When I saw Ellie post this arc was on NetGalley I sprinted to request it! Love love love this book!!! Oh my gosh where do I even start? Ellie seriously writes the best characters! Brooks and Siena are perfection, the banter 10/10, the spicy scenes 1000/10. I genuinely adored both the books in this series soo much. Im really hoping for a 3rd book for Summer and Parker because I absolutely don’t want this series to end!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

If you’re looking for a better MMC than Brooks Attwood, you won’t find it. The patience, the acts of service 👌
Siena is funny in a way that I can’t get enough of! These two grew to be so considerate of each other even when they couldn’t stand each other (or so they tried to convince themselves 😆) I was so happy to have received an ARC for this book because waiting until July would’ve been torture. I just can’t say enough good things about this author in general!

Thank you for the advanced preview of this book! The story of Siena and Brooks was so steamy and the perfect escapism. While it was almost 0% relatable, it provided a great story for the reader to sink into! Loved it.

The cover did not prepare me for how GOOD this book is. It's a great cover but the pages inside were phenomenal. I don't like spicy books per say, but I love books with spice and this had some epic spice with an incredible plot. The characters were so well defined and both main characters had such believable and thorough story arcs. They were humanly flawed and meeting them and growing with them and watching their romance develop was an absolute delight. I cried. I laughed. I felt things for the two of them I didn't know I could for two fictional people. I love themmmmm. I 1000% recommend this to romance lovers who want to get all those feels, while devouring a well-written book. I am awestruck at the incredibleness of this romance story. It's top notch, one of my all-time favorites and I'm still blown away by the clever writing and storytelling. New favorite romance writer, yep.

Thank you to Ellie K Wilde & Atria Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! :)

Having read, and adored, Only in Your Dreams earlier this year, I was STOKED when I was given the opportunity to ARC read this one and immediately dived in.

Brooks and Siena are so, so fun and just perfect for one another. Brooks is this golden retriever of a tattooed ex-NFL player with a (broken) heart of gold who has "learned" from his past that he is nothing without football. He sets damn-near impossible standards for himself to return to not only return to the NFL after a injury-inspired-retirement but also return to his former team. Unfortunately, due to a parade of rebound sex after his (now ex) girlfriend of 8 years left him the second he uttered a word about retirement for one of his teammates, his old team doesn't want him or the bad PR he stirs up.

Enter Siena, who is hyper-independent, and has a complicated relationship with her father's bait shop. When she and Brooks meet, it's basically fireworks.... that quickly turn into full on destruction bombs due to some fear-rooted assumptions, causing them to dislike one another pretty heavily. That is, until Brooks needs a fake girlfriend to get positive press so he can return to his old team... and Siena needs money to keep her father's bait shop afloat.

The journey that these two go on is an incredible mix of funny, emotional and downright sexy. Brooks may have a dirtier mouth than Zac and that's saying something. I saw a lot of myself in these characters and I'm trying really hard to feel like I'm not cheating on Melody/Zac here but dammit if this sequel isn't even better than the first one. Also I cried.

Also also, Alexa, play "Gotta Go My Own Way" by Troy & Gabriella .... No, I won't be expanding on that.

Additional review links, including Amazon link, will be updated shortly

I picked up this book with high hopes, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. While the premise had potential, the execution felt lackluster, leaving me somewhat disappointed.

The pacing of the story was one of its biggest issues. The plot dragged on for what felt like ages, with little development or excitement in between. As someone who enjoys a good romance with a bit of tension and chemistry, I was left waiting for something to happen.

While the chemistry between the leads was decent, it wasn’t enough to carry the book for me. I did not find the FMC's backstory compelling, and the entire plot revolved around the fact that she loved her parents enough to work a miserable job for the rest of her life, but not enough to have a conversation with them once in fourteen years.

I found myself waiting for the romance to feel more genuine, but it never truly did. Ultimately, this book just didn’t leave much of an impact. It’s not terrible, but it didn’t offer anything that made it stand out.

Devoured this immediately. I loved book one and this was even better. While I wished we had seen more appearances of the realist books character. I still fell so in love with the ones in this book.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a gifted copy of this book.

