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marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
Bear with Me Now by Katie Shepard
Teagan Van Zijl, is handsome, charming, and way too serious for his own good. But the seriousness came from having an alcoholic mother and from having to raise his little sister from the time he was twelve years old. He took this task seriously because he had to take it seriously. Their mother was all about parties and booze and Teague and his sister, Sloane, were on their own.
Years later, twenty two year old Sloane has dragged a drugged Teagan to a wilderness therapy retreat. Sloane is there because she needs rehab due to cocaine abuse. Teague is there because Sloane doesn't want to be there without him. Teague had been in the hospital due to a vicious panic attack and wasn't even clear headed when Sloane swept him away to this expensive Montana rehab resort. He has a non profit charity to run and it's hemorrhaging money. He needs to be back at work but he wants to do what is best for Sloane and he's still reeling from his "not a heart attack, panic attack instead" diagnosis.
Meet Darcy Albano, who has flitted around working bottom rung manual labor jobs in wilderness areas while having spent over a decade trying to get her degree. Something is not right with her understanding of the written word and it's slammed doors in her face all her life. Now Darcy won't even try for jobs that require paperwork, her confidence when it comes to work and school are at rock bottom and her dreams of becoming a park ranger are just that, dreams. But through a major amount of misdirection and miscommunication, Darcy is now going to be Teague's sober companion. How does Teague end up with a sober companion that he doesn't need, for an affliction he doesn't have, while his real needs are being swept under a rug, leaving him more fragile than ever?
Yeah, so these people don't say what they need to say to each other. Teague and Darcy have life long trauma and they are going about things all the wrong ways. But that's life, even when unearned, shame, guilt, embarrassment, and the need to fix others can keep one from getting the help needed. These two are so attracted to each other, the chemistry is so right, but Teague's one little lie and Darcy's jumping to way too many conclusions makes this a romance that may be bound to end way too soon. I hurt for both Teague and Darcy and wish they could really be honest with each other but both feel they have too much to lose to show themselves completely. There is humor here, there is a bear and other wildlife, but the serious issues are what make the story so interesting for me.
Pub Apr 25, 2023
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
Teagan Van Zijl, is handsome, charming, and way too serious for his own good. But the seriousness came from having an alcoholic mother and from having to raise his little sister from the time he was twelve years old. He took this task seriously because he had to take it seriously. Their mother was all about parties and booze and Teague and his sister, Sloane, were on their own.
Years later, twenty two year old Sloane has dragged a drugged Teagan to a wilderness therapy retreat. Sloane is there because she needs rehab due to cocaine abuse. Teague is there because Sloane doesn't want to be there without him. Teague had been in the hospital due to a vicious panic attack and wasn't even clear headed when Sloane swept him away to this expensive Montana rehab resort. He has a non profit charity to run and it's hemorrhaging money. He needs to be back at work but he wants to do what is best for Sloane and he's still reeling from his "not a heart attack, panic attack instead" diagnosis.
Meet Darcy Albano, who has flitted around working bottom rung manual labor jobs in wilderness areas while having spent over a decade trying to get her degree. Something is not right with her understanding of the written word and it's slammed doors in her face all her life. Now Darcy won't even try for jobs that require paperwork, her confidence when it comes to work and school are at rock bottom and her dreams of becoming a park ranger are just that, dreams. But through a major amount of misdirection and miscommunication, Darcy is now going to be Teague's sober companion. How does Teague end up with a sober companion that he doesn't need, for an affliction he doesn't have, while his real needs are being swept under a rug, leaving him more fragile than ever?
Yeah, so these people don't say what they need to say to each other. Teague and Darcy have life long trauma and they are going about things all the wrong ways. But that's life, even when unearned, shame, guilt, embarrassment, and the need to fix others can keep one from getting the help needed. These two are so attracted to each other, the chemistry is so right, but Teague's one little lie and Darcy's jumping to way too many conclusions makes this a romance that may be bound to end way too soon. I hurt for both Teague and Darcy and wish they could really be honest with each other but both feel they have too much to lose to show themselves completely. There is humor here, there is a bear and other wildlife, but the serious issues are what make the story so interesting for me.
Pub Apr 25, 2023
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.
labraden's review against another edition
3.0
When Teagan Van Zijl suffers a panic attack that lands him in the hospital for a week, his sister Sloane decides to take him somewhere to get help. She chooses a wilderness retreat in Montana that specializes in addiction therapy. Teagan tries to tell everyone that he is not an addict, but nobody believes him, especially Darcy Albano, the retreat handywoman. After she saves Teagan from an accidental encounter with a bear, Darcy is appointed as Teagan's sobriety companion, which creates a much closer relationship that prompts him to take her back with him to New York.
There are just way too many things going on in Bear With Me Now. All of the main characters have so many problems that it seems impossible for them to find any kind of normality. In addition, the story goes from the wilderness in Montana to the world of institutionalized fundraising in New York without settling any of the concerns raised at either location. What adds to the confusion is implausibility of the events that occur throughout the novel. Also, addiction, severe anxiety, and dyslexia are treated as plot devices rather than the serious problems that they are. Overall, there are many good things that are unfortunately buried in the maelstrom created by the overabundance of issues and events in this story.
There are just way too many things going on in Bear With Me Now. All of the main characters have so many problems that it seems impossible for them to find any kind of normality. In addition, the story goes from the wilderness in Montana to the world of institutionalized fundraising in New York without settling any of the concerns raised at either location. What adds to the confusion is implausibility of the events that occur throughout the novel. Also, addiction, severe anxiety, and dyslexia are treated as plot devices rather than the serious problems that they are. Overall, there are many good things that are unfortunately buried in the maelstrom created by the overabundance of issues and events in this story.
hgriffin93's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
alliecat1915's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kyleethecatlady's review
I’m bored with the characters. There aren’t enough details or anything to make me want to finish.
annabel_jacobs's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book! I thought the cover was adorable and I grew up wanting to be a park ranger so I was excited for the prospect of reading romance in nature. This book was just a few good parts interspersed with much less enjoyable content/plot. The plot was just weird and pretending anxiety is an alcoholic problem instead…
Darcy was the best part of this book. She was a fun character, adorably invested in her wildlife studies. Her dialogue and bluntness was great but I wish the rest of the book centered around Darcy’s interests!
Darcy was the best part of this book. She was a fun character, adorably invested in her wildlife studies. Her dialogue and bluntness was great but I wish the rest of the book centered around Darcy’s interests!
danidsfavereads's review against another edition
3.0
This did not do it for me… the whole story was based on lies of omission and I just didn’t get it. I feel like it also made light of being an alcoholic/substance abuse disorder and that made me feel ick. The romance was also a little weird. So basically this held my attention but but also was not great (2.75/3)
(Content warnings are mentioned in the beginning but include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, alcoholism, death of a parent)
(Content warnings are mentioned in the beginning but include anxiety, depression, panic attacks, alcoholism, death of a parent)
alisonreadsdmv's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Mediocre 3 stars
toribailey13's review against another edition
DNF at 55%. I was disappointed at the direction this book was heading