my goodness! this was such an amazing read and i can’t wait for the rest of the world to meet harper and dan… they are perfect for each other! the moment they tumbled into each other’s arms, i knew they’d create something special! this is my first novel that has highlighted the importance of mental health awareness and i greatly appreciated how it was incorporated into the story without losing focus of harper and dan’s relationship. i think it was represented to perfection! the storyline was all so realistic and grabbed my attention to the very end!

i love novels with dual-povs because you’re introduced to the livelihoods of both romantics. i listened to the audiobook version of the novel and i admired the emotions you could hear from both narrators’ voices. at these moments, you can really tell how much dan has fallen for harper! but when harper’s dialogue showed up in dan’s narration (and vice versa) their voices sounded forced and i found it difficult to connect with the moment. besides that, “a brush with love” is a swoon-worthy, slow-burn romance that will melt your heart! harper and dan both bring a lot of personal baggage with them into their relationship and it’s charming to watch how they support each other through it. there are plenty of side characters who help tie this story together and i would love to see a story between thu and alex, harper and dan’s best friends!

thank you to Net Galley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I am really struggling to get through this book. I don’t know exactly what it is that I don’t like about it. I will be honest I can’t even finish it.

A Brush with Love

Harper has no room for distractions as she waits for a placement in one of the top oral surgery placements. But then she literally runs into Dan, a first-year dental student following the family legacy. Despite an instant attraction, the two agree to be just friends

From the most perfect meet cute to the end, this book grabs your attention and doesn’t let it go. The depiction of Harper’s anxiety felt so raw and honest and real, which I really appreciated. I loved Dan as a main character and how he was fully into Harper from the beginning and was ready to support her no matter what. His patience and empathy toward her was incredible and something I want to see more of in romance novels! Add some amazing side characters, and this was a great read!

I enjoyed the audiobook and really felt the male narrator in particular was amazing. He brought so much emotion to the story and I loved it.

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copies.

This is going to be our March pick for @literarydevicesbc so if you’re interested you should definitely read and join our chat!

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings, in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book so much. It seemed like a cute romance that also dealt with some heavier topics. However, this book fell just short of my expectations. Don’t get me wrong there was plenty of cute moments and discussion of anxiety. It just didn’t land the way I expected.

Let’s talk about Harper. From the beginning, it was insta love for me. Meaning I liked her character a lot. She had depth, was funny, and was enjoyable to read about. However, the more I listened the more she became unbearable. She started to make decisions that bugged me and would repeat the same things over and over again. I understand that she had major anxiety, and these are some things you would do if you had anxiety. However, the way they were written was annoying. In the end, she had the chance to redeem herself but by that point, I was too annoyed.

Now Dan. I love Dan, and wish the story was mostly about him. He is in dental school against his will. Wading through familial guilt and loathing. Yet he keeps moving forward, always making sure those in his life are cared for. He was the perfect gentleman to Harper. However, Harper walked all over him. He honestly deserved better.

The story. It was cute if you ignore the annoying Harper moments. There were ups and downs, cute dates, funny friends, real situations. I have one major qualm with the story though. Harper got majorly drunk one day, and Dan was pretty sober. Harper made a complete full of herself, taking off her dress and trying to seduce Dan. Being the gentleman that he is, he put her shirt back on her and tucked her into bed. That whole moment just felt gross, and unneeded. Made Harper feel like a 16-year-old girl, not 26. So in short, I guess I didn’t like the story that much.

Finally, the audiobook portion. There were two narrators for this story because it was told from dual perspectives. I loved Emily Lawrence! She did such a good job with her pacing, and tone. Vikas Adams did great while narrating Dan's thoughts or conversations with men. However, as soon as he had to voice a female, the voice got all breathy and cringy to hear. It made all the women sound young and like a seductress, even in serious moments. Besides that, I liked the audiobook portion.

