4.5 stars rounding up! This book was so cute! Dan and Harper first meet after a run in at school. There’s obviously some chemistry but Harper is a no nonsense, study all the time student and Dan tries to get a date any way he can.
I’m a sucker for a guy falls first love story and while maybe they both fell at the same time Harper wasn’t ready to admit those feelings as quickly as my new book boyfriend Dan. We had some cute dates, some spices scenes and we saw both our MCs struggle with mental health issues.
I would definitely recommend this book to my romcom loving readers who also like some spice. I will be 100% buying this book when it is released!
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced listening copy!

I enjoyed Mazzy Eddings debut novel. While marketed as a rom-com, it was so much more than two characters meeting and falling in love.

Harper is finishing up dental school and applying for residency. She’s top of her class and has no time for distractions. On top of that, she has crippling anxiety and is dealing with grief from her past. Dan is a first year dental school who is struggling to keep up with his courses and lab work. Dental school was never his dream, but he has a family obligation to uphold. Like Harper, he’s sworn of love. Harper and Dan’s lives collide and at first, they promise to just be friends. However, it doesn’t take long for them to fall fast and with that, learn about each others past and anxieties.

Read if you’re interested in:
-Jewish representation
-Dental school setting
-Instant attraction
-Mental health / anxiety rep
-Slow burn romance
-Dual POV
-Great group of friends that will soon be getting their own novels

Of note: While the characters were in their mid 20s, they acted as if they were younger and in college. While I love NA type books, the immaturity in this book made it hard for me to get fully invested in the romance.

A Brush with Love is the debut novel of Mazey Eddings. It tells the story of Harper, a final year dental student, and Dan, a first year medical student. Harper is dealing with the intense pressures of dental school and severe anxiety. Dan is dealing pressures of fulfilling his family’s dream of him becoming a dentist when he really doesn’t want to be one. The pair become friends and eventually fall in love.

I really liked how the book handled Harper’s anxiety and panic attacks. As someone who has both, I found the depictions of both very accurate, but never triggered my own anxiety which is always a concern when I read books with this at the forefront. I was pleased to find that while, most of the story takes place at a dental school, the descriptions didn’t get too graphic. I did find that some of the pacing of the book was off, especially in the back half of the book, which seemed to drag. I do think that some of my issue with the book was that both Harper and Dan were so much on their own journey’s that they never were really working toward the same goal. While it was a romance, I wasn’t left feeling that these two absolutely needed each other to be happy.

I was given the opportunity to listen to the audiobook. I listened to it on 1.5 speed while doing puzzles and it kept me entertained. I did find the woman voicing Harper a bit better than the man voicing Dan, especially when it came to voicing characters of the opposite gender. I do think that only having the audiobook kept me from skimming some parts that I would have had I been reading the book.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the the ALC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the journey of mental health this book takes you through. The characters had a lot going on but their growth arc was amazing and they were just super cute together, their friends were great support systems too and I loved that. The book is cute but nothing notable in the romance part but having MCs with anxiety and depression was extremely relatable and refreshing.

I received an advance listening copy from macmillan audio and netgalley in exchange for my honest review

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a romance novel set in a dental school, so I was immediately curious about A Brush With Love. (Full disclosure: I’m married to a now-retired dentist!) The set-up: two dental students meet cute (Harper slips on wet floor, tumbles down the stairs and hits Dan, breaking his tooth model, and it’s pretty much instant love or crush); she’s a 4th year, stellar student, with anxiety, who loves what she’s doing; he’s a 1st year, non-traditional student, who used to work in finance, and is only in dental school because of family expectations, and hates it.

Harper has a lot of anxiety, to the extent that it is really debilitating, affecting most areas of her life, and the author does a good job of portraying this, along with unresolved grief over the death of her mother when she was about 12. You can also tell that she is very familiar with dental jargon and dental school procedures! I just didn’t relate to Dan having given up a job in a career that he loved to go to dental school just to please his mother (both of his parents are/were dentists). Harper’s friends seemed a bit too adolescent for 26-year-olds. Their actions and dialog seemed more like teenagers to my mind. And the ending was a bit too rushed.

