When I first heard about this book, I knew I would love it. I found myself relating to the characters and never wanting the book to end. The growth, connection, and characters were absolutely incredible. I loved the realness that was shown in both the characters and how they strived to be better.

Love And Panic written by Raina Ash was so beautiful, raw, honest, and heart breaking. I feel like so many people can reasonate with this book in so many ways. Love And Panic caught me off guard, I didn't think it would cut to my heart, but it most definitely did, and it didn't disappoint one bit. The beautiful cover really caught my attention, but when I read the synopsis it made me want to get my hands on this book even more. Love And Panic gave me chills, made me smile, make me laugh, made me cry, and made me wonder, why are people so damn cruel to others? This book deals with some super heavy topics that may trigger certain readers, so please, if you do decide to read this book, read at your own caution. I will list some topics below to give some of you an idea, OCD disorders, family drama, heart break, panic attacks, and panic disorders. Despite a certain character being hard headed and at times only thinking of himself (if you read the book you'll understand why), I still loved every single character involved in this story. Please do yourself a favor and read this beautiful book. Although, I don't suffer any of these issues mentioned in this book, I know some people who do, so this book really touched my heart in so many ways.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND PINK FOX PUBLISHING FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

Natalie has lost both of her parents and aunt at a very young age. Due to their deaths, and multiple car accidents, Natalie suffers crippling anxiety and OCD. Being a shut-in is NOT your average lifestyle, but Natalie is done with the outside world and done with friends ghosting. After being in multiple car accidents, Natalie is afraid to step outside because she thinks she's going to die. In her apartment, Natalie is safe and protected, but always alone, sure, her cat, Sophie is decent company, but Natalie needs human affection. In Natalie's old life, she used to have a decent job, she had many friends, always went out on Friday nights, went to brunch, but after her crippling anxiety takes a place in her new life she doesn't go out anymore, in fact she never leaves her apartment, only to get the mail. Natalie is brave, courageous, beautiful, witty, and has a sarcastic sense of humor. Natalie made me laugh numerous time with her snarky side comments, but she also tugged on my heart strings.

One night, Natalie wakes up with a pounding heart, and calls 9-1-1 claiming she's certain that she's dying, but really only having a panic attack. Natalie realizes a little human contact might be nice, especially the kind that comes from a cute firefighter that comes to her rescue that night. Natalie takes her medication, but one day she runs into the cute firefighter whose on another call in her apartment building, Mr. cute firefighter asks Natalie on a date, but the problem is Natalie actually has to go outside of her apartment, the problem is this cute firefighter doesn't know that Natalie can't physically walk outside without thinking she's going to get hit by a car and die, he also doesn't know that Natalie suffers from crippling anxiety and panic attacks. When the firefighter comes to Natalie's rescue the night of her panic attack, Natalie notices he has a wedding ring on, but when they run into each other a different day, Natalie notices the wedding ring is missing. This is when Dean enters the picture.

Dean is a former pediatric surgeon, alcoholic by choice, and a massive grump. Ever since a family tragedy left Dean divorced and shattered, he is more than happy to spend his days drinking and racing toward death. Ever since Dean lost his family, he doesn't think he deserves to live past forty-five, he saves up money so when he does pass a large chunk of that money will go towards a pediatric hospital. One night, when Dean is drinking heavily at the bar, he decides he's had enough, he's smart enough to know he can't drive this drunk, so he walks home instead. Dean passes out in front of Natalie's apartment building, minutes away from being flattened by a bus, changing his and Natalie's fates forever. When Natalie sees Dean passed out and knowing a bus is minutes away from the bus stop, Natalie decides to yell out the window at Dean to get up quickly. Natalie notices so many people walking past Dean, and not doing a damn thing to help him, Natalie puts her fears behind her and decides to help Dean herself. Please read this book to find out what else happens, I hope you all enjoy.

