Reviews

Bear With Me Now by Katie Shepard

taylormendoza19's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

angmander's review against another edition

2.0

Not exactly the lighthearted romance that I had anticipated. I echo the sentiments that many others mentioned in their reviews- I thought the bear encounter would be a fun meet-cute, but was not much of a high point.

Spice level was pretty high and mostly concentrated in chapter 17. If you do read this book, I recommend skipping that chapter entirely. I don’t think you’ll miss any crucial story points.

All in all, I thought this book was fine. The story fell a little flat for me. There was more intimacy than actual relationship development between the main characters. And I didn’t love the way addiction recovery or mental health issues were discussed. There were several problematic elements, truthfully.

destinydeeter's review against another edition

2.0

I liked the story, but the whole thing felt very codependent and when she was being paid to be his “sober sponsor” but also hooking up with him it felt pretty icky.

walhallapoplar's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

libwinnie's review against another edition

3.0

The characters were challenging for me to connect with and the story so far-fetched early in the book that I almost set it aside. I appreciated the mental health aspect, though some of it (one of the characters taking themselves off of medication, that same character not being heard while trying to share their mental health challenges) was problematic for me.

hannahoude's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book is a lesson in why sensitivity readers can sometimes be important. This book should have had one. I enjoyed the wilderness retreat, escaping a bear antics at the beginning. That’s about it. From there it just devolved into the most ludicrous miscommunication and questionable representation. 

curious_artifact_reads's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

cassiebartelme's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this one and I’m typically fine with overlooking ridiculous plot points in romcoms but I didn’t like that the main character’s panic attacks/depression/mental illness were treated like some dirty horrible shameful secret and somehow “pretending” he was an addict instead was better…it’s a no for me,

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Panic attacks/disorders

kelread's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 stars, so I'm rounding up.

"Bear With Me Now" started out pretty strong but it quickly became extremely problematic and unbelievable. I tried- I really, really did- to sink into the fiction of it all...but it didn't happen. Despite being well written and humorous, I couldn't get past the almost cavalier way addiction, alcoholism, mental illness, and learning disabilities were handled. There was a lack of chemistry between the main characters. Nobody got the help they truly needed. The shenanigans with the otters was straight up unnecessary. And while HEA is pretty much a requirement for my books, the resolution for "Bear With Me Now" was frustrating at best.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

books_dragons_morallygraymen's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

3.5