The Plus One by Mazey Eddings has all of my favorite tropes while delivering a deep emotional connection between Jude and Indira. I have never rooted so hard for a heroine and hero as much as I did for this couple; each was plagued with their own personal traumas but Mazey took such care in writing their story. I laughed, I cried, and I swooned; and Jude’s use of praise in the bedroom scenes was 🥵.

Readers will love:
Older Brother’s Best Friend
Childhood Frenemies to Lovers
Fake Dating
PTSD Rep
LGBTQIA Rep
Open Door Spice

Trigger Warnings; Infidelity, PTSD from loss of patients in emergency medicine.

This read need to be added to your TBR today. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Blunt, honest Indira is face to face with her least favorite person in a funny, flirtatious story about 2 people are trying to escape their issues but end up helping each other work through their problems.

4 Stars

I really though this one was super cute. I really love the sort of enemies to lovers trope, but with the twist that they have known each other since they were little kids. Indira is the little sister of Jude's best friend Collin.

This story follows two points of view, one of Indira and one of Jude's. They reconnect by randomly both staying with Collin after Indira finds her boyfriend cheating and Jude is back from being a medic overseas. They sort of really dislike each other based on how they treated each other growing up. However as they spend more time together, its not really clear why they really hated each other.

This was a super easy fast paced read. I really like that both characters had a great deal of depth and were dealing with real things. Such as trauma from childhood and then PTSD from being a medical doctor under extreme circumstances. Eddings did a great job capturing this trauma while not weighing down the book. It was still fun and I enjoyed those pieces being mixed in.

I would recommend this book to any others who enjoy romance stories, especially ones that are a little more in depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my instagram page the.floofs.booknook on or close to publication.

This is a romantic read that dives deep into emotional traumas and healing through therapy. I caught a few glimpses of Eddings' humor throughout otherwise it was a more serious, repetitive read. This is great for readers who love an enemies-to-lovers and/or best friend and little sister trope. Also eye opening regarding emotional trauma and PTSD.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was really excited about this book not only for the fake dating but also the brothers best friend trope!! ultimately I didn't end up liking the book because I felt the slow burn of fake dating and even brothers best friend just wasn't there. the book did touch on some heavy topics, but to me I just didn't love the pacing of the romance.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Griffin for the E-ARC! I really enjoyed this book. The storyline and the mental health rep was very well done. I loved the characters and the romance too. Highly recommend.

I loved Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake last year and was very excited to read Indira's story in The Plus One, which was marketed as having some of my favorite tropes; enemies to lovers, childhood rivals, brother's best friend, grumpy/sunshine and fake dating.

Although I anticipated a rom-com, I appreciated the heavier topics Indira and Jude's story dealt with, but it felt like a collection of tropes in a very disjointed story. They made the jump from fake dating to very real and intense feelings too quickly, even with their shared childhood connection. Indira and Jude were also supposed to be enemies to lovers, but they had no real reason to dislike each other, and it was obvious that they did not in fact hate each other; so that tension was missing. I bought into their friendship, but the chemistry was not there for me.

I did enjoy reading about characters who openly discussed their mental health and sought therapy and to revisit past characters from the series, but The Plus One did not live up to my expectations which ultimately could simply be a 'me' problem.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my own opinion.

TW PTSD

This is the first book I have read by Mazey Eddings and really enjoyed it and want to read more books by her. I did not realize that this book was the third in the series and I plan on reading the other two books in this series. This book has several tropes (enemies to lovers, grumpy vs sunshine, best friend's sister or brother's best friend, fake dating, and grew up together) which I normally do not like when there are a bunch of tropes in one book, but the author did a good job incorporating all of them together.

I thought that the author did a really good job writing a character with PTSD with can be a difficult topic to write about. I loved how supportive Indira was of Jude's trauma and supported him through his healing process. I enjoyed how Indira and Jude's relationship went from being enemies to fake dating to a real relationship. I do wish that the ending was more shown to the reader than told, but I still really enjoyed this book.

SO CUTE!
First off read the trigger warnings, there’s topics discussed that definitely will trigger people, don’t take them lightly. Your mental health matters!
Anyway I thought this was a very informative, and moving book. From the therapy sessions we see to how they go about their lives trying to get better it was all very well explained. I was so sad to see them both so broken and blaming themselves for things they couldn’t control. I really just wanted to hug them so bad!
At the end I think there was a lot smashed into the last few chapters that I would have loved to see more of but it was nice to see them a little in the future before the epilogue!
I’ll also never look at peanut butter the same… IYKYK🙃😂

This was a really cute romcom book about a fake dating relationship from enemies to lovers. It also touched on the hardships having a relationship with PTSD. I would definitely recommend this book if you liked the first two books in the ‘A Brush with Love’ series. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for a honest review. The publish date is April 4, 2023.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ARC.

An enemies-to-lovers romance, The Plus One is full of banter and steamy attraction. Jude and Indira are wonderfully round and complex characters that complement each other well, both as enemies and then as a couple.

I recommend picking this book up if enemies-to-lovers, steam and spice, and fake dating are tropes that pull you into a romance.

What I liked about this book:
✨perfect balance of funny and emotional
✨the banter between the frenemies
✨no third act break up!

I liked A Brush with Love; I enjoyed Lizzie Blake; but I loved Indira and Jude. Best of the 3 in my opinion!

I felt this book...a lot. I was enamored by the mental health awareness and it hit me like no other romance book has. I thought the author told the story of a person with PTSD so brilliantly, I felt I was inside of his brain. I thought the whole fake dating trope was actually unnecessary is this plot. I could understand it from a character standpoint, but it just felt a bit forced. I almost felt these characters would have gotten close without the need for it. Anyway I absolutely loved this book, already pre-ordered a paper copy and am working through the two other books in the series.

