This is such a delightful debut novel!

First off, I really did love and appreciate the author's note at the start of the book about potentially triggering content. I hope we can normalize this more! As someone with anxiety, I will say that the anxiety Harper experiences is so well written it was a bit triggering for me personally, so I needed to listen in smaller chunks. But honestly, I think that just goes to show how good the anxiety representation is in this story! I do wish Harper hadn't been so anti-therapy and the negative self-talk about mental health and the stigma surrounding it was a lot to handle, but everyone's experience and journey are different!

I can't say enough good things about Dan. He's so observant, sweet, and completely gone for Harper from the jump. I just wanted to give him a hug and make him happy! He was perfectly imperfect and I just know that so many people are going to love him!

If you love insta-love, pining, friends-to-lovers, cinnamon roll heroes, forehead kisses, and big cats, you'll love this story!

Oral surgery student Harper is focused on finishing her degree and getting into a residency program. Then she meets fellow student Dan, and she's distracted by how much she wants a romantic relationship with him. Can she keep him in the friend zone? Or will their growing romance interfere with her career plans?

I really loved these characters. Both Harper and Dan are well-developed and struggling with wounds that get in the way of making healthy decisions. I'm not a fan of physical humor, and this rom com has a few instances of it. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and thought the book was well paced. Harper and Dan are adorable and really earned their HEA. The narration added to the enjoyment of the book.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the audio ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I really enjoyed the split narration of this book where it went between Emily narrating for Harper and Vikas narrating for Dental Dan. They both did great voice work that made this an enjoyable audiobook to listen to.

For the story, I really enjoyed it and honestly I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I had read it versus listened to it as I kept having to stop and start again versus my usual guilty pleasure of binge reading.

There were some well done steamy scenes if that’s something you are looking for in a book. I loved the tension and build up of their relationship and fumbling through to figure out how to be in a relationship for Harper as she had kept so many walls up.

This book also discusses Harper’s struggles with Generalized Anxiety Disorder with the presence of blinding panic attacks. I always love the inclusion of a character that isn’t perfect and is struggling with something as I love the normalization of talking about diagnosis and disability.

I can’t wait to see what @mazeyeddings gives us next!

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook! I am so thankful to obtain a copy to listen to in advance of its release!

THIS WAS DELIGHTFUL! I absolutely love how the author boldly talks about mental health and sexism in this book. It's very important to me that the books I read reflect our reality and Mazey Eddings does that beautifully in her debut. We follow two dental students as they try to navigate their careers and what they want for their futures. This book had me squealing and also made me feel seen. I absolutely love how it talks about the importance of therapy. It’s got so much that I love: slow-burn, steamy tension, he falls first, and an adorable meet-cute! I just wanna hug both the MCs! 🥺💖 I can’t wait for others to read this!!

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. This was an enjoyable rom com that included mental health aspects. The relationship was supportive and believable. I appreciated that not everything was positive and happy—made it more realistic. I always enjoy an audiobook with 2 narrators so both characters have a distinctive voice.

Without reading the synopsis or looking very closely at the cover of A BRUSH WITH LOVE by Mazey Edding, I thought it was going to be about calligraphy or painting. 🤦‍♀️ I completely missed the toothpaste and toothbrush. 🦷

Regardless of my confusion when I started the book, I enjoyed that the book takes place while Harper and Dan are at Dental School. It was a fun behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a dentist. Harper’s friends were a delight and I loved their to-the-point banter while always having each other’s backs. The books dealt with death, anxiety, and therapy very well and I appreciated the in-depth and frank discussions around these hard to tackle topics. My main gripe with the book is that it seemed juvenile at times or it could have even been a young adult book even though the characters are mid-to-upper twenties. It’s a solid read and something different than what else is on the shelves though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Audiobook:
Emily Lawrence does a good job narrating from Harper's point of view, and he male voices are also well done. Vikas Adam is compentent with Dan's voice, but his female voices are grating. If he had been the only narrator, I would not have stuck with the audiobook.

