Not gonna lie, this was hard to read. But in a good way, I swear! Both Jude and Indira have so much to work through, both together and separately. At different points of the book, I could feel their anxiety becoming my anxiety. Fortunately it was easy for me to step away from, but I think that’s a sign of really good writing. This book is also filled with so much joy! Meeting Collin and Jeremy, Maria and Don, and our friends from the previous books made me so, so happy - Lizzie Blake will always be my favorite chaotic Care Bear.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Ok I’m going to be honest…I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. I LOVED THIS BOOK. The characters and the emotional depth we got from all of them was amazing. Also the banter was amazing!!! I loved Jude and Indira. I normally am not a huge enemies to lovers fan, just because I have read so much of it. But this was done incredibly.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is the fact that mental health is such a huge factor. It’s such an important part that a lot of people don’t realize and I feel that Mazey did such a great job at bringing it to light.

Guys I also want to point out the tension in this book. And don’t be fooled by the cover because Jude’s dirty mouth leaves nothing to the imagination…

Can’t wait to read more of her books. If you have gotten this far. Then read this book now!!!!

I had not read the first two books in the A Brush With Love series, so I went back and read the first two books, and very much enjoyed them both! Each book is a stand-alone that has characters that cross over, however, each book centers around a different friend, so if you don’t want to spoil the ending of the previous books, read them in order. I highly recommend all three of the books in this series!

Now for The Plus One, the first half of the book flew by for me- I would have given this a 5/5 if it continued to fly. I enjoyed both of the characters development, and loved how real Jude was. It isn’t often that you see PTSD and real emotions written out for male characters to feel real feelings. When these types of emotions come up in romance, it’s almost always the female character with the issue, so it was very refreshing and realistic to see the other side for once. The writing was real and authentic, and definitely did Jude justice. Until… they got together. When the switch happened, it no longer felt realistic to me. They went cold to hot to “we are officially tougher and everyone should know” so quickly without any problems at all. It didn’t feel real. It was so hard for me to buy into the story after that, it kind of fell apart in my mind. I still finished the book, but I read a chapter or two a day and finished it a few weeks later, instead of reading it all in one sitting like I did with the first two novels in the series.

I would read another book in this series, and I enjoyed the first half of the book sincerely, so I gave this 3/5 stars.

This is everything I want out of a romance novel!

Indira and Jude have been enemies since, well, forever. We meet Indira when she thinks her life is great - she has a great boyfriend Indira seems to have her life together: fantastic boyfriend, amazing job as a therapist and fantastic friend group. Well, when she walks in on her boyfriend in a peanut butter-filled sexual situation with another woman, that all comes crashing down. She's now moved in with her brother and his future husband before their wedding - and her arch nemesis Jude is in town.

Poor Jude - he is a stunningly handsome man battling mental health distress - he's a doctor on leave from the NHS, where he's treated (and lost) people in battle-torn areas. He struggles with emotional breakdowns and reactions to loud, unplanned situations. But Indira, his best friend Collin's sister, can help him through that. In fact, they can help each other. Jude is willing to pretend to be Indira's girlfriend at Collin's wedding so that she doesn't have to be alone when her cheating ex is flaunting his new girl.

And therein lies the perfect romance novel - chemistry, fun banter, passionate sexy scenes, a strong friendship - forced proximity, frenemies, the like. And this isn't your surface-level romance, but instead it shows that love can blossom even when life might seem at its lowest, and that people who struggle with mental health (myself included) aren't unlovable at all.

Thank you NetGalley and St, Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Hate-to-love
Brother’s best friend
Fake dating
Forced proximity
Mental health rep (including therapy)
Diverse cast
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

