In this third installment of the Bergman Brothers series, the focus is on their sister, Freya, and her husband of almost 10 years, Aiden. They’ve had a bad patch of at least six months, and so Freya throws her husband out. Second-chance romances are hard, because the author has to sell the couple, the schism, and the reconciliation. This book does a good job of digging into the nitty gritty of rebuilding a marriage. It’s not about a single grand gesture and fade to black (although grand groveling gestures are important). It’s about each person being able to see where the other person is coming from and about getting vulnerable.

The Bergman brothers are again entertaining, and it’s nice to get glimpses of how the couples from the previous books are doing.

I was provided with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ever After Always is the third book in Chloe Liese’s Bergman Brothers series. You don’t need to have read the first two books, but they are quite good, so you should read them. I received this as an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Aiden and Freya have been married for almost 10 years and are still very much in love. Their marriage is still falling apart. When the book opens, Freya has asked Aiden to leave their home to give her some space. After a few days, he comes back home because they won’t let him sleep in his office. He knows that he is at fault, he even knows why, but he doesn’t know how to stop or how to talk about it. Freya feels like a failure because her parents marriage was perfect and she thought she had her life handled.

Aiden has generalized anxiety disorder and has lived with it successfully for years with therapy and medications. Unfortunately, when they decided it was time to start a family, his anxiety ramped up. I also have generalized anxiety disorder, so Aiden made perfect sense to me. Out of control anxiety can be like holding a gun and repeatedly shooting yourself in the foot. You didn’t mean to and you know you shouldn’t do it again, but the more you try not to do it again the more you shoot yourself in the foot. Aiden knows that he is pushing Freya away, but he keeps doing it and then feeling awful about it and trying to fix it in a way that makes everything worse. Aiden catastrophizes, and appropriately, he doesn’t feel able to change his behavior until his situation is compared to a Greek tragedy. As a catastrophizer, this spoke to me.

“Tom, those are Aristotle’s thoughts on tragedy.”

“Exactly. At some point, every love is a tragedy. It just doesn’t have to stay that way. We choose our endings. That’s Aristotle’s point. Tragedy is built—it has a structure. And if that’s not the ending you want, then you get out of that trajectory. You change the narrative.”

Frey has her own issues to work through and they are addressed beautifully imperfectly. I loved that there were no bad guys, just two people doing their best and finding out that doing their best wasn’t going to work. They go to therapy. They start letting friends and family in to help. Accepting help from others immediately makes things start to get better. It was a lovely and healing read. I loved that in the end no one is “fixed” and nothing is perfect, but they have gathered the tools to do the work.

Growth and forgiveness are big themes in this story. More than one person has to grow, and more than one person has to be forgiven. There is one subplot that I have mixed feelings about, but it wasn’t a deal breaker by any means. I enjoyed Chloe Liese’s voice. I think she’s writing interesting characters and exploring the complexities of love – romantic and familial – in interesting ways.

Chloe Liese’s latest book Ever After Always is a wonderful combination of heartbreak and hilarity that will have readers devouring this book in one sitting. The Bergman Brothers Series follows the life of the seven children in the Bergman family as they navigate life, loss, and love. Ever After Always is a second chance romance for Aiden and Freya, who have been married for (almost) a decade. Readers were introduced to Aiden in Only When It’s Us where he (slightly) abused his power as an economics professor to play matchmaker for Willa and Ryder. While Aiden is great at spotting sparks flying between others, he failed to notice the embers slowly cooling between him and his wife. Is their love for each other and support from their family enough? Or will all of the small fractures and lies topple their marriage for good?
As always, Liese tackles difficult topics with sensitivity and grace making for a beautiful love story. The reader gets unique insight into a failing marriage and gets to watch them fall in love again. This book will for sure take you on a rollercoaster of emotions; one minute I was laughing at the Bergman brothers crazy antics and the next I was tearing up as I learned more about Freya and Aiden’s pasts and insecurities. What to expect: pranks gone awry, strong female protagonists, and beautiful music. If you have not read any of Liese’s novels yet, I would recommend starting with Only When It’s Us (another 5 star read for me!), but you can read Ever After Always as a standalone if you want. This book is perfect for fans of the Bromance Book Club and You Deserve Each Other.

