The best part of this series is how flushed out the characters are. Rooney from basically being an adopted Bergman due to her friendship with Willa and Axel being one of the brothers, we already know so much about these two that I've been impatiently waiting for their book. I really loved the fake marriage trope and how it was used in this book. (Team save the A-frame!) I also really related to Rooney as I was down with a stomach bug when I read this book. Also Harry and Skugga are so cute and love what a softie they turned Axel into. Another great addition to the Bergman series! I only have Viggo's book left then I'm finished!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Why did it take me so long to pick this up?! 🥹

I’m not usually a fan of third act breakups but it was so necessary for these two, even if my heart felt like it was being ripped out. I love that they both take a step back and actually work on themselves, not just for the other and their relationship but because they deserve it to themselves.

This is one of those books that I’m going to wish I could read again for the first time. And I’ll definitely be looking into other books by this author because wow 😍

I’ll be thinking about this for a while.

Rooney and Axel both have feelings for it despite never acting on it. Their feelings come to a head when they share a kiss during what was supposed to be a good family game. Now they are both trying to come to grips with this. Axel needs Rooney’s help with getting money for his home and Rooney is willing to do anything for her crush. She agrees to marry him for the sake of it.

Rooney has been close to the family since her best friend married into it. I have liked her character whenever she was around. It is nice to see a character finally get their own book. It has been a while leading up to this book. In theory, I liked the storyline but in reality, there are many shortcomings that have me scratching my head.

Why couldn’t I rate this higher? To answer that in the simplest manner…the plot. It falls short. Rooney and Axel marry for money which is understandable. However, nothing is going on that is exciting to me after the marriage. There is no angst or tension to build from. No conflict to rectify. Besides building up the house and the family trying to push them together, there was not much to the story.

The author relies heavily on Rooney and Axel’s personal issue which leads me to not see them as characters that are falling in love. There is no need to have their identities revolve around her chronic illness and his disability. Yes, I love it when an author can use real-life issues in the story because anyone can find love despite physical and/or mental challenges. However, I wanted to see them outside of that.

I’m invested in the series. I’m a fan of the author. I still recommend this book to fans who love contemporary romances.

~ Samantha

Probably my second favourite of the series so far!! I loved both Rooney and Axel so much and I love their story. So many quotes just hit home. So excited for the other books in this series!!

REVIEW: With Your Forever ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Reading a book is just like opening your heart to someone. You won't know if you'll connect until you try.” ― Chloe Liese, With You Forever

And Chloe Liese has done it again. I keep thinking that there’s no way the next book will be as good as the last I have read, but they really are. I’m so excited to be reading through this series but also a bit sad because I’m getting closer to the end.

Liese does her character and relationship development so well again in With You Forever. It was so fun to finally get Rooney and Axel’s story because they have been hinting at it since the first book of the series. Rooney and Axel's relationship builds slowly throughout but is so genuine. You can tell how much they care about one another and have fun together. There are so many sweet and funny moments between them.

Liese also continues to give great representations through her characters just like her other books in the series. One main character has chronic IBD and the other one is on the spectrum. I just love how Liese shows these parts of the characters without always being the main focus of the story. They are just a part of their normal lives.

Overall I loved this book just like the other ones in the Bergman Brothers series so far. This book gives a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, and a slow burn. Each book takes me on a different love story journey that is so unique and so enjoyable!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for a free advanced copy for my honest review!

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This was my 3rd or 4th time reading With You Forever, and each time I fall harder for Rooney and Axel. The Bergman Family will forever have me in a chokehold; I adore them. A delicious slow burn, this story was tender, vulnerable, and beautiful. There is something so affirming in seeing relatable characters find their happily ever after through challenging emotional work and reflection. The Bergman Family isn’t perfect but their unconditional love for their children and siblings provides a safe and warm hug for all readers. With You Forever is a cozy, grumpy sunshine, marriage of convenience romance. With the bonus of an extra epilogue and these stunning new covers, I hope they bring this endearing series to a whole new group of readers!

Read if you like:
• Grumpy (him)/ sunshine (her)
• Opposites attract
• Marriage of convenience
• Forced proximity
• Neurodivergent- Autism rep
• Inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis rep
• Microtrope GOLD
o He leaves her notes with drawings
o Heartburn feelings
o He reads to her
o Says things he can’t say to her in other languages- Swedish
o When he knows all her smiles
o He braids her hair
• Found family
• Skugga & Harry
• Grand gestures

Favorite Quotes:
“But most of all… I want to be with you forever.”
“It was quiet and steady, tender, and unexpected. Just like the man I married. The man I love.”
“Tomorrow I’ll be brave. Tonight, I need to be safe.”

