First off, thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the early copy of Eddings' Third book in her Brush With Love series. I was lucky to also receive A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake as well so was super excited to be approved again to get this one!

I’d just like to make a note to applaud Eddings on her inclusive characters. She has written main characters with ADHD, Anxiety, PTSD etc. and I appreciate that. Being neurodiverse herself I think she does the characters justice and doesn't make these things their fatal flaw.

In this book specifically, I encourage readers to check the Trigger warnings as there is discussion of war and medical trauma.

Ok back to the story … I loved Indira. She struggled with her own feelings of inadequacy and I appreciated her banter with her therapist (even while being a psychologist herself.. Further proving that therapy can be for everyone!). I can’t lie … the beginning had me a little thrown off and not as invested (queue PB questions) but as the story progressed I got more and more involved. Her sarcasm and wit, especially with Jude, was A+. I loved Indira’s unwavering commitment, even with Jude pulling away.

Jude, oh Jude. My heart broke for him. Overall he was a great MMC, but there were times when his withdrawals irritated me as a reader. I fully understand they served a purpose and had to do with his PTSD, but can’t help that it made me want to shake some sense into him. Watching him and Indira, forever nemesis, slowly funnel their ‘hatred’ of each other into a really deep and meaningful love was *chefs kiss*.

Brothers Best Friend, Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, HEA … this story hit all my favourite tropes.

3 ⭐

This book was more than fluff and nonsense romance. Though it did have its share of romance and spice.

Best Friends brother and fake dating laid the ground work, but it also touched on much deeper subjects like invisible disease, mental illness and ptsd. It had themes of taking care of yourself and allowing yourself to be happy. Indies is a therapist in the book, but this book is therapy for us all.

I enjoyed reading this story and will be back to read the rest in the series.

Fake dating, brother's best friend, almost second-chance romance all combined. What more could I want?

Indira and Jude have always hated one another. They bickered their way through their childhood. Indira seems like she has everything going for her, but then she walks in on her boyfriend with a stranger. Jude has spent the last three years traveling the world to treat medical emergencies in places with humanitarian crises and his quick trip home for his best friend's wedding is a struggle for him to readjust to "normal" life. The wedding events turn out to be extremely stressful for Jude and Indira hates seeing her ex all the time. They decide to fake date, but it starts to feel a bit too real.

First off, this book is not the happy, fluffy story that it seems like it's going to be. Definitely read the content warnings; Mazey Eddings does a great job of laying them out at the beginning of the book. Indira and Jude do spend a lot of time actually trying to understand what the other person needs and seeking to fulfill that when possible. They are very supportive but also realize that they can't solve all of the problems that each is experiencing. They both really have to work on themselves and I appreciated the mental health representation and the demonstration of the importance of therapy.

My biggest frustration with this book was the pace at which Jude, and to some extent Indira, actually acknowledged their need to grow as an individual. While it feels very realistic, it was still hard to support them in their relationship together when they weren't really in places individually where true emotional vulnerability is possible. While no one should have to wait to feel "fixed" to find love, I think it was a bit hard to believe that they truly loved one another when they weren't really being fully honest about themselves. This is definitely a personal opinion, so I don't think this will be a universal feeling for all readers, but it was how I felt while reading.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and I think it gives us a great representation of PTSD and trauma and mental health. If you're in a place where reading about those things is manageable, I definitely recommend trying out this book. It's particularly good if you read the other books in the series so you can see all of the connections between the people in the story.

Indira thinks she has her life all figured out, until she comes home one day to find her boyfriend cheating on her. Soon, she finds herself living at her brother's house. Her brother's wedding is fast approaching and his best friend, who just happens to be Indira's childhood enemy, is also staying there in the run up to the wedding. At first, the two get along as well as one might expect -- so not at all well. But when they agree to pretend to be dating to make Indira's former boyfriend jealous, they each learn there is much more to the other than they expected or previously acknowledged.

This is a warm-hearted and thought provoking story, full of highly engaging characters as they navigate love and life's challenges.

Highly recommended!

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings is a realistic, honest, and fun rom-com about two childhood frenemies who fake date for a wedding celebration.

This book honestly protrays anxiety, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and dating someone living with mental health issues.

A great read for the end of March

I was hooked on Mazey after reading Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake last year and I have fallen even more in love with her writing and this group of friends after reading Indira and Jude’s story! 🥰

This book combined so many of THE BEST romance tropes (in my opinion) childhood enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, fake dating!! That’s a pretty strong combination to create a sweet, sexy and swoon-worthy love story and I devoured every second of it!!

