I really liked the narrators. I think I prefer the female narrator better than the male narrator.

The story was fine. I was very irritated by Harper for the majority of the book.

Even though I have Anxiety, I personally could not connect to Harper. It was just all about school and teeth and I really don’t care about either of those things.

I have kind of mixed feelings about this book. I think anxiety rep in books is great, but at the same time I have anxiety so it’s not really something I want to read about when I’m reading for fun, especially because Harper really stressed me out. Dan was nice but also just kind of surface level so I really couldn’t connect with him either.

This book didn’t have any fun tropes. It was just a lot of back and forth, will they, won’t they and then it was also a very slow burn, overall it was just kind of boring.

Oh my goodness, what a 5-star read! I never before thought the world of dentistry was ripe with romance, but Mazey Eddings proved me wrong. From exploring the anatomy of the skull to piecing together teeth models, there are so many sweet dentistry details that also give readers all the romantic feels.

The anxiety rep in this book is also so well done. Eddings really conveys the intricacies of living with generalized anxiety disorder. It's so validating to have a romance heroine live with anxiety and learn to love and be loved.

A Brush with Love is a charming romance with dynamic characters handling big emotional trauma. Harper is awaiting placement into an oral surgery residency program when she literally crashes into first year dental student Dan. They are instantly drawn to one another but with Harper's disinterest in romance they set off on a "just friends" relationship...with minimal success. Dan falls fast but willingly accepts Harper's boundaries until one fateful snowy night. This story is full of humor and a will-they won't-they suspense that leaves readers on the edge of their seat until the end. Both characters deal with grief over loss of a parent which is very influential in the person they want to be. It was incredible reading and relating to Harper's anxiety and the way it affects her day to day life. This is a great book for anyone wanting to better understand what someone with anxiety goes through. I adored this story and look forward to what Mazey Eddings comes up with next.

Special thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was really good for a debut. I felt the main character was a little immature, but overall I liked the story. Using the dental field as the setting was different, so this seemed more fresh than others.


I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

This audiobook was one of the best I've listened to in a while. I usually avoid audio for romances, but I took a chance on this one through NetGalley and it was actually awesome. I loooved the two narrators, and thought that having a male and female voice really worked here. It definitely added to my enjoyment of the book!

Book review: A Brush with Love is not what I would typically pick up- dental school is about as far from my experience as I can possibly imagine. But this couple is so incredibly gorgeous and squee-able that I was all in from the hilarious meet-cute through the pretty significant drama. This is one of the romance novels where the hero and heroine are always great together, but have so much of their own personal stuff to deal with that it is a herculean effort to make the relationship work. And I loved seeing them navigate it. These aren't light issues (anxiety and parental loss on both sides), but the novel stays hilarious and light almost all the way through. It isn't exactly a breezy romance, but it is tooth-achingly sweet (see what I did there?)
Go floss, and then read it!

Ten years of visiting the orthodontist have led me to this moment and to specifically appreciating this book.

I loved this. Just ... for so many reasons! Any romance that takes place in a STEM environment is practically screaming my name, and this was surprisingly fun! Dental school is such an interesting setting, and it lent so much to the story and the characters. Who knew you could pull so much sexual tension out of making teeth moulds?

Speaking of tension, Harper and Dan out here putting every couple to shame for how to build a healthy relationship together and apart 😭 Their journey as a couple was interesting. It's like insta-attraction meets friends-to-lovers meets tear-my-entire-heart-out-of-my-chest-and-hope-I-can-make-it-until-the-end. But from start to finish, I loved their banter, the way they opened up to each other, how they accommodated the other into their lives. This was probably one of the most satisfying romance endings I've read in ages because it felt so real and right.

