Only When It's Us: The TikTok Romcom Sensation! (Bergman Brothers Book 1)

⚠️cw: hearing loss, cancer, bereavement ⚠️When college soccer star Willa Sutter is forced to collaborate with seemingly surly and ignorant Ryder Bergman, they immediately clash. Willa is sassy, and teasing, while Ryder is quiet and analytical. He's also partially deaf. As they get to really know each other, the lines between love and hate become blurred.This is an Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers with banter that was perfect throughout, but especially during the one-upmanship at the beginning. The snark was top-tier, the teasing hilarious, and the more vulnerable moments were so beautifully observed. There were also a lot of incredibly moving ones: from the scenes with Willa's mum; Ryder's journey; and the moments when they were most emotionally open with each other. I cried a LOT. The reading scene in c20 had me sobbing; the scenes where Ryder confided in his parents; and the scenes where Willa allowed herself to trust Ryder. The burn was torturously slow, and teasing, but so worth the wait. And that football* foreplay? 🔥But I think the thing I loved most was the development of their communication with each other, both literally and emotionally. Ryder is an absolute sweetheart, and Willa is just as endearing. Together they were hilarious and adorable.I also loved the supporting characters: the Bergman family, of course; but also Rooney, Tucker, and Becks. They all added depth and an extra layer of humour, and I hope to see more of them in future books.There are many more things I'd love to say about this book, but I'd be spoiling a lot, and I really recommend going into this love story knowing as little as possible.Just beautiful.Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥Emotional Rating: 🙈😬💓😢😂😍👏🏻💔😢💓🙈💓🥰😍🦉🥰💓🔥😍💓🥰* Soccer will always be football to me 😉

This is a great introduction to the Bergman family and Chloe is an amazing storyteller. I absolutely love the way she spoke about, wrote and weaved hearing impairment and critical illness into her writing. While her books are billed as slow burns, her writing is super fast-paced in the very best way. The connections between the characters are so organic, nothing feels too slow or rushed. It all happens as it's meant to be. I cried tears with this one. I can't wait to see what's to come with this family.

Holy slow burn and sexual tension, batman! *phew* I'm a big fan of slow burn romances especially when they're done right and this one does not disappoint! I loved that this gave me so much more depth than I expected from a romcom! There was so much to both characters and oh mans, Ryder the lumbersexual is absolute PER-FEC-TION! I know I'm gushing but he made my heart all melty and my feelings all gooey and yep, I'm crushing hard on him and if you read this book, you'll definitely get why!Liese brings rep to her romance with Ryder, a character who lost his hearing after contracting bacterial meningitis as a college freshman. I’ve already mentioned how much I loved his character but really, his arc was so well done. He’s a bear of a man but with the softest and sweetest heart just looking to find his way back to “normal” after losing his hearing. I can’t even imagine how devastating it would be to lose your hearing because of an illness. In a way his hearing loss does define a big part of his life, but it’s not only who he is and the author did a wonderful job of showing his many sides.I was on the fence about how I felt for Willa. She’s physically strong as an athlete, she’s incredibly hardworking, and her love for her mother was heartwarming. But Willa does literally everything to avoid opening up and being honest about her life with people she’s afraid to get close to. Her fear of confronting serious issues, while understandable, also became a bit too much for me at a certain point. I want to say that Ryder deserved better and for a good chunk of the story I did think that. But in reality, they were perfect for each other because his patience, understanding and ability to be vulnerable with her was exactly what she needed to balance out and do the same. And as much as he balanced her, Willa’s acceptance of him as he is with no hesitation, disability or no, was exactly what he needed to feel normal. There were some pretty emotionally raw scenes that had me tearing up! Also, if it isn’t obvious by now, the chemistry between these two was absolute FIRE! It’s a (really) slow burn, but the way the connection builds between Ryder and Willa is SO good and it’s SO worth the wait! I’d put this at a 4/5 on the steamy scale.Overall, this was a surprising romcom that had me laughing, squealing, swooning and cheering for both characters as they fought for a wonderful heart-stopping love. Also, I really liked that this came with a playlist for the book and songs per chapter. I enjoyed listening to some of them while reading! I can’t wait to continue with this series and I’m looking forward to checking out the other books the author has written. I’d highly recommend it!