I've been seeing this book all over TikTok and it certainly did not disappoint! Having a main female character struggling with multiple, not just one, mental illnesses is so rare to see. As someone whose anxiety affects their OCD and vice versa, Natalie's struggles felt so relatable to me. Specifically, her worrying about ghosting friends and struggling to find the motivation to leave her apartment is an experience I can relate to very much. One of the most realistic elements of this story is that, when you're struggling with your mental health, often old friends will disappear from your life (neglect you or reject you completely) and new friends and relationships will take their place. It's rare to find a romance novel with such realistic and humanizing storylines. I love the message this novel sends about people who are struggling mentally are still deserving of love and respect.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

When I first read the blurb for Love & Panic on @netgalley I immediately thought it sounded similar to A.J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window (the agoraphobia aspect), however with a broody love interest instead of a killer- and I knew I HAD to read it! I’m so glad I did!! I loved this book so much.

First, you have Natalie, this outgoing lovable character, who has gone through so much trauma she’s terrified to step foot outside her apartment. Until she meets a cute firefighter that asks her on a date and in a spur of the moment she says yes. Now enter Dean, the former Pediatric surgeon who’s decided he wants to drink himself to death because he deserves it. He passed out right in front of Natalie’s apartment window, minutes before being crushed by a bus- and Natalie leaves her apartment to save him! Oh my gosh this scene was something else. I love Natalie’s thoughts, how positive and uplifting she is-even while she’s in her own mental mess. She felt like a real person and I really connected with her.

After their first encounter, Dean and Natalie come to an agreement: Natalie will give Dean a safe space to drink to his hearts desire until the New Year. In return, he helps her get comfortable with trying to go outside, he is a doctor after all if something happens she’ll be safe. I felt like they clicked so fast it was SO cute😍 it wasn’t a love at first sight but more of a friendship while knowing they both were extremely attractive but we’re battling their own demons. The banter in this book was 💯 out of this world cute. If you didn’t believe in true love before this book, no doubt you will now!

Ash did an exceptional job at showcasing how stressful, chaotic and heart wrenching mental illness can be. Not only for yourself, but the toll it takes on those around you as well. Because the illnesses mentioned can vary for everyone- I really appreciated how in depth Ash went for Natalie when she tried to step out of her comfort zone, and how she shut down when things got really bad. We can’t be perfect every day and this book really showcased that.

TW: Alcoholism, OCD, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, family death, Divorce, Agoraphobia

Thank you to @netgally, Raina Ash and Pink Fox Publishing for an #arc of #LoveAndPanic to review.
I loved this book so much.

Natalie with anxiety, trauma, phobia, panic attact meet Dean an alcoholic who dosnt wan to live long life. From this book i understand how hard to face the fear, anykind of fears. Want to stay strong and move on, fear burden. They help each other, support each other, heal each other. They love so natural and sweet, little bit clingy amd needy but in swoon way.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#LovePanic #RainaAsh #PinkFoxPublishing #NetGalley #ARC

Thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours and Raina Ash for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Love and Panic by Raina Ash is a story about a women named Natalie who suffers from anxiety, panic attacks and has OCD. She worries everything in life can kill her and so she decides that staying home is safe and better.. that is until she meets Clayton and Dean.

Natalie is a VERY relatable character. As someone who also deals with debilitating anxiety every day, I enjoyed being able to completely understand and sympathize with what she’s going through. Once Natalie meets Dean and saves his life in the street, she’s able to learn coping mechanisms to help her anxiety and not let her panic and worry spiral into something worse. The coping mechanisms are helpful and they really do work! I’ve been told to use the same grounding and coping techniques before for my own anxiety. Using something cold to help get your mind out of fight or flight mode is something I also use.

The character development was also really nice to see with Natalie. Natalie realizing she can’t just live her life at home and wanting to enjoy life outside the walls of her place was a huge moment. Dean was a big reason for showing her that she can do things if she works on it.

At first I thought that both Natalie and Dean weren’t right for each other but it turns out they brought out the best in each other. They were both able to be themselves without judgement and that’s something that’s hard to find. They both had moments of “what am I doing with my life?” that I think wouldn’t have happened if they weren’t in each others lives. I also just really love how much they both care for each other.