I’m always happy to read books with solid Jewish representation, so that was a plus.

The audiobook was narrated by two narrators, Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam. The narrator changes depending on the chapter, but I think it would have been more effective if the female narrator spoke the Harper dialog in the Dan chapters and if the male narrator spoke the Dan dialog in the Harper chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Loved this story—its characters, setting, and most importantly, representation so much so that I binge this listen in 2 days. The heartwarming story and the duel POV’s and narration brought this book to life for me.
Looking forward to reading more from this debut author!
Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillion Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my honest review.

Harper is waiting to find out if she is going to her top choice for residency when she meets Dan whose dad is a famous dentist and has a legacy to uphold.

Harper and Dan have a beautiful story that honestly, I could not stop listening to. Their emotions and trauma felt so real and I found myself really feeling like I could relate to them in some ways. I am so happy I was sent this audiobook because the narrators really nailed the voices I would've chosen and really sold the story.

I loved, loved, loved this book and hopefully Mazzy Eddings will be able to carry on the story with the other brilliant characters who made me laugh out loud.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the audiobook ARC.

An absolute DELIGHT of a book. I loved that from page one scene one that Dan was so gone for Harper and his love for her never wavered. Mazey Eddings delivers on a romance that balances the poignant heart of grief and people becoming best friends and realizing how good they are together. I have been looking forward to this book since its announcement, and I'm more than excited for her next books!

I enjoyed this book! I listened to the audio from NetGalley. The narrators were great. This is a sweet friends to lovers story. It definitely has some light and funny moments (Dan’s first encounter with Judy had me rolling) but overall the book is kinda heavy. Harper’s mental health is a huge part of the story and the intensity of her anxiety might be hard for some to read. Personally I love seeing characters work through their mental health in romance but it did get fairly intense at times as a warning.
There are a few spicy moments but it’s not that much. If you prefer closed door this is open door but it wasn’t that intense to me so you’d probably be fine. The focus was definitely character development not spice.
This book will be released 3/1. It’s a good contemporary romance I would recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy!
This review will be posted on Instagram as well.

This was a beautiful story that shows how someone who is extremely talented and appears as the most put together person, can also be living with something that often affects their day to day and even the most mundane tasks - like going to the grocery store. It also illustrates how to love someone with anxiety and how to be loved when you have anxiety - both of which are tough, and through this you see all aspects of both the ease and strain that is put on Harper's relationships.

Mazey Eddings handled the topic of anxiety and panic disorders with such care and with such accurate descriptions. I was able to understand exactly how Harper was feeling in the moments where her anxiety consumed her. Likely that is due in part to our shared experience, but I truly think that anyone else reading this may get some insight to what someone living with anxiety goes through.

As someone who deals with anxiety in the forms of anxiety attacks, panic attacks, and just general every day anxiety, this book was a breath of fresh air. I was able to relate to Harper in almost every way - except maybe how much of a genius she is...

Harper's level of anxiety is high and she's ashamed of it, but she manages to find a guy who doesn't make her feel badly about it, and he just wants to do everything he can to help.

On a more lighthearted note, I listened to the audio format of this while cleaning around my house, running errands, and even working out and I found myself laughing out loud many times throughout the day. I don't want to give any spoilers at all, but I will say that the Judy encounter towards the beginning of this story had me laughing so hard.

Eddings has a great author's note at the beginning of this that has some trigger warnings - I encourage you to read that before reading this story. I didn't feel triggered by any of this, but I also have come a long way since experiencing panic attacks - and I might have felt differently reading this 7 or 8 years ago when I was in the thick of it. I encourage anyone to read this because it's great - but also more specifically, if you love someone with anxiety or are someone with anxiety, it may just make you feel like you understand your loved one more, or may make you feel less alone in your struggle.

Truly a 5-star read, this one was special.

