This is a good book. The two main characters are India and Jude. They have known each other all their lives. They meet to celebrate Jude’s best friend and Indira’s brother marriage. They have always bickered at each other. They decide to be a fake date to the wedding but it does not last because they decide to really date. They each have issues but together they work it out and fall in love.

In this novel, we follow Indira and Jude, two individuals who have always not liked the other. This fact was established early on during their intertwined childhood. Now, as adults, their lives continue to intertwine for the wedding of Indira's brother, and Jude's best friend. Having her childhood enemy back in town wasn't the worst part of Indira's life. The worst was finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her and bringing the girl to the wedding. Trying to help Indira cope with seeing her ex, the two begin fake dating, ensuing proximity and physical intimacy to pull it off.

I thought the story flowed mostly well, I didn't have any problems staying engaged, making it a fast read. I enjoyed how the author discussed very difficult issues, such as the potential consequences of service and the handling of Jude's PTSD; it was a very mature and commonly undiscussed topic.

Overall, I rate this 3 out of 5 stars. While engaging, it didn't stand out in any way for me. Not only that, but this story is supposed to be enemies to lovers and I did not get that. There was no true animosity between Indira and Jude, most stemmed from Indira and her wanted to be included as a child. Most of the trope's used could have had a deeper role in the story, but ended up being lackluster.

I would recommend this story for more so a mindless reading or to those getting into reading. It's not terrible, but there are better things out there.

<b>the dedication:</b> “For those who hurt, those who’ve healed, and those who are where in-between, you are worth of love even on your hardest days.
And for the younger me that still gets stuck in a bad place. You make it out.”
🥰🥹😭
<b>the cover:</b> sweet- I love an unassuming cartoon cover 😏
<b>FMC:</b> Indira- a therapist who is in desperate need of a therapist. This story starts with Indira walking in on her boyfriend cheating on her then follows alongside her as she prepares for her big brother’s upcoming wedding. She shows up at her brother’s doorstep only to find out that Jude- her brother’s best friend and her long-time childhood rival- is already staying there. This spurs on a series of events that lead to close quarters and intimate conversations with Jude that turn their relationship into something more that either of them expects.
<b>MMC:</b> Jude- a doctor in desperate need of a therapist. Jude doesn’t want anyone to know how much he is struggling as an emergency surgeon in hostile environments but at the same time... he is desperate for someone to hold onto as he drowns. Indira notices he’s not the same guy and continually shows up even when he might not want her to. His journey is not perfect and he makes plenty of mistakes but it’s a beautiful journey.
<b>POV:</b> 3rd person, dual POV
<b>HEA:</b> yes
<b>spice:</b> there are several open-door spicy scenes
<b>TWs:</b> the content warning page is so sweet and well written- and there are phone numbers for help at the end of the book- definitely helps ease the minds of readers before beginning- very well done! 🥰 cheating (not MCs), PTSD, divorced parents
<b>standalone:</b> No, this is book3 in A Brush with Love series- would highly recommend reading then series since there are characters and situations that come from the previous books
<b>final thoughts</b>: can I give a quick shoutout to Mazey Eddings FOR 0 MISCOMMUNICATION in a fake dating, broken hearted, rivals-to-lovers book?! This book was almost perfect for me, and I loved so much about this! I loved the mental health awareness (even though at times it could start to feel a little much) I loved that even though the book’s focus is on the FMC and MMC’s character flaws, it’s done in a great way. The side characters are great and well rounded- though I’ve read the other books and know them from previous reads so that may have helped.

read this book if you love
🧑‍🤝‍🧑older brother’s best friend
🌈 LGBT+ representation
🤜 childhood rivals-to-lovers
🧠 mental health awareness
🤫 fake dating
😚 forced proximity
🛏️ one bed trope
🌞 grumpy/sunshine- kinda but i'm counting it!!
💌 love notes
🗣️ COMMUNICATION
😴 when the MC has nightmares/trouble sleeping and is finally able to rest when the other MC is around

4.5 stars

Mazey Eddings book continue to get better and better.

The third book in this series, which could technically be read as a standalone, focuses on Indira and Jude and is definitely my favorite one yet. The mental health representation in this book is easily some of the best out there. Although each character has their emotional baggage, there are plenty of lighthearted moments that balance it out. The romance and banter between these two characters as fantastic and included all of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed/forced proximity, fake dating, brother's best friend). I will never look at peanut butter the same after this book!