I was really intrigued by this one! The Bromance Book Club is a real favourite of mine so the comparison to that was one aspect that drew me in. Inclusivity was the second.
As someone who’s lived with generalised anxiety disorder for five years (probably more as it’s been five years since it was diagnosed) I’m always all ears to see how people portray it in literature. The same goes for autism, I have a younger brother who has ASD and my BA Hons dissertation was written on the depiction of ASD in contemporary fiction.
Now, I’m not a professional on GAD or ASD, everyone experiences GAD differently and since I’m not autistic myself, I can only see it from an outsiders perspective who’s done a lot of reading on ASD and who deals with their own GAD on a daily basis, but I think Chloe Liese handled both topics amazingly. This is the first book of Liese’s I’ve read and I’ll be reading more, especially after learning that she is autistic herself. A common stereotype surrounding ASD is that people who have ASD lack imagination, I myself know that’s not true, but I’m ecstatic to see an own voices autistic author writing fiction, using their imagination, figuratively kicking the butts of every person who’s ever said those with Autism or Aspergers don’t have an imagination.
While I hope to see a book about Ziggy in future, I love that her autism wasn’t a main focus in the book. No one tiptoed around her, she was forthright in explaining sensory issues and when she did, no one reacted, Freya even mentally thought about how proud she was that her sister owned her sensory issues. More than anything I just loved that Ziggy wasn’t an autistic character, she was a character with many attributes and autism just so happened to be one of them.
Again, I can’t speak for everyone with GAD, but I resonated with so many of Aiden’s feelings and thoughts. When I’m struggling with my anxiety I tend to keep it all in until it results in either a huge panic attack or numerous people close to me becoming frustrated and upset at my lack of communication. Not necessarily because they don’t understand my anxiety, but because I don’t communicate that it’s my anxiety making me distant.
I love that this wasn’t just a romance book. I mean, it’s a GREAT romance book. It tugged my heartstrings, made me laugh, made me cry, there were se exceptionally steamy moments, but it’s so so so much more than a romance book.
I read this as a stand-alone, but I’ll be going back and reading the first two Bergman brothers books for sure!

Chloe Liese just keeps getting better! This was by far my favorite book in the Bergman Brothers series, and quite possibly my favorite book of 2020.

This book was a joy to dive in to because I was already familiar with the characters and supporting characters so it felt like coming home. I came in to this book fully invested in the outcome, and spent every single page on the edge of my seat feeling SO deeply what Freya and Aiden were going through. I appreciated the authors portrayal of anxiety and it’s sometimes crippling effects.

I think a big factor in why this book struck me so wonderfully is because I have been married to my husband for 9 years, just like Freya, and my husband is my best friend, also like Freya. It’s painful and resonate to imagine how easily a marriage can get off track and that painful distance that can grow and fester, building resentments and misunderstandings. Being able to see both Freya and Aiden’s perspectives drove home the fact that even committed, loving, IN LOVE people can find themselves on the brink of divorce with a lack of communication. This was such a raw and honest peek in to their lives and I loved it SO MUCH. And getting to spend so much time around the entire Bergman clan and their delightful chaos was icing on the cake. Thank you, thank you, Chloe and NEVER stop writing. ❤️

Thank you for the opportunity to review this novel!

I've read the two first books in this series and really enjoyed them. I enjoyed this too but one thing bothered me and that was the idea that the guys should read romance books. Don't get me wrong, I lobe the idea BUT it's already taken by The Bromance Book Club. It feels like a rip-off and not in a good way.

I adore Chloe (the author) and all the rest of the story is great. I will continue to read the series of course since it's fun and romantic. 😍

Ever After Always is the third book in this series of brothers that won me over on the first page of the first book. Here, we will accompany Freya and Aiden trying to recover their marriage, which is falling apart and they don't even know the reason for how they got in this situation.

Freya and Aiden have already participated in previous books. So when I learned that in this book they were going through a crisis, I didn't know what to expect or feel. Undoubtedly, the two love each other deeply and care for each other, but the lack of communication and omission of feelings were some of the causes of this crisis. And that's where Chloe is going to work during the book: how they're going to reconnect and trust each other again.

