I was really excited to read The Plus One. I enjoyed A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake and greatly looked forward to reading the final book in the series.

While I’ll start by saying this one wasn’t my favorite of the three, I truly enjoyed it. It’s a quick read that will keep the reader engaged throughout. I liked that both Indira and Jude were flawed in relatable ways. In this story, Indira and Jude are reunited after not seeing one another for years. They grew up together, bickering and arguing along the way. They are brought back together in this story for her brother Collin’s wedding, who is Jude’s best friend from childhood. Jude is back from practicing medicine abroad and Indira is staying with her brother due to an expected breakup. It’s easy to see how these “enemies” turn into lovers. Staying under the same roof, fake dating to deal with being around Indira’s cheating ex, palpable chemistry, and the development of very real feelings make this HEA feel well deserved.

I liked that Indira is a phycologist with very relatable pain. It’s nice to see her wrestle through learning she can really help people while also overcoming her need for perfection in herself. It’s also really nice to see Jude as an accomplished surgeon who learns to acknowledge and accept his PTSD from practicing medicine in high conflict areas. I don’t mind seeing and feeling a character’s pain – that’s part of why we read – but I personally hate the “walking in on the boyfriend/ husband cheating” part of any story. It almost makes me want to close the book and stop reading every time it happens in a book, so I personally didn’t enjoy how often Indira’s ex cheating on her was referenced throughout the story.

I love anything that this author writes! The characters were fantastic and so was the storyline! I can't wait to read the next book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Net Galley, and the author herself for this advanced copy.

There are very few authors that I will rush to read their book and simultaneously know it’s going to leave me in tears each time, making it beyond deserving of a 5 star rating.

Mazey Eddings’s “A Brush With Love” series has been one of the best and most enjoyable series I’ve had the privilege of reading. The raw emotion, real experiences, spurts of love and laughter all create one of the most incredible reading experiences. I’ve read 150 books this year and all 3 of Eddings’s books I’ve read this year are easily at the top of that list.

“The Plus One” proved to be another beautiful example of how amazing of an author Mazey is. She did an absolutely wonderful job of capturing the pain, the love, the spice, the joy and everything in between. I found myself not only rooting for their relationship, bur rooting for their friendship from the beginning. It was so clear that these two needed each other to be a shoulder to lean and cry on, and I’m overjoyed they found love with each other.

It was also wonderful to see glimpses of other characters from “A Brush With Love” and “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake” in this book, and its so bittersweet that their stories have come to an end. If there was a fictional world I could go into and a friend group to be part of it, it would so easily be this one.

Thank you again for this early copy of “The Plus one,” I am so grateful to have enjoyed this book when I did!

Thank you St. Martins Press for this ARC copy of The Plus One - pub date April 2023

When Indira walks in on her bf making out with another girl, she moves in with her brother and his best friend, Jude, who is also her childhood nemesis. Jude has taken a leave from his job doing medical work in third world countries and is struggling with PTSD. Can these two offer one another the help they didn’t know they needed??

I gotta be honest - This rom com was meh for me. I will say that the banter between Indira and Jude was great, as well as the side characters and their humor. But that’s really where it ended for me. It felt like the relationship went from 0-100 in three pages, and then it was just ooey gooey cheesy love talk for the rest of the book. There was never a fight-and-make-up moment, so from the time they got together (~65%) to the end of the book, all the tension and conflict was gone. The author replaced said tension with spice, which felt excessive to me. I had to skip a lot of pages to get to actual plot, which is partly why I finished this book so fast. The author did handle mental health really well and I appreciated that. But overall, it started strong and didn’t deliver. I did give this three stars for those who enjoy romcoms and just need a quick and enjoyable read.