TW: PTSD, cheating, abandonment

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

2023 is apparently the year I’m going to read only good ARCs (manifesting this, at least!).✨ This is the second romance ARC I’ve read this year that I’ve absolutely adored. ❤️
This is my first Mazey Eddings novel, and I will pick up her prior publications ASAP. I was afraid that not reading the first two books in this series would impact my feelings about Jude and Indira’s story. Gladly, that was not the case! This novel can absolutely be read as a standalone.
Jude and Indira warmed my heart. The tropes in this book suit this couple perfectly. Their snarky banter genuinely made me laugh and swoon. It was impossible not to feel the connection between these two. Indira is a cynical and witty FMC who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Jude, her brother’s best friend, isn’t afraid to give it back to her. Jude and Indira are known among their friends and family for hating each other. As both characters face their own set of challenges, they both know that one thing will remain the same… Their hate for one another. Their feelings for one another become a comfort amid the changes they face. In many ways, this is a grump/grump romance, and I’m honestly here for it. 😂
I felt that a majority of this book was from Jude’s POV. It may be the only romance I’ve read that is a majority MMC narrative, but it worked well in this book. Jude’s POV is essential in understanding the mental health issues he faces.
This is one of my favorite romance books with mental health representation. There were so many opportunities for this topic to be misrepresented in this story, but the author did not disappoint. Before I read the author’s note at the end of the book, I wondered if Jude’s experience was personal to Eddings, as the depiction of his illness was so spot on. I also love how the author didn’t romanticize his illness. Nor did she ignore the stigma that healthcare providers living with mental illness face from those in their own field. I feel the way Jude was treated by his medical peers is sadly a very true reality for those in his position.
Indira might be my new favorite snarky FMC. She used her snarky personality as a shield in this book which could have hindered me from getting to know her characters. Yet, her POV chapters included many scenes of her speaking with her psychiatrist. As a psychiatrist herself, Indira, understood the importance of taking care of her own mental health so she could help her patients. Again, I loved the MH rep in this book.

P.S. - I hardly ever give 3rd person romance novels 5 stars… This story was really just THAT GOOD.

Mark your calendar. The Plus One is released on April 4th, 2023!

Wow, this was fantastic! Mazey Eddings will be an insta-buy for me from now on.

Indira and Jude were childhood enemies, but when Jude is back in town and they both wind up living at Indira's brother's house temporarily, they are thrust back into each other's lives. Both Jude and Indira are dealing with trauma, and together they help each other through it. Along the way, they realize the hate they have felt for each other all these years might just be love, now that they are adults.

I really appreciated that Eddings didn't phone it in with dealing with Jude's trauma. This wasn't insta-love, but two people who really knew each other recognizing the maturity and growth and blossoming into a real relationship. Indira doesn't try to swoop in and "fix" Jude even though she is a trained psychiatrist. There were some very heavy topics in this book but it never felt trite.

I really believed that Indira and Jude could fall for each other, and they came together in a gradual way that made sense. Also, the spice level was excellent. This is open door in the best way. :)

If you're looking for a spicy, quality contemporary romance, this is a perfect book for you. I expect to see this one on many best-of lists in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars

The premise of the book was really interesting. It had "enemies to lovers", "brothers best friend" and "fake dating" tropes all mixed together. However, the follow through was a bit bland. It started of strong with great banter between the two love interests but it all went downhill from there. The timeline was a bit cloudy in that the characters hated each other one day and then the next day one of them would say something sappy to the other and they would like each other again. This happened multiple times. I will say the commentary on PTSD was pretty good, However, I don't know how well it fit in with the overall storyline. Like it would be graphic love scenes followed by Jude having a breakdown and threatening to break up with Indira and then she would calm him down and in the span of a few minutes the conflict is resolved. I think that's what dropped this book down to a 2.5 for me...the awkward pacing. Also...the characters are around 30 years old? The dialogue is a bit juvenile for characters that are fully matured. For example...in one scene they have a tickle fight...it made me cringe (the main character mentions WWE smackdown for some reason). I genuinely had to stop reading for a bit after some of the scenes in this book. Finally, the actual plot has no real value expect just revealing what Jude's backstory was the whole book. for majority of the book I was just wondering what the actual conflict would be only to find out it's just Jude gaining the courage he needs to help himself and his mental health (which is a great message in and of itself but I feel like this book did a poor job of keeping the reader interested long enough to actually care when all of this occurred). Anyway, if you do enjoy this author's other books (I haven't read them so I'm not sure if its a similar writing style and pace) then I guess you would like this one too. However...I will say the romance is kind of pushed aside to deal with deeper issues halfway through.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for the e-arc!

Yes yes yes! I love books written by Mazey Eddings! If you have never read anything by this author, you are seriously missing out! Every book she writes seems to have a main character with a difficult issue they inherently overcome. In this case, I’d say the main theme was PTSD and trauma.

