While this romance did touch on a lot of very important issues I felt that it was very disjointed and a little boring.

4.5⭐️

I don’t even have words for Indira & Jude 😭 my god, these two were so special and I’m eternally grateful to Mazey for creating these special characters 🥹

I knew I was going to love Indira since I first met her in A Brush with Love ! She’s so sassy and funny and I couldn’t wait to see her personality come out in a romantic setting.

Jude was just… JUDE 😭🥹✨ he was precious and a little grumpy and my heart was bleeding for him so much 🥹 when he understood he could let himself go with Indira and she just wanted to be there for him and love him through it all… did anyone else get Nesta & Cassian vibes with Jude starting as Nesta ?? 😭😭😭

Sidebar, Mazey knows how to write her spice 🥵 this is my third read by her, so this shouldn’t be news to me, but it kinda slaps me in the face every time… lol so here for it 🫠

I also didn’t realize that this would be the last book in this series, so the epilogue absolutely had me in shambles, like I was crying in the club so hard 😭

The Plus One was yet another beautiful, heartfelt and emotional read that delivered so many laugh-out-loud and sweet moments, while also diving into some deeper themes, such as PTSD and complicated family dynamics. I think at this point it’s safe to say that Mazey simply can do no wrong!

What a cute, but emotional and meaningful, read! This book does a great job of tackling PTSD in a respectful and genuine way. It is not over the top or built on stereotypes. I found myself so invested in both main characters’ emotional journeys throughout the book. It was such a good childhood enemies to lovers book! “The Plus-One” is the third in Mazey Eddings’ “A Brush With Love” series, but this book can definitely be read as a stand-alone. Overall, it had romance and spice along with longing, angst, and real-world issues! I found myself so entranced by the story and could not stop listening once I started it!

**4.5-stars**

Fantastic audiobook. The narration was perfect for the characters. I absolutely loved it!

Full review:

The Plus One is the newest installment in the A Brush with Love series by Mazey Eddings. This series consists of companion novels, set in Philadelphia, following a strong and supportive friendship group of women in their late-20s. Each of the women we meet over the course of the series is incredibly-well fleshed out, with their own distinct strengths, weaknesses and personality quirks.

In this third book, it is Indira's turn to take the leading role. We have met Indira in the previous two books, but it was nice to really get to know her through this story. I've always liked her, after this though, I love her. This starts off horribly for Indira after she walks in on her live-in boyfriend, Chris, having a bit of a tug and cuddle with a stranger. It's clearly not the first time.

Indira is horrified, she can't believe her eyes, like really can't believe her eyes. Is that peanut butter?! She's ticked, she's done, she wants out. Quickly packing her things, including her adorable cat, Indira races over to her brother, Colin's, house, heartbroken and distraught. Well, maybe not heartbroken per se, but definitely distraught. Adding insult to injury, when she gets to Colin's she discovers his best friend, Jude, is currently staying there as well. Ughhhh, life is unfair.

Of course he is. With Colin and his fiance's wedding rapidly approaching, of course Jude would be there, it just couldn't be worse timing for Indira. She can't stand Jude. Even growing up, they were always at odds with one another.

Jude, a surgeon, has been traveling the world for the past few years working in the most dire circumstances, war-torn and impoverished communities; humanitarian crisis zones. Returning to the United States for Colin's wedding, Jude is having a hard time adjusting. He's suffering from lack of sleep, paralyzing guilt and anxiety stemming from the things he has seen; the patients he has lost. The last thing he needs now is Indira.

While Indira is happy to have a place to go to escape Chris and his new lady friend, that doesn't solve all her problems. Chris is friends with Colin and part of the wedding party. With many pre-wedding events planned and the actual event itself looming on the horizon, she's rattled with anxiety, how can she possibly face him?! It's going to be awful.

Knowing of her predicament, Jude feels for Indira. He's not heartless. Together they form a pact to fake date over the course of the wedding festivities. It will be great for both of them to have support during those events. Indira has noticed something off about Jude since he's been back. She's hoping she'll be able to provide some help for him if he begins to get overwhelmed.

