This might have been my first Mazey Eddings book, but it won't be my last!

I heard fake dating trope and came running even though I haven't read any of the other books in the series.

I will say that this cover is a bit misleading because we do deal with quite heavy topics throughout: PTSD, mental health. But there was an author's note at the beginning and I really loved the representation. I loved that the characters, and the author, felt like they knew what they were talking about. And I loved that they championed taking care of your mental health.

I really loved that the character with PTSD felt real and the romance of the book did not "fix" them. It didn't feel like a problem that needed to be glossed over.

I also just really loved how witty the characters were. And how they actually felt like people who knew each other from when they were kids. The relationship was well developed, and every time that I picked up this book, I did not want to put it down.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this one! This one sits in the middle of this series for me; I loved Indira, like I would want her as my friend because I know she would be so caring and so fun and I really loved Jude!!! I just wanted to see them happy and thriving so I'm glad they really won <3

Indira and her brother's best friend, Jude always hated each other, but they agree to fake a relationship when Indira has to face her cheating ex at her brother's wedding. They quickly find themselves falling for each other for real. However, Jude is due to leave shortly for another posting in some far-flung war zone or crisis area to satisfy the terms of his medical school loan.

As in her previous books, Eddings does a terrific job highlighting a particular mental health issue in this book. This time it's PTSD which Jude suffers from due to the things he's seen as a result of his various medical postings. Eddings really does a great job of depicting what it's like for a person with this condition.

Through the character of Indira, Eddings also does a great job of showing how a person can be helpful and supportive of a loved one dealing with PTSD. Indira's relationship with Jude is really touching. Of course, as a psychiatrist herself, she is more used to dealing with various health issues than the average person. She is a good role model not only for the way she handles her loved one's mental health but in the way she prioritizes her own mental health as well.

If you are a fan of Mazey Eddings's books, you will enjoy catching up with favorite characters from her previous books throughout this book. However, if you haven't read any of her other books before, you can still easily enjoy this one. Even though the books clearly follow each other in time each book revolves around a different couple so they don't necessarily have to be read in order to be enjoyed.

The following review was posted on my blog two days ago, on Sunday, April 2nd, two days before publication. It was shared on Instagram twice and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books





“I’ve known Jude my entire life. He lived on the same block as us growing up, and he and Collin were best friends from the jump. But he and I have always been, like, these fundamental opposites. Even as a kid he was serious; had a certain sharpness about him. And I was nothing but soft spots. (…) And he and I fought all the time. And it was always about the silliest stuff. A snarky comment, a mean look, breathing too loud . . . I could always get under his skin, and I kind of loved it. It meant he saw me.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 5 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes and discusses panic attacks, medical trauma, and war and PTSD. Contains explicit sexual content.

“The Plus One” follows Indira Papadakis and Jude Bailey, two childhood frenemies that are forced to walk down the aisle—not of their own wedding, but of Collin Papadakis’s, Indira’s brother and Jude’s best friend. Not only that, but they’re actually all living together for the few weeks before the wedding, for various reasons. Will they be able to coexist around each other? Or will their bickering ruin the party, perhaps even before it starts?

Jude was so haunted by his experiences as an emergency doctor that it killed me, Indira was so set on dealing with her emotional baggage that it inspired me. When I thought Mazey Eddings couldn’t make me fall in love any harder for a set of characters, she gave me “The Plus One.”

These novels all technically work as standalone romances, yet they’re part of a series because they take place in the same world, revolving around a mismatched group of (rather lovable) friends. Indira was never a friend of the group that stood out to me—Lizzie was my fave from book one. But gosh, Indira had my heart on her sleeve about 20 pages in.

Enemies to lovers isn’t my favorite trope, but this was carried out so perfectly I am reconsidering my biases. This was a 5-star read all-around. No beating around the bush with that.

“The Plus One” will be one of my most recommended romance read of 2023, so grab it. No need to hesitate. You’ll love this one, even if you haven’t read the other books in this series. Even if, like me, enemies to lovers isn’t your favorite set up.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

//Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ • 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐞 💚

Gahhh!! I just loved this so much😭 beautiful and just so perfect for Indira's storyline 🫶🏼

I loved how the story is so therapy positive, Indira being a psychiatrist herself. But it was also so refreshing to see a man be so vulnerable and open with his emotions. All in which Indira picked up throughout the story.
This one was definitely much more angsty, but it still held that comedic bantering between Indira and Jude that ultimately just showed how perfect and compatible they are for each other.

