I recieved an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Only When It's Us was highly enjoyable.

And that's all you'll get if you don't want to see any TW or spoilers. If you do however, do move ahead.

Let's start with some Trigger Warnings that I know would have been a big deal for me and still would be a big deal for some people I know, so if you at all feel uncomfortable reading about these things, you probably shouldn't read this book: TW: Death (by Cancer), mourning, trauma, hearing loss due to illness, smut.

Okay, now let's get into it!
The main characters Willa and Ry were absolute peaches. They are university students, both very much into football (or soccer, I suppose), but Ryder had to give the dream of becoming pro up because he lost his hearing two years prior to when our story is set.

I have never actually read a rom-com about a character with a disability before, so I think this is absolutely more than refreshing. The writing felt authentic to a point where I could feel Ryder's frustration about not being able to do everything he did before (without going into TMI, I absolutely know what this feels like so for me this part of the story carries even more meaning). It's even more refreshing to see how Willa handles Ryder. Exactly as she had before.

They know exactly which buttons to push on each other and how to drive each other up the wall to a point where they don't know if they want to punch the other or kiss them, as all great strangers-to-friends-to-lovers story goes. Or... strangers-to-enemies-to-frenemies-to-lovers. The tension between them was fantastic, the misunderstandings and the pining simply divine and both Willa and Ryder are absolutely headstrong individuals who know what they want without pushing too far. There is nothing that irks me more than a male protagonist in a book that either lets himself be groomed by the heroine or forces her to become something she's not. Ryder is neither and for that I love him.

This book has everything from romance, to comedy, to bickering, to angst, to self-discovery and I can highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good romance.

The only things that irked me a little were the fact that Willa's mother pushed Ryder to speak. Despite her situation, I really was not too enthusiastic about him being forced to speak, especially in that way because I always think that after a traumatic experience such as Ryder definitely had, he is allowed to take his time. And if it takes longer than 2 years then people will have to accept it.

The other thing which never fails to make me laugh are the very colourful descriptions used in rom-coms referring to genitals and this book was no different. I think I even snorted once or twice out loud but for me that only added to the amusement and comedy and I don't even think of it as a bad thing per se.

The third thing that made me stop in my tracks was the fact that every single chapter started with a song title. Which, don't get me wrong, is an absolutely fabulous idea. I even loved that there was a spotify playlist and I did listen to it while reading 100%, but here's the thing... this is a book featuring a deaf character. Or at least one who is hard of hearing. And I was thinking that it was probably likely for deaf/HOH readers to pick up this book to see themselves represented, right? And sooo... is this really the book to attach to a musical playlist? Just a thought.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable read and for I definitely recommend to all the romance lovers out there! This is definitely DEFINITELY one of the best ones I've ever read!