𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐞
by Mazey Eddings

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★★
𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 🌶🌶
𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: childhood enemies, fake dating, older brother's best friend, forced proximity
𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: April 4, 2023
⚠️ 𝐓𝐖'𝐬: PTSD, emotional repercussions of growing up with divorced parents, moving on after a past partner cheats ⚠️

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
Mazeyyyyyyyyy! You did it again girl! Can I just say I’m completely in love with you and your beautiful writing? I’m obsessed. I think this book was my favorite book of yours so far, though. I’ve always loved how Mazey doesn’t shy away from challenging topics. You manage to write them beautifully every single time.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Both characters are in the medical field. Indira is a psychiatrist, and Jude is a doctor specializing in emergency medicine. Personally, I love books with MCs in the medical field. (It hits differently, you know?) Indira is a strong female lead character that's a total badass. (kind of obsessed with her too) However, the banter in the book is my absolute favorite part of the book. Even though the book does touch on heavier topics, it’s not necessarily a heavy book. There's plenty of hilarious banter with cute moments that will make you absolutely swoon. Both characters are lovable in their own way and develop into the book nicely. This book is also set in the same world as A Brush With Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, so definitely check those out as well! I HIGHLY recommend getting this book when it comes out!

Thank you so much to Mazey Eddings and St.Martin’s Press for the advanced digital copy!

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This book was like a warm hug after a good cry. Such sensitive topics reflected with grace & realism. Indira & Jude’s story was lovely to read. I think “A Brush With Love” remains my favorite of Eddings’ books, but I felt very close to Indira’s character.

Some lovely things:
- childhood frenemies to adult friends to lovers (I mean what’s not to love)
- no third act breakup!!! (This was very refreshing)
- really cute cuddles
- good deep meaningful character development and relationship building

I love how this story emphasized that just because you have mental health problems & may feel useless and unlovable, you still deserve to be loved deeply. I also loved how it showed two people staying together through hardship and helping each other through it. That made me feel very warm & fuzzy. I really enjoyed this one.

I don’t even know where to start on my review of this book! I loved it, just as I have loved the previous books in this series… though this one dealt with PTSD and as a former mental health professional, I may have loved it a little more.

As the book begins, the main character, Indira, is reeling from walking in on her boyfriend with someone else. Then she is forced to live with her brother and his best friend (and her childhood nemesis), only to face the her Ex and his new flame at her brother's wedding events… complete with family drama.

Eddings does an amazing job of describing the feeling of PTSD and panic attacks… which might lose some readers at the outset. But it is also a romance, with lots of spice and a multitude of tropes:
- childhood enemies
- fake dating
- wedding shenanigans
- enemies to lovers
- older brother's best friend
- forced proximity
- only one tent
I love that it emphasized the importance of being healthy individually to be healthy as a couple, and didn’t romanticize trauma or “saving” each other.
Thanks to NetGalley, @mazeyeddings, and @SMPRomance for the opportunity to read this amazing book!

Can I give this 5 million stars?? I absolutely loved it. Indira and Jude’s love story was amazing. Jude’s mental health journey was beautiful. I loved the mental health rep. It was done with care and SO beautifully. I cried and felt connected to both main characters. Now for the spice, holy smokes!! Jude has a wicked mouth. The spice was hot. It was so good and steamy. I loved everything about this book.

I was nervous to pick this one up after being disappointed by lizzie blake. BUT I ended up liking this follow up. ALSO PSA - this book is not a light fluffy rom com read. This book was a lot heavier than I expected with the male MC struggling with PTSD throughout the whole book. It shed a lot of light on therapy, which I appreciated. And I loved that there wasn't annoying forced conflict between the MCs. I LOVE a childhood friends/brothers best friend trope and thought this was one was done very sweetly. I thought the characters were very sweet together and I was rooting for them. This is a quick read and worth it if you love a good rom com with depth!

This book covers so many tropes and does it well! Enemies to lovers, brothers best friend, fake dating…. It sounds like a lot but it all just goes so perfectly with Indira and Jude. The humour and sarcasm mixed in with some heavy PTSD stuff was such a great change, that I didn’t even know I’d appreciate. Typically I find rom-coms like this are usually very light and fluffy, and while this does have those aspects it also covers a lot of trauma and healing in such a sensitive and important way.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc, I’m excited to read the first two books in this series now!

Mazey Eddings has done it again. Her ability to write complex characters and swoonworthy romances is unmatched.