Harper and Dan are both messy characters who deserve all the love and happy endings life can throw at them. Harper deals with anxiety that has kept her focused on her studies and not much else. She doesn't do crowds, doesn't do relationships or dating, and she definitely doesn't do anything that will pull her attention away from her schoolwork. She has a goal to be an oral surgeon in hospital and after years of working her butt off for it, nothing is going to take her eye off that prize. Nothing except Dan, that is. Who would literally rather be anywhere else but dental school. He's only there out familial guilt, which is hardly healthy, and he has no problem with letting Harper distract his every thought.

Discussions about mental health and scenes demonstrating it in all its glory are threaded throughout this book and I thought it was all so well done. And necessary. Seeing these characters navigate these moments, even when they're trying to hide what bothers them or spilling every secret about what makes them them—it made for such a rich and nuanced read that I deeply appreciated.

I may very well cry if I don't get approved for an ARC of Lizzie's story, but please know I'm placing a preorder immediately regardless.

Such a great book and the audio is fabulous! Who knew the world of dentistry was so sexy with rich and memorable characters? I loved it and can't wait to read more from Mazey.

There is always something that stands out the most in a book, and for me in A Brush with Love I was really moved by the emotional elements author Mazey Eddings included and the way she portrayed them.



First off, Harper and Dan are adorable and they made a perfect couple. They complimented the other in all the ways I love to see and created a very balanced pairing. And the mutual pinning for each other was delicious!



The females in STEM rep was excellent- I loved that Harper was the person in power in regards to experience and expertise in their field. I also appreciated the reality of females in a male dominated system- it’s not pretty- but it’s true, and needs to be shown to give a realistic portrayal.

Harper’s character struggles with anxiety and a compulsive need to succeed. Mazey tackles this in a way that allows the reader to feel the panic a ratchet up with her creating an understanding of the condition and empathy for Harper and also for Dan as he tries to help.



And lastly, what hit me the most, due to personal experience, was the portrayal of grief for a parent. Both Harper and Dan have lost a parent and are still dealing with their grief in different ways. I really appreciated the contrast between their reactions and how it has changed their life’s course. I can’t say I have acted the same as these two, but putting their stories on the page was cathartic to read.

🦷💗This book was a real treat.

🎧I was fortunate to receive an audiobook arc and found that the audio quality had an echo or fuzzy quality. I had to speed up the playback to remedy this issue.

The narrators read the story with appropriate enthusiasm and I especially appreciated Emily Lawrence’s portrayal of Harper, especially when she was experiencing her episodes. At the the beginning I found the narration of Dan to not be what I has expecting for his character. He was very meek and mild, lacking any self assuredness. As the narration progressed Vikas Adam grew into the character.

Overall the audio complemented the book well, but the audio quality was disconcerting.

A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings was released March 1st, 2022.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and the audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#ABrushWithLove #MazeyEdings #Netgalley #pinkcowlandreads

i really loved Mazey's writing. I loved the representation of anxiety. The audio was excellent. Mazey was a guest of the podcast where she promoted this book.

“Stop chasing it. Let go and let me give it to you.” Okaaaaay Dr. Dan! 😯😅💦
This was cute. I almost gave up on it in the beginning because it didn’t really pull me in at first but I’m glad I stuck it out. It was a sweet story that also handled a heavier topic of managing anxiety.

This is was a really fun romance!! I loved the characters and the premise behind this book absolutely grabbed my attention! I loved that it revolved around dentistry. Such a solid romance and highly recommend for the adorable characters.

I almost decided not to request A Brush with Love due to the mention of Harper's anxiety in the description. I try to stay away from books that focus on mental illness. I prefer to read for fun, for relief, and escape from the struggles of life. That's one reason why I prefer to read romance--because of the happily ever afters. But I saw this one available on audiobook right when I needed a new book to listen to in the car. So I requested it. And, I should have stuck with my original instinct.

I want to start with the easiest thing to mention. The language. Oh my goodness. If this book were a movie it would have to be rated R simply because of the language. I mean you'd think this was a Netflix Original Series with all of the f-bombs dropped every other page. Sheesh. I know there are readers out there that aren't bothered by this, but I'm not a fan. And the cursing was excessive.

