The story follow Kay Noad, a dental hygienist, who suffers from severe anxiety. She gets fired and dumped on the same day she starts at a new gym. She ends up not being able to leave the gym due to her anxiety and this leads to staying overnight and hiding from security. She refers to her anxiety as ‘Big A’.

In all honesty, Kat is not a likeable character. She makes a lot of poor choices. Mental health does not relieve you from all responsibility. This book should come with a trigger warning for those struggling with anxiety and mental health as that’s the main theme of the book. This isn’t a romantic comedy like I was expecting.

I did like the ending though. Kat did find some redeeming qualities at the end and seemed to be willing to get help to cope with her longstanding problems.

*Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Bookouture for the e-ARC of Come Here Often by Ellie Centre in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was definitely a cute comedy that I had quite a few laughs reading! But more than that it brought awareness to mental health struggles that anyone can have and how it can sometimes drastically impact one’s life. Moreover, avoidance is often a person’s first defense as asking for help can seem impossible, especially when suffering from anxiety.

This story follows Kat, a woman who struggles with anxiety of as she refers to it “Big A”. In the span of a couple hours, Kat joins a new gym, gets a call that she’s been fired, and her boyfriend calls to break up with her and let her know he’s moving out. So as you can imagine Kat doesn’t want to face the real world (i.e., she cannot leave the new gym). When one overnight stay turns into a week Kat isn’t sure how she’ll ever be able to escape her anxiety and panic so that she can leave the gym…

If you’re interested in finding out how things turn out for Kat, definitely check out this book when it releases May 23rd, 2022!

I wasn't prepared for this book in the least.

First things first: I LOVED, loved, loved the premise of this book. The idea of being anxiety-stuck somewhere really stuck (eheh) with me, even thoght it had never happened to me. Or maybe it has, though, if my own house counts. I've definitely changed my life around the fact that I don't like to leave much. Anyway.

Come Here Often? is the story of Kat on her first day of going to the gym. Ironically, her Day of Change becomes a nightmare when her boyfriend breaks up with her - by phone! - within ten minutes of her being fired - also by phone! What the hell kinda of people are these! So, anyway, she goes to the gym and delays leaving because she doesn't have anything better to do and, when she does try to leave, she finds that she can't. She has these strong panic attacks whenever she even gets closer to the door, because leaving would mean deal with her world upside down. Unemployed, single, and worrying about worrying everyone else. That's not an easy thing and I could so relate to her. Also, the gym where she got stuck in is open from 4:30 till midnight and has all kinds of things: a pool, a bar, a daycare, a whole-ass shop... No better place to be stuck, ignoring everything else.

Kat is not a good person, though, and I loved this. The fact that she properly sucked. She was self-centered and narcisistic, a real-life Peter Pan, never growing up. Never actually dealing with the thing she so loved to blame for everything else: her anxiety. And I honestly think her anxiety was well portrayed, along the fact that a mental illness does not a good person make. This is important. She deserves respect and empathy and patience, but she totally sucked as a person. I was glad to see her growing up, bit by bit.

What I loved about this book was that her development wasn't linear at all. Whenever she gave a step forward, she gave two back the next day. Was it frustrating? Yup. Did I understand her? Damn right. And ultimately I spent half the book And I loved that, ultimately, Kat only left because of someone else and she didn't think about it. Her anxiety wasn't bigger than her care for Rose. I found that beautiful.

Here's why I only give this book 4 stars: at some point, I think the entire "they're after me" plot was a bit too much. Kat kept feeling anxious and paranoid and I get that the plot tool of having the CEO of the gym there served as a reminder that what she was doing was not okay, but it felt a bit out of place to me. Also, the Luna plot. I don't know. So weird. Also, the fact that Val literally told her that she was only Kat's friend because she was "a hoot". That's not okay. That's not a best friend.
And the big thing: Jack deserved better. Kat had better chemistry in a minute with Jack than in a whole session with Marcus and that's that. I don't care. Marcus was a great side character, even after giving her a nasty look at the beginning, but he was NOT boyfriend material. He was friend material - motivational friend material. Jack got her from the get go, I'm sure of it, and I don't appreciate how he was left out.

Overall, I would totally recommend this book. I even talked about it with my friends, sending things like "SHE'S STILL INSIDE" "WHAT IS SHE THINKING". I think that's awesome.

right off the bat, this story had me SO frustrated...

this is not a romance, and it's not funny

i couldn't connect with Kat at all, which in itself is a huge disappointment because i thought her anxiety would make this read relatable...solely mistaken...
something about the situation of anxiety just didn't sit well with me, and i understand that everyone experiences it in their own way so i won't elaborate on that

this story was just all over the place for a setting which contains one huge building. it was incredibly repetitive with a main character that just seemed rude and irresponsible

this ended up being more of a women's fiction than anything else... i was just not a fan of any of it

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

I'm sorry to say that the book was so slow for me. It was putting me in a slump because of the pacing but I still tried to keep reading a bit more for like a couple of times, which only succeeded in reading like one more chapter. After that I couldn't keep it anymore, had to skip for another book to stop this slump and ended up DNFing the book 😔

Ever thought about living in your gym? Kat isn't a fan of working out, but she's willing to try. Cue a full-service fitness center complete with bar, restaurant, massage rooms, an outdoor pool, and more!

The problem: once she gets in, she can't seem to leave. Not because it's amazing (and it is!) but because her anxiety kicks in. Join Kat as she evades security and become more and more creative to keep her secret. With no job, an ex-boyfriend who works out at the same place, and no life plan, you'll be rooting for her to find herself and her happy ending.

Imaginative and heart-warming, I'm looking forward to reading more from Ellie Center!

Look for it on Amazon on May 23rd, 2022.

