Only When It's Us (Bergman Brothers, #1)

by Chloe Liese

[Sam@WLABB]

She was the resident soccer star, who had built a high wall around her heart. He was the tall, dark, and quiet lumbersexual, who held the key to her passing her business mathematics class. Sparks of all kinds were flying, when they were paired together for their final, but would these two ever be able to open up to each other, and move beyond being frienemies?

I want to start by saying, that I like new adult books. I have not been reading as many, as of late, but they were always part of my TBR. That said, ONLY WHEN IT'S US sets itself apart. It was a lot deeper, than I had anticipated, and there were even some tears shed. The book began, as I expected. Rather light and breezy, filled with humorous, albeit tense interactions, marked with great banter and some serious sexual tension. But, there was so much more going on behind the scenes with our hero and heroine.

It had always been Willa and her mama against the world. Having lived the life as a vagabond military kid, Willa never got too attached to people. Though she now had a solid and steadfast friend in Rooney, she remained closed off to most. She also was not a fan of confrontation or any kind of "feelings" talk, which was a huge obstacle for her, when trying to form new relationships.

On the flip side, we had Ryder, who was one of seven children raised in a household filled with love and chaos. He thought he had his future figured out, until a bout of meningitis robbed him of his hearing.

Both Willa and Ryder were resistant to the outside forces, that were pushing them together. Their friendship was a slow, uphill climb, but it was so wonderful seeing them slowly strip away the protective outer layers, to reveal themselves to each other. They both had a journey to take, to find some peace with their past and their present, so that they could move forward. Why not do so together?

I don't think I have read too many NA books, which dedicated a great deal of time to familial relationships, but I love reading about them. The bond between Willa and her mom was quite strong. I loved sharing moments with those two. Those were the times, when Willa really got real, and revealed herself fully. She was complicated, but her mother had a way of making her open up, and the woman was also a pistol. I absolutely loved her!

And, wow! Ryder really won the parent lottery. His parents were rather fabulous, though it was his no-nonsense Swedish mother, who won my heart. He and his mom were super close, and shared a lot of similarities. Her influence on him was all good. She raised him to be in touch with his feelings, and respect women. No toxic masculinity here. She also schooled him in the culinary arts, and how could I resist a man, whose Swedish meatballs rival that of IKEA?

Romance, friendship, family -- this book had it all, and it culminated in an ending, that I would call stupendous. I know my face was hurting from the big smile I was wearing. I am very much looking forward to spending more time with this family, and seeing the other Bergman brothers get their HEAs.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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