The Plus One is a tender and vulnerable story following Jude and Indira. The two are childhood enemies and with a little bit of forced proximity, they eventually pretend to date (which we all know how that ends). Both of their perspectives are in the book giving us an inside look at their mental struggles and development of feelings for one another. I enjoyed just how raw this book was. We get to read Indira who is a psychiatrist doing her virtual therapy appointments while also reading how Jude is struggling with PTSD. They are both individuals finding themselves and each other within the backdrop of pre-wedding festivities.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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

There is a lot to like in Mazey Eddings’ third book, this one focused on Indira in the Harper-Tu-Lizzie friend group. Indira is a psychiatrist who abrupt breaks up with her boyfriend after catching him cheating. She moves back in with her brother and his fiancé. Also staying until the wedding is her brother’s childhood best friend, Jude, who’s home from three years in a version of Doctors Without Borders with one more year on his contract. Jude and Indira had a prickly friendship as kids, but now Indira insists that she detests him. You know what happens.
Weddings does a good job of building a three-dimension FMC and MMC. Both Indira and Jude are at crossroads and aren’t sure what to do next. They first decide to pretend date (with the pretense being that Indira’s ex is also in the wedding, but it is still pretty thin) and then start real dating. They’re pretty good communicators even when they’re not sure what to say, and Jude’s PTSD is humanized and more than just one-note.
The thing that’s most frustrating about the book is that Indira and Jude clearly have sexual chemistry, and they trauma bond, but I wanted to see more of what drew them to each other other than a willingness to listen. The resolution has them merging their professional as well as personal ones, but I wanted to see more of their shared passions, not just their collective trauma. Don’t skip forward! Show us the good stuff! (And not just the sex)

Still, this is my favorite of Eddings’ books, and it’s a satisfying resolution to the friend group’s romance (although justice for Tu and Alex!)

I received an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is book 3 in a series but can be read as a standalone. I had never read the other books and was able to follow along without feeling like I missed any of the story.

This book was great. It was a bit heavier than I anticipated but the author handled the heavy topics wonderfully. I would check TW before reading - just in case. I would definitely recommend this book.

I was given an Advanced Reader copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Jude and Indira were such positive influences on each other, and I loved how they both helped the other grow. Eddings' approach to mental health is extremely refresing and inspirational. She didn't shy away from the hard topics, and her characters became better people because of it. I loved all the tropes - forced proximity, fake dating, enemies to lovers.

Once again, a delightful romance from Mazey Eddings. She never fails to make me laugh and make me think. The Plus One is not as lighthearted as Lizzie Blake because it deals with deep emotional trauma like PTSD and parental abandonment, but still well worth the read.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

The Plus One: ★ ★ ★ ★

Mazey Eddings (A Brush With Love, #3)

"You’ve always been my person, Jude. My annoying, wonderful person. And I think I’m your person too.”

Childhood enemies Jude and Indira strike a deal: pretend to be dating so 1) Indira's ex sees that she is doing just fine and 2) Jude has an escape at public events when he needs it.

Jude–stoic, quiet, and suffering from the after-effects of his job. As a doctor, he's supposed to be saving people, helping people. But when that is not the case far too many times, the crux he bears is far too heavy for just his shoulders. While I understood that his PTSD had a massive impact on him, I was left wanting for a little more depth to his character.

Indira–the happy, bubbly sister of Jude's best friend who–for some reason–can always see right through Jude's secrets. Dira was sweet, kind, and oh-so-loving. One of my favorite things about her was how she simply does not give up on the people she loves. I adored the way she was always steadfast by Jude and even when he pushed her away vehemently, she had the right response every single time. It showed incredible maturity on her part, especially for someone who has such a past of being left behind by people. It would have been so easy for her to just turn her back to avoid getting hurt by Jude, but she did not.

This book also focuses on important subjects like parental abandonment, medical care provider trauma, and PTSD. But, seeing the two of them be vulnerable with one another and slowly, but surely, help each other get better (not cured–better) was so gratifying. The level of healthy communication between them truly impressed me.

This was my first Mazey Eddings book, and I really loved it! With banter, spice, and raw feelings, Eddings brings important conversations to light in a way that's incredibly gratifying and rewarding to read.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley for an honest review. Release Date: April 4, 2023

OMG!! I absolutely love Mazey's books. They are very well written and give you all the feels. I truly love how this enemies to lovers forced proximity book is so beautiful and hilarious. Thank you Mazey for writing such an amazing book. It was a perfect ending to the series. I cannot wait to read more of Mazey's books. I truly love her!!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mazey Eddings has become a must read author for me! I have read her other two stories in this series and loved them so much. Although if I had to choose, this may be my favorite. I adored the characters and their journey from start to finish!! I hope she continues this series because I will be so excited to read more

Mazey Eddings does such an amazing job writing things like trauma, mental health issues and even therapy sessions while still giving us a steamy and just plain cute romance and the Plus One was no exception. I shed quite a few tears reading this book. Mazey has truly cemented herself as one of my favorite, must buy, romance writers. I was really excited for Indira and Jude’s story but I didn’t know if she could top Lizzie & Rake which was pretty much perfection. I think Mazey really reached the same level with Indira and Jude while giving them a completely different, unique story. I was so excited to receive an early copy of this to ready via netgalley and will for sure be recommended to friend and pre ordered for my own bookshelf.