Just wow... Mazey outdid herself with this masterpiece. I wont lie, I fell in love with both the previous books so I had high hopes that were not one met but exceeded. Indira and Jude had on page chemistry like I have never seen. I am honestly at a lost for words. The mental health journey in this is magnificent and I want to jug Jude so bad it hurts. He is one of the top 10 most sad/broken babies to be written. Through all of it, both of these characters brought out the best in each other and seeing their guards slowly be lowered was *chef kiss*. At this point Mazey could write the instruction manual to an air fryer and I'm pretty sure I would fall in love. Bravo ma'am!

This was my first Mazey Eddings book. I thought the book was well-written, and the plot was less cliche than a normal fake-dating romance. Both characters were unique as well. Yet, I was looking for a lighthearted romance, and this definitely was not it. This book was very heavy, and more focused on the mental health of both characters rather than the actual romance. This might appeal to some readers, as it did feel realistic. It just wasn't what I was expecting or looking for at the moment. I still would recommend for anyone who is interested in heavier topics within their romance books.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

✔️ childhood enemies to lovers
✔️ forced proximity
✔️ fake dating
✔️ brother’s best friend

Mazey Eddings has done it again! The third (and I believe final?) book of the A Brush With Love series is here and is just as good - if not better - than the rest!

The Plus One gave me things that I normally don’t get from a romance novel - communication, super realistic relationship development and major mental health rep for both of the main characters.

Indira and Jude’s banter will make you laugh out loud and then probably she’d a tear.

The star of this book is the representation of mental health and how it can affect you in your day to day life. Lots of other books touch on the topic but The Plus One takes a deep dive and made me feel to seen.

You should definitely pick up this book when you are in need of a heartfelt story packed with healing, communication and banter with a delicious side of spice.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I absolutely adored it. I’m a sucker for any type of brothers best friend romance so this hit the nail right on the head. I do think the ptsd was a bit overwhelming but overall I truly enjoyed it. Others are saying they couldn’t see the connection but I did.

I wanted to love this one. I really, really did. Normally I am all for a brothers best friend trope, but unfortunately this one fell flat for me. I didn’t feel their chemistry or connect with them as a couple. There was something missing for me in that regard because I think the PTSD aspect and representation kind of took over. I wholeheartedly appreciate that more and more mental health is making its way into stories, but it was A LOT at times. I know it’s an overwhelming mental illness and that’s how I felt while reading this, so in that sense it was done well. However, overall this just felt less like a romance, and more like the story of Jude coming to terms with the fact that he needed help and seeing him fight to get that help.

This is my favorite read of 2023 so far.

I loved these characters, their struggles, their love and humanity.

I very much appreciated the trigger warnings at the beggining, because this book is hard to read at times. That being said I thought this was written so beautifully and with such care. I loved how therapy is portrayed, so real and honest.

I didn't want to put this down. I highlighted so many passages because they touched my heart.

This is the first book I read in this series and I will for sure now be backtracking and reading everything else Mazey Eddings has written.

HIGHLY recommend.

Another beautiful romance from Mazey Eddings to round out the trio. Like the first two, it features a quirky heroine, lots of heart-tugging (breaking) moments, delicious steam, and important mental health representation. Although Lizzie Blake is my favorite of the three books, Jude is my favorite LI - complex, loving, sarcastic, and in desperate need of his person, who he found in Dira.

On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames. Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust. Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their living situation and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit…real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.

My fucking heart hurts so much! This story was just so beautiful. I am such a fan of characters with real problems. As someone with chronic mental health issues I love seeing these types of issues play out. Mazey does this so well without it being too depressing. I wish more people treated mental health issues like Indira did. Indira was the perfect amount of quirky and Jude was so freaking relatable. I loved that we still got appearances from our favorite characters from the past without them overshadowing the story. I enjoyed that when things got tough there wasn't a third act breakup or a quick distraction to throw the whole story off, the plot was so good as is. The tropes we get in this story are some forced proximity, fake dating, and enemies to lovers. Be prepared to have your heart string pulled at, but ultimately a freaking fantastic read.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 4/4

This book follows childhood enemies, Indira and Jude, who decide to be each others fake date for all of Indira’s brother’s wedding festivities.