Harper's friends were annoying. (Side note: one negative to an audiobook and characters with unique names is that I have no idea how to spell them. Out of Harper's 3 close friends, Lizzie is the only one I could remotely guess how to spell.) I'm really trying not to be judgmental, but I guess I kind of just am. These are girls I would not want to hang out with. I suppose they're supposed to be typical college girls concerned about screwing around and getting drunk. I just can't comprehend why grabbing an alcoholic drink has become the normal thing to do when life gets hard. Again, I'm creeping into the judgy territory, so I'll move onto to my next issue.

I had a hard time connecting to Harper. At first, I was thinking her anxiety wasn't such a big deal. I mean the things she was worried or concerned about seemed like things that everyone worries about. But she does have an added layer to her anxiety with the panic attacks. Understanding what she went through with losing her mom at such a young age in such a tragic way helped me to feel compassion towards her. And yet, I still struggled listening to her perspective when all she did was push people away, Dan and her friends. Understanding it and agreeing with it are not the same thing. So even though I understood her why, I didn't find the journey to be enjoyable. And I don't suppose it was supposed to be. Almost all growth is difficult. But again, I don't read to get bogged down in the depressing aspects of life. I like to be lifted up. Not to ruin things for any potential readers, but I do want to give you hope that Harper does end up working on herself, and that's redeeming for this particular struggle for me.

Also, the feminist versus "toxic masculinity" statements also got on my nerves. I'm not even sure "toxic masculinity" is the right phrase for most of the examples. But it kind of reminded me of how Miranda Kenneally can only write a Christian character that's hypocritical. I mean, obviously, these people do exist, but not all Christians are hypocrites. Just like, not all men are toxic or feel threatened by women in the workplace or feel like women need to remain in some box. Again, sure these people exist, but Mazey Eddings seemed to write only men who fall into this category, except of course the main male character and well perhaps his friend. It reminds me of how when you're car shopping you start to see your favorite car everywhere. Maybe this is a legit struggle I'm unaware of in dental school, but I don't see this in the majority of the men I know.

Perhaps my biggest pet peeve is when Harper and Dan had their big blow up. Harper feels betrayed by Dan's attempts to help her the only way he knew how in the situation he was given. And so she lashes out at him. He hurt her so she has to hurt him back. I cannot abide this in real life and I do not want to read about characters who behave this way either. I find that I cannot root for them. Again, I can understand where one's pain is coming from, but I do not want to surround myself with people who lash out simply because they've been hurt. There comes a time and a place when we sometimes have to say things that hard to those we love, and they feel hurt at hearing those words. But this is different. This was a purposeful retaliation. And there is no place for retaliation in love or in any relationships that I want to be a part of. Of course, to err is human and to forgive is divine.

Ultimately, I have to look on how I felt during this entire process. If I'm honest, I considered DNFing A Brush with Love at 80%, but sheesh, I'd come so far. At 94%, I still considered DNFing. I asked myself, "Am I in a place where I want to read (listen) to anything that is causing me to feel so intensely annoyed and angry?" And the answer was "no." I don't need any additional negativity in my life and things are stressful enough in real life not to read anything that's going to cause me to be in a bad mood. And unfortunately, I was so annoyed with the characters that I worried it would leak into my mood. Since I was so frustrated with the characters and didn't enjoy this journey at all, A Brush with Love gets 2 Stars. Have you read (or listened to) A Brush with Love? What did you think? Let me know!

I very much enjoyed this one. It was a fun sweet story filled with plenty of romance. Type A Dental student Harper literally falls right into Dan breaking his school project. Knowing how hard it is, she offers to help rebuild the project. They try to be just friends but as they grow closer it becomes hard and harder.
Also worth note, The two narrators were great!