I discovered Ellie Wilde this year and I'm loving her books! I read book one and fell in love with the characters in this small town. I enjoyed the humor and fake dating trope - I needed something lighthearted and easy to read and this one could not have come at a more perfect time. The spice level is definitely way up there so readers beware. If you're a fan of Elle Kennedy, Elsie Silver and Lucy Score, then you'll love Ellie Wilde!

I wish there were words to accurately depict my obsession with Siena and Brooks. I loved this more than the first in the series and I didn't even think that was physically possible. Brooks was the exact golden retriever man that sweet sunny Siena needed in her life. The two of them were opposite in the interesting ways and exactly the same in the best kind of ways. AGAIN, obsessed. I have no notes. Ellie you crushed it!

Rating-
1.5/5 stars
(Rounded Down)

Genre-
Contemporary Romance

Tropes-
🏈Fake Dating
🛥️Only One Bed
🏈Hate To Love
🛥️He Falls First And Harder

Thoughts/Would I Recommend This?-
I was honestly really enjoying this book at the beginning, and then I got so, so bored. About 30% into the book I was like it must be over soonish, and then I realized it wasn't, and I realized I have 70% more to go, and I just thought how… I had been reading this for what seemed like forever, and I still have way too much left to go, and was just getting so annoyed at the whole thing for some reason. I just got so bored and was done with it when I had so much left to go and started getting so bored with the plot and everything else to do with the book. I was so tempted to just dnf it and don’t know why I honestly didn’t because this was like pure torture for me to read. I thought it was honestly really cute and everything at the beginning just in my opinion really boring to read after the first 30ish%. I think other people definitely would like this, I just got super bored well reading it and ended up hating it…so all in all did not like this book and would not really recommend.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of Only Between Us!

Ellie K Wilde delivers a sizzling, emotional romance in Only Between Us, crafting a story that’s as heart-wrenching as it is undeniably sexy. With well-drawn characters, deeply felt tension, and a slow-burn connection that ignites the pages, this book is perfect for readers who love their romance packed with longing, angst, and undeniable chemistry.

Wilde masterfully blends vulnerability with passion, making every interaction between the leads feel electric and meaningful. Their connection unfolds with just the right amount of push and pull, keeping readers hooked from start to finish.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to balance raw, heartfelt emotion with irresistible steam. The characters feel authentic—flawed yet deeply compelling—which makes their journey to love all the more satisfying. The tension is palpable, the dialogue crackles, and the emotions hit hard in the best way possible.

For fans of Mariana Zapata’s slow burns and Elizabeth O’Roark’s emotional depth, Only Between Us is a must-read. Wilde delivers a romance that is both achingly tender and utterly addictive, making this a standout in the genre.

I need Ellie K Wilde to be given all the praise, all the accolades, all the flowers.
I have been looking forward to the release of this book for almost a year, when the indie publishing date was August/September of 2024. I was so disappointed that there was a delay, and also so incredibly happy that Ellie got a trad publishing deal! So imagine my SCREAM when I was given the chance to read an ARC of this book!!!
I devoured this story, and it blew my expectations out of the water. I just feel so captivated by Ellie’s storytelling, how she can tug at your heartstrings, AND write some of the most delicious spice ever?!
I already cannot wait for her next book, this was incredible!

4 stars! 🌟 Huge thanks to Atria Books for inviting me to read this early via NetGalley! 💌

OMG, THIS BOOK HAD ME IN A CHOKEHOLD 😭🏈🔥

Okay, let’s get into it. Only Between Us was SO MUCH BETTER than book 1—like, if you liked the first one, buckle up, because this one delivers everything on steroids.

First of all, Brooks Attwood = new book boyfriend unlocked. 🏆 This man is charming, hilarious, and a total menace, but also secretly soft AF. He’s out here trying to fix his football career after a scandal, but instead, he gets tangled up in a fake dating mess with Siena—who, by the way, is a QUEEN. 👑

Siena is fierce, independent, and so done with NFL drama, yet somehow, she ends up pretending to date a player to save her family business. And what happens? SPARKS. FLY. Like, I was SCREAMING at my phone because the tension?? The slow burn?? IT HURT, but in the best way. These two had no business fake dating that well.

BUT. AND I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. WHY DID WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT THIRD ACT BREAKUP???? 😭 Girl, be so fr. I wanted to shake Siena for a second, but honestly, I get why she did what she did. Still, the angst nearly took me out.