For about half of this book I felt like Ron Burgandy crying that "I'm in a glass case of emotions." This one hit me in all the feels.

Synopsis: Harper has one thing on her mind -- graduating school and getting placed in a top oral surgery residency program. Then a fall down the stairs sends her literally crashing into first year dental student Dan, who comes from a huge family legacy in the dental world, but would rather be crunching numbers in the finance world. While Dan wants more from Harper, she is focused on school and wants to stay in the friend-zone with Dan so he obliges her request. Of course, the "just friends" route works for only so long as the attraction and pull between them starts to become more than they can resist. Can Harper overcome her fears and let herself be loved?

Review: This book is everything! There aren't enough words to express how much I loved Harper and Dental Dan. The way Mazey handles Harper's anxiety and panic attacks in this book was so vulnerable and beautiful. As someone who has dealt with both anxiety and panic attacks I so appreciated the way Mazey dealt this with such raw honesty and care.

And then there is Dan. Dan might be one of my favorite Cinnamon roll characters ever. He was real and raw and vulnerable. He was a rock when Harper needed one. He knew when to push and when to stop. He knew when she just needed to be held and no words were needed. Harper says at one point that Dan is "like a charging port she could plug into" and isn't that the most amazing description of what we want in a partner?! Dan had his own flaws and issues and was just the most wonderfully complete character I have read in a while.

I listened to the audio book of this one and I would 100% recommend listening to this one. Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam knock it out of the park! At one point Vikas had me in tears not only with the words that he was reading but the sheer emotion in his voice. This audio narration brings so much to this book and I would highly suggest checking out the audio book....just keep a box of tissues handy.

Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for providing me an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This title is available March 1 and it is one you do not want to miss!

This book was not for me. It was boring and ridiculous.

Insta-love is the worst trope in my opinion, so that was the main thing I hated. The characters acted so juvenile but they were in their mid to late 20s. People in grad school also would not act the way these characters did.

The book tried so hard to be deep but it was so ridiculous. I liked the banter and I liked the two main characters together, but that's it.

3/5 ⭐️s

Petition to ban illustrated covers from all genres EXCEPT romcoms because I need a warning when I’m going to read a book that will emotionally shred me. *Sobs*

I have to praise the author’s portrayal of anxiety in Harper, our female lead. She didn’t pull a single punch, and I appreciated how seen I felt while reading this. That was the real story here. The romance was cute, but it took a backseat to Harper coming to terms with her anxiety.

I did find myself getting extremely frustrated with Harper’s continual denial that she needed help. It started to feel less like a good plot and more like repetitive storytelling. Dan, on the other hand, was way too perfect. Nobody should be that forgiving when their significant other treats them like a doormat.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it left me feeling emotionally exhausted and without the pay off most emotionally-heavy plots have at the end.

**Audiobook note: I was sent an audio ARC of this book on NetGalley, and while I mostly enjoyed both narrators, I have to admit that the male narrator’s female voice was so jarring to listen to, it completely pulled me from the story on multiple occasions. Nothing’s worse than listening to a spicy scene being narrated by a man who can’t pull off the woman’s voice…(cringes)

Spice: 2/5 🌶s

3.5 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the anxiety piece was done really well- the way Harper’s panic attacks were described was very realistic. However, the romance piece seemed YA/immature, even though the characters are adults.

This did not feel like a dentist book. I thought they would be swooning over each other in a workplace romance way, but nope. They’re both in school and we barely got to see any dental or oral surgeon stuff. We rarely see them dentist. Even if I knew Harper was an oral surgeon, we rarely got good behind the scenes look at what it was like. It was mainly just about the rigor of the school and pressure of it all. Yes, that’s useful information for Harper’s character, but it didn’t feel like the book I signed up to read.

I get the summary says oral surgery but every piece of marketing laid so thick into toothbrush, toothpaste, and things that make you think “dentist” not “major and intense oral/facial reconstructive” surgeon. I get it, it’s on me. This is the one time the summary was actually very accurate. But the cover? The connotations? “Dental Dam” Dan being a dental student made zero sense and was only added to make it more dentisty. It honestly terrified me because he was really going to become a dentist, something he literally hated and that grossed him out. A DENTIST. KEEP HIM AWAY FROM MY MOUTH IN ALL SCENARIOS.

