Harper, a very studious dental student, has her mind focused on one thing: a very prestigious oral surgery residency program. Dan, a first year dental student with a huge family legacy, is the last thing on her radar. That is, until they, quite literally, stumble upon each other. Can they really be just friends though?

This book has a lot to love
-friends to lovers
-(unexpected) Jewish rep
-a plethora of dental innuendos
-realistic discussions surrounding anxiety and panic attacks

Dan and Harper are a sweet, sometimes steamy, couple that you’ll for sure be rooting for. The story got a little too dentisty for me at times, but hey, that is the setting after all.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Brush with Love

I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast and easy read.

Dan is a 1st year dental student with huge family pressure. Dentistry wasn't his first choice, but after the passing of his father, his mother needed him to step in and help with their dental practice as she wasn't able to keep it up and running.

Harper is further along in her dentistry schooling as she is waiting on placement for her residency. As one of the top students currently, she just needs to navigate the last few months doing exactly what she's been doing - nothing will change..

Or so she hopes..

She encounters Dan, and even thought they set out to be only friends, they both realize the path they're on is not the one they're destined for.

I just reviewed A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings. #NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. This was an enjoyable rom com that included mental health aspects. The relationship was supportive and believable. I appreciated that not everything was positive and happy—made it more realistic.

What was adorable about this book:
1. Dan. I loved this character. Seriously, the guy was so sweet and patient, and relatable. I wanted to hug him half the time as I read. My heart goes to him.
2. Different setting. I mean, I haven’t read or heard about books in which they are odontologists or planning to be. It was refreshing how different the setting was, learning about their careers and the difficulty of such.
3. Variety in characters. I like the different representations in this book. It opens one’s mind about them.
4. Friendship. Sucker here of friends to lovers, though it didn’t exactly feel like they were friends, but putting a stop to their relationship. However, I enjoyed their struggle to “suppress” their romantic feelings for the other.

What I wished was different:
1. Harper’s path to solving her internal struggle. It was nice that she admitted to herself her situation and embraced it, though I wished we had delved more into her path of acceptance. See a bit more of how she came to terms with it.


Definitely looking forward to reading the next book! I feel this series has such a great potential and can’t wait to learn about the other books.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy of ‘A Brush with Love’ by Mazey Eddings. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought the premise of this book was interesting having the characters being dental students and showing their different perspectives at school. Harper wants to do her best at the expense of her own mental health and Dan knows this isn’t what he wants to do but feels obligated in order to help his mother at the family dental practice after the death of his jerk father. I saw a lot of readers whose tastes I tend to agree with really like this book so I was surprised when it wasn’t really for me.

For starters, this was described as “slow burn” but I felt like I was missing the buildup. The characters went from meet cute to best friend soul mates who were super horny for each other. Sure they weren’t immediately physical with each other but I guess I wanted more of a progression since everyone was describing this as slow burn.

Dan did a lot of troubling things that raised red flags. Trying to justify it by calling it “stalker behavior” and having the characters laugh and be okay with it because they’re so hot for each other doesn’t make it not be stalker behavior. Since the reader is in Harper’s mind, we can see Harper is conflicted about what to do but Dan doesn’t have that information. From Harper’s actions she’s giving him signals to back off and stop pursuing her but he’s all “lol I showed up anyway aren’t I just a lil stalker?” It made it hard to root for the couple even though I knew Harper was into him but he didn’t have that information and from her actions he should have given her time to communicate this to him. He also gets very alpha and tries to talk over Harper to defend her and it wasn’t attractive. He also violates her privacy and tells a doctor her struggles with anxiety when he had no business telling the doctor anything all under the guise of “helping” but it came off really disturbing to me. Throughout the book Dan is constantly overstepping and it made me not want to root for the couple.

The anxiety depiction was a lot and while I appreciate the content warning, I think it was too much darkness for me personally. I can’t put my finger on it but I was put off by how Harper’s anxiety/PTSD was portrayed and how everyone treated her. It didn’t feel positive or helpful for her anxiety. I did think she needed to go to therapy and find medication that worked for her but it didn’t seem like the way her friends went about “helping” would have guided her in that direction.

