This is such a unique book. The plot is like nothing I've read before and the author manages to keep a light tone whilst dealing with heavy mental health concepts and issues

I really enjoyed this book and breezed right through it with the humor and satire just chugging right along.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This was just a really funny and quirky romance, can’t complain. Nothing I haven’t read before but that’s the magic of romance novels I guess. I was entertained and liked the overall story, not the best, not the worst.

I do not thin it was my time to read this book: I put it away for now and I will be coming back to this once in the mood for that genre.

Come Here Often has some great situational humor. I also really enjoyed the unique side characters and plot. However, I was left expecting more of that light "feel good" storytelling. I love a book that can give you duality with mental health struggles and humor. The book provided that duality successfully; however, instead of giving the explanation of her triggers and trauma all at once, you are introduced to new trauma throughout the book, which holds the storyline back from giving that comedic and light payoff. There are also fantastic nuanced nods to development for Kat, but in the way that the book flows, it seems as though our MC's actions don't fully reflect that. I did enjoy the book and looked forward to seeing what happened next, but, in my opinion, this is definitely more literary fiction than the light contemporary fiction or romance that I was expecting.

Some parts were funny. This book was light on the romantic comedy and more so on Kay’s anxiety.
She made a good save at the end. But sometimes you just wanted to tell her “you got this!”

This attempted to create humor from awkward situations - they just came across as awkward. The narrative was not very fluid, as though attempting too much at once.

I enjoyed parts of the book. Some of it was slow. I really enjoyed the ending though and how it was wrapped up.

This book was just ok. FIrst time reading a book by this author and I'd like to read more of her work in future.

This would have been a DNF for me (and I rarely DNF books) but I needed to read the book to be able to review it. I just could not feel compassion for Kat. She is overweight, was recently let go from her job and has just been dumped by her boyfriend. So to say she’s not in a good place is an understatement. On top of that she is struggling with anxiety so crippling she can’t bring herself to walk out the front doors of the gym, therefore leaving her stuck there for a few days. Then despite her many issues and anxiety and the fact that she’s literally trapped in a gym, she manages to snag Marcus, a personal trainer at the gym. I’m sorry but I really just couldn’t. As a person who has dealt with anxiety I did not relate to her plight and overall didn’t understand what Marcus saw in her.

Kat Noad decides to start making some changes in her life, starting with joining a gym. But within an hour she has lost her job and her boyfriend. In her mental turmoil, she is physically unable to leave the gym. Can she soothe her anxiety and turn this into a positive experience?
Come Here Often? is a light hearted and gently comedic look at the serious issue of anxiety and mental health.
Kat appears to be a little vacuous and self absorbed at the beginning of the book. It is gradually revealed that she has been plagued by anxiety since childhood and her beloved dog recently died. Her behaviour at home and work has been erratic and now reached crisis point.
I ended up really liking Kat and her vulnerability. The romance side of the plot is reduced to allow Kat to find her own path and make changes. As someone who suffers with anxiety, I appreciated the exploration of the mental and physical barriers it can create.
The extreme nature of the situation and Kat's reactions are funny but the actual topic of mental health is very serious. I sometimes felt a little awkward because I wasn't sure if I was laughing WITH Kat or AT her.
Come Here Often? is an entertaining book with a great lead character.

This seemed like a funny rom-com book but the romanticization of a series issue without proper help is not right and even less to paint it as if by some miracle or because of a guy everything is gonna be okay.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my review. This novel published on May 23, 2022.

I really wanted to love this one as it sounded so good however I just could not get into it and I found myself just struggling to like the main character.

Sadly this was a dnf for me.

DNF - The character Kat has some flaws and some cringy moments like why she was fired from her job and her partner broke up with her. I mean I probably would too if someone was doing that constantly.

Not a rom com like I thought it was gonna be. Seems to be more centred around the main character’s anxiety with the current life events happening.

I don’t know how I feel about this story. I like the plot but the Mian character made me quite frustrated.

This story follows Kat who decided to lead a healthier life by signing up to the gym and committing to it. What she did’t expect was losing her job and getting dumped on the same day! As Kat’s world unravel, so did her anxiety and she found herself seeking comfort in the gym, unable to face the world out there. She has this bright idea of spending the night in the gym…One night turned to two turned to three! What has she gotten herself into?

