novel's core is the love story, but I liked that there was a lot to uncover with Ryder.

Willa, on the other hand, I was not a fan of. I was surprised by this because I usually gravitate toward the female story. My favorite books are those that have female protagonists that I can relate to. Willa does have a lot going on in her life, but the depth of her stubbornness and downright selfishness made her such an unlikable character for me. Her growth was more like a light switch. She's the same person until the end, and then all of sudden, the author flipped a switch and *BOOM* growth. I wasn't a big fan of how her character developed.

The enemies-to-lovers, or in this case frenemies-to-lovers, trope is usually a hit or miss for me. I'm happy to say that this was a definite hit for me. I enjoyed the witty banter and sexual tension between the two main characters. The build-up is believable, and I liked Ryder's character enough to want to cheer for a happy ending for the both of them. I also really liked a lot of the side characters and actually wanted to see more of them, particularly the roommates. I found myself getting frustrated when the main characters would have a conversation with one of their parents that would be more believable if the conversation was talking to a friend. There was one conversation in particular that Ryder had with his mom, and I was like "I feel like this conversation would have been better served if he was talking to one of his brothers or one of his roommates." But that's probably just me being selfish and wanting to see more of Rooney, Becks, and Tucker.

One thing that I can't decide if I enjoyed or disliked was how many ways Ryder and Willa's stories were either connected or were parallel to each other. I felt that some of the connections or parallels were unnecessary and made the story less believable. I know that coincidences happen, but sometimes, I just got frustrated by the things that overlapped in the characters' lives. I don't want to elaborate on this because *spoilers.* I understand what the author was trying to do, but I felt that some of the parallels were unnecessary and didn't really add to the story or the background of the characters. I will say that I was a fan of the big thing that caused the characters' lives to overlap (you'll know which one I'm talking about once you read the book), but some of the smaller things were just unneeded.

I realize that I read the ARC for this book, but some of the typos were actually pretty distracting, and there were A LOT of them. There was even one point where Ryder was referred to as Ryan, and I was like "Where the heck did Ryan come from?" My hope is that a lot of these typos get corrected before the book is released in April. I also wasn't a huge fan of the writing in that the author used the same words over and over to describe the characters. Ryder was referred to as a "lumberjack" throughout the book. Cool, but I got so tired of seeing the word "lumberjack" on every other page. When she made references to his lumberjack-ness in other ways, I enjoyed the sarcasm and creativity, but I started to hate the word "lumberjack." She also used the word "velvety" to describe lips and skin so many times throughout the book. There was just a lot of redundancy with some of her descriptions, and it made me enjoy the book less because I was tired of reading those same words and descriptions over and over again.

Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I really liked Ryder as a main character, and I enjoyed the parts of the book where the roommates were around, so much so that I craved more of their presence. I enjoyed how the storyline unfolded overall, especially when secrets from their past were being revealed in little pockets overtime. I, however, did not enjoy parts of Willa's personality, particularly her stubbornness and the amount of selfishness she showed throughout the book.

This is the first in a series where we get to learn more about Ryder and his brothers, so if you're a fan of Ryder's family dynamic, you'll definitely look forward to the rest of the books in the upcoming series.

Strong debut to a new series that definitely makes me want to pick up the next one! Only When It's Us follows Willa and Ryder, college juniors who are forced to work together on a class assignment by a matchmaking professor (who happens to be Ryder's brother in law). These characters were super likable and the writing and dialogue had me both laughing and crying by the end. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the advance copy in exchange for this review.

A book about frenemies to lovers? Count me in!
I loved Ryder and Willa and literally laughed out loud at a lot of their banter! This book was full of family, friendship, loss, grief and love as well as some major tension! I found this book to have the perfect amount of steam along with a perfect slow burn. I can't wait to read more about the Bergman brothers and to get to know this family more!

Thank you @netgalley and publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really, really liked this book! Willa and Ryder had great chemistry and I couldn't wait to see how things would play out with them. It's not often that I'm moved to tears by a book but that first seen when Ryder meets Willa's mom! Wow. I think it could be argued that the connections between Willa's mom and Ryder's dad was a bit of a stretch, but I didn't care. I loved the story and was really invested in the characters. I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishers for sending me an early copy in exchange for a review.

This contemporary romance follows Willa who is a student but also a rising soccer (football) star. Her mum is terminally ill, and Willa suffers from a rage problem. We also follow Ryder who is a fellow student with high anxiety because he is deaf. He caught bacterial meningitis which affected his hearing and makes him a silent, sexy lumberjack.

Even though there were some seriously steamy sex scenes I did enjoy this book. The banter between Willa and Ryder was cute and I really like their frenemies to lovers journey. This was great for the disability rep, the mental health rep - Willa is encouraged and does eventually go to therapy, and also communication between consenting sexual partners which was lovely to see.

