I listened to this courtesy of NetGalley. The plot was charming and predictable, as expected. The main character, Harper, in her final year of dental school struggles being less than perfect and anxiety rules her emotions. She meets Dan, they fall in love and then go their separate ways to figure out how to do life the way they are meant to do it. Cute story but the problem is, Harper is annoying. I found her overly emotional and self absorbed. I can’t imagine anyone like this being successful in dental school.

I wanted to like the book but, like the main character, the writing tended to be overly dramatic. This book is fine for a quick, light read but isn’t one that’ll leave you wanting more.

I enjoyed this book but felt like the ending didn't quite make sense.. I feel like Harper and Dan wouldn't have waited so long to reconnect.

This Debut Novel by Mazey Eddings is full of emotions. It made me smile, laugh, and cry.
Dealing with anxiety and depression, makes me feel for Harper every step of the way and I felt like I was walking in her shoes throughout the story. I loved this bittersweet storyline that kept wanting to keep reading. I loved listening to Harper and Dan's story and getting an inside look at what they were both going through.

This is a great romance book that has love, laughter, and friendship all rolled into one. I am so thankful for Netgalley to allow me to listen to this book as an audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait to read Mazey's next books!

This book has it all. Depth, humor, romance, some heat! I really enjoyed the story of Harper and Dan. I was hooked early on by a steamy story about dentists 🤣, but I also love the way they navigated mental health and anxiety.

Listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator was excellent.

My favorite book of 2022! I'm honestly still in shock this is the DEBUT release from Mazey Eddings, and can't wait to see what else she has in store for readers in the future.

As someone with severe dental anxiety, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, but it has everything I love and a few points that hit close to home for me, so I easily devoured the audiobook in one sitting.

With multiple POV's, you get to see the story unfold from both Dan and Harper, which is even more entertaining since they each have their very own opinionated views on dentistry and falling in love (distractions.)

From start to finish, I wasn't able to stop listening to this beautifully written tale, and one of the best parts was the friends who go to endless lengths to try and bring them together. Just their shenanigans alone are worth reading this book for, along with:

**Anxiety Rep
**Cinnamon Roll Hero
**Debut Author
**Dental Students
**Meddling Friends
**Slow Burn

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the audio-copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the fact that this book discussed mental health, specifically anxiety, and therapy. The stigma around going to therapy needs to end and this book showed it in a way that was realistic and true (in my personal opinion).

Unfortunately though, I am not a big fan of the insta-love trope. I personally need a bit of build up to convince me of the feelings before diving right in. This book didn't really give that needed build.

In the end I felt like there was something missing, but I cant quite tell what. I enjoyed the story overall, and it was fun to see a book set in the dental field as I feel like its not something I come across often.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an advance Listener's copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I liked the author's choice of different date ideas outside of what is typically found in romance novels. Dan and Harper were a joy to read about and the author is a genius for giving the two points of view. I feel like if we would've gotten Dan's backstory through Harper's perspective only, it wouldn't have been the same effect. I was skeptical at first, reading about two students in dental school but it really meshed well into the storyline.

My biggest con is *MINOR SPOILER* actually towards the ending of the novel there were time skips during this period of them being broken up. Part of me wishes that since the author did those time skips, there would've been them reunified a little longer on page prior to the epilogue. The epilogue itself was super cute and a great final touch.

Note: Since this is an audiobook (ALC), I want to say the narration by the two narrators was great. No complaints or cons on the audiobook front.

Excited for the next novel by the author!

4 of 5 stars. Read in March 2022.

Adorable! I love adorable romances and this book was exactly what the doctor, or should I say dentist, ordered. Everything about this book was adorable. I loved the characters and their relationship made me smile. Both the characters were so sweet and loving not just to each other but for those they care about. I didn't want to stop reading this story.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adorable and sweet romances. I would definitely recommend you check out this book just watch out for cavities. ;)

lol it will surprise no one that this post is nigh a week late, BUT in my defense i feel like as fellow NeuroDivine babes I think both @mazeyeddings and Harper would understand😂 But I had to do a lil #BookLewk (swipe 2 see!) to celebrate the release of A Brush With Love!!! Harper & Dan are so fucking adorable, I’ve already read their book twice lol

THIS BOOK!! i don’t think i’m fully capable of sharing just how fantastic it is🥰 I feel like the best metric of “you really need to read this damn book” is that I don’t really like friends-to-lovers, but i ✨loved✨ ABWL! Harper and Dan have electric chemistry right from their meet-disaster, and Mazey’s authorial voice is just lovely, irreverent, and positively glee-ridden💖 there’s an amazing cast of friends (heLLO sequel bait👀) several truly laugh-out-loud moments, and A CAT!!!! I’m a Big Booty Judy stan

