Siena Pippen just wanted to feel close to her dad by visiting the football field he loved. A chance encounter with Brooks Attwood, a football player looking to stage a comeback, ends with Siena getting roped into being his fake girlfriend. She’s not worried about catching feelings, though, because she swore off of professional athletes after breaking up with her ex.

This was a really fun, spicy sports romance! This was my first book by this author but I’ll go back and read the first book in the series! Brooks was such a perfect slightly grumpy but actually so soft MMC. I loved the way he immediately felt protective over Siena, even though she was clearly used to taking care of herself.

If you love sports romance and fake dating, I recommend this one!

I loved Only in Your Dreams! And her newest title was just as good.
Only Between Us by Ellie K Wilde was a super quick, light rom-com romance.
The characters were all very lovable and enjoyable.
This book was a fun and captivating read that kept me up til 2am because I wanted to read one more chapter.
The author's writing style is engaging, making it easy to become invested in the characters' lives.
The romance itself was absolutely adorable. The chemistry between the characters felt so real and natural.
Ellie K. Wilde’s writing is smooth and engaging, making it easy to get lost in the world she created.

I absolutely love how Ellie delivers a romcom.. The FMCs are always fierce, hilarious and just all around badass, and the MMCs are equal parts charming, menace, and softie! Just like the first Oakwood Bay book, this was full of tension, banter, heart, and a bit spice!

The he falls first trope will never get old to me. It takes Brooks a minute to get over his insecurities from his ex, but once he does, the way this man pines for Siena is something else. Like what do you mean he basically buys the entire menu at a coffee shop because he didn't know what her favourite drink was!

This is a great summer read with fun and sexy times (like HE has a praise kink!) but there is also emotional depth to these characters as they overcome their past. It definitely had me kicking my feet one minute, and tearing up the next. I cannot wait for book #3!

Despite this taking me several days to finish, there was not a single moment I wanted to put this book down!! (I simply just had to work which felt like a crime!)

Thank you to Atria and to Ellie K. Wilde for this ARC!! I was so excited to be invited back into Oakwood Bay! An easy five stars! ✨

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!! Brooks and Siena had such a strong connection from the very first moment they made contact (😏) with each other! I loved seeing them go through the stages of grief over their first initial impression of the other being wrong. I mean, who doesn’t love dislike to love AND fake dating!!!

Brooks and Siena both had gone through so much in their life that has left them feeling not worthy of being loved and going after what they want in life. The best part of this book to me wasn’t the absolutely HOT 🥵 chemistry these two had, even though I will be thinking of it for the remainder of the year and beyond. Rather, I loved seeing how while falling for the other person, they were both slowly lowering their walls and revealing those deep insecurities they tried so hard to keep hidden. In falling for each other, they found the strength to overcome those things, and had the support of the other to back them up when they struggled. Their love story was truly just beautiful, I love them so much!!

And of course, we got to see all of our fav Oakwood Bay characters, making me so excited for the next book in the series!! (PLS BE PARKER AND SUMMER?!?!!!!!)

Brooks is trying to comeback to football after an injury and some bad publicity, he needs something good come his way. This good is Sienna. They were caught in a photo that leads them to fake date to help each other out.

I love the banter and the tension between these two. Brooks was such a cinnamon roll and attentive to Sienna. I love how he quickly befriended Sienna's mom too.

The 3rd act breakup wasn't my favorite but everything else was so good.

This is the 2nd book in the series but can be read as a standalone.

Thank you @atriabooks for a copy of the book

Dual POV, Spicy, Football Romance, Fake Dating, Biker FMC, Meet Hate, Jealous MMC, One Bed, Family Dynamics, Hate to Love

Wilde delivers a return to pro football fake dating romcom with equal parts hate to love tension, emotional revelations, and spice that will have you wishing for your own Brooks Atwood. Both Siena and Brooks are recovering from past trauma and as they spend more time together the tension increases as Brooks realized he severely misjudged Siena at their first meeting. Expect friend group banter, delicious dirty talk, a loyal German Shepard, and tear jerker family revelations.

3.5

Brief overview:

Brooks needs to look good to the media in order to get a contract from his former football team. Sienna needs some cash to keep her dad's bait shop afloat. After these two collide on a field, an idea springs up to fake date for the perks, planning a separation when Brooks finally gets signed.

