This story tackles some pretty serious themes like PTSD and asshole cheating exes but still somehow finds a way to be funny and romantic! I also really enjoyed the narrators, coming from someone who doesn’t really listen to audiobooks

On the surface Indra has everything figured out. A good job, a boyfriend, a car, until she walked in on her boyfriend cheating. So she packed up her things and figured she’d stay at her brothers for awhile. There she meets Jude, her brothers best friend and her worst enemy. Jude on the other hand doesn’t have anything figured out. After med school he joined a company that provide medical assistance in places of need. He’s currently on a break but is struggling to readjust. In an effort to help each other out they decide to give fake dating a try and you know how that goes.

I’m one of those people who never read the synopsis before reading the book so I didn’t expect this to be so dark. Divorce, absent dad, PTSD and mental health issues. It’s handled well imo, these topics are important to talk about but they could definitely be triggering for some.

I really appreciate how the characters are written and especially the mcs interactions. How they connect on a deeper level, all the emotions and character growth. Love it! The side characters are really diverse and I love the wedding setting. I could have done without India’s cheating ex but he’s a good villain I guess.

Other then that I also really liked the tropes, enemies to lovers, fake dating, brothers best friend. It does have some funny, lighter moments and also a dual pov which is always appreciated. Highly recommend this one!!

Being able to see the mental struggles of their lives and how they were working past it was intriguing and I really enjoyed this book!

Mazey Eddings does not disappoint!

Childhood enemies get thrown together in wedding events and there is some fake dating involved? Sign me up! Haha what I love about this book is there is more than just romance. There are some amazing emotional moments involving mental health and anxiety and I love that! I read so many romance books that feel very surface level and this book really checked the boxes that I was looking for. I would read this again and I know I will be continuing on with whatever else this author writes.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a sweet story with banter and wit. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story!

This was a cute fast listen. I enjoyed the audio cast and felt they did the characters justice. The characters themselves were well developed and had storylines that kept you invested with a great balance of humor along the way. This felt like it had more depth than your typical rom com book but it wasn’t too heavy either. It was a nice balance and very enjoyable overall!

I think fake dating just isn’t my favorite. I felt like I cringe way too much to enjoy that trope. The narrators were good it was just to much for me.

Emotional, spicy, and relatable. I enjoyed the depth of the characters and the way the author built the relationships between all of them. The narrators' performances were very fitting for the tone of the novel.

I read this as a standalone book. I did not know this was a part of a series.

It was a sweet read and an enjoyable rom com. It was endearing and allowed for both characters to develop along the way. I appreciated the frenemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes and the addition of anxiety/mental health representation.

I liked the chapter titles layout and thought it was unique. I have never read a book that as a countdown.

I recommend reading this book and I will be looking to read the others in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for the honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you, NetGalley for sharing this with me. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Mazey Eddings does such a good job talking about mental health in a way that is very gentle and I feel like she writes about them really well. This book is perfect for lovers of Abby Jimenez.

more thoughts here: https://youtu.be/F50okcZI3ME?si=yU8AM3pHSf5iVNJc

Mazey Eddings has this way of writing characters that are diverse, who face challenges, and who are surrounded by friends who love them deeply. I have fallen in love with her characters, even if I know the stories aren't "meant for me." As a white, cis woman born in the U.S., I know I haven't faced hurdles like others have. I deeply appreciate when authors bring diverse characters to life, so I can "walk a mile in their shoes" through the pages of a book. This perfectly describes how I feel about this story. The cover portrays a fun wedding date, but the subject matter instead the pages are much heavier. While romance is a central theme, friendship and mental health are at the core of this story.

What a great audio! I loved both narrators. (although I strongly dislike that I love Joe Arden these days........)

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC! These are my honest thoughts.

The Plus One is a fake dating romance told from the perspective of Indira, a therapist whose boyfriend recently cheated on her, and Jude, a traveling doctor dealing with humanitarian crises. These two childhood enemies come together for a wedding. While Jude struggles with PTSD and Indira struggles with seeing her ex with the girl he cheated on her with they decide to put their childhood issues aside and pretend to date. The fake dating is mutually beneficial for them, it gives them both an excuse to sit in the corner during all of the over the top wedding functions. Quickly both of them realize that maybe there is more love than hate in their love/hate relationship.

Fake dating and enemies to lovers are my two favorite tropes. This book was full of witty banter, spicy romance and honest discussions of mental health. I love how Mazey Eddings always talks about the topics that many are scared to talk about. It’s wonderful to see a book normalize going to therapy. The author does a great job of interjecting humor and romance along with the heavy subjects. While I enjoyed the book it was a little long and some things could have been cut out. I honestly don’t think the fake dating aspect added to the story. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook. It was narrated by Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden.

While this is the third book in the A Brush with Love series you do not need to read the other ones in order to read it. I recommend this book to readers who like their romances full of chemistry and real life issues.

This was a great romance but was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for me.

I really loved Indira and Jude's dynamic and the moments where we get to see the other couples were great.

I feel like there was quite a tone shift between this one and the previous book in the series, Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake. While there were some really fun moments, it was pretty devastating at times.

I really liked the narrators of the audio. They did a great job with the characters!

Kinda cute, kinda cringe, and not my favorite contemp romance. The narrators were all right, I didn't hate them nor loved them, which is good for me tbh. I did not like the big issue for Jude was that he was a doctor with PTSD but did not want to seek out help and was under the belief that mental health isn't important. Eyeroll. In comes Indira, a therapist, childhood rival/best friend's little sister, who is the only one that sees through him and wants to help him. Eyeroll. Sure its sweet but in the description it said romantic comedy..? Where? Maybe I missed it but it was mostly about healing inner trauma which wasn't entirely disclosed in the blurb/summary so it was more than I could handle. Mental health is very important, and men who don't believe that drive me insane. Anyways, spice was mid-tier but I was here for it! Especially Halloween night hehehehe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!♥

I really enjoyed the narrators for this book. Joe Arden is always great.

I was hoping this was going to be a rom com but it was a little too angsty for me unfortunately.

I remain a big fan of Mazey Eddings and her ability to craft meaningful, witty romance. The Plus One centers on Jude and Dira. Jude is a physician who travels to war torn areas of the world to provide humanitarian medical care and as a result struggles with PTSD. Dira, on the other hand, has a well balance and ideal life with her dream job. These two childhood enemies come together for a wedding event and their connection is genuine, tender, and healing.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a good book! This is the third book in the A Brush With Love series. You will want to read the series in order for it to make more sense. The author does such a great job at making her books feel so realistic and relatable. Her characters are so great, you will love them. There’s also a ton of steam in this book! If you haven’t read this series yet, I recommend checking it out!

Beautiful story!
I havent read the first two books, however, it didn’t matter a bit! I will absolutely be reading them. This was a long overdue arc .

The chemistry and love :
🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥

The Plot : ❤️❤️❤️

Pacing: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Resoluion: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


This is my second book by Maezy Edding. I really enjoy her ability to bring up serious topics while also bringing banter and joy to the reader. An imperfect perfect story about mental health, childhood enemies to lovers and family.

Beautiful

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the gifted audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

1. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝑭𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑵𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔 - So many great tropes rolled into this one. Indira and Jude make the perfect combination of an enemies-to-lovers couple!
2. 𝑷𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒕 𝑩𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 - I will never in my life look at peanut butter the same way again 😂

This was a really good read. It gave a glimpse into the lives of us who deal with PTSD, and I think that's why I appreciate this book so much.