Something that really struck me while reading was Mazey’s deft hand at writing a lovely, joyful book that also talked about hard, real-life shit. There’s so much work Mazey is doing in the text (discussions of anxiety, complicated parental relationships, sexism in the workplace, panic attacks, religion, etc.) and she does an amazing job of writing about very heavy topics with respect, in a way that is really filled with with joy, humor, and hope. I also think this is one of first Trad Pub romances that I’ve seen with content warnings at the beginning, which was so wonderful to see🙌🏻

If you haven’t yet picked up a copy/requested one from your library, I highly recommend reading A Brush With Love!! Both the ebook & audiobook were fantastic, ty @netgalley for the ALC👌🏻this book has:

🦷idiots-to-lovers
🦷a meet disaster
🦷neurodiverse & jewish rep!
🦷a plethora of dental/oral puns
🦷the gr8st grocery shopping date
🦷“oh no were just friends”
🦷BANANAS underlying sexual tension
🦷the coolest friend group

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After hearing a lot of twitter about this book, I was really excited to read it. Mostly, I heard that there where some elements of the book around mental health which were part of the story, but not in a quirky fun way, but a sensitive and real way. I was interested to see a not-so-perfect MC get and HEA.

Harper and Dan meet in Dental school. Dan is a first year, Harper is in her final year. She is shy, studious and top of her class. He is outgoing and while studious, the bottom of his. They have a very OTT meet cute and adorable banter throughout.

Without giving it all away, they maintain a friendship vs relationship due to Harper's MH and family issues. There is a lot of care and consideration paid to both characters mindset and family history. Their respective issues are discussed with sensitivity. MH rep is better than POC rep, which was fine.

The friend group in this novel is made up of a series of quirky, snarky ladies... and Alex. Their banter and antics are funny and sometimes kinda mean. Mostly, it's a little frantic, but keep the story moving along. Also, good set up for the rest of the series? Yes, there's more to come for these ladies. Lizzie is up next.

There were a few elements that didn't quite work for me. First, there's an "evil Dad." Villains with no redeemable traits make my eyes roll. It just takes me out of the story and I tend to think more about author choices than character ones. Next, Harper, because of REASONS, is really awful to people who love her. While there is some attempts at apologies, there are no real amends or recognition of harm done. Everyone forgives her very quickly and without much on her to make anything better. Maybe I'm mean, but I needed a little more from her.

The audio for the book was good. Since it's a dual perspective novel, there are two narrators, Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam. Both narrators read with performance in mind which allowed me to really stay in the story. I read a lot of other reviews saying that EL's voice is whiny or annoying, but I would say that some people just hate women speaking. I thought she was great. Vikas Adam does do some accents, so if you're new to audiobook "performances" instead of straight through reading, this may throw you slightly.

Tl;Dr - good banter, quirky friends and thoughtful care of MH issues.

#NetGalley #ABrushWithLove

Things that I enjoyed:
⁃ We’re starting with a very random list item— women in surgery!!! as someone who wants to be a surgeon I’m a sucker for books where the mc is one.
⁃ there was a cute Spider-Man reference (but see the things I didn’t enjoy for a part two to this comment)
⁃ love dual pov romances
⁃ An overall v v cute romance!! It’s important to have more diversity in romcoms.

Things I didn’t enjoy as much (these are all over the place, and some are super minor, so here we go):
⁃ Why do authors deem it necessary to go so out of their way to find a way to “naturally” integrate their characters’ heights. Was it really necessary to explicitly state she’s 5’ 2”?
⁃ Tobey Maguire/Andrew Garfield comparison (I wish I was kidding, but I hate when people compare them, all of the spidermen are talented LET THEM LIVE)

audiobook-specific notes:
⁃ narration was generally good, im usually picky, esp with books with different narrators so yay
⁃ i only had one issue with the narration: The male narrator’s imitation of the female character’s dialogue was annoying at times

Overall Thoughts:
A very cute book! So genuine & heartfelt, a little deeper than the average romcom. If you're looking for a fairly quick read (or listen) I'd recommend A Brush with Love!

