This is book 3 in a series but can be read as a standalone. I had never read the other books and was able to follow along without feeling like I missed any of the story.

This book was great. It was a bit heavier than I anticipated but the author handled the heavy topics wonderfully. I would check TW before reading - just in case. I would definitely recommend this book.

I was given an Advanced Reader copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Jude and Indira were such positive influences on each other, and I loved how they both helped the other grow. Eddings' approach to mental health is extremely refresing and inspirational. She didn't shy away from the hard topics, and her characters became better people because of it. I loved all the tropes - forced proximity, fake dating, enemies to lovers.

Mazey Eddings has done it again, my friends! In conclusion to the A Brush With Love series, Eddings explores many different types of trauma and mental illness while creating a beautifully tender love story. We all know how much I adore this author and her writing, however, I am completely unbiased when I say that her books explore mental illness in a way I have never read before. She does it with so much vulnerability, providing options for her readers through the experiences of her characters.

In The Plus One, Indira and Jude see the darkest and lightest parts of one another, and they love each other anyway. It isn't in spite of those dark parts, but because of them. It isn't hard for these two to love each other, they do so with abandon. As a child of divorce, I connected with the fears Indira faced so deeply, and understood her fear of abandonment in romantic relationships. But more than that, I love how Eddings explored men's mental health in this installment. It's a topic that isn't talked about enough or taken nearly seriously enough.

Eddings writes real issues with whip-smart prose and somehow makes you laugh out loud after spending an entire chapter crying. She's done this with A Brush With Love, and I have no doubts she will continue to do so.

Once again, a delightful romance from Mazey Eddings. She never fails to make me laugh and make me think. The Plus One is not as lighthearted as Lizzie Blake because it deals with deep emotional trauma like PTSD and parental abandonment, but still well worth the read.

Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

The Plus One: ★ ★ ★ ★

Mazey Eddings (A Brush With Love, #3)

"You’ve always been my person, Jude. My annoying, wonderful person. And I think I’m your person too.”

Childhood enemies Jude and Indira strike a deal: pretend to be dating so 1) Indira's ex sees that she is doing just fine and 2) Jude has an escape at public events when he needs it.

Jude–stoic, quiet, and suffering from the after-effects of his job. As a doctor, he's supposed to be saving people, helping people. But when that is not the case far too many times, the crux he bears is far too heavy for just his shoulders. While I understood that his PTSD had a massive impact on him, I was left wanting for a little more depth to his character.

Indira–the happy, bubbly sister of Jude's best friend who–for some reason–can always see right through Jude's secrets. Dira was sweet, kind, and oh-so-loving. One of my favorite things about her was how she simply does not give up on the people she loves. I adored the way she was always steadfast by Jude and even when he pushed her away vehemently, she had the right response every single time. It showed incredible maturity on her part, especially for someone who has such a past of being left behind by people. It would have been so easy for her to just turn her back to avoid getting hurt by Jude, but she did not.

This book also focuses on important subjects like parental abandonment, medical care provider trauma, and PTSD. But, seeing the two of them be vulnerable with one another and slowly, but surely, help each other get better (not cured–better) was so gratifying. The level of healthy communication between them truly impressed me.

This was my first Mazey Eddings book, and I really loved it! With banter, spice, and raw feelings, Eddings brings important conversations to light in a way that's incredibly gratifying and rewarding to read.

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley for an honest review. Release Date: April 4, 2023

OMG!! I absolutely love Mazey's books. They are very well written and give you all the feels. I truly love how this enemies to lovers forced proximity book is so beautiful and hilarious. Thank you Mazey for writing such an amazing book. It was a perfect ending to the series. I cannot wait to read more of Mazey's books. I truly love her!!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mazey Eddings has become a must read author for me! I have read her other two stories in this series and loved them so much. Although if I had to choose, this may be my favorite. I adored the characters and their journey from start to finish!! I hope she continues this series because I will be so excited to read more

Mazey Eddings does such an amazing job writing things like trauma, mental health issues and even therapy sessions while still giving us a steamy and just plain cute romance and the Plus One was no exception. I shed quite a few tears reading this book. Mazey has truly cemented herself as one of my favorite, must buy, romance writers. I was really excited for Indira and Jude’s story but I didn’t know if she could top Lizzie & Rake which was pretty much perfection. I think Mazey really reached the same level with Indira and Jude while giving them a completely different, unique story. I was so excited to receive an early copy of this to ready via netgalley and will for sure be recommended to friend and pre ordered for my own bookshelf.

