I adore Ellie K. Wilde, and I've been anticipating Brooks's story since he first popped up in Only In Your Dreams. As always, Ellie delivers great banter, excellent spice, and a man who yearns. I'm always impatiently waiting for the next Ellie book. I love her inter-connected stand-alone works so much. Brooks is such a sappy, golden retriever guy, and I love how these two communicate so well.

This was a fun read! Perfect for reading at the beach this summer. The remote control scene was perfection.

This book hit me right in the feelings—in the best way. Only Between Us is tender, vulnerable, and full of heart. I really connected with the characters and appreciated how the story didn’t rush their growth or healing. The mental health themes were handled with care, and the romance felt so real and earned.

This book wrecked me in the best way. I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally raw and deeply personal it would feel. It wasn’t a perfect read, some parts felt a little drawn out but the emotional payoff was so worth it. The connection between the characters felt genuine, messy, and real. If you’re looking for a romance that punches you in the heart and still manages to leave you with hope, this one delivers.

This was a great sequel to Only In Your Dreams! I loved the meet cute in the beginning and how they got into the fake relationship. The slow burn was just long enough and watching these two fall in love as they tried to navigate the media and training camp was so so sweet. I loved the ending and hope Sienna’s dad is proud. Her love and honor for her parents was one of my favorite parts of this book!

I loved this so much!! I couldn’t wait for Brooks’ story after seeing him in “Only In Your Dreams” and this was even better than I imagined. In addition to Brooks being what book boyfriend dreams are made of, the FMC Siena felt genuine and UGH I was rooting for her the whole time. So thankful I got to read this book and am deeply looking forward to the next one.

This was a pretty good football romance book! I liked how football played a large part in the book (and wasn't just a quick little note in the story), and I th0ught the plot was pretty fast-paced and interesting. Fake-dating isn't my favourite trope, but I thought it was very well-done here! I also really loved Siena and Brooks. They were both very complex characters with their own issues, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to watch them work through their problems, both separately and together. While I didn't love the first book in the series, I thought this one was much better! Overall, I would recommend giving this book a shot, even if you didn't love the first book.

Tropes:
Small Town
Pro Football Comeback
Fake Dating
Forced Proximity
He Falls First
Banter

4.5/5 Star
2.5/5 Spice

Another absolute amazing read by Ellie. If you love the fake dating trope this book is absolutely for you. Siena & Brooks were everything and more. This book had be laughing, swooning & sweating from some insanely hot spice.

Siena & Brooks literally are two strangers brought together by fate. Literally bumping into each other on the football field they have insane banter. When they both come to a mutually beneficial agreement to fake date they can't deny their chemistry. Loads of sexual tension, teasing & denying each other lead to the best build up when they finally get together.

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I am truly obsessed with Ellie K. Wilde and her ability to strike such a perfect balance between heart and humor. Only In Your Dreams was an absolute stand out read for me from the second I finished so had huge hopes for Only Between Us and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better follow-up!! This story is swoony, and vulnerable, and so tender it crawled right into my heart and made a home! Brooks and Siena are a perfect pair and were an absolute joy to spend time with!!! Wilde hit every beat with perfection and poise, sucking me in so effectively I couldn’t put this book down if I tried!

Brooks Atwood is the perfect leading man that had me giggling and kicking my feet the entire time!!! A wounded lover boy who is just as hopeful for love as he is scared. My heart was breaking for him and I loved seeing his heart be mended!

Also, my girl Siena deserves the absolute world!!! Seeing her walls come down and actually ask for help was so beautiful, truly had me in my feels!

Truly adored this book so much, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a a pick me up or swoony sports romance!!

Any book that makes me cry I have to give 5 stars. I do need to be honest- the first 15%ish felt pretty basic, a standard dislike to lovers turned fake dating football romance. But then you find out more of each of the main character's backstory and it just all becomes MORE. And also the spice is amazing.

I think it was such an interesting aspect to explore that the FMC had dated a pro football player in the past very publicly. The MMC has an awful ex backstory as well, so of course something they bond over. There's also a bit of conflict over when feelings turn real if they are going to do long distance and if they do if their relationship would last, which I feel like is such a real life problem that even though they are these celebrities their feelings and angst feels so real.

Thank you to Atria for the eARC. I was not expecting to like this more than book one but I did!

Am I going to dive into Ellie k. Wilde’s backist now? You betcha. I am SOLD after reading this book. I was laughing, blushing, swooning, laughing some more and repeat! She did a great job with the abundance of banter and the sweet, emotional moments in between. I thoroughly enjoyed Brooks and Siena. Can’t wait for the next one in the series!

Brooks needs to clean up his image if he wants to get signed with his beloved Rebels, and one day, he slams (literally) right into his answer: Siena. She's in need of fast cash, so when he offers her a chance to fake date, she takes it. The social media deals she receives from dating a famous former football star will salvage her failing store and keep her ailing mom secure. Brooks and Siena come up with ground rules as the fake dating begins, but wouldn't you know it, they don't stick!

I adored this couple. Brooks is so thoughtful and protective (verging on possessive, which wasn't exactly my jam). The ways in which they cared for one another, after trying so hard not to, were really beautiful. And oh my goodness, the banter was absolutely terrific!! Siena is a complex and richly developed character. I was so happy to see them recognize pieces of themselves in one another. The growth felt real.

What really took me out of the story was the love scenes. Everyone has their own line of "too much", and I respect that. For me, each love scene of this book really crossed over into, "Oh-no-no-no-what-is-happening?!?" territory. 🤣 Ultimately, it made me feel more distant from the characters, because the way they treated each other during spicy times felt so tonally separate from the rest of the book, especially the quiet and sweet moments they shared. Additionally, the ensemble cast never really felt as present to me, despite the fact that I loved the first book of this series, which featured two of these side characters.