Harper and Dan will steal your heart, stomp on it, and then take care of your heart with care. The romance was so cute and frustrating!! There are so many emotions to feel in this read. I believe Mazey Eddings did a great job covering general anxiety disorder and the loss of a loved one. I am so glad more books like these are coming out. It is so important read relatable characters like Harper. I loved the narrator. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this great read in exchange for a review.

Mazey Eddings piqued my interest with this one because it takes place in dental school. I don't think I've ever read a book that had anything to do with dentist's so seeing this as the setting was exciting!

It starts off with an adorable meet cute – Harper slips on a wet floor and crashes headfirst into Dan, where she then breaks is model (that he’s had to redo multiple times already) and wins his affection at the same time. Feeling horrible, Harper offers to meet with him after class to help him remake the model and obviously Dan agrees.

He quickly learns that Harper is a 4th year student who is known for taking her academics a bit too seriously, while Dan is a 1st year non-traditional student who abhors all things dental. The only reason he decided to go back to school after earning a degree in finance and landing a stellar job is because he feels guilt for not following in his parents’ footsteps of being dentists, especially after his father’s death leaving the family practice to his mother to run by herself.

The relationship slowly evolves between them, but as things begin to progress Harper’s anxieties become detrimental to not only them, but Harper herself. All while Dan tries to deal with the unrealistic expectations put on him by his parents.

I loved the way Mazey realistically shows how anxiety can affect not just the person experiencing it but the people around them as well. However, I wasn’t a fan of the flow of this novel. It felt like we spend a lot of time building up the relationship and by the time they became official we were already ¾ of the way through the book and that’s when the drama hit, and the ending immediately followed. If it was written as more of a slow burn the abrupt ending would’ve made more sense to me, but it certainly didn’t read that way to me.

Overall, I still enjoyed the book, I just wish things had played out a little differently timing wise!

This was ok. I was more into the “com” than the “rom”, especially Harper’s quippy friends. The romance was fine. I would give this author another read.

I wanted to love this one but unfortunately it ended up just not being for me. I liked the female lead, Harper, and thought she was really well done. She suffered from anxiety and I felt the author did a really good job portraying that. I did not enjoy the male lead though. He didn't like dental school, did have her drive and I just didn't click with him. I did think the way he cared for Harper nice but I was bored. The romance was just too slow for me the narrator for this was great though.

This was a sweet story about Harper and her friends who are getting ready to graduate from dental school and Dan who is in his first year and really does NOT want to be there. What ensues is a story of Harper and her panic attacks and Dan who is flunking out of school and there for all the wrong reasons. They make an unlikely duo but they make it work. This one took a lot of work on the two of them and at times I wondered if it would work.

My feelings are mixed.

What I liked:

🧠 I loved the inclusion of mental illness, living with anxiety and taking care of your mental health. I myself have struggled with anxiety and depression and seeing it, reading it and hearing about it is how we can destigmatize mental illness.

✡️ I loved the representation of a Jewish character. Representation matters!

🪥 I loved the setting of dental school! It added some extra interest.

❣️ I loved that Dan (the male character) catches feelings first.

What I didn't like:

🎤 The narrator for Harper was irksome to me. She sounded very juvenile.

🤢 Their feelings are instant. They act like love sick teenagers, not 26-year-old adults.

😒 Dan has a knight in shiny armor complex. Maybe that is just not attractive to me but may be to others.

💭 Overall, I thought it was cute and shows promise for her Eddings' debut!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy!

This was adorable. It was funny and I couldn’t stop smiling. It was the most slow burn love at first sight romance ever. It was instant love from the first time Harper and Dan met but the tension throughout to actually get them to together was a rollercoaster. I thought the topics of mental illness, anxiety and grief were really well done and heartbreaking. I loved Harpers and Dan character development throughout the story and Harper finally accepting help and coming to terms with her anxiety and grief. I had low expectations for this but it actually really grabbed my attention and kept me tuned in the whole time.
The audiobook wasn’t my favourite but the story was good!!