A Brush with Love was absolutely lovely. Possibly one of the best love interests I’ve ever read in a romcom recently! Dan was truly what everyone wants: so sweet, caring, generous, witty, and sexy. All of those wonderful things about him made it so easy to fall for him and to want our main character to have a Dan-shaped happily ever after. Most of this novel; however, followed Harper’s struggle with her anxiety disorder whilst being in a super intense dentistry program; rather than their romance. Although it took some of the spotlight from the romance, those conversations are soooo important to have, and the author did so well with it in this novel- so that does not factor into the rating of Edding’s debut novel.
Adding to my favorites list of charming romcoms with important conversations.
Also, I always love when characters go to therapy to better themselves and/or their relationships!!!! IT’S IMPORTANT PEOPLE!

Looking for a new book boyfriend? Dan Craige is it.

Harper is an extremely driven, top of her class, dental student who has an anxiety disorder and suffers from panic attacks. She has built up walls to keep her anxiety at bay. When she meets and falls for Dan, a first year dental student dealing with his own issues, those walls begin to come down and she has no choice but to confront her emotional trauma.

While this book has some heavy topics, it is the sweetest romance book. Mazey Eddings has an amazing ability to put anxiety and panic attacks into words that feel so real, so accurate. And oh, sweet Dan. He is so wonderful. I know it’s not a very good review to just say to buy it and read it March 1st but here I am. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Harper and Dan’s romance is a slow-burn with witty banter and the perfect amount of spice and will have you rooting for their happy ending. Just amazing writing and dialogue. I cannot wait for the next book! The narration was absolutely perfect. All of the stars and all of the tabs! ✨

Thank you to @mazeyeddings @smpromance @harperaudio for advanced and gifted copy. All opinions are my own

Harper and Dan are nerdy dental students who are struggling with past family issues and trying to make room for a relationship when they're both bogged down with dental school. Harper deals with all of the prejudice that comes with women in medicine and Dan is dealing with following his family obligations or doing what truly makes him happy. Who knew that two nerds could be so hot? These two are perfect for each other. Loved this one!

Thank you, St. Martins and Netgalley for an ARC for an honest review.

Harper: a future oral surgeon with incredible anxiety and a traumatic past.
Dan: a dental student steeped in familial shame who wishes he could be anywhere and anything else.
A Brush with Love: the story of how these two come together, fall in love, and confront their inner turmoils with the support of the other.

The romance in this book wasn't very realistic to me, and that made it hard to invest. They worshipped the other just a bit too much, and they fell in love just a bit too quickly for me to fully believe that the relationship made sense. While I didn't love the pair, I enjoyed the characters individually. I especially related to Harper's anxiety and how it feels to lose a parent at a young age.

A BRUSH WITH LOVE is a (friends to lovers?) romance with great anxiety representation.

Main character Harper steals the show. She's long had anxiety and feels like she needs to constantly achieve. She doesn't feel like she can let her guard down. She definitely doesn't think making time for a relationship -- especially when she'll be leaving town in 5 months for residency -- is a good idea.

And yet... she and fellow student Dan just can't stay apart.

While I thought Harper was an amazing character, I don't think I really "got" Dan. I think maybe that's because he often was playing off other people (whether his family or Harper) so I'm not sure his true personality was on the page. He's hot and a bad student and that might be all I really know about him? That made it hard for me to root for their relationship. If all he's bringing to the table is a safe place for her to be vulnerable, I don't know, there are psychologists and friends and support groups for that? I wanted more for her than just someone she felt she could breathe around.

It feels strange to say, but I actually wish there were more dental puns, stories, etc. At times this felt like a more generic "higher education" story -- as if the characters could have been at any school.

The narrator for Harper's perspective did a good job; I especially liked how she voiced parts where Harper was written to be upset. I did not care for how the narrator for Dan's perspective delivered Harper's lines. He made his voice higher and maybe breathier, which almost made her sound like a teenager. Harper was such a self-possessed character from her perspective, then all of a sudden it was practically like she was a manic pixie dream girl to Dan.

As ever, YMMV -- and I'm afraid this may sound more critical than I want it to. Three stars, I liked it! But wanted to put my finger on why I didn't really like it/love it.

