Member Review
Review by
Lauren M, Reviewer
The Plus One
“The Plus One” is the final installment of Mazey Eddings’s Brush with Love series. In this novel we are introduced to childhood enemies Indira Papadakis and Jude Bailey. Indira is Jude’s best friend Colin’s little sister. Jude is temporarily in town to serve as best man in Colin’s wedding. As part of a scholarship program that absolves him of his student debt he has spent the majority of his career overseas providing surgical assistance to victims of war and catastrophic natural disasters. Unfortunately, after constant exposure to such volatile environments, Jude has developed PTSD. He deals with it by ignoring it and pretending that he is fine. The only problem with this approach is that Indira is a therapist and she is able to see past the walls Jude puts up, which only keeps him on the offense.
Jude is not the only one with issues. Indira has just been cheated on by her on again, off again boyfriend. To make matters worse, he’s a part of the wedding party since he happens to be her brother’s fiance’s cousin. Yeah, that’s not awkward. Oh and did I mention that she has to temporarily move in with her brother as a result of the breakup. And guess what? Jude is staying in the house as well before he goes on to his next assignment.
As Indira and Jude navigate through Colin and Jeremy’s many wedding activities Indira finds herself constantly confronted by her ex and his new girlfriend, whom incidentally, he cheated on her with. Unfortunately, all the boisterous fanfare proves too much for Jude’s PTSD and as a result he has a difficult time proving to himself that he is mentally okay. It’s not long before Indira and Jude come to the conclusion that their forced proximity could prove beneficial to them both. As her fake boyfriend Jude will serve as a buffer between her and her ex. Ideally with him on her arm she will not come across as the spurned ex lover. In exchange, Indira will help Jude decompress when the wedding activities become especially stressful for him.
Enemies to lovers. Best friend’s sister. Close proximity and fake dating. This crazy mashup of romance tropes makes for a fun read. I love reading how Indira gets under his skin during their MANY arguments because she is able to get past his protective walls. Slowly but surely, Jude’s numbness melts away and he begins to feel like his old self.
Jude is not the only one who is blossoming from this fake dating situation. As the intimacy between them intensifies Indira begins get over her abandonment issues and she truly feels that she is worthy of love.
The Plus One has a little something for every romance lover. Not one but three tropes and genuine and fun characters. Also, I like how the author addresses the issue of student debt in this country and how stressful it can be to a young professional just starting out in the world. I also, like how knowledgeable and sensitive Eddings is around the subject of PTSD. Although it does not come close to its predecessor “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake”I still really enjoyed this one.
“The Plus One” is the final installment of Mazey Eddings’s Brush with Love series. In this novel we are introduced to childhood enemies Indira Papadakis and Jude Bailey. Indira is Jude’s best friend Colin’s little sister. Jude is temporarily in town to serve as best man in Colin’s wedding. As part of a scholarship program that absolves him of his student debt he has spent the majority of his career overseas providing surgical assistance to victims of war and catastrophic natural disasters. Unfortunately, after constant exposure to such volatile environments, Jude has developed PTSD. He deals with it by ignoring it and pretending that he is fine. The only problem with this approach is that Indira is a therapist and she is able to see past the walls Jude puts up, which only keeps him on the offense.
Jude is not the only one with issues. Indira has just been cheated on by her on again, off again boyfriend. To make matters worse, he’s a part of the wedding party since he happens to be her brother’s fiance’s cousin. Yeah, that’s not awkward. Oh and did I mention that she has to temporarily move in with her brother as a result of the breakup. And guess what? Jude is staying in the house as well before he goes on to his next assignment.
As Indira and Jude navigate through Colin and Jeremy’s many wedding activities Indira finds herself constantly confronted by her ex and his new girlfriend, whom incidentally, he cheated on her with. Unfortunately, all the boisterous fanfare proves too much for Jude’s PTSD and as a result he has a difficult time proving to himself that he is mentally okay. It’s not long before Indira and Jude come to the conclusion that their forced proximity could prove beneficial to them both. As her fake boyfriend Jude will serve as a buffer between her and her ex. Ideally with him on her arm she will not come across as the spurned ex lover. In exchange, Indira will help Jude decompress when the wedding activities become especially stressful for him.
Enemies to lovers. Best friend’s sister. Close proximity and fake dating. This crazy mashup of romance tropes makes for a fun read. I love reading how Indira gets under his skin during their MANY arguments because she is able to get past his protective walls. Slowly but surely, Jude’s numbness melts away and he begins to feel like his old self.
Jude is not the only one who is blossoming from this fake dating situation. As the intimacy between them intensifies Indira begins get over her abandonment issues and she truly feels that she is worthy of love.
The Plus One has a little something for every romance lover. Not one but three tropes and genuine and fun characters. Also, I like how the author addresses the issue of student debt in this country and how stressful it can be to a young professional just starting out in the world. I also, like how knowledgeable and sensitive Eddings is around the subject of PTSD. Although it does not come close to its predecessor “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake”I still really enjoyed this one.
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