Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! This author truly understood the word 'slowburn' and I appreciated that immensely. The couple took much longer than I expected to get together, and that was very refreshing. Normally, I would talk a bit more about what this book is about, but it's a romcom and I'm trying to avoid spoilers, so the synopsis should be good enough to get an idea of the story.
The plot was solid and relatable, the writing was authentic to how people in this age group speak (in my opinion), and most of the characters were realistic! The love interest, Dan, was a bit too perfect, but this is fiction and I'm not complaining haha. I will admit that I didn't quite see what they saw in each other outside of physical characteristics that made them fall for each other, but I've come to learn that this is how hot people operate and that's valid. I thought Harper's anxiety was depicted in such an honest way that will really resonate with readers, and I could tell a lot of care and thought was put into her interactions with others and development overall.
All in all, I'm glad I read this and would recommend this book to others!

Does a more perfect debut romance novel exist? I think not. This is **perfection**. I laughed, I swooned, I fell in love. This book is a complete breath of fresh air and I cannot stop raving about it.

This was the sweetest book, it gave me a toothache. The anxiety representation was incredible, the emotional connection between the two main characters was MINDBLOWING and palpable. I loved the friend group and the support that the main character received throughout the book. I also loved how much Dan supported Harper through her anxiety attacks and episodes even without the whole context. This was such a sweet book and I can't wait for the next in the series!

I received an eARC of A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
5 stars! Witty and charming. The writing style is fantastic. Highly recommend it to fans of romance!

There are a few days left in 2021, but I'm calling it now: this is my favorite read of the year. I laughed so hard and loud that my son said he couldn't hear his show. I also should've worn Depends while I read it (and I say that without an ounce of snark or irony). Kleenex would've been smart to have nearby too; I cried a lot ( happy and sad tears). I blushed a lot too. Y'all, this is hot n heavy s*xy talk and scenes. And it's sooo good.

I saw so much of myself in Harper (her ache to excel and the anxiety when she didn't). She finds herself unlovable, and it's hard to understand, when Dan demonstrates that he does. The shame Harper feels around her pain, her diagnosis, medication, it's depicted with raw honesty, and for that I am grateful.

There are many other issues Harper and Dan face, sexism and elitism to name a couple. The author illustrates these problems with condemnation, and shows the characters combating them.

What's particularly striking about thia romance is that they are both flawed. They both have past wounds they need to sort out; I never felt a sense of superiority from either of them. They're human, and they love each other in the good, bad, and ugly.

The romance is slow burn at its finest. I learned not to get comfortable with these two in a happy moment. Be patient reader friends. The HEA is beyond worth it.

I could go on, but then I'd get spoiler-y. Just... be ready for its release on March 1. Plan to spend that day with this book.

A Brush With Love was a cute romcom involving dental school students and the challenges they face. I enjoyed the neurodiverse representation included in this book, from all angles, and the author's dedication.

The main characters are Harper and Dan. Harper is a very studious student going for her dream residency in oral surgery. She experiences extreme anxiety and thus plans her life to the T for no distractions, interupations or the unexpected. That is until she meets Dan. Dan had a successful business career but after the passing of his father, and with guilt and familial obligation to his mother, he is in dental school to take over the family dentistry business. Their romance was a very slow build from literally running into each other to being "just friends" to something much more. I loved their character development from the surface getting to know them to understanding their motivations/limits to facing those things and letting the unplanned happen.

I really enjoyed this book and reading about characters not only falling in love, but being pushed out of their comfort zones and finding their happiness.

god this book was so good. i actually caught myself laughing out loud and i think i cried more times than id like to admit? also i read it in one sitting so theres that.
harper's struggle with anxiety was so REAL, and raw, it made my chest hurt and my eyes burn, and as a STEM student in the medical field, it hit way too close to home. but in a good way. reading that made me feel especially seen.
onto the good stuff though! the meet cute!!! the banter!!! the freaking love!!!! god i love dual POVs so hearing that dan was just as much in love as harper was, was one of my fave things.
i loved this book. 10/10. amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Harper is an intelligent, witty, and strong willed individual focused on one thing - securing the dental residency of her dreams with no distractions. Enter cutie pie distraction Dan. Harper is forced to question the path her life as taken while trying her hardest to remain "just friends" with Dan.
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CW: anxiety disorder, mental illness, loss of a parent, toxic parent

Lord Jesus give me strength!!!!!!!! This book had me in a chokehold 8% in. I was squeeing and kicking my legs and literally dying the entire time. This book cured my depression. My anxiety. Every ailment ever - cured. Here's why I have already preordered the physical copy:

The banter and Harper's internal monologue had me laughing out loud. The side characters (read: meddling friends) had me smiling lovingly to myself. Everything about this book was absolutely IMPECCABLE.

