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๐‘๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ :โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐Ÿ’ซ/5*
๐’๐ฉ๐ข๐œ๐ž: ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ/5

๐Ÿ’™ ๐‘๐ž๐š๐ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ž๐ง๐ฃ๐จ๐ฒ:
โ€ข Childhood nemeses to friends to lovers
โ€ข PTSD/mental health rep and acceptance
โ€ข Fake dating
โ€ข Brotherโ€™s best friend
โ€ข Slow burn
โ€ข Laugh out loud humor/banter

๐Ÿ’ญ ๐Œ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ: Yet another fabulous book to add to Mazeyโ€™s series of standalones! This story had me teary-eyed and LAUGHING so many times throughout. Itโ€™s a poignant telling of two people who struggle to find love and acceptance, making the characters extremely relatable. Jude and Indira were so well-developed and I enjoyed reading their story. I will be immediately pre-ordering a copy for my shelves!

Huge thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Mazey Eddings for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange for my honest review!

*Rating rounded down for platform rating purposes

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The Plus One is the third book in the A Brush With Love series by Mazey Eddings. I read the first book, A Brush With Love, last year and enjoyed it. I didn't finish the second book in the series, Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, as I wasn't feeling that one. Maybe I will revisit it later.

I really liked The Plus One and Mazey's writing style really came alive with great banter that popped off the page. This book has all the tropes: brothers best friend, childhood enemies turned to adult friends, fake dating for a wedding, forced proximity, and grump+sunshine. For the most part, they worked. Though I'm not a huge fan of books where they center around a friend's wedding, especially if it's six weeks of pre-wedding activities.

Our MCs are Indira and Jude. Jude has been best friends with Indira's brother since they were kids, and Jude and Indira were notorious for teasing and being terrible to each other. For the past few years Jude has been practicing medicine overseas in war-torn countries. He has an 8-week break between his next assignment and stays with Indira's brother to be there for all of the wedding activities. Indira caught her boyfriend cheating on her and promptly went to her brother's house to stay while she finds a new place, not realizing her sworn enemy has one of the guest rooms already. She is not thrilled with her new roommate.

Except Indira senses Jude has lost some of his spark, loud noises and crowds agitate him greatly. Indira, a child psychologist, has a comforting presence for him and he confides that he has seen some really terrible things trying to save patients. Indira's ex boyfriend keeps popping up at the pre-wedding activities (I told you, there are A LOT of them), so the two strike up a deal: pretend to be a couple so Indira's ex will stop pestering her, and Jude can have the comfort and support of Indira in public events.

What I really loved and appreciated about this story was how the author handled mental illness. Indira, a mental health professional who also is in therapy herself, treats Jude so gently and lovingly, always reminding him that you can have experienced trauma and you can also be happy. There was a beautiful metaphor about the mind being like a house that really resonated with me.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

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4.5/5 stars! I have been a big fan of the two Mazel Eddings books prior to โ€œThe Plus Oneโ€, and she didnโ€™t disappoint with this one. This book follows Indira and Jude as reconnect, once childhood enemies now find themselves sharing a house helping prepare for Indiraโ€™s brotherโ€™s wedding (Judeโ€™s best friend). Both Indira and Jude are learning how to open themselves up to love and happiness again. This book has great mental health representation and you canโ€™t help but root for Indira and Jude. I very much enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a thought provoking and heart warming enemies to lovers book!

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Mazey Eddings is such a talented author, and I always look forward to reading her books.

While I really loved the premise of this book (who doesn't love a good forbidden romance with your brother's best friend?!), it wasn't my favorite. I adored getting to see other heroines from her previous novels (Harper and Lizzie) as well as their respective partners! It's a sweet, surprise epilogue of sorts.

I appreciate how sensitive Eddings is with the subjects of PTSD and trauma, but I wish that each character's traumas were discussed and explored more. I wanted to hear more about Jude's experiences working in war-torn areas and Indira's lasting trauma left by her father's abrupt disappearance from her life.

Though I do wish there was a bit more substance to these topics, I still really enjoyed this novel!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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This had all of the basic tropes in it. Always love a friends to lovers & childhood sweethearts story. This book was emotional, sweet and steamy! This is definitely a must read book!! I highly recommend this book so if you like any of the above tropes this book is for you.

