💭Thoughts:
This is book three in the Brush With Love series. It can be read as a stand-alone. Though I really enjoyed book two in this series, so it was fun to get glimpses of Lizzie, Rake, and their sweet baby in this book.

I was really interested in the premise of this book due to my work as an ER nurse. I was looking forward to learning about Jude’s mental health issues related to his job as a emergency physician. I ended up feeling very conflicted about Jude’s work with the GHCO. On one hand I felt terrible for him because of his PTSD and secondary trauma from the things he saw during the war, but then he sounded so selfish when he talked about how he embellished his skills to get the job. That innocent people may have been hurt because of his lack of skills.

As the book progressed, I started to feel like there were more and more pieces of the story that were missing. It isn’t explained well why Jude and Indira are childhood enemies, especially when both frequently look back on seemingly positive memories. The enemies to lovers vibe just isn’t there in this one. They both just come across as immature.

I’m really disappointed to say that this one was a miss for me. I had high hopes for this book after how much I loved Lizzie Blake’s story. I just didn’t connect with Jude and Indira.

Indira has a pretty sweet life, job, and boyfriend - that is, until she finds him cheating in the apartment they share. Now, she’ll be staying at her brother’s house in his peak wedding prep time, and dealing with his best friend, Jude. But when her ex(also part of the wedding party) keeps bringing his new flame around, Jude and Indira agree to put aside their childhood animosity and fake date to save face. When fake dating turns to real feelings, they’re in for quite the ride.

The focus on mental health in this book was so beautiful. Indira’s profession as a psychiatrist and the emphasis that seeking help, while uncomfortable, is accessible to everyone.

I thought Jude’s PTSD was really impactful, especially because he couldn’t imagine not continuing on with his commitment partly for his family and their financial situation, nor the people who needed him for emergency medical care. The fact that it wasn’t a simple decision for him no matter what he chose added to the anxiety and trauma he was experiencing.

Even with the heavier subjects, this still managed to be such a fun and sweet romance. Something small that made me so happy was the characters saying “I’m negative” instead of “I’m clean” in regards to STI testing and IT’S THAT EASY. We don’t need to make it “clean vs. dirty” and give those who contract STIs such a negative connotation.

What an incredible end to this trio of stories - I loved that we got glimpses at each of the previous books’ characters, and selfishly, I can’t wait to see what amazes does next!

This was such a unique book! It is the 3rd book in the series but I read it was a standalone. I had no problems doing that! I wasn’t lost or confused at all.

Indira and Jude grew up being each others nemesis but found they needed each other to cope with their own individual issues. And finding a few sparks along the way….
Eddings brings up some pretty heavy topics in this book and did a fantastic job of presenting them in a real and raw way. She was sensitive to the topic but didn’t shy away from the “hard stuff”. Well done!

I give this book a 4/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC of “The Plus One” by Mazey Eddings.

This book was cute. It was also a testament to how our broken pieces can make something beautiful and how we all need help. And boy did it have some beautiful lines and incredibly vulnerable moments. Jude amd Dirá were definitely a great couple to read about and their relationship was deeply healthy.

5/5, 10/10, etc, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mazey Eddings for the ARC! All opinions are my own. Okay, so this is basically going to be just my stream of consciousness because I am feeling so many things after finishing this book. Number one: I love me a book that has a third-act conflict where the main characters have to work together to get through it rather than the characters breaking up over something willy-nilly so that in itself was a major plus. Number two: I loved both of these main characters fiercely ESPECIALLY because we're crying all the time because same and relatable and I can count on one hand how many books where a male main character has cried so I really appreciated that because this book dealt heavily with mental health and PTSD and I felt that Mazey Eddings did an exceptional job handling these major topics. Number three: Mazey Eddings wrote this book in a way where the descriptions of the touches and cuddles between Indira and Jude were so visceral I literally felt like I was the one being touched and it was so comfy? It was such a wonderful and unique experience. Overall, I had a really great time reading this book and getting to know these characters on a really deep level. I think Mazey Eddings really killed it with this one and I am so grateful I was given the opportunity to read this ARC!

I received an audio arc of this book and will be leaving my full review on that copy.

What a great start however, I love Mazey Eddings’ characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

“Sitting with these feelings is a great place to start with healing from them.”

This book was definitely different than I was expecting. I liked the conversations surrounding mental health, ptsd, trauma, abandonment and resentment. I liked how pro therapy this book was as well. But the pacing really threw me off. Events happened that felt contradictory to the lessons learned, leaving me feeling confused and questioning the characters decisions. And although it was refreshing to have a different spin on the childhood friends to lovers trope than I’ve read in the past, unfortunately it didn’t hit for me personally.