Mazey Eddings has solidified herself as my favorite romance author. Her books are, and I cannot emphasize this enough, SO STEAMY. In addition to the steamy scenes though are incredibly vulnerable, tender, and important conversations about mental health that have opened my eyes to different struggles and perspectives. Her writing is so compassionate and her stories are an absolute joy to read.

I can’t even count the number of times I laughed out loud while reading this book. Indira and Jude were the cutest couple and even though this book discussed a few heavier topics, it was managed in the best way possible. I loved how mental health was discussed throughout the book and how important therapy played a role in their lives. We even get to read a few chapters of Indira’s therapy sessions which I loved. Indira’s brother, Collin, and his fiancée, Jeremy, are my absolute favorite. I loved all their wedding events and their wit. It was so hard for me to dislike any of the characters, even Indira’s ex and his mistress. The only person I can say I truly didn’t like was Indira and Collin’s dad. Both of them deserved so much better. Indira’s anger and Collin’s longing was so relatable. The only reason I hesitated between 4 and 5 stars was because I wish there would have been a little more drama. Maybe jealously over the ex, reluctance to accept Jude and Indira’s relationship from their family, an argument, something. The ending also felt slightly rushed to me. Besides that, I absolutely love every part of this book.

Read this if you love:
🤞🏼Brothers best friend
💋Fake dating
😈Childhood enemies to lovers
🛋Therapy representation
🏳️‍🌈LGBT+ representation
💍Wedding festivities

⚠️: infidelity, PTSD, parental abandonment

The Plus One is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. Though you will want to go back and read the other ones. Indira and Jude are childhood nemesis’s. They are thrown together for Indira’s brother’s wedding. Both are having issues. Jude is dealing with PTSD from working overseas as a surgeon. Indira is dealing with a break up from her boyfriend, who she caught cheating. I enjoyed this book very much, especially the banter between Jude and Indira. A fun rom com romance. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the E-ARC. This is my own opinion.

I have been waiting for this book since it was announced and I am so happy I have now read it! Mazey Eddings is becoming my favorite with each novel she writes, her stories are sweet and spicy, they deal with serious matters that hit close to home and for that I am grateful. The Plus One follows Jude and Indira, they have always had a frenemies type of relationship since they were kids. And when they reunite at Indira’s brother’s wedding, who is also Jude’s best friend, they put aside their differences and agree to become each other’s plus one. The rest is basically history as their feelings grow and the characters help each other heal. I truly think this was a very good love story!

oooh, this was literally everything. i think the fact that i related to both indira and jude a little too much means i definitely need to be finding a therapist soon, though…

this book just has so many goodies wrapped up in between it’s pages. childhood rivals, older brother’s best friend, fake dating, one bed (tent), no third act breakup? and while the trope list may seem like a lot packed into one thing, they were all executed so phenomenally and really worked together to create indira and jude’s story. this book was equal parts cute and wholesome and emotional and serious. i swear i was laughing one second and then on the verge of tears the next for many, many moments within this book.

indira is definitely my favorite character from this little companion series, partially because she’s the one i relate to the most, but also because she’s just such an amazing character in general. she’s witty and fun, not afraid to speak her mind while still managing to be respectful, and overall just has so much love to give for the people in her life. i truly adored her. and jude, ohhh jude. it was very hard to read his chapters sometimes because of how truly broken and sad this boy was, but once indira crashed her way through, seeing him become happy and hopeful was just so ridiculously sweet. i was rooting for him since he was first introduced. i loved that mental health was an important aspect of their relationship and that they were both working on becoming better for themselves.

the romance in this book was simply *chef’s kiss* from the playful bickering to the stolen glances and touches to the “oh shit i think i actually like you” moments. not to mention the spicy scenes, which were some of the best from this series (and yes, there is emotional 69ing and it is absolutely amazing. i was not disappointed) the chemistry between the characters felt real and genuine, and it wasn’t simply lust based or instant, which had been my biggest qualms about the first two books.

i’m sincerely so glad i requested this book from netgalley, i think it might be one of my favorites that i’ve read. this really is gonna hold a place in my heart with how much i resonated with it <3 definitely recommend!!