3.5I really love Chloe Liese. Ren's book was my first, might go reread it now to get some glimpse of Willa and Ryder. Finished this in a day. Will definitely check out her other books.

Enjoyable read with enough exploration to avoid being simply a fluffy romance. Enjoyed the characters, both Central and supporting. Looking forward to reading the next.

They way this book got to me is incredible, the love story between Ryder and Willa had me entranced with how much they went through and how it progressed, specially because they both had to overcome some pretty big personal hurdles to get to their happy ending and I definitely fell in love with the Lumberjack, it was impossible not to. But the real gem of this story is Willa and how she learned to love herself, grieve her loss and let go of the past so that she could move forward to an amazingly bright future. Her epiphany about what she needed and what love and intimacy is really touched me, it resonated with that part that some of us keep hidden behind walls. This book left me with a few beautiful truths to take into my heart and carry them with me and that is the best gift any author can give us. Lovely book, I definitely recommend it.

I love Chloe Liese for writing such relatable diverse characters. The Bergmans are my favourite series. I laughed out loud and I cried. Willa and Ryder were a great couple to start the series with. I look forward to seeing more of them throughout the series. Also, I love the new covers!

This is book one of the Bergman Brother's series. The series follows the 7 Bergman siblings.Book one is Ryder and Willa's story & I LOVED IT. I loved it so much that by the time I finished, I had to convince myself not to buy the whole series right then & there. I lost that battle almost immediately, seeing as I have the whole series. 🤧 This was my first book that I had read by Chloe & I am SO excited to read the entire series. What I had heard was that Chloe does an amazing job with inclusivity & representation in her books & WE LOVE THAT.I went into this book not knowing anything so I'm going to keep my review pretty vague because I think it was really special not knowing anything going into it.Willa is a hotheaded, bada$$ soccer player with the sharpest tongue but underneath it all, has an incredibly sensitive heart & the biggest love for her mama. Ryder is a quiet, 6'5, flannel loving, swedish meatball making lumberjack of a man who is BEYOND hot but also our soft hearted king. Having not made the best first impression on each other, Willa instantly can't stand Ryder & to make matters worse, they're partnered in one of their classes & are assigned a project & have to work together. The two form the most delicious frenemies to lovers relationship & I fell totally in love with them.When I tell you, that the slow burn, BURNED with this one, I'm being for real, get your fire proof snuggle blankets ready bc I was DYING. That being said, it was SO worth it. This story was so much more than a romance. It had so many layers to it & you can't help but feel so deeply connected to Willa and Ryder's story. The side characters played as much of a role as the main characters did & I felt this story had the perfect balance of cute & sweet, funny & emotional & had such good representation.This book was a beautiful & perfect start to what I can only assume will be one of my favorite series that I'll read this year.❤️*Check the content warning at the beginning if you need to.*

Perfect story with a great character ARC. Can't wait to meet the other Bergmans!

Honest, deep, original, sweet and sexy. I liked this book very much and warmly recommend it. Read it, you wont regret it.

this is one of the books you have to experience yourself. ITS AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER OF THE BEST KIND.Probably the BEST slow burn I’ve read in a damn while. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I was desperately waiting for those fools to finally give in to their feelings and emotions and also the damn sexual tension that nearly caused me death.It’s a constant push and pull between a heartbreaking emotional journey and flaming hot teasing and banter.My newest obsession: Ryder. Stellan. Bergmann.He’s literally the sum of everything I have ever loved in a fictional man. He’s too much of everything and I want it. I NEED HIM.just listen - read it. Go in blind. Trust me on this one. Download the ebook or buy the physical book right now. AND THEN JUST READ UNTIL YOU‘RE DONE (with the book and your existence, because now there is a void in me. A Ryder-Willa-shaped void.)My favorite read this month and probably among the best ones for 2023 (the 188 highlights on my kindle are argument enough)