<i>Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I was so excited to nab a copy of the third in [author:Mazey Eddings]’s series that previously featured anxious dentist Harper and ADHD erotic baker Lizzie.

In [book:The Plus One], we get psychiatrist Indira and emergency physician Jude. Jude is best friends with Indira’s older brother, Collin, and they’ve known and (loathed) each other since they were kids. So when Jude comes back for Collin’s wedding, and Indira catches her boyfriend smeared in peanut butter and screwing someone else on the couch, the two end up living under the same roof.

Here we have a little enemies to lovers, a little fake dating, and a little grump and sunshine. There’s relatively little drama between Indira and Jude as they realize their childhood animosity has transformed into attraction and something more. Instead, the angst comes from Jude’s PTSD from working overseas in horrifying conditions, treating (and failing to treat) people whose lives have been torn apart by conflict and disaster. I appreciate that Indira mostly resists the temptation to speak to Jude as she would a patient. And I always enjoy when the third-act crisis develops logically from the plot (it does here) and avoids turning one or the other MC into an idiot or a villain, but simply victims of circumstance (it does that here has well). (And thank <i>goodness</i> Eddings doesn’t give us one of my least favorite tropes, when it’s a huge deal that the hero and the MC’s brother were friends first, and the brother feels the need to “protect” his sister from the man who is supposedly his best friend. The worst)

These two also have off-the-charts chemistry and when they get together it is HOT (but also very respectful!). They have excellent communication inside and outside the bedroom, which rules.

[book:The Plus One] by [author:Mazey Eddings]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🫣 Downsides to staying with your brother
🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 No wilted flowers here
🎃🍳🧻 Trick or treat
🏕️ There’s only one <s>bed</s> tent
🥜 🛋️ That peanut butter was organic!

I loved everything about this book. From the characters to the writing, I felt it was amazing. I did not want it to end. Indira and Jude’s relationship was beautifully written, I laughed out loud so many times at the back and forth digs at each other. I loved it. The progression from nemesis to love was great brilliant, fake dating might be my new favorite trope.

The Plus One is the third book in the 'A Brush with Love' series. This book is cute and more or less follows a typical romcom template. & there are no shortage of tropes!

-Brother's best friend
-Enemies to lovers
-Close proximity
-Fake dating

The Plus One deals with mental health issues as well as strained family dynamics & I feel like it's pulled off well. Encouraging, hopeful, and minimal miscommunication. The characters mesh well and there are plenty of spicy scenes! There were several laugh out loud scenes as well...two words: peanut butter.

Although I enjoyed the book, overall, it just feels forgettable and nothing really stands out to set it apart from the countless other romcoms out there.

I decided to pair the ebook with the audiobook. I really enjoyed the narrators. I feel that both Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden are super talented and kicked this book up a notch!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Mazey Eddings does it again! I love how this author combines many of my favorite tropes with thoughtful mental health representation to deliver fun and emotional reads. Indira and Jude are goals.

I’m a Mazey Eddings fan through and through!! This series has definitely been a favorite for me and I’m so glad we got Indira and Jude’s story!

The mental health rep felt so authentic and well thought out in this book. I loooved the conversations between Indira and her therapist as well as Indira and Jude. I really appreciated the care Eddings took in this book to portray two characters with mental health concerns.

I love me a brother’s best friend trope AND forced proximity! The premise was great and loved the character development. I started to get the slightest bit bored in the middle but it quickly picked up again,

Also, no third act break up? Sign me up!!!! No mis comm??? Sign me up again!

To no one’s surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was the first book I've read from Mazey Eddings. And WOW! It was so good! This also happens to be book 3 in a series but can be a standalone as I had no issues with it. I know a lot of the characters are in previous books but they give enough of an introduction to them that it doesn't feel like something is missing from the story.
Ok, Indira breaks up with her boyfriend and has to move in with her brother and his fiance. No big deal? Well, her brother is about to get married so his best friend, Jude, is staying with them while he is on a break from his job. Indira and Jude do NOT get along...or do they?
I really loved how this story could really happen in real life. The trauma both characters faced and how they are dealing with it is so relevant. The way they navigated their relationship was so good! There wasn't the annoying miscommunication but actual communication and since they grew up with each other they had more of an understanding.
The perfect brother's best friend/childhood friends/enemies to lovers romance!

I really enjoyed reading about Jude and Indira. The author did a great job approaching the topic of mental health. It was not gimmicky and was presented in a very thoughtful manner. I loved the growth the main characters had throughout the book. Finding love while healing from trauma was a joy to read. I'm always a sucker for the fake dating trope and this one did not disappoint. Jude and Indira love with the same amount of passion that they bicker with and I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

DNF

There was just too much second-hand embarrassment and mental health stuff. I'm an anxious person myself and I love to see anxiety depicted in books, but I just wasn't in a place where I could handle how intense it was.

The anxiety in this book is extremely intense and unrelenting.

If I could give this book 10/10 stars I would. I’ve found an auto read/auto buy author in Mazey Eddings, and I just adore the writing, the well developed characters with flaws and real relatable issues , the mental health rep, and the perfect pacing.

I’ve found a new book boyfriend in Jude and this might just be my new fave out of the series. I read the book but then loved it so much that I also listened to the audiobook, and can’t recommend THE PLUS ONE enough.

