Love and Other Mental Health Concerns

by Cait Carlson

Marcy Murphy has lived through some dark times. She has the anxiety and occasional depression to show for it. Lately though, things have been looking up.

Dream social work job at hometown hospital? Obtained.
Flirty best friend who appreciates a happy hour? On Standby.
Sweet and supportive adoptive dads? Right downstairs.
Vintage apartment that smells like fresh bread? Yum.

What doesn’t Marcy have? A love life. All of that may be about to change however, when the hospital hires Nick Anderson, an attractive healthcare consultant with a dirty reputation and charisma to match.

While Nick and Marcy navigate the intricacies of improving social services in rural healthcare, the spark between them begs the question that neither of them was ready to answer. How do you traverse the landscape of love and attraction without a map?

Genres: Love

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

About the author

Cait Carlson was raised on the east coast but now calls Minnesota home. She has a master’s degree in social work, and worked in the mental health field for twelve years before becoming a stay-at-home parent. When not writing, Cait enjoys reading, caffeinating, and spending time with her husband and three young children.

Cait enjoys writing stories with heart, laughs, and spice.

Her current book is the first in a three part series of interconnected standalone novels. Book 2 in the series will be available in Spring 2026!

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small town MN romance is sweet and refreshing. The writing and characters are funny - I laughed out loud so many times. The CEO clearly going through a midlife crisis with the frosted tips and [multiple] 🤦🏼‍♀️ popped collars had me 💀. The found family and supporting characters are so relatable and lovable.
Marcy and Nick have such amazing back and forth, funny, flirty and teasing. Smitten from day one and fighting their own demons as they grow emotionally and support each other in just the right ways. I loved the separate POV chapters and I hope their story continues in the second book- if even in the background. I can’t wait!
🧁🥵🥰❄️🍪💙

📖 eBook

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never read romance novels but I read this for a white elephant exchange and ended up really enjoying it. The main characters were fleshed out well and I was rooting for them individually and as a couple. Their spirals were very realistic and I enjoyed the openness of receiving mental health assistance. My only criticism is I wish the side characters had been better developed. I know it’s going to be a series that features the other characters and their romances (basing this off the title of the next book) but I didn’t get so attached to them that I would expect a sequel or care enough to wonder about their love lives. Hope that makes sense… anyway it’s a fun read as a one off too.

[Meghan Tuerff]

Who doesn’t love a small-town romcom? The romance is sweet with banter and chemistry to make you smile. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

[Diana M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcy and Nick

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Trope: workplace, hospital setting, small town, traumatic childhood, friends to lovers, love at first sight, found family, he likes control, scorned woman, almost reverse grumpy vs sunshine

Tension: 2/5 There is angst because the fmc is an anxious person. The anxiety, triggers, and reactions are well depicted in what an anxiety spiral is like.

Pro: dual pov, hea

Marcy has anxiety and trust issues from her traumatic upbringing and her ex cheating on her. Nick hasn’t had a serious relationship bc his job is traveling the US, so he hooks up with women in the cities he’s in, but nothing serious.

They have a funny meet cute and build report with each other. She slowly lets him in, he slowly lets himself sink into the idea he wants more from life.

The book has engaging side characters and small town appeal that emphasizes found family. Marcy’s character development was nice to see that she was willing to be uncomfortable if it meant growing. Nick also grows, but it’s nice to see a mmc treat anxiety with respect and admit his own needs for therapy.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. Yes, it’s a romance with a happy ending, but between the covers it feels more real and honest than others of the genre. I loved the deeply human, and flawed characters, who were also charming, lovable, and people you’re rooting for. The banter was real, hilarious, and exactly what you’d expect from well developed characters, both main, and supporting. I loved the insight into small town health systems, that educated readers without overwhelming them with the bleakness of said systems. And the themes of mental health and its importance for all, *chefs kiss.* If this debut novel is indicative of what’s to come, I am 100% on board to read anything and everything Cait has to offer.

[Kim Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overcoming fear for love

Cait Carlson wrote this book beautifully. She has written a book that is both a testament to mental health, love and overcoming past hurts to allow good into your life.

Marcy and Nick both have pasts they are constantly working on processing to stop the fear from taking over. They find refuge in each other when they least expect it and they learn so much about themselves in the process.

I highly suggest this book as it speaks about anxiety and parental traumas in a tasteful way that is never negative but something to continue to process and grow through as adults navigating their daily lives.

[Natasha Pinkerton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ate this book up! It was so good my hours of sleep turned from 8 into 4 on a work night 😅. It’s a perfect balance of depth and character development, yet moved at a fast pace which kept me hooked! Looking forward to the next book in the series! Cait and I used to work on a mental health inpatient unit together. She’s genuinely an excellent human and it was great seeing her compassion for humans come thru in this book!

[Samantha Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great small town romance

What a cute, spicy small town romance book. This had all the right mix of things you look for in romance book. A perfectly funny Meet-Cute. Character development and conflict throughout was well written. It was funny, good pacing and with the perfect balance of spicy and tension.

Favorite quote
My stomach drops with just the brief contact, and it is so unsettling that my palms could now water plants.

[Liz Mullenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! the banter and chemistry are amazing and well written. The characters are so relatable to all the thoughts we have in our heads! definitely a must read!