This book is a contemporary romance. The romance itself is pretty much a "fall in love right away" trope. Not much to that. The emphasis of the story is (1) the severe anxiety disorder/panic attacks suffered by the female lead, Harper. Harper is a perfectionest raised by a single mother who died when Harper was 12 - in a car accident - Harper was in the car. She will not even speak of her mother or the trauma of this event. (2) The guilt and unhappiness of the male character, Dan, regarding the death of the demanding father he hated, and taking care of his mother. His father was a revered dentist who is literally described as an "asshole" by Dan and his mother. Dan's parents browbeat him into going into dental school to carry on the family tradition. He had a successful career in finance that he loved before dental school. Harper goes back and forth and forth and back with her treatment of Dan - Friends, loves, friends, etc etc due to her anxiety disorder. Harper's friends are no real help, they don't seem to understand the severity of Harper's anxiety, and they give her a hard time constantly about her being a perfectionist, etc etc.

Eventually, both characters work through their demons and try to find happiness on their own and with each other.

Netgalley doesn't like spoilers - so I will save those my goodreads review!

I requested this because I've never been a romance reader but was curious about the genre. I couldn't finish this book, I found the romance to be far too generic.

This was a cute story, but it definitely wasn’t for me. It’s a new kind of romance tying in the ups and downs of dental school, which gives it some new dimensions. However, it’s just your run of the mill romance. There wasn’t anything exciting or really interesting about it. I didn’t find myself getting wrapped up in the story or getting involved with the characters. The main character for me was definitely a love to hate character. If romance is your thing, you will probably enjoy it. However, it wasn’t for me.

Very funny, had me laughing out loud. The fact that the characters meet by falling down the stairs and knocking each other over is perfect. The characters are fantastic. I wasn't sure if the dentist and teeth aspects of this would be too much but it wasn't. The jokes made landed really well for me and wasn't over kill. I loved the romance, the writing was good and I think will only improve with the authors next works. The side characters in here were so much fun that I can't wait to read their books, I have already added them to my Goodreads shelves.

TW: death, complicated grief, anxiety

I loved the diversity among the characters, the accurate portrayal of anxiety the realistic portrayal of misogyny in the work place, all while still having a cute and refreshing love story.

I really enjoyed spending my day with Harper and Dan! So many things I enjoyed about this read - Harper and Dan felt like real people to me - with all the good and bad and mistakes and messy bits that come with being human. And like all the best romances - they found someone who loves them just exactly as they are and supports them as they need.

I’ve never read a romance between two student dentists before and I loved that the author used her real life experience to make that feel so genuine. I also really appreciated the way Harper’s experiences with anxiety were shown.

Thank you to St Martins Press, Netgalley and Librofm for the advance reading and listening copies.

#abrushwithlove:

A Brush With Love is a fun and quirky romance with a different angle with dentistry! I would have never though, but here it is. This book does discuss bigger themes, which I completely enjoyed and appreciated.

Harper is a wonderful MC. She was kind and vulnerable. I do feel like her discussions on anxiety were well thought out and totally relatable. I feel like anxiety gets overdramatized or underdramatized, so I’m glad to finally find a realistic anxiety rep. Obviously, each persons journey is different, but this felt the most realistic for me. Also, the discussion on grades and therapy were so welcoming to listen with Harper’s friends trying to help. ❤️

I do feel like their friendship was very quick, which in turn, made their romance seem so quick and not organic. I couldn’t feel that connection with the two that had me swooning or longing for it. Stuff started to happen, and I thought I skipped a chapter or two. I felt like it was completely flip of a switch romance.

Now, on to the audio from @libro and @macmillan! Emily Lawrence does another great book by reading Harper. I’m always happy to hear Emily read a book! This is only my second Vikas Adam book, and I enjoyed their voice as well.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, but not so much the romance. I know this will be one all over Bookstagram, Booktok, and seems like a perfect BOTM pick. (Hint, we need picks BOTM *cough*) Thank you so much SMP and Macmillan for the gifted copy. A Brush With Love is out Tuesday! (3/1/2022)

I loved this book! Although I am not a jewish woman in STEM I felt that this character was relatable, realistic, and lovable each step of the way. Anyone who has felt they do not have a great grasp on balancing work and their home life will relate. This book was a friends to lovers story where each side made you see how much they cared for one another but both being real people didn't know how to overcome their mental obstacles.