As for Dan and Harper, I disliked them both. First it was Dan, then it was Harper, then it was both. What a journey! Like ping pong! Neither felt like they were actually 26-year-old adults. They acted like undergrads in most scenarios, even younger in others. Their decisions were embarrassing at times and I never felt the connection because this was the, and I mean THE, most instant case of insta love I have ever experienced.

I couldn’t even tell you the timeline of their relationship. They met and BOOM they’re all touchy feely, wanting to lick random extremities and graze teeth everywhere. (I assume this was because it was a “dentist” book? Tongues, mouths, teeth, etc. Idk just stick with oral.) He was saying she’s the most gorgeous gorgeous brained girl. She was saying he was her safe space from anxiety. It felt like a week for a relationship that had the familiarity of three years. He was kissing her forehead, slow dancing and humming in her kitchen, and being SO touchy before they even kissed. They were nearly getting it ON before they even kissed. It just seemed way too intimate, way too fast. Dan had absolutely nothing more to his name than being obsessed with Harper and being in dental school for a ridiculous ridiculous reason. Oh baby, lemme lick your nose.

Dan has Harper so high on a pedestal she can see across the Pacific. He’s eager in the worst way. Like just so obsessed with her. He is painfully obtuse, singleminded, heavy handed, and absolutely unrealistic. I was never attracted to this weird man child. He was never a cinnamon roll. He was an untoasted, unbuttered, unflavored piece of sandwich bread.

He is the type of man you dream up in the first draft. Dan is your ideal, your wet dream. Just so goddamn devoted to you. Then you start dating him and realize he is an absolutely boring shadow following you around. You realize the chase was more fun than the catch. Then you realize that this book didn’t even have the chase! It was so insta love I was distraught. They met, he was like wow, she was like wow, he was like marry me, she was like tbh I’m tempted but women can’t have a relationship and goals because that’s #hard. She blames him for making her like him so much that she forgets deadlines. Not just blames, but reads him to filth. HONEY WHAT THE FUCK.

Harper as a character was trying to accomplish way too much in one book. Her character was being pulled in so many directions they effectively canceled each other out in the story as a whole. I just couldn’t with her blaming Dan for everything. I’m sorry but she’s very very bad to Dan and she admits she is being cruel and lying and wrong but she keeps laying it the fuck on. It was really fucked up. I support neither of these characters.

I think being “a relatable teen” is a huge thing this book tried to do. It tried to do it too hard and too much. The main culprits were Harper’s caricatures dressed up as friends. Some of the words they came out of their mouths just really baffled me. Half of this book was Harper and Dan. The other half was a mix of weird phrases and cringey one-liners from the supporting cast. Most landed severely off beat for me.

Her friends were simply included to be “comic relief,” which is fine I suppose, but they weren’t funny, just cringey. Sorry, but I draw the line and one “titty” mention per book. Also randomly trying to get a Brazilian? So fucking bizarre. I have never wanted to strangle anyone with my Fallopian tubes, thank you very much. I would never go anywhere near a bone zone. Alex having sweet relief? Good God I’m sorry but NO. It was a bad mix of frat boy, dad, and Twitter language. I genuinely wouldn’t want to know any of these people in real life.

As for the audiobook, I didn’t mind Harper’s narrator but good lord Dan’s guy just… went for it. Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly like any way he got the get. His voice for Harper was grating to say the least, making her sound about 16 years old. It was horrifying during the sex scenes. Not only did we have him doing Harper’s weirdly young voice, but we also had this man being so overcome. I would have preferred Harper’s narrator to narrate the whole thing. The narrators also spoke slow which would have been fine, but the NetGalley app does not adequately support speeding up audiobooks. I listened to this at 2.0 speed and it felt normal! But it also felt like the female robot from Bicentennial Man.

