Gear up for an all-the-feels, steamy slow-burn in this enemies-to-lovers sports romance about fighting for love when lifeโs taught you itโs a losing game.
Gavin Weโve been teammates for two years, but it feels like a lifetime that Oliver Bergmanโs been on my last nerve. A demanding captain and veteran player, Iโm feared and friendless, while heโs the beloved rising star, all sunshine smiles and upbeat team spirit. To make matters worse, heโs obscenely attractive. In short: heโs genetically designed to get under my skin. Avoiding Oliver has been my survival tactic on and off the field. But when Coach drops the bomb that weโre now co-captains, avoiding him becomes impossible, and keeping the truth from himโlet alone my distanceโis harder than ever.
Oliver Life was great until soccer legend Gavin Hayes joined the team and proved heโs nothing like the guy I grew up idolizing. Instead, heโs a giantโalbeit gorgeousโgrump who lives to rain on my parade. Iโve sworn off pranks since entering the public eye, so rather than settle our differences the Bergman way, Iโve had to settle for killing Gavin with kindness. Thereโs just one problem: killing him with kindness is killing me. To make matters worse, Coach gives us an ultimatum: put an end to our enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Iโm prepared to be miserable while we meet her demands and make nice, but the last thing I expect is to discover an explosive attraction we canโt help but act on, and worse yet, to realize the man hiding beneath Gavinโs gruff exterior is all Iโve ever wanted.
Axel Rooney Sullivan is sunshine incarnate. Warm, bright, always smiling, sheโs everything Iโm not and the last person I have any business desiring. Desperate to hide a hopeless attraction, Iโve done everything possible to keep my distanceโฆuntil a charades game gone wrong brought that to a grinding halt.ย
Since then, steering clear of Rooney has been impossible. In a matter of months, sheโs kissed me speechless, commandeered my art career, and infiltrated not only my dreams but my home. The woman who was once avoidable has become the last thing I needed: temptingly within reach. ย Rooney Axel Bergman is a gorgeous grump who doesnโt have the time of day for me. Thankfully, Iโve kept my crush under wrapsโฆwell, until I kissed him. Charades got away from me, okay? It was an accident! I havenโt seen him since, which is for the best. My life is a mess, and the last thing I need is to embarrass myself further with the man who avoids me like thatโs his job rather than painting modern masterpieces. ย It seems the universe, however, has a different plan. When Axel and I unexpectedly find our pathsโand problemsโconverging, a marriage of convenience proves the perfect solution. At least, until Iโm facing my most serious problem yet: a once-loveless marriage of convenience thatโs inconveniently become a love match, after all.
Buckle up for an emotional journey of hijinks, heartache, and a hot slow-burn in this marriage-in-crisis romance about going the distance to make love last.
Aiden Iโve spent twelve years loving Freya Bergman and twelve lifetimes wonโt be enough to give her everything she deserves. Sheโs my passionate, tender-hearted wife, my best friend, and all I want is to make her happy. But the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing Iโm not sure I can give her: a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, my anxietyโs at an all-time high, and I find myself pulling away, terrified to tell my wife how Iโm struggling. But when Freya kicks me out, I realize that pulling back has turned into pushing too far. Now itโs the fight of a lifetime to save our marriage.
Freya I love my cautious, hard-working husband. Heโs my partner and best friend, the person I know I can count on most. Until one day I realize the man I married is nowhere to be found. Now Aiden is quiet and withdrawn, and as the months wear on, the pain of our growing distance becomes too much. As if weathering marriage counseling wasnโt enough, weโre thrown together for an island getaway to celebrate my parentsโ many years of perfect marriage while ours is on the brink of collapse. Despite my meddling siblings and a week in each otherโs constant company, this trip somehow gets us working through the trouble in paradise. I just canโt help worrying, when we leave paradise and return to the real world, will trouble find us again?
Can’t-Wait Wednesdayย is a weekly meme hosted atย Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill atย Breaking the Spine.ย
This is my first week joining in on Can’t Wait Wednesday and it’s because I’m really excited to be sharing this upcoming book with everyone. I simply cannot wait until I can get my grabby little hands on it because I loved the first two books in this fun romcom series and it definitely takes one of the top spots for my favourite romance of 2020!
Note: this is the third book in the series and while it can technically be read as a standalone, trust me, you won’t want to! ๐
Aiden Iโve spent twelve years loving Freya Bergman and twelve lifetimes wonโt be enough to give her everything she deserves. Sheโs my passionate, tender-hearted wife, my best friend, and all I want is to make her happy. But the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing Iโm not sure I can give her: a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, my anxietyโs at an all-time high, and I find myself pulling away, terrified to tell my wife how Iโm struggling. But when Freya kicks me out, I realize that pulling back has turned into pushing too far. Now itโs the fight of a lifetime to save our marriage.