I didn’t want to put this book down! It was so good — definitely my favorite in the series. Indira and Jude are childhood enemies, but I felt it was done so well. It wasn’t an annoying “we hate each other” situation — it was more of them picking on each other which I found to be so cute.

There was no miscommunication which I really loved, and I thought the characters were just so sweet. I have a soft spot for Jude for sure 🥲

I also loved the mental health representation along with the therapy discussions. So many important topics are discussed in this book. Overall I loved the story and appreciated the way Mazey told it. I think she will be an auto buy author for me, and I will be recommending it to anyone I know!

(I think my rating is a 4.5)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Plus One is a smart, fake dating, best friend’s sister romance. Jude is home on an extended stay from his humanitarian doctor duties for his best friend’s (Collin) wedding. Indira is Collin’s sister and has been enemies with Jude since childhood.

Collin and his fiancé Jeremy’s wedding has taken a life of its own with all the events leading up to the big day. Indira is still upset from her breakup with her ex, who is also involved with the wedding events. Jude is dealing with PTSD from all the war torn places he’s been working. Together, they decide to fake date to use each other to get through the wedding.

I really liked how Indira and Jude connected. Their forced proximity and nostalgic memories helped cement their chemistry. The spice was decent too.

I liked how Eddings wrote about Jude’s trauma and mental health while being home. It has to be hard to convey how traumatic working in third world war torn areas can be, so I think she did an admirable job. Also writing Indira as a psychiatrist who helped children with their own PTSD and Indira confront her own childhood trauma of divorce was well done. Both Jude’s and Indira’s personal growth was refreshing.

Read this if you like:
Fake dating
Childhood enemies to lovers
Best friend’s sister
Forced proximity

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. The Plus One will be out April 4th, 2023.

MAZEY EDDINGS DOES IT ONCE AGAIN FOLKS!! SHE WROTE A HIT, AGAIN!! I fucking love Mazy Eddings so much, her books are so underhyped can people start talking about them more often (but not actually I enjoy her being my little secret and I don't want people to ruin her for me). Now that that is done, I loved this book. I literally finished it in a day, her book are so addicting. I loved the openness about therapy and healing and all that jazz. Ugh, it was just so amazing, go read her books.

This book sucked me in right away. Great enemies to lovers/brothers best friend story. Jude and Indira had great chemistry. I loved following both of their journeys in bettering themselves and getting through difficult situations, it was very a very original and rewarding story.

Heartfelt and at times difficult, I really appreciated how this book highlights the work we all have to do on ourselves to become the best versions of ourselves and how no matter how hard that work is or how long the journey is, it doesn't make us any less deserving of love. I really enjoyed Mazey Eddings's debut, and this brought the same focus on mental health juxtaposed with a loving found family friend group and MCs who are focused on their personal growth. It's so refreshing to see characters who struggle through that journey, especially ones in their 20s. I especially connected with Indira processing through her relationship with her absentee father, but also appreciated the tactful but still honest depiction of Jude's PTSD.

The Plus One, by Mazey Eddings

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5 stars

One sentence summary:
I loved this book and how much heart there was in the story.

Stand out quote:
“Therapy is scary because it requires you to be brave. It’s one of the most radical forms of self-love.”

What I liked:

The plot. The pacing. The pining! THE CHEESESTEAK ORDER. This was such a great read.

I thought the wedding was going to be a bigger part of the story and honestly I'm glad it wasn't. I'm glad it focused more on Indira, Jude, Collin and Jeremy in the real life happening leading up to the wedding. I thought the therapy and mental health focus of the book was fantastic. It was so deep and thoughtful and really just pulled at your heartstrings.

The chemistry and spice and connection of Indira and Jude was SO good. I adored their history and the essentially "Oh. Oh." moment they had with each other. Sometimes you can't see what's right in front of you and I liked that the wedding and both Indira and Jude staying with Collin forced them to see each other. They're portrayed as enemies, but to me it read more like they fought to ignore the feelings of liking each other, especially since we see how much they impacted each other throughout their childhoods.

I thought Jude's trauma — both from facing insurmountable debt and also trauma from being in the field — was really thoughtfully done. I've read some books where the Hero is broody just for the sake of being so, but with Jude it was different. I also thought that because of his history and everything that the intimate scenes with Indira were so much better. He didn't have a filthy mouth or say "good girl" just because us romance girlies like it.