This book deals with grief, loss, mental health issues, sexism, female friendships and work life balance. None of the issues brought up take away from the story or seem out of place. They enhance the story and make the struggles you know come with a romance novel feel like something you can see yourself facing. Not once did I feel frustrated that the characters had a silly miscommunication or obvious misunderstanding. Making sure we saw Harper's struggle with letting go and seeing Dan's guilt made them characters you want to see get together because they could help each other not just because we knew it was what we should want. That being said the steam and sexual tension are there! Don't get me wrong it is not just a lack luster couple settling. The way they wanted each other was palpable and made it so when they did act on their feelings it was HOT.

Harper's struggle was real and the fact that this book doesn't rely on the heavily used miscommunication trope but in fact mental obstacles that feel too large to overcome was refreshing and real. Dan's insecurities and nerves being showcased makes him someone you want to root for while still seeing him as someone who can take charge. Overall I felt like this is everything you hope for in a contemporary romance.

As for the audio I loved both narrators. Their voices were great at portraying the story without distracting from what was going on. I loved that the chapter where they finally physically connect was told from the point of view of Dan because rarely do we get love scenes from the male perspective. Seeing it through Dan's eyes really made you see how much it meant to him and due to Harper's inability to commitment it still left you with the dread of when they wake up how will their partner take it. I loved the trigger warning at the beginning of the audiobook, a lot rely on the description to tell you but I like to go into books fairly blind so that was perfect.

A Brush with Love is an honest look at what it's like to live with anxiety. I appreciated the care with which Mazey discussed anxiety and perfectionism, especially when it comes to graduate school. This was a fast paced romance, full of sexual tension, and mistakes.

I was not a fan of the male narrator, the voices he used for the female characters were annoying and felt over the top.

I really enjoyed this book. The romance was so sweet. They were so good for each other, but let all the insecurities that we carry around get in the way. Thank goodness for good friends! It also highlighted all the micro (and macro) aggressions women face everyday, and more so in “male-dominated” professions. As well as the pressure we put on ourselves to be perfect and the stigma around mental illness (for men & women). I especially liked how they addressed the need for ongoing therapy in the end, mental illness is not a quick fix. I enjoyed the narrators, though I felt Emily Lawrence was better at Dan’s parts than Vikas Adams was at Harper’s. Harper’s heart felt talk wasn’t as poignant in his voice as she came off whiny. As Dan, Vikas was perfect.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NETGALLEY in exchange for an honest review.

Having previously worked in oral and maxillofacial surgery nursing, I was very excited for this story about dentistry school and a wanna-be oral surgery resident, but…
1) I need to stop listening to romance because it doesn’t seem to work for me (so much cheese)
2) there wasn’t much dental/oral surgery content after the first few chapters which was disappointing.

What a beautiful book. I love that there were two voices and both characters' points of view. I appreciate that. Harper and Dan both have their own set of issues. Harper suffers from anxiety and Dan is guilt-ridden and suffering.
This book was deeper than I thought it would be and I was pleasantly surprised. Harper and Dan had great banter and chemistry. I wanted them to be together so bad and figure out their issues.

The supporting character was just as funny and appreciate developed

Loved this story and I will be tuning in from more Mazey

I received an audio arc of A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this! It has the most real anxiety rep I have seen so far, and I really connected with Harper because of her anxiety. I loved Dan, and I loved Dan and Harper together.
This also takes place at a dentistry school, so if you liked the academia setting and cute romance of The Love Hypothesis try this one.
4.5 stars.

🪥 A brush with love 🪥

“Having a life and career is possible. People do it all the time.”

Harper is about to graduated dental school, awaiting news of a placement in an oral surgery residency when she crashes (literally) into Dan, a first year dental student. Despite her desire to stay focused on school, Dan brushes his way into her life. Despite the plaque of anxiety on her heart, Harper let’s Dan in.

They both contend with emotionally damaging pasts and an uncertain future throughout this story. The mood ranged from blissfully in love to the darkness of unmanaged mental health. Eddings kept the importance of addressing anxiety and mental health as top theme throughout this love story. I enjoyed following Harper as she grew and learned to embrace managing her anxiety instead of letting it manage her. That being said, it may be heavier for some to read so keep that in mind.

I listened to the audio of this one and enjoyed both narrators. They fit both characters and added an extra level of emotional attachment to them.

Check this one out if you are looking for:
🪥 Dental school romance
🪥 Dual POV romance
🪥 Themes of women in medicine and the prejudice they face
🪥 A core group of supporting girlfriends
🪥 Finding the person who, “brings something out in you”

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC! A Brush With Love is available March 1!