I had a whole other viewpoint of Indira from the other two books, maybe a bit "anal" in personality, but I was completely wrong. I simply ✨️loved✨️ her. She showed so much love and care for others, and she plainly stole my heart with her whole speech to Jude about it being okay to fall apart❤️‍🔥

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”

what you can expect from The Plus One:
🪻brother's best friend
🪻childhood enemies to lovers
🪻fake dating
🪻roasting you is my love language 
🪻emotional 69ing
🪻there’s only one tent
🪻pair of grumpies
🪻ptsd and therapy rep

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 / 5

The Plus One made me fall even more in love with the author's writing🥹 especially her immense care for writing the mental health aspect so meticulously and emotionally hard-hitting🥲
This is obviously a high recommendation if it sounds appealing to you. There's also no third act breakup if you want something drama free :)

Thank you @mazeyeddings , @netgalley , and @smpromance for the arc❤️
_____________________________________

I very much enjoyed this third instalment of romance being found with a friend group. It was nice to get to know this MC a more after previous cameos in the other books and well as being introduced to their love interest and family. It does deal with some heavier topics like PTSD, therapy, aid in war and poverty situations etc but does so in a very sensitive and respectful manner. The author balanced humour, seriousness and romance really well to make a lovely read.

Oh, how I love Mazey Eddings. This book hit me on so many levels. Indira has my freaking heart and soul. Mazey has always been brilliant at capturing facets of personalities that just strike a chord with readers, but for me Indira saw right into me and said I see you, girl. Indira's deeply embedded desire to make people happy is something I relate to on so many levels. It's also incredibly impactful to have this huge wedding happen and this internal family conflict. I was prepared to be so salty towards the end, but it ended up being so satisfying.

I really loved Jude too. Jude Bailey is just so beautiful. His PTSD was so realistic and honestly, this added layer combined with Indira's profession was a really beautiful touch. One of my favorite things about Mazey is that she is able to capture these beautiful and complex feelings between two characters who are flawed but beautiful and perfect. I really loved this book and I'm sad this is the last in the series, but I'm so excited for more from Mazey.

Mazey Eddings knocked one out of the park with her latest release! This novel had so many yummy tropes wrapped into one delightful book. It had enemies to lovers, close proximity, brother’s best friend, and fake dating. All of my favorite themes were intertwined in Indira and Jude’s love story. While the beginning of the book was a slow burn, the end was steamy hot. I adored the dynamic and snarky banter between the characters, and their attraction sizzled off the pages. I found myself rooting for Indira and Jude from the very beginning. These flawed and broken characters deserved to find love, happiness, and the support they needed. Mazey’s excellent incorporation of mental issues created complex, authentic, and relatable characters. The PTSD and anxiety representation was well written and on point. I love that her stories highlight the importance of seeking help when needed. Indira’s psychiatric background was portrayed perfectly as she helped Jude on his journey to a better mental place in his life. This was definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I highly recommend this incredible book!
Thank you to the author, Mazey Eddings, the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a gifted copy of The Plus One!

POV: Dual
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

I only had one question after reading this book and that was why is this the first Mazey Eddings book I’ve read?! The Plus One checked all the boxes for me- it’s funny, spicy, and emotional, written in a way that made me not want to put it down! It deals with some pretty heavy subjects (mainly PTSD) but with so much insight into therapy and how important it is to mental health that I felt like reading this book was like me seeing a therapist in real life.

Indira and Jude are so good together, and their snarky banter is perfect and for me, completely relatable! The growth both of them go through over the course of the book is amazing to see, and I loved that there was less about relationship drama between the two of them and more about them working through issues together.

Readers who have read the other two books will appreciate seeing the group of friends back together in this one, but it still makes a good standalone. Although I went through all the emotions while reading, in the end I had a smile on my face over such a well deserved HEA!

Mazey does it again! The Plus One is a childhood friends/enemies to roommates to lovers story filled with angst, grief, a kind portrayal of deeper mental health issues, hope, happiness, and joy. Indira and Jude had never thought of each other as anything other than an annoyance, until they couldn't stop thinking of each other. I loved every minute of this book and you will too!

I enjoyed this a lot! While being more serious than her previous books, I completely appreciated how the author deftly dealt with mental health and still gave a swoony couple to root for. I enjoyed Indira and Jude's journey to themselves and each other. And of course I am always down for a bit of fake dating :)

Huge Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I know it is only April, but this is without a doubt going to the top of my list of favorite books of the year.

Indira and Jude are absolutely everything. What started out as frenemies turned into a beautiful, supportive, encouraging love story. This book broke my heart over and over again with the depictions of anxiety, trauma, and PTSD, but it pieced it back together throughout their story.

"I'm really f*cking broken," he admitted, the words ripped from his chest."
"I'm not looking to fix you," she said, staring straight into his eyes. "I'm here to love you."

