This book made me laugh, make me nearly cry, but left me wanting to read it all over again once I finished. Mazey Eddings has such a way with writing that really makes you feel. I love the childhood enemies to lovers trope and this one is just so magical. I love that it takes work for these couples to work and Indira and Jude really have excellent communication! Sometimes it is just needing time to form thoughts or letting the other person know you love them no matter what. Jude's journey is especially heartbreaking and then heart-rebuilding (if thats even a thing!?). While this book touches on some really deep and meaningful subject, it also has very light-hearted moments. I loved seeing glimpses of previous characters and their funny moments and times together. The group chats were great and I found myself smiling so much throughout this book. Also, the Philly and Manayunk locations?! I called Manayunk home for several years and Mazey nailed the descriptions (those horridly steep hills!). And then the spice! This book certainly brings the heat and is so well done! It doesn't feel unrealistic and adds such depth to the book. Lastly, the several conclusions looking forward in the life of these friends. I loved knowing how they all ended up and their endings could not have been anymore perfect for this series. I look forward to where Mazy Eddings takes us next! 5 stars, 3.5 spice

Not my favorite romance read! But kuddos to Eddings for the mental health representation. That was the strongest part to her novel. She crafts characters with strong convictions and emotions so I appreciate the heart poured into the story!

I always love a forbidden romance, but I am extremely happy that Mazey wrote this one with very little back and forth about how they can't because of her brother/his best friend. THANK YOU for just cutting right to the chase and beginning their love story!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for giving me an Electronic ARC of this novel.

While this novel uses the well worn tropes of enemies to lovers and the brother's best friend, The Plus One by Mazey Eddings has some substance beyond this. It deals with childhood trauma and dealing with PTSD. Jude and Indira grew up together, reluctantly thrown together because Jude's best friend Colin is Indira's brother. Forced to spend time together due to Colin's upcoming nuptials, they learn that both of them aren't doing all right.

I enjoyed this for the most part, parts were cliche, but I didn't mind that. It was well written, and I enjoyed reading it. It sounds like this is part of a series with this group of people, and I will probably seek out the rest.

3.5 stars
I was super excited for the third and final book in The Brush With Love series. Harper and Lizzie’s books were some of my favorites and I adore Mazey Eddings. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I just wanted more from this story. First let me say that the writing is just as good as in the other two books and there are some really beautiful bits of prose. The true heart of this story is about both Indira and Jude’s ability to work through trauma and there is a substantial amount of plot that involves Jude’s PTSD. In the Author’s Note, Mazey explains how personal a story this was to her and I’d like to think that perhaps The Plus One was written more for her as a catharsis, than as a romance for the larger population.
Typically this is what is done so well in the first Brush with Love books; Harper’s anxiety and Lizzie’s ADHD are central to the story without overwhelming the narrative. But I think in this case, although extremely well written, Jude’s PTSD did not help to move the romance storyline forward to a place that I felt the characters had a true conflict in their relationship that together they could not overcome. There is a lot of therapy in this book. Indira is a mental health care provider and also partakes in therapy; she is the perfect example of how I think we all wish we reacted and thought about mental health. Love is Indira’s reason for her actions towards Jude, however Jude’s whole personality is that he has suffered trauma and needs therapy. I wanted to like Jude so much as a hero, (and there are VERY heroic reasons for a man choosing to prioritize his mental health) but I couldn’t connect to Jude in any ways other than that.
The spice in this book is top notch as it is with any of Mazey Eddings books. I believed that these two really did have chemistry, but I just wasn’t convinced that they ever really hated each other from childhood which made the lead up less convincing. The fake dating trope helped Indira feel like she was getting back at an ex that had cheated on her, but to be honest, I didn’t think the ex was worth that amount of planning and forethought to engage in a fake relationship. There are some truly laugh out loud moments—peanut butter anyone? and as mentioned before, the writing and therapeutic work is extremely well done. Even though this was not my favorite of the three Brush with Love books, it was still a nice bookend to Harper, Lizzie, Indira, and Thu’s friendship. The epilogue does a nice job of tying up loose ends and bringing the three stories back together. Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: parental abandonment, PTSD, anxiety, panic attacks, cheating

I really, really wanted to love this book, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. I was hoping for something light and breezy, and this was much heavier than I expected. To be clear, I appreciate the author tackling some serious material — and she does so very thoughtfully and with great care — but it wasn't a match for me.

