Format - E ARC (netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶 🌶

Series- A Brush With Love #3

Troupes- brothers best friend, childhood nemesis, enemies to lovers, forced proximity,

CW- PTSD, mental health struggles, panic attacks, parental abandonment

I don't want this series to end, there I said it. Mazey Eddings has created a world where people can struggle with their mental health and can decide to get help or not and still be seen as real normal humans. This has been a continuous thread though her books thus far and its so hearting to read.

Indira and Jude have known each other forever, and hated each other for just as long, but when your brothers best friend becomes your new roommate and your both in need of some support while said brother throws the most elaborate series of weeding events imaginable, it might just be enough to put the old feelings aside and grow some new ones.

I love Indira she’s sweet and feisty and not afraid to get as good as she gets with these mean boys she’s put up with and chanced after her entire life. The family dynamics between her and her brother are so much fun and aww inducing at the same time. But the banter and just down right insults she and Jude fire at each other will literally have you LOLing. I laughed so much reading this book but I also teared up quite a few times. Both Indira and Jude have been though some stuff, but only one is actually doing anything about it. And it’s hard to watch such a wonderful fictional human suffer the way Jude does and not get all in your feels about it.

The tension is taunt and the chemistry sizzling, and the steam is oh so spicy between these two. Like ya do when you’ve got Mazey at the keyboard. Pulling all the strings and throwing in all the interruptions.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention then found family across this series Harper, Thu, Lizzie and Indira have been like friends this past year (wow its only been a year since I read Harper’s book) and it’s sad to say goodbye to them. But that’s what Mazey does she creates these wonderful fictional humans you just can’t help but love and its always hard to close the book and know that’s all the time you get with them.

I know she has just gotten started and I can’t wait to read whatever Mazey will gift us with next!

Thank you Mazey Eddings, Netgally and St Martin’s for this advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings is a must read for 2023! Mazey Eddings is proving to be a novelist who is here to stay. Each one of her novels has been better than the last and 'The Plus One' is no exception. I fell in love with the characters from the first two books and Indira's story in 'The Plus One' elevates the already solid reputation of Mazey Eddings novels. 'The Plus One' takes the enemies to lovers trope and brings it to the next level with its humor, chemistry and character development. I smiled through this entire book, laughed out loud and felt all the feels. Indira and Jude's love story was so raw, real and honest (and also hilarious). One of my favorite things about Mazey Eddings books is she is not afraid to talk about mental health and she is so good at capturing real life emotion. I am amazed at her ability to weave hilarious dialogue between her characters with authentic deep conversations that create a real and heartfelt development of amazing love stories. 'The Plus One' is a feel good romantic comedy that has many emotional layers and the characters will steal your heart. The verbal sparring by Jude and Indira will have you realizing just like them that "roasting" one another IS a love language. Buy this Book! This one will be in my top of 2023 list for Contemporary Romance.

This is a great rom com that has such a good feeling to it. Two characters who have a lot of stuff and baggage to work through. So fun to see their growth and mental health talked about so opening in the book. I really enjoyed reading it. Seeing the two main characters growth from beginning to end through highs and lows was awesome!

🌟: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

mazey eddings never lets me down.
i was hooked from the first few pages of A BRUSH WITH LOVE, and i actually got emotional during the epilogue of this book, because these characters have become like dear friends to me throughout 2022! indira and jude are now imprinted on my heart the same way harper, dan, lizzie, rake, thu, and alex are (although I wouldn’t mind a little bonus thu and alex POV book one day?? maybe?? 👀)

this book has so many great things:
😤childhood enemies/frenemies to lovers
😏brother’s best friend
🧠PTSD representation
🌶spice that is EVERYTHING
💛comfort characters

indira just caught her boyfriend cheating on her. when she goes to stay with her older brother in the weeks leading up to his wedding, the situation is made worse when her childhood nemesis, jude (also her brother’s best friend) is also staying at the house with them. i don’t want to say more at risk of giving it away, but this is one y’all will want to pick up. if you can relate at all to finding someone in your life who miraculously had/has the powers to make you feel whole even when it seems like you’re shattering beneath their grasp, indira and jude’s story will tug at your heart and make you feel like you’re being held along with them. 💛

I enjoyed this book! Felt a little slow in the beginning and then was a bit rushed towards the end. Super cute characters and some good spicy scenes too!

No one pulls me out of a reading slump like Mazey Eddings. All three books in the A Brush with Love series are heartfelt and romantic, and books I will return to again.

In The Plus One, Eddings takes such care with her characters and depictions of mental health--something she truly excels at as an author. We know these characters feel broken, we know they will be okay, and we know eventually these lovable dummies are going to realize they're meant to be. Jude and Indira 4ever. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of the book!!!

Indira & Jude 🩺💖

Indira is a psychologist in a relationship that’s going no where but she really does want to make it work. That is until she comes home early and her boyfriend is cheating on her. She leaves and goes to her brother and his boyfriend’s house and, she finds her childhood nemesis who is also her brother’s best friend Jude.

Jude is going through his own set of issues on top of this. He is suffering PTSD from being a trauma surgeon in third world countries. Yet the girl he is supposed to hate is the only one who can calm him down.

Now they have all these pre wedding events!
She has to see her ex and he can’t be in large crowds. So they decided to fake date.
But the charade can only go on for so long.

This was such a genuine and beautiful love story. It highlights the message that you don’t have to be strong all the time. That it’s okay to fall down several times and that it’s okay to rely on someone else. That’s what they are for each other. They are both very mature adults and handle their issues together and separately. I think this is my new favorite in the series.