Mazey Edding’s sweet, cute, funny, poignant, and insightful friends-to-lovers rom-com A Brush with Love is wonderfully narrated in dual, first-person POV by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam. I loved every moment of this beautifully written novel. It gets off to a great start with natural, hilarious, and character-revealing and establishing dialogue between the heroine and her best friend. Along with setting the novel’s tone early on, it grabbed hold of my attention, drawing me into the novel. The diversity Eddings includes among Harper’s friends, her love interest, and the novel’s secondary characters is awesome. Eddings' characters are likable, relatable, flawed, and tormented but resilient. Her character development and evolution are superb. I cannot say enough about Harper’s and Dan’s development or their relationship. Her nuanced exploration of living with anxiety, worry, fear, grief, guilt, and insecurity are vividly described, rich with detail, and visceral in impact. She puts you in those moments where the characters experience anxiety, panic, fear, guilt, etc.

Harper loves all things dentistry. Her heart’s set on becoming an oral surgeon. Anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program, Harper’s focused on her future and doesn’t have time for distractions. So, of course, at the worst possible time, she stumbles and crashes directly into the biggest, cutest, and most adorable distraction of her life—Dan. He’s a first-year dental student with the weight of his family’s legacy on his shoulders and a distinct lack of passion for dentistry. While Dan doesn’t even try to resist falling for Harper, she doesn’t believe she can have a career and love/relationships. Dan just wants Harper in his life. So, he agrees to her wish to be just friends. Harper lives by rules and order to help her stay in control of her emotions, stress, and anxiety. However, the more time she spends with Dan, the closer they grow, and the more they learn about each other, the more she fears her deepening feelings for him will make her lose control. She can’t risk it.
Lawrence and Adams perfectly narrate Eddings’ novel, bringing her characters and story to life, capturing the humor, heat, and emotional highs and lows with inflection, tone, emotion, and mood. Lawrence’s narration for the heroine and her friends fits the characters, working perfectly with Edding’s lively dialogue and narrative style. Adam’s narration for the hero is soft and calming, which fits the hero’s personality and emotional facade, if not his outward appearance. Lawrence and Adams provide distinct narration for each character. Their narration for Dan and Harper respectively suits the characters.

Dan and Harper are sweet, adorable, and hot together. I love their conversations, banter, hanging out, nerdy arguments, emotional connection, intimacy, and steamy and sexy love scenes. All of which helped develop and evolve their characters, the novel, and its themes. Dan and Harper balance each other, offering a safe space both need at that point in their lives. Most of all, they motivate each to make the necessary changes to take care of themselves and the necessary steps to heal in ways they couldn’t help each other. Eddings beautifully captures the sensations and emotional impact of attraction and falling in love, especially when you aren’t prepared to be so out of control or used to being more in control of all areas of your life.

Genuine, sweet, adorable, hilarious, sexy, insightful, steamy, and romantic, A Brush with Love is an absorbing and emotional romance highly recommended for friends-to-lovers, rom-com, and intensely emotional romance fans.

How can I describe and put into words how much this book destroyed me...I need to pick up the pieces of my heart!

A Brush with Love tells the story of Harper and Dan. They meet under a hilrious circumstance and their connection to one another was instant. Harper struggles with anxiety and mental illness so it's not easy to let people in. In turn, Dan would do anything for Harper, give her the time and space she needs to process her feelings. Through finding one another, can love be all they need?

This book had me laughing, crying and yearning for the type of love they had. Their relationship was so real and unlike anything I had ever read. The banter and love that was shown between them had my heart beating and close to bursting, It was fantastic and adorable.

Harper does struggle with mental health, so some trigger warnings there, like anxiety attacks and such.

Amazing, 10/10! I sincerely cannot wait to read other books by Mazey Eddings!!

This was a cute romance. I wish you here was a little more burn and tension, but still cute. I feel like the author dealt with the topic of anxiety well. Having anxiety myself I can definitely relate to some of the feelings.

You may recognize this book from my post earlier this month in which I wrote about my most anticipated March book releases. I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Audiobook copy of this one. It has all of the makings of a certified Madison Loves Books 'good read': A strong female lead who works in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), a swoon worthy love interest, and plenty of witty banter!

"A Brush With Love" is a romance novel written by author, Mazey Eddings. It was released on March 1st, 2022.
If you would like to purchase "A Brush With Love" you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can follow the author, Mazey Eddings, on Instagram and Goodreads! You can also check out her website!

Thank you St. Martin's Griffin Publishers, Macmillan Audio, Mazey Eddings, and Netgalley for sending me an Advanced Audio Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable.
A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules.
So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.
Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.

“Harper had wanted to take the feeling of protection and peace she’d found with him and keep it in her pocket–a reminder of how the moment glowed just for them, warming parts of her heart she had long left cold.”

