I loved Indira in the prior two books of the series so I was super excited about this one! While I loved the mental health representation, I think the enemies/rivals to lovers fell flat to me. As we learned more we see that they weren’t really ever enemies which was adorable but should be marketed differently I guess. However, I still loved the story! Appearances from Lizzy and Harper made it so fun and I loved the forced proximity. Mazey does a great job with mental health reps and I think it’s so important to have more books like this out there!

**4.5-stars**

The Plus One is the newest installment in the A Brush with Love series by Mazey Eddings. This series consists of companion novels, set in Philadelphia, following a strong and supportive friendship group of women in their late-20s. Each of the women we meet over the course of the series is incredibly-well fleshed out, with their own distinct strengths, weaknesses and personality quirks.

In this third book, it is Indira's turn to take the leading role. We have met Indira in the previous two books, but it was nice to really get to know her through this story. I've always liked her, after this though, I love her. This starts off horribly for Indira after she walks in on her live-in boyfriend, Chris, having a bit of a tug and cuddle with a stranger. It's clearly not the first time.

Indira is horrified, she can't believe her eyes, like really can't believe her eyes. Is that peanut butter?! She's ticked, she's done, she wants out. Quickly packing her things, including her adorable cat, Indira races over to her brother, Colin's, house, heartbroken and distraught. Well, maybe not heartbroken per se, but definitely distraught. Adding insult to injury, when she gets to Colin's she discovers his best friend, Jude, is currently staying there as well. Ughhhh, life is unfair.

Of course he is. With Colin and his fiance's wedding rapidly approaching, of course Jude would be there, it just couldn't be worse timing for Indira. She can't stand Jude. Even growing up, they were always at odds with one another.

Jude, a surgeon, has been traveling the world for the past few years working in the most dire circumstances, war-torn and impoverished communities; humanitarian crisis zones. Returning to the United States for Colin's wedding, Jude is having a hard time adjusting. He's suffering from lack of sleep, paralyzing guilt and anxiety stemming from the things he has seen; the patients he has lost. The last thing he needs now is Indira.

While Indira is happy to have a place to go to escape Chris and his new lady friend, that doesn't solve all her problems. Chris is friends with Colin and part of the wedding party. With many pre-wedding events planned and the actual event itself looming on the horizon, she's rattled with anxiety, how can she possibly face him?! It's going to be awful.

Knowing of her predicament, Jude feels for Indira. He's not heartless. Together they form a pact to fake date over the course of the wedding festivities. It will be great for both of them to have support during those events. Indira has noticed something off about Jude since he's been back. She's hoping she'll be able to provide some help for him if he begins to get overwhelmed.

As Indira and Jude spend more time together, it becomes clear that maybe their opinions of one-another have changed. It's hard to deny the spark that fires between them. Will it last, or will it fizzle out once their need for fake dating is over?

Mazey Eddings is becoming quite the star in my eyes. My goodness, this series just keeps delivering the steam, the humor and all the feels!!

I loved both Indira and Jude. I also love how Eddings brings real-life issues to the page for her characters. No one is perfect in these stories. Everyone has something, sometimes multiple things, that they are working on, or through. I was again impressed with how quickly Eddings is able to develop such flawed, sympathetic, witty and charming characters. It's gripping right from start, mainly because you get sucked into the characters lives.

Jude's story. in particular, I felt was incredibly well done. It was powerful, hard-hitting, eye-opening and honestly, quite serious. His PTSD was laid at your feet. It's a heavy topic to tackle in an otherwise funny, romantic story. I thought Eddings did a great job balancing the serious with the more light-hearted aspects. With this being said though, I did feel the tone of this one was a little different, heavier in a way, than the previous two.

It's still fantastic, don't get me wrong. I think part of it actually may stem from the relationship dynamic between our two mains. Jude and Indira have known each other a long time. They have an established relationship. In the first two books, some of the fun and excitement came from two characters meeting, dating and falling in love. There's always some underlying excitement in that process because it's all new.

Here the exploration of the relationship was different because they came in with a history. That history did allow them to go deeper though, I felt, than the previous two couples. That's not a bad thing, it just tackles romance from a different angle.