Some of the medical and dental jargon felt like too much. I wish the author had less of this because it’s just going to be skimmed or skipped over by most readers. Just because you’re very familiar with something or did a lot of research doesn’t mean you have to make your book a textbook.

I’m willing to give this book the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood to read it or maybe the couple just didn’t work for me. I was approved for the next book and it has some elements that appeal more to me. Harper’s friends were kind of off putting and obnoxious in this book but I’m willing to try and read the next one.

2/5

I absolutely adored this book. It includes some hard topics, mental health, toxic family relationships, extreme sexism and more, but it’s also heartwarming and has some extremely funny moments too.

Harper has been working to get into oral surgery and is waiting to find out if she’s gotten into the residency program she’s hoping for.

Dan is at dentistry school out of familial obligation, but he’d rather be anywhere else.

Dan is assigned to shadow Harper, and she starts opening his eyes to a different perspective on dentistry. It’s clear from the start that Dan is interested in Harper but she is solely focused on her future career and doesn’t want any distractions, even if they are adorable ones.

I loved watching how they both grew throughout the book, and learned not only more about themselves but also how to speak up for what they want.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating the moment I got to read A Brush With Love, and it finally happened! I follow Mazey Eddings on Twitter, and she is so funny and sweet and adorable and relatable, which made me even more excited to read this book. I love a good romcom, and I love it when the characters are in STEM because it always brings interesting discussions. A Brush With Love started off very strong for me, and I was convinced I’d found a new favorite novel. But… things took a turn for me and I’m going to get a little vulnerable in this review. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. I’d like to begin this review with a discussion on the content of A Brush With Love. The book begins with a compassionate note from the author cautioning readers about some of the book’s content, but I didn’t realize what a large role anxiety was going to play in this story. As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, reading this book was hard on me. While there was a lot of humor and lighter moments, I came away emotionally and mentally exhausted. Seeing glimmers of my anxiety in Harper, while also seeing that my anxiety could be even worse than it is was very hard. I’d realize I was in physical pain while reading, and had to try to unclench and relax my muscles multiple times. The author did a great job conveying what anxiety is like and how it feels, but it was too much for me to process. If you are triggered by reading descriptions of panic attacks, fear, negative-self talk, sexism in the workplace, and grief I suggest you pass on this one.

2. Harper’s character was a major struggle for me. In the beginning, I found her to be bubbly, quirky, funny, and dripping with personality. I saw a lot of myself in her and related to her desire to be perfect in all things. She can be very sweet (her meet cute with Dan is adorable proof), but she’s also very frustrating. I didn’t see her act like a good friend or a good partner very often, and kept grappling with my confusion as to how her life is filled with great people when she’s doing nothing to keep them there. She takes Dan for granted and pushes him away at every opportunity while also stringing him along. She tells him they are just friends, but cuddles with him and kisses him before saying it was a mistake and pushing him away. She gets mad at him for being a distraction multiple times, and just isn’t nice. I don’t know how he could handle the whiplash. She takes and takes from her friends while shutting them out and giving them almost nothing in return. Clearly she’s found herself a bunch of very understanding saints, I just can’t picture a world where someone can treat people like this and still have them fall all over themselves to be a part of that person’s life.

3. Dan was the highlight of the story for me. I loved him immediately and never wavered on that. He’s sweet, compassionate, understanding, and accepting. He’s very much aware of the people he cares about, and makes it his job to make sure they are ok. He zeroes in on Harper very quickly, and I felt like he knew how she was doing before she did! I loved that about him. What girl wouldn’t want a guy so in tune with her that he knew how to help and what to do without having to be asked? A dream. He is so unbelievably patient and supportive. I don’t know how he was able to do it, especially since he was going through his own stuff, too. He’s stuck in a life he never wanted to live because he feels too guilty doing anything else. He struggles and hurts and goes through a lot of personal growth and evolution, and I just loved his journey.

