Reviewed by Lesley
TITLE: Rebuilding Charlie: Black Dog Inn Book 1
SERIES: Black Dog Inn #1
AUTHOR: Kris T. Bethke & Tia Fielding
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 318 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2024
BLURB:
One day at a time, one cupcake at a time, I was determined to win him over.
Charlie Caldwell has hit a breaking point. With more than just his mental health on the line, he makes the decision to move across the country to work for his best friend, leaving his brother and niblings behind. A new start isn’t going to fix him. His dysmorphia isn’t going to magically go away. But his hope is that being in a new place and going no contact with his toxic mother will at least allow him to breathe.
Teague Mulligan might look like a lumberjack, but he’s really a marshmallow. And he likes it that way. He’s a doer, a fixer, and his wide shoulders are big enough to handle any problem. He’s always going to put himself between the world and the people he loves. But when he first meets Charlie, Teague doesn’t make a great first impression. Fortunately, he gets a chance to apologize and explain. Though Teague is immediately attracted to Charlie, he recognizes the other man has built walls around himself. Teague vows to go at Charlie’s pace, even if friendship is the only thing he can have.
The more they get to know each other, the more the attraction blooms. But Charlie’s past trauma keeps him from leaping. As much as he likes Teague, he knows the road blocks his mental health puts in the way. But Teague is as patient as he is kind, and as the days go on, trust is built. Slowly and surely, Charlie lets Teague in. Neither Charlie nor Teague were looking for love, but day by day, and cupcake by cupcake, love is exactly what they find.
Check out the preview for content warnings.
REVIEW:
This is the first book in a new series about the people associated with the Black Dog Inn.
A hotel newly taken over married couple Nicole and Dana.
This story is about Nicole’s best friend Charlie. Charlie has had a horrible time in life with poisonous parents that has impacted his mental health. He suffers from body dysmorphia and his home environment is toxic. His brother, Law, has encouraged him to take up Nicoles offer of a job on the other side of the country and with nothing to loose he does.
Teague works with his father at the family firewood business and helps his sibling Regan out with deliveries from their bakery to various businesses. He is a good guy and will always help anyone. He meets Charlie and manages to scare him without understanding how or why. but he knows he need to make it right.
I was really looking forward to reading this book. I loved the premise of Charlie struggling with his body dysmorphia and eventually finding love with Teague. I found the explanation of how it manifests for Charlie really clear to understand and educational. However, I felt that the first step in his recovery was rushed. He is literally telling Teague he doesn’t like to be touched and he doesn’t know if he can over come it and then a few pages later Teague is offering him a hug which he accepts. If you had just been told someone doesn’t like touch, mentally, your first reaction might be I just want to hug them, but you wouldn’t offer it. We also don’t hear anymore about if Charlie starts focusing on specific parts of his body, which is how his dysmorphia can manifest just that he covers up when uncomfortable.
I like books that write from both characters points of view. I think they help you understand the characters thought processes better but covering the same part of the story from both characters perspectives in different chapters does not work for me personally. I recognise that this is a personal preference though.
I did feel that the book started well and finished well but the journey just did not work for me.
RATING: 
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