At first it can be quite stressful to accompany the couple in this situation, where both say they want to make the relationship count, that they want to fix something, but they don't know where to start. Freya is a woman open to her feelings, her heart and feelings are transparent. Aiden, who suffers from anxiety, has a certain difficulty in expressing his thoughts, mainly because he does not want to be a burden to Freya.

Chloe knew how to work on the anxiety issue in Aiden, especially on how it affects not only the psychological and physical. In addition to being an emotional tornado, Aiden's anxiety also affects his sex life, generating a certain impotence. I thought it was very nice for the author to work on this detail because many psychological diseases, such as anxiety and depression, also affect this aspect of the diagnosed person. It is also interesting to see how it affected Freya, not knowing anything that her husband was going through, started to draw his own conclusions.

Freya also had a good development, as the part of the relationship that got tired of trying. Not knowing about Aiden's problems, she believes that her husband no longer feels the same way about her and that makes her give up trying to continue. Other than the fact that he thought Aiden no longer wanted her. Freya is fat and her husband's silence and indifference affect her self-esteem a little.

With a slightly heavier emotional charge than the previous ones, it was very nice to see Aiden and Freya reconnect. As I always say, love is not enough to maintain a relationship and here is the proof; Aiden and Freya still love each other deeply, but something between them broke and they need to fight to rebuild. With great gestures and honest conversations, the two work to solve the problems in the marriage.

One point to highlight is the entire Bergman clan. Knowing the situation between the sister and her brother-in-law, the brothers get together almost in a kind of The Bromance Book Club to help both of them, which generates several funny and fun scenes. I like that (so far, at least) all men have not shown even an ounce of toxicity, including one of them an overly fond fan of Lisa Kleypas.

Ever After Always is a beautiful romance of second chances and reconciliation. And I can't wait for the next book, which will finally tell the story of a long-awaited couple: Axel and Rooney.

This is the third book in a set of companion novels. I haven't read the other two books prior to this, but I found it fine to read. I do feel like there were some personal relationships amongst family members that I was missing out on, but not too much, I will catch up with these later though as I enjoyed Chloe Liese's writing and character development!

Freya and Aiden's story is not a typical one you see in romance novels. They are a marriage in trouble and there is a lot of struggle and miscommunication. Add to that some meddling siblings, Freya's parents perfect marriage and Aiden's anxiety a lot is going on. Chloe Liese did a great job exploring anxiety and did it carefully and compassionately. I also like that Aiden seemed very aware of his anxiety and was able to talk about it, and even more Freya was supportive of Aiden in his anxiety. I really also liked how Liese normalized for individual counselling for Aiden's anxiety as well as marriage counselling for the couple.

I like how the author took time to write about people that are not typical in the romance genre, Aiden with anxiety and Freya being plus sized. Oftentimes I find that romances fit a typical niche and this one stepped a little out of the box and I found it enjoyable. The romance in the book was pretty steamy too, but not cover to cover steam, just the right amount for me.

I loved the inclusion of a playlist to listen to while reading the book and would find myself singing the songs when I was starting out a chapter as well. It really helped set the tone too! writes

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me.

Because I didn't realize that this book was the 3rd in a series, I took a step back and read the first two just to make sure I had enough background. It says that this is a standalone novel but I definitely think that if you haven't read the first two, you're doing yourself a disservice.

I always enjoy reading books about couples after the HEA because it's realistic to see couples trying to work out the kinks. In Freya and Aiden, they've been together for so long and it's taken this long for the ish to hit the fan. The thing about their relationship is, if you've read book 1 (where they're initially introduced) and see how their characterization is in book 3, it doesn't make sense.

Freya and Aiden's story was definitely intense and lots of angst build up. However, I've had an issue with the way the author starts her stories as they jump right in without a proper build-up. Maybe the author's writing style just isn't for me because I had trouble getting sucked into the story.

Pros: Freya and Aiden's value for their relationship and their realistic approach to marital problems and trying to make it work, the Bergman clan because I'm a big fan of loving families.

Cons: Everything took too long. I had a similar issue with books 1 & 2. The pacing drags on.

I do appreciate how things wrapped up. Overall, this was an okay series. Again, I don't think the author's writing style is for me so I won't be continuing with the series but I'm sure others will enjoy the family and their shenanigans.