On a serious note, I absolute love how the author tackled anxiety disorders as they related to academic achievement. As someone with a clinical doctorate, I know all too well how tempting it can be to equate your academic achievement with your value as a person, as well as the anxiety it can provoke. I know many people who felt that pressure to be perfect and have felt it myself, and the author got the crippling feeling SPOT ON.

I really appreciate how the author worked sexism in the medical field into the story. I work in medicine and though my particular field is primarily women, I have worked closely with many male physicians (and patients) who have deemed me incompetent just because I am a woman.

Last and not at all least. THE ROMANCE. THE TENSION. I am usually not a fan of insta-love. But this insta-love had me foaming at the mouth, deadass. Dan was absolutely PERFECT in every way and I loved how he would always gas up Harper and encourage her to be her best (whether her best be an A+ or a B- on any given day). Harper was such a relatable character for so many reasons and I loved watching her grow throughout the story.

I loved the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazlewood, but I think I love this even more. I will not stop talking about this book any time soon and will be recommending this book to all my friends who I want to convert to romance!!!!!!

I seem to be in the minority here but I did not like this book. It gets points for the unique dental school setting and the (mostly) good anxiety rep but nothing else worked for me. Harper and Dan never felt like real people to me and I never felt the emotional stakes in their relationship. The obstacles they faced didn’t seem as dire as they kept making them out to be and then everything supposedly major got magically resolved way too quickly and easily in some time skip chapters at the end. I didn’t feel like anything was truly earned and a lot of stuff got told to us rather than showed to us. Everyone in this book also felt incredibly immature to me - if you took out the dental stuff the characters would easily be believable as undergrads rather than 26 year old full-grown adults.

Clearly your mileage will vary given all the glowing reviews but personally I’d rather actually go to the dentist than read this again.

It was okay - kinda meh.

Wow - the anxiety and panic attacks were spot on. Although I feel like having those at such a young age is not realistic. But it's probably more the norm with today's Gen Z and their addiction to social media.

Wow - could the middle of the book dragged any slower? I skipped entire chapters and found that I didn't miss a thing.

Hated Harper - she was so annoying and not in an endearing kind of way.

Cute cute cute. Original premise. I love books that give us a glimpse into a world that we’re not able to experience ourselves (unless that’s our own career!), and this book delivered on that front and on the romance side of things. Excellent!

The title brought me in. I’m not going to lie, the sole purpose of me picking up this book was because of the pun. My inner dad-joke making self was intrigued.

This book, I didn’t hate. I didn’t love. I liked that there was anxiety Rep. I liked the dental aspect. I always love when emphasis and detail is placed on a characters job/schooling, it makes everything seem more realistic and os intriguing. I’m not sure that I cared for the male MC, not that anything was wrong with him, just didn’t quite hit book bf material for me.

Overall, I would still recommend this book.

I thought this book was quite cute. I loved that it started with Harper quite literally crashing into Dan the first time they meet. The friends to lovers romance was sweet and especially with the way the last 10% of the book played out I thought the story ended perfectly. There were so many nerdy moments, throughout the book, especially with how focused and dedicated Harper was to school and her program. The puns throughout the story were adorable!

Dan being the cinnamon roll hero was wonderful. He really was constantly trying his best even if he wasn't succeeding how he wanted to and he always seemed to remain quite positive. I liked that Dan didn't try and push too much when Harper didn't want a relationship. Even if he didn't fully understand her reasoning he did respect. her and not constantly force a relationship on her. Dan seemed like such a sweet guy even if he did have trouble talking to his mom about how he really felt about going to school. I' was happy with the outcome of Dan's story line because I felt he really did deserve to stand for for what he wanted more that he did for a lot of the book.

I think I would've like to see a bit more of the story be dedicated to Harper's focus on getting help for her mental health. It wasn't overlooked - which I liked - but I think it was still a bit rushed. I thought the anxiety rep was quite good and had a main focus in the story which I always like to see. The only reason I would've liked to see a bit more focus on Harper taking time to focus on her anxiety is because she really refused help and for that matter didn't want to acknowledge the severity of her mental health for much of the story.