As Indira and Jude spend more time together, it becomes clear that maybe their opinions of one-another have changed. It's hard to deny the spark that fires between them. Will it last, or will it fizzle out once their need for fake dating is over?

Mazey Eddings is becoming quite the star in my eyes. My goodness, this series just keeps delivering the steam, the humor and all the feels!!

I loved both Indira and Jude. I also love how Eddings brings real-life issues to the page for her characters. No one is perfect in these stories. Everyone has something, sometimes multiple things, that they are working on, or through. I was again impressed with how quickly Eddings is able to develop such flawed, sympathetic, witty and charming characters. It's gripping right from start, mainly because you get sucked into the characters lives.

Jude's story. in particular, I felt was incredibly well done. It was powerful, hard-hitting, eye-opening and honestly, quite serious. His PTSD was laid at your feet. It's a heavy topic to tackle in an otherwise funny, romantic story. I thought Eddings did a great job balancing the serious with the more light-hearted aspects. With this being said though, I did feel the tone of this one was a little different, heavier in a way, than the previous two.

It's still fantastic, don't get me wrong. I think part of it actually may stem from the relationship dynamic between our two mains. Jude and Indira have known each other a long time. They have an established relationship. In the first two books, some of the fun and excitement came from two characters meeting, dating and falling in love. There's always some underlying excitement in that process because it's all new.

Here the exploration of the relationship was different because they came in with a history. That history did allow them to go deeper though, I felt, than the previous two couples. That's not a bad thing, it just tackles romance from a different angle.

The humor, wit, steamy scenes and hilarious situations did not change though. Eddings knows how to shock, surprise and impress. I was completely absorbed in this story. Jude and Indira will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am in love with this series and cannot wait for the next book!

💐The Plus One 💐

Thank you @netgallery for this gifted audiobook. The audiobook was really well done @macmillan.audio I enjoyed this sweet romance which involved topics that I found really moving such as mental health, therapy and PTSD.

I didn’t realize this was a series so I’ll have to catch up on the first two however, I definitely think it can be a standalone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
💐The Plus One 💐

Thank you @netgallery for this gifted audiobook. The audiobook was really well done @macmillan.audio I enjoyed this sweet romance which involved topics that I found really moving such as mental health, therapy and PTSD.

I didn’t realize this was a series so I’ll have to catch up on the first two however, I definitely think it can be a standalone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This childhood frenemies-to-lovers romance was the perfect balance of spicy, sweet, and emotional! More importantly, the mental illness rep (PTSD and anxiety) was handled with care and respect. I also appreciated that, once they finally got together, the two main characters didn't have to go through a ridiculous argument for the sake of the plot. Their relationship comes across as genuine and hopeful.

Overall, I think you'll enjoy this one if you're looking for a contemporary story that includes a romance and spicy scenes but also a great deal of personal growth by imperfect characters!

This was a touching and emotional journey that didn’t shy away from the darkness and sweeping romance.

This enemies to lovers trope was okay. There were parts of the book that had me laughing out loud, but there were other parts of the book that were a bit frustrating to listen to. The overuse of curse words, for one, made it hard to focus. It’s not that I never hear those words or use them on occasion, but it seemed over-the-top. This may be one of those instances where you notice the redundancy while listening as opposed to reading the hard copy? After getting past that, I did appreciate the importance it brought to getting help and the positive light it shed on counseling.

The Plus One- @mazeyeddings
Synopsis:
"Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that's stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other's fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit... real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn't be worse, is made a little better with the other around."
Thoughts
I loved this one. It was funny, sweet, and the spice was nice.
I think I enjoyed the way the author approached the topic of PTSD the most. It felt very real and raw, but was still really beautifully handled.
Definitely a book that is sticking with me.
Also, the narration was great!
Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this gifted audiobook

Indira has everything most women in their twenties want, until she walks into her apartment to find her boyfriend entangled with a stranger.

Jude has worked as a doctor in conflict zones for the last three years so that the crippling debt he incurred to receive his medical training is forgiven. Jude isn’t the same person he once was due to the nature of his job and finds himself struggling to fit into normal everyday life.

