Thank you to Net Galley, St Martin's Press, and Mazey Eddings for the eARC of The Plus One.

Upon returning home one day, Indira catches her boyfriend (who she lives with) cheating on. She seeks refuge at her brother, Collin's, home, but comes to find her brother's best friend, Jude, is also staying with her brother aka her childhood nemesis prior to her brother's wedding. Indira continually runs into now ex-boyfriend frequently at pre-wedding events, as he is her future brother-in-law's cousin, and her and Jude hatch a plan to fake date to ease the tension at the wedding events.

I really liked this story. I love enemies to lovers and fake dating stories because the banter is always so entertaining and this one did not fail! These characters were so different from the usually stereotype because I actually found them very mature regarding their feelings toward each other once they caught on that there was a spark. Also, Indira had this amazing quality to be just the right support for Jude in his time of crisis, which was supportive but not forceful or overbearing.

I would definitely recommend!
- Enemies to loves
- Fake Dating
- Brother's Best Friend

Enemies to lovers??? Grumpy x sunshine??? They’ve known each other since childhood??? He’s her brothers best friend??? Fake dating??? This book had ALL of the best tropes and I adored it.

This book was sweet, emotional, steamy, and portrayed mental health and trauma in such a realistic way. Indira and Jude are childhood enemies who grew up alongside each other due to Jude’s friendship with Dira’s brother Collin. Fast forward to present day and Dira, now a therapist, and Jude, a surgeon, find themselves both living at Collin’s house leading up to his wedding.

Dira and Jude were everything and so much more. Seeing them go from bickering to opening up to one another about their struggles and trauma was beautiful. They re-found each other at the exact right time and fit like two pieces of a puzzle. I loved Dira’s determination to never give up on the ones she loved and how she helped Jude realize that his trauma doesn’t mean that he is unloveable. I really appreciated how the author didn’t make the characters go through a third act breakup and instead prioritized Dira supporting Jude through a low point. ALL of the stars for positive communication between these two.

This book was so inspirational and beautiful. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an emotional read with SO much heart and healing.

4.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a love letter to therapy, and those of us who have gone at the lowest point of our lives can know. I remember perfectly who much I fought with myself not to cry during therapy, but one day was so hard that I cried for the entire hour it lasted. This book felt like how I felt after that day. Purely cathartic.

Indira and Jude are childhood enemies to lovers, and I’ve discovered that I love the trope way more when it’s written like this in contemporary romance, because most of the enemies to lovers where they’re already adults aren’t truly enemies. Anyway, these two’s bickering was hilarious. I loved their animosity so much, but I loved their love more. Both of them recognizing each other’s damaged soul and being brave enough to open up even when it was very scary was a healing experience. You don’t need to not be broken to be loved. There’s a common line that angers me, the “no one will love you until you love yourself”. Nope. Big lie. Lots of people will love you when you can’t love yourself, and this book is the proof.

This trilogy is everything to me. It’s made me feel seen, loved and like I deserve things I never thought I’d get. Also, the power of therapy. Everyone needs to go to therapy. Period.

Thanks to Mazey for sharing her beautiful books with the world, and to St. Martin’s Press for sharing this one with me.

TW: PTSD, parental abandonment, cheating

Rating: 5/5
Steam level: Open door, 4-5 scenes, high level of detail.

So i want to start out by saying I have never read the other books in this series.

But that didn't keep me from enjoying this one!

This has to be one of my favorites I've read this year. Dr. Indira Papadakis agrees to fake date her brother’s best friend and her childhood nemesis, Dr. Jude Bailey, for her brother’s upcoming wedding festivities because she doesn't want to appear desperate and alone since her very recent ex is also attending.

Indira and Jude are one of the most loving couples I've ever read. I loved their tender moments, they way they each dealt with their own trauma and each others. I also really loved their spicy moments! Because remember, i really like my spice!

All in all this was the perfect blend of healing and a HEA. Loved every page.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Jude and Indira are both high achieving individuals with a deep disdain for each other since childhood. Jude is a doctor, returning home for his best friend's (who also happens to be Indira's brother) wedding while waiting for his next assignment with the organization he works for who help with humanitarian crises and emergencies. Indira is a psychiatrist who deeply cares for her pediatric patients and who's love life has had it's up and downs - the latest down being walking in on her boyfriend cheating on her. As they both prepare for the stress of her brother's wedding, Jude finds that being around Indira helps to calm him as he suffers from PTSD symptoms. When she asks to fake date him in order to take some pressure off of herself, he can't help but agree.

I was so nervous to read this book because I loved Lizzie Blake SO MUCH and I was really worried this wouldn't live up to the own hype I had created for myself. I should have known better, because Mazey Eddings is truly incredible and this book landed right up there with Lizzie Blake for me.

This is, I would say, heavier material than in Lizzie Blake. I SO appreciated the content warnings in the beginning of the book, and ultimately felt that the material was handled with such care and compassion. The way Mazey writes mental health representation is truly unparalleled and is worth the read, I promise. Humans are messy but all are deserving of love and happiness, and that is a theme you can see in every one of Mazey's books. I could go on and on about what this book made me feel (particularly as a healthcare worker) but suffice it to say, I wholeheartedly recommend this one and hope you pick it up when it publishes on April 4th!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this book was oh so tender! jude and indira's journey had me in my feels. i loved the communication in this book! also the eventual male vulnerability was so nice to see. in so many romance books, i feel like there is a lack of male vulnerability and mental health issues.

Thank you, St, Martin's Press. for allowing me to read The Plus One early.