*many thanks to St Martins and Macmillan audio/Netgalley for the gifted copy

Mazey Eddings does it again! The Plus One is a perfect addition into the world she’s already created. I loved all the characters and their growth through out the story. Mazey does such a great job of highlighting disabilities and bringing awareness through the story. Will absolutely be purchasing for my collection!

4.5 stars

I really loved the previous book in this series (I have not read the first yet) so I was really excited to give this one a read! I found that The Plus One was even better!

The beautiful way that Mazey Eddings handled PTSD and mental illness is *chef's kiss* and I am here for more representation like this.

Indira and Jude's story was a great one to get lost in and I really enjoyed getting to know these two and rooting for them.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

I'm not sure what type of magical dust Mazey consumes, but her books are always perfection. I love the mental health rep that her books have and always end up learning so much about it while enjoying a swoony romance. Her books have the perfect blend of humor, heart and emotions.

As always, the group of friends are a joy to see and I love the intertwined stories. Just sad that this series is coming to an end, but I'm so excited for whatever else Mazey has up her sleeves!

Cute RomCom! Enemies to lovers is one of my favortite tropes. I was not a fan of the PTSD or the cheating triggers in this one though. The characters were all very likeable. I never found myself bored. I would definitely give this author another try in the future.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute read! It had enough tension to keep me reading but nothing too heavy to make it a hard read.

Bravo & all the love for the amazing, compassionate mental health rep in this book. The therapy scenes were written so perfectly as if one were actually present in the room.

Indira & Jude's relationship felt natural & endearing. I liked how fast they decided to fake dake considering the "animosity" in the past. And speaking of fake dating, I really thought this was unnecessary to have been added; it was only meant for 1 or 2 people's eyes.

Despite the beauty of not having any 3rd act breakup, the plot felt dragged on, especially with the last few chapters; including the epilogue that easily could've been summed up to just 1 epilogue.

Thank you Netgalley & Publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and adored this entire series. This book was everything my heart didn’t know it needed. It was so, just truly wonderful. I felt the heart break and anxiety that Indira and Jude struggled with independently. I swear I had tears in my eyes so many times, because I felt them; that deeply.⁣
⁣
Watching these two go from frenemies to lovers was so so beautiful. The way that they were just intune with each other and gently pushed each other to work through their feelings and were just present with one another. They made my heart sigh in this beautiful and wonderful way.⁣
⁣
There were so many adult, brilliant conversations in their dialogue. The openness about mental health awareness and how brave and hard it is to show up and feel everything instead of sitting in numbness and anger.⁣
⁣
For a work of fiction, this book has truly wonderful, beautifully written life lessons. For someone who personally struggles with depression and anxiety. Someone who is in therapy. I felt this in all of my feels and it almost gave me this sense of peace and calm. ⁣
⁣
This quote, was so accurate and hit so close to home for me. I have reread it so many times because I never viewed therapy this way and now, I always will. “ You show up for an hour, maybe two, and you have no other responsibility in the world than to focus on yourself. Your feelings. Your thoughts. It’s dedicated time to find yourself fully and deeply, with another person there to help when needed. Therapy is scary because it requires you to be brave. It’s one of the most radical forms of self-love.”⁣
⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Very solid romance with a lot of emotional depth and serious topics discussed with care! I was impressed by Indira and Jude's story after struggling with Lizzie and Rake's story. Mazey Eddings' writing is easy and naturally humorous, flows well, and lends itself well to a quick read with plenty of antics. Although I did have a hard time relating to and getting emotional invested in Indira and Jude, I really liked them both as characters and how gentle and caring they were towards each other once they got past their animosity from the past. I really liked the backdrop of the wedding to the whole story and the forced proximity of living in the same house - you could definitely pull out the tropes in the story but it didn't feel like the story relied on them too much. The timeline of the ending tripped me up a bit and I thought messed with the pacing of the story but I understand why it was like that and it was needed to wrap up the storyline in that way.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the early copy!

When I first requested this I didn’t realize it was third in a series. Although I haven’t read the first two I do think I didn’t miss anything pertaining to this story. I loved the mental health aspect to the romance in this. It felt so real and genuine and really captured the connection between two people.

I am one of the few who adored A Brush With Love but didn't connect with Lizzie Blake as much. Mazey won me over again with The Plus One. I loved Jude's vulnerability and his raw authenticity. Mazey has such a skilled hand at portraying mental health challenges - for men and women - and Jude was her best character yet. I love a fake dating trope and this delivers the fun antics and built-up tension that usually comes with it, while also delving into serious topics with the perfect touch. Definitely a must-read.

Hands down this is one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given + I’m starting a Mazey Eddings fan club 🥲😭🥹🫶

This series (can be read as stand-alones but as always I recommend reading them all for the full experience) is one of the BEST I’ve ever read. The mental health representation? The overarching themes of still being worthy of love just as you are?! I CANNOT 😭👏

With Jude and Indira you get :

✨childhood enemies to lovers
✨brothers best friend
✨fake dating
✨friendship goals
✨steaaammmm + chemistry
✨laugh out loud moments
✨UTTER PERFECTION

Preorder your copy now. Read the first 2 now. JOIN ME ON THIS JOURNEY 🫶💖