Cover Image: A Brush with Love

A Brush with Love

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Member Reviews

I liked it not gonna lie. But, I don't know, there's something about it that I didn't like.
Harper is in med school trying to be a dentist when she accidentally falls on Dan breaking his model and then helps him fix it. They both become interested in each other and the story goes from there.
Harper: Totally honest, I did not like Harper much, I found her quite annoying at times and found myself rolling my eyes at her at certain points. I liked how her anxiety was displayed but I hated how she thought she was the only person with problems, even saying her problems were bigger than Dan's which made no sense and angered me. She also, to me, seemed like she didn't actually like Dan as much as she put out.

Dan: I loved the Arab representation. He really seems like a good guy and his interest and love for Harper showed because damn he's patient with her, I would've been gone in seconds.

Overall I did enjoy the book to a certain extent,.

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Having gone to dental school myself, I thought it was fun to have a book centered around that experience as it is not often the feature of books or television shows. I did not like this book, however. It was cheesy and boring and I found myself just wanting it to be over. The love story is predictable and not very dynamic. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

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A Brush with Love ...I absolutely adored this book. Harper accidentally bumps into Dan while they’re in dental school. Harper is passionate about oral surgery, while Dan is not as into dentistry. But their connection is so fierce, as much as Harper tries to push him away.
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-Harper has crippling anxiety and the author handled it perfectly. I love seeing characters there are relatable. I loved how Dan took care of her and how much he obviously loves her. Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC. This one comes out March 1! Preorder it for sure!

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Loved the incorporation of anxiety disorder in Harper's character. As someone who also struggles with anxiety, it was nice to see an accurate depiction and that although we struggle with it we can still be ambitious people! I struggled a bit with the chemistry between Harper and Dan, it didn't feel there some of the time but over all I found the book to be pretty enjoyable.

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I started this one and it just didn't grab me. It might've been me but it wasn't keeping my attention.

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3.75 This was such a cute romance with great mental health rep that was unique and refreshing. This story follows Harper who is trying to get one of the hardest residencies for oral surgery. Harper is focused on school and school alone she was not planning on any relationships that is until she meets Dan. Dan is a first year dental student who gave up his dream job to go to dental school to make his mom happy after his father passed away. The story follows Harper as she struggles with her constant anxiety and her fear of loving anyone.
This was really a cute romance that I could not put down. I really enjoyed the dental school story as this not something you see commonly in romance novels. I really liked the main character Harper she was someone I could relate to ,but there were definitely points where I got frustrated with her as well. As for Dan the love interest I wasn’t as big of a fan of but he was still a decent character. The mental health rep for anxiety was refreshing to see so well done. I did listen to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I was entertained by the narrator and did not have a hard time following them the different character voices were distinct and easy to distinguish. I would like to thank the publishers and Net galley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. I will definitely be looking up more books from this author in the future.

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This was a very cute read - I'm very excited to read "Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake" and I hope that Harper's other friends get their own love stories as well! I loved Harper as I found her to be very relatable - furthermore, I thought that her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks were authentically and realistically described. I thought that Harper and Dan were very cute together but I felt like Dan's inner monologue was a tad too sappy and lovesick. I thought that the dental student concept was very unique and interesting (although, I had trouble understanding some of the more technical dental terms that were sometimes used). I found the beginning of the book to be very predictable but Eddings' did throw in a few surprises towards the end which made the novel more engaging. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend.

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I'd like to start this review with a disclaimer. I was in a reading slump when I read this which probably affected how I felt about the book. I still enjoyed it, but I think, if I hadn't been in a slump, I would have liked it more.

Haper Horowitz is in her last year of dental school and should be focusing on matching into a top oral surgery residency. Instead, after quite literally running into Dan she finds him on her mind more often than not.

Dan Craig is a first year dental student who would rather be anywhere but where he is. After the death of his famous dentist father, his mother needs his help with the practice. Unfortunately, Dan doesn't even like dentistry. He certainly doesn't have the same passion for it that Harper does.