Indira lands on her brother Colin’s doorstep, only to have Jude, her brother’s best friend open the door. Indira and Jude are like oil and water, they don’t mix. Indira isn’t sure how she will endure occupying the same house with Jude until after her brother’s wedding.

There are many wedding events prior to the big day and Jude doesn’t know how he’ll get through them with all the people and noise that they entail. Indira’s ex-boyfriend happens to be the cousin of her brother’s fiancé and she’s not sure how she’ll attend all these events seeing her ex and his new girlfriend at every turn. Jude and Indira decide to strike up a deal to be fake dates to get each other through the difficult weeks ahead.

I’ve listened to another novel with the same female narrator and have enjoyed both books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an ALC of this novel. #NetGalley #ThePlusOne

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. I finished it quickly but I feel like about 3/4 of the way through it started to drag a bit. It also wasn’t really what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be more of the fake dating/ enemies to lovers trope, and it was only about 2 seconds of fake dating, and 1 second of enemies and then just all lovers lol. It also didn’t have much to do with the wedding.

I did like how she tackled the topic of PTSD and therapy, as it’s not discussed often, especially in this genre, but I just felt like most of the book was focused on this, and it’s not what I thought it was.

I liked the book enough but it had great reviews, so I was expecting a little more of the rom-com and less of the heavy stuff. So it was just okay for me. I would rate this 3.5.

Thank you @netgalley for this arc!

Not gonna lie, this was hard to read. But in a good way, I swear! Both Jude and Indira have so much to work through, both together and separately. At different points of the book, I could feel their anxiety becoming my anxiety. Fortunately it was easy for me to step away from, but I think that’s a sign of really good writing. This book is also filled with so much joy! Meeting Collin and Jeremy, Maria and Don, and our friends from the previous books made me so, so happy - Lizzie Blake will always be my favorite chaotic Care Bear.

I received a copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio.

This book has good balance of real issues but then also your typical romance book bubble bliss. I loved the middle of this book when it was all focused on them fake dating to the wedding activities and questioning if there were real feelings. The only thing was it seemed like everyone around them believed the fake dating so fast because everyone else already knew they should've been together and had bets on it. The only stakes in the plot were the real life type issues that you get introduced to in the beginning but they fall to the background until the 80% mark where we get our mini-breakup plot.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"You don't have to be anything but human."
"We are all flawed "

"I'm not here to fix you. I'm here to love you ."

When a writer can give you goosebumps and bring you to tears through their words it is the greatest gift for a book lover. The Plus One by mental health introspective author Mazey Eddings is the third in her A Brush With Love series, and though all are standalones, they each bring mental health awareness to the forefront while exploring falling in love and trying to heal from some form of trauma. Each book is written with respect, grace, and compassion for those living with mental health issues.

Both Indira and Jude look perfect on paper. Indira's in a long term relationship with Chris, is a practicing psychiatrist, and has good friends. Jude is a surgeon for a global humanitarian organization that paid his medical school debt in exchange for a few years of his service to them.

In reality, Indira walks in on Chris eating peanut butter off another woman, is seeing her own psychiatrist dealing with low self esteem and abandonment issues from an absent father. Jude has performed surgery in war zones, refugee camps, and has seen more death than most other doctors. He has debilitating PTSD he is trying to hide from everyone including himself.

I loved the dual narration of Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden portraying Indira and Jude with sincere vulnerability as they work through their childhood frenemies relationship to fake dating as each other's plus one at Indira's brother wedding to some very steamy love scenes.

The Plus One is the one book you should experience if you enjoy real emotional beings in your romance.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

***Thank you to NetGalley / St. Martin’s Griffin/ Macmillian Audio for the audiobook***

This story has topics of PTSD and childhood divorce/feelings of neglect from a parent. This is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone!