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this ARC.

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I almost felt as though parts this story were written just for me. Usually I can find certain aspects of one character relatable but in The Plus One I saw myself in both Jude and Indira.

Childhood enemies-to-lovers might just be my new trope of choice, especially when itโ€™s executed as well as this. Jude and Indira grew up together and they โ€œhatedโ€ each other as kids. Now that Indiraโ€™s brother (aka Judeโ€™s bff) is getting married, the dynamic duo is finally reunited.

Witty banter is my catnip, and the bickering and snappy one-liners in The Plus One were absolutely delicious. This story is very funny, but there is also so much depth and heart here as well. Reading this felt like going to the best therapy session of my life (this is a good thing!) and I kind of want to date Indira.

I saw a review that said the couple goes from hate to love so quickly, and while that is usually a pet peeve of mine I think it worked SO well here. These two crazy kids have known each other forever and as a result, they could be vulnerable and open in a way that only comes with time. They found each other again at exactly the right time and they were able to give and take just what they needed. I really respect the way Eddings writes about mental health and think she handled Jude and Indiriaโ€™s story with such care.

Letโ€™s chat about this series for a moment: like a fine wine, it gets better with time.
I enjoyed A Brush with Love (book 1)
I really, really liked Lizzie Blakeโ€™s Best Mistake (book 2)
I absolutely adored The Plus One (book 3)

You can 100% read this series in any order. Thankfully, Lizzie makes some hilarious cameos in both books but other than that, youโ€™re not missing anything critical if you decide to bop around.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to be an early reader.

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After catching her boyfriend in a sticky situation with another woman, India must move into her brotherโ€™s home, where he is preparing for his big wedding several weeks away. Unfortunately, the first person she sees is her brotherโ€™s best friend, Jude, who was also the childhood bane of her existence. Jude is on break from a medical humanitarian organization, where he has faced trauma after trauma, leaving him broken and feeling guilty. Indira quickly figures out that something is wrong with Jude and offers to help him cope with his PTSD and they agree to be each otherโ€™s plus one at so very many pre-wedding events. And then things get very, very steamy.

This is a fun conclusion to a very enjoyable series. Mazeyโ€™s characters are often facing major difficulties in their lives but they work though them in order to be better for themselvesโ€”meaning โ€œtrue loveโ€ doesnโ€™t magically fix everything. Indira and Jude were great together and I had an almost visceral reaction to everything Jude was facing with the knowledge that, after the wedding, heโ€™d have to go right back into the trenches of a new assignment. This is a fun conclusion to a very enjoyable series. It was lovely seeing the couples from the other books once again being happy and in love. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martinโ€™s Press for the eARC. Available 4/4/23.

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Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this. The portrayal of anxiety and PTSD was so honest and clear, the romance was sweet and developed so well, the supporting characters were just well-developed enough. Jude and Indira were characters I'd root for in any setting, and their romance was lovely and did not feel forced or rushed.

I was happily surprised by the depth of this book. I haven't read anything by Mazey Eddings before, but I will certainly be reading more. 5/5, this book made me happy.

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๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ.

Thank you to Mazey Eddings and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Plus One! I loved the previous installments in the series, and was so excited to get the chance to read this ARC.

๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ. ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ. ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ. ๐˜Œ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ. ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜บ. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต.

Home of two of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers/brotherโ€™s best friend), this delightful read has everything fans of Mazey Eddings are used to: it was sweet, sentimental, spicy, and absolutely heartwarming. It had me laughing, blushing, and crying throughout, and the warm hug of an epilogue sent my heart into outer space.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the absence of a third act breakup, a super popular plot device in romcoms. As much as I do enjoy a character groveling themselves back into their loveโ€™s good graces (if weโ€™re staying in the Brush With Love Literature Universe, Lizzie and Rakeโ€™s reunion is a particular fave), it is so refreshing seeing two characters communicating openly and honestly with one another. Thatโ€™s not to say there is no angst or drama - there definitely is - but it circles around another issue, one that Jude and Indira work through together and support each other during. The amount of open and honest communication between these two was a theme throughout the book as they learned to open their hearts to one another, and it was such a joy to see it working through to the last page!

๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜บ. ๐˜™๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ. ๐˜ž๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ข๐˜บ.

I also deeply appreciate its treatment of mental illness and trauma, and the benefits of therapy. These topics are handled with such care, while also not shying away from the lived experiences that millions of people deal with every day (including this reviewer!) Mental health treatment is not easy - it takes lots of work, and often a village of support, and this is so perfectly represented in The Plus One.

๐˜๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ, ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ. ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ.

This was an easy five star read for me, and one of my new favorites. I hope that everyone will pick up a copy when The Plus One publishes on April 4, 2023!

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The Plus One | Mazey Eddings
A surprisingly tender frenemies to lovers with a fake wedding date

Indira and Jude have a long running history of hating each other. For Jude, Indira was his best friendโ€™s pest of a little sister; Indira was just desperate to belong. With the inevitable transition to adulthood, Indira becomes an insightful psychiatrist in a hopeless on-again-off-again relationship that ends once and for all in a chaotic infidelity flash of limbs and peanut-butter [messy]. Jude, to escape the pressure of medical student loans, had recently completed three of a four-year assignment as a surgeon attending to humanitarian needs around the world. From the outside he is a lifesaving hero while on the inside he is crumbling, trying to process the trauma of years of facing hopeless situations. Where Indira has everything but her love life in order, Jude is completely falling apart. At the wedding event of the century for Indiraโ€™s brother Collin and his fiancรฉe Jeremy, these childhood rivals decide to band together. Indira needs someone to hold her back from killing her peanut-butter covered ex (who is also in the wedding party), and Jude needs someone to keep him grounded while facing trigger after trigger at each loud and chaotic wedding event. It doesnโ€™t take long for fake to become something real โ€“ but how could this possibly last when Jude is two weeks from heading back to the [literal] trenches?!

First, I love the representation here for PTSD, triggers, grounding elements โ€“ seeing the two of them connect and truly see each other in the crowd and chaos of each event was so sweet. The most surprising undercurrent was how tender they are with each other. So often the premise of a frenemies plot is OTT harsh and mean and the inevitable coupling takes a lot more convincing. This tenderness echoes back to their childhood with the masked notes and scribbles that made their connection clear, even from way back when. The mask is a powerful thing, and when the role has been played out for decades it can be tricky for everyone to understand when the mask finally comes off [โ€œbut wait, donโ€™t you guys hate each other?!โ€]. I braced myself for the miracle band-aid that made everyone better and happy but was glad to see that it never came. Life may be messy, but love is there for everyone.

Overall, I loved the quick pace, the sweet and tender moments, and the generous helping of ghost-pepper spiciness. I didnโ€™t realize that this was part of a series โ€“ and it definitely works as a stand-alone โ€“ but Iโ€™ll be adding the rest to my TBR, STAT ๏Š The way all of Indiraโ€™s friends popped up throughout the story left me wanting more which Iโ€™m pleased Iโ€™ll find with the earlier installments.

My first Mazey Eddings, though certainly not my last! 4/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martinโ€™s Press for the ARC for review!

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THE GOOD:
- I love enemies-to-lovers and this one was done really well, since it was a childhood rivalry (and I'm a sucker for those), meaning they already had a connection... plus brother's-best-friend AND fake-dating tropes. She really crammed them all in LOL
- PTSD rep was so so well done. Major kudos. And I'm always a fan of therapy for both characters in a novel :)
- It read like fanfic but GOOD fanfic. So I did enjoy that.
- Great communication during spicy scenes!!!

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
- The amount of smut at the end caught me off-guard, probably because I wasn't expecting it to be so frequent after they got together. Not necessarily a bad thing, since it was very well-written, but it seemed a bit like filler.
- The ending was a little corny, but I suppose it made sense for the characters.

OVERALL:
4 stars. Definitely recommend. BUT if you're not a fan of spice then skip this one, or just skim the ending!