A passion that helps bring the two of them together even though Harper is determined they just be friends. After all, anxiety is a bitch. It takes everything in Harper to keep her anxiety under control. She can't risk losing that no matter how attracted she is to Dan.

Harper's anxiety was one of the things that I loved the most about this book. Like Harper, I struggle with a panic disorder. While our symptoms may be different, seeing someone in a book - and someone successful in both love and their career - with a panic disorder was wonderful.

Another thing I enjoyed was the friendships. Harper's friends might not always get it right but they do try and they show up. I enjoyed the witty side characters a lot. The book was also dual POV, which I love for romance, so we got to see Dan's side as well.

Now for what I didn't love so much.

Maybe it was the slump but I often felt like this book dragged. Maybe it's because this was more of a character driven story and lacked enough plot to push it all the way into the territory of amazing. Still, it was a good book and I enjoyed the audiobook version of it.

3.5 Stars

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I love this book. The characters are fully developed and intrinsically motivated. The romance between Harper and Dan is not only adorable, but reads as genuine. I will read anything Mazey Eddings writes now that I've read this one!

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“‘Shiiiiiiiiit.’ Harpers curse was lost to the wind as she whipped her foot out of an icy puddle and gave it an aggressive shake..”

This is the first sentence of the book. I’m in, I know I’m gonna love it and this character!

Harper is anxiously awaiting acceptance into a top oral surgery residency when she crashes ~literally~ into Dan. Dan is a first year dental student with a family legacy in dentistry. Because of their busy schedules, they agree to be “just friends”. But as they get to know each other, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may halt her carefully crafted career path.

This book was so cute! Harper struggles with some deep seeded anxiety issues and, although I don’t have those issues myself, I felt that they were handled sensitively and so well done. There is some serious cheese here, but it is cute and I quite enjoyed the escape into a romance.

The audio of this book was great! Both Harper and Dan have their own respective narrators which I always think brings a bit more believability to an audiobook. Some narrators are great with the different characters, but it is so easy to fall for each one individually when they have their own voices, if you will. Such a lovely and enjoyable listen.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

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The story is really interesting.
I love the representation.
But as a purely audiobook, it wasn't really good. Neither of the narrators sort of fit the story. The audio had so much echo in their voices that I could barely listen to it (this could purely be a Netgalley issue) but that's what I'm reviewing.

I highly recommend you read this book rather than listen. I think it would be much more enjoyable experience because the story is good. The characters are well explored with back stories and stakes.

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This was fun! I really liked that they didn't pretend not to like each other so the story moved forward. The Maine Coon scene had me cracking up!

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Disclaimer: I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I don't have anything to criticize about this book. It was funny, emotional, sexy, inspiring, and #relatable.

I've never seen a panic attack so well written and realistic instead of used for comedic purposes like they normally are.

This book is a kiss from a chef with minty fresh breath. Does that work as a metaphor? I was going for a mix of chef's kiss and a reference to the two leads being in dental school.

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I absolutely adored this audiobook! I love the dual POV, the swoon worthy characters, friends to lovers, and young adult story lines that are reflective of real difficulties including mental health and grief. I highly suggest this cute romance especially if you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis but wanted to know what the male character was thinking! This is the book for you!

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This novel will win your angsty romance loving heart. In this debut, graduate students Dan and Harper have the kind of natural spark Harper’s only heard of in the movies and her favorite Dave Matthews song “Crash Into Me.” That’s ironic since their introduction was a literal meet-disaster. Harper, the school’s star student in her fourth year, crashes into and destroys Dan’s class project for his first year in dental school. Naturally, this sets them up to work together to remake it. That close proximity reveals a strong and immediate connection, but their relationship is complicated by two issues: Harper’s chronic anxiety and Dan’s struggling performance and ambivalence about the profession, which he chose just to please his demanding family. The result is a romance that is both angsty and funny at the same time. A note re the audiobook: the narrators' performances are excellent but be aware that Harper's anxiety attacks hit even harder in the audio format.