This book also had amazing mental health representation - it was raw and honest in a way that I haven’t seen before. So many important messages about advocating for your happiness, leaning on your people and not being afraid to express your feelings!

If you love romcoms that are filled with great characters, humour and heart, you need to add The Plus One to your TBR list!

Thanks to the author, @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

4.75 Stars
This was absolutely super cute! I think out of the whole series Indira and Jude are my favourite couple! I loved the PTSD rep, something this whole series had was amazing mental health representation, which I love to see! The epilogue here had me in tears, happy all the four couples got their happy ending, but sad the series is over.

I just adore Mazey Eddings! Her books are more than a typical romance for me, they have tropes of course (and yes I want those) but also very real characters with depth that doesn't always come across in other romances. I love smart complicated women who are independent but can find strength in finding love and respect (and ok steam) with a partner. There was such a thoughtfully executed theme on being hurt and needing space, and finding space and safety, to heal without feeling like the book was pandering or diminishing very real feelings. Eddings does this so well, it is why Lizzie Blake worked for me so well too, Eddings writes characters with dimension and with loving affection for their differences and needs and I think a lot of readers connect because they can see a version of themselves in her words and characters. Who doesn't want to feel seen not just in a relationship but also in the books we love that help us pick up when we feel down (or when we just want to escape)?!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥
When a book makes you laugh and cry -- in a good way -- you are in for a great ride.

Indira and Jude have not gotten along ever since they were kids. Now circumstances have pushed them to be each other's fake wedding dates. As they push each other through Jude's trauma and Indira's insecurities, the fake touches and banter start to blur into real feelings.

The main characters are incredibly charismatic. Despite their standoffish sentiment toward each other in the beginning, I love that Mazey Eddings weaves a deep history between the two into her storytelling of present-day events.

As someone who gets stuck in her head, I am so glad that neurodiversity is represented and treated with such care in this read. Despite their dislike for each other, Indira and Jude recognizes each other's anxieties and support one another through them.

It is that depth that brings so much substance to their chemistry, and Eddings brings it when the spice hits.

This is a love letter to people who are prisoners of their trauma and thoughts. As someone new to Mazey Eddings, this read was perfectly fine as a standalone, but I will be adding her backlist to my TBR because this read was great.

The Plus One is the third in "A Brush with Love" series, and if you are looking for a fun romantic comedy between two people who are trying to keep it together, this is a must-pick for you.

** I am voluntarily reviewing an advance copy of this book. Thank you to Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing an ARC. **

This story was such a breath of fresh reading air! It hits on hard topics with a romcom lightness without downplaying anything. Mazey has such a way with romance that is unique to her and readers will fall fast and hard. These childhood friends to lovers is done well and another great addition to this series! If you're a fan of romcom with real feels this is a must read.

Book 3 in the A Brush With Love series ~ previous book characters are involved here, but probably fine as a standalone.

Content warnings from the author ~ PTSD from losing patients as a medical provider in emergency situations, emotional repercussions of growing up with divorced parents, moving on after a past partner cheats

Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, best friends sister, brothers best friend, childhood enemies to lovers, fake dating, steamage

Indira & Jude
Indira walks in on Chris, her live in boyfriend, in quite a gross and sticky compromising position. She packs her stuff and heads to her brother, Colin's, house. But it's not Colin who answers the door, it's his best friend and her enemy, Jude.

Each chapter is titled to give us a countdown to Colin and Jeremy's wedding. A wedding that Chris will be attending, so Jude offers to be Indira's fake date. As they spend more and more time together the fake dating line gets a bit blurred.

I felt that mental health was well written. I liked that Indira is a psychiatrist who sees one herself and that Jude got the help he needed as well.

I really enjoyed these two together, their self journey and their journey to each other, and how it all wrapped up. This was a great ending to the series.

I was fortune enough to have a kindle copy and an audio copy ~ both formats works perfectly.
Narration:
Jade Powers & Joe Arden ~ 11 hours 0 minutes ~ a lovely job by both.

I loved this story! Thank you to Net Galley and St Martin’s for the advanced copy.

Addressing mental health is always challenging and I applaud how Mazey handled it through out the story. She did it in such a way that was not alienating or belittling.

The chemistry and banter between Indira and Jude was sizzling. This was such a fun and compelling read, I loved the progression of their relationship and their own journeys of discovery.

Excited to bring this title into our store!