On the story: “The Plus One” is a rom-com with tropes featuring brothers best friend, enemies to lovers, and fake dating. Indira (the FMC) is a psychiatrist in a dead-end relationship, in an attempt to do something for her relationship, she decides to cook for her boyfriend one night. As she is walking into her apartment, she learns how boyfriend is having an affair – using copious amounts of peanut butter. Indira packs her bags and goes to stay with her brother and his fiancé (her brother’s fiancé also happens to be cousins with Indira’s now ex). Once Indira gets to her brothers house, who else is there except her brothers best friend, her childhood nemesis, Jude. Jude (the MMC) is back from (essentially the book version) of Doctor’s without Borders and dealing with his own demons from the guilt he feels with all he has seen. The two are forced together in more ways than one as the wedding countdown of Indira’s brother approaches faster and faster. During one of the events the two have -as much of a heart to heart as Jude can have at the time- and decide that they will fake date until the wedding to assist with keeping each other company. I’m sure you can guess the rest of what happens.


On the audiobook: First and foremost I love Joe Arden, he can read the back of a shampoo bottle and I’d listen. This was the first book by Imani Jade Powers that I have listened to and it will not be my last. These two narrators go perfect together. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who wants something easy to listen to with some spice and a few laughs.

to say I devoured this book would be an understatement, I read it in one sitting and loved it. Mazey has been an auto buy author for me from the second I picked up A brush with love.

I do still think that Lizzie Blakes Best mistake is my favorite but that doesn’t take from my love of all these Novels. If you haven’t read a Mazey Eddings book yet I recommend you do. They can be read as standalone, but I recommend reading in order as they have interconnecting characters.

Adorable and sweet rom-com with just the right amount of spice! There are soooo many things to digest with this and I really appreciate the author tackling these obstacles especially the mental health issues presented in this. I also respect her characters acknowledging their challenges and seeking the care they need. It’s so so so important to recognize issues like these immediately and get help right away rather than letting them fester and become worse as seen throughout the plot.

I loved Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings so was excited to read Indira’s story. I still need to read book 1 in the series, A Brush With Love, and hope to this month.

Indira and Jude are childhood frenemies who are thrown together after Indira catches her boyfriend cheating and moves into her brother’s house, where Jude is currently staying. Her brother and his partner are getting married so it does work out having them all in the same house, but Indira’s ex is also in the wedding party so she’s forced to see him. Jude and Indira find that they comfort each other in stressful situations so they decide to fake date. Throw in some forced proximity, and you get a steamy and funny story.

There was definite chemistry between Jude and Indira, and Eddings knows how to write spicy scenes. What I liked best about their relationship was how they picked on each other in a funny yet endearing way. It wasn’t malicious, but came from them growing up together. You could tell they actually cared about each other even though they were supposed to be enemies.

One thing I love about Eddings is that she includes mental illness in her books. She handles topics like Jude’s PTSD and Indira’s issues with her father leaving when she was younger, with care while bringing different conditions to the forefront of her romcoms.

Although I enjoyed Indira’s story, I didn’t feel as connected to her as I did to Lizzie. I was glad that Lizzie and Rake (and their other friends) did make a few appearances in this one. I love interconnected series especially when a favorite character from a previous book makes an appearance!

Read this if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Fake dating
- Forced proximity
- Mental health rep
- Brother’s best friend
- Some steamy scenes

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review. I listened along to the ALC while I read the eARC. I thought narrators, Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden did a great job bringing Indira and Jude to life.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I was surprised at how well done the theme of mental health was approached in this romance. It was lighthearted and fun while also handling tough topics. I liked the characters and their chemistry. But I wish more time was given to before they get together. I loved the beginning of this book and the banter between the two main characters. I wanted more of the tension, more playful fighting.

This is book three in a series but can be read as a standalone, as you only briefly see the main characters from the first two books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an eARC of this book!

I really liked this book. One of the main focuses of the story was metal health especially revolving around the MMC which I believe is so important! I like that the author wasn’t afraid to tackle a heavy subject in a romcom book but the story also didn’t feel TOO heavy.

The female main character was a blast and with how much she was around her ex in this book she is a stronger woman than I 🤣

The narrators did a great job and were enjoyable to listen to.

I would recommend reading especially if you’ve enjoyed Mazey Eddings previous books.