Overall, this book was a very good read. Raina had me hooked all the way through. I look forward to reading more Raina Ash books in the (hopefully near) future

Tropes: strangers to lovers, dark secret

Thank you SO much NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.
I ADORED this. From first page to last, Ash has a way of completely gripping you with a dual POV story of deeply damaged "will they won't they" romance story. But it is so much more than that. This book does such a great job of describing the nuances of two complex mental health issues: agorophobia/anxiety and alcoholism. The internal battles of both conditions are SO well written, honest, raw, compelling...I could go on and on. I loved both these characters, the things that made them 'tick', the things that made them so damaged, and the story of what brought them together.
I also loved that there was nothing 'tropey' about this story: the love story, intimate scenes, the ending (truly, will they or won't they?) felt so authentic. It's so difficult to get that right, but Ash completely nails this.
Highly highly recommend this book, so glad I had a chance to read it!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Not my typical type of read but I liked the factual (correct) way in which things like depression, anxiety, and alcoholism were woven into an intriguing plot.

[ Review time ]

Title: Love & Panic
Author: Raina Ash
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)/Romance
Release Date: Nov. 17th 2022
Publisher: Pink Fox Publishing
My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

wow wow wow.

The amount of good books I’ve read recently makes me seriously wonder if I did something really amazing in my past life!🥵😍🥹😨🤯

This was my first book by Raina Ash but it will definitely not be my last!
It was such a beautiful story, extremely well written and Raina really tackled the heavy topics in a phenomenal way!👏🏻
(TW: acoholism, panic attacks, depression, family loss)

It was spot on in so many ways for me personally and I could really connect to both Natalie AND Dean.
If you read this one - be ready to shed some tears though! (still so worth reading it🖤)

I thought I couldn’t add more book boyfriends to my list but here we go again, Dean proved me wrong😍🥹🥰

Read this one if you enjoy:
☀️Grumpy/Sunshine
🔥Slow Burn (but a goood slow burn)
🖤The guy falls first
❤️‍🔥Different traumas they help eachother get out from
💕Some amazing banter between the FMC and the MMC

It was a five out of five read for me without a doubt in mind!🌟

A big thank you to NetGalley, Pink Fox Publishing and of course Raina Ash for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Raina for the ARC!

Natalie and Dean used to be remarkable, happy individuals who, right now, are nothing but shadows of their former shelves. A usually upbeat soul, Natalie has gone through an unimaginable amount of grief that has left her panicky and wary of outside world. Outside is where the bad things happen. When Dean in his drunk self was almost about to get squished by a bus, Natalie pushes through her anxiety and saves Dean's life.

After his divorce, Dean has been functioning on autopilot. His only wish is to live till 45 years. By that time, he hopes he will be diagnosed with terminal illnesses like cancer or liver cirrhosis. Then he can say goodbye to the miserable life.

Love & Panic is my first book by the author. I thought it was a debut novel and realized after checking out Goodreads that Raina has a fan base of her own. Justified. While I won't tag her storytelling as one of the best, she has captured the essence of the characters so well. She didn't romanticise panic attacks or turned it into a 'Love can conquer all' stories because let's be honest, sometimes just loving each other isn't enough.

I have to say the starting kinda threw me. Trying to look cute for Firefighters in the middle of a panic attack isn't my thing and I was worried. The acknowledgement cleared that up. What a hilarious memory! Absolutely loved it..

Love love love! What a touching roller coaster ride. There's tragedy, romance, comedy, devastation, fear, anxiousness and so much more. You will feel all the feelings throughout the story. Natalie is our quirky neurodiverse FMC who falls for our resident alcoholic grump hell bent on destroying himself and being miserable. It's a wild ride for sure. I enjoyed it all, even when my heart was hurting.

This book is so good and heartbreaking. I loved seeing the personal growth from Natalie and Dean. I'm obsessed with my grumpy alcoholic men. The fact that he treated her so well and just wanted to help her in the way that was best for her. I would like a short story about their wedding and ideally a baby. I know he said he didn't want kids because of what happened but that was before he was sober so it's possible.

Love and Panic by Raina Ash is a loveable story about a woman who has panic disorder who ventures out of the safety of her home to save a man who has drunkenly fell face first in a snow packed street.

This two person POV narratives take you on a journey of a woman suffering from a panic disorder due to a terrible accident and the other is a man who suffers from grief and tries to numb the pain with alcohol. They develop a friendship that helps them to cope, but unexpectedly deeper feeling develop and both struggle to fight it.