<i> huge thank you to netgalley and st. martin’s press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review!! </i>

"The Plus One" is the third novel in Mazey Eddings' "A Brush With Love" series. I really enjoyed the two previous books, so I was very excited to see the newest novel. "The Plus One" centers around Indira, who came home to find her boyfriend cheating on her. After losing her boyfriend and her place to live, she goes to her brother's house, only to find her nemesis, Jude, is living there too. While Indira and Jude grew up together, they weren't friends by any means, but rather rivals. However, they both need a fake date for Indira's brother's wedding, and so they agree to help each other.

I enjoyed the sweet romance and quick chemistry between Jude and Indira. I also liked that Eddings was not shy to share Jude's PTSD difficulties and the care with which she handled this sensitive topic. This was a great ending to Edding's series! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Wow, I honestly loved this book so much. This has such an amazing portrayal of mental health. It was beautifully written and I cannot wait for readers to also get to experience this book. These are characters you can feel a profound connection with and feel every emotion on the page.

This was truly a story of two broken souls finding (or well being forced into proximity with) each other when they needed each other most. Their love story is beautiful and heartbreaking and healing.

This has been one of my absolute favorite enemies to lovers stories. I absolutely loved Jude’s character and how raw and real he was written, I just wanted to jump through the pages and hug him. I also love Indira and how fiery she is, while also battling with her own inner demons. I adore how they heal each other and support one another.

This is for sure one of the best books I’ve read and definitely a favorite. I cannot wait to buy a copy when it’s released. 5/5 stars ⭐️

Many many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for sharing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute, and it was so refreshing to have a sort of “enemies to lovers” romance that didn’t revolve around them having poor communication skills! That’s definitely one thing Indira and Jude do not fail at - their communication is excellent and so great to see.

This was a “light” read in that it was easy to get into and enjoy, but it also covered a lot of really traumatic subjects in a very well-written way. PTSD, abandonment, anxiety, etc. were all written about openly and without judgment, and it made the characters that much more endearing and lovable.

Having read three of Mazey Eddings' romance novels thus far, I really appreciate how honest she gets about serious topics such as mental health and disabilities even with the novel being a rom-com. The Plus One carries the same level of seriousness about mental health needs as A Brush With Love, in my opinion. Jude's PTSD and Indira's feelings of neglect take center stage in this novel, and it was refreshing to see a romance novel love interest be in tune with his emotions rather than being a typical ruthless, stoic, grumpy alpha hero.

That being said, I did feel like both Indira and Jude's individual arcs about their mental health needs overshadowed the romance in the novel. It got to the point where I felt like the two got together so quickly and didn't have much development between them before they started having romantic feelings for each other. In the novel, we're told that Indira and Jude have been childhood enemies forever, but there was barely a few sentences of playful banter--most of their enemy status is explained through Indira and Jude reflecting on their shared memories as kids. Thus, it was hard to believe the childhood enemies aspect of their romance. The fake dating aspect was also barely included (with just 1 or 2 scenes in which Indira pretends Jude is her boyfriend in front of her ex).

Because of these reasons, I don't think I enjoyed the romantic aspects of The Plus One as much I thought I would after reading the premise. Forbidden love with older brother's best friend is one of my favorite romance tropes, and unfortunately, it didn't deliver for me. I'm curious to know if Mazey Eddings has more novels planned in this universe with this group of friends, but if not, I look forward to her next YA novel and the neurodivergent representation included it!

Wow. Such a great depiction of how mental health crises can coexist with love and moments of fulfillment in relationships. I loved the authentic connection between the two main characters and how they each had to come to terms with their own trauma in order to move forward together.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A romcom novel that gives you all the feels.

The beginning was a little rough for me. There’s a lot of emotional baggage to unpack with Indira and Jude that made it hard to feel like this would end happily. There are a lot of heavy topics and life experiences that made this more of a somber book than I was expecting. Though the fake dating trope helped alleviate bleak tone, it wasn’t enough for me to feel the chemistry between Jude and Indira.

I do appreciate the author's diligence in creating a book that was well written to show the importance of addressing mental health insurance in a respectful and compassionate way. But in a way, it seemed like that was the main focus of this book, rather than what I thought it was going to be, which was a RomCom. I think this book is for the readers who do enjoy complex characters whose growth is the main focus of the story, rather than the romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC