I enjoyed this. Mazey is always an easy read for me. I like a little more angst. I love that all her characters intertwine. I laughed through chapter 13. cried through the last 5%.

childhood nemesis to lovers romcom!! The development of characters, the plot, and everything else were executed so perfectly in this book. The topic hits home so much and I was captivated from start to finish by finishing this book in just a few hours.

Indira is reeling from a bad breakup and has to move in with her older brother while she finds somewhere to live. Also currently living with her brother is Jude, her brother's longtime best friend and Indira's childhood nemesis. They have never gotten along and barely tolerate eachother. however, both are in different places in their lives and find that they have much more reason to connect as adults.

I LOVED this book. I did not realize it was the third in a series and I have not read the previous two, but it read just fine as a stand alone. I was pleasantly surprised at how much depth there was to this novel and this relationship. As someone who deals with a fair amount of PTSD trauma, I was moved to tears sometimes at the things Indira would either learn in therapy herself or tell Jude to help him. I was really touched. It was handled really well and brought a surprising amount of depth to the fun and flirty novel. Highly recommend!

The Plus One is a love letter to therapy and self-healing, in the best possible way. While this story starts as a classic fake-dating plot, the feelings that develop are fast and very, very real. The tension is incredible, the self-healing and self-doubts are honest, and the vignettes of childhood Dira and Jude are so heartwarming I could cry.

This is Eddings' best work yet-a win all around.

The Brush With Love series is my new religion. All jokes aside, I absolutely adore this weird and do not want it to end. I would read the phone book, if mazey wrote it and promised to make it hotter. Preordered my physical copy of this already. Fake dating, brothers best friend, and enemies to lovers-all of my favs in one place! Perfect amount of spice and, as always, addresses mental health in a normalized way

This book!!!!! Oh my goodness. I was not expecting to like this as much as I did. I didn’t know what to expect going in, and I was so pleased to find that this simply wasn’t only a romance, but a story that showcased PTSD, trauma and depression so well. It is a story about love and healing and finding your place in the world during a time where you feel lost, hopeless and unloveable. Jude was such a great MMC, and Indira was a funny and strong FMC. I loved how caring and patient she was with Jude, loved their banter and the TENSION!! Wow. So, so good. Loved every second of this book. I received this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin for the copy of this book.

I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and I binged this book in a few hours because I couldn’t put it down. Indira and Jude are perfection together. The mental health representation in this book is PHENOMENAL and perfectly balanced with moments that made me literally laugh out loud. A superb romance that will leave your heart full.

Read if you like:
- peanut butter
- fake dating
- the brother’s best friend trope
- mental health rep

I thought this was such a fun, funny, quirky book. I am always blown away by the ability of Mazey Eddings to write such honest and real characters who struggle with our everyday “stuff”. I love how this had a lot of mental health focus while still remaining spicy. Jude was not my favorite character (I was obsessed with Rake from Lizzie Blake), but I grew to like him over time.

I honestly really enjoyed that Jude and Indira weren’t an immediate steamy couple, as I thought their story evolved naturally. It was an interesting twist to hear Indira’s thoughts as she discussed her worries throughout the book, and Jude’s emotional turmoil was heartbreaking at times.

I definitely recommend this book!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of The Plus One! Life got in my way while trying to read this book, but that didn’t make me love it any less. This is the third book in Mazey Eddings’s series about Harper, Lizzie, Indira, and Thu, and it is by far my favorite. It is so heartfelt and honest. The chemistry and depth to each character and their relationships is amazing; I truly feel like I know them. Going into the medical field myself at a time like this, I felt extra connected to Jude’s story and his struggles. Definitely give this one a read when it is released on April 4th (AHHH) and thank you so much to Mazey Eddings for writing these raw and real stories - they are so important ❤️

A totally fun rom -com. A enemies to lovers trope done with fresh dialogue and great characters in a story that starts with a fake wedding date that turns into something these childhood enemies never expected.

Mazey Eddings writes the most perfectly imperfect characters. I love them all! This book touches on several heavy topics (cheating, divorce, absent parents, and PTSD) and still manages to leave you feeling good. The way the main characters are all there for each other, lifting each other up, is refreshing. I really enjoyed this and I will continue to grab every book that she releases!
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
I was provided a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Childhood enemies/friends turn into more in this rom-com that continues this series about a group of girlfriends. Indira and Jude reunite for her brother’s wedding, and they come together to be in a fake relationship. Along the way, they pick on each other and fight, but find that they have so much more in common. It’s a cute story that does touch on a few more serious issues.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the arc.

What starts out as a fake wedding date turns into something these childhood enemies never expected in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Mazey Eddings.

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?

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.

My thoughts:
This was my first Mazey Eddings book and I enjoyed reading it. I felt the characters were well developed and I really enjoyed the relationships between Indira and her brother and Indira and Jude. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of this series!

thank you netgalley and st martins press for this arc!!

Super cute a d fun! This book starts of great anf just gets better. Tge who story was super fun and a great rom com for valentines day. Would recommend!

I think I have a new book boyfriend & his name is Jude.

This book gave me so much more than anticipated. I have read all three books Mazey has released in this series, and it is so bittersweet to see it come to a close. I adored A Brush with Love and enjoyed Lizzie’s story as well. With all of that being said, The Plus One takes the cake. The depth, writing style and emotion that flowed from this book was incredible.

Mazey always does an amazing job depicting mental health in a constructive, digestible and relatable manner.

It has been so beautiful watching Mazey Eddings develop her own unique writing style. I cannot wait to continue to follow her journey as an author (and buy a hard copy of this book when it releases).

Thank you to SMP Romance and Net Galley for the eARC.

Enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, one “bed” trope and metal health rep.. what more could you ask for in a rom-com?

Indira has everything together or so she thought. After walking in on her boyfriend cheating on her, she goes to stay with her brother and his fiancé. But she wasn’t expecting Jude to open the door when she got there. Jude has been working as a traveling emergency doctor around the world and he came back for his best friend’s wedding. He’s been trying to deal with some trauma from his job and the only person that seems to help him is Indira..

This book was incredible. I loved every aspect of the story. The mental health rep was very well written and you can’t help but fall in love with these characters. I loved watching Jude and Indira’s relationship grow throughout the book. There’s some funny parts in the story but overall, it deals with some series mental health topics. And don’t let the cover fool you.. there is some major spice in this book!

If you’re looking for a fast paced, heavier rom-com then I highly suggest picking this one up on April 4th!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the e-arc!

3.5 stars- This was a really moving love story. I’d read the first book in the series (but skipped the second because of the pregnancy storyline), so I wasn’t surprised by the more serious tone of the book. Considering the cute cover and description, I don’t know if others would expect the same. I loved that there was no third act misunderstanding or breakup that almost always occurs in romance/rom-coms. I also appreciated that even though the main characters get together rather quickly in book, because they’ve known each other so closely since childhood, it doesn’t come across as insta-love. The transition from “hate” to love feels natural and realistic. The parts of the story where Indira helped and comforted Jude were especially moving. I liked that this book was so pro-therapy and self acceptance. It was interesting to read that the fictional organization Jude worked for in the book is based on those that actually exist and I only hope that those doctors are offered more support and empathy by their organizations.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book. Let me start by saying, I read this way back in September last year when I got an early ARC. I loved it just as much as the first two of Mazey's first books, and this is what I wrote immediately after finishing it:

"Don't mind me just laying here in bed freaking out about how good this was, how good the series was, and how I need to read them all again but just need to bask in Indira and Jude for a little while since my heart feels like it could burst! Mazey slayed it again! Childhood nemeses to lovers, fake dating, and incredible mental health rep... Wow!"

As I said, the MCs in the final book in this series, Indira and Jude, are so precious! This story dives deep into mental health and other serious topics while also delivering on both hilarious and just plain lovely moments. They decide to fake date for a series of wedding events to save them both from stressful situations and, as per usual, fake dating never leaves you not feeling some kind of way for the other person.

I have indeed decided to reread the first two in the series (A Brush With Love and Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake) before my pre-order for The Plus One arrives, at which point I will immediately read it again. I recommend you do the same before this book is released on Apr 4/23!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the ARC, and thank you @mazeyeddings for this story!

#ThePlusOne #MazeyEddings #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #ARC #AmReading #RomanceNovel #Trilogy

The Plus One
By: Mazey Eddings
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars


Five Key Feels

-No spoilers, but this book started with a bang, and I was cracking up.

-I loved the evolution of Jude and Indira’s relationship.

-It was fun to watch their fake dating, especially with so much history.

-Collin and Indira have a really amazing support system, even though they had a hard childhood.

-It was sad to read about Jude’s trauma, and it was something I was not expecting.


——

The Plus One was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 4/18/23

I started this book thinking it would be a fun and light hearted, fake dating, enemies to lovers romance.

While there was a good amount of that, there was also quite a bit of sadness and drama, which I was not expecting.

Don’t get me wrong, this was a really engaging book, and I enjoyed it. It just had more of the sadness element, maybe a little too much for me.

Regardless, I think this is a good book, and worth reading. Just, set your expectations a little bit!


#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #fiction #arcreview #netgalley #theplusone #mazeyeddings #stmartinspress

Indira and Jude have disliked each other since childhood, but agree to fake date to help each other through Collin's (Indira's brother/Jude's best friend) wedding.

Ooh I really enjoyed this one. We get all the fun rom com tropes — frenemies to lovers, brother's best friend, fake dating, forced proximity — plus some serious discussions around mental health.

I love that our pair have known (and disliked) one another since they were kids and their favorite pastime is roasting the other. The digs were all in good fun and made for great banter.

There is a lot of heart too as Indira sees Jude struggling with PTSD and worms her way past his emotional barriers to try and provide comfort and help.

A great story overall that blends heart and humor with some steamy scenes. It's technically part of a series but can easily be read as a standalone.