Review of the paperback version to come in BookPage.

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I couldn't get into this book. I thought I would like the storyline, but it fell flat. Maybe it is because I listened to the audiobook and found the narrators annoying. I think I will try to read this book one more time in physical words on the page format.

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A Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings
Narrated by Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam

Pub Date 01 Mar 2022
Macmillan Audio

Thank you Netgalley for my ALC.

The audio was very well done with the perfect narrators.
Really cute. Love the focus an anxiety/mental illness and girl power. ❤️
Plus there's Dan, swoon. 🥰

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Let me start off my saying I want to rate this book higher I really do.
When I first read the description of the story I was super excited at the concept and that it was going to be such a strong female storyline... That is where things fell flat for me.

I found myself feeling rushed with the relationship between and Dan it went from 0-100 way to fast. I think this is part of why the intimate portions of the book left me feeling a little uncomfortable. The dialogue felt strange in these moments and not at all like something people would say. Dan also went back and forth from being progressive to having very Alpha Male moments. And with Harper's back and forth on her feels for Dan it made it feel really choppy and to me it felt like she was being pressured to move at a fast pace.

I loved how Dan's mother came around in the end and thought that it was a sweet moment between the two but that it came out of the blue. Dan quit his job to go back to school and now all of the sudden he quits school to go back to the job he had before. I wish that the author would have given more insight as to what his relationship with his mother was like so that we could have seen why he was so bent on trying to help out his mom with the family practice in the first place.

I also wished that they would have gone into more detail about Harper's relationship wither her friends. They were casually mentioned and then would fall off the face of the earth only to come back several chapters later just to push one plot point forward before disappearing again. For girls who noticed a lot about what was going on in Harper's life they never seemed to be around much.

Okay now for the things I did like.
I like how they pointed out that with female doctors there is still a lot of discrimination that they receive in the work place and I love how subtle and calm Harper dealt with it. I think that it showed a lot about who Harper is as a person and how she will go far in her career. I also loved how flawed she was as a character. Most Rom-Com books the character isn't really dealing with much internal conflict. Harper was dealing with massive anxiety and other issues which all stem from an accident that took her mother when she was younger. It brought up how PTSD and Anxiety really take a toll on people and how they are able to move forward with their lives as well as how much the mindset of mental illness can make others look down on you or baby you. This isn't often written about how you can be both successful and still struggle with things like this, it was honestly really refreshing to read.

Like I said I honestly wish I could give this more stars. I would probably rate it a 2.5. I just found problems with the way the relationship was written and the pacing of it.

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This book wasn't for me. I love insta-love but this didn't feel genuine. I never connected with the characters.

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Audiobook notes: The narration was great! Great voice and great acting.

I’m not gonna lie…I went into A Brush with Love with very high expectations due to hearing some very good things about it from my bookish friends. And I’m happy to say that my expectations were met!

Prior to hearing about A Brush with Love from friends, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure about the dentist aspect of the story because I––like many others––have a deep ingrained fear of the dentist. I’m glad that my friends’ recommendations helped me get over that, and I saw it as a sign when I saw sent a NetGalley widget by the publisher!

I really liked both protagonists from the start and their chemistry was…oh my. I love the “we want to, but we shouldn’t” trope, especially when it’s done as well as it was in A Brush with Love. I’m sure there’s an official name for this trope, but I’ll just go with calling it that for now. Sparks were flying!

I enjoyed the romance and the drama that I hadn’t initially expected in A Brush with Love as well! It really added to the story and made me feel all the feels. The only thing that I would change if I was asked to pick something would be the way the characters were illustrated on the cover as they’re not how I imagined them at all! Otherwise though, I have no complains about A Brush with Love and highly recommend it!

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