Oh my god I love this book. A fierce, independent, no BS FMC and a hot, sweet, emotionally available and in tune MMC. I LOVE Brooks and Siena!!!! This book was perfect from the banter to the sexual tension to the openness of their conversations about their emotions. This book was perfect

It’s official! Ellie K. Wilde is a new favorite for me and an instant buy author. The Oakwood Bay series is two for two, I would even go as far as to say I loved this book more than the first.

Fake dating is one of my all time favorite tropes and Brooks and Siena’s chemistry was off the charts!!! This book has it all, comedy, SPICE, a swoony MMC and Sienna is an absolutely lovable FMC.

Tropes to love:
✧ Fake dating
✧ Sports romance
✧ Grumpy/sunshine
✧ Second chances (on and off the field)
✧ Mutual benefit…turned mutual obsession

Ellie K. Wilde turns the heat way up in this irresistible follow-up to Only in Your Dreams! Only Between Us is a steamy, high-stakes fake dating romance with heart, humor, and just enough scandal to keep you flipping pages past bedtime.

Brooks Attwood is a former NFL golden boy with something to prove. Siena Pippen is the media-savvy, fiercely independent ex of the league’s most high-profile player. When one accidental selfie sends the internet into a frenzy, these two find themselves at the center of a PR firestorm—and unexpectedly, a path to redemption for both.

Their chemistry is explosive from the start, but what I loved most was the emotional depth hiding underneath the banter and bold personalities. Brooks is broody but surprisingly tender; Siena is guarded yet vulnerable in all the right ways. Watching them navigate public image, private heartbreak, and very real feelings is as swoon-worthy as it is satisfying.

Wilde nails the sports world atmosphere while never losing sight of the emotional stakes. This is a love story that blends fiery slow burn with heartfelt vulnerability, wrapped in a glitzy, gossip-fueled world that feels perfectly modern.

If you’re into high-profile romances, fierce heroines, redemption arcs, and fake dating that turns way too real—Only Between Us belongs on your shelf.

Sexy, smart, and emotionally layered—this fauxmance is the real deal.

Always a fan of fake dating it's one of my all time favorite tropes! And I love when he falls first! Overall a cute rom com that has me kicking my feet and giggling

4/5⭐️ 3/5🌶️

Huge thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!

Siena and Brooks are the most perfectly imperfect couple. Siena feels she has no life outside of her little town and bait shop, and Brooks feels he has no life outside of football and his nasty ex. One day, they quite literally fall into each other’s arms, and the rest is history.

Brooks is the epitome of perfect book boyfriend, so sweet and caring and thoughtful, but is absolutely filthy behind closed doors (or maybe he doesn’t even need those doors closed???👀). Siena is so quick and witty, and the banter between these two never fails to make you smile and giggle.

These two find themselves in each other, and open up to the struggles they’ve faced their entire lives. They finally decide that no one else matters besides them and their happiness together, and we love that for them.

READ THIS BOOK IF YOU LIKE:
♥️Fake dating
🏈Football romance
🏠Small town romance
🌶️Spicy hot tub scenes
✨Witty banter
♥️”Let me help you”

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this Arc! I love a hockey romance AND a fake dating trope, so this was a great book to read! I enjoyed both Siena and Brooks, their chemistry, and their banter! Would recommend!

i loved this book so so much! ellie is such a master at tenderness in her writing. siena is such a queen. a true tender and strong character and the way brooks loved her should truly be standard. everyone should check this book out when it releases because it's definitely a standout! 💕💞💕💞

Oh my gosh, Only Between Us by Ellie K Wilde was EVERYTHING I wanted and more! 🙌 This book had me hooked from the first page. Brooks and Siena’s chemistry? Spicy doesn’t even begin to cover it—this book is OFF THE CHARTS 🔥. The tension between them, especially with the whole fake dating thing, just made every interaction feel like an explosion waiting to happen. And when it does? Whoa. They are firing on all cylinders. 😏

The sports romance angle was done so well, and I loved how the story played with the idea of using a media circus to their advantage. The fake relationship turning real was so fun to watch unfold, and the emotional stakes felt high—especially when both of them had so much to lose. Brooks’ determination to get back into the NFL combined with Siena’s struggle to break free from her ex’s shadow made for such an addictive dynamic.

The spice? So spicy, I had to fan myself a few times! 😅 But it wasn’t just about the steam. The emotional depth, their growth as individuals, and the slow-burn romance made it all so satisfying. Honestly, I didn’t want this book to end. Highly recommend if you’re into steamy sports romances with a whole lot of heart! 💖

I really enjoyed this book as much as the first in the series!