First things first, this book is marketed as humour / romance… it’s really neither of those. I didn’t laugh or find it funny and the romance was so minimal, one kiss in a book cannot make it a romance novel.

I feel like this book also should have a warning for those struggling with anxiety and mental health as this is the whole theme of the book. The main character’s actions are extremely frustrating of course but it shows the thought process of someone with chronic anxiety. I do wish the story told more of why her anxiety is happening (from the past). This book is long, quite repetitive and unfortunately just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel

If you like character driven single pov this is for you. The story follows Kat through her journey to work through anxiety and panic attacks while she lives in a gym. I had a hard time getting through this and I know it's because there is only one point of view. There were funny moments and I liked understanding her reasons but I felt like there may have been too much.

This was such a breath of fresh air! I loved this book. I fell in love with the characters and the cute storyline! It was cute, romantic, and compelling.

𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘖𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯? follows Kat Noad as she navigates being panic locked in one of Nashville's poshest gyms, upon being fired and dumped - both over a phone call - within the span of ten minutes. Over the course of the next few days, Kat discovers how each  person attending the gym tells a different story and maybe she can finally take inspiration and set herself free.

My initial thoughts upon starting this book were:
" I'm sorry, like I genuinely apologize but I've never a more pathetic protagonist and while I know she suffers from anxiety you can't blame it for her attitude issues.
I can't even sympathize with all that she's been through. Her getting fired? She deserved it. Your mental health cannot possibly be a reason for you to be unprofessional and extremely rude. Her ex dumping her? Can't blame him, I would too! There's a limit to everything. "

And while I still stand by what I initially thought of the character, she also progressed tenfold. As we neared the end there were no crass inner monologues or anything, just a helpless sort of feeling she had for the web of lies she's concocted and what she got herself into and she proves her integrity with what happened in the last chapter so I'm not that mad. But yes the MC does have or I guess used to have an attitude problem but she's improved. At the same time, however, there wasn't any gradual improvement the attitude simply disappeared by the end. So I can say a bit of dodgy plotting.

Also the book was supposedly funny? How? When? Where? I generally laugh whenever a character uses slightly inappropriate jokes to defuse tension, but it seemed, here, the protagonist's only sense of humour was inappropriate jokes and I didn't enjoy that one bit.

Lastly, this book was marketed as a romance but there was hardly any. It's more of a general adult fiction or woman's fiction. Though, whatever was portrayed of the romance aspect was alright, I guess the love interest was sweet and understanding.

Overall: The plot had loads of potential but unfortunately it wasn't executed properly. I mean there was a point when the stakes of being caught were high so that gave me a slight thrill, the rest well simply could've been better.

- ~ -

2.84 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 & 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Netgalley & Bookouture!

It was the worst day of Kat’s life. She finally joins the fancy local health club and within a few minutes of arriving, her boss fires her and her long-term boyfriend breaks up with her. Overcome by extreme anxiety, Kat panics and finds herself mentally and physically trapped inside the gym. She can’t bring herself to leave and ends up staying not one but a few nights even though the club closes from midnight to 4:30a. Knowing she needs support, she enlists the help of a personal trainer she has befriended.

As someone who has struggled with anxiety, I found the plot to this book so compelling. The storyline may seem unusual to someone who has never had to deal with anxiety, but those who do have it will understand how it affects everyone differently. Kat it written in such a relatable way with understandable concerns.

While this book is touted as a romcom, there really isn’t much romance until near the end. I did not find any of it humorous. If anything, I would consider Come Here Often? to be general fiction or women’s fiction.

The book does end happily but it may still be a difficult read for someone with active anxiety.

Triggers: anxiety, panic attacks, spousal abuse, potential child abuse

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Come here often?" is a rom-com that not only made me laugh, but also made me realize a few things about myself. I connected with Kat from the very beginning and found myself relating to her on multiple occasions (which I enjoyed!). Sure, the anxiety was slightly overused through the book but I didn't mind it too much. Kat comes across real and down to earty, as does the rest of the characters we meet in the book.

The book caught my attention from the beginning and it ended up being a fast read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's light and funny and I lost sense of time while reading it. While I usually stick to romance reads (lets be honest, I enjoy steamy books!), this wasn't really in that category. I did however not mind the lack of steam and spice as I enjoyed the characters, plot and comedy. I was laughing out loud which I haven't done from reading in quite while. Well done, Ellie Center!

4 out of 5 🌟

FLEW through this excellent, incredible book. Tightly written, earnest, laugh-out-loud funny at several parts.

I love light hearted rom coms like this. The heroine was so relatable—her aversion to working out and her living situation made her so likeable and fun.

I enjoyed the main characters and their relationships. Ellie does such a beautiful job curating these endearing and wonderful characters with seemingly real personalities and ambitions. I absolutely loved being in Kat’s head and trying to figure out what Marcus was thinking.

Any who, I AM SO HONORED I GOT THE CHANCE TO READ THIS NOVEL. It hooked me immediately and I love how much we focused on all the side characters as well. I really enjoyed the storyline and wow my heart melted so many times. This was more women’s fiction than romance, which suited me just fine.

I think this one even topped so many other rom com novels this month, and I can't wait to tell everyone to buy it when it's in stores or be annoyingly persistent about it when I’m at the library.

I adored all the characters and the atmosphere so much and I hope the author continues putting out more books like this!

What first drew me into the book was the entire concept that she was anxiety-locked in somewhere. Being someone who struggles with anxiety, I completely understand the feeling. Except I thought it dragged on a little too long and I expected more of a romance aspect in the book than there was. Overall I did think the book was hilarious. It had me laughing out loud and calling my friends to tell them about it when I was only 7 chapters deep.