This is the perfect example of a swoony romance with deeper, emotional undertones.
I also loved the dental puns and the anxiety rep. It was very relatable to me.


I can't wait to continue the series with Lizzie's book.

The narration was good, too. I always appreciate dual narration for dual POV.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Mazey Eddings for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't laughed out loud, like really laughed out loud, this much with a book in a long time. I even rewinded a few times just to hear the parts again. Whether it was banter between Harper and Dan or conversations with her best friends, it was well appreciated! Aside from the amazing humor and banter throughout, really tough, real-life situations and problems were beautifully written and explored. Mental health is important and Mazey Eddings wonderfully executed writing about the struggles and treatment with mental health. <3

I cannot wait to start my next Mazey Eddings novel!

What a great romance read!

I've been on a bit of a kick with romance books recently but this one really stood out.

I enjoyed the characters greatly. They were both smart and driven. They had a lot to come to terms with within themselves before they were able to fully understand eachother but the chemistry was great.

A strong theme and challenge in this book was Harper dealing with her mental health. It was a good depiction of how people can struggle with crippling anxiety and depression and still hide it from family and friends. I liked the way it was dealt with in the book and how the other characters interpreted Harper's needs and desires. It's a complex thing to be involved with as an outsider to these disorders and very isolating for the people living with them.

This book was funny, sexy and smart. Just like the characters.

One of my favourite romance reads of the year!

I wanted to love this book so much. It has mental health representation, which is something that I advocate for and I do greatly appreciate that the author opened up the book with a trigger warning for the description of a panic attack. As somebody with an anxiety disorder who does experience panic attacks, the description was realistic and it was hard to listen to through audio format so I’m glad I had that trigger.

I would also give an additional trigger just for how mental health is discussed. The main character has not accepted her own mental health issues so she speaks in a somewhat degrading manner about people who have mental health issues. I understand the perspective but as someone on the other side, it is hard to listen to dialogue that basically bashes people who do choose to get therapy.

That is the whole premise of the book and the character does have a lot of growth throughout the book but the other thing I found disappointing was how poorly she treated her significant other. I’m a huge believer in the idea that having a mental illness does not give you the right to be an a-hole and that’s what she was. I felt like the ending came together too quickly and she needed a lot more work on herself before she was ready to take a big step.

I will caution people who have mental health issues to go onto the book carefully but if you don’t have mental health issues and you do enjoy a bit of a more dramatic romantic storyline this might be a good pick. For me, not my favorite.

I wanted to love this book/audio book so much but I couldn’t get into it. The narrators did a fantastic job overall for the parts I listened to but honestly i found that I was easily distracted when listening to this audiobook. I had to start and restart over and over to try to get into the story. Perhaps that is on me, I would definitely still recommend it to some people. One day, I will try it again. But for now, it’s a mixed review from me.

I received this audiobook from netgalley for a honest review.

I loved this book! Such a great romance for someone with extreme anxiety. She has a lot of issues but then so does he. She's trying to control the entire world and he's trying to please his mother and dead father. together they make everything work. I will look for more work by this author,

I didn’t like this one and I really should have but I just didn’t like it I think it was me there’s a lot going on in my life right now but who knows

I received an ALC of A Brush with Love recently from @stmartinspress
In typical fashion, I read Lizzie’s book (the second in the series) before this one but it was fine and didn’t affect the story at all.
.
I really liked Dan and Harper and their at-school friendship - turned - romance. This book takes a look at gender biases in higher ed, within a relationship, and in the workforce. It also takes a hard look at anxiety and its very real manifestations.
.
It also centers on being in dental school, and I loved this take. I can’t think of a single book set at a dental school, so I loved that aspect of the book. I was also happy it didn’t really go into dental procedures - some things I just don’t need to imagine 🤣.
.
I really connected with Dan and was drawn to his character, more so than Harper - even though I’m a woman in STEM like she is, and have faced plenty of gender biases. This one has steam but not nearly as much as Lizzie’s book (it is just a comparison, I am comfortable with open-door romances). I am so excited for the 3rd book in the series!
.
Thank you again @netgalley and @smpromance for gifting me Harper and Dan’s story.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #MacmillianAudio and Mazey Eddings for the advanced listeners copy of A brush with love. my opinions are my own and given voluntarily,

This book was an easy, and quick listen. The characters were adorable and well developed. This one was a cute romance book for anyone needing a book to listen to allow themselves to relax and enjoy a good rom com. The interactions between Dan and Harper were adorable!

However, I need to address a trigger warning of discussions and depictions of anxiety and depression. Even with these triggers, it is a sweet novel and a genuine depiction of these mental disorders. It may be hard for some to listen to but may also be welcoming for others who are feeling the same way. This book was a very real and sweet story with spicy love scenes and tough topics. pick it up for yourself and shape your own opinion!

This lighthearted and cute story is the perfect romance audiobook for anyone just wanting to relax and enjoy the story. Even though it is an easy read (or listen), it does cover some important topics like anxiety disorders. The main characters are well developed and interesting, and the plot moves at a good pace. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to listen to and review this audiobook.