I thought this was very romcom like. I hated how conceited Harper was and how she had to be perfect no matter what. That is not what anxiety normally is. As someone with severe anxiety, the way she acts in crowds is how I react, but my anxiety does not make me go insane when I get a decent grade. I think it could have been dealt with better, because her lashing out at everyone seems more manic than what I have learned from my therapist about anxiety. I think Dan did too much and should have left earlier. Harper treated him terribly and expected him to come back to her without accepting the consequences of her actions. The romance was cute and I liked how everyone in the book was so driven. I just hated how most of the book was Harper hating herself for doing something that is natural.

this was a very good read!! i loved the fact that it’s a dentistry school romance. such a unique storyline and i love that it’s written by someone who went to dentistry school! i loved the parts of this book that felt very realistic, like how love is in real life. just. being best friends and being nervous and getting to know each other for the first time. a fair warning: this book deals with grief, trauma, and anxiety. as someone who deals with anxiety, i think it’s very accurate. but i didn’t realize how dramatic it would be. i wanted to scream and shout for her to get on meds and seek a therapist. it’s just hard to read/listen to at points. all-in-all, it’s a solid read

Excellent audibook. Great narration and so much fun to listen to!!

Full review:

Harper Horowitz is in her last year of dental school and is anxious about her future placement into an oral surgery residency program. In truth though, Harper is anxious about a lot of things. She has an anxiety disorder and sometimes finds it a struggle to keep herself focused and negative repetitive thoughts at bay. In spite of her challenges, however, Harper excels as a student and takes it very seriously.

Heading to class one day, Harper, distracted and in a rush, crashes into a jaw-droppingly cute boy named, Dan. Her literal wrecking ball force of a crash destroys a project he had been working on. Harper, remembering how difficult that portion of first year had been, guiltily offers to help him repair it.

Working together on the project, the two hit it off. They feel comfortable with one another and the banter back in forth is flirty and fun. Dan finds himself quickly falling for Harper, but she is pretty clear with him, she doesn't want any distractions. She can't afford it at this point in her life. They have to stay just friends.

Lines get blurred though and the 'just friends' mandate becomes more and more difficult to maintain. Harper feels out of control. This whole Dan debacle is overwhelming. She needs her life to return to the way it was before the infamous crash, but is that what she truly wants?

A Brush with Love is such a smart, witty and romantic comedy. I fell in love with Harper from the very first chapter. I feel like she came to life on the page, and don't even get me started on Dan. Swooning from the start!

Even though this is cute and funny though, that's not all it is. Both Harper and Dan had great depth of character with some hard-hitting story lines in their past. Both of them were struggling to move past self-doubt, guilt and fear. I loved watching them open up with one another about their pasts and really support each other through those moments. Their vulnerability was beautiful.

Eddings did a great job balancing the humor with serious, real-life issues that many Readers will be able to relate to. One of my favorite aspects was the incredibly fun dialogue. Harper had a great friend group and the dynamics between them all was fantastic. If you are a Reader who loves hilarious dialogue, you have to read this.

The one, very small critique I have with this story, is that I didn't feel any real conflict in the plot until about the 70% mark. Then it felt like that wrapped up too quickly after it presented itself. That's extremely minor though and completely personal taste. You may read this and feel that it is perfectly paced. It is super fun the whole way through, I just could have enjoyed a bit more time with the resolution to the conflict.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I did listen to the audiobook and it was absolutely fantastic. I definitely recommend that format to Readers who enjoy audiobooks. Also, I was super stoked to see that this is the first book in a companion series by Eddings. This makes me so happy. I cannot wait for the next book!!

Harper is in her final year of dental school, trying to do nothing more than focus on finishing school and get into the residency of her dreams. Of course, that is until she smashes into the hottest first year student she's ever seen. Dan is starting over in dental school because his family needs him to support the practice his father started. Harper can't afford to start a relationship now, but suddenly, she can't think of anything else. Add into the mix some severe anxiety, and you have this book.

Trigger warning for severe anxiety, including a couple of major panic attacks, and near constant discussion of how Harper feels when her anxiety is triggered.