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This was a story about two broken people who found comfort in each other and supported each other in doing what was necessary to heal themselves. The story involved issues of PTSD and feelings of inadequacy from a parent walking out; I thought the author wrote about the issues realistically

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The Plus One (ARC)
Mazey Eddings
4โญ๏ธ
Pub Day: 4/4/2023

โš ๏ธ mental health topics

Indina, a psychiatrist, just went through a pretty messy break up. Jude, a "humanitarian" doctor, is struggling with his own demons. Jude gets his triggers and is extremely stressed out and Indina just can't deal with seeing her ex and his new beau during her brother's wedding. Indina and Jude grew up together, bickering and fighting the whole time. But now they have to rely on each other. They make up this ruse, "fake dating", to comfort each other throughout the festivities. But things started to feel kind of... real.

The cover is deceiving! I Thought this would be a light-hearted read. But there's so much trauma and psych issues within the first few chapters. It was heavy and it set the tone for the rest of the book-- somewhat melancholic. I can't get it to turn back to the cheery, charming and light vibe that I want it to be. I got a little bit emotionally confused reading this. It started out slow, but by 30% into the book, it starts picking up. I value the mental health issues here and that none of it was taken lightly. I appreciate the fact that it emphasized that none of these issues should be dealt with alone. The characters found comfort and safety with each other. "I'm not here to fix you... I'm here to love you."

I enjoyed the fake dating aspect, childhood friends, enemies to lovers tropes here. I love the subtle closeness and the vulnerability the character showed. Things shifted slowly and I just adored how it grew. It's not necessarily a slow burn. But it burned even more after their first intimate encounter. The spicy scenes are mostly tastefully written however some were outright crass. I had to skim through.

Okay, I just have to say this because it bothered me so much. So many f-bombs. Unnecessary ones. I don't mind a few especially if it's to emphasize something but this is too much. By the 2nd chapter, I'm already sick of it. It tapered down over the next chapters thankfully.

Albeit having an overall serious tone, there were snippets of lightness and laughter within the book. It was an unexpected but enjoyable read for me.

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Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ 5/5
Spice: ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ๐ŸŒถ๏ธ 3/5


Tropes/Topics:
Fake Dating โœ”๏ธ
Brother's Best Friendโœ”๏ธ
Childhood Enemies to Loversโœ”๏ธ
Forced Proximityโœ”๏ธ
Positive Mental Health Representationโœ”๏ธ
Rom Comโœ”๏ธ


โŒCheck TW's before ReadingโŒ


Since they were children Indira and Jude have DESPISED each other and now that they're adults their dynamic hasn't changed but their lives have. Indira's 'perfect' life (only on paper) is crumbling before her eyes and Jude has NOTHING together (not even on paper).
Being around each other their entire lives have earned them both a spot in Collin's wedding, a wedding that is becoming more elaborate as times goes in. Indira HAS to be there, she's Collin's sister after all, and well.. so does Jude (best friend's duties and what not).
Jude is stressed and Indira does NOT want to see her ex. The plan that they come up with? Be each other's plus one. But what happens when the 'forced' proximity is no longer forced,& how to go about when the 'fake' P.D.A's, feel real?


I N D I R A_P A P A D A K I S :
this STRONG QUEEN brought SASSINESS, IMPECCABLE โœจVIBESโœจ, AND the HUMOR with a side of THERAPY. & let me just state that I LIVE AND STAN a self-reflecting QUEEN.


J U D E__B A I L E Y
Jude, baby... how I WISH I was able to hold you through the pages.This KING?! I applaud this fictional MAN for going through what he DID & realizing he needed someone to help him. Was his journey easy? FXCK NO! But we don't judge journeys here.
Also the way he fell for our girl?! SWOON๐Ÿฅฐ & add in his dirty MOUTH?! ๐Ÿฅต! my gahhhh! LOVE YOU JUDE!

I& J
Indira and Jude are the DEFINITION of chemistry! ๐Ÿงช
From their TEASING BANTER, to the casual TOUCHES, to the quick GLANCES. EVERY little small detail between the two, kept adding up, until THAT time came between the two. & when it did?! ๐Ÿงจ EXPLOSIVE!!


Mazey Eddings... STAN๐Ÿ‘๐ŸฝDING๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ OHH๐Ÿ‘๐ŸฝVAYYYYY๐Ÿ‘๐ŸฝTIOOOOOOON!!!!๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฝ
It's hard to explain how The Plus One spoke to my ENTIRE SOUL but let me tell you what I FELT. Mazey Eddings made me SWOOOOON ๐Ÿฅฐ, made me UGLY CRY. ๐Ÿ˜ญ . She made me LAUGH ๐Ÿ˜‚ and ultimately, FALL IN LOVE.