Awww, how I loved this story. Enemies to lovers and fake dating are two of my favorite tropes and Mazey Eddings perfectly used those two tropes to write an emotional and dazzling romance. I didn't know Mazey Eddings before but I will definitely check out her future books!

I wanted to love this book and it definitely had its funny scenes and romantic scenes but it was a super slow burn. Also, I thought it was a stand alone book but I guess you had to read the other books to understand some things (like why did this Greek/Italian woman have an Indian name?) it was ok. Readable if you have time.

Thank you to St Martins and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

A very moving enemies-to-lovers as well as fake-to-real-dating story as two people who have known and hated each other since childhood re-evaluate their feelings when thrust into close proximity.

Indira walked in on her boyfriend cheating on her and, in a righteous fury, grabbed her things and moved out to temporarily live with her brother, telling him 'no, it'll be great, I'll be right here to help with your wedding!'. Meanwhile, her brother had already invited his old friend Jude to stay while he was there for the upcoming wedding, before heading back to a Doctors Without Borrs-esque job that lets him forgo student loans in exchange for getting a massive case of PTSD from being the modern equilibrant of a WWI doctor and seeing equivalent horrors.

As the wedding gets closer, so too do Jude and Indira, and it's incredibly sweet to see how head on and open the story is to addressing mental health and how incredibly f*cked up the world is when it comes to health and wealth, but love can still find a way. :-)

Thanks so much for the ARC - I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK IT WAS A WARM HUG BUT ALSO REAL YOU KNOW. i can't stop rereading this - i think its my new comfort book. love love love these characters!
BEST BOOK OF THE SERIES - pls never stop writing @dr eddings

“A Plus One” by Mazey Eddings is the third book in the “A Brush with Love” series. As with all of the books in this series, this one, too, can be read as a stand alone book. For a romance book, this book was not a stereotypical romance book. The author began with a list of trigger warnings, including PTSD. I have to say that how Ms. Eddings covered PTSD was not only very realistic, but also with care. This is not your typical romance book and I have to give kudos to Ms. Eddings for that because this was different enough that, for the most part, I grew to like both main characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this ARC!

While this was definitely a cute romance between between two childhood rivals, Indira and Jude, it felt like the book just dragged a little bit, a lot of the material felt a little unecessary. Jude was slightly annoying by himself, I'm sorry! I liked that it touched on mental health, I liked that it gave real world scenarios, it was a relatable and well written book albeit a little slow.

I went in really excited for this but unfortunately it very much missed the mark for me. Perhaps it was when I read it or maybe it's just not for me but it took me weeks to finish and I didn't really enjoy the time spent reading it.

The plot was too fast and the characters love story felt contrived overall.

3.5, rounded up. The Plus One is a cute, steamy read with an added layer of depth, in the form of mental health. This book contains a lot of the standard tropes within the romcom genre and enemies to lovers sub-genre, but Eddings does a good job serving up readers what they want of these types of stories and doesn't try to be ironic/satirical or subvert expectations. It just is what it is. Contemporarily-set enemies-to-lovers stories always feel a bit forced to me, but I think the author did a good job making Indira and Jude "enemies" without forcing it too much, and the change to lovers didn't feel gratuitous. The thing that bumped me most was that the middle of the book is basically a string of spicy scenes and then the last quarter of the book abruptly shifts to focus entirely on mental health issues-- the sharp juxtaposition threw me, as they're so different in tone and content. But I did appreciate that a book could be both sexy and serious.

an achingly beautiful novel that explores grief and reconnected love. i adored the characters all the while being so sad to say goodbye to this found family that has been through so much together an amazing ending

i loved this book so much!

i didn't realize before i started reading this book that it was the third in a series, and while i do like to read series in order i don't think it took anything away from this book.

i read a lot of romance and it was refreshing to read one where the characters actually voiced what they were thinking about the relationship and there was no late stage break up or miscommunication.

i laughed and i cried and i'm not sure what else you could want from a book.

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to love this book!!

As someone well-versed in romantic tropes, I found this book to be refreshing. I loved how the "secret dating" trope was immediately squashed when [SPOILERS] basically everyone that Indira was close to was almost immediately told that the two were pretending to date. [END SPOILERS]

That said, I think that the pacing was a bit off, but I know that there are only so many ways to write the whole "fake to real dating" trope. I do plan on purchasing this when it comes out. Loved it!

A really cute, thought provoking, sweet rom com.. One of the better ones I have read in a while.

Indira and Jude pretty much grow up together, since he is the best friend of her brother. However, Indira doesn’t like Jude. Jude doesn’t like Indira. But what happens when these childhood enemies find the only thing they can rely on is each other?

I LOVE how each one was flawed, but trying. i loved how they supported each other when needed. I even loved their "battles of hate" - the names they called each other, and the pranks they played were so funny! I loved these characters and was really bummed when this ended.

4.5 stars rounded to 5 just because its one of the better rom coms I have read in a long time.. Thank you for breaking my dry spell.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

This was Mazey Eddings’ best novel so far. Relating Indira and Jude’s story, this book was about war trauma and daddy issues. I loved that the characters were far from shy about their therapy session and seeking help. I think this story was more about finding someone to support you through hard times more than looking for love. The characters were well built and had deep personalities which made it easier for the reader to relate to. I have to say though that the ending was a bit rushed. Many years were skipped which gave the illusion that the reader was at the epilogue even though there were three chapters left. I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants a cute romance mixed with complex emotions.

Such a unique book, I loved the plot and oh my god the characters we're so amazing!! I definitely will be recommending it!!