My thoughts:

It was cute overall but I did find myself struggling in parts. It dragged on a bit and a few lines kind of gave me the ick, like "out of pocket" being used and the main character saying "I jiggle when I walk" when there has been nothing to lead us to believe she is in any way a plus sized character, so it felt a bit fatphobic. It also got quite spicy by about 35%, which may not be a draw back for some but I do prefer a little more build up.

I do think Siena is a well formulated character in terms of back story and motivations for her choices. Brooks seems often motivated by ego alone, but that probably is realistic for the character. It had a pretty cute ending!

Would recommend to fans of sports romance (with the sport not being a big focus) and fake dating stories.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the chance to check this out!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Atria Publishing for the advanced reader copy of Only Between Us — the second book in the Oakwood Bay series.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a solid follow-up to the first book. While I connected more quickly with the characters in book one, this story still pulled me in it just took a little longer. But once it did, I was hooked. I loved the romance, the emotional depth of Sienna’s backstory, and of course, the football!

These football romances always get me excited for football season there’s something about the mix of sports and love stories that just works. Ellie K. Wilde delivers another emotional and engaging read. I’m already looking forward to what’s next in Oakwood Bay!

Only Between Us by Ellie K. Wilde

Thank you 🫶🏻 Atria for the free Arc! All opinions are my own.

Favorite Quote: “Are you threatening me with a happily ever after?”

Brooks, a pro footballer who has been sidelined by injury for the past two seasons, is ready to step back onto the field but when a bunch of sexy photos from a post-break up bender are leaked to the teams courting him, his comeback is suddenly in question. Brooks needs to appear as if he’s settled down so when a selfie emerges between him and the ex girlfriend of the league’s top player the media is swept into a frenzy and the pair have no choice but to lean into the story and pretend to be deeply in love.

This is such an adorably sweet and spicy romance! Brooks is just the cutest MMC and I fell head over heels for him right along with Siena. Their romance is hot and heavy but filled with so much love and the writing is beautiful done. There are also so many amazing tropes to enjoy! Check out the list below!!

Only Between Us is book 2 in the Oakwood Bay series. The first, Only in Your Dreams was also such a fun read so while you could read it as standalone, I would highly recommend reading both!

Read if you like:
✩ Fake Dating
✩ Football Romance
✩ He Falls First
✩ Dual pov
✩ Found Family
✩ Tons of spice

This one wasn't my favorite. I didn't hit as good as the first book, but I still enjoyed getting to jump back into this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own...... it was alright

The way I destroyed this book! Brooks is trying to make a comeback after an almost life altering injury and his bad boy past might keep him from having that dream. Siena continues to get bad news after bad news, but when a financial stepping stone literally rams into her she has no choice but to take it. It is everything I love. Fake dating, enemies to lovers, fun banter, great spice, and emotional. The easiest 5 star I’ve ever given. Honestly I’d give this a 6/5 if I could!!

I have to hand it to this author. This is the funniest and sexiest contemporary romance, I have read thus far. The characters and their development we’re so good that I started picturing them as totally real people and started imagining myself in their shoes. The sexy scenes were amazing and plentiful. Literally every time was crazy! And yes this may spoil one scene but I don't care: she has a vibrator in while they are at a VERY public event and he takes control. We are talking all sort of somewhat exhibitionist sexiness. I became absolutely obsessed with getting this book completed because I just wanted to know what was going to happen at the end for this fake boyfriend, romance or rather fake girlfriend romance. Well there was a bit of a backstory to the characters it was extremely enjoyable and I cannot wait for the next book in this series because the writing was absolutely incredible. If you have a chance to read this book, don’t hesitate because you’re making a mistake if you do.

Thank you so much to the publisher Atria books and the author, Ellie K. Wilde for this amazing arc, I couldn’t have spent my time more wiser.

I loved the friendships between the Oakwood Bay crew and so I was excited to see charming Brooks up for the second round - perhaps the only man in history not to get the girl he was fake dating. Which is fine, since Brooks has incredibly chemistry with our new main character, Siena. Wilde is fairly deft at balancing heavy topics with her sports romance, and I really enjoyed that the book is interested in the trauma that Siena is dealing with as someone who was in foster care, even as someone who got the happy ending of an adoptive family.

I do wish we had gotten more time with Melody, Zac, Summer, Parker and the crew, as their dynamics were so much of what made the first book fun, but it helped that Brooks and Siena were sufficiently steamy. I'm excited to head back to Oakwood Bay for Parker and Summer's story. This is for fans of Helena Hunting and Piper Rayne.