2.5 stars. I will start this off by saying this really is my fault. I know that I don't enjoy brother's best friend trope and yet I keep going back thinking well this book will be the one to change my mind! It didn't.

This is supposed to be like childhood enemies to lovers but it really isn't that, like sure they exchanged some snarky comments toward each other but it would be a stretch to say that these characters really didn't like each other. They might say that repeatedly in the first couple chapters, but it really doesn't hit the mark. Indira moves in with her soon-to-be-getting-married older brother when she catches her boyfriend cheating, and it turns out her brother's best friend, Jude, is also staying there while on a temporary extended break from his overseas assignment as an emergency doctor. Indira is struggling with feelings of inadequacy because of her abandonment issues from her shitty dad and Jude is suffering from PTSD from the violence and suffering he witnessed while overseas. Because Indira's ex is also in the wedding party, Jude offers to pretend to be Indira's fake boyfriend so she isn't alone.

This started off on a really strong note. It is very emotional reading about the mental illness and trauma these characters struggle with. There were also very cute moments between Jude and Indira even before they decide to fake couple it up. But the fake thing doesn't last long, these two hook up pretty quickly, and there is a lot of open door sex scenes in this. I'm totally fine with open door, in fact I prefer it, but when sex scenes don't move the characters forward in their relationship and just become gratuitous, it takes away from the overall story. So it didn't feel like much payoff in terms of the emotional struggle. On the other hand, I really appreciated that there wasn't a third-act breakup (don't get me wrong, there's some dark drama especially when Jude comes to terms with his PTSD, but not an outright breakup).

There's just too many side characters. I can't remember all these names and also try to care about the development of the two main characters. Every moment we get dealing with other characters means less dedication on page to the romantic development. And yeah, having an older brother, I have to just face facts that my inability to picture a reality where a woman would hook up with her brother's best friend might mean that I shouldn't pick up any books like this in the future. It's SO WEIRD!!! To me personally.

I loved this.
The main characters are flawed and human. They are/have been going thru some crap but they don’t give up.
There is a lot of emphasis on taking care of our mental health, which is not always an easy subject to approach. It was well done, well written.
Indira’s feelings about Chris and her dad were so relatable.
Jude’s PTSD was so well described that you could imagine it, you were stuck with him in his different difficult moments.
I highly enjoyed this world and characters. Now must go and find book 1 and 2 to read about Harper and Lizzie.

This story was so beautifully crafted. I love this series so much since each book tackles such tough topics and issues. The Plus One deals with trauma and abuse. It's also childhood enemies to lovers which is such a fun trope. I love how they hated each other and were so mean to each other their entire lives basically and now they are slowly falling in love since they decided to start fake dating. Jude and Indira are so great together. They compliment each other so well and they are the perfect example of a relationship is always 100% but that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be 50/50. Sometimes one person needs more than the other and needs to lean on them. This was just such an amazing story.

Wow. Jude and Indira had such a connection, they were beautifully messy. I absolutely loved how they grew for themselves and each other, their banter and the way they could laugh and cry in such intimate moments just took me over the edge. The book itself was very well written and I am so excited to explore Mazey Eddings's other books.

-I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review-

I had read the first book in this series and I hadn't even realized there was a second book and here I am reading the third book in the series! I loved the first book as well as this one so you know I'm going to have to go and find the second book in the series. I am hooked on this group of friends. The writer has a way of showing that deep connection between her couples that has me loving everything I've read by her so far. Loved and will keep reading more and more books from this author!

This was such a heartfelt read. I really loved Jude and Indira as characters and their journey towards building on their existing relationship, while simultaneously working on themselves.
Jude and Indira have been in each other's lives as long as they can remember, with Jude being her brother's best friend. Jude comes back into town to attend her brother's wedding and Indira breaks up with her boyfriend, and moves in with her brother temporarily. This forces them to be in each other's space all the time, and allows for them to share their most vulnerable parts.
I appreciated how the story tackled different aspects of mental health (specifically PTSD), and also the fact that mental health professionals oftentimes need help themselves.
The banter, familial relationships and friendships were also well rounded and added to enjoyment of the story, even with the heavier topics tackled.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the free advanced copy!

