Fight or Flight
I loved the endearing main character, Katherine, as she battles agoraphobia while living in her mansion on the hill with her two protective dogs. Lots of twists and turns. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

There were certainly plenty of twists in this story, most of which I wasn't expecting. Every time I expected the story to head in a certain direction, it would go down a different path. It definitely held my interest from the beginning to the end.

Fast reading stand-alone that keeps,you turning pages. I enjoyed that characters bond the plot. Good resolution.

Fight or Flight is the latest from Fern Michaels. As usual, she creates a story that draws the reader in. I enjoyed this book tremendously! I did subtract one star as it seemed there was a lot of background information. Then, all of a sudden, we had a agoraphobic who went from housebound for years to walking outside and going to town.That part I questioned. I wish we had more wrap up once we reached that part of the story. I will always pick up a Fern Michaels book when a new one arrives!

This was such an interesting book about Katherine Winston who suffered from agoraphobia after witnessing a tragedy and losing someone she loved. She seemed perfectly content in her mansion, alone with her two beloved dogs, Sophie and Sam. I kept anticipating how that might all change and just maybe Katherine could put her past behind her and move on and live a normal life.

I was amazed as the pieces finally came together which made me really enjoy the story and the characters. I received an advance copy of this book andI willingly chose to write an honest review.

Fern Michaels is a prolific author of books/series in many different genres. I have read many of her books, mostly cozy mysteries. FIGHT OR FLIGHT is a stand alone thriller. The MC is an author who has developed agoraphobia after her friend is killed in the Boston Marathon. She now lives a secluded life, never leaving home. Katherine has an active social media identity under an assumed name. But lately, she's been feeling as if she's being watched. As the tension builds, Katherine's choices become more limited. The story flies from this point.

4.5 stars

I have read many books by this author, and this is one of my favorites. I had a hard time putting it down. Katherine is a relatable and likeable character, and she's easy to root for. I haven't read a lot of books that have a character suffering from agoraphobia, and this one was well done. My only complaint was that her "cure" seemed to happen a bit too quickly when it finally occurred, though it did take seven years to get to that point. I enjoyed each character, including the dogs, and they were uniquely crafted. There was a romance angle, but thankfully, it wasn't overwhelming. It worked nicely with the rest of the story. The beginning was a bit slow, but once the pace picked up, it pulled me in and the story seemed to fly by. This is one of my favorite reads of 2025 so far.

i sympathize with this book. firstly lets put it out there than Fern is one of my top authors. if you like her type of book then there is no doubt she is a favorite.
now to this book. i was going to have issues with the "cure" of her illness seemed to come around in a blink. now this could be seen as problematic and blimey im the first to (very passionately ) shout this down when its done. its not ok to reduce mental illness and the like down to this. buuuuut this woman had 7 years where it clearly wasnt ok. and things can happen in the sufferers mind and life where it culminates in this one thing being like a lightening bolt. and youll then find it wasnt just the "one thing" but lots of thoughts or processes mounting together and then the icing on the cake gives them the freedom step they needed. so i was torn. and really wanting to give the author the benefit of the doubt.

i felt for our main character. and can see how what she went through triggered her illness. its always true what they say, delve deeper and you can see these many often micro things happening to cause these mental ailments. her parents were killed, then she was at the Boston marathon bombings. the trickle effect of that fear would be enough to make anyone feel "fight or flight" trauma response. and therefore seek safety and hide away. she does this of course to the extreme. literally goes nowhere. hides in her house every second.
from her under a new name she also write book for young adults. which are hugely popular to the point of having an online community which she frequents again under different name. then one day she comes across something disturbing. she thinks one of her community is in trouble. so what now? how does she go about what next if she doesnt feel safe anywhere but in her own home?
oh and course her dogs. that always helps :)

Excellent story. Katherine did not have a good home life. Her parents were not nice people, rich, but not nice. When they were killed, she moved to Boston where she was at the horrible tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombings. She wasn't injured much, but the shock shook her to her core. She packed a bag and started driving.until she got to Oakville, NC. It was as good as any and wasn't as large as Boston. She bought a huge mansion on a hill and there she stayed for the next 7 years., never even stepping outside. She had her lawyer make an account under a false name to have all her groceries and things delivered to her home. They even put them inside for her.. She had 2 german shepherds that were very well trained and they were her constant companions.

Finally, events started happening that made her come out of her shell and even leave her house. While she lived in seclusion, she wrote books for young teenagers that were immensely popular She had a fan page that she monitored and talked to the girls under a fake name where she met a young girl who she thought was in trouble. That started a whole different set of events that troubled her She started to meet new people that helped her recover from her fear of the outside
This was such a good story that I had trouble putting it down.

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I was disappointed with this. Agoraphobia is serious and it isn't magically cured overnight thanks to a handsome doctor. This had an intriguing premise but fell short in the execution. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. There are other, better novels by Michaels.

I am a Fern Michaels fan. However, over the last few books...eh... Its seems the ending came all of a sudden. The books could have been more developed. I did like the premise of the story.

I enjoyed this story but the main character miraculously overcoming her panic attacks and fear of leaving her house was a little unrealistic. I have enjoyed previous books by this author, but this one definitely wasn’t my favorite. I give it a generous 3* rating. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Katherine lives alone in her big house. She hasn't left the house in years because of a phobia she has. She has everything delivered to her. She enjoys her job as an author. This book was ok.

I'm a Fern Michaels fan from way back and really wanted to love Fight or Flight. The premise was excellent but the holes in the story were too many to overlook. The story was repetitive, I felt, to take up space.

This was one strange book. A woman unable to leave her house for seven years is able to leave completely once she meets a good looking Dr. And the jump at the end to 6 months later with an unexplained ending. It definitely left you hanging. I was confused the whole book. The only thing I liked were her two dogs.

Katherine witnesses the Boston marathon bombing, moves herself to N. Carolina and becomes agoraphobic for the next 7 years. She has inherited wealth, is a famous reclusive author who goes on her fan page and pretends to be a teenager, and has only one friend, her vet, Doc. One day Doc brings a psychiatrist to her house, they discover a break in, and miraculously she’s over her agoraphobia, able to leave her house with no panic attacks whatsoever. This in itself renders the novel completely implausible, as does the solution she follows when they find her intruder. Not to mention the ickiness of her online behavior with her fans and the 24 hr timeline of figuring everything out