I feel like a lot of authors make it so that the female protagonist is the one dealing with the more prominent issue, but what I loved is that the PTSD is from Jude. My heart hurt and broke for him and his rawness. I loved how supportive Indira was when Jude was having his moments. All the while, she is dealing with her own issues after her boyfriend cheated on her.

This book was handled with so much care and I really respected that. I loved how it showed that even as a psychiatrist, Indira was still in therapy for herself and made time for mental health.

The only reason this book was a 4/5 is I wished the ending would’ve been slightly different but I loved it nevertheless!

I can’t wait to see what Eddings comes up with next!

Read if you like:
✔️ Enemies to lovers
✔️ Brother's best friend trope
✔️ Forced proximity
✔️ Spice 🌶️
✔️ Mental health representation
✔️ A Brush With Love and Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake

I was thrilled to receive an eARC of The Plus One so soon after finishing Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, which I loved. (Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!)

This is the third book in the Brush With Love series and it follows Indira, Lizzie's best friend from high school, and her brother's best friend Jude, who has recently returned from spending three years as a doctor overseas. When Indira catches her boyfriend with another woman, she temporarily moves in with her brother Collin and his fiancé Jeremy, who are getting married in a month. Unbeknownst to her, Jude is also staying there while on leave from his job as a doctor in conflict-ridden zones around the world.

I loved getting to know Indira more. She appeared in the first two books in the Brush With Love series, but only briefly. She is now a practicing psychiatrist going through her own therapy to process anxiety and childhood trauma. She is crazy smart, snarky, and independent but doesn’t like being alone. I really enjoyed her dynamic with Jude, who is battling his own mental health issues. They think they hate each other but will quickly realize their feelings are different than what they expected (much to the horror of Indira’s brother/Jude’s best friend).

Once again, Mazey Eddings did a wonderful job depicting mental health issues while also writing a fun and sometimes-steamy romance between complex characters who grow because of and with each other. It's sweet, sexy, emotional, and heartwarming. You don’t necessarily have to read this series in order, but I highly recommend all three of Mazey’s books! This one doesn't come out until April 4, so you might as well read the first two while you're waiting. 😉

<b>once again a silly little romcom has seen right though me and left me crying profusely :)</b>
<br />I just want to put judeindy in a bubble and protect from any harm in the world they deserve so much. them and this book hold a special place in my heart 🫂❤️‍🩹
<br />I cant wait for you guys to read this emotional rollercoaster because mazey eddings has done it again <3
despite all the emotion the spice caught me off guard as well immaculate🧍‍♀️
<br />thank you netgallery and st martins press for this arc!!
<br />————————————————————
<br />*me going through my emails*
*sees one from net gallery*
*reads this*
<i>Thank you so much for downloading a copy of Mazey Eddings' last novel, LIZZIE BLAKE'S BEST MISTAKE. As a fan of Mazey's, I'm so excited for you to be one of the first to read her next romance novel, THE PLUS ONE, coming from St. Martin's Griffin on April 4, 2023. </i>
<br />CRYING SCREAMING SHAKINGNAHSWNBDVEEVE HELP ME YALLJSWBNE
IM GONNA CRY STOP

Enemies to lovers with brother’s best friend to friends to lovers emotional rollercoaster! I adored Indira and Jude’s story and the care and delicacy that Mazey Eddings dealt with their traumas and their stories. Eddings has a knack for making readers fall for her characters despite their most craggily bits being so raw. They feel real and flawed, and we are on the struggle bus with them with plenty of heart, humor, and hotness along the way. I love how Eddings brings back the whole group from her previous works in new and endearing ways and creates new favorites as the Callowhill group expands (and somehow makes me want to trek to Philly). Thanks so much for the advanced reader copy from NetGalley and the publisher. I literally squealed when I snagged my copy, and I’m so looking forward to others reading Eddings’ sweetest, gooey-est, most heartfelt couple’s story yet.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

CW: from the author:

•PTSD from losing patients as a medical provider in emergency situations
• Emotional repercussions of growing up with divorced parents
• Moving on after a past partner cheats


I enjoyed the banter and build to this relationship. Jude and Indira grew up together because Jude is best friend with Indira’s brother. They have always sort of just picked at one another. Not in like a mean way but in a pretty typical bickering type of way. That carried into adulthood and so when they both end up living in the same house with Indira’s brother it creates some fun banter moments.