Stripping away everything else, the main, driving force working against our “lovers” was Harper not being able to balance Dan and her school obligations, aka homework and tests. This made Harper, who could have been an incredibly nuanced character, turn into one bad decision after another.

⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶/5

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced audiobook. All opinions are honest and my own.

A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings is a spectacular and top romance read of 2022. I'm saying it now! This book is a rom-com literary genius with all the powerful topics incorporated throughout the chapters and characters in the book. These characters were well developed, and the audiobook was outstanding with giving a voice to this dual POV story between Harper and Dan. I loved their chemistry, passion, vulnerability, and believable romance. I laughed, cried, and empathized with the truly raw emotions on the page. I also loved the medical student element since I'm in healthcare myself and understand the stress of graduate school and patient care. Everyone needs to get a copy of this one immediately when published. You won't regret it!

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Griffin, for my ALC for my honest review.

This story centers around Harper and Dan who are in their 4th and 1st year of dental school. They have an adorable meet cute and an instant attraction that had you feeling the chemistry between them. I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did! Literally within the first 5%, I had literally LOL'd multiple times - there is something amazing (playful) banter in this book! And while there were plenty of laughs, don't let that fool you -- this book touches on some very important topics that pulled at my heartstrings! Both Harper and Dan are battling their own demons and working to overcome them - the mental health rep in this book is fantastic - it felt so raw and real.

While this started out as a 5 star read for me, the pacing of the story (plot and relationship arc) was a bit off for me and I found myself a little annoyed with Harper at different times. That being said, I really did love her and Dan together!

Can't believe this is Mazey's debut novel - I will definitely be reading more from her!

Oh and also, the audiobook for this was fantastic and would def recommend!

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I really wanted to love this book. I was really looking forward to it based off of the description and the start of the book. However I just couldn’t finish it. I struggled with the narrators in the audio version. Perhaps I would have been better reading a physical copy.

Harper and Dan are both dental students. She is an incredible student in her fourth year, waiting to learn where she matches. He is in his first year and less excited to pursue dentistry.

Their meet cute is so delightful that even her friends comment that it's straight out of a rom-com. Indeed, I loved Thu and Harper's other friends as much as Harper and Dan.

The couple had immediate chemistry. It was a mix of a slow burn with lots of steam. I found their relationship quite believable. Their tough patches made me want to scream, but were simultaneously relatable.

The book incorporated nice Jewish representation in Harper's character. I also really appreciated the Author's Note. She wrote about sensitive content with such care, and that flowed into the book. Most notably, she pointed out generalized anxiety disorder, sexism, and ableist language.

I listened to this on audiobook and started while I was on the train. I laughed so much that I got quite strange looks from the other commuters. I thought Vikas Adam was an especially fantastic narrator. In his reading, he adjusted his pace to the emotional tone of the story and do well with accents and voices. While Emily Lawrence did an excellent job voicing Harper and the other female voices, I was less impressed by her impression of male voices.

Thank you to SMP Romance, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. These opinions are my own.

3.5.
Things I liked about this book:
- I thought the way the author wrote about anxiety and grief accompanied by untraditional family dynamics was great
- The writing was funny at times, and overall was of good quality
- I'm a sucker for a will-they-won't-they scenario
- The dialogue felt natural

Things I didn't like:
- The pacing was a bit off kilter, and the book was hard to push through at times; had this not been a review opportunity I definitely would've DNF'd sometime in the middle to third act.
- The male love interest insulted Andrew Garfield and I'm being so serious when I say biggest turn off lmao. Like literally threw the book across the room. This will not bode well in this economy.
- The writing/plot felt kindaaa generic. I don't think I'll remember much about this book when I look back on it 6 months later.

Audiobook: I was able to listen to this on audiobook which I am so grateful for!! Audiobooks are a lot easier for me to read with. I enjoyed Harper's narrator, and Dan's for the most part EXCEPT when he was trying to imitate a woman's voice when reading Harper's dialogue. It felt very grating.