I absolutely enjoyed the author’s previous book and I was surprised that I enjoyed this one even more. And I understand it is so difficult to repeat such success and this felt simply perfect to me. Indira and Jude are two broken souls that come together and heal each other with their strong emotional connection. They evolve and grow mentally just by being in each other’s presence. The book has humor and some steam in it and the author’s writing is really smooth which makes it such a fun and easy read. There is a lot about mental trauma, PTSD and psychologists in the book and all these together make the readers empathize more with the main characters. Both the characters are complex and are going through some difficult circumstances but do not worry, as there is the romance, crackling chemistry and definitely lot of fun moments throughout the book. I also liked Indira’s brother and family just for their cuteness and being supportive to both the best friend and his sister.

It was emotional yet humorous and a beautiful, heartwarming read which is just perfect for all romcom readers!

“How her deepest want was just to be loved, and how she wasn’t sure anyone ever could.”

4.75/5 ☆

What an ending to an amazing series! I was hooked from the start to finish. While I would have loved a book on Thu (I was hoping for a relationship in need of repair book with Alex), Indira and Jude’s story was powerful and wrapped up this character universe well.

Eddings’s is flawless in the way she writes her characters and their stories. They are smart, engaging, so hilarious, and so emotional. Indira and Jude start off as a childhood frenemies, but realize they have a lot more in common than they had previously thought. Both are struggling with their own traumas and as they get closer, they learn to lean on one another and become a team. The portrayal of PTSD for Jude and adverse childhood experiences for Indira really shape this novel and demonstrates the complexities and importance of seeking help. So well done!

Sad to say goodbye to this series, but very excited for what Mazey puts out next! Her writing has quickly become one of my favorites. Thank you St. Martins Press, NetGalley, & Mazey for this eARC!

Tropes:
-Older brother’s bff
-Fake dating
-Childhood frenemies to lovers
-Dual POV

Wow, I devoured this one in about a day and a half! It was very refreshing to have not only the main protagonist but also the love interest be so vulnerable and real. I loved the childhood enemies to lovers with all the sarcastic bickering that came with it. My favorite was that Indira and Jude could make each other laugh even in the most uncomfortable, distraught times. The book is well written, emotional, laugh out loud, and has some very nice 🌶🌶🌶 scenes. A heartwarming happily ever after.

The only complaint I have is that I felt the ending was so drawn out. I was ready for resolution at about 80%.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

God this book made me so emotional. The whole time reading I just wanted to give Jude the biggest hug possible. I cried and laughed throughout the whole book. As someone with a very complicated relationship with my father, Indira's relationship with hers made me feel seen. I hope that there will be more books by Mazey Eddings coming out soon because now that I've read some, I need more.

The romance in this book! I loved it from start to finish. It felt real, it felt smart, and it felt like everything I needed in this moment. Excited to read more by this author!

"But something about her drew him in, like she had a rope looped around his chest that she gently and steadily pulled on."

What You'll Find:
✔️Fake Dating Romance
✔️Childhood Enemies to Lovers
✔️Brother's Bestfriend
✔️Forced Proximity
✔️Dual POV

The Plus One tells the story of two childhood nemeses who fake date to get through a wedding from hell. Though through the forced proximity and physical displays of affection, things soon shift for them. And they end up finding a surprising comfort in each other, in a situation they expected none to be found.

This story started out strong. Pulling me in and making me laugh. With peanut butter of all things. From there you get to know both Indira and Jude a little better. And despite them being enemies, always at each other's throats, they do find common ground. And in the end, really ground each other. Indira's house metaphor really spoke to me. I thought the author did a fantastic job in making the mental health topics feel realistic and true. While creating a good balance at keeping it light too. I feel like that's her signature.

While there's a great mix of humor, emotion and steam that I greatly enjoyed... there were times the banter was hilarious and times it felt a teeny tiny bit borderline harsh to me. So it did take me some time to warm up to their connection. But in the end I just adored them together. And I loved all the special past character cameos. Especially Lizzie. She'll forever be my fave. Make sure you check this one out on release day! Such a lovely debut series, that I definitely recommend to romcom fans!

*I received an ARC from SMP Romance via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and given freely.

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings delivers an emotional story of grief, loss and being okay with not always being okay and still being worthy of love.

Indira and Jude are seemingly not the biggest fan of each other and despite being forced proximity together as roommates, you get to see how they both are more similar than they think and slowly become friends to lovers with an angsty slow burn romance, I thought Mazey did an amazing job with Jude and his PTSD and how he doesn’t just magically get better and that it’s something he lives with and he’s still worthy of love and that he doesn’t have to be perfect and Indira always keeping it together and knowing who she is and seeing how they lean on each other was so sweet and emotional.

Seeing Jude try to push away but Indira and everyone letting him know that they are there for him and seeing the friend group grow up and their relationships and how they still are friends and support each other, and seeing Lizzie and Rake and Evie was the cutest! The fake dating and forced proximity between Jude and Indira was chemistry filled and hot! I am so sad to see the friend series to end but I think it wrapped up perfectly and as everyone should.