Such great tropes and topics throughout the story. This has childhood enemies to lovers, fake dating, brother's best friend while touching on serious issues like PTSD and anxiety. I like how the story still featured the romantic comedic aspect, but didn't belittle the things Indira and Jude had to deal with. I feel like it made the story more relatable because no one is perfect, but the way the characters dealt with their inner battles could be inspiring for readers. I have not read the other two books in this series, but still enjoyed the side characters and their interactions with to Indira and Jude. I did feel towards the middle like the story was moving at a slower pace than I would like so I did experience a bit of a slump, but once I got over that the resolution was something I was satisfied with.

Indira and Jude go through a lot of mental health emotions in this story and I like how the author handles the reality of those issues and addresses the triggers in the beginning. However, it takes a long time to get the full backstory and I lost interest a number of times. I did like their bantering and enemies to lovers storyline. I haven't read the other stories in the series and I probably won't, but this wasn't a terrible book it had funny and good moments just seemed a bit long.

I haven’t read any other books by Mazey Eddings, including the others in this series, but my experience reading The Plus One encouraged me to seek out more in the future. The connection between Indira and Jude was fun and charming, but there’s also a lot of depth and difficulty to this book that makes for a richer reading experience than you always get from a romance. Jude’s journey through PTSD was honest and thoughtful, which I appreciated. On a personal level, I absolutely loved the mention of Moulin Rouge as a source of a sexual awakening for Indira as it’s one of my very favorite movies and doesn’t get talked about enough. An enjoyable read from start to finish.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I read Mazey's first book upon publication and really enjoyed it. I then was so kindly given an ARC of her second and did not jive with it at all, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I am glad I didn't let my dislike of the second book in the series deter me from reading more Mazey Eddings!

One thing I would note is that in the first two books, I got a sort-of mean girl vibe from Indira. I didn't see that at all in The Plus One. I'm not sure if I didn't understand her character correctly in the beginning of the series, or if her personality suddenly changed when she became a main character.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed reading Jude and Indira's love story. The new side characters (and appearances by former main couples!) brought life to the story as well.

This is an all-around delight. The banter is top notch. The fake-dating trope is delicious as hell (add in friends to lovers AND only one… tent). A pitch-perfect example of mental health conversations. And steamier than a humid kitchen.

Like, get out of town. This was so good.

Indira and Jude just have the most fun relationship. They’re comfortable with each other from growing up together, but don’t drag their feet over getting to know each other as adults.

The way Indira deals with Jude’s PTSD is also just so lovely; she doesn’t push him. She’s just there for him. Paired with her commitment to her own mental health, this book is just the real deal.

A little different from Eddings' previous rom-coms, although still as heartwarming and delightful as her other books. She is an absolute must read author for me. I love her characters battles with real world issues, instead of things all magically working out with a billionaire saving the day. I love how Indira and Jude reluctantly lean into one another and their journey together. I appreciate the mental health representation in these books so very much. Another 5 star read!

Indira (sorry, can't get used to this name--especially when her brother has such a common name like Collin) and Jude become lovers after a lifetime of being pests to each other. Their romance is witty, kind, supportive, and super sexy. The heavy emotional stuff is very, very heavy. Lots of crying from both and I don't love when characters cry. A few times is easy to understand, even cathartic, but every other page is draining. I love the other cast of characters and haven't read the rest in this series. I'll be doing that pronto. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mazey's team for the ARC of this book for an honest review!

What can I say about this that accurately represents what this book has done for me and likely will do for others? It's hard to find fictional stories that handle healing, therapy, self-love, self-worth, and what it means to take a healing journey for yourself with someone accurately, but this book hits all of the boxes.

Gosh, I kind of want to gate keep it because it's such a special book! (I'm kidding, I would never.)

Indira and Jude's childhood nemesis to tentative-friends to lovers was such a heartwarming story. I was kicking my feet, giggling, screaming the whole time. What Mazey is able to capture is true love -- love of friendship, love of family, love of self, and romantic love. This is a romance for all buckets. There were some of the saddest moments I've ever read in a romcom, but it was followed by moments where I (literally) laughed out loud, too. Indira's relationship with her brother was so real and raw and freaking hilarious (as the youngest sister, I fully support all of Indira's exploits).