I loved the healing aspect in this book. Jude is struggling with PTSD and we see him deal with realizing he needs help and see the healing. Indira also is in therapy for dealing with parental abandonment.

This book has a lot of heart!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this read. I had actually read the first book in the series right before I was granted approval for the eARC of The Plus One. Lizzie Blake is on my TBR currently, but can I just say I love Mazey Eddings writing, and her representation of mental health she incorporates in her characters and plot. As much as I enjoyed ABWL, I favored The Plus One more. I’m a fan of enemies to lovers, and Eddings did an amazing job with that. Jude and Indira are hilarious, and swoon worthy. The topic of PTSD was interwoven in this read so beautifully. Having a loved one with the same illness brought me close and connected with the character’s struggles and made me quite emotional. Watching how Jude and Indira had to learn to trust not only themselves, but trust they could lean on one another to heal their hurt was incredible. Eddings really knocked this one out of the park, and I’m sad to see this series come to a close. But, I’m so glad I got to be apart of it, and I’m even more glad this book was such a high note to end on.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins for granting me the opportunity to read the eARC of this work ahead of its release in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Mazey Eddings for a phenomenal book and series 💜

Wow this was so much deeper than I was expecting it to be. I thought this was going to be a light and fun romance but it dealt with some really heavy topics. I really appreciated how this book touched on mental health, specifically anxiety and panic attacks.
The enemies to lovers and brother's best friend tropes were so good! The chemistry between Indira and Jude was off the charts and I was internally screaming at them to just kiss already!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tropes:
Childhood enemies/ enemies to lovers
Forced Proximity
Brother's friend
Fake Dating
Brother's Wedding

Review- The story follows Indira and Jude, Jude being her brother's friend. They are both put into the throws of Indira's brother's wedding event. With Indira being forced to have way more encounters with her ex and his new gf, and Jude being stressed beyond belief, they agree to fake date. While this is a tale of forced proximity, and a classic enemies to lovers, the development of the characters, and how they go from a sham to more, it was such a great story. The steam, the passion, the healing, the budding romance between the two makes for such a great story. I would definitely recommend anyone to read this.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I will be posting about this on my Instagram page as well as Amazon, Goodreads, and Facebook within the coming weeks and closer to the publishing date.

This one had more depth than expected, really digging in deep to the issues surrounding both divorce/child abandonment and PTSD. It had a lot of heart but also never skimped on the spice.

Mazey Eddings is brilliant. This book. The way she addresses mental health issues is amazing to me.

I am just so attached to these characters! I just wanted to hold Jude so tight throughout this entire book! And Indira is just a beautiful soul. So supportive and uplifting while also dealing with her own mental baggage. I cried. And laughed.

I really enjoyed getting to see the characters from her previous books! And the fact that she has yet to write a character I didn’t love is just one more reason she’s an auto-buy author for me! You guys, read this book! You won’t regret it!

This was a great book. The Plus One touches on so many tropes we all love in a romance: frenemies to lovers, fake dating, and brother’s best friend. Jude and Indira were perfect for each other. They truly needed each other. My favorite part about this book was the characters felt so REAL. The Plus One has a light and fluffy start, but soon addresses more serious topics. This book shows an incredibly realistic portrayal of PTSD, and I loved the mental health representation.

This was my first time reading a book by Mazey Eddings, and I will definitely be picking up her other books. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

First off by saying thank you for letting me read this arc! This book was amazing! It heavily talks about dealing with PTSD and children coming from a divorced home. There was great humor along and written in a way that the heavy topics weren't overwhelming. Also, has my brothers best friend and fake dating tropes. Would read again!

This absolutely fabulous book further cements Mazey Edding's reputation as a writer with an extraordinary voice and an extraordinary ability.

Mazey's writing makes you feel seen. She eloquently expresses the neurodiverse experience in a tangible, relatable way that pulls the reader in.

This book wrung me inside out and I can't wait to share my unhinged, chaotic, squealing fan girl review on release day.

Which brings up another point.... Mazey needs an Only Fans account!