I'd say overall for me it was a 3.75/5⭐️ read, but I did enjoy all of the cute and nerdy moment throughout so I'll round it up to a 4⭐️. It was a cute read with a happy ending I quite enjoyed and I liked that it was something slightly different from most of the romances I read. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc.

Genre: romance
Pub date: March 1, 2022
In one sentence: Perfect student Harper is at the top of her dental school class - until she meets reluctant first-year student Dan and finds that her life may not be as perfect as she thinks.

This book has gotten glowing reviews from some of my favorite bookstagrammers, and I'm here to give another great review! Dan and Harper were just the cutest couple - from their meet cute, to their friendship and the development of their relationship, I was totally on board with this pairing!

I love character development in a romance, and Harper and Dan supported each other as they worked through their issues with anxiety and family expectations, respectively. Seeing Harper's struggles made me super emotional, as someone who has struggled with anxiety, perfectionism, and sexism in STEM, and I loved seeing her open up to Dan and find a better path forward.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to brush your teeth! (Oral hygiene is no joke, and some of the dental conditions discussed in this book sound very painful!) I definitely recommend this as a fun spring romcom!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Posted to Goodreads 11/25/21, posted to Instagram 12/4/21.

I love a unique romance novel setting by an author that actually knows that setting. Mazey Eddings's descriptions of dental school and procedures clearly come from firsthand knowledge, which made this book fun and interesting to read!
As for the main characters, Harper's grief and anxiety (more on that in a minute) and Dan's pressure to meet family expectations helped them both feel like realistic, fully developed characters. I did have some trouble relating to Dan's motivations--going back to dental school (a difficult! four year graduate program! that you are not interested in or even good at!) to help your mom with the family practice when I assume she'll probably be ready to retire in the next decade or so??--but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief there. The depiction of anxiety, on the other hand, felt extremely realistic, so much so that it made the book difficult for me to read sometimes. As someone with anxiety (although not as severe as Harper's), it took away some of the escapist element that I crave in romance. This is 100% a personal thing though! And ultimately, I'm really glad this book and it's portrayal of anxiety and panic disorders exists.

A Brush with Love was a steamy, sweet contemporary romance. I appreciated the theme of anxiety being handled so well, and I related to a lot of the feelings Harper had throughout the book. I was in love with Dan from the beginning, and I was definitely rooting for those two throughout. I also liked the dental school setting- very unique.

This was chaotic, to say the least. Mazey's writing style is just too hyper and all over the place.

I also thought I could get past the teeth thing, but nope, cannot. Phobia strikes again.

And then the character being naked Dan 🤢

This was a faster read than I was expecting! I wasn’t sure what this was going to be like, but it was surprising. Not a romcom, this deals with some serious emotions in a realistic way. Loved that everyone stood up for what they deserved.

A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings is not only a steamy, electrifying love story with the most exquisitely torturous slow burn and most satisfying surrender to feelings. It’s also a love letter to ending the stigmatization around mental health, and mental illness. That not having a perfect brain does not make you less, does not make you unlovable, and is NEVER a reason for shame. And that therapy is not a bad word, and needs so badly to be normalized in our society.

Harper’s journey not only with Dan, but with herself, was so beautiful and moving. Getting to see her grow, and learn to accept herself and her brain was wonderful. Dan’s journey with his guilt and overwhelming feelings of obligation over living a life he could actually love was so well done. And both Dan and Harper learning to live with their grief was so raw, and honest, and moving.

This book made me sweat, laugh, swoon, and cry. I could not possibly love Dan, Harper, and Judy the cat any more. I also, of course, LOVED the interspersed feminism. I hope everyone will pre-order and read this book because it is AMAZING!

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'll be honest and straight to the point I'm really disappointed. I was thoroughly expecting to love this, but the love interest, Dan, just really rubbed me the wrong way. He was super cocky, and some of the ways he acted or spoke were really gender-role-y? Even the smut was super gender-specific. I wanted to like Harper, but it felt like every 20 minutes she was saying no because she was graduating from school... In 5 MONTHS. Yes, she had anxiety, but she was also obviously horny and kept instigating the kisses and stuff? Just 2 characters I could not care for at all.