I absolutely adore Mazey Eddings and her amazing characters. I felt such a connection with the Indira. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes. I adored the banter! 5 amazing stars for the 3rd book in the A Brush With Love series!

I really enjoyed this book. The tropes were some of my favorites! Fake dating, brother's best friend, known each other since childhood, are all tropes that will keep me reading a book.

I was laughing out loud during the first chapter and was excited to keep reading. I thought the characters were funny and it was sweet to see Jude and Indira finally get their happy ending. I think this was better than some of the other wedding date trope books I've read recently and that was a refreshing surprise.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for my advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advanced copy of The Plus One by Mazey Eddings.

Returning to the Brush with Love friend group, The Plus One is Indira's story. A wedding, a break-up, and a jar of peanut butter bring Indira into her brother's home and in proximity with Jude, her brother's best friend. He's in town for the wedding after serving as a doctor in dangerous situations abroad, and is set to return to a life that's giving him nightmares...and more.

Indira and Jude's relationship has always been a bit contentious, but wedding festivities and Indira's current housing situation keep them close. Soon, they come to a mutually beneficial agreement to be each other's dates through all the events. But once walls come down, they fall in love. Any hope for a long term relationship is not only strained by Jude returning to his war-torn career, but also the scars left on his psyche. Now, they need to lean on each other more as they face an uncertain and scary future.

The Plus One is my favorite book by Mazey Eddings. It's filled with her trademark zany antics, but the deep portrayals of mental health in this book really hit a resonant note. There was such a deep level of caring between Indira and Jude. I really enjoyed this one and recommend it, but be prepared for the feelings to strike.

CW: On page depictions of panic attacks, descriptions of medical procedures and trauma, parental abandonment

I ADORE MAZEY EDDINGS. She is slowly becoming an auto buy (or get on Netgalley :)) author! I would probably read her grocery list! The banter and the tropes! I'm here for it! Full review to come!

...
I am starting to feel like Mazey Eddings lives in my brain. I related so much to Harper and Lizzie, but Indira might take the cake. She’s a child of divorce who feels all her emotions and and never enough. It’s me! Hi! Im the problem!

I feel like this has a very underrated trope—frenemies to lovers. The banter is so good! On par with Emily Henry tbh who I think as the queen of banter lol.

All the books in this series heavily featured therapy and getting help for your mental health. Jude has severe PTSD and I felt it was addressed beautifully. That being said, make sure you post trigger warnings.

The epilogue was everything! Loved seeing all our fav couples living life!

Tropes- Brother’s best friend, Fake Dating, Forced Proximity
Rep-PTSD
Thoughts- This author has a way of blending mental health, love, humor, friendship and spice that truly blows me away every time. I think this may have been my favorite of the trilogy. I loved the playfulness of Indira and Jude’s relationship. The conversations about therapy and working through their trauma were amazing. I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Griffin for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. I think Indira and Jude's story was my favorite of the three women. I loved Indira's relationship with her brother. I thought this book was so full of healing and love. The mental health rep was so incredibly important. The anxiety discussions and learning how to open up and be vulnerable were really meaningful. I also loved the enemies to lovers and brother's best friend tropes. Mazey writes romance so so well and I always find myself rooting for her characters immediately. This one pulled me in immediately and I couldn't put it down. I also loved that there was no third act break-up, but rather a lot of open and honest communication and conversations. The spice was fun and Indira and Jude just work so well together. Thank you to SMP Romance and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. This was the first book I have read by this author. I will be looking for more by this author. I would definitely recommend this book!

The Plus One is Mazey Eddings’ newest stand-alone romantic comedy. It is a sequel to A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake. It contains the enemies-to-lovers and fake-dating tropes.

Dr. Indira Papadakis, a child psychiatrist, walks in on her live-in boyfriend, Chris, having sex with another woman. The lovers are covered in peanut butter on her newly purchased sofa. Since her neither of her best friends, Lizzie and Harper, have a spare bedroom, she goes to her older brother, Collin’s, house to stay.
Collin’s childhood best friend, Dr. Jude Bailey, is a trauma surgeon who has been working overseas for a humanitarian agency for the past three years to pay for his student loans. Jude has PTSD and is staying in Collin’s second guest bedroom while he tries to cope. He and Indira have never gotten along so he is unhappy that she’s staying there too. He certainly doesn’t want her trying to counsel him.