Love and Panic is going to the top of my best reads in 2022!

If you love a book that has a grumpy x sunshine trope, Love and Panic is for you!

Thank you to @Netgalley and Pink Fox Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story shows the development of a complex relationship with a variety of mental illnesses portrayed in a realistic way. The characters are funny and relatable with unpredictable problems. Would recommend.

Love & Panic
A Grumpy Sunshine Slow-Burn Romance
by Raina Ash

Natalie is agoraphobic and hasn't left her apartment in three years. She's suffered through different traumas and has decided the safest way for her to cope with life is to just stay home. While it seems extreme, the more you read of Natalie's story, the more you understand the reasoning behind her choices.
Dean is an alcoholic who drinks to forget and as a way to punish himself. He doesn't believe he is deserving of a future and drinks heavily in hopes of accepting his fate sooner rather than later an angry, grieving man.
Two wonderful people, learning to help one another and to heal. It is so heartbreaking, yet so wonderful how they become to care for themselves as well one another.

Natalie is smart, witty, sarcastic humour her only downfall is having agoraphobia but for having a good heart she saves Dean sexy pediatric doctor who is drunk off his mind and passes out in the snow at a bus stop…. From there this amazing messy relationship blooms and is disastrous too.

Love and Panic was such a beautifully written story showing two sides of two very different health issues. Natalie being agoraphobic and Dean being an alcoholic.. so how do two completely different people come together? I could not put this book down.. even when I had to I kept thinking what happens next, this will be a book I will always come back to to reread! The character are brilliant, funny, and sad all together. Emotions run high and low and that’s such a beautiful way to show people because reality is exactly like that whether or not you have mental health issues or a completely happy person. There are always highs and lows and “Love and Panic” show how to people can over come everything with love 💕

Thank you NetGalley, Raina Ash, and Pink Fox Publishing for the E-Arc of this book! It is a 10 star for me!

Excellent book, on so many levels. This story takes an endearing look into a couple people's lives and shows us how learning to love yourself before you can love anyone else. Great read that gets you sucked into it immediately. This book will be recommended to many patrons at the library as well as book club. Great great story. I hope there is more where this came from.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

I loved this novel, plain and simple.

Natalie, suffering from Agoraphobia with Panic Disorders saves a a stumbling drunk, man (who happens to be a doctor) on the street, to later strike up a bargain with him. He helps her work through her panic to make it to a nearby coffee shop while she provides a safe haven for him to drink.

Ash did an excellent portrayl of someone suffering from severe agoraphobia and panic disorder as well someone with a somewhat functioning alcoholism. (Although a little terrifying he was still a practicing, volunteer physician). Loved her humor and writing style for some very serious topics.

I really enjoyed Dean and Natalie’s characters meeting each other where they were and learning the trauma and determination (and lackthereof at times) to not only improve themselves for their own piece of mind, but also for the one they loved.

Excellent read.

I loved this book! The cover is gorgeous and I just adored this story. It had great representation of OCD and anxiety, and I really enjoyed that. I also just loved Dean SO much!

This book warmed my heart. I’m so glad I picked it up from its cover and summary, because it had so much more to give.

Nathalie is a young woman who has not left her apartment for three years because of panic attacks. One night, she surprisingly leaves the building to pick up a drunk man on the street about to be rolled over by a bus, and then welcomes him in her apartment for the night. The guy whose life she saved is a doctor and determined to help her with her panic attacks to thank her. There becomes a beautiful and unexpected friendship that could lead to something more…

I absolutely loved this romance, from beginning to end. For once when I read romance, I wasn’t complaining because this or that was not okay: I just enjoyed it, fully, the whole time. The story is believable, truly realistic because it’s a story about love that faces obstacles that are so true, (more and more) common and profound. Both Nathalie and Dean have their traumas and defaults and not just qualities and amazingness. I was rooting for them all along, and even so the development of their relationship was neither too long nor too quick. This is a love story that could really exist, but told in a most exquisite way.

If you’re from a younger generation, you’ll completely relate to this story.