It also felt like there was a lot of cooks in the kitchen, I’m not sure the plot required the fake dating trope since so many other things were being addressed. But, I was happy how it ended and happy for the characters involved.

Sadly this one wasn’t for me, but I hope it finds the right audience.

3/5⭐️

I was contacted by St. Martin’s Press to read the final book in the “A Brush with Love” series, though I had only read the second one, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, at that point. Though I wasn’t blown away by it, I did like the writing, and there were some spicy scenes that I enjoyed reading, so I was hoping maybe a different set of characters was all I needed to jump right in and get excited. We all know I love a good enemies-to-lovers story.

TW: PTSD, emotionally abusive/absent parent

What didn’t work for me

The lessons: Though I really enjoyed how much this book tackled mental health (more on that later), it got a little bit preachy or like it was trying too hard to tell a moral of the story in the end. The characters got together earlier in the book than usual, but then a lot of the rest was spent in a therapist’s office or talking about therapy—which, don’t get me wrong, I believe therapy should be mandatory for everyone—that it didn’t really feel like the rom-com we were promised after that. And Indira, a psychologist herself, was a bit too self-aware…it didn’t seem realistic.

The epilogue: Having read the second book in the series before this one, I realize that this epilogue served as an epilogue for the whole group of friends (though why Thuy didn’t get her own book when the other three did makes no sense to me)—and that wasn’t made clear. For anyone who hadn’t read the previous books, it seemed really out of place because it didn’t really move the story along all that much for Indira and Jude, which is usually what an epilogue serves to do. It felt unnecessary.

What I liked

The explicit talk about mental health: Yes, I’m all for this. I will always be a fan of a piece of pop culture bringing mental health struggles (especially for men) to the forefront.

Enemies to lovers—and the spice: I love a good enemies-to-lovers plotline, and we definitely got that here. Though the bickering seemed a bit childish, because they grew up together, it made the passion seem much more believable because there was an inherent trust there. I was NOT expecting the spice level to be as high as it was (loved it!), and it caught me off guard—it was steamy!

I definitely liked this much better than Lizzie Blake—I loved the banter and the wittiness, as well as the ridiculousness of the drawn-out wedding events. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but it had some humour, and it touched on some important things in a way that wasn’t a drag. I recommend it for anyone who likes some steamy scenes but isn’t looking for that super cute, hilarious rom-com…because this isn’t that.

4 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This precious series has officially come to an end with The Plus One. I have enjoyed each story, but this one quickly took the number one spot. I adored this childhood enemies to lovers, fake dating, brother’s best friend story with my whole heart. It’s hilarious, sweet, emotional, and full of banter. Mazey’s writing feels like a warm hug and always brings me such comfort.

Indira and Jude have been at war since they were kids. Jude is Indira’s brother’s best friend and they grew up constantly bantering. Now as adults, said brother is getting married, resulting in Jude and Indira spending much time together during the wedding festivities. Add on a fake dating scheme, their hatred for each other quickly becomes something else.

Jude is a sweet, struggling guy that volunteers himself as Indira’s fake boyfriend for revenge on her ex. Seeing his hardships made my heart hurt for him and I simply just wanted him to be happy. As he spent more time with Dira, he begins to realize she makes him happy and brings him comfort he desperately wants. I loved all his kind gestures and moments with Dira. He slowly reveals himself to be so thoughtful and perfect without even trying- him keeping her doodles made me swoon.

Indira was such a fun, hilarious and amazing character. Her personality lights up a room and I loved getting to know her more in her story. It was fun to watch her progress from hating Jude to realizing how completely untrue that is. The kindness and empathy she shows for Jude solidified how much I loved her. She has had plenty of her own personal struggles and still deals with them, yet finds ways to stay positive. Dira is exactly what Jude needed and vice versa.

Overall, Mazey has wrote another story that I fell in love with and a couple that I was constantly rooting for. What I find unique about Mazey’s writing is the depth she brings to her characters. Both of these characters struggle with their own personal battles and it’s what makes her stories special. I love romance and the ability to forget reality while reading it, but I also love when authors can bring real life into their stories as a reminder nothing is perfect. I hope people can find characters to relate to in her stories, while also enjoying the romance plot- which is amazing.

Another wonderful romance from Mazey Eddings!

Like the other books in the Brush with love series that follows four close women friends, this story has excellent mental health and therapy rep!
It's honestly one of the best books I've read that normalizes therapy and expounds on how it's such an individual journey. It can be scary as well as rewarding but ultimately can be so worth doing, especially with so many people out there struggling!