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advanced digital copy of this title. All thoughts are my own.

I loved this book just like I have the other books by Chloe Liese. I devoured this book in a day and could not put it down. The cover is also gorgeous and caught my eye.

Probably my favorite of the series so far. I can never resist a mysterious, brooding character and loved their unusual love story start.

I’ve probably said this with every book I’ve read in this series so far, but I’m saying it again. I’m obsessed with the Bergman Brothers!

I just love how heartfelt each of the stories in the series are, but that they are also infused with a bit of humor. With You Forever definitely falls on the less humorous end of the scale, but wow, did it have my whole heart! I really liked Rooney Sullivan and Axel Bergman when we first met them in earlier books, but fell head over heels for them here.

Rooney is an outgoing ray of sunshine even in spite of the fact that she is dealing with an often debilitating chronic illness. Axel is her polar opposite in many ways, quiet, reserved and a bit broody. But he’s also sweet and gorgeous and Rooney has had a secret crush on him forever. When Rooney needs a quiet getaway and ends up staying at the Bergman’s cozy A-frame, right next door to Axel, it soon becomes clear that he also has a crush on Rooney. When Rooney overhears that Axel can’t inherit money he desperately needs for his business unless he’s married, Rooney volunteers to help him out with that.

Watching Rooney and Axel spend more and more time together as they pretended to be a couple truly melted my heart since it was so obvious how much they really did care for one another. I especially loved when Axel confesses to Rooney that some of the reason why he’s the way he is is because he’s autistic and when Rooney shares with him the details of her chronic illness and how it impacts her life. The two of them are so gentle with one another and so respectful and understanding that I actually cried more than once because they were just so freaking perfect together.

I don’t want to give away anything else, but if you’re a fan of grumpy sunshine, opposites attract, marriage of convenience, and/or forced proximity romances and also love when an author does a wonderful job with autism rep and chronic illness rep, please go read this book. It’s amazing!

I love Axel and Rooney! This book was Grumpy x Sunshine plus Marriage of Convenience and I couldn't get enough. I enjoyed the representation in this novel as well. Axel has autism and Rooney has digestive issues and neither topic is shied away from. It was a lot of fun watching their relationship grow.

“Rooney is the frame around the canvas of my world, the color that transforms its palette to the loveliest, most vibrant hues.”

I love Axel - he is so sweet and demure, even during his art shows. He is such a great representation of someone on the autism spectrum who doesn’t deal well with crowds and prefers time alone in his cabin. He is also fiercely loving, and he wants to do anything he came to save his family’s A-frame home. The representation of his autism is so well done and it's woven so deeply into his character. It never feels like a cheap personality trait and instead it's an important part of who he is. He's such a well-rounded character.

Rooney is also incredible. It was so refreshing to see a female love interest with ulcerative colitis and IBD. I think the reason I have loved this series is that the characters feel so relatable and have issues or disabilities that are so common but we don’t always see them depicted in stories. The representation is so powerful and important. This is a testament to what Chloe Liese continues to do so well. She gives her characters relatable flaws or issues or disabilities, but shows the reading world that these characters are also worthy of love.

I love Rooney and Axel's marriage of convenience, the way their relationship develops, and the grand gesture at the end. It’s perfect from start to finish.

Marriage of convenience + Chloe Liese = match made in heaven.

I LOVED this book!! The slow burn with the tension and the forced proximity was everythinggg - the story progressed in such a satisfying way. And I always love the representation in Chloe's books!

This was good. I didn’t realize that this was part of a series until I was getting a bit confused and looked it up. I think it’s meant to be a stand-alone but family members had their stories referenced and that’s when I felt lost.

I liked the representation of autism and chronic illnesses.

3.75

I just read “With You Forever” for the second time, not because I loved it that much, but because I agreed to read and review it thinking it was the seventh story of the Bergman siblings, only to find it was number four. I guess putting on a new cover design makes it a new book, but it just made me disappointed. That said, I will try to review this fairly, not through the lens of my disappointment in the circumstances.

Chloe Lee’s is one of the romcom authors like Ali Hazelwood who has focused her stories on characters with neurodivergent and other health-related differences.

