I love Mazey Eddings so much. I love the snark, the wit, the emotional maturity of her characters. The sort of "found family" element that permeates all of her books. And I've absolutely loved following this friend group throughout this three-book series. I can't wait to read whatever she puts out next!

Overall rating: 4.2 ⭐

This is the second book I’ve read by Mazey Eddings and I liked this a lot more than the other, her debut, A Brush with Love. This book has one of my favorite tropes, brother’s best friend, and many others I really enjoy. I really enjoyed reading this book, I couldn’t put it down!

Love or hate her books, Mazey Eddings is really good at handling mental health in her romances. In this book the MMC is dealing with PTSD and doesn’t think he deserves love or can be in a relationship.

I liked that this was a low angst, cozy romance. The main focus was him learning to be emotionally available and vulnerable for a relationship. She was the rock he needed and I loved that! They both took such great care of one another. She was almost too amazing at times in her patience and understanding, but I appreciated that since it’s usually the men who are given that role in romance books.

Their chemistry was so good from the beginning, from their banter to the pet names. Their connection felt like it built up in a healthy and solid way. I absolutely loved their love.

At times it felt a bit like one big ad for therapy, but that’s not such a bad thing when you consider the stigma still against it.
I really and I mean REALLY didn’t like the MC’s brother. He was so selfish and annoying.

Thank you so much to St Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC!

If you love a good fake dating trope, the Plus One delivers in spades! Oodles of romantic tension and all the warm fuzzy feels you could ask for!

I absolutely loved The Plus One!! Mazey’s writing style is so much fun and I loved reading it. It’s such a good book.

The Plus One" by Mazy Eddings is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy that will leave readers with a smile on their faces. The author skillfully weaves a story of two childhood enemies, Indira and Jude, who find themselves relying on each other in unexpected ways.

Eddings creates a relatable and engaging narrative, filled with witty banter and humorous situations. The chemistry between Indira and Jude is palpable, and their journey from animosity to a begrudging friendship is both entertaining and heartwarming. The fake dating trope adds an extra layer of tension and excitement to the story, as readers eagerly anticipate the moment when their fake displays of affection turn into something more genuine.

The characters in "The Plus One" are well-developed and endearing. Indira's vulnerability and resilience make her a relatable protagonist, while Jude's dedication to his humanitarian work adds depth to his character. The supporting cast also adds charm and humor to the story, enhancing the overall reading experience.

Eddings' writing style is engaging and flows smoothly, making it easy to get lost in the story. The pacing is well-balanced, with a mix of lighthearted moments and emotional depth. The author's ability to blend humor and romance creates a captivating narrative that keeps readers invested until the satisfying conclusion.

Overall, "The Plus One" is a charming enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy that will leave readers entertained and uplifted. With its engaging characters, witty dialogue, and heartfelt moments, this book is a delightful escape into a world of love and laughter.

I’ve enjoyed this group of friends from the beginning and this one did not disappoint. Mazy writes the most relatable characters and always shines a light on mental health. She’s an auto buy author for me.

The Plus One was the 3rd book in a series, so thankfully it was easily read as a standalone, but I will be going and reading the other books in the series. The book covers a range of topics with romance being the underlying plot/ Tackling mental issues and family disappointment the book crams a lot into the pages that will resonate with many readers. Real, smart, sexy, emotional and funny, starring characters whose journeys I became invested in and whose happiness I was rooting for. Each in their own ways, Jude and Indira carried pain with them from their pasts and fears that shaped how they perceived their future. Watching them learn to trust each other with their vulnerabilities and wounds, seeing how they gave each other kindness and tenderness when they needed it most, was a profoundly affirming portrayal of mental health struggles, trauma, PTSD, and the complex journey of navigating and healing. 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. This book was so inspirational and beautiful. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an emotional read with SO much heart and healing.

Thank you to St. Martin's, NetGalley and most of all Mazey Eddings.

This is the third book in the A Brush With Love series and follows childhood enemies Indira and Jude. Weeks before her brother's wedding, Indira finds herself newly single and needs a place to stay - obviously her brother's house is her first choice. When she arrives and sees Jude is also staying there, the two pick up where they left off with the verbal sparring. However, it isn't exactly like when they were younger as their own internal and external struggles have left their marks on both of them. Their fake dating agreement quickly turns real as the two of them find comfort in their shared history. Both Indira and Jude have their own mental health struggles and these struggles were the forefront of the story. I loved how Eddings integrated the mental health aspects into every aspect of their lives and relationship. Indira and Jude were such complex characters on their own and I loved when they did finally get together how we could see their relationship morph. The banter between them is perfection and we get a good amount of interaction from the cast of side characters - including the previous couples. I did want a little more of Indira and Jude finding out more about each other. They were antagonistic toward each other for so long, I wanted to see more of them turning that around.


TW/CW: PTSD from medical procedures, parental abandonment

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Publication date was April 4, 2023

What is your favorite trope? The third book in this series is a women's fiction, modern romance, enemy to lovers, brother's best friend, pretend boyfriend, RomCom.