I loved the narrator of this novel, but it just didn’t hook me. I kept waiting to get to the end. I still love Mazey’s storytelling process, but I just struggled to enjoy this story; perhaps it hit a little too close to home for me, and it was hard resonating with some of the situations because they felt forced or over exaggerated.

I read this series out of order and I wonder if took away from some of my enjoyment. I loved the dental setting of this one (is that toothpaste on the cover! lol!). It was a unique slant and I enjoyed the originality. But I just didn't feel the pull of these two that I did in the second one. I found their odd need for each other just a bit too swift and it started me off with just not being pulled in right from the start. I wish I'd liked it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

a really fun story and I thought the narrators were good. I particularly liked Harper's voice. My one complaint is the falsetto the guy used for female characters.

A Brush with Love
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 3/1/22
Author: Mazey Eddings
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrators: Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam
GR: 3.79

TW ⚠️: Anxiety and Mental Health

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper wants no distractions. A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules. As they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is. Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.

My Thoughts: I have had this book on my TBR for awhile. After reading the ARC of Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, I fell in love with this friend group and was able to get the audiobook for the first one. This is the first book in the A Brush with Love series. The third book, The Plus One, publishes in April next year and I am so excited for that one as well. There is an author’s note at the beginning with the content warning and Eddings approached anxiety and mental health with such grace. This is the story of Harper and Dan. Harper is finishing dental school and struggles with anxiety, being in control is the only way her life is in control. Dan comes crashing into her life throwing it out of control. The characters were well developed with depth, witty banter, immense chemistry, and creatively explored. The author’s writing style was complex, intriguing, tense, and just brilliant. I adore Eddings’ writing style and am a huge fan. I would recommend getting this one and the Lizzie’s story.

This story was told from alternating points of view, with Emily Lawrence narrating Harper's POV and Vikas Adam narrating Dan's POV. Overall, the narration was good, however, I did not enjoy the male narrator's version of Harper's voice it was too fake.

The overall story was good, I like that the main characters eventually voice and deal with their mental health struggles and they weren't just glossed over.

A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings

A Brush with Love Book 1

I received an advanced listen copy from Netgalley and this is my full and honest feedback.

This book follows Harper as she makes her way through her final year of dental school, when she crash lands into Daniel, a legacy who doesn't want to be a dentist.

I didn't really care for the audio of this book. I did end up getting the ebook so I could follow along while I listened to it. The male narrator was ok, but I don't know if it was the female narrator or if it was a combination of her and Harper's character that made me not care for Harper's chapters.

There was a good 15% that I did like after 70% but then Harper got on my nerves that I couldn't shake until the last 5%.

I really tried to like it because I have a friend who loved it, but I don't know if it was the audio or this book just wasn't for me. I may try reading the book again with just the ebook in the next year or so, to see if that might improve my rating.

There was one major thing about the audio that I didn't like and it had nothing to do with the book or the narrators. I like listening to my books for the most part at 2x or higher, one because I lack patience and two because my brain hates to focus when it feels slow. I ended up needing to crank it up to the 2.5x option that Netgalley has, but when I did that it caused the words to break off so instead of "huge" it came out as "hu". I don't know if this was a Netgalley issue or an audio issue.

Overall Ratings:
Book: 3 stars
Audio: 2 stars

Harper and Dan are both dental students who meet cute when she destroys his project. Harper suffers from panic attacks and Dan helps her through them. This was a great debut!

5 stars, hands down.

I went into this blind. I had heard only snippets of how this book was adorable with just a dash of spice. I was expecting something terribly cheesy. Let me just say, what a pleasant surprise.

This book was all-around delightful. A rom-com (And yes, I do mean rom-com...I laughed out loud a lot throughout this book) set in a dentistry doctoral program. Our FMC is an extremely anxious overachieving type, who works herself so hard she doesn't give herself much room for a personal life. Our MMC is a non-traditional first year legacy at the school and is currently working through complicated grief of both his recently departed father and the life he left behind to help with the family dentistry practice. While more laid back in nature than the FMC, he is still very driven...just not for dentistry.

The story touches on aspects of complicated grief, severe generalized anxiety disorder, general mental health, the importance of a support system, and the overwhelming stress put graduate students.

While covering these topics, the story also provides a fun romance with delicious spice as well as my favorite women friendship groups I have ever read about. The amount of true support and love shown among that friendship group is so heart-warming, you'll wish they were your own friends.

I loved everything about this book, including the main character's Maine Coon. I want one.

Please go read this now. Tell your friends. Shout it from the roof tops.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam, via NetGalley. An advanced reader's copy of this audiobook was provided to me via NetGalley by Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

A Brush with Love is a cute and sweet rom com with some surprisingly heavy content, like mental health, racism, and death. The characters are lovable but also feel real and relatable.

I absolutely loved so many parts of this book! It was a nice light read, with some real-life struggle moments built in. The realness of Harper's anxiety and Dan's hate of dental school created the struggle and tension you want to see in books. The fun of Dan meeting her cat for the first time. These moments built a story together that made you want to keep reading (or listening). Harper, of course, wanted nothing to do with Dan because he wasn't in her plan; Dan refused to take no for an answer creating a 'just friends' trope that was a struggle for both of them. At the breakup to makeup part- it was difficult to read- they both had to really find themselves and their new goals for the future, creating a possibility of it not being with each other.