4. I LOVED the meet cute. It was so mortifying and hilarious and adorable. I won’t spoil it, but it was a great moment.

5. The romance was not my favorite. Harper is moving in a few months, so she decides they need to quash that instant attraction and desire to be together and remain friends. Except… she rarely treats Dan like a friend. He’s basically her boyfriend without the label, and since he’s not allowed to be her boyfriend things get frustrating. Because of how long this story is and how quickly the leads fall for one another, the bulk of the “romance” is them trying not to be more than friends, slipping up, and then Harper pushing him away and/or lashing out at him. And, of course, everything is about Harper so she’s in charge or everything that happens between them and poor Dan was probably blue for most of the book. I got tired of this push and pull. I wanted a swoony, romantic story filled with scenes that melted my heart and I ended up with a bunch of speed bumps and roadblocks that took away from the romance I signed up for.

6. I loved Dan’s and Harper’s friends. I loved Harper’s mentor, who became a bit of a life coach as well as a professor at one point..

Regardless of my issues with A Brush With Love, I will be recommending it to others. It was not the right choice for me, but the meet cute is adorable, Dan is a wonderful cinnamon role, and there are some really great moments. The writing is lovely, and I enjoyed a lot of the story (even though Harper frustrated me). Eddings sheds light on issues that real people go through every single day, and that’s important. I know many readers will feel seen in these pages, and I know many readers will learn and maybe even become more understanding of people in their lives who struggle with their mental health. I will definitely be giving her next book, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake a try. Lizzie is in A Brush With Love, and I really liked her!

Really enjoyed A Brush with Love. It was lighthearted, sweet, cute, and adorably fun. As someone who works in healthcare I particularly liked main characters in medical professions. Cant wait to read more from this author!

I received an ARC for my honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

I loved this. I thought the representation was wonderful. I can tell a lot of love and care went into writing this book.

I know there were r a v e reviews of A BRUSH WITH LOVE - but for me, it was only okay? It took me a bit to get into it and then, for me, the slow burn romance wasn’t it. I just wasn't vibing with the characters or with their relationship. (But I am always in favor of more steam.)

I did, however, appreciate the depiction of anxiety, panic attacks, and mental health. Not only did the depiction seem authentic, how other characters reacted to these situations seemed to be spot on and realistic.

I've now read A Brush With Love twice and I dearly adore this book. We don't see too many books about college-aged characters from traditional publishing, which is frustrating because there's definitely a market for these books. I'm glad that Mazey Eddings wrote this story for the anxious college students out there.

A Brush With Love is a sweet (with steamy moments, thankfully) and gentle romance between two characters who come with their dose of baggage and who deserve their HEA. Harper is an anxious dental student who has had to battle with anxiety by herself for the longest time. She's smart as hell but because of her anxiety, she's had to work twice as hard as everyone else. She's got her goals and she won't let anyone distract her from them. Enter Dan. Dan has enrolled in dental school but he does not want to be there. It's only due to pressure from his widowed mother that he does so. Both Harper and Dan have a lot of family baggage that they need to work on throughout the book. While it's not a straightforward journey, their trauma is handled with care and love by the author.

I found that Mazey Eddings balanced their "darker" pasts with the lighter moments through the romance quite well. From the moment Harper and Dan collide against each other in a stairwell, sparks fly between them. Dan is such a simp for her from the very first meeting and it's so adorable. The man cared a lot for her and he goes out of his way to prove his devotion to her. While Harper doesn't exactly want a relationship, she ultimately can't resist his kindness and his irresistible charms. They made for such a wholesome couple and they had my heart soaring with how cute they were together. I loved seeing them being friends, bantering, and then afterwards, kissing and doing more. The whole package made for a tender romance.

A Brush With Love was a solid debut romance and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author. Dan and Harper belong on your bookshelves.

This book follows a dental student who is determined not to get distracted, but along comes a handsome fellow student who is a distraction. The different twist is the dealing with anxiety and how he tries to help her cope and and see that she can manage. I feel this was a peak into mental health and reminding us all that we need to pay attention to all aspects of our health.

One of the things that I loved most about this book was the anxiety rep. I found myself relating on an extreme level to the emotions and difficulties that the FMC faced, and I am forever appreciative that Mazey Eddings was so kind and gentle with her character. I'm even more appreciative that the love interest was a man who was equally kind and gentle with the woman that he was pursuing. I found that the story had a really strong start but overtime, I didn't really feel sold necessarily on the romance between them. I knew from the dual POV that the attraction and the affection were there, but I didn't feel that I had enough building moments to point to and say "ah this is when he began to fall" if that makes any sense. Still a solid read, and an incredible debut.