Freya I love my cautious, hard-working husband. Heโs my partner and best friend, the person I know I can count on most. Until one day I realize the man I married is nowhere to be found. Now Aiden is quiet and withdrawn, and as the months wear on, the pain of our growing distance becomes too much. As if weathering marriage counseling wasnโt enough, weโre thrown together for an island getaway to celebrate my parentsโ many years of perfect marriage while ours is on the brink of collapse. Despite my meddling siblings and a week in each otherโs constant company, this trip somehow gets us working through the trouble in paradise. I just canโt help worrying, when we leave paradise and return to the real world, will trouble find us again?
Ever since stumbling across her first book, Only When It’s Us, earlier this year and absolutely loving the slow-burn romance between a fiesty sports heroine and lumberjack hero, I immediately knew I needed to read more by Chloe Liese. I was over the moon when I managed to get an ARC for her second book, Always Only You, and I fell even more in love with the characters. The whole Bergman family are a trip to read about and I dare you to not fall in love with all their loves! Chloe Liese’s books are such underrated gems and if you’re a lover of own voices and diverse romances with realistic and relatable characters, you should definitely read her sooner rather than later! ๐
If you’re not yet convinced, take a peek at my reviews for book 1 and book 2!
Have you read any books by Chloe Liese or any of the books in the Bergman Brothers series? Are you excited as me to get book three?!
Ren The moment I met her, I knew Frankie Zeferino was someone worth waiting for. Deadpan delivery, secret heart of gold, and a rare one-dimpled smile that makes my knees weak, Frankie has been forbidden since the day she and I became coworkers, meaning waiting has been the name of my gameโbesides, hockey, that is. Iโm a player on the team, sheโs on staff, and as long as we work together, dating is off-limits. But patience has always been my virtue. Frankie wonโt be here foreverโsheโs headed for bigger, better things. I just hope that when she leaves the team and I tell her how I feel, she wonโt want to leave me behind, too.
Frankie Iโve had a problem at work since the day Ren Bergman joined the team: a six foot three hunk of happy with a sunshine smile. Iโm a grumbly grump and his ridiculously good nature drives me nuts, but even I canโt entirely ignore that hot tamale of a ginger with icy eyes, the perfect playoff beard, and a body built for sin that heโs annoyingly modest about. Before I got wise, I would have tripped over myself to get a guy like Ren, but with my diagnosis, Iโve learned what I am to most people in my lifeโa problem, not a person. Now, opening my heart to anyone, no matter how sweet, is the last thing Iโm prepared to do.
Goodreads: Only When It’s Us (Bergman Brothers #1) Publish date: 01 April 2020 Publisher: NetGalley Connect Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance Panda Rating:
2 Frenemies. 1 Disastrous prank.
Ryder Ever since she sat next to me in class and gave me death eyes, Willa Sutterโs been on my shit list. Why she hates me, I don’t know. What I do know is that Willa is the kind of chaos I donโt need in my tidy life. Sheโs the next generation of womenโs soccer. Wild hair, wilder eyes. Bee-stung lips that should be illegal. And a temper that makes the devil seem friendly. Sheโs a thorn in my side, a menacing, cantankerous, pain-in-the-ass whoโs turned our Business Mathematics course into a goddamn gladiator arena. I’ll leave this war zone unscathed, coming out on topโฆAnd if I have my way with that crazy-haired, ball-busting hellion, that will be in more than one sense of the word.
Willa Rather than give me the lecture notes I missed like every other instructor Iโve had, my asshole professor tells me to get them from the silent, surly flannel-wearing mountain man sitting next to me in class. Well, I tried. And what did I get from Ryder Bergman? Ignored. What a complete lumbersexual neanderthal. Mangy beard and mangier hair. Frayed ball cap that hides his eyes. And a stubborn refusal to acknowledge my existence. Iโve battled men before, but with Ryder, it’s war. Iโll get those notes and crack that Sasquatch nut if itโs the last thing I do, then Iโll have him at my mercy. Victory will have never tasted so sweet.
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 just who he is and the author did a wonderful job of showing his many sides. And as if I wasn’t already fully in love with him 30% through the book, the author had to have him reading JANE AUSTEN and that’s me 100% gone!
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 so 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. In reality though 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.
One of the best things in this book was the family relationships. I loved the Bergman family and how they ribbed each other but how they were so openly affectionate and caring with each other. They’re a beautiful family and I can’t wait to follow the stories of the other Bergman brothers as the series continues!
Overall, this was a surprisingly deep 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!
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.The book is out 01 April 2020! Have you read Only When It’s Us or is it on your TBR?
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