With each moment in the lives of the girls in these books I fell more in love with each one. First with Harper, then Lizzie, and finally Indira. Each one feeling like they held little pieces of my brain and emotions with them. To feel seen in little puzzle pieces of each of these girls was soo refreshing. To see men who accept and embrace and fall in love with these girls with all that they are was so beautiful and gives me a little bit a hope for the future. And not only that, the girls embrace and fall in love with themselves and all their brain quirks.

This book made me smile and made me want to hug Jude and Indira for so many different reasons. And I could go on and and on but I don’t think I’ll have enough. I just loved it. If you can’t tell lol. And the epilogue was a beautiful wrap up for the girls that filled my heart with joy and just a tinge of sadness to let them go.


This book like the others is a 5/5 for me. I loved being in this world with the girls and I will miss them in this universe. I was so excited when I got approved for this book! You have no idea! So thank you to netgalley and st.Martins press.

I cannot wait for this one to physically come out so I can add this beautiful story to my collection. And Mazey Eddings for doing it for the neurodivergent people! ✨

This romantic comedy is not to be missed! The author does it again bringing serious mental health issues to light in a way that is easily relatable and shows the process of accepting such struggles and their healing process (with a big emphasis on it being a process). But the witty retorts and sweet romance between this couple as well as seeing old and familiar friends from throughout the series makes this a comforting read I devoured in a day. This wonderful book has enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, and second chance romance. This book is a 10/10 and a must read!

I received a free advanced review copy and am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.

Tons of fun romance novel tropes in this one with a surprising amount of heart and reflection. The main focus is on PTSD in one of the characters and how life is a continual journey of healing but we can still find love without being perfect. The author does a good job breaking up the heavy with sexy scenes and light laughs. This one got a few genuine laughs out of me. The characters were sweet and the romance was pretty spicy!

As someone who really enjoyed Eddings other books, I was super excited to read this one!

Some things I loved:
-likeable & diverse characters
-brother’s best friend trope & one bed (err… tent) trope
-fast pacing
-mental health representation (consistent with past novels)

Some things I didn’t like:
-the plot tended to drag in the middle and then it caused the last 25% to be choppy and fast to make up for it
-some of the dialogue & intimate scenes felt almost too cheesy
-yes, it’s enemies to lovers, but there wasn’t much of a build? It was VERY quick and somewhat instant.
-the last 10% had so many forward time jumps. One month later, one year later, two years later… Sometimes it’s warranted, but I felt like it was just overdone.

Final rating: 3.5 stars

This book has everything! Friends to lovers, AND brothers best friend? Sign me up! I love that Indira is a smart, professional, sexy, powerful woman. Reading about Indira amc Jude gives me all the 😍 heart eyes. This book brought me through every emotion. I didn't know this was a series so I'm definitely picking up the rest!

Mazey Eddings has done it again ladies and gentlemen! She continues to draw you in with real, steamy, quirky romances you can’t help but devour every page. Indira and Jude are heartbreaking and beautiful as they learn to process their trauma and fine comfort in each other. Could not put down this live brothers best friend romance and will continue to recommend this series to anyone and everyone

I loved this book and I loved the mental health representation! Jude and Indira were so adorable. I love a good enemies to lovers and it’s even better because they had known each other for so long. Definitely buying this one once it comes out!

So I’ve read the first book in this “series” but haven’t read the second one yet. I didn’t feel like I was missing any information though to understanding the main plot of this books. The was Mazey Eddings incorporates mental health into her books is just short of amazing. She makes it real and important. She also doesn’t shy away from serious conversations and that is one part that makes her writing amazing. Also the romance in this book!!! The spice level was great! I would recommend this book to anyone.

This is my third Mazey book and she also gives a fun, easy read that always makes me a bit emotional.. I lobe both Jude and Indira enemies to lovers, brother best friend AND fake dating yesssss I love these tropes and Mazey did such an amazing job with them in this book. The sensitive subjects that Mazey included anxiety, depression, PTSD, mental illness health, and therapy representation was well done. As she did in her two books before, she handled them with care. I appreciate this book very much and the journey the characters went on together and separate. Thank You netgalley and Mazey for allowing me to read this book and give it a honest review

The plus one really pulled at my heart strings and made me feel things.

This book had some of my favorites, enemies to lovers, banter, fake dating, one bed (tent), but also some really great friendships and family bonds.

Dira is a Psychiatrist with her own issue and therapist and Jude her brother best friend is struggling with undiagnosed PTSD as they head into a wedding and all the pre wedding chaos. This book is fun and digs into some deep topics and I definetly got some free therapy out of this read.
My favorite quote from Mazey Eddings is
"Being in love doesn't fix anything. It doesn't make me more whole or human than I was single. But it is a safe, quiet space where I feel brave enough to look at those wound... Stitch them up myself, no matter how long it takes"

I recommend this read for the romance but definetly stay for the free therapy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Our main character, Indira, is funny and quirky… and totally honest with herself and her therapist about how much of a mess she is. The love interest, Jude, not so much.

This was a sweet take on the enemies-to-lovers/fake-dating trope, with some healthy communication and support between our characters.

I had a few laugh-out-loud moments, enjoyed the heck out of the spicy moments, and cried at the gut wrenching ones.

I can honestly say I enjoyed the heck out of this book, and will definitely be looking for more by this author.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Plus One!

Enemies to lovers? Forced proximity? Brother’s best friend? Fake dating?

I mean do I really need to say anymore?!

Mazey Eddings created two amazing characters who express their emotions on such a deeper level. I got chills when I read this book because I related to it so much on a personal mental health level.

Mazey managed to created a fun, romantic book while addressing real human issues. I cannot wait to see what more things she comes up with in the future!

Childhood enemies to lovers + brothers best friend 🫠

I loved this book and this series as a whole. The characters are very relatable