This book had:
✔ Fake dating supremacy 👏
✔ Banter that gave me life 😂
✔ CHEMISTRY so good, it was criminal 🔥
✔ Football + romance = elite combo 🏈💖
✔ Brooks being an absolute golden retriever menace

Final thoughts? 4 stars because I’m still mad about that breakup lmao. But I ate this book up and will be seated for the next one. 🍽️

If you love sports romance, fake dating, and men who worship their women, YOU NEED THIS BOOK. 🫶🔥

Firstly, thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

I have been waiting for this book. Ellie K Wilde is an auto buy author for me.

Brooks- a retired football player who is trying to make a comeback after an injury and then spirals with booze and women after his college sweetheart cheats on him with a teammate while recovering

Siera- they have a similar story. She dates the face of the NFL only to find out that he’s cheating on her when he gets traded, and she stays home to take over her late father's store.


Brooks and Siena meet each other by chance when Siena and her best friend break into the Huskies' field, where Brooks is a member of the coaching staff. After a little meet cute involving a football, he confronts Siera about being on the field. She tells him she works for the social media team. He takes her around the stadium, and they end up stuck together. Not believing what she's saying. He tells her to prove that she works for their social media team. She posts a carousel of pics and one that includes them together. The pic goes viral and the team that he’s dying to get back on to loves them together. The Rebels are very strict with their players being wholesome guys with family values and love that Brooks is turning his life around with a stable relationship. Thus, the fake dating begins.

One thing I love about Ellie’s book is how she always writes such well-rounded, relatable and realistic characters. You can feel the chemistry between these two from the first couple of pages. They both enter the relationship with misconceptions about the other based on their baggage.
After some push and pull, they learn to trust and rely on each other. The strength in this relationship is their communication and ability to open up to each other.

Can’t wait for Parker and Summer’s book!

Adorable book, not as innovative as the first in the series but very enjoyable all the same! 4/5stars. Definitely worth reading and not your standard pro sports romance.

Ellie K Wilde has made me into a forever fan. The heart she pours into her books is unmatched. I could cry just from how much I LOVED this book. Only Between Us is a must read for any romance reader.

I fell head over heels for Brooks the second we met him, the complexity of Sienna and their love for eachother was just truly beautiful.

Ellie has done it AGAIN with this book. I will read everything she ever writes, again and again.

Thank you for the e arc of this book, I truly feel changed.

I was given the opportunity to read this book early, much like I was the first in Oakwood Bay series. Before writing this review, I didn't reread my review of Wilde's first in the series as I wanted to write this review without my experience last time influencing. This time, I truly enjoyed the read. The characters were interesting, fully formed, and I was engaged in their story arc. Some of the characters from the first book in the series showed up again, but this time Parker didn't bother me (that is the one thing I really remember writing in my last review).
I fully recommend this book as a lovely escape. I would absolutely read more by this author.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the early e book.

First of all I was beyond excited to receive an e-ARC of this book so thank you Ellie Wilde and NetGalley! I read Only In Your Dreams before it was traditionally published and loved it so much and have been looking forward to Only Berween Us for so long.

With that being said I did enjoy reading this book but I may have had too high of expectations. It felt a bit rushed in the beginning, I wish we had some flashback scenes of Brooks’s injury or when he first decided to make a comeback, and the timeline of their relationship confused me at times. The spice was great though and I loved the trust and communication. Would definitely recommend.

Hoping for a Summer and Parker book next! 👀

If you love a sports romance with the best book boyfriend- this is for you! It’s spicy, but also with a lot of plot, even for a fake dating trope. Brooks is so sweet, has a praise kink and a nasty ex. Siena is finding herself after a break up and the loss of her father.

This is exactly the follow up book that I wanted in the Oakwood Bay series. I adored ‘Only in Your Dreams’, and couldn’t wait for book 2. I was so excited to receive this ARC.

Pick this one up if you enjoy:
*** Sports Romance
*** Spicy fun
*** Dual POV (which I personally adore)

I really loved both characters’ personalities in this one, and was absolutely rooting for them to get together. The chemistry was off the charts from the beginning.

You should absolutely pick up this series if you love fun, steamy, sports romances.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.