5/5 stars
3/5 peppers
1/5 buzz buzz

Oh. My. Goodness!!! First off thank you Netgalley and Atria for the early copy! Second of all, I need a Brooks Attwood in my life!!

I loved "In Only Your Dreams" but this one, I think might be my favorite in the series. Sorry Zac and Melody. But Siena and Brooks are so freaking hot.

You know how the universe has a funny sense of humor and fate crashes in like a ton of bricks. Well that's what happened with Siena and Brooks. With Brooks being on the journey to return to the pros, he'll need the woman that came crashing through his life to help him out and build an image. Siena and Brooks butt heads like two people that can't stand each other. Walls have been built, and tensions rise, so who's going to be the first to crack?

Brooks knows how to turn up the heat. And Siena is a little temptress herself.

Bonus too: one of the few books I have read every single word and took a little more time to read just because I love this!!!

What you'll find:
- Fake dating
- Sports Romance
- He falls first, but she's falling harder
- healing journeys
- "We can't fall in love with each other" haha we'll see

5 swoony stars!

Only Between Us is the kind of fake dating, he-falls-first, no-third-act-breakup sports romance that delivers pure serotonin. Brooks is an all-time top-tier book boyfriend—thoughtful, sweet, adorably down bad, and a total heart-eyes dog dad—and Siena is smart, sassy, and strong with just the right touch of vulnerability. Their chemistry is chef’s kiss and the spice? Scorching. I was hooked on every soft moment, every sharp quip, every motorcycle ride and coffee run. This isn’t literary fiction—it’s better: fun, sexy, emotional, and absolutely addictive.

Read if you like:
🏈 Sports romance (hello, hot football players)
❤️‍🔥 Fake dating with real feelings
💬 Dual POV & no third-act breakup
🐶 Soft men, sassy women, and great dogs

This book was a delicious mix of sweet, steam and heart. After a football injury, Brooks works his hardest to get signed with a team. To improve his reputation, he agrees to fake date Siena. At first I was like okay this is just your typical fake dating football romance. I was totally wrong. I fell hard for these two. The banter and tension built up so much chemistry between them. Siena had this fun, sassy personality and my gosh Brooks was so into her. I just loved how they became so crazy about each other.

Siena's backstory and Brooks' insecurities added a depth that I was not expecting. There was one specific scene between them that I found to be very moving. Where the connection between them intensified as Siena shared everything she knew to be true about this man worthy of love. The anticipation of them saying their first "I love you" had me squirming in my seat. Although they said it in other ways that maybe touched me even more.

I ate this book up. I always love Ellie’s writing and devour it everytime. I knew I loved brooks from the first book but had no idea how deep that love would go. But it’s safe to say I’m absolutely obsessed with that man. I’m always a sucker for the banter and this book had such good banter I was giggling snd kicking my feet! Siena was EVERYTHING and I absolutely loved her character. She was strong and witty and smart. They were absolutely perfect for each other and the support and grace they gave each other in this book was amazing. I will for sure be getting a hard copy of this book because I need to on my shelves. Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me the honor to read this banger of a book!

This was another excellent book by Ellie K Wilde. I loved the main couple and their journey. I will say the setup was a touch unrealistic and flimsy. I don't know why the ex-girlfriend of an NFL player (who doesn't seem to really care about social media) would be so popular, but maybe I just don't understand those aspects of that world. But once I moved on from that, the story really got going. Honestly, the beginning was my least favorite part - I loved watching Siena and Brooks getting to know each other and work through their various things. Overall, I really enjoyed and Ellie K Wilde has become one of my favorite contemporary romance authors.

Brooks was down so bad and set the bar so high for top tier book boyfriend. I literally had heart eyes over his actions. The coffee? The rides? The lanlord? I could go on. Siena is my new favorite FMC. She is full of sass, witty, and hilarious! They fit together like two puzzle pieces and I ate up every second of them. Siena's backstory had me sobbing, and her parents are literal angels. 😭 This was so good, I want more and I can't wait!

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩:
⇢ Fake Dating
⇢ Meet-Hate
⇢ Sports Romance - Football
⇢ He Falls First
⇢ No 3rd Act Break-Up
⇢ Dual POV

Huge thank you to; Atria Books, Netgalley, and Ellie K. Wilde for the ARC.