I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Always Only You by Chloe Liese is the second book in her Bergman Brothers Series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but the first book has just moved to the top of my TBR pile because I enjoyed this one so much. Sometimes the universe hands you exactly the book you need to read at just the right time and this book fits that bill perfectly for me. I’ve always had a soft spot for the combination of grumpy heroine and sunshine hero especially when it's a friends to lovers trope because it’s nice to see the heroine be all grumpy and still be loved for exactly who she is.
Francesca (Frankie) Zeferino is the In-Game Social Media Coordinator for the Los Angeles Kings Hockey Team, she’s found that cultivating a gruff exterior makes her job easier because people jump when she says how high, what that cranky exterior hides is a root-beer swilling, hamburger loving, secretly kind person who because of being frequently misunderstood has created a persona that allows her to do her job without a lot of the sexism that is rampant in professional sports. Frankie is on the autism spectrum so sometimes she misses social cues and she has rheumatoid arthritis which means she is frequently in pain and being a crank allows her to function with out being an object of pity. Hockey player Søren Bergman (Ren) knew that Frankie was the one for him from the first moment they met but fraternization between the media staff and players is not allowed so he’s been playing a long game waiting for the time to be right to make his move. I’m calling dibs on Ren as my new book boyfriend he’s tall, a cinnamon roll type hero, a redhead, a secret Shakespeare geek and the kind of guy who cries when he reads books to the children in hospital. Watching the relationship between these two grow from friendship to something more was a delight and I highly recommend this book. Also, the soundtrack that Chloe has created with a song for each chapter definitely adds to the pleasure of reading this book.
Medium Steam. Publishing Date: August 4, 2020. #AlwaysOnlyYou #ChloeLiese #HockeyRomance #ContemporaryRomance #NetGalley #bookstagram #LoveThisBook

Ren and Frankie work on the same hockey team, this means they can't date, no matter how much they both want it, but neither had said anything.

Frankie is working for the hockey team social media department, she always keeps a serious, grumpy face at work and doesn't let people see the real her. She has a small social circle of close friends and she is content like that, 

Ren has six siblings, he is used in being the center of attention. His open and trusting personality along with his big easy smile is what makes him so likable.

Frankie is very strong, she has been through some very challenging times. Ren is such a patient, sweet character, who you can't help but love. I loved how their personalities even though are different, they work so good together. Their relationship is based on honesty and trust. The romance is a slow burn with a great build up.

The story has a lot of insight in to the world of autism, it was very helpful to see that in order to understand the characters better.

*I received an arc through Netgalley.

If you're looking for a fun beach read/summer romance, I would skip Bergman Brothers #1 and go straight to this book. Centered around LA's hockey team, Frankie is the social media manager while trying to maintain a normal life despite how autism and rheumatoid arthritis impact her life. And in the unrequited and forbidden love category, Ren is a hockey player who has pined after Frankie for years even though players can't date staff. This book did an excellent job portraying a person dealing with how autism and an autoimmune disorder can impact a person's life without disrupting it and providing a lot of commentary on how to support people managing their challenges with therapy, sensory items, etc. It also had a lot of commentary on how a person is worthy of love, regardless of the obstacles they see in their own problems. While there were still some plot points that did not quite flow and commentary that was a little bit much for me, the plot was less contrived than the first Bergman Brothers and dealt with the characters' challenges well. And with enough hints toward the upcoming third book about another Bergman sibling and her husband, I'll definitely keep my eye out for more Chloe Liese since I'm definitely invested in this family!

I was so excited to get an ARC of this book! An #ownvoices book with hockey?!?!

Frankie has autism and some of the lines from her perspective hit me hard. My nephew has autism and many of my students do too - I highlighted so many things!!! And I stopped to just think and reflect multiple times.

I also stopped to laugh hysterically at the insults and one liners! Liese has some comedic gold going on in this book and I’m hoping for opportunities to use Shakespearean insults in daily life.

This book had amazing moments and was a joy to read overall. Ren is the sweetest and sexiest cinnamon roll man ever!! I adore him and want to take him home. Frankie is a bad ass - I love a woman that knows herself and her needs.

I rarely five star books - but this one gets all the stars. I loved the characters (Ren’s siblings are amazing❤️) The relationship and conversation and connection between Ren and Frankie had me laughing at times, tugged my heartstrings and then cheering when he offered to buy period supplies. Can’t wait to read more!

I loved this book so very, very much. Before reading it, it helps to know that this is an #OwnVoices book - the author is also autistic, which adds authenticity to Frankie's character. I was so impressed with Frankie, her competence at her job, her independence, ambitions, and courage at leaving home and striking out on her own. Yes, I am a fan of both Frankie and Ren, two remarkable characters who seem like they could walk off the page.

Ren is a gorgeous, well mannered professional hockey player from a large Swedish-American family. He is careful to hide his nerdy side except for the occasional muttered Shakespearean oath. I was so impressed with how *nice* he was - gorgeous, strong, gentle and protective. I was expecting some egotistical or selfish behavior at least once from this handsome, gifted, high profile athlete, but there was nothing. Ren has admired Frankie from afar for a long time. He knows, however, that as long as they both work for the team, he can't pursue her.

Frankie's apartment is broken into, she ends up staying with Ren for a while, and both begin to open up. This is an enjoyable book and I recommend it for any lover of romance. This is book 2 of the Bergman Brothers series.

I appreciate Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me to read an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. These are my honest opinons of the book.

A Ginger Viking Hockey God? Check!
A No Nonsense ‘Badass’ Social Media Coordinator? Check!
A Friends to Lovers Steaming Romance? Double Check!

You will definitely fall in love with Ren and Frankie’s story that is full of ups and downs, cute nicknames, adorable awkwardness and Shakespeare. I very much enjoyed learning about the lone hockey player in a soccer family and what exactly makes him tick. Getting more moments with other Bergmans was a great added bonus. Also, having a song to go along with every chapter adds a whole other level of being immersed In their relationship. I definitely recommend that everyone read this series and enjoy the greatness that is the Bergman family.

This book-- All the feels! It's just wonderful/amazing/grand/superior on so many levels and will be one of the favorites of the year! This is a single setting reading book as you will not want it to end and thank goodness there is a whole giant Bergman family to continue this series. The story of your life wasn't to be like this but you work and love with your heart and keep going.

Ren we meet in book one as the hot hockey playing brother and this Nordic god of a man is even better somehow with quoting Shakespeare and being in a club about it. The nerdy big man is amazing aka book boyfriend material- he is sweet, kind, helpful, swoon worthy, drives a minivan and has fallen in love with Frankie. Frankie is the teams social media manager and tries to get the men into line- she is smart, witty, dorky, sassy, resting bitch face but really big smile lady. She has autism and rheumatoid arthritis which make this story even more real- (oh, hello medical marijuana!!!). We learn of Frankie's pain and how easy it is to get sick, following how Ren takes care of her. The slow burn of their friendship moving into more after they open up and share some feelings. Finally also with some steam!

Thank you Chloe for this #ownvoice story with autism and chronic pain! She not only gives insights and personal experiences from herself and/or friends to these to tell a beautiful story that will let others understand - just even a little bit better. She also doesn't back down from hate- with her love of Harry but taking out JKR in one quote.

Overall, 5 stars and 4 steam.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a fun sports romance! Frankie and Ren have amazing chemistry and the author strikes the perfect balance between tantalizing slow burn and allowing the reader to live in their relationship as it develops. This story also features unique representation not often discussed in romance, including own voices autism rep. Our main character Frankie has rheumatoid arthritis and uses a cane. While her chronic pain is frequently discussed, she remains fiercely independent throughout the novel. My only complaint would be some info dumpy sections early on, where I would have preferred the backstory to be more organically woven into the story.

I also really appreciate the author taking the time to disagree with J.K. Rowling's Twitter disasters, especially since most of them occurred so close to publication.

This was my first read by Chloe Liese, and I loved Always Only You! Her characters were so great, and well-rounded. I loved that it's an own voices novel, too. Loved this book!

This is book two in can be read as a standalone series about siblings In Swedish/American family...it is also..

* smart romance
* own voices romance
* grumpy/sunshine
* sport romance
* cute


Grumpy/sunshine romance as I never read it before.
And I mean, I never read before a grumpy heroine and sunshine hero mix.

I AM HERE FOR this author's intentions with this series. Because we - the reading community & whole romanclandia - need more purposes with plotline & characters.
10 out of 10 for representation & diversity!!
I am so happy for all the readers that will find themselves in these characters.

Frankie our heroine is autistic and also has rheumatoid arthritis. She works for the hockey team that our hero is playing. Soren or Ren is also a beautiful character. He loves to read, and he loves hockey. While his all family is into football (soccer). Ren silently is pining for Frankie for years.

I can't wait to read the next one..

Thanks to the NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I will share this review on Goodreads and Twitter now and when releases on Amazon and B&N.

It was impossible not to root for Frankie. Between autism and RA her strength really shined, with Liese showing that just because you have some physical limitations (RA) it doesn’t mean your helpless. Frankie got a lot of that when she was younger and Ren was a breath of fresh air for her. Her frankness about autism was done well.