This book was a pleasant surprise. It starts off a little slow after the initial problem presenting itself. It had a nice slow burn between the mcs.

Jude’s storyline focuses a lot on the state of his mental health and him learning how to cope with his PTSD. He is a well written character in my opinion. As someone who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, I feel like the way they wrote his traumatic episodes was true to real life.

Indira’s storyline focuses on her (partial spoiler but not really) abandonment issues. She’s a very self aware character and the way she was written was also really good. Just because you know where your problems stem from doesn’t mean they suddenly go away.

As a couple, I loved J&I. They supported each other and understood each other really well. They had good chemistry and it was interesting to see them go from irritated with each other to head over heels in love.

This was the first book i read from the series, and I’m looking forward to reading the other two in the series.

I received an advance copy of this book, courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To say I loved this one is an understatement. The love, the friendships, the pain and the beautiful way it navigated grief and mental health was simply unmatched.

Jude and Indira’s banter was *chef’s kiss* and I love a good frenemies to lovers story

This story taught me so much about healing and to reach out for help when you need it, because mental health is so important and needs to be prioritized, and that even the strongest of people still require help.

This is a must read and comes out April 4th, 2023

A big thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

The novel, The Plus One, is full of "content warning" situations and dysfunctions, yet, Mazey Eddings makes it work. A heavy topics kind of book presented in a more light-hearted way that gives the reader all the feels. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

For all the years of Indira’s childhood, Jude was her nemesis as well as her brother’s best friend. Circumstances lead to them teaming up to fake date through her brother's upcoming wedding festivities. This is a common trope, and it was done well.

The main theme of the book, though, is a realistic look into PTSD, anxiety, and debilitating panic attacks. Because of the deep dive into the mental health of both of our MCs, I felt there was less attention paid to the actual buildup of their romantic relationship. But there is still enough spicy romance to entertain readers just looking for love. I especially liked the snarky back and forth between Indira and Jude. 3.5/5 Stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC.

I absolutely adored everything about this book. I have been reading this series from Mazey Eddings since the beginning, and I have loved each one - more than the last. This is by far my favorite (and I loved them all).

Indira has always been the friend in this series I have been most intrigued with, and to pair her up with a "grumpy" Jude was perfection. This grumpy/sunshine is so much more than just that! Mazey Eddings threw in some romantic comedy vibes, enemies to lovers and brother's best friend! They all mixed perfectly together.

Jude has been through so much, and his "grumpiness" is well-earned. He tries to hide this part of him, but Indira sees him, and she understands him.

Growing up, Jude was Indra's brother's best friend, and she was the annoying little sister. They certainly didn't see eye to eye - they bickered back and forth. There was a time or two when Jude would show some concern for Indira, but it was so infrequent that she couldn't stand Jude for the most part.

Now she's grown up. She comes home to find her boyfriend, another woman, and peanut butter in a compromising position. She seeks refuge at her brother's house; low and behold, Jude is there too.
Indira's brother Jeremy and his partner, soon-to-be husband, now have 2 house guests, and the fun is about to begin. As the wedding festivities begin (and OMG, there is a lot of them), Indira and Jude need each other more, and a friendship leads to much more.

Jude is experiencing some PTSD, and Indira has her own baggage, and these two find solace in each other and not just in the bedroom. They support each other mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Mazey Eddings is becoming an instant read for me as her books are simultaneously unique, engaging, and funny. Her writing is immaculate, her characters relatable and loveable, and the story - is unputdownable!
PS. As a "Philly" girl - I absolutely love her Philadelphia references, and yes - Dellesandros' cheesesteaks are amazing, I agree!

As someone who is late in the game and did not read the first two “A Brush with Love” Series books, I found this book interesting and entertaining. It is not what I expected from the title or the synopsis, but still a book that I enjoyed reading.

Indira needs to move in with her brother Collin after finding her boyfriend cheating. When she arrives at his home, she sees his best friend/her childhood enemy Jude is already staying there, and they will have to share the same roof for the few weeks leading up Collin’s wedding. Jude, for his part, is home on leave from serving as an emergency doctor for an overseas organization dealing with disasters and is having a hard time dealing with what he’s lived through. During the lead-up to the wedding, Indira and Jude agree to “fake date” to help take the pressure of each of them, but they soon realize there is nothing fake about how they really feel about each other.

This book is part steamy romance/part serious novel regarding mental health. For the romance part, the author has us wait for almost half the book, but once Indira and Jude get together, I don’t know if STEAMY is enough to describe their relationship. There is chemistry between two characters from the beginning, and so it’s easy to root for these two to succeed together.

The serious part turns out to be the main conflict in the book. Jude battles serious demons surrounding his work overseas, leaving him fighting many internal and external battles. He’s home temporarily dealing with all these issues while knowing in a few weeks he will go back to the situation causing the trauma. Indira is the only one who can ground him and help him see through the pain he feels, and the author does a great job giving the reader a perspective of a very real issue that’s very hard to understand if you haven’t lived it.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was heavier than I thought it would be as a romantic fiction book, but I do think the author tried to balance this with the love between the main characters and some of the funny dialogue that happens between all the characters. I caught myself LOLing many times while reading. While I didn’t know the back story on some of the supportive cast, I didn’t think it was a big deal and didn’t change how I interpreted this book. I would recommend this book to others and think it’s a solid 4/5 stars for me.

**A very big thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for honest review**

4.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. I wanna start of saying that I tried to wait to read this book but I just couldnt it. I needed it my life. I have read the other 2 books and loved them so I could not wait to dive into this one and let me tell you Eddings did not disappoint.
I was here for it all. I loved the story of Indira and Jude that love hate relationship they had. I loved the way the topics talked about were brought to light and how much they are relatable.