This book is well written. You can feel the tension as Harper pushes through the fear and stress of her condition throughout. The love story is sweet and the romance of it is nearly palpable. Some of the dental conversations get a little yuck in the details, but it seems accurate enough.

I listened to the audiobook, and I'll be honest. The woman's voice that read Harper's chapters was not great for my taste. Her voice was a little nasal, a little too sharp in her pronunciation. The man's voice reading Dan's chapters was smooth, though, and he reminded me of Daniel Dae Kim. The funny thing is that I liked the way each of them changed their voices for the opposite characters, which amused me.

And if you listen to the audio like I did, and wonder about it/missed it in the half second it's discussed, the best friend's name is Tho. I had to go ask someone who'd read the print copy!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. I thank the author and publisher for this opportunity!

Ahh romantic dentistry. This audiobook was a little slow moving for me but I really enjoyed it. Thank you!

Dan and Harper meet while attending a Dental School through an adorable meet cute. Each on their own career trajectories, they establish a friendship and blur lines as Harper sets her sights to save lives and Dan trying to simply fulfill family expectations. With keen goals in mind, they navigate what their futures will look like with banter, humor, steamy scenes and boundaries. I *loved* their relationship.

I greatly appreciated the representation and POV of a main character with anxiety and panic attacks. As someone who lives with this, it is very hard to articulate to others when those with anxiety appear to be physically sound. I appreciate the normalization through this story. This book was more than just a romance and I enjoyed it greatly. Big fan of dual POV.

There were some attributes that didn't really hit home for me and some parts that were dragged out, but it was a wonderful story all around. Readers should note on-page trigger warnings before reading.

Enjoyed the narration by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam!

4 stars!

Thank you Net Galley, Mazey Eddings and Macmillon Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was very romantic, but also much more dramatic than I was expecting. It pulled at my heartstrings and I really felt for both of the characters. Some great things to highlight: the slow burn romance, excellent writing of physically intimate moments, and representation of a neurodivergent main character. Prospective readers should be made aware (as was included in the preface of the ARC audio) that there are heavy themes of mental health concerns including anxiety, panic and anxiety disorders, and posttraumatic stress. All in all this was a gripping story with many merits!

3.85 stars rounded up
The beginning has a note from the author with the following trigger warnings:
Loss of a loved one, an anxiety disorder, panic attacks, grief, sexism and ableist language.

Harper and Dan meet at dental school when they literally run into each other and take a tumble.
It's Harper's passion to become an oral surgeon. This is not the case for Dan as it's just expected of him to follow in his legendary fathers footsteps.
Since Harper is all about studying, studying, studying she wants to keep Dan in the friends category so she doesn't lose focus.
I did not like how Harper acted in the hospital, but I thought the author did a good job of capturing what it feels like to be under pressure and to feel like you were betrayed.

Eventually, these 2 get their happily ever after, but not without a few hiccups along the way.

I was rolling when Dan met Judy 🤣 🤣 I wish I could meet her.

This was a good debut novel. The rom was a slow burn and the com was pretty good. I always love when told in dual pov too. I'll be looking for future books from Mazey.

Narration
Emily did an all around nice job of narrating.
Vikas did a nice job narrating Dan and other men, but he needs to work on his female voice.

*Thanks to Netgalley, MacMillan Audio and Mazey Eddings for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

This was a sweet love story with a twist of real mental health struggles. I think the author did a great job of bringing in mental health and achieving lifelong goals into how that could impact a potential relationship. I don't want to give too much away, but you definitely don't want to miss this quick, sweet, romance!

A side-splitting, heart-wrenching, swoon-worthy ride to an expertly crafted and wholly satisfying HEA! With beautiful anxiety rep, feminist icons, and turns of phrase that will burrow into your heart right alongside Harper and Dan, Eddings is an auto-buy!

I wanted to love this book more than I did. I loved that the heroine struggled with anxiety and that the two MCs dealt with grief. But some of the thoughts the heroine had felt a little hurtful and I feel as though the toxic thinking wasn't dealt with enough in the end to warrant it.

I don't know, it was cute but it left a mark.