I cried several times throughout this book. Both Indira and Jude have struggles, but they helped each other through it all. I just loved the whole dynamic between the two of them - they respected boundaries, gave space when it was needed, and talked things out. They were there for each other, through the good and the bad.

The epilogue wrapped everything up beautifully. I cried happy tears while getting updates about the other couples in the previous books and getting to see how things turned out for everyone. These characters are going to be with me in my heart for a very long time!

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings is the third book in the Brush With Love series and is currently schedule for release on April 4 2023. I have nor read the previous books, and while those that have will have a head start on knowing the characters, I think newcomers can easily enjoy this book as a stand alone if they wish.


On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames. Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust. Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.

The Plus One is a fun and engaging read that talks about mental health with respect and realism. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing them get to know each other again. This book combined some of my favorite tropes; forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and brother's best friend, and did it well. I enjoyed their interactions and the bickering was very entertaining. I did not read the previous books, and did not even know it was a part of a series until I was already reading and realized it must be part of a larger series. However, it did not effect the love story between Indira and Jude, only the larger family and friend group. I thought the portrayal of both Indira and Jude's mental health was handled with a great deal of honesty and respect. I really liked that the reality of how different things effect us all differently and that being aware of the issues at hand does not automatically remove their impact on our emotions and lives are important things for us all to remember.

The Plus One is a well written and engaging romance.

I appreciate this book for the honest conversations the characters have about mental health and getting help. I think more books SHOULD have that, and that's why I kept reading. Eddings' work isn't meant for me- too much giggling, too many abrupt tonal shifts, and too much monologuing the internal thoughts of the characters (especially at the end when they voice it all over again). I do want to make it clear that I really appreciate what this book did in discussing and destigmatizing mental health for men and women, even though I personally didn't connect with the writing style. If you've liked Eddings' other books, you'll probably like this one, and I hope to see more romances covering mental health (without the trope of "being cured by love") coming down the pipeline.

This romance made my heart so happy!!These characters that Mazey has written are seriously the best! The mental health representation in this one is so amazing and the topics are handled with such care. We were able to see so much personal growth from the main characters and I just really loved the positive light shed on coping strategies, therapy, and advocacy.

This book was adorable! I loved Indira and Jude SO MUCH! This book was so raw and heartfelt.

Read if you love:
- brother’s best friend
- enemies to lovers
- fake dating
- dual pov
- one TENT
- mental health rep
- lgbtq+ rep

I love this book! It managed to deeply handle some really intense topic like PTSD and abandonment but still some how feel light and have some funny moments. I could really feel Jude's pain at times, so the PTSD rep could be a little triggering for those who suffer with it, but it was a beautiful story. This is one that will be rattling around in my head for a long time to come.

With every book Mazey has just gotten better and better. It was such a joy to spend this time with Indira and Jude. A romantic, swoony book about getting the strength you need from another person in order to live the life you want.

Jude is Indira's older brother's best friend and her main torturer through her childhood. So when she finds herself needing to stay at her brother's house after her boyfriend cheats on her, the forced proximity pushes them closer and closer together. Jude has his own demons to deal with and I think where this book excels is in its balance of romance with the very real feelings that both India and Jude struggle with in this book.

I was particularly drawn to Indira who, a psychiatrist herself, struggles with wanting to help others while she feels she can't help herself. Mazey really articulates the ways that helping yourself isn't a quick fix, but one that takes work and bravery and I loved how Jude and Indira really help each other using the backdrop of her brother's wedding.

I truly cannot wait to see what Mazey writes next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love everything Mazey writes. Every single one of her books has changed me for the better, and the representation in each one makes me feel so seen and understood. That’s what makes her books feel like a huge, cozy hug. I feel so at home in every single one, and that feeling is so rare.

The Plus One follows frenemies Indira and Jude - in each other’s lives since practically birth. This is a story about broken people finding (imperfect) love and the non-linear journey of healing. Love cannot fix people, but it can help make the healing feel less scary. And that’s exactly what we see with Indira and Jude.

The best part about this book - besides Mazey’s incredible writing and characters, and neurodivergent rep - is that there is NO third act breakup!!! We love to see it be vanquished!!!

I could go on forever about this one, but I’ll wrap this up with a pretty bow - this book is sexy, loving, outrageously silly, and just a big warm hug.

Mazey has done it again! Her books just keep getting better and better. I love how she handled Jude’s work in a world health organization and dealing with his PTSD. Watching Indira and Jude being vulnerable and coming together made my heart sing. I just couldn’t get over how perfectly these two fit.