In this book we get to know Indira who ends up fake dating her brother's best friend, Jude - a doctor who's been working overseas in war-torn countries and is suffering from severe PTSD. While Indira is in therapy herself for anxiety she recognizes the signs that Jude is struggling and does her best to be there for him.

Steamy but so heartfelt and emotional! My favorite romances have great emotional depth and don't shy away from hard topics and this book is on par with some of the best. Recommended for fans of authors like Abby Jimenez or Dylan Newton. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review! This was also great on audio narrated by Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden and has wonderful cameos from the other characters in the series!

I received this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mazey Eddings has a way of writing mental illness and neurodiversity in such as way that you are able to inhabit another person, experience what they experience, and empathize with people who are different than you in the way that the best reading experiences do. She has done it with all three of her books so far, and I am so impressed. Jude has been serving with an international nonprofit doing emergency medicine in war torn and unstable places around the world in exchange for student debt forgiveness and has intense PTSD. His experiences have left him hopeless, and desperate to appear normal when he returns home for his best friends wedding. Indira, his best friends little sister, and childhood nemesis, sees right through the facade he is desperately trying to maintain, however, and uses her skills as a psychiatrist to coax him out a little bit. As he opens up and starts addressing the harm that has been done to him, they fall in love, and it's a gorgeous love story.

This story has some delicious forced proximity, as both Jude and Indira are staying with in the same house during the wedding preparations, and their snarky banter contrasts their sweet domestic moments beautifully. Their childhood antagonism was real, and the blooming romantic feelings they have are not the result of long term pining on either part, although it's clear that the depths of their feelings are informed by their interwoven past. It's just so satisfying, I love a romance where the characters have a complex history, because it is so much easier for them to have believable love stories that take place over a couple of weeks. The sexual tension built for a long time, and paid off satisfyingly, and allowed an even richer relationship to develop between Indira and Jude.

In contrast to the sweet romance, Jude has a number of PTSD triggered incidents, and really has to grapple with his life, throughout, both alone and with Indira. Indira is struggling with her own self worth and abilities as a child psychiatrist, and we get multiple scenes with her in therapy, sifting through her own issues, including abandonment by a parent. Their journeys are different, but its clear that everyone has their own struggles, and that having someone to support you through them is the point of everything. It's a lovely message, and I highlighted one quote below.

Please, please read this whole series, it's some of the best romance being written right now.

Indira's therapist-
"We struggle too. We hurt. We handle situations badly or get depressed or anxious or anything else. We're all flawed. Your emotional struggles as a human are not a moral judgement of your worth, and they're not a reflection of your ability to help others."

This was a decent read, but I only made it about 50% of the way through before I realized it was going to be much more open door than I was comfortable reading. Since I made it that far, I decided to count it anyway.

I thought this book was going to be a light romcom but it was so much deeper than I expected. This was such a sweet, heartfelt romance and I really loved so many parts of it. It’s just further proving that I love the brother’s best friend trope. I also loved Jude and Indira’s personalities together.

My only con is that it did take me a while to read. There wasn’t really a hook for me where I couldn’t put the book down.

I would still recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartfelt romance!

The dedication alone had me knowing I would love this one.

This book will hold a special place in my heart forever.

Jude was such a special character. Eddings handled his PTSD, trauma & healing so well and it really resonated with me.

All of the characters were amazing and the ending ❤

Absolutely love all the therapy rep, working through trauma, learning to be open and talk through it.

Mazey is one of my favorite authors so it is no surprise that I loved this book. I feel like her books get better and better for me.
This story follows Indira and Jude.
Jude is Indira's brothers oldest friend from childhood and he and Indira have never really gotten along.
Indira's brother and his fiancé have Jude staying with them before their wedding while he is on a break for work. Indira in a huge change of plans ends up living with them for a small duration as well.
They have a love hate relationship that ends up veering more towards the latter when Indira's ex boyfriend that cheated on her is constantly around for wedding preparations.
Jude and Indira end up fake dating to make her ex realize what he missed out on and to help Jude with his mental health issues he is dealing with because of work.
Mazey represented his mental health issues beautifully without being triggering or offensive and while also not romanticizing it. The balance with Indira's support and not making things too sexual when he was triggered was so well written.
I highly recommend this entire series and anything else written by this author. Hearing about her experience with mental illness after reading made me feel closer to her and appreciate her work even more.

This is a good book. The two main characters are India and Jude. They have known each other all their lives. They meet to celebrate Jude’s best friend and Indira’s brother marriage. They have always bickered at each other. They decide to be a fake date to the wedding but it does not last because they decide to really date. They each have issues but together they work it out and fall in love.

In this novel, we follow Indira and Jude, two individuals who have always not liked the other. This fact was established early on during their intertwined childhood. Now, as adults, their lives continue to intertwine for the wedding of Indira's brother, and Jude's best friend. Having her childhood enemy back in town wasn't the worst part of Indira's life. The worst was finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her and bringing the girl to the wedding. Trying to help Indira cope with seeing her ex, the two begin fake dating, ensuing proximity and physical intimacy to pull it off.

I thought the story flowed mostly well, I didn't have any problems staying engaged, making it a fast read. I enjoyed how the author discussed very difficult issues, such as the potential consequences of service and the handling of Jude's PTSD; it was a very mature and commonly undiscussed topic.

Overall, I rate this 3 out of 5 stars. While engaging, it didn't stand out in any way for me. Not only that, but this story is supposed to be enemies to lovers and I did not get that. There was no true animosity between Indira and Jude, most stemmed from Indira and her wanted to be included as a child. Most of the trope's used could have had a deeper role in the story, but ended up being lackluster.

I would recommend this story for more so a mindless reading or to those getting into reading. It's not terrible, but there are better things out there.

<b>the dedication:</b> “For those who hurt, those who’ve healed, and those who are where in-between, you are worth of love even on your hardest days.
And for the younger me that still gets stuck in a bad place. You make it out.”
🥰🥹😭
<b>the cover:</b> sweet- I love an unassuming cartoon cover 😏
<b>FMC:</b> Indira- a therapist who is in desperate need of a therapist. This story starts with Indira walking in on her boyfriend cheating on her then follows alongside her as she prepares for her big brother’s upcoming wedding. She shows up at her brother’s doorstep only to find out that Jude- her brother’s best friend and her long-time childhood rival- is already staying there. This spurs on a series of events that lead to close quarters and intimate conversations with Jude that turn their relationship into something more that either of them expects.
<b>MMC:</b> Jude- a doctor in desperate need of a therapist. Jude doesn’t want anyone to know how much he is struggling as an emergency surgeon in hostile environments but at the same time... he is desperate for someone to hold onto as he drowns. Indira notices he’s not the same guy and continually shows up even when he might not want her to. His journey is not perfect and he makes plenty of mistakes but it’s a beautiful journey.
<b>POV:</b> 3rd person, dual POV
<b>HEA:</b> yes
<b>spice:</b> there are several open-door spicy scenes
<b>TWs:</b> the content warning page is so sweet and well written- and there are phone numbers for help at the end of the book- definitely helps ease the minds of readers before beginning- very well done! 🥰 cheating (not MCs), PTSD, divorced parents
<b>standalone:</b> No, this is book3 in A Brush with Love series- would highly recommend reading then series since there are characters and situations that come from the previous books
<b>final thoughts</b>: can I give a quick shoutout to Mazey Eddings FOR 0 MISCOMMUNICATION in a fake dating, broken hearted, rivals-to-lovers book?! This book was almost perfect for me, and I loved so much about this! I loved the mental health awareness (even though at times it could start to feel a little much) I loved that even though the book’s focus is on the FMC and MMC’s character flaws, it’s done in a great way. The side characters are great and well rounded- though I’ve read the other books and know them from previous reads so that may have helped.

read this book if you love
🧑‍🤝‍🧑older brother’s best friend
🌈 LGBT+ representation
🤜 childhood rivals-to-lovers
🧠 mental health awareness
🤫 fake dating
😚 forced proximity
🛏️ one bed trope
🌞 grumpy/sunshine- kinda but i'm counting it!!
💌 love notes
🗣️ COMMUNICATION
😴 when the MC has nightmares/trouble sleeping and is finally able to rest when the other MC is around

4.5 stars

Mazey Eddings book continue to get better and better.

The third book in this series, which could technically be read as a standalone, focuses on Indira and Jude and is definitely my favorite one yet. The mental health representation in this book is easily some of the best out there. Although each character has their emotional baggage, there are plenty of lighthearted moments that balance it out. The romance and banter between these two characters as fantastic and included all of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed/forced proximity, fake dating, brother's best friend). I will never look at peanut butter the same after this book!

Just wow... Mazey outdid herself with this masterpiece. I wont lie, I fell in love with both the previous books so I had high hopes that were not one met but exceeded. Indira and Jude had on page chemistry like I have never seen. I am honestly at a lost for words. The mental health journey in this is magnificent and I want to jug Jude so bad it hurts. He is one of the top 10 most sad/broken babies to be written. Through all of it, both of these characters brought out the best in each other and seeing their guards slowly be lowered was *chef kiss*. At this point Mazey could write the instruction manual to an air fryer and I'm pretty sure I would fall in love. Bravo ma'am!