I gave this book 4.75 stars on Goodreads. I loved this one. The characters were relatable and the writing style was really enjoyable. The author does a good job of balancing humor and vulnerability! I listened to this one and it was so good. I always enjoy books that are written from multiple (or in this case dual) points of view. The audio narration made this one even better, because the production included different narrators for Dan and Harper.

Harper is a gem. Harper is More than anything, I really appreciated Harper's vulnerability. Her anxiety is prevalent throughout the book but it never defines who she is. Her anxiety is a minuscule part of who she is. Mazey Eddings wrote Harper in such a phenomenal way that her personality and character shines through the life altering anxiety that she experiences.
Piggybacking off of that, I want to touch on how well the author tackles mental illnesses, anxiety, and panic disorders. The representation was a highlight of this book, for me.
Dan supported Harper from the beginning. He is always patient with her and his belief in her is unwavering throughout the book. One of my only complaints is Dan's dislike for Andrew Garfield. I will accept no Andrew Garfield slander on this blog! :) Dan obviously hasn't seen The Social Network, Tick Tick Boom, or any of the Amazing Spiderman movies!

Overall, this was such a good read. Please be aware that this book does contain adult dialogue and situations. I would recommend for romance lovers and readers 18+. You should add this one to your list if you enjoy relatable characters, witty banter, and strong female leads!

Possibly I am not the target audience for this audiobook. Dentistry and romance do not work for me. Dental humor does not work for me. Being hammered with sexism and toxic masculinity are not entertaining. I tried but I only finished slightly more than 60% of this book. The narrators were good, I just had to dnf.

TW: Mental Health: Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, death of a loved one

- Friends to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Mental Health
- Dual POV/ Dual Narrators
- A little spice

I loved that this book depicted the stigma surrounding mental health.

Harper lived through a traumatic experience at a young age which brought on her anxiety disorder. She refused to seek professional help because she saw that as meaning something was wrong with her. I loved that her friend, Lizzie, came to her and discussed her own experience with her mental health.

It definitely would have been more beneficial for Harper to know that her friend regularly sees a Psychiatrist but it’s important to note that neurodiverse people don’t look a specific way. We don’t know what’s going on in a person’s brain.

“I eventually realized that the way my mom had handled my brain was to cage it. But that wasn’t the point of getting help. The real purpose is to unshackle your brain from the weight of overworking. Liberate it with the neurotransmitters it’s been missing. Let it do what it’s supposed to do.”

Dan and Harper’s friendship and later relationship was so cute! He really took care of her and supported her as best as he could.

Audiobook: I LOVE WHEN AUDIOBOOKS HAVE TWO NARRATORS FOR DUAL POVS. I emphasize it because that isn’t always the case. It adds to the story when different narrators are involved. These narrators did a wonderful job with the book as well.

Overall: Adorable book with some serious topics and a little spice. If you’re looking for a clean romance… this is not the book for you.

I could relate to Harper because I suffer with anxiety, but depend of the situations. Harper has been through a lot because she lost her mom in a car accident, since then she suffers extreme anxiety. With her condition, it causes her to have difficulties with relationships and to open up to people. Then, Dan came in the in her life that changed things for her. Dan has his own problems with family loss. Dan’s father was always hard on him and called him a disappointment right when he died. Dan’s father was a well-known dentist, and Dan has no interest in following in his father’s footsteps. Both main characters have conflicts in their lives, but they are able to overcome their struggles and start a relationship. I can relate to this book, since it is similar to my relationship with my husband. When we first met, my husband had to deal with my anxiety and we had to jump hurdles to get were we are today. I recommend this book due to relative concept and with funny moments.

I loved the first like 80% of this book and then felt like the rest fell a little flat for me. I was obsessed with Dan, I normally don’t like insta-love but I LOVED their instant connection. I thought the character development was great, and entertaining. I loved the side characters, the friend groups, and that this story was about students in dental school, it all just felt different than a lot of the books I’ve been reading. I got love hypothesis vibes, but different because of the relationship dynamic and type of schools, but the nervousness, the *feelings* all of it was there for me. But what kind of slowed me down towards the end was how many times the characters went back and forward. I think it was just one too many, and in the end it kind of drove me crazy. I’m happy they got their HEA, and that it ended up working out, but it felt like a lot to go through to get there.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this audiobook. The story is funny and cute. It pulled me in fairly quickly. I did find our heroine a bit annoying at time (probably because she reminds me too much of myself). I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, lighthearted read.