Mazey Eddings has solidified herself as my favorite romance author. Her books are, and I cannot emphasize this enough, SO STEAMY. In addition to the steamy scenes though are incredibly vulnerable, tender, and important conversations about mental health that have opened my eyes to different struggles and perspectives. Her writing is so compassionate and her stories are an absolute joy to read.

I can’t even count the number of times I laughed out loud while reading this book. Indira and Jude were the cutest couple and even though this book discussed a few heavier topics, it was managed in the best way possible. I loved how mental health was discussed throughout the book and how important therapy played a role in their lives. We even get to read a few chapters of Indira’s therapy sessions which I loved. Indira’s brother, Collin, and his fiancée, Jeremy, are my absolute favorite. I loved all their wedding events and their wit. It was so hard for me to dislike any of the characters, even Indira’s ex and his mistress. The only person I can say I truly didn’t like was Indira and Collin’s dad. Both of them deserved so much better. Indira’s anger and Collin’s longing was so relatable. The only reason I hesitated between 4 and 5 stars was because I wish there would have been a little more drama. Maybe jealously over the ex, reluctance to accept Jude and Indira’s relationship from their family, an argument, something. The ending also felt slightly rushed to me. Besides that, I absolutely love every part of this book.

Read this if you love:
🤞🏼Brothers best friend
💋Fake dating
😈Childhood enemies to lovers
🛋Therapy representation
🏳️‍🌈LGBT+ representation
💍Wedding festivities

⚠️: infidelity, PTSD, parental abandonment

The Plus One is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. Though you will want to go back and read the other ones. Indira and Jude are childhood nemesis’s. They are thrown together for Indira’s brother’s wedding. Both are having issues. Jude is dealing with PTSD from working overseas as a surgeon. Indira is dealing with a break up from her boyfriend, who she caught cheating. I enjoyed this book very much, especially the banter between Jude and Indira. A fun rom com romance. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the E-ARC. This is my own opinion.

I have been waiting for this book since it was announced and I am so happy I have now read it! Mazey Eddings is becoming my favorite with each novel she writes, her stories are sweet and spicy, they deal with serious matters that hit close to home and for that I am grateful. The Plus One follows Jude and Indira, they have always had a frenemies type of relationship since they were kids. And when they reunite at Indira’s brother’s wedding, who is also Jude’s best friend, they put aside their differences and agree to become each other’s plus one. The rest is basically history as their feelings grow and the characters help each other heal. I truly think this was a very good love story!

oooh, this was literally everything. i think the fact that i related to both indira and jude a little too much means i definitely need to be finding a therapist soon, though…

this book just has so many goodies wrapped up in between it’s pages. childhood rivals, older brother’s best friend, fake dating, one bed (tent), no third act breakup? and while the trope list may seem like a lot packed into one thing, they were all executed so phenomenally and really worked together to create indira and jude’s story. this book was equal parts cute and wholesome and emotional and serious. i swear i was laughing one second and then on the verge of tears the next for many, many moments within this book.

indira is definitely my favorite character from this little companion series, partially because she’s the one i relate to the most, but also because she’s just such an amazing character in general. she’s witty and fun, not afraid to speak her mind while still managing to be respectful, and overall just has so much love to give for the people in her life. i truly adored her. and jude, ohhh jude. it was very hard to read his chapters sometimes because of how truly broken and sad this boy was, but once indira crashed her way through, seeing him become happy and hopeful was just so ridiculously sweet. i was rooting for him since he was first introduced. i loved that mental health was an important aspect of their relationship and that they were both working on becoming better for themselves.

the romance in this book was simply *chef’s kiss* from the playful bickering to the stolen glances and touches to the “oh shit i think i actually like you” moments. not to mention the spicy scenes, which were some of the best from this series (and yes, there is emotional 69ing and it is absolutely amazing. i was not disappointed) the chemistry between the characters felt real and genuine, and it wasn’t simply lust based or instant, which had been my biggest qualms about the first two books.

i’m sincerely so glad i requested this book from netgalley, i think it might be one of my favorites that i’ve read. this really is gonna hold a place in my heart with how much i resonated with it <3 definitely recommend!!

<i> huge thank you to netgalley and st. martin’s press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!! </i>