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Bear With Me Now
Katie Shepard
416 pages | Published by Berkley
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
A major panic attack lands Teagan in a rehab with his sister. He forms a bond with Darcy, who is essentially the center's handywoman, after she saves him from a bear. Darcy believes that Teagan is in rehab because of a drinking problem, and is doing her best to help him in his recovery when he decides he has to leave to take care of things at work. But when Darcy decides she'll come with him to act as his sober companion, he has to keep up the charade of needing help with sobriety.
This is a tough one for me. On one hand, I really enjoyed the story and the dynamic between Teagan and Darcy. On the other, there are some major blurred lines and questionable ethics to contend with.
Teagan is one of my new favorite dandelion boys (albeit with a panic disorder, so actually not too far off from Peeta). Just the SWEETEST at his core. He read as the perfect balance to Darcy’s particular brand of chaos. So all in all, I like the romance of the book.
But then we get into the gray areas. I know it’s a misunderstanding, but Teagan goes along with the farce that he’s a recovering alcoholic. And then Darcy, with NO qualifications, experience, or professional training, becomes his full-time sober companion to help him through his “recovery.” ???? As much as I enjoyed the other aspects of the book, I just couldn’t shake the little bit of ick at this whole situation.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced e-book!
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