Red-headed soccer star Ziggy gets her love story in this sixth book in the Bergman Brothers saga. The youngest in the family, Ziggy is still sitting at the kids table with a sippy cup at 22 years old, and it's the impetus to strike out in search of something that will tarnish her reputation--just a little bit!--and help her family see her as the capable woman she has become. Enter tattooed bad boy Sebastian, the hockey star teammate/best friend of even-tempered Ren convalescing from an injury. He's had a tiny crush on her since first sight, but always kept her on the out of bounds list. They reconnect at Ren and Frankie's wedding, and shortly thereafter, Seb crashes his car while driving under the influence of his protectively booted injured foot. Ziggy shows up on Seb's balcony and proposes they cultivate a not a fake relationship, but a fake friendship that will help him improve his reputation and shake up hers.

The are honest about their flaws, vulnerable, and kind to one another, both love books, and have a chemistry and physicality to their relationship. Both are bi, and the sex scenes include some very hot, consensual backdoor action. But that's actually not the best part--the character growth is amazing. Seb truly commits, does the work, transforms his life, and THEN deems himself worthy of the lady after therapy, lifestyle changes, and cleaning up his act, and when he has to set boundaries with his biological family, the Bergman family takes him in as one of their own. We also get to see ongoing evolution of other siblings and their relationships, and the growth of the family as characters from previous books are reproduce. Ziggy's niece is a delight.

As in other books in the series, If Only You captures neurodivergence and chronic health issues with such heart, in both main and supporting characters: Ziggy has sensory issues and trouble discerning emotion from tone and facial expression, while Seb is a borderline alcoholic and unbeknownst to him for most of the book, suffering from celiac disease.

This series of romances focuses on a sprawling, imperfect, loving family and the friends and lovers they take into their fold. Most are loosely structured on classic romances and comedies, from Austen to Shakespeare... to Ted Lasso. The seven Bergman siblings live/work/play in SoCal (but spend time in the Pacific Northwest in their expanded A-frame family vacation home) and are of Swedish descent; geographical and cultural details beautifully round out the love stories. Each tale, edited and re-released by Berkley Romance with a bright, attractive cover, includes a preface from the author about her commitment to writing neurodivergent and chronically ill characters. All of Liese's characters are portrayed with authenticity and sensitivity, and a recognition that no two people's lived experiences are alike. The gentle trigger warnings may be helpful and appreciated by some readers. Each has a signature scent, and most have a preferred nickname because they don't like their full name, and each have a term of endearment bestowed upon them by their lover. New bonus epilogues further the story, and sometimes help segue to the next; afterwards include more information, and often, each concludes with a sample chapter the next book in the series. Each chapter is told in alternating points of view, and each chapter in each book is prefaced with a song title/artist evocative of the mood, tone or subject of the chapter. All of the titles are cleverly pulled from a snip of dialogue spoken from one protagonist to the other at a pivotal moment.

Chloe Liese has become one of my favorite authors in recent years and If Only You has become my favorite book in her Bergman Brothers series.

Ziggy and Sebastian's story was the best friends-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, slow burn, opposites attract, love story I have read in a long time. Ziggy proposes a mutually beneficial fake friendship to Seb, to help her lose her squeaky clean reputation and to help improve his wild one. However, it didn't take long for a genuine friendship to develop between Ziggy and Seb and it was so sweet and charming; I loved every page of it.

The attraction was there from the beginning, but Seb has convinced himself that he is not capable of giving Ziggy all the goodness she deserves; it takes love and patience for him to start believing in his ability to give love and be worthy of receiving love in return. Ziggy and her family help Sebastian heal and learn the true meaning of love and family.

I loved If Only You and the extended epilogue made my heart happy. Also, after that preview I am so ready for Viggo’s story

I loved this book! I can’t wait to read more of the series! I will devour them just like I did this one!

The characters are so well developed, ending up as close as friends, but the plot suffers for it. That said, I did enjoy the book for the most part. There are portions I skim-read, information over sharing and random sidebars that could be revealed in much more interesting ways when they are actually important to the story.

Stylistically the same as her other books, but in a fabulous way. You know exactly what you're getting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

A absolutely delightful and romantic story about the bad boy who need’s his reputation fixed and his best friend’s sister who definitely is going to sweep him off his feet. Ziggy is the youngest player in her National soccer team, she’s the baby of the family, and she is constantly being overlooked, babied, and underestimated. Ziggy wants nothing more than to be seen, she needs a change, and after a run in with her brother’s best friend, the handsome bad boy and hockey player, Sebastian, Ziggy knows he’s the right person to turn to for help. Sebastian is a great hockey player, yet his lifestyle isn’t so great, after a childhood that left him with scars he’s now turned to alcohol, excess, and just anyway to misbehave... yet his latest stunt has his career in jeopardy and he needs an image change immediately if he wants to keep his career. Suddenly Ziggy, the one person he’s sworn that he would stay away from is at his door and offering to help him fix his reputation if he helps her fix his... by pretending to be friends. Sebastian has promised himself that he would keep his hands off of Ziggy, the gorgeous sibling of his best friend, yet the more time he spends with her the more he is completely thrown off by just how absolutely loving and caring she is. What starts off as fake friendship soon turns into something very real as Sebastian and Ziggy both face their own difficulties and support each other. This was an utterly heartwarming and super sweet story, I had so much fun reading it and getting to see them fall in love was AMAZING. I adored how caring and supportive they were of each other, how empathic and communicative they were about their needs and feelings. Seriously this book is perfection! (Also that bonus chapter? FANS SELF ITS SO SO GOOD)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Chloe Liese. An absolute queen of Autism Visibility 🙌 I’m so so excited to see more of her books being picked up and given physical releases. And I am absolutely living for the new cover artwork on the Bergman Brothers series.

I’ve had mixed reviews on some of her books, honestly. Some do it for me, some don’t. This one just so happens to be many of my favorite things though and I’m all for it.

Sports romance? Check!
Inclusive? Check!
Heroine who just so happens to fit my physical description? Totally unnecessary, but yes, Check!

While technically a spin off of another series there’s no need whatsoever to have read any of the previous books. I was in no way lost or scrambling to piece together background information, though it was obvious enough that a few side characters had previously been ‘the couple’ in another story.

The narrative tone and writing was great and easily sucked me in. Overall reading this was just an uplifting and cute experience. It’s a little cheesy, in a very sweet way, like getting a warm hug. I’ll be happy to recommend and go back to read other books from this world.