Brooks was definitely a fun character to circle back to and Siena is awesome. Started out as an enemies to lovers in a way, but they were never truly enemies, they just drove each other nuts. I liked that we had both new and old characters, expanding the world established and really adding to their whole family. However, Pete was probably my favorite addition and I wish he was in it more.

Siena and Brooks both had a lot of baggage to unpack but they did it together and made each other better.

I can’t wait to see the next book with the next set of main characters.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fake dating, superior banter, and a golden retriever MMC who falls first and falls HARD for a black cat-ish FMC.

I loved Siena and Brooks with all my heart! The way they push-and-pull, the way they challenged each other, the way they come to feel safe enough with each other to be vulnerable. The way they both encouraged each other to follow their dreams no matter what!! I thought the third act "fight" (not sure I'd call it a break-up) was realistic given the situation and I'm so happy that by that point they're being completely honest about their feelings and fears. Siena needed to figure herself out and I'm happy Brooks gave her that opportunity with no qualms (more of this please, authors!!).

If you're not a fan of "spice," maybe reconsider this one. Ellie K. Wilde had me clutching my chest with some of these scenes - the content AND the frequency. Whew. I thought it was all well written.

Another part I enjoyed is that the epilogue didn't include Siena getting pregnant as that tends to happen in a lot of contemporary romances; I was low-key surprised about that fact given that we learn how much the MCs love children, but I'm glad Ellie didn't go that route. I think my biggest complaint is that I wish we had more time with Siena and Brooks at the end of the book before the epilogue.

I didn't get the chance to read Only in Your Dreams before this book, but it's definitely on my list now. Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC!

A meet cute between Brooks and Sienna turns into distrust and dislike when past insecurities and suspicions ruin the moment. His desire to revive his football career and her desire to save her family business results in a fake dating scenario.. It start off awkward, but as they get to know each other better the sexual tension increases. The chemistry is palpable and the spice is spicy. This book was a sweet romance with two characters dealing with their own issues of loss, heartbreak, abandonment, guilt, and identity.

only between us arc review!!! 🏈⛵️🌟🤍
@elliekwildeauthor did it again!! thank you, @atriabooks for this ARC!
this book quicklyyy hooked me- i absolutely loved the dynamic between brooks and siena. the enemies to lovers was so well done, especially with the banter & wit- i was a big fan of the ‘he falls first, she falls harder’ aspect as well.
ellie writes such beautiful scenes, honestly there were moments where i’d be laughing one second & then on the verge of tears the next. i think i’m becoming one of her biggest fans fr!!!
siena is head strong & i think one of my favorite parts was that there’s a lot to empathize about with her- i felt as though she was living through some things i’ve felt & to see the character growth in that was encouraging. on the other hand, brooks is a teddy bear & i love him TOO much.
overall, i loved this book & i think you will too ⛵️🏈

10/10 - No notes!

I devoured this book so fast and would have easily finished it in a day had I not started it in the middle of my work week!

I'm not a sports fan, but sports romances........absolutely right up my alley! Do I know anything about football?....not really. Did that matter? Not a single bit!

Siena is a lovable character from the get-go. She's strong, self-assured, witty, and complex! Brooks is a gooey cinnamon roll with an absolutely filthy mouth and something to prove! He was almost *too* perfect but in the best way possible.

- fake dating
- hate to love (& both of them struggle so hard to not fall)
- he falls first
- STRONG FMC
- found family

P.S. - This book has solidified me as an Ellie K. Wilde fan and anything by her will be an auto-buy for me from now on!
P.P.S. - I cannot wait to read more about Parker and Summer!!!

**Thank you to Atria Books and Ellie K. Wilde for providing me with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!!

Thank you to Atria Books for approving me for this ARC through NetGalley.

It took me a while to get into the book, like 15% or 5 chapters. I didn’t care for Brooks in the first book. But meeting Siena really got me interested. Her story is so interesting & definitely worth knowing & reading about.

They have great banter. Their attraction doesn’t seem forced. The way they were able to get to know each other

This book had me bawling. It’s all about second chances, second chances in love, in their career paths, in figuring out who they are & who they want to be, what they’re willing to give up after the heartbreaks they’ve gone through & how to cope with their decisions.

I love when I don’t expect to love a book, when a book just hits me in the face and says “here I am, love me.”

I love Brooks with all my heart!! I went into this book thinking it would just be another steamy, insta-love sports romance and I was happily surprised. While it is a steamy sports romance in all the best ways, I really enjoyed the character depth and plot development. I hadn't read the first in the series and I will be going back to do so while patiently waiting for the next books in the series (Parker and Summer?!)