I loved this book and recommended it to so many reader friends. The romance was juicy and deep and lovely and did not let either character get away with meandering into a relationship without working on their own issues. It delved deep into anxiety and familial obligations, was equal parts heart wrenching and mending. I look forward to more from this author!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @mazeyeddings for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book totally unsure how plaque and gingivitis would be tailored into a meet cute and I’m really glad that this wasn’t that kind of romance book — it’s much messier, much grittier, much more real than a toothy meet cute, and I’m here for it.

Harper Horowitz, a Jewish protagonist with an untreated panic and anxiety disorder, is just about finished with dental school and waiting to be placed in a residency as an oral surgeon. She literally falls into the arms of Daniel Craige (not that one, but just as dreamy — said in a Benoit Blanc voice because I wanted to). Daniel is a first year in dental school, it’s his second career, and he’s a disaster at dentistry because he’s probably embarking upon the career for all of the wrong reasons. Harper and Daniel fall for each other very quickly - but Harper’s anxiety and panic and strictness about her life and schedule threatens to derail them, even as friends. It’s not like Daniel’s grief and anger and depression helps, either, but they’re destined for each other if they could just pull their heads out of their asses.

I really enjoyed the book. Harper’s anxiety tore at me, and Daniel’s crushing weight of expectations likewise made me feel for his dilemma. I *wanted* them to be together. I wanted Harper to stop fighting it. But mostly, I wanted Harper to start to see that she could be more and have more if she could trust herself, her friends, and Daniel once the shroud of anxiety was removed.

Relationships, even ones with intense chemistry and feelings and caretaking, take work. Im glad this book was messy, it gave the end quite a payoff feel. ❤️

This was an adorable book about two people in dental school starting a friendship, falling in love and not looking back.

This book was sadly a DNF for me at 35%. As a Jewish person with anxiety, I wanted to love this book so badly, but it just was not for me. Both of the main characters drove me crazy. Dan had SO many red flags. He was a self proclaimed feminist, but his actions were incredibly chauvinistic. And if Harper squealed or giggled one more time because of a man she barely knew I was going to scream. There was no depth to their flirtation and it all seemed based on physical attraction.

A Brush with Love has been so hyped to me and I am glad I gave in. I was planning on just reading a chapter one night before bed, and then I ended up staying up till 1:30am to finish. A Brush with Love is a touching and emotional story about love, vulnerability, and confronting difficult truths about ourselves. I think what I loved was how much I adored Dan and Harper singularly as characters. This dual POV does not only allow us to see each other from their POV's, but also to appreciate them as separate characters.

I honestly couldn't pick a character I loved more. I adored Harper's spirit, her anxiety over her grades and the ways the people around her only see a piece of herself. How she feels like she cannot let herself be distracted. Her character growth may be my favorite of the two, mostly because I could deeply relate to some of her anxieties and the ways she tries to cope. Don't even get me started on the cinnamon roll of Dan. What a big softy!

Mazey Eddings is a new romance author to watch. Similar to Ali Hazelwood in terms of humor and writing about career passions, Mazey creates a world in which I want to stay in for days. I would love to live in her hilariously imperfect book universe.

When there's so much hype for a book, it's almost impossible for it to meet expectations--but this one did. In a beautiful love story between two individuals who honestly seem like soulmates and I ship so hard, we see one struggle with anxiety as she works to finish dental school and become a surgeon, and another reckon with his future in a career he doesn't want. The pacing for this book is pleasantly unusual, with an instant spark of attraction, fading to friendship, flickering back to life until it explodes. But this is a romance with an HEA and of course these two find their way to each other eventually.

The story showcases some truly great friendships, the struggles of graduate/medical school, and what it's like to suffer from anxiety. I don't know much about it personally, so I can't attest to its accuracy, but I appreciated a look and think it makes it easier to understand looking from the outside in. All in all, this is simply a beautiful love story with some interesting additions that take it from basic to modern, fresh, and interesting. I can't wait to read another book by this debut author!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for my eARC, ALC, and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10