The humor, wit, steamy scenes and hilarious situations did not change though. Eddings knows how to shock, surprise and impress. I was completely absorbed in this story. Jude and Indira will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am in love with this series and cannot wait for the next book!

💐The Plus One 💐

Thank you @netgallery for this gifted audiobook. The audiobook was really well done @macmillan.audio I enjoyed this sweet romance which involved topics that I found really moving such as mental health, therapy and PTSD.

I didn’t realize this was a series so I’ll have to catch up on the first two however, I definitely think it can be a standalone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

this is the best mental health representation i have ever read in a book. make sure to read trigger warnings before you begin, the trauma that mazey weddings discusses in this book is quite heavy, and according to me, the way she describes it is so so real. her writing style is so unique it felt very refreshing to me. i felt every emotion that indira and jude were feeling on a very personal level. and do you know what i appreciate more? that indira was not trying to fix jude. i'm majoring in psychology, and all the experiences that indira was going through, all of her thoughts made me feel so so seen. i genuinely appreciate the work that the author put in to nail down these feelings and jude's struggle with PTSD so accurately, i can see her hard work reflect in her writing. i can't wait to read her other books. did i mention that i really liked that indira wasn't trying to fix jude? this book made me laugh so hard so many times, i loved their humor and banter, and i loved how organic and natural their relationship was. just perfect. i'm going to buy the actual copy after my finals get over, you should too.

thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful eARC!! i enjoyed annotating and reading this so much

This was a touching and emotional journey that didn’t shy away from the darkness and sweeping romance.

This story was absolutely beautiful! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I adored the story of Indira and Jude and will definitely be checking out other books by Mazey Eddings! I loved that she took a tough topic, PTSD, and addressed it as the issue that it is. There was no sugarcoating it, she put it all out there. I enjoyed the banter between Indira and Jude as well as the other characters. There were a lot of laugh out loud moments, a few tears, and some spice.

Indira and Jude do not like each other. At all. they grew up sharing Collin, Indira's brother and Jude's best friend. But other than a shared hatred for each other, Collin was the only other part of their lives they had in common.

Indira seems to have everything together, but when she walks in on her cheating boyfriend, she realizes her life is lacking.

Jude has nothing together. As a doctor, he has been travelling the world to countries in devastation treating people in dire situations. And it has taken a toll,

When they both land at Collin's house as he is preparing for his wedding, they are thrown together in wedding prep and several pre-wedding events. Since Indira's ex is frequently at these events and the events themselves are stressing out Jude, they decide to fake a relationship to help each other out. But when things start to feel real, they start to see their former childhood enemy in a new light.

Indira is a psychiatrist who also has a psychiatrist she sees regularly. She works at the children’s outpatient center. One day she arrives home and finds her boyfriend, Chris, and a strange woman making love on her sofa. Grabbing her cat, Grammy, and her belongings, she leaves only to find that the tires on her car have been slashed.

She goes to stay with her brother, Collin, and his fiancé Jeramy. Both men are doctors and getting married soon. She is shocked to find Jude, a doctor of emergency surgery, is staying with them. Jude has been traveling for the last few years doing humanitarian work and it has exhausted him leaving him tormented with memories of not being able to save a lot of people. He has PTSD. He is there to attend the wedding of his friends. Jude and Indira had grown up together but weren’t close friends.

With both Indira and Jude staying together at Collin’s, they are constantly in one another’s company. Indira sees that Jude is suffering and her need to help him brings them closer together.

I really loved the first two books in this series and was looking forward to this book. However, it ended up falling rather flat for me. I found there to be too much childish silliness and explicit physical encounters. It’s too heavy and, yes, I realize it’s PTSD, but I’m still disappointed.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really liked this book. It was so much fun to read. Definitely going to read this book again. I loved the characters and I loved the story. It was a great story

India and Jude are frenemies that go way back. Jude is the childhood best friend of Indira’s older brother so he’s always been in her life but she was always the tag-along pain in the rear little sister whom they tried to but couldn’t ignore. As adults, they’ve taken somewhat similar, yet at the same time divergent paths, Jude as a doctor for a global health disaster organization, Indira as a psychiatrist specializing in children’s therapy.