Trigger warnings for death of a parent, cancer and terminal illnesses.

Wow, this book was fantastic. Imagine if the Simple Wild and Kulti had a baby, and you have this book: Frenemies, soccer, grumpy outdoorsy lumberjack, sexual tension and 🔥🔥🔥 for days.I’d have been sold at that, but the book had so much more to offer. A beautifully told emotional story. I love how Chloe’s books show us that characters with disabilities can/are every bit as fufilled as the rest of us in life and love. In my head I keep coming back to the image of the boy in the wheelchair at target staring at the add with a boy in a wheelchair. I’m so excited for authors like this and Helen Hoang bringing us these characters that hopefully make people feel represented and included. Did you like The Friend Zone or The Hating Game? If so, read this book! •
•
I’m so thankful for getting a copy of this ARC to read. It’s on sale April 1st, and will be on #kindleunlimited , you can also preorder for $1.99.

I don't usually read YA books, but this one was well-written (minus some grammar mistakes) that I soon forgot that Willa and Ryder were only in college.

This story is about acceptance, change, determination and, of course, love.

Willa is one determined young lady with one goal: to become a professional soccer player. Ryder is a fellow classmate who is standoffish because he's deaf. A class project brings them together and their relationship is volatile. Willa is prickly and sarcastic and Ryder is calm and level-headed. Willa doesn't trust men, in general, due to her upbringing and finds it difficult to open up about her feelings around everyone. Ryder has the patience of a saint and accepts Willa as she is. As the two begin to work together on their assignment, they begin to see that there's more to the other person than they originally thought. If big, loud, Scandanavian families make you smile, then this is a plus.

An emotional read.

I can't wait for Ren's story.

Has a book ever taken you by surprise? I had never read anything by Chloe and, man, am I kicking myself that’s it has taken me this long to find her. This book surprised me in the best way possible and I’m so glad @readingfortheweekend told me about this book.

I was completely invested in this story because it was like nothing I have ever read before. I’ve read a lot of books that were based off college students or college aged students and found that a majority of them have no substance. All they really worried about about was where they could find alcohol and who their next conquest was. This book and these characters had a lot of heart and emotions that makes it feel like your reading actual human lives with diverse and real situations rather than idealized youths on spring break.

Willa is feisty, but has a hard time expressing her emotions. She throws up sturdy emotional walls that no one has been able to tear down. She also has the road block that people are out to get her or ruin her and because of that, she has a hard time trusting people or letting them in. Ryder, the keeper of notes, is a dream. He’s a Washington born guy who loves all the things I love about Washington. But Ryder has his walls up around himself and has a hard time letting people in as well. He likes to keep his emotional cards close to him and is a person who now sees life as glass half empty.

Together they make the perfect storm to be natural born enemies. The tension between Willa and Ryder was so delicious with their chemistry bouncing off the pages. Between each witty comment or spiteful action, there was so much fire in each stolen glance or touch that were meant to be innocent. The games they play were so delightful. My heart ached for these two and butterflies fluttered in my stomach waiting for and anticipating the next chapter. The way they acted toward the beginning were like two kids playing on the playground. They just picked on each other because they didn’t know any other way to express their feelings.

This book was the opposite of all new adult books I have read. It had a depth in Willa and Ryder that I was not expecting. This book showcased not only what it was like to fall in love for the first time, but it also shows all the spectrum of love people can express and experience. There was a surprisingly large amount of emotion ranging from happiness to sadness and everything in between.

I really did enjoy this book and everything it represents. Even the side characters were fantastic. There were tasteful additions from Willa’s mom’s sage advice and sarcastic humor to Aiden‘s provoking and meddling that lead to the chaos he had created. I loved how it showed how terrifying love can be, because that’s what it’s like to open yourself to another. It’s completely terrifying to trust your heart to another. Life is beautiful and it is tragic, but it is how to decide to live that makes the ride worth it.

5 ‘Sunshine and Lumberjack’ stars

This book was so good, so funny, so emotional, and so sweet. I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but it was so much more! It has the perfect romance package. I loved their frenemies relationship. And the slow burn was so good!! The type of slow burn that ends with a huge fire. I loved how this book shows how deceiving first impressions could be. This book is just deeper than it appear to be. It was so perfect.

I loved those two characters a lot. It was different and refreshing to have a sports star heroine. She was also the one with commitment issue. She’s the one with a temper who don’t let anyone in. I loved her relationship with her mama. The family dynamic in this book was so good. Bergman was so sweet and vulnerable. I loved how they both accept and support each other. I loved how their characters were so real. I just loved them both so much. This is a highly recommended book, do yourself a favor and download it from NG while you still can. You need to read this book!