The Plus one is more than just a book about 2 people falling in love. It's about 2 people learning to love THEMSELVES first (FLAWS AND ALL), ACCEPTING help, & going through life TOGETHER by being each other's person... each other's ANCHOR & for that.. THANK YOU, MAZEY! Thank youโ™ฅ๏ธ

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This is an enemies to lovers, brother's best friend with fake dating romance. Indira temporarily moves in with her brother after finding out her boyfriend is cheating on her. Her brother is about to get married, and she, her ex, and her brother's best friend are all in the wedding. She and Jude, the brother's best friend, decide to fake date to, in a way, get back at the ex-boyfriend. This novel to me felt a little bit slower-paced just because they talked a lot about Indira and Jude dealing with trauma. Jude works as a doctor overseas and has been in a lot of dangerous locations where he is performing emergency medicine and has a seen a lot of people die. Much of novel discusses him working through his PTSD, while Indira works through her feelings of abandonment. (Her father left them when she was a child.) I liked the way they approached mental health in this book and discussed therapy. It is a little bit of a heavier novel, so if you're looking for something very lighthearted, this might not be it. It does have a happy resolution as they work together to heal each other.

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I enjoyed this book. I loved the connection between the love interests and seeing their points of view. It was occasionally hard for me to connect when the male love interest would pull away, but the author did a great job of brining it back together for the ending.

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I have decided that Indira is the embodiment of whatever the opposite of Coldplayโ€™s โ€˜Fix Youโ€™ is.

Mazey Eddings has done it again with The Plus One, a lovely romance with all the spice, emotions, and *gasp* no third-act breakup! What more could one want in a romance novel? I was enamored with Indira and Judeโ€™s story from the moment we met them both. The portrayal of PTSD was done gracefully, and it highlighted the very real struggles many individuals go through dealing with an โ€œinvisible illness.โ€

The Plus One is certainly a romance must-read for 2023!

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martinโ€™s Press for my Digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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i love love all of Mazeyโ€™s work. her books just keep getting better and better! i gave 5 stars to both a brush with love and lizzie blakeโ€™s best mistake and i feel like the plus one has snatched the throne!!!

this time around in the plus one, we follow Indira on her road of healing and love.
i really love and admire the author's commitment to eliminate stigma surrounding mental health issues and crafting love stories for every kind of person. so that nobody will feel left out.

despite having a harsher tone than the earlier books, this one is still a romance. Mazey was trying to convey and remind us that love is being someone's safe place for them to be themselves and being there to support them, instead of trying to fix them.
so inspiring. be sure to check the TWs!

interesting tropes:
๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿป fake dating
๐ŸงŽ๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธbrother's best friend
๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿผ characters in therapy

it is a beautifully written book, and i would read anything by Mazey without a second thought.

thank you to @netgalley for this e-arc! looooved it xx

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Can Mazey Eddings write my love story? I would trust her with my life.

This book was amazing but I'm not surprised. Mazey is a genius. The world she has created with these characters feels real and lived in. They are relatable and vulnerable and I would 110% believe you if you said she'd taken some pages out of my diary to use as plot because books shouldn't have me this emotionally destroyed.

It's:
- childhood enemies to lovers (a new trope for me).
- FAKE DATING
- brothers best friend (and best man)
- one tent? trope
- normalizing going to therapy and having a healthy relationship with it.

This book is for all of us who rewatched that one episode of Gilmore girls when Luke shows Lorelei the horoscope she gave him that he's been holding onto for years.

Buy this book. My staff pick sticker will be on every cover.

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Thanks NetGalley!

I heard and read many people gush about this book and i was really excited about it, it sounded right up my alley and i was right! I fell in love with these characters. I related to many of them and i cried a few times because of it. I count that as a win. The chemistry was sizzling and they were meant for each other.
I honestly canโ€™t think of anything I disliked, you should read it asap if you are looking for a swoon worthy romance book!

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