I also loved the maturity of the characters, the emotional intelligence between them both and not having any miscommunication. They worked things out like people who could speak to each other and people who cared about each other. That was really important to me.

What I didn't:

The tropes were so fun, but I almost feel like we didn't need them very much — especially the fake dating one. Since it was mostly for fooling Chris, but ended up being real very quickly, I think that aspect could've been approached differently.

The title of the book lol. With other wedding books I've read, the wedding and events are a central part of the plot. In this book, it was key, sure, but didn't anchor the story. I think the title could better reflect the story itself. (Don't ask me what else to call it though!)

Overall thoughts:

I skipped over Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake because I'm not a huge fan of the surprise/accidental pregnancy trope but I loved this book so much I might go back and read that one. Also, I was glad that I didn't seem to miss too much from that book to enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed all three of the books in Mazey Edding's A Brush with Love series. (You can read my review of A Brush with Love here). I love a series like this one where the author explores the lives of each of the members of a friend group or family in a different novel.

I love a good childhood friend's to lovers story. At first, it seems as though Jude and Indira didn't like each other as children and that they continued to strongly dislike each other as adults. However, as the story unfolds, the reader learns that Jude has been carrying around mementos of Indira from childhood. It becomes clear just how much Jude cares and has always cared about Indira.

Indira is a therapist and clearly has a high level of emotional intelligence. It seems unlikely to me that she would openly treat someone she's known since childhood with contempt as she does to Jude at the beginning of the novel. Of course, I knew that their "fake dating" plan would lead to them falling for one another, but it didn't sit quite right with me. At least, Eddings shows Indira's therapist pushing back on her view of Jude at the beginning of the novel and says to her, "Perhaps it would be easier to sit with your emotions if you two can find level ground." I'm glad that Eddings included this moment and that Indira does agree with the doctor.

Edding's commitment to "write love stories for every brain" is admirable and so important. In the last installment of the series, Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, Eddings explores what a romance looks like for someone with ADHD. In The Plus One, one of the main characters experiences PTSD from his experiences treating patients in areas dealing with humanitarian crises. Eddings handles Jude's experiences tactfully and thoughtfully. She lets the reader into his head to give them a sense of his experiences. Futhermore, Indira, is able to recognize Jude's symptoms and show him empathy. It is important to tell stories like this and to destigmatize taking care of one's mental health.

The moments of Indira and Jude struggling with their mental health also reveal how strong their relationship has the potential to be. In one moment, Eddings describes Indira as "so alone in her misery." Jude sees this and picks up on it. He immediately says, "I want to help you...Can you tell me how?" That is absolutely the perfect response when you see someone you care about struggling.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three of the installments in this series so far, and I hope Eddings writes a story for Thu next.

4.5⭐️

It’s confirmed; I will always and forever read anything Mazey writes. This book is so raw… full of intimacy and vulnerability that honestly fills me with awe. Abandoned at a young age by her father who is still clueless as ever about his absence, Indira’s deepest want is to be worthy, to be loved enough for someone to stick around. Plagued by this emptiness, she doubts her ability as a psychiatrist to help her patients and is struggling with this when Jude comes back into her life. Our sweet, tender Jude is haunted by all of the things he’s seen while serving as an emergency surgeon in areas of civil unrest, war, and natural disasters. Not realizing that he’s experiencing true PTSD, he feels personally responsible for all of the lives he hasn’t been able to save. Jude lets his guilt completely run life and deludes himself into believing that he’s not allowed to feel anything good because he’s the reason some people will never be able to feel ever again. The battle in his head is so intense and debilitating… at first the back and forth, repeated conflict annoyed me, but then I realized the author was giving me a window into a mental battle I’ve never experienced before. It was heartbreaking. The sheer hurt and pain that both of these characters have experienced is so immense, but somehow they are able to open up to each other, break down these walls, fight back against these harmful cycles their brains create to work against them. Indira and Jude’s bond is so vulnerable, earnest, familiar. It grounds them and they find a renewed determination to better themselves and others. This book is immensely powerful; it’s like you are finally getting permission to FEEL. “You can hurt and also be loved. You can feel sadness and also laugh and feel joy. Good emotions can coexist with hard ones. You can struggle and suffer and learn to heal while you also love. The best place to start is by giving yourself permission to feel with abandon. Feel everything.” It is so freeing and affirming and I honestly can’t adequately explain it so I implore you: please read this book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the gifted book in exchange for my honest review!