The story lost me at times, and I wasn't a fan of the all too perfect Ren, which is why it’s a 3 not a 4, but the representation was perfection.

Before reading this book I grabbed it’s predecessor from KU and was delighted and surprised! It was okay in the beginning but I was into it by 50%. I laughed. I cried. I adored Willa and Ryder. And I’m not sure they did Ren and Frankie any favors.
I adore what the author is doing with representational characters. Ryder and his hearing loss. Frankie has arthritis and is on the spectrum. It is amazing to read about characters that are largely ignored and discounted by romance authors.
I think this was probably a four star read. But I liked Ryder and Willa so much that Frankie and Ren suffered via unintentional comparison. Ren was a little too sweet. Frankie a little too surly. For me - though - not as a rule. And there were reasons for their behavior that made good sense.
I think this series ranks among the best books I’ve read for bringing focus to heroes and heroines with different needs, abilities and issues. Highly recommended.

*As always - thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to offer my unbiased opinion.”

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⭐️ [5/5 Stars] ⭐️

You know what’s so annoying? When talented authors don’t get enough credit and noticeability. Chloe Liese is fan-fucking-tastic and a goddamn delight. I’m so glad I found her books and especially this series.

This was everything I was expecting and more. I don’t see enough light shed on autism in romance novels at all. I think this might be the second or third novel I’ve read EVER with an autistic main character and knowing it’s #ownvoices makes it even better. I don’t know much about the spectrum besides from what I’ve read and researched over the years and that’s why it’s so damn important for it to be normalised more. Fiction is a fantastic way to educate people in subtle ways. A lot of people are too stubborn or inconsiderate to educate themselves for other people’s purposes and thus we come back to how fiction is important for this reason.

For example if someone read Frankie’s story and didn’t know a single thing about autism prior to reading, they’d walk away with a tonne of knowledge that could be beneficial to someone else who happens to be on the spectrum. I wanted to make a note of that before I jumped into the review because I truly loved Frankie as a character and I adore the author even more for writing her and putting so much of herself into her. Okay, let’s get into the review.

I adored the first novel in this series and this one is no different. It’s a sweet little gem of a book that deserves so much praise because it really is fantastic. The characters were amazingly developed and thought through. I didn’t question their character voice even once. The chemistry was off the charts. The pacing was great. The slow burn was painfully delicious. And then there’s Ren. Let’s talk about him.

It’s hard not to love a softie cheerful book boyfriend who is good down to the bone. Normally though when I read a character like him, I still find some flaws, like for example I’d find them ultimately boring. That was not the case here. Ren is an absolute dreamboat and made me swoon so many times. The pining? Oh my god. It was unbearable in the best way. The way he adored Frankie in every single way made my heart damn near snap in half. He’s respectful. He’s gorgeous. He’s caring. He’s not overbearing. He likes Shakespeare and poetry and hockey and SLOW DANCING? I want him to myself. I want to take him and clone him and make him mine and tell every man ever why they suck and make Ren tell them how to be better people. I want to wrap him in a bow and put him under my Christmas tree. I love love love him.

I loved how Frankie and Ren were complete opposites. How he balanced her out in the best ways and made her open up and trust and lower her guard. I adored how strong and resilient Frankie was and how Ren didn’t treat her like glass. On top of all of this, I loved the representation for arthritis and autism. YES. More #ownvoices !!! Normalise making fictional characters have disabilities and illnesses!! Imagine if someone with chronic arthritis read this and how validated they’d feel. Ahh. It just makes me so happy when I read a book like this.

I really loved everything about this, if you couldn’t tell already. I loved that we got to see Willa and Ryder again and we got some good hockey action. I’m a sucker for hockey. I loved these characters together and Frankie’s character growth and her friends and Pazza. I can’t wait for the next book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this novel. I can’t wait for release day so y’all can get your hands on it too.

I loved the first book in this series, but this one completely surpassed my expectations. I adored Ren and Frankie. They had amazing banter, they did not conform to gender stereotypes, their story was incredibly sweet, romantic, and still super sexy. I loved the slow-burn of it all. Frankie was fantastic. I loved her confidence, intelligence, and wit. Ren is definitely my new book boyfriend. I love how perfectly he fits with Frankie. I will be recommending this book to all of my friends and on my blog!

Always Only You
Series: Book 2 in the Bergam Brothers Series
Rating: 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC through NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

Always Only You was such a sweet and loving read!! It is the second book in the Bergam Brothers series and this is the story of the adorkable, nerdy with body of a god, Ren. He's a hockey player who has had feelings for the past three years for their team's PR social media person, Frankie. This guy was just everything! He was so sweet and gentle with the self proclaimed grumpy Frankie. Ren was just perfect! Where can I find one like him? LOL Frankie was as such a wonderful character too! Frankie is on the spectrum and at times has difficulty reading peoples feelings. Therefore she didn't have a clue that Ren was attracted to her. She did enjoy watching him from afar but never knew he felt anything for her. I really liked how independent she was and having to make some difficult choices on her own made her admirable. I loved her bluntness and his shyness towards each other. Their personalities balanced each other very well.

I look forwards to reading more in this series. The Bergman's seem like a happy bunch!

Review to be posted on Goodreads, Amazon and BN.

Oh my flipping goodness. There wasn't a single damn thing I didn't absolutely LOVE about this story. And thank THE LORD that there are loads of Bergman brothers (and sisters) so I can keep getting my fix. Although this is book two in the series of standalones, this is the first one I've read. I will now proceed to go find book 1 and keep my eyes peeled for news of the rest of the series as and when.

This is such a brilliant way to learn about autism and to see life a little bit how someone with autism as an adult lives and functions and copes. I feel like I've learned so much whilst also getting a cracking story. Frankie is a spectacular character that is really really real. I love her "flaws" which are actually just fears. Ren, sweet sex-on-legs, Ren. He plays hockey so he's a winner for me already, but then he's also goodness incarnate. The patience of an absolute saint. There isn't a thing to not love about him. Their relationship is sweet and gentle whilst also steamy and sexy. I want their story to go on and on.

I would recommend this to anyone with a pulse.

I absolutely loved this book! It isn’t often you read books with some of the topics this one covered. It had been cheering Frankie and Ren on from the first page. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

Hockey star and huge Shakespeare nerd, Ren Bergman, has been in love with the team's social media manager, Frankie, for years and is waiting for the day he can tell her how he feels.

Francesca ‘Frankie’ Zeferino has a tough exterior to avoid growing close to anyone. She's keeps her autism and soft side a secret. But it's getting harder as she starts to let in Ren with his sunshine personality.


Man oh man. I enjoyed this so much. Maybe even more than the first one.

The writing was just as easy and addictive as I expected.

I think what I enjoyed most was Ren, our sweet cinnamon roll of a guy. He was just such a perfect male love interest, I was half obsessed with him.

I loved Frankie as well! She was such a badass character. This is an #OwnVoices book, which was awesome because I always love learning through fiction. And wow I learnt so much more about autism in this book and I loved that I could be absolutely sure that the rep was accurate.

Frankie ans Ren were so adorable. The progress of their relationship was really beautiful. And this book was filled with the best tropes!

Next up is Freya and Aidan's book!! *squeals in excitement *

I'll be honest... Due to the significant stressors facing our country right now, I find myself craving good, fun romances that end with a solid Happily Ever After, and if they include some smuttiness, even better! It was in that vein that I requested this book.

Based only on the storyline, I would probably give this book a 4* review. It was everything I had hoped for, though there wasn't anything that was *earth-shattering* about the story line. There were two points that set this book apart from most that I've read, though, and pushed this book into solid 5* territory.

First, the author included a playlist. She suggests one song at the beginning of each of the 31 chapters, and for those of us who are unwilling to stop reading mid-book to listen to the music, the complete playlist is also posted on Spotify. Super fun idea, and I've really enjoyed the musical selections!

Second (and most significantly), our heroine deals with two specific issues that cause marginalization (she is on the autism spectrum and is differently abled due to rheumatoid arthritis). The author treats each of those issues fairly and with gentle care. I was not surprised to learn that the author, herself, is autistic, as she seemed very knowledgeable and shared a lot of great tips- even in a fictionalized setting.

I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to other works by this author! My thanks to #NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

(Final note- one character in the book is an extreme Harry Potter fan. I appreciate that the author included an acknowledgement of JK Rowling's recent troublesome tweets. Well done!)

The Bergman brothers will totally steal your heart! I want to cuddle these Swedish teddybear heroes so much, and Ren is no exception.

In this slowburn friends to lovers romance, hockey star Ren is secretly pining for Frankie - grumpasaurus and the team social media manager. But Frankie has a secret of her own. All those snarky comments and no-nonsense attitude is her way of “passing” as a neurotypical woman. She’s not, but that doesn’t mean she wants to be treated any differently!

Frankie and Ren can only fight their feelings for so long before the sexual tension becomes too much. And who would blame Frankie for falling for the thoughtful, hunky, Shakespeare-quoting VIRGIN HERO! Søren? Can we please have more virgin heroes in romance? Heroes like Søren to be specific!

I loved this book and can’t wait for the next in the series.