Honestly, Kat is a very unlikeable character for me despite feeling sorry for her anxiety and misfortune. She is messy, makes silly decisions and just wasn’t the nicest person to her friends and family. I find myself getting frustrated at her for her lack of self-awareness and not taking any responsibility for herself, wanting to shake some sense into her and just tell her to get a grip. But then again, that’s what anxiety can do to a person. Kat was going through a difficult time and losing her job and her boyfriend of five years is not helping her situation. It’s no wonder she found comfort in the gym. It’s a form of escape for her while she sort out her feelings.

What I really admire about Kat was how she managed to stay overnight unnoticed from the gym management. On top of that, she was also very resourceful in getting everything that she needs in one space. That gym also sounds amazing with all their fancy facilities.

Overall, it’s an okay story for me. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the arc.

Sadly I really struggled to get into the story in this novel, I was unable to finish it.

I’m sure that many others will love this read however sadly it wasn’t for me.

Thank you @netgalley & @bookoutur
for the E galley & audiobook. The opinions are my own.
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ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴘᴏʀᴛᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴛᴏ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴀs ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀs ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪᴛ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ.
ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ, ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ sᴜᴘᴘᴏsᴇᴅʟʏ ᴀ ʟɪɢʜᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪs ϙᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴘᴏsɪᴛᴇ. ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ɪɴ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴀɢᴏɴɪsᴛ ᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ ʟɪғᴇ ᴜᴘsɪᴅᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ʙᴜᴛ ɪ sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴇᴍᴘᴀᴛʜʏ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅs ʜᴇʀ. ᴋᴀᴛ sᴇᴇᴍs ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀsᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛɪᴄᴋ, ᴅᴜᴍᴘᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ ʙᴏʏғʀɪᴇɴᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ғɪʀᴇᴅ ʙʏ ʜᴇʀ ʙᴏss, ᴀʟʟ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴀ sᴘᴀɴ ᴏғ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ ᴍɪɴᴜᴛᴇs, ɪɴɪᴛɪᴀʟʟʏ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ.

ᴀʟᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ᴏɴᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴇᴍᴘᴀᴛʜʏ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅs ʜᴇʀ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏss ᴏғ ʜᴇʀ ᴅᴏɢ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴡ ɪᴛ ᴀғғᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ, sʜᴇ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ sʜᴏᴡ ᴀɴʏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛ ᴏғ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ sᴇɴsɪᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ. sʜᴇ ᴅɪᴅ ʙᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ᴏɴ sɴᴀʀᴋʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇᴛᴜʟᴀɴᴛ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ.
ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴅᴏᴇs ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴇ ᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ɪʟʟɴᴇss, ᴅɪsᴄᴜssɪɴɢ ᴀɴxɪᴇᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛs ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ, ᴋᴀᴛ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴀᴛᴇɢᴏʀʏ, ғᴏʀ ʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴏғ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ sᴇɴsɪᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴘᴇʀsᴏɴ.
ᴋᴀᴛ's ᴀɴxɪᴇᴛʏ ᴡᴀs ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ɪ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ. ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇᴏʀʏ, ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪs ʟɪᴋᴇᴀʙʟᴇ ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇᴅ ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ. ɪᴛ ʟᴇғᴛ ᴍᴇ ғᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴀɴxɪᴏᴜs.

This book was… a lot. I considered putting it down, but I ended up pushing through. As a Nashville native, it was painful to read a book that takes place in Nashville that was written in this way. There were so many unnecessary references to cities and streets that didn’t even make complete sense. I know that’s super picky and it wouldn’t make a difference to most readers, but it was grating on me.

I struggled to feel empathy for Kat… she just wasn’t a likable character and didn’t really do it for me. I can sympathize with her anxiety, but I struggled with her lack of self-awareness and having absolutely no desire to help herself. I also feel like nothing was really resolved in this book. There was little development in her interpersonal relationships - literally the only time growth in her relationships with friends/family is mentioned is in the epilogue. While Kat may have learned better habits (again, according to like one line in the epilogue), I didn’t see any real change in her. I’m especially concerned about her dependence on alcohol that isn’t really addressed. As well as the potential for her Xanax dependency…

Lastly, as someone who works in mental health, I was shocked to learn the author had parents in the mental health space after reading her description of mental healthcare. She characterized acute care as a literal jail cell, which is an antiquated way of looking at acute psychiatric care. These hospitals are also not referred to as psychiatric hospitals as much, as that term has a very negative connotation.

Honestly, I’m not 100% sure how I got through this book. It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but I certainly wasn’t impressed. Two stars since I actually managed to finish it against the odds.