They initially.fall right back into their surface antagonistic patterns, but that rather quickly gives way to their underlying care for each other that leads to a “fake” dating situation to get them both through Indira’s older brother’s wedding festivities. Indira’s ex is also in the wedding party, forcing Indira’s to see him and his affair partner regularly, while Jude is suffering from a rather severe case of undiagnosed PTSD, as well as crushing guilt and is also finding the parties and celebrations rough going. When the fake dates reveal a long simmering and deeply buried attraction, they are both equally surprised.

While I don’t usually prefer the brother’s best friend or enemies to lovers tropes, in this book, the antagonism was quickly overcome in favor of the underlying strong friendship and care between the two of them and I do love a good fake dating setup, especially if both parties are open about it to their friends as Indira and Jude are. The mental health representation was well and honestly depicted. As befitting her profession, Indira was actively in therapy to deal with her own issues, but although she quickly realized that Jude desperately needed help, she didn’t try to force it on him or to “cure” him herself. Instead she strongly but quietly supported him and gave him the courage and space to admit he had a big problem that he needed to deal with. Although the.book dealt with serious issues, it was also fun and flirty as Indira helped Jude rediscover the joy in every day life. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

This was amazing!! Mazey Eddings is great at putting together a story. Every one of her books incorporates realistic aspects of life. In this story she addresses mental health, one of the characters is basically dealing with PTSD. Additionally, Mazey Eddings creates lovable characters. Indira and Jude are perfect. This is an enemies to lovers story with a mix of brothers best friend and fake dating. It’s a well rounded story so it’s perfect for almost any romance reader.

Enemies to lovers. Fake dating. (Brief) Forced proximity. Older brother's best friend.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
If you thought you couldn't have it all, Mazey Eddings says "think again."
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
She tosses together fan-favorite tropes and weaves them into a story that is truly her own. Within a tale of love is a story of two people trying to grapple with the trauma and pain of their past. Themes of PTSD are balanced with moments of levity and warmth. It is neither a beach read nor a tear-jerker.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The story was a bit sluggish at first, but it picked up quickly and didn't stop rolling until the very end. Eddings treats the male lead's mental illness with a sincerity and care that only a writer who cares about her character can manage. I only wish that the dual pov's weren't so unbalanced. I believe there was more room to explore the female lead's inner conflict.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This is the second book I've read by Mazey Eddings. This is by far my favorite one.

Going into this book, I loved the plot idea, the characters, and the enemies-to-lovers storyline. Although it was a quick read, it took a decent amount of time for me to stay engaged in the book. Although I enjoyed both Indira and Jude’s character, and their playful relationship, I found the writing to be repetitive and boring at some times. The spicy scenes with Indira and Jude were okay, and I enjoyed watching the relationship between Indira’s brother and his fiancé throughout the book. That being said, I feel like plot lines were thrown in very abruptly (for example, Indira and Jude’s father, the other friendships Indira has). Their “fake dating”, AKA the premise of the book” lasted a VERY short amount of time. I felt like the enemies-to-lovers was virtually nonexistent. We didn’t truly get to see the relationship grow other than Indira and Jude pining over Jude’s situation. I’m not a big fan of a slow-burn, but this book could have used more of a slow-burn rather than just a backstory. Overall, it was an okay read but I probably wouldn’t read this again. 2/5

I was first introduced to Mazey Eddings with Book #2 Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake. I was so excited to get a chance to read the third one also and I need to get my hands on Book #1.
If you like enemies to lovers and brothers best friend, this one is for you. You get to hear both sides of the two main characters. The writing is so real, you feel like you're right on the sidelines. Indira says what's on her mind, "I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum." But she also see's right through Jude, they wind up helping each other mentally and hold each other up. I would highly recommend this one.
I'm a little late but thanks to Mazey Eddings, St Martins Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review, publication date 4/4/2023.

This book has good balance of real issues but then also your typical romance book bubble bliss. I loved the middle of this book when it was all focused on them fake dating to the wedding activities and questioning if there were real feelings. The only thing was it seemed like everyone around them believed the fake dating so fast because everyone else already knew they should've been together and had bets on it. The only stakes in the plot were the real life type issues that you get introduced to in the beginning but they fall to the background until the 80% mark where we get our mini-breakup plot.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"You don't have to be anything but human."
"We are all flawed "

"I'm not here to fix you. I'm here to love you ."