This is my first time reading a Mazey Eddings book but I’ve already purchased two others to read next. I went into this expecting just a normal romcom set at a wedding, but it dove deep into some other important topics such as mental health and PTSD. I think Mazey did an amazing job at showing how debilitating PTSD and trauma can be to someone’s everyday life and how it can affect how a person views themselves as well. It was heartbreaking to see Jude’s struggle but I think it was an important representation, not only of PTSD/trauma effects, but also with a man opening up about these issues as well.

Indira’s comebacks were very witty and gave a good hint of humor throughout the book which I also really enjoyed. I love a good enemies to lovers trope because of all the banter it adds and this did not disappoint! I’m excited to read about Lizzie and Harper’s love stories next now that I got a sneak peak in this one.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this before it releases on April 4th!

I have never before read a series by an author who was so beautifully talented at writing mental health rep in her romance books as Mazey Eddings is.

I have loved this series, and while I think Lizzie and Rake will forever hold my heart, this book brought about necessary conversations and I’ve already recommended it to no less than eight people individually.

This book follows Indira and Jude – childhood enemies – who both find themselves on hard times and leaning on Collin (Indira’s brother and Jude’s best friend) in their time of need. But when Collin is busy with his own wedding plans, Indira and Jude start to turn toward each other, forming a frenemy and ultimately friendly relationship. But even this escalates to more…

Honestly, I LOVE how Mazey handled the mental health rep in this book, just as I did in her previous books. This one death heavily with trauma, PTSD, feelings of loss and inadequacy, and had a strong emphasis on the power of therapy. It honestly felt like a beautiful love letter to therapy, in a way. I also loved how Indira, as a psychologist, wasn’t the one to “magically fix” Jude and instead was depicted as going to therapy herself. Such a great angle to take that made it far more realistic in my opinion.

This book was heavy. I found myself pausing at times because it was a lot to work through emotionally – but Mazey acknowledges that in her note at the beginning to “take care of yourselves as you read”, recognizing the impact these topics can hold for many readers.

It was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. It was a hug to my soul. I cannot recommend Mazey’s books enough and I hope you’ll take the time to pick them all up ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Plus One was so cute I can’t say enough good things about it. I was in a reading slump before I started this book and it got me out within the first 30%. Mazey Eddings never misses!

This is one of my favorite books of 2023. I went into it thinking it was going to be a fun wedding RomCom Brother’s best friend romance… and it was. But it was so much more.

It dealt with heavy topics like PTSD and mental health as well. I was lucky enough to also receive an audio copy of the book and the narrators did an absolutely outstanding job. I felt like I was watching Jude and Indira, and feeling every heartbreaking moment and every earth shattering feeling.

I’m absolutely obsessed with these two and their story. I also loved how characters from Mazey previous books made appearances. And it was an all around great read of real life, love, laugh out loud moments, and serious topics.

I definitely recommend this one.

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🤍Fake Relationship
🤍Enemies to Lovers
🤍Brother’s Best Friend
🤍LGBTQIA Rep (secondary Characters)
🤍PTSD
🤍Mental Health
🤍Childhood History

Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exits. Indira doesn’t like Jude. Jude doesn’t like Indira. But what happens when these childhood enemies find the only thing they can rely on is each other?

This is a sweet story. Indira walks in on her boyfriend cheating on her. When she retreats to her brother’s house she discovers her childhood enemy, Jude, is also living there. It gets really fun when you find out everyone is a member of her brother’s upcoming wedding party!

Their relationship starts out as fake dating. It was really only a show for Indira’s ex during wedding party events, so I don’t totally feel that part was necessary. And wow, there are a lot of wedding party events!

The middle of this story dragged a little for me. The two MC’s were interesting and their bickering was comical, but I didn’t feel the chemistry between them. I think there was just too much going on that I was having trouble connecting with their story.

I was lucky to be approved for an eARC as well as the audio version. I was not a fan of Jude’s narrator and just stuck with the ebook.

4.5 stars!
First- the dedication:

“For those who hurt, those who’ve healed, and those who are somewhere in-between. You are worthy of love even on your hardest days.   And for the younger me that still gets stuck in the bad place. You make it out.”

Mazey Eddings is hands down my favorite author I’ve discovered since joining bookstagram. I fell in love with her book Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake and I am forever in awe of her writing style, representation of struggles, her hilarious banter and sexy sex scenes (but also the awkward too because life fricken happens!)