Overall, if you're in the mood for a VERY spicy celebrity football fake dating romance, you will LOVE this. 😃

Trigger warnings: having one's home broken into (off page), child abandonment, child neglect, death of a father (before story begins), unwanted sexual advances

I'd like to thank Atria books and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am a big fan of sports romances even though I honestly am not a huge fan of sports. This was so fun. I loved the relationship between the two characters and the progression of their relationship from a fake relationship into a real one. I also loved the plot and I flew through this one. I can't wait to read more from this author and series.

𝟮.𝟱 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗨𝗣
I hate to say it but...book one (Only In Your Dreams) was WAYYYYY better!

We got to know Brooks fairly well in the first book, so I was super excited to see his love story play out. However, he just wasn't the same?? Is it just me or was this a different character entirely?! I know I cannot be the only one who was giggling over his antics in Only In Your Dreams and then in this one he was just like EVERY. OTHER. DUDE. in an "enemies to lovers" romance.

Also, I wasn't entirely sold on the reasoning for their fake relationship. On both sides...

I have and WILL continue to reread book one, but I may just try to forget that this one exists 😭😭😭😭

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for the ARC!

Oh man, I REALLY liked this book.

I read Ellie Wilde's first book in this series (Only In Your Dreams) first, and while I liked that, I would have changed some things. This, which is the next in the series, really delivered for me.

Siena and Brooks have a bit of a meet cute, which leads to fake dating, and eventually falling for each other, which is a trope I really enjoy. But even better was the character development, the modeling of consent, and the amount that I felt like they cared about each other. I increasingly am looking for that in my romance books, and I really liked how this book did that.

On top of that, there was a nice slow burn, some really lovable side characters, a jock who doesn't act like a Neanderthal, and holy smokes, some really legit spice.

I'm hoping that the next in the series follows suit - I'll be eagerly waiting for it.

This book delivers everything I love in a fake dating, slow-burn romance with scorching chemistry and heartfelt emotion. Brooks is the charming, dirty-talking football player who falls first and hard for independent, no-nonsense Siena. Their “enemies to lovers” dynamic had me giggling, swooning, and turning pages fast. The banter sparkles, the tension sizzles (that gala scene, omg 🔥), and the emotional beats hit just right.

“You aren’t an afterthought to me. You are the thought. From the moment I wake up to the second I fall asleep. It’s you.”

A touch long, but still an addictive, swoony read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Only Between Us is the second book in the Oakwood Bay series by author Ellie K Wilde.

I liked this one even more than the first book! Brooks Atwood is trying to return to the sport he loves after a serious injury. His body is in great shape but his reputation could use some rehab too. Enter Siena. The two find themselves fake dating and as you can guess, lines start to blur.

I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a steamy, banter filled, football romance!

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

“Only Between Us” is a delightful blend of spice, humor, and heartwarming moments that draws you in from the first page. We are introduced to Brooks, a wide receiver on the verge of making a comeback in the professional football world. After facing an injury and a scandal that tarnished his reputation, he's determined to reclaim his place with the Rebels. However, it’s not just his career that’s in jeopardy; he needs a strategy to navigate the fallout, which leads him to the idea of a fake girlfriend.
Enter Siena, already a familiar name in the football scene for her quirky charm as the “Bird Girl”—she became famous for having birds resting on her during games due to her soothing presence. The two agree to this arrangement, but as their faux relationship unfolds, they discover an unexpected connection that goes beyond the surface. Their bond runs deep, revealing that they are truly kindred spirits.
One of the standout aspects of this book is Brooks's inner monologue, which beautifully captures his genuine care for Siena. It’s refreshing to see a romance that emphasizes emotional intimacy over mere physical attraction. Both characters share a desire to support each other, seeing beyond their public personas.
However, I didn’t give this book a perfect score due to a few minor hiccups. At times, I found myself confused about the settings—there were moments when I thought they had traveled cross-country only to realize they were still in the same region. It just felt a tad disjointed.
As for the spicy scenes, while they were undeniably well-crafted and engaging, they occasionally seemed a bit out of sync with the overall tone of the story. It felt like a sharp shift that broke the rhythm of their developing relationship. Nonetheless, the emotional journey and character development make this read worth it, even with those quirks!

I LOVE when a book exceeds expectations. Top 10 romance of 2025-- even top 5!

This author genuinely surprises me every time. Not because I think the books will be bad, but because I don't expect to fall in love with the characters, nor do I expect sex scenes that are so well written and appropriate for the couple. I did NOT expect to see such a well developed FMC, based on the cover or blurb.

Siena's character arc alone made this book a winner. Next, the fake-dating trope is so common in the romance genre that it never feels fresh anymore, but this one did! And lots of guys are assholes when they are a) rich athletes, b) worried about their careers/at risk of failure, c) being made to do something they don't want to (e.g. fake date), or d) worried about gold-diggers, but Brooks was written to be really vulnerable, but ambitious, and still a nice guy but not a pushover.

I hate to be the person who compares, but I recently read The Love Haters by Katherine Center, and I was disappointed in how despite the FMC having self-esteem issues (and the author writing her eating disorder gently so as not to trigger people having the same), the way the character "healed" felt unrealistically abbreviated. This novel, Only Between Us, is a great example of a grown woman who is still "just a girl" going through real life changing circumstances and self-worth issues since girlhood, but who does more work in adulthood to overcome. Maybe the difference was that in the former book it felt like the man had to validate her, and in this case it feels like the woman and her mother/family do the important work.

DEFINITELY need to read Summer and Parker's story (If Only You Knew: A Novel).

I never read football but this fake dating was absolute perfection! Did I once again fall for a mmc and dub him my favorite?! Absolutely!!!