This is not a typical romance novel as it focuses on a marriage in crisis. It dealt with real, emotional struggles that married couples had and it portrays these realistically. There are several great quotes about love within this novel. Also, reading about the Bergman family is always enjoyable!

3.5 stars rounding up

A confession I'll have to make at the start: reading about maintaining the HEA past a couple getting together typically isn't what I go for. It's hard, messy and well, where the real work begins.

Usually, the epilogues of a few years or months later at the end of a story is palatable, as my personal kink usually has to do with heavy sexual tension, filthy talk and two separate individuals self-aware enough to act on their attraction while not flying off the handle at the slightest bit of brewing conflict.

'Ever After Always' however, gamely steps into a position that begins where the HEA is supposed to come with the fall of the curtain, then shoots off with a glorious mess of a couple in crisis. Aiden and Freya - last seen as the bastion of what a rock-solid marriage should be - aren't spared in Chloe Liese's latest installment and their own issues are profound, raw and oh-so-difficult to read about.

Delving deep into the psychology of why even the most stalwart of unions can fail and how the littlest things can derail whatever little progress is made to improve it, Liese throws Aiden and Freya head first into the deep end of the pool when both realise that they're taking too many steps backwards as the months roll on.

Consequently, there's a lot of reflection, pages and pages of emotional ranting, of inner monologues and the difficult scenes of protagonists struggling to come to terms with their own states of reality. It did get a bit too weighty for me, but Aiden/Freya's journey - if angst and heavy musings are your thing - can be rewarding in its own way when they both finally emerge into the light by the end of the book.

The large Bergman family is the ballast in Aiden/Freya's tumult, providing comic relief at the risk of becoming caricatures when there are just so many secondary characters adding their own version of spice to the bubbling marriage broth. As stylised as some scenes might be however, I appreciate Liese's attempt to keep it as real as she could...even when I was hoping for something lighter to catapult me into a more escapist fantasy in days like these.

Chloe Liese does it again, I absolutely loved this book! This is the third book in the Bergman Brothers series. This book is based on Freya, one of the Bergman sisters and her husband Aiden. Their marriage is going through a rough patch, and they don’t know if they will be able to save it. They need to find their way back to each other before it’s too late.

Oh my goodness, I loved this book. This may be my favorite one yet. I honestly loved that this book was centered around a married couple. I feel like we don’t see enough books like that. This book felt so realistic, and relatable. The characters in this book face real life troubles. I could relate all to well to Aiden when he was struggling with anxiety. I also loved the message in this story of how a marriage takes work, and it’s not always perfect. If you haven’t checked out this series yet, I highly recommend it!

Ever After Always is the third book in the Bergman Brothers seried by Chloe Liese. I feel immensely grateful to have had the chance to read this book before its release. In this one, we follow Freya and Aiden who are having marriage issues. I learned a lot about myself and my partner while reading this book and it opened up discussions with him. It really felt good! As always, I enjoyed the playlist a lot. The steaminess of this one was good and satisafying nonetheless. Really recommend this series and can't wait for Axel's story!!! I'd also like to thank the author and NetGalley for the free ebook copy in exchange of an honest review.

Chloe Liese has quickly become one of my favorite romance authors and I was very excited to read "Ever After Always."

Generally, I am always a bit anxious when reading romance novels about a married couple, because inevitably things have to go wrong before they can get better. However, if you read "Always Only You," the previous book in the series, you know things were not going well for Aiden and Freya.

At the start of "Ever After Always" Aiden and Freya are not in a good place. After deciding to try for a baby, things have fallen apart and they struggle to communicate with one another. Aiden who struggles with his own anxiety issues and the trauma of being abandoned at an early age by his father, cannot seem to explain to his wife that his anxiety is tearing him apart. Freya, who comes from a large and boisterous family, sees every one of Aiden's actions as rejection and proof that he no longer loves her. This is killing Aiden because there is no one he loves more than Freya. You see, not a good place.

Although the Bergman brothers try to butt in - albeit with the best of intentions - and help Aiden win back Freya. Aiden knows that only he and Freya can fix their problems and he hopes they can start by attending marriage counseling. Freya agrees and this is the catalyst to these two finally learning to once again communicate effectively.

We get to see Aiden and Freya rebuild their trust in each other and their marriage through a family trip to Hawaii, where Aiden learns about groveling and grand gestures - with a little help from the queen of romance herself, Lisa Kleypas. It's not an easy road and it takes time and a few more mistakes, but eventually Aiden and Freya figure out that what they have is worth fighting for and their love is everlasting.

I loved every aspect of this story, especially Aiden's willingness to be so open and vulnerable and his absolute commitment to Freya. Seriously, swoon-worthy. Not to mention the family dynamics within this series. It's always nice to see past favorites: Willa, Ryder, Frankie and Ren.

Overall, "Every Always After" was perfection and another fantastic story by Chloe Liese.

PS I am so excited to read Axel and Rooney's story next.

The you Chloe and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review! Ever After Always is the third installment of the Bergman Brothers, in this case Sisters 😆, series, following the oldest of the Bergman brood - Freya! And somehow, Chloe just gets better with every book 😍Over the course of this book Freya and her husband Aiden struggle to rekindle the love in their marriage, all the while trying to keep her nosey but well meaning siblings out of it while on a family vacation. Not only does Chloe write inclusive romance with characters often left out of the romance industry - like Aiden having an anxiety disorder, and Freya being plus sized - but she writes them in a way that ANYONE can connect to, even if they can’t personally relate to the situation. As I read this book I laughed, I cried, I swooned. Chloe broke my heart and put it back together stronger than it was before I read this book. Not only did I feel seen and valued through Freya as a plus sized woman, but I took the message Chloe was telling about love to heart and it changed the way I think about it. This isn’t just a cute, entertaining romance (though it is both of those things), it also TEACHES you how to have a better mindset on love and relationships that I think is so important. I hope you all give not only this book, but her entire series a chance, because I think it will literally change you for the better.

Ever After Always is the third book in Chloe Liese’s Bergman Brothers series, featuring oldest Bergman sister Freya. At the end of the previous book in the series, Freya has kicked out her husband Aiden and sent him up to the family cabin to think things over. Ever After Always is the story of how two people who were deeply in love grew apart and how they come back together. The book is refreshing in its depiction of Aiden as a hero who suffers from anxiety which at times leads to sexual intimacy problems. Ever After Always is a realistic and deeply romantic look at the work that goes into keeping a marriage together. Occasionally, there is a bit too much navel gazing done by Aiden and Freya, which I found tiresome as a reader. Overall, Ever After Always is a solid and enjoyable read. I rate it 4.5 stars.

This series just keeps getting better and better.

I'll admit, I am not a fan of "marriage in crisis stories" & tend to stay away from them. But, I needed Freya & Aiden's story so I braved this one and I am so glad I did.

This story is raw and shows the struggles of marriage, but you can't help but root for the two of them.

Plus, the Bergman family is ALWAYS A DELIGHT. Dr. Bergman telling Aiden he sees him as a son? tears!!!

Anyways. This is not a lighthearted rom-com, there are plenty of serious issues within this book, but it is an excellent addition to the series.

TW: extremely childhood poverty, severe anxiety

I love the marriage in trouble trope, but I don’t think I’ve ever read one quite like this. There was no Big Misunderstanding, but both Aiden and Freya were carrying burdens and hiding things from another. It was beautiful to watch them work things out and sometimes it’s nice to read a romance novel about what comes after the HEA and til death do us part. I’m very rarely moved to tears when reading and I cried buckets.
Willa and Ryder, Ren and Frankie, Viggo and his romance novels, the whole Bergman brood is here on this vacation with the Aiden and Freya and it was such fun!

If I thought I loved the first two books in the series, I just ador Ever After Always.
It’s so very different from the brothers books and because it’s contemporary and takes a very risky step into a hard and unfortunately,many times still, taboo topic.
I must admit that it was hard to read at times because it’s very real and heartbreaking, both Aiden and Freya, are such a wonderful characters with all the flows and emotions bared out in this novel.
Marriage counselling, slow burn romance and true family drama, this book will break your heart in million pieces and put it back together with the power of love and that well deserved happily ever after.

Her books keep getting better and better; it is freaking ridiculous how good she is at writing these wonderful characters and her stories.
It broke my heart many times throughout the novel that their relationship was fractured, but she united them through gestures and of the love they each had for one another. I completely loved it and cannot wait for the others!