This is a 5/5 star read. It's heavy at points, but it's worth it. The journey always is. I will be keeping all of the characters from A Brush with Love with me. Thank you, Mazey!

Indira is recently single and attending all of her brother’s wedding events in the company of her ex and his new girlfriend is not her idea of fun. To make matters worse, her childhood nemesis Jude is back in town for the wedding after several years working abroad as a doctor in countries experiencing humanitarian crises. Jude is also not having a good time at the wedding events after struggling to be around people after the trauma of the last few years. They come up with a mutually beneficial fake dating scheme but realize they may have been wrong about each other all along.

Oooooook cute book alert!! I LOVED A Brush with Love and was so excited to read this one.

Things I loved:
-enemies to lovers
-fake dating
-getting to see the characters from the other books and where they are now
-therapy rep
-mental health rep
-good communication between Indira and Jude
-spicy
-dual POV

This was such a sweet and touching read. I really felt for both of them and enjoyed seeing their relationship progress.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was absolutely fantastic! Based on the title and description of the book, I thought it was going to center around the wedding and a fake dating scenario, but I think the book has a more descriptive storyline that really pulls you in! I love the way the characters were written and the banter between the two main characters from childhood all the way up until present day! It's been a while since I've read a 5 star worthy book, so definitely pick up this one when it comes out April 4, 2023!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book.

I read some of the glowing reviews of this book and was really looking forward to it. However, I appear to be in the minority because I frankly had trouble just finishing it. I typically read a book in a day or two; this book took me about 10 days to read because I just wasn't enjoying it and I was happy when I finished it so I could read something else.

The book was well written and I did like the characters and I thought the mental health issues were treated appropriately. However, the lack of pace was annoying because I just kept waiting for something to happen. Instead, the backstory was ever so slowly revealed and i found that I just didn't care.

I suspect a lot of people will very much enjoy this book; unfortunately, I wasn't one of them.

This was another fun read by Mazey Eddings. Indira and Jude are the perfect enemies to lovers, with forced proximity thrown in for good measure. I appreciate the focus on mental health and therapy - helping to normalize these topics and remove the stigma. Plus, when Dira and Jude finally give in to their mutual attraction, things get spicy! I hope we get to see the journey of Alex and Thu next!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed the plus one, it had childhood enemies to friends to lovers which is a trope that i really enjoy.

Something that stuck out to me was the mental health representation in the book. It is something that both of the main characters are seperately struggling with but end up finding comfort and safety with each other. I thought that Indira and Jude's connection was really beautiful and i enjoyed seeing their relationship come to life.

I give the plus one 3.5 ⭐️

This was really good! It walked a fine line between a romance novel and general/women's fiction, which I was fine with. The representation was great, I loved that both characters talk at length about their respective mental health, and the therapy rep was wonderful. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a nice romance novel with depth.

3-3.5 star read!

tw: PTSD

This book is the third book in this series by Mazey Eddings; however, it can be read as a stand alone.

This particular story follows the love story of Indira and Jude. The tropes are childhood frenemies (brother’s best friend) to lovers I’d say. There isn’t as much of an enemies vibe as I’d say, so that’s why I’d go with frenemies. The banter is pretty good between the two and I loved their friendship triangle with Collin.

I do have to say that although I loved the focus on mental health and invisible illnesses, I feel like the individual character’s background stories weren’t fleshed out enough. I feel like something is missing in this book and I don’t know what. Also, I wish there was a bit more tension between the love interests.

Overall, such an easy read and I love the mental health awareness!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this wonderfully sweet electronic advanced reader copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts!

I'm in love with Indira and Jude's relationship. This had all my favorite things enemies to lovers, fake dating, spice, banter. I found myself relating so much to Indira. I also really appreciated the focus on mental health/therapy and dealing with Jude's ptsd. Most importantly this book has heart and is very real. Thank you net galley for this arc!