This was absolutely adorable and gave me all the happy warm feelings one gets when they read a book that just makes them smile. I really enjoyed these characters and didn't want to leave this world and story Ms. Eddings created. A great addition to the Rom-Com genre!

I fell in love with Harper & Dan, then I fell in love with Lizzie & Rake, and now I'm in love with Indira & Jude. This story was so captivating. The in-depth look into PTSD and abandonment issues looped into this adorable romance was the perfect blend to keep me reading non-stop. The camping trip with one tent had me laughing so hard. Indira & Jude's soul connection is goals. Their deep rooted love has me wishing I had a Jude of my own. 5 stars, 10/10 would recommend!

I have found that I love childhood anything (friends, enemies, frenemies) to lovers. It is probably my favorite trope and Mazey does it beautifully in this last installment in the Brush With Love series.

Brief Synopsis: Indira is a psychiatrist who, after walking in on her live in boyfriend in an uncompromising situation, goes to stay with her brother and his fiancé. Little does she know her childhood nemeses and her brother's best friend Jude is also staying. Jude is on a leave from a doctors without borders type program to attend the wedding and wedding festivities of his best friend, but he also desperately needs a break from the traumas of his job. Indira and Jude move from frenemies to friends to then realizing their feeling are more than either of them anticipated.

As much as I really enjoyed this book, I will say that I found this book to be heavy. It handles very tough topics of PTSD, panic attacks, and parental abandonment. While I loved Jude and Indira as characters and their journey throughout this book I definitely missed the lighter banter and lightheartedness that was found in the first two books.

Jude and Indira are both complex characters that find ways to help each other during some very difficult times. In that they both grow and build a beautiful relationship with each other.

I really appreciated the author's note at the end of the book. This really is a beautiful story of two incredibly strong, smart people who are beautifully broken and helping each other pick up the pieces. Just please read the CW and know that this is a heavy read. If you are like me, you want the right mindset going into some a new book.

I have LOVED this Brush With Love universe and I will be so sad to leave it. I cannot wait to see what we get next from Mazey!

HUGE thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the EARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mazey does it again! I absolutely love her writing and humor. She’s become auto buy for me for sure. The Plus One is the final book in this companion series and it was so so beautiful. I felt this book was definitely a bit more emotionally charged than her other works as Indira and Jude were both dealing with some very heavy traumas. Mazey navigated writing about PTSD experience beautifully and respectfully. But she also brought the humor as we have come to associate with her books. This book will make you feel it all from laughter, sexiness, heartache, and joy.

Rating: 5/5
Warnings: PTSD, parental abandonment, panic attacks, difficult family dynamics
Steam: 3.5/5
Tropes: Childhood frenemies to lovers, fake dating, brother's best friend, forced proximity, only one bed (tent)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I want a write a really beautiful review, because this is a really beautiful book. When I finished, I just sat there with it, sad that it was over and emotionally recovering from a whirlwind of feelings this stirred in me. The Plus One, like all of Mazey's books, has both heart and humor. Indira and Jude's journey is one filled with navigating grief, childhood trauma and PTSD. This is contemporary romance at it's best.

We had some humorous moments, one liners that lead to actual "laugh out louds" and fantastic banter. Solid steam including "only one tent" and some emotional 69ing (not something I ever thought I would put in a review). But this book, at it's heart is so much. It's two very broken souls find one another, supporting each other in their own unique journey's and never trying to "fix" one another. Please take care of yourself while reading and read the author's note at the end.

Note: I am friends with the author but all opinions on the book are my own.

"Just once, she wanted to be someone worth staying for."

"He glanced at her, and gave his most genuine attempt at a smile. It was slow and hesitant and probably looked more terrifying than anything, but he had to try. Indira’s eyes trailed to his mouth, tracing his lips. Then she smiled back, and it, ever so slightly, tipped Jude’s world upside down."

"He wanted to explain that he didn’t deserve sex and he was too broken for intimacy."

"Jude caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles before letting it go. “I think you should start having higher expectations from me,” he said with a rough laugh. “Because you deserve the world.”"

"He’d forgotten that happiness wasn’t a banging, violent emotion like all the others that bombarded him every moment. Happiness was soft. Uneventful. It was holding Indira’s hand. Sitting next to her on the couch and listening to her talk. It was a quiet cup of coffee with her next to him reading a magazine. It was teasing her, being goofy and pretending to pass out after sniffing her feet, making her shriek in outrage and giggle. Happiness was them."

"If heaven existed on earth, it was in a blanket fort with Indira Papadakis."


I broke my max 3 quote rule and I simply do not give a fuck.
(I left out my favorite quote that’s in Chapter 12 because it deserves to be read for the first time in context)

I loved A Brush with Love.
I made Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake my entire personality for WEEKS.
WHAT DO I DO WHEN THE PLUS ONE IS LITERALLY ME IN BOOK FORM?????
Like I am in these pages and these words (not the relationship ones my single ass wouldn’t know lol) and I have frankly never felt more seen and understood. Which is funny because I thought that was how I felt with Lizzie Blake.