The book starts with a cliche. Psychiatrist Indira walks into her apartment to find her boyfriend, Craig, having sex on their couch with another woman- both smeared with peanut butter. Ick. She moves in with her brother, Collin, and his fiancee, Jeremy, who are counting down weeks to their wedding. Also staying at their home is Collin's best child hood friend and Indira's nemesis, Jude. They are all doctors, but only Collin and Jeremy are in a lucrative field, anesthesiology. Indira works for a clinic and Jude is an emergency room surgeon, but had signed 4 years of his life to the Global Health Care Organization in exchange for all the tuition and living expenses. He was able to get a leave to come to the wedding, but he is also suffering from PTSD. The only one to recognize that something is wrong with Jude is Indira. Craig is Jeremy's cousin and is invited to all the festivities with his plus one, new girlfriend. Awkward. So Jude steps up to be Indira's plus one. Indira has her own issues of abandonment and not been good enough to be loved, because of her father. As they spend more time together they recognize they they had always been attracted to each other and when they take the leap to trust they find what they were both looking for.

A wonderfully written, emotional story, with interesting characters. I read an ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

I do remember reading Mazey Edding's, A Brush With Love, but did not know it became a series and this was book 3. I definitely felt this book had more depth and complexity because the two main characters had real issues, struggles and acceptance. I like when frienimies find commonground because of a tragedy and they learn from each other.

This book was so emotional and easy to read because of the connection betwen Jude and Indira. I look forward to reading more this author in the future if the next book is as good as this one. Recommended read.

Thanks to NetGalley, Mazey Eddings and St Martin's Press Griffin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Already available.

Woooooooooow wowowowowow this was something I am so so glad I got to read. It shines a light on mental health struggles that many of us face every day and nobody would ever know. It was childhood frenemies to lovers, but it was also so much more than that. It is in no way a light read, so don’t let the fluffy cute cover fool you (even though it is ADORABLE)… it dealt with PTSD, childhood trauma, abandonment issues, coping strategies, etc. My heart absolutely ached for Jude struggling to put his feelings into words and ask for help, but not wanting to burden those around him. And Indira, sweet Indira… she grounded Jude and made him feel seen and made his struggles a priority when others brushed him off. Isn’t that all we want in life? For someone to see us? For someone to reallllly see us and recognize our cues of when we’re happy or when we need a shoulder to cry on? To me, love is being seen for exactly who we are and not being judged for it. Not being judged for having bad days and not knowing what to do when life gets really heavy and really loud. Now I’m rambling, but you get the gist. This was 100% a hard read, but it was so loving and tender and HOT? God the 🌶️ scenes were H O T. Jude sure does like to give…. Praise. And Indira suuuure does like to receive…. Praise 😏🥵 yeah just read this. It was super romantic and also so so realistic. 5 stars ⭐️ thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

I love this author!!! Book 2 for me blew book 1 out of the water but this is my favorite yet. I have loved this trio of friends and their love stories. Highly recommend

Unfortunately, this one was a disappointment. I really like A Brush with Love #1, but it's gone downhill. Indira wasn't my favorite female lead. She was a weird mixture of mature and immature. Perhaps this was meant to make her more relatable but it left me confused. Jude had a little too much baggage and not enough specific backstory or examples were given so it was hard to relate and be empathetic. I totally think mental health should be a huge part of our lives (work and personal), but it felt a little forced and unbelievable that he would question and potentially give up all his years of service with a federal/humanitarian program right at the very end, with no real solution in place.
Add the haphazard fake dating trope, and it just didn't all come together for me.

Thank you to @netgalley @smpromance and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am just in love with Mazey Eddings books and this book focusing on Indira. Indira and her mutual hate for Jude since childhood. They couldn’t be more opposite, but at the same time, couldn’t need each other more. I enjoyed this love story of enemies.

The tender moments of this book moved right in to the spicy ones. It was a perfect balance!

5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #ltbreaderteam #theplusone #mazeyeddings #smpinfluencers

This book was such a great read! The interactions between Jude and Indira jumped off the page and the chemistry that was built between them kept me reading!

Mazy does such a great job at character development, especially within neurodivergent characters and I wanted to reach in through this book and comfort them both.

Highly recommend this entire series.

4.5!

Beautiful, sweet, emotional, heartwarming!

Loved all of the mental health / therapy representation.

Really did not like this, I didn’t feel a big connection between the two protagonists. I think it was more serious of a book than I was expecting which is no fault of the author but just wasn’t what I was expecting

I loved the mental health rep/ the funny book and the enemies to lovers aspect of this book. I feel that it mixed together really well and the spicy scenes were well written.

I should have stopped myself from reading this book with all of the trigger warnings at the beginning. Personally I don't like trigger warnings. I find that they spoil the plot for me, however I understand that many people need them. I found this book to be more about PTSD then romance and I am just not into that in a book that is being sold as a rom com. I didn't like the characters. None of them felt real to me.

"The Plus One" by Mazey Eddings is a charming and heartwarming romantic novel that embraces the magic of unexpected connections. Eddings' storytelling prowess shines as she weaves a tale of love, friendship, and personal growth. The book's relatable characters and engaging plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with readers. Eddings skillfully captures the essence of romantic tension and emotional vulnerability, adding depth to the narrative. "The Plus One" is a delightful reminder that sometimes, love can enter our lives when we least expect it, leaving readers with a warm and satisfied feeling that lingers long after the final page.