When a writer can give you goosebumps and bring you to tears through their words it is the greatest gift for a book lover. The Plus One by mental health introspective author Mazey Eddings is the third in her A Brush With Love series, and though all are standalones, they each bring mental health awareness to the forefront while exploring falling in love and trying to heal from some form of trauma. Each book is written with respect, grace, and compassion for those living with mental health issues.

Both Indira and Jude look perfect on paper. Indira's in a long term relationship with Chris, is a practicing psychiatrist, and has good friends. Jude is a surgeon for a global humanitarian organization that paid his medical school debt in exchange for a few years of his service to them.

In reality, Indira walks in on Chris eating peanut butter off another woman, is seeing her own psychiatrist dealing with low self esteem and abandonment issues from an absent father. Jude has performed surgery in war zones, refugee camps, and has seen more death than most other doctors. He has debilitating PTSD he is trying to hide from everyone including himself.

I loved the dual narration of Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden portraying Indira and Jude with sincere vulnerability as they work through their childhood frenemies relationship to fake dating as each other's plus one at Indira's brother wedding to some very steamy love scenes.

The Plus One is the one book you should experience if you enjoy real emotional beings in your romance.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

The moment I finished this I was sad it was over, from the beginning I had been hooked and I loved every second , the writing is so good and what I I loved most about this book is how relatable the characters are, Mazy has clearly researched well and it shows with how well and sensitively she deals with the PTSD and mental health in the book. The only thing I didn’t like was the end, or rather the fact that it did, I still wanted more
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The last person Indira wants to see after a sticky kink is her brother’s best friend and nemesis, Jude, in “The Plus One” by Mazey Eddings!!

This book is absolutely hilarious! The best enemies are those who have known each other for years and have loads of information in their arsenal. Not only are doctors Papadakis and Bailey funny, but also are the familiar faces from Eddings previous books in the A Brush With Love series. Plus, we have Indira’s brother and fiancé putting smiles on our faces!

The crying in this book is refreshing especially with the amount from the less gentler gender.

We find ourselves crying too with the main characters and for them. The internal conflicts for both main characters evoke empathy for their struggle bringing complexity to the story. I applaud Eddings for a great job writing with a psychiatrist and psychologist persona.

If you want to read about playful teasing between childhood frenemies then as adult frenemies who turn a fake relationship into forever, I highly recommend this book!!

Thank you to Net Galley, St. Martin’s Press, and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I’m a sucker for a best friend’s sibling trope and the dynamic between these two enemies attracted me immediately. It’s a sweet RomCom with hilarious banter (“Choke on your toenails” had me dyingggggg). This one also has some depth into some deeper emotional topics that helped to build the characters and showcase their backgrounds and what’s holding them back.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and I was so excited to read The Plus One by Mazey Eddings. I enjoyed the first standalone book in the series, A Brush with Love, but unfortunately that wasn't the case with The Plus One.

I didn't connect with Jude and Indira at all. And I found myself skimming the story just to find out what happened.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Plus One is about two adults working through past trauma/PTSD. Indira is a pediatric psychologist dealing with being abandoned by her father. Jude is a doctor that spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises. He is completely changed by this experience. The cover does the story a disservice because there is a lot of talk about heavy topics for such a fluff cover. I think a lot of people picking up this book will DNF because they won’t be expecting such serious content.



The book was a solid four stars up until about 80%. Then we did a year later, another year later, two years later. This should be illegal. It’s annoying and breaks up the flow of a story. There were also a lot of therapy sessions in this book. It was too much unpacking for me. I would have preferred the cliff notes of the therapy sessions instead of the cliff notes of their interactions near the end. It was almost like the author couldn't figure out how to end it. Which kind of killed the whole thing. 



If you’re looking for a specific trope; this book has the kitchen sink. We’ve got enemies to lovers/frenemies, fake dating, dating the brother’s best friend, one bed/one tent, childhood friend/frenemie, home for the holidays/wedding.



I’d recommend this book to people who magically end up liking every movie they see. Those that respond, “No, it’s perfect!”, when asked “Is this too much?”. The person that can’t stop decorating the Christmas tree. Anyone that thought, “Pick me. Choose me. Love me.” was brave and not grossly pathetic.