With the wedding five weeks away, there’s a lot of ridiculous hoopla that is stressing Jude out. Indira keeps seeing Chris and his new girlfriend, so she and Jude strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell.

I had a difficult time reading The Plus One due to the F-bombs that appeared in almost every paragraph. Additionally, this story had a heavy dose of mental illness that a reader doesn’t expect in a romantic comedy. Fans of Mazey Eddings’ other books may love this story, but I didn’t, and don’t recommend it.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Plus One is a contemporary rom com featuring the childhood enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating tropes. The Plus One is ideally suited for fans of books like The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter, Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Set On You by Amy Lea, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall, The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt, and/ or The Singles Table by Sara Desai.

First off, I enjoyed the cute childhood memories and connections that Eddings interwove into Jude and Indira’s love story. I also loved Jude and Indira’s funny and witty banter! I appreciated that, even though there were a fair number of events leading up to the wedding, the novel wasn’t overly focused on the wedding; due to the cover art and title, I thought that most of the novel would be set at the wedding. Without spoiling anything, I would have to say that my favourite part of the book was Jude and Indira’s Hallowe’en shenanigans! Lastly, I appreciated that Jude and Indira didn’t experience the stereotypical third act break-up.

Although all the therapy sessions and talk of mental health in The Plus One was refreshing and relevant, at times, I found it to be a bit much and some readers may find these scenes to be triggering or challenging to read. I was disappointed that the main characters from A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake didn’t appear very much in The Plus One. Lastly, even though it was necessary to the story, I didn’t really like all the contract negotiations or legalities (related to Jude’s humanitarian work) that were included at the end of the novel.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed as I didn’t enjoy The Plus One as much as I did the first two books in the series. But, if you like fake dating, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers, you should definitely check out The Plus One!

Thank you to Saint Martins Griffin publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will say the book started off with a bang right away, and I was immediately drawn in.

We slowly learn the back story of Indira a child psychologist, and Jude a surgeon working oversees in war torn areas, as they both move in (temporarily) with Indira’s brother Collin. Although they were childhood enemies, the close proximity they’re now thrown into throws them for a loop. They’re also being forced to attend numerous pre wedding events for her brothers wedding. It’s not long into those events there Jude and Indira strike up a deal to “fake date” to make the events go a little smoother for them. The rest of the story is spent watching them try to make this relationship work, and it gives you all the feels.

I will say the humor and spice in this book were amazing. The material surrounding Jude and his profession was a little heavy for me personally. (The author does supply a trigger warning in the beginning of the book). I appreciated the small moments of humor put in the story to make things a little

Indira and Jude practically grow up together. Collin, Indira’s brother, is Jude’s best friend and always over. They live to fight with each other. After a few years apart they find themselves both staying with Collin.
•fake dating
•ptsd
•enemies to lovers
•therapy
I read a brush with love and then read this one. Can be read as a stand alone, Cute read!

Read if you like:
🧠 Mental Health Rep
🤺 Enemies to Lovers
🧍Brother’s Best Friend
🌶️ Spice
6️⃣9️⃣

Mazey has done it again! I was so excited for this one but also so sad it was the last of the series as I grew to love this friend group!

I loved that this book brought Harper and Lizzie in and kept the gang together.

I really enjoyed the spice in this book and one thing I can’t stop thinking about is that dang 69 scene 🥵

The mental health rep in this one was phenomenal and so well done! I truly couldn’t have asked for a better finale for this series and can’t wait for whatever Mazey writes next!

Thank you to St Martin’s Griffin for my ARC of this one in exchange for my honest review!

thank you netgalley and st. martin’s press for the arc!

i loved this book! 🫶🏼 mazey eddings was able to convey ptsd and childhood trauma so well and at the same time she delivered a sweet romcom. i love indira and jude’s banter and how they slowly opened up with each other. for some reason it’s hard to find a couple that are mature enough to tell how they feel with each other rather than walking away and start unnecessary drama. im glad to report that the plus one isn’t one of those 🥰 if you like fake dating, brother’s best friend, forced proximity, then this is for you.

