The Plus One was a great addition to the Brush with Love series from Mazey Eddings. I really enjoyed how she kept all these books connected and interwoven. In this book we follow Indira (finally!) and Jude, her brother's best friend. As her brother's nuptials approach and the many ridiculous events leading up to it Jude and Indira concoct a fake dating plan. But will the feelings stay fake? Alot of really good characters and a great story I really enjoyed this one and look forward to more from Mazey Eddings in the future.


Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I’m obsessed with this book! The audiobook narrators were absolutely perfect.

The way this deals with mental health issues is beautiful and perfect. The stigma, the way people are afraid to say anything, the embarrassment. And to see it in the male main character was so refreshing.

The side characters are amazing as well. Her gay brother and his fiancé literally make the book.

I highly recommend this book as well as the previous books in this series. Mazey Eddings is so talented.

Book 2 might be my favorite only because I related to Lizzie so much, but this book is a close contender and they’re both so freaking good.

This is book #3 in a series but I can be read as a standalone. It really stands strong all by itself. The characters were so great in this book. This was an enemies to lovers, fake dating, open door rom-com but it included real life situations that were not surface level. Indira goes through therapy, and Jude copes with anxiety and PTSD. I loved the representation that the author included in this book to highlight mental health awareness. This was an amazing book and so much more than just a rom-com.

Mazey Eddings’ has a gift for describing the indescribable. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, putting words to those emotions is difficult, to say the least. While The Plus One is a fictional story, reader’s will be able to tell it is rooted in reality.

I adore this book for its great representation of mental health. It does a phenomenal job highlighting the various types of trauma a person can experience. No matter what tour education, gender, or socioeconomic status is, mental health can effect anyone.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Generally, I steer clear of wedding romances. However, the first book I read from Mazey Eddings was a book I adored and so I figured I would fall in love with this one as well. Winner winner chicken dinner. I was right.

Don't let me forget to mention that the romance between these enemies, my favorite troupe, is steamy! I could feel the heat radiating off of them at every interaction. And if this is what wedding romances are like, count me in!

It’s hard for me to put into words just how much this book meant to me. That’s part of why it’s taken me so long to post this review (I’m so sorry 🤣).

Have you ever read something that rearranged the very fiber of your being? That is this book for me 🥹 Firstly, the love story between Jude and Indira was absolute PERFECTION. The banter! The chemistry! The absolute idiot to lovers vibes were just off the charts immaculate. If I wasn’t laughing, I was swooning, or sweating, or crying.

Jude and Indira’s story is such a balm of self healing and healthy growth. It wraps up all the broken pieces of your heart and brain into a hug, whispering to you that you are beautiful. You are worthy. You are loved. This book, these characters, this story healed my soul. And a reminder that on the journey to self love it's ok to let go of the things (or people) that are hurting you. Their profound unconditional love forced me to “feel everything, and do it with abandon.” (IYKYK 🥹)

This is my third Mazey Eddings romance and each one continues to be a total blast. Her characters are unique and feel so real and I especially love how clear it is that Mazey loves her characters and puts a lot of time and energy into crafting each of them. I also really love the way each of her three adult romance novels have been set within the same friend group but don't necessarily require having read the prior novels. It adds a level of depth for a reader like me, but also doesn't deter me from recommending any of the books as stand-alones to fellow readers.

I got about a third of the way into this one and had to DNF (for now). Just not the right story for me at this moment, felt heavy with the mental health themes and I was not feeling any chemistry between the MCs. I really enjoyed Mazey Eddings' previous books, so I may come back to this one.

What a sweet romance that showcases the very real struggles of mental illness!

I loved the frenemies to lovers, best friend’s little sister, and fake dating tropes! I also loved the inclusion of LGBTQ+ relationships. AND I’m a sucker for a dual POV romance novel because I adore seeing both sides.

I was not prepared for the spice that existed in these pages, but I loved it! Was not expecting the praise kink to be there either, but I was disappointed!!

(I’ve said love a lot, but it’s fitting for romance, right?)

This is a tender and thoughtful romance that is written with such care for its characters' mental health struggles.

This was a really fun read. Fake dates at weddings is one of my favourite tropes so I was really excited about this book and it did not disappoint. It had a lot of cliches but again cliches are cliches for a reason and they were written very charmingly so I adored that too.