This book is a masterclass on how to balance the kisses, the hugs, the cries, the sexy times and the funnies. I'll be thinking about this book till the day I die.

A journey to understanding your hurt, wanting to heal, and committing to wanting better for yourself. I love me some GOOD sexy and funny times but the EMOTIONS are what really get me and Mazey is always doing the most in her books.

I'll miss Harper and Dan and Alex and Thu and Lizzie and Rake and Indira and Jude. The Love on the Brain crew as I will always think of them as.

And that’s all the intelligible words that I can put together about this book. All my other thoughts are keyboard smashes, screaming into the void and giggling hysterically till someone snaps me out of it.

MVP: Mazey I LOVE YOU

(THANK YOU to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Indira has just walked in on her boyfriend in a very compromising position with another woman (one that involves an upsetting amount of peanut butter). Jude is home for a few weeks, battling PTSD from his job. They're both in the wedding party for Indira's brother's wedding.
So when Indira needs an excuse to leave the room whenever her ex and his new girlfriend are getting a little too friendly, and Jude needs an excuse to leave the room whenever it gets a little too loud, they naturally decide to fake a relationship-- despite the fact that they've always butted heads.

The Plus One is a surprisingly funny look at trauma, burnout, and finding yourself after years of not always remembering who you are.
Mazey Eddings has, as usual, written a book that deals with pretty intense subject matter couched in a narrative voice that makes it clear, from the beginning, that everyone-- the characters, and the reader-- is going to be okay in the end.

3.5

deeply emotional. specific scenes were quite beautiful (indira’s house metaphor, for example). probably my favorite part was how indira’s love for jude and his love for her helped jude recognize that he deserved help. on par with the first two books in the series. tropes included enemies-to-lovers and brother’s best friend.

#netgalley

"The Plus One" is former childhood enemies Indira and Jude--she was his best friend's little sister--who reconnect when they're both in the same wedding. They're both in the medical community, but Jude is struggling with PTSD from working in disaster zones overseas. It's the third book in Eddings' "A Brush with Love" series and I loved it. I thought separately Indira and Jude were endearing, fully rounded characters and together their chemistry seemed very authentic. I also enjoyed the ridiculousness of the wedding events. This read as a very consistent entry to the series. (Shoutout to Netgalley for the advanced copy.)

Mazey's a phenomenal writer. Each book I've read from her has so much heart and humor and The Plus One is no exception! Indira and Jude roast each other constantly and I enjoyed every second of their banter. Like her other books, Mazey explores mental health here in such a beautiful and honest way and I'm always so appreciative of it. A wonderful book I'd recommend to any one! Thank you to Netgalley and SMP for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Indira and Jude are childhood frenemies that haven’t seen each other since college, until now. Indira’s brother Collin (aka Jude’s best friend) is getting married and both Indira and Jude are caught up in the pre-wedding chaos. When forced proximity begins to break down their emotional and traumatic barriers Jude and Indira discover how much of their past connects them, along with a new deeper relationship. Can both Indira and Jude work through their emotions and make this new relationship work for the wedding, or will everything implode? I adore Mazey Eddings and how emphasized mental health is in her books. I totally connected with Jude being overwhelmed in social situations with loud noises and close body proximity. I also wanted to shout how much I loved Indira going to counseling when she is a psychiatrist herself. Both characters are tormented in their own way but learn to support and love one another in the best, healthiest manner. This story has so much heart!

This book is about Indira and Jude who know each other from childhood. Jude is her brother's best friend, Collin, and Indira and Jude have never gotten along. Jude comes back to town for Collin's wedding after working overseas. He is suffering from PTSD. Indira has just had a breakup with her boyfriend who she caught cheating. They both decide to fake date for the wedding.
Mazey Eddings is very good at writing about feelings. What does PTSD feel like? This story will make you understand what PTSD feels like and how hard it is to heal from it. Jude and Indira see each other from a different perspective in the story which is interesting to read. There are trigger warnings with this book, but if you want to understand PTSD a little better this book will help. This is the second book I have read by Mazey Eddings and I have enjoyed both books and would like to read more.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #MazeyEddings, and #StMartinsGriffin for a copy of this book.

This book was perfect in all the right ways. The way that she writes about mental health is just beautiful and you really fall hard for these characters because you can really feel for them! Not only was the dialogue great, but the spicy scenes were 🥵🔥 there were moments I had to put the book down because I was blushing so hard! Also I feel like this book was so healing for my soul with all the great metaphors in it and just the overall dialogue between Indira and her therapist and Indira and Jude.

The girls friendship in this book is like sisterhood of the traveling pants and I am here for it! Also Indira reminds me of Lily from The Princess Diaries 🤗

This was such a fun book to read and I will be thinking about Indira and Jude for days! Thank you @stmartinspress and @mazeyeddings for letting me read this ARC