Loved the mental health rep in this one, and how emotionally well-adjusted these characters were. Everything about this book felt very grounded and believable. Really enjoyed, and highly recommend.

Once again Mazey Eddings has completely exceeded my expectations. Indira and Jude’s relationship is so special, and the playful banter keeps us throughout the entire story. Throughout this entire series, I’ve been so impressed by the mental health representation and the therapy session is this book were spot on.

Jude’s battle with PTSD is treated with respect, and an emphasis is put on the fact that their relationship cannot heal him. However, it can be a source of happiness for him as he struggles.

Jude and Indira as childhood enemies to lovers is just too good. The scenes were they reminisce on childhood felt truly nostalgic and like you knew them.

Mazey Eddings has quickly become an all time favorite romance author. Imperfect lovers who are perfect for each other is truly the dream. Mazey please keep writing mental health representation, no one is doing it like you.

Thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press, and Mazey Eddings for early access. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 this was probably my least favorite of the series and that’s saying something because Lizzie Blake’s entire plot line was unexpected pregnancy which I hate. What I did like: the open discussions of mental health and going into therapy. This was a huge plot point and I loved it so much. I also really like indira but I felt nothing about Jude. I didn’t like the fake dating trope in this book and fake dating is my favorite romance trope ever. It just felt like it didn’t fit there were already so many other tropes going on we didn’t need this. I also didn’t like how fast they said I love you like it was suuuuuuper fast. Overall I liked it but I didn’t love it like I loved the first one.

Loved this one! This book follows Indira and her brother's best friend, Jude as they reconnect at her brother Collin's wedding. After growing up together as childhood enemies, a series of events leads them to team up together. I loved seeing how their relationship played out. I also appreciated Eddings' approach to covering mental health and how thoughtfully it was done!

Even though this is the third book in the series, I read this as a standalone. I enjoyed this one so I will definitely check out the rest of the series!!

Thanks to St. Martin's, NetGalley, and Mazey Eddings for this ARC!

Sexy, cute, and fun! New author for me and was happily surprised with how much I liked this genre! Would recommend!

**Review**

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Jude is Indira’s older brother’s best friend and they absolutely despise each other. They have been at each other since they were kids and now Indira’s brother Collin is getting married and after a disastrous breakup, she is suddenly spending a lot of time with Jude. You know what they say; there’s a thin line between love and hate.

This was a classic brother’s best friend/enemies to lovers/fake dating story and I really enjoyed it. Mazey Eddings does a good job if writing stories with realistic plot lines and elements to them.

The tension between Indira and Jude was delicious and I couldn’t wait for the moment they gave in to their feelings. I loved how powerful it was for both of them when they did and how much Indira grounded Jude and made him feel safe after his experiences overseas in emergency medicine.

This story dealt with the topic of mental I’ll was and PTSD very well. It showed how tough it can be and how often times, the person suffering blames themselves.

A wonderfully written story.

The Plus One comes out on April 4, 2023.

💐Fake Dating
💐Brother’s Best Friend
💐Grumpy/Sunshine
💐Frenemies to Lovers
💐Forced Proximity
💐Mental Health

I absolutely devoured this book! I fell in love with Indira and Jude and their story. It is funny, sweet, heartbreaking and an emotional roller coaster. I felt an instant connection with Indira and her relationship with her father. Been there, done that…100% don’t recommend! Even with everything she is going through she was there for Jude and the trauma he was going through. Jude completely broke my heart. I cried so much reading what he had been through! And yet, he was still such a sweetheart with Indira. The connect between these two was something that I love reading. They always knew when the other wasn’t okay and was there for them. And the chemistry…holy hotness! The sparks were flying from the beginning and I wasn’t expecting that mouth on Jude! Pure fire! Overall, I loved this book and can’t recommend it enough! From Jude and Indira, seeing our favorite characters from previous books in the series, and the relationships with their families…it is pure perfection!

I also listened to this book on audio and let’s just say Imani Jade Powers as Indira and Joe Arden as Jude was perfect! They brought out emotions in me that I don’t think would have come out if I hadn’t been listening as well.