•review•
the plus one | mazey eddings

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

“happiness was soft. uneventful. it was holding indira’s hand. sitting next to her on the couch and listening to her talk. it was a quiet cup of coffee with her next to him reading a magazine”

when I read a brush with love, I fell in love with mazey and her writing. her ability to incorporate so much mental health representation, without it overpowering the story. without it feeling like it was just a component on a checklist. I felt so validated with my anxiety and panic attacks. so seen.

when I was able to snag an advanced copy of lizzie blake’s best mistake, I was blown away. I deeply connected with the way that lizzie felt as though she needed to prove her worthiness of love. like, ouch. @ me next time, dude.

when the publisher reached out and offered to send me an early copy of this latest one, I was over the moon. but also hesitant. there’s no way you could hit it out of the park three times in a row, right?
wrong.

it’s giving,
brother’s best friend.
fake dating.
mental health representation.
forced proximity.
witty banter.
and of course, a healthy dose of 🌶

jude. oh my sweet, sweet jude. I love you.
the way mazey was able to highlight his ptsd and it’s life altering effects in such an honest way, wow. I felt so seen. my ptsd manifests in also the exact same way.

the emphasis placed on the importance of therapy was so refreshing. that love isn’t some cure-all. that healing is not linear, and is a constant work in progress.
yes please.

speaking of, we all need an indira in our life. the unshakable force. the constant and unwavering love she has for the people in her life.

also, I freakin loved getting to see the rest of the gang. I need someone else in the group to get a book bc I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters.

thank you to mazey eddings and SMPRomance for sending me this one 🥰

-Fake dating
-mental health rep
-childhood enemies
-brother's best friend

I really enjoyed the mental health representation in this book and Jude's journey with PTSD towards healing. The banter was super quick-witted and funny. The spice was pretty good. The ending was so cute.
3.75/5 stars
3.5/5 hot peppers

Content Warnings:
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Violence and War

This enemies to lovers romance had me feeling everything from emotional all the way to laughing hysterically throughout!

Indira and Jude are childhood nemesis’s and can’t stand eachother, but are reunited for a wedding. With Jude adjusting to life back stateside after being a dr in humanitarian crisis situations, and Indira coming in fresh off a break up, these two end up fake dating to survive the wedding festivities. Fake dating quickly leads to feelings with all their close quarter encounters and wedding events.

I went into this expecting a light hearted book, but Eddings brought real mental health crisis to the table in addition to all the laugh out loud moments, to create a really beautiful story of the strength of friendship, love, and healing. I absolutely adored Indira and Jude, and it was such a sweet story to see unfold and progress. I also love a book with a great friend group, and these friends brought a lot of entertainment to the table! I tandem read the book and listened to the audio, and the voice actors were fantastic as well!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I enjoyed this one! I really liked Jude and Indira’s dynamic, and the plot was entertaining. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

Another great offering from Eddings - with realistic emotions and great descriptions. Best of the set, can't wait to recommend this to more readers!

Okay, I'll say it - The Plus One was a lot of fun and very enjoyable! I loved that mental health was a topic of discussion and that we got to really get to know and see vulnerability in the characters. Since this is something people deal with day to day it was nice to see. It has all the fan favorite tropes you could wish for, so definitely worth the quick read!

Okay - I see what all the hype on booksta is about now. This book has everything. It was spicy and funny. Once I started I could not stop. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the author!

This was a wonderful quick read that I especially enjoyed after several heavier books in a row! This was the perfect read to devour most of in my last day of spring break after it arrived that morning. This was a quick romance read but also dealt with heavier topics of mental health. I thought it struck the perfect balance on this! My favorite book by Mazey Eddings so far is Tilly in Technicolor but I would say that this is a close second!

Jude is a doctor who signed a contract at the beginning of medical school to work 4 years for an organization (called GHCO) who does emergency health care around the world, often in areas in crisis. This was a scholarship that paid for med school. Unfortunately, he didn’t really understand the high amount of trauma that he would face there. We see him struggle here with symptoms of PTSD. Indira fights for him to care for himself and his mental health.

Before the book starts, Indira is hoping to get her relationship with her boyfriend out of the non-communication rut that they’ve been in. When she catches him cheating (in the first chapter, so this isn’t a spoiler), their relationship quickly ends and she moves into her brother’s house and is dismayed to find his best friend, Jude, who she dislikes, also there. Indira struggles with not feeling loved after her dad left when she was young, which affects her romantic relationships.

Jude and Indira agree to pretend to date to make wedding events easier (Indira’s brother is getting married). Their relationship develops naturally from there and I loved how open and caring they are with each other. They both are supportive of each other’s mental health and there is discussion on how their relationship is positive but that doesn’t mean it heals everything.

If you’ve read this, let me know your thoughts! I think any romance fans will definitely enjoy it!

This book is more serious than Eddings first two, and easily my favorite. It is not fluffy at all. It’s funny and witty and full of banter, but very heavy. It’s “best friends brother” but that almost doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Jude and Indira’s hearts are intricately connected in ways they don’t even realize at the beginning. Indira SEES Jude even when he wishes she didn’t. Indira cares for Jude in such a genuine and selfless way throughout the story. I appreciated Indira’s relentless loyalty and support when she easily could have gotten her feelings hurt and turned away. There’s no melodrama in this story. It’s all just deep hurt and pain from past trauma. There’s no great miscommunication. There’s no third act breakup. The conflict is all internal and unavoidable. Jude and Indira are solid together as they ride the wave of mental illness and healing. This is a beautiful story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review.