Note: Also like Ali Hazelwood, there is plenty of descriptive sex scenes so a caution if you’re new to the series and that’s not your thing. You could probably skip over most of them if you really wanted to read this book.

Everyone in the Bergman family either has or ends up with someone with some sort of physical difference. In this case, it’s both. Axel is, what seems to be somewhat minor, autistic. There are a number of books with characters like this and I know all circumstances are different so I can’t really comment on the authenticity but do see some familiar social anxieties to other, more familiar issues. What is, I’m sure, very unique, is creating a main character who has ulcerative colitis and discussing and normalizing all of the less-than-appealing side effects. I have heard of that disease and have IBD issues nowhere near this, but didn’t know the extent of its symptoms. What a nightmare!

This is a romance trope of the marriage of convenience, the circumstances of which are a little hard to swallow, but if you’re looking for purely believable authenticity, romcoms probably aren’t the place for you anyway. I read this again even though I was planning to skim over it just for reminders because I didn’t remember as much as I thought, but I did also remember liking this one in the series especially. I love their relationship with their pets, especially Harry. I also like their friends, especially Skyler, who also incorporates celiac disease into the book.

The best part I think, at the end especially but all through the book, is how they accommodate and normalize the little things that make people with different issues thrive, such as the emails that Axel sends his family.

There is less of the family included in this story because it takes place in Washington, though there are appearances of Ryder, Willa, Oliver, and Viggo. I guess that’s quite a few. Oh, and the others do make a very brief appearance at Christmas. Very brief. That may sound like a lot, but not if you’ve read the other books.

Anyway, this is a cute romcom that takes place entirely in a remote area (though apparently, unlike my remote area, not remote enough to ever affect cell coverage), unlike the others primarily set in and around LA.

Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on the actual seventh book in the series so I’m looking forward to reading that and providing an unbiased review of that brand new story. But I’m not bitter.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

Read if you like:
😷 Characters with Chronic Illness
🧠 Autism Representation
💍 Marriage of Convienence
⛺️ Forced Proximity
🔥 Steam

What do you get when you combine forced proximity, meddling, and two people attracted to each other and one needing to be married to access their inheritance?

Obviously, this steamy marriage of convenience romance…

I was so excited to get Rooney and Axel’s story after it was foreshadowed in the first book of the series that featured Rooney’s bff and roommate falling for one of the other Bergman boys.

If you want a cozy and fun romance, truly you can’t go wrong with this series and again; I truly love the disability representation within each of the stories and how the characters feel so real, the Bergman family is like a big warm hug and so excited to continue the series!

Thanks so much Berkley for my ARC of this one in exchange for my review!

Axel is a something of a recluse who lives in a cabin near the family A-frame. He's quiet around most people, even his friends. And he's always had a thing for Rooney. When the pipes burst in the A-frame, he's determined to use his 'alone' time his family scheduled to get the whole place back up to snuff without his family knowing. Problem is, he doesn't have access to the money to do it. He's been dealing with a creative block for awhile now so he has no art to sell. What he needs is a wife of convenience.

Rooney's friend Willa (from another Bergman book, yes), and her husband offer up the A-frame as a place for Rooney to go to recharge. They think she's just burnt out from school. What they don't know is that Rooney is currently recovering from a health scare that she thought she had under control. Things go from bad to worse when she gets there and finds out the A-frame is unavailable because it's going to be under repair...and it's actually Axel's scheduled time with it anyway. Axel, the Bergman brother she's always had a crush on. However, he always seems to avoid her at family functions. But when she moves to go, Axel offers her a charming little cabin not too far away from the A-frame. It doesn't take her long to realize it's his home, and Axel needs a wife of convenience. Wanting to be of some assistance in exchange for him letting her crash at his cabin/house, she offer herself up.

Thing is, they both got more then they bargained for as their feelings start to grow, and they struggle to keep the Bergman family from finding out that Axel is sinking a bunch of money into the A-Frame without telling them and that he married Rooney, one paper only, to do it.


So What Did I Think?

I thought it was cute. The marriage of convenience trope was pretty well done (and before this, only something I really read in western romances). Some say the sunshine character and the grump trope is here, but I actually viewed it as Axel just being very awkward and uncomfortable with most people due to his diagnoses. I mostly didn't find him too grumpy, just kind of gruff. But that's just my opinion because I feel like I can relate to some of his actions to some degree. Oh, and there is also a mutual pining type trope.