I’m planning on reading A Brush with Love next and already plan to read her YA debut, Tilly in Technicolor. While you can read this as a stand-alone, it was so heartwarming to see all the characters in this universe back together again and glimpse into their future. The epilogue! Ugh. Adorable. Lizzie, Rake, Thu, Dan, Harper, Jeremy, and Collin are such amazing side characters in this story.

I knew from the dedication that Mazey put her heart and soul into this book. The PTSD representation in this book with Jude was perfection. Especially in the setting of healthcare in a post-covid pandemic world, I felt the pain that many healthcare workers probably experience on a daily basis.

Now, on to the true review.

Indira is hands down the queen of roasting and saying that it is her love language is perfection! Her nonstop jokes and quick one-liners between her and Jude had me dying of laughter. I loved that she respected her relationship with Jude enough to not be his therapist, but to be his person. His safe place. Fighting her own insecurities over her daddy issues (he’s a real POS, in my opinion) and taking herself to therapy sessions was such a strong move. I wish more book characters went to fricken therapy! They need it!

Jude, oh poor sweet Jude. My heart broke for him and his distress. I could literally feel his pain whenever he was experiencing a panic attack or flashbacks. Mazey was so good in her writing with this. I felt complete and utter outrage for him during his meeting with the board of directions of his program. It had me literally mad with rage.

I loved that these two were childhood friends/frenemies and that they stepped up to help each other in their time of need. The wedding as a background to their development was another hilarious relief in the story. Collin and Jeremy were perfect side characters delivering hilarious and outrageous wedding requests and banter as well. Jeremy quoting Greys Anatomy had me laughing because we all obviously loved that show at some point!

I loved that Indira and Jude had their childhood past to reflect upon and show us their relationship and how it unfolded to the present day book. It was sweet and funny to read about Jude’s kindness to indira as a teenager and her hatred of him as her brothers best friend in childhood.

While I can’t really pinpoint why this wasn’t a true 5 star read for me, it was certainly an amazing read that I didn’t want to put down. I think that it fell apart with the quickness of how the story wrapped up and I was sort of hoping that Indira’s dad would make a come back, but obviously it’s for the best that he didn’t and she was able to cut ties completely.

I love Mazey. Please read all her books. Thank you Netgalley, Mazey, and St.Martins Griffin for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Plus One was truly fantastic. I’ve been impressed by both of the books that I’ve read from Mazey Eddings, but The Plus One is easily the best and more impactful of them. Indira and Jude were such likable and relatable characters who dealt with their problems in a healthy way.

This is not a lighthearted read at all - it’s grounded in very serious mental health struggles and discusses issues of PTSD, panic attacks, and parental abandonment. But the love and care given to these characters is outstanding. Jude and Dira feel like two real and genuine people who are just trying to survive the best they can. I empathized so much for both of them and just wanted them to find their happiness.

This is what I want when I pick up a contemporary romance now - I need funny, emotionally intelligent characters who have a genuine connection - and that’s what I got here in droves.

This was excellent and definitely one that I will be thinking about and recommending for a long time.

Thank you to St. Martin’s and Netgalley for the review copy.

Super cute childhood enemies to lovers story!
(Pub date - April 4, 2023)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Jude and Indira have disliked each other since they were kids. Jude is Indira’s brother’s best friend, while she was always the annoying sister.

Brought together as adults, forced proximity (staying at Indira’s brother’s house and helping organize his upcoming wedding) and a bit of fake dating help them see another side of one another they never did before. Jude is struggling with job-related trauma, and Indira is the perfect person to help him through it.

I thought the way Mazey tackled PTSD and anxiety/panic attacks was really well done. It was definitely a heavier book than I was expecting. I myself battle with anxiety so I think this was a big of a tougher read for me. I do appreciate how they talked a lot about normalizing therapy!

I liked the sorta “twist” on fake dating - it was only for one person, her close friends and brother knew it was fake (something that bothers me often with fake dating is everyone they love being in the dark, and that just makes me feel bad.
I could have used a little more “enemies” but it was great nonetheless!

While this is the 3rd book in the series, I think it can be read as a standalone. I haven't read the others yet and didn't feel like I was missing anything!

Read if you enjoy:
⭐️ Brother’s best friend
⭐️ Childhood enemies to lovers
⭐️ Forced Proximity
⭐️ Mental health rep
⭐️ Fake Dating
⭐️ Dual POV/3rd person

*trigger warning - this book shows a lot of anxiety/PTSD/mental health struggles, with descriptive panic attacks.