Bergman Brothers 3
Author: Chloe Liese
Kindle Edition
We met Aiden and Freya in book 1. They have been together for 12 years. They love each other dearly… but things are falling apart.
Aiden suffers from general anxiety disorder that can sometimes be very debilitating . We learn in this book that Aiden comes from a very hard childhood (deadbeat dad, extreme poverty) that the has been managing all his adult life. Freya knows about this and is supportive. However, they are now thinking of starting a family and his insecurities about financial stability are creeping up on him. He has a new project that he thinks will give them that kind of security for life. The project has been consuming all his time and he has been trying to hide from Freya how high his anxiety levels are because he knows she will want to postpone their plans to make things easier for him. He wants to shelter her from this. At the same time, Freya is feeling abandoned and unloved. There you go, people: miscommunication. The root of all relationship problems.
Things escalate to a point that Aiden suggest marriage counseling. They agree to go. But all this is happening days before they have to pack up for an idyllic trip to Hawaii to celebrate her parents’ wedding anniversary. They will have to put a good front so that they don’t spoil everyone’s fun. Will they be able to navigate through all these new obstacle and find a way to each other again?
This book is a little different from the previous ones in the sense that we already had the HEA, but that apparently bombed. Since we know these two love each other deeply, it is very sweet and poignant and heartbreaking. As someone who has general anxiety disorder I saw myself in Aiden. Yes, we see impeding doom everywhere. We have that constant nagging feeling of imminent danger ALL. THE. FUCKING. TIME. And we know we can annoy other people, so, yeah, we do shut up about it. We do hide it. People misunderstand us because something that may be trivial to them is some insurmountable obstacle for us. I came to a great place with meditation, but I felt so so much for Aiden. I get him.
I also love this crazy family. I understand that some people may just go and say: “SERIOUSLY??? These people are too much!” The way they meddle and poke their noses in everyone’s business. Well, welcome to the Latinx way of life (they are Swedish, but yeah, I get them)! I loved how they band up to show Aiden that he IS part of this brood, that he IS family, that he belongs.
I also loved that Freya is a curvy heroine with a real body. She is positive about it but she does have her moments of doubt. That felt real.
If you loved The Bromance Book Club, this book is definitely for you. There is the romance novel reading for tips, the shenanigans, the grand gestures…
All in all, I had a great time with this one. Highly recommend. Chloe Liese is becoming a 1-click author for me!
Possible triggers: marriage in trouble, anxiety, child abandonment issues, extreme poverty