Massive thanks to Ellie Wilde, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a super cute and fun fake dating trope! I love when lines get blurry and I was giggling the entire time.

Brooks simply put is hot. He deserves so much happiness after what he’s been put through with his career and personal life. This man is so vulnerable and in touch with his feelings it made him even more hot than his damn tattoos and filthy mouth. Normally I hate “baby” as an nickname, but he did it right. Him buying every kind of caffeine, hot, tea and cold just because he didn’t know what she liked shows the kind of man he is. He’s the kind of man who finds out your mom is hurt and goes to take care of her before you can get there. It was all the little things too that had me swooning.

Siena is so relatable. The daughter who puts her parents before herself because she doesn’t want to disappoint or be a burden. I do love her confidence and how kind she was. She tried so hard to not fall for Brooks, and her denial was even funnier. I loved her confidence in her sexuality too even her pink vibrator haha. So glad she found her happiness with Brooks and Pete.

The chemistry between these two was so good. I absolutely LOVED the banter between them! So funny. There was kind of a slow burn but not really? I digged the push and pull too. I was hooked right away which I loved.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books and Ellie Wilde for this ARC. All views are my own.

4.5 stars! Thank you to Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The hold that fake dating has on me needs to be studied. Brooks…. I need him so bad. Can’t recommend enough if you’re looking for a quick, cute, fun romance with unexpectedly deep character development and plot. Parker and Summer’s book literally can’t come soon enough!

I love Brooks! I’m so glad that we got more character development from him and really got into his back story! I really enjoyed Siena but at times she was too much, but when you got more of her backstory it started to make more sense. She did put me through an emotional rollercoaster and I was happy to see that once Brooks figured out that communication is key, he absolutely killed it and gave all the green flags. I was so sad for Brooks towards the end but I’m glad that both of them had their meddling friends. The ending was a little cheesy but I ate it!

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!

Only Between Us is a steamy yet tender sports romance about Brooks Attwood, a former NFL player, who’s trying to clean up his reputation to make it back in the league by fake-dating Siena, a favorite of a different ex-NFL star. Both agree to the relationship to fight for the things they love, but end up fighting their feelings for one another knowing this was only a temporary agreement.

I was excited to read this story after getting the chance to read Only In Your Dreams and really enjoying it. What I didn’t expect was to love this one so much more! From the very start, this story was captivating and the chemistry between these characters felt so natural and flowed so seamlessly with the storyline. The pace of the story was great, and was so easy to read. Getting to know and love these characters came easily as their personalities and back stories were integrated so well in the progression of the plot. Also I enjoyed that the side characters played a meaningful role in the development of the story line as well. It makes getting to know this little universe so much better, and peaks my interest and more books to come in this series. This was a perfect quick fake dating sports romance that left me feeling all the feels!

If you’ve known me for any amount of time, you know my go-to rec has always been Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde. So to say I was counting down the days for Only Between Us would be an understatement. I was on the ARC list back before Ellie got picked up by a traditional publisher (so well-deserved!) and I have bravely and patiently waited for this sequel. Let me just say: it was worth every single second.

Super Specific Tropes:
• Fake dating (with so much pining)
• Cinnamon roll MMC with a dominant side 🍯🔥
• Fiery, independent FMC who doesn’t back down
• Found family I would sell my soul to join 🫶
• Thoughtful and swoony gestures galore ☕
• Sizzling sexual tension and satisfying payoff
• NFL drama + reputation redemption arc 🏈

Brooks is everything. I was almost worried he’d be too perfect—too sweet, too golden—but nope. He’s the ideal blend of thoughtful, tattooed, quietly spicy, and completely obsessed with Siena. The man literally gets 20 different coffees and teas just to make sure she has one she likes. That’s the kind of MMC I will never shut up about!!!

And Siena? 😍 Ellie writes strong, smart, independent FMCs SO well. She’s bold, sharp, emotionally layered, and never afraid to challenge Brooks—or talk back with a little spice of her own. Their chemistry is unreal. That slow-burn, edge-of-your-seat tension? No one builds it better than Ellie K. Wilde 🔥

The found family vibes in this series are everything. I want to live in this world, sit at their kitchen tables, and be part of their late-night pep talks and inside jokes. It’s cozy, chaotic, and full of heart.

This book has everything I love about fake dating: forced proximity, pretend kisses, “what if it was real?” moments, and two people trying (and failing) not to fall in love. I devoured it.