Liese once again does a very good job representing people with autism and how unique each people can be. Axel's behavior is different from Frankie's and different from Ziggy's which I also think is a great thing because there are so many factors and facets to autism. No two people are the same, or experience it the same way. It's nice to see the differences. For example, Axel has difficulty with eye contact, opening up and expressing himself, as well as needing a little time to process before he responds to most things, etc. Frankie is basically a firecracker who's pretty witty and quick on the draw, is pretty literal, with physical texture sensory sensitivities (like scratchy clothes driving her insane). etc. Ziggy also has sensory sensitives, and has trouble reading people, etc. Obviously this is all amongst other things, but you get the idea. Liese shows a small snippet of how wide spectrum is and how different it is for each individual. I appreciate that. We need more representation in all types of books. I hope there is a lot more of it coming our way.

Another thing she represented was the chronic IBD Rooney had. As someone with family member that has Crohn's disease, I appreciated the general insight this book provided. I actually wish there was a bit more.

Conclusion?

I could ramble on forever about this book, but my basic conclusion it this: I liked it. It's a little slower, plot-wise, than some of the other novels in this series but I found it no less engaging. I really enjoyed the representation Axel and Rooney gave of each of their conditions. I'm now going to have to track down a copy of the final book I have yet to read!

Rooney and Axel are all the heart eyes. Holy cow I loved these two so much. Thank you, Chloe and Netgalley for sending me an ARC.

I don't know why I worry so much that after I read the first one in a series, how could the next one even compete with the first one? They're all just so good. I loved the chronic illness rep in this book. As someone who is has a chronic illness, I really appreciated how it was represented, and I loved how open and well Axel handled it too. He helps Rooney feel comfortable and okay in her own body, and I loved it. I also love the representation with Axel, but I feel like it's a spoiler if I say much else about it.

Rooney is told she's clear to use the Bergman's A frame that they have in the woods of Washington to get away from everything. She's relapsed and is trying to get better/figure out what she's doing with school. She's surprised to find Axel there and that the A frame is in disrepair. He doesn't have the money to repair it, since he hasn't been able to paint, unless he marries someone to get his inheritance from his uncle. Rooney offers to help out (it also helps that she has a crush on him) and doesn't see it as a big deal because she's never been interested in getting married.

I really enjoyed how these two helped each other grow and understand each other, as well as themselves. They help each other accept themselves more, too. I can't wait to jump into the rest of the Bergmans' stories.

Spice:🌶🌶.5

I have read the previous Bergman books, and to say they have been a mixed bag for me would be an understatement.

To me, this was my favourite. I like a fake-marriage-to-more story. i love a family that is as much all love as much as in your face, annoying each other.

I want to move into an A-frame like Axel's. I want a mountain man like Axel lol.

I did have my issues with it, however it was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed Rooney and Axel's story in With You Forever by Chloe Liese, book four in the Bergman Brothers series; a sweet, funny sizzling, forced proximity, marriage of convenience story set in the Bergman's A-frame in the woods.

Rooney and Axel's really liked each other, but both were distraught about how to approach it; leaving neither to acted on it. Rooney is invited to stay at the Bergman's A-frame but ends up staying with Axel. In order for Axel to access money left by a relative to fix up the family home he needs to be married. Asking Rooney to have a marriage of convenience with him was the best thing he could have done.

This romance was super sweet and gives both autism representation and chronic illness representation with the characters. The incorporation of their insecurities and seeing them grow toward each other is beautifully done. I recommend With You Forever to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

With You Forever was another five star read and absolute hit from Chloe. As someone with a chronic illness, I feel so seen through Chloes writing every time. This book made me incredibly emotional because at times, I felt like I was in their shoes and its just extremely profound to relate so heavily and feel so connected through writing.

Rooney and Axel may be my favorite Bergman couple, even though it is so hard to choose. I had been anticipating Rooneys story since she was first introduced and this did not disappoint. I was surprised by how much I loved Axels character as I got to learn more about him and see things through his eyes.

Axel and Rooney together were your classic grumpy/sunshine pair, but throw in autism rep, chronic gastrointestinal rep, and a smidge of mariage of convenience. There was humor and heart throughout the entire story and I hung onto every word. I couldnt put it down. Their chemistry was off the charts so when things finally heated up, Chloe served.

This is another story you do not want to miss out on. In fact, just go back to the first in the Bergman series and read them all becasue you are guaranteed to laugh, swoon, relate, and feel seen in some way.