My heart is squeezing in the best way after finishing this one! I really enjoyed Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake but this one??? I loved it with my whole heart. This is exactly the kind of contemporary romcom that makes this my favorite genre. The humor, the swoon, the lovable side characters and the character growth. All of it was absolutely perfect. I loved every page of this book, loved every interaction we had between Indira and Jude, loved every painful memory of their past traumas. My heart just sings for a tortured soul and Jude delivered that in spades. Indira was the perfect FMC, the perfect counterpart for Jude’s emotional damage. I saw myself in both characters, which doesn’t usually happen for me. I connected with them both over their individual traumas and felt so seen and loved on by their interactions with each other and with Indira’s therapy sessions. This book was a love letter to therapy and to learning to love yourself. Everything about this book was lovely- even the broken and jagged parts. Love love love.

Another lovely book from Mazey! The Characters are ones to love and pull for. You hope for healing and happiness for them. And of course for them to get together!

I've never read a Mazey Eddings book, and I'm not sure I'd pick up another one. It did have really good mental health representation, but the romance just didn't do it for me. Normally I love a second chance romance. Maybe I just wasn't in the right head space for this one.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

3 stars.

“Whatever this is between us is real and it hurts and it’s beautiful and it matters. And I won’t let you deny that. You deserve happiness, Jude. I deserve happiness. And I think we can have that. Together.”

-fake dating, childhood enemies, enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend
-Indira and Jude hatch a plan to fake date for Collin and Jeremy’s wedding
-deals with mental illness, ptsd and emotional repercussions due to divorce
-I enjoyed their moments from loathe to love and how they realized they were perfect for each other 💗
-the journey they went through was tough to say the least but I’m glad they had each other 😌
-thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC ✨

The Plus One is the third book in the A Brush With Love books, a set of interconnected stand-alones about a group of friends. Indira, who we've met previously, is a lovely main character and it was fun to get to know more about her and her family. Jude, our hero, is Indira's brother's best friend and Indira's nemesis. Throughout this book, Indira and Jude deal with their own traumas, while also trying to see if they can figure out how to be together. As an educational psychologist, I appreciated the emphasis on mental health, therapy, and slow progress and growth recovering from trauma. The story was told with thought, nuance, and care.

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
Pub day is 4/4 🎉

Mazey Eddings is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books suck me right in. I still cannot believe the way I did not need sleep while reading Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, which was my favorite contemporary romance last year.

The Plus One is such a gentle, cozy romance while still having the author's joyful and funny voice. It's so soft, but it also has tension and delicious steam! Her books are everything I love about contemporary romance.

As I was reading, I thought about about relationships and when a person is your safe place (Jude and Indira have such a beautiful safe place thing going). . .I thought about people who don't think romance novels are realistic 🙄 And sure, some are not, or some aspects are exaggerated into fantasy, but I see my relationship reflected back to me in romance novels all the time. . . To have the person you love hold you while you cry, the butterflies of falling in love, learning to communicate better, putting in effort to make a relationship work, caretaking, being gentle with your person's heart, and having mind-blowing you-know-what is not unrealistic. . . So yeah, Mazey gets it. And her books are such a gift to romance readers.

Tropes to look forward to, expertly done!:
• Brother's best friend
• Childhood frenemies to lovers
• Let's fake date to make the lead-up to this wedding easier.
• He starts to panic - and only she notices and knows what to do.
• Only one tent
• Praise kink

I thought the gentle handling of PTSD and anxiety rep was fantastic. Indira is a therapist and all of the mental health conversations are like a reminder for the reader to take care of oneself.

Highly recommend!!! Thanks so much St Martin's Press. All thoughtd and opinions are my own.

I recieved this Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley and the publisher for an unbiased review.

This is a sweet book about childhood enemies, Indira and Jude (her brother's best friend) teaming up to help each other with situations that arise during the lead up to Indira's brother Colin's wedding.

The book starts with Indira walking in on her boyfriend having an affair and her gathering her belongings and going to her brother's house for shelter only to find out that Jude is already staying there. As the lead up to the wedding it becomes apparent that Jude is battling some scars from being away for 3 years helping as a doctor in war torn cities. The loud and joyful celebrations are too much for him to handle as he is clearly suffering from PTSD.
Indira has to put up with her ex in the wedding party making out with his new girlfriend (yes the one from the affair) Jude and Indira decide that a fake relationship will give them the excuse they need to get out uncomfortable situations.

I really enjoyed this little romcom, I love how patient and down to earth Indira is with Jude trying to push everyone away. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a steamy read it's quite a read once the "fake" relationship takes a turn. The only cringy part I had issue with is the use of the "c" word during some of the more amourous scences in the book..

I was not a fan of the author's first book, but the second one was a little better. Unfortunately this was more like the first one. I could not relate to the characters and the writing style was not for me.