Enemies to lovers with brother’s best friend to friends to lovers emotional rollercoaster! I adored Indira and Jude’s story and the care and delicacy that Mazey Eddings dealt with their traumas and their stories. Eddings has a knack for making readers fall for her characters despite their most craggily bits being so raw. They feel real and flawed, and we are on the struggle bus with them with plenty of heart, humor, and hotness along the way. I love how Eddings brings back the whole group from her previous works in new and endearing ways and creates new favorites as the Callowhill group expands (and somehow makes me want to trek to Philly). Thanks so much for the advanced reader copy from NetGalley and the publisher. I literally squealed when I snagged my copy, and I’m so looking forward to others reading Eddings’ sweetest, gooey-est, most heartfelt couple’s story yet.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

CW: 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


I enjoyed the banter and build to this relationship. Jude and Indira grew up together because Jude is best friend with Indira’s brother. They have always sort of just picked at one another. Not in like a mean way but in a pretty typical bickering type of way. That carried into adulthood and so when they both end up living in the same house with Indira’s brother it creates some fun banter moments.

I loved the healing aspect in this book. Jude is struggling with PTSD and we see him deal with realizing he needs help and see the healing. Indira also is in therapy for dealing with parental abandonment.

This book has a lot of heart!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this read. I had actually read the first book in the series right before I was granted approval for the eARC of The Plus One. Lizzie Blake is on my TBR currently, but can I just say I love Mazey Eddings writing, and her representation of mental health she incorporates in her characters and plot. As much as I enjoyed ABWL, I favored The Plus One more. I’m a fan of enemies to lovers, and Eddings did an amazing job with that. Jude and Indira are hilarious, and swoon worthy. The topic of PTSD was interwoven in this read so beautifully. Having a loved one with the same illness brought me close and connected with the character’s struggles and made me quite emotional. Watching how Jude and Indira had to learn to trust not only themselves, but trust they could lean on one another to heal their hurt was incredible. Eddings really knocked this one out of the park, and I’m sad to see this series come to a close. But, I’m so glad I got to be apart of it, and I’m even more glad this book was such a high note to end on.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins for granting me the opportunity to read the eARC of this work ahead of its release in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Mazey Eddings for a phenomenal book and series 💜

Wow this was so much deeper than I was expecting it to be. I thought this was going to be a light and fun romance but it dealt with some really heavy topics. I really appreciated how this book touched on mental health, specifically anxiety and panic attacks.
The enemies to lovers and brother's best friend tropes were so good! The chemistry between Indira and Jude was off the charts and I was internally screaming at them to just kiss already!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tropes:
Childhood enemies/ enemies to lovers
Forced Proximity
Brother's friend
Fake Dating
Brother's Wedding

Review- The story follows Indira and Jude, Jude being her brother's friend. They are both put into the throws of Indira's brother's wedding event. With Indira being forced to have way more encounters with her ex and his new gf, and Jude being stressed beyond belief, they agree to fake date. While this is a tale of forced proximity, and a classic enemies to lovers, the development of the characters, and how they go from a sham to more, it was such a great story. The steam, the passion, the healing, the budding romance between the two makes for such a great story. I would definitely recommend anyone to read this.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review. I will be posting about this on my Instagram page as well as Amazon, Goodreads, and Facebook within the coming weeks and closer to the publishing date.

This one had more depth than expected, really digging in deep to the issues surrounding both divorce/child abandonment and PTSD. It had a lot of heart but also never skimped on the spice.

Mazey Eddings is brilliant. This book. The way she addresses mental health issues is amazing to me.

I am just so attached to these characters! I just wanted to hold Jude so tight throughout this entire book! And Indira is just a beautiful soul. So supportive and uplifting while also dealing with her own mental baggage. I cried. And laughed.

I really enjoyed getting to see the characters from her previous books! And the fact that she has yet to write a character I didn’t love is just one more reason she’s an auto-buy author for me! You guys, read this book! You won’t regret it!

This was a great book. The Plus One touches on so many tropes we all love in a romance: frenemies to lovers, fake dating, and brother’s best friend. Jude and Indira were perfect for each other. They truly needed each other. My favorite part about this book was the characters felt so REAL. The Plus One has a light and fluffy start, but soon addresses more serious topics. This book shows an incredibly realistic portrayal of PTSD, and I loved the mental health representation.

This was my first time reading a book by Mazey Eddings, and I will definitely be picking up her other books. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

First off by saying thank you for letting me read this arc! This book was amazing! It heavily talks about dealing with PTSD and children coming from a divorced home. There was great humor along and written in a way that the heavy topics weren't overwhelming. Also, has my brothers best friend and fake dating tropes. Would read again!

This absolutely fabulous book further cements Mazey Edding's reputation as a writer with an extraordinary voice and an extraordinary ability.

Mazey's writing makes you feel seen. She eloquently expresses the neurodiverse experience in a tangible, relatable way that pulls the reader in.

This book wrung me inside out and I can't wait to share my unhinged, chaotic, squealing fan girl review on release day.

Which brings up another point.... Mazey needs an Only Fans account!

Jude and Indira have my whole heart. I adore Dan & Harper and Lizzie & Rake, but Jude & Indira are on a whole new level. The snarky banter, the beautifully complicated relationship, it's beyond perfection. It has been a bit since a book has made actual tears roll down my face and this one did.

"She held a magnifying glass up to the most hidden parts of his soul and still smiled, happy to simply know him."

"If heaven existed on earth, it was in a blanket fort with Indira Papadakis."

"Yes, I like your house, Jude. I've always liked your house..."

Every single one of these scenes (and more) had me in tears. The sentimentality of these two just killed me in the best way, the glimpses of their past and piecing together who they are now. Indira's unwavering and gentle encouragement for Jude. They are complex and well developed characters, they're messy and chaotic and beautiful. It's also full of humor and the most incredible banter I've ever read. I can not say enough good things about this book there are not enough superlatives in the world. If you only read one book for the rest of your life, make it this one.

Thank you for the advance reader copy of this novel. I didn't finish this novel as the language in it was fiercely not for me. Dropping the f bomb REPEATEDLY in the open pages didn't set the tone for a book I wanted to invest time in. Maybe for some, but this one wasn't for me.

I'd say this is Eddings best book yet. Her writing keeps getting stronger and stronger but still keeps her humor and also kindness when writing about sensitive topics

ARC REVIEW
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

God, do I love myself a broken man. Definitely not in real life but in a book? Yes please!

After catching her boyfriend cheating Indira packs up to move in with her brother and his fiancé until she can get her feet back on the ground. Not realizing he brothers best friend is also staying at his house and is in town for the wedding.

I thought This was going to be a silly fake dating kinda deal- boy, was it not. And that’s not a bad thing at all! Book deals heavily with mental health issues, mainly, ptsd and Jude broke my damn heart. I’m not one prone to anxiety/panic but the way it’s described seemed pretty realistic. I really loved their story and how Indira was Jude’s comfort person. I found myself laughing out loud at certain points so the book isn’t a total downer. Their story seemed very realistic and the emotions seemed very authentic.

I loved how both characters got eachother and could flip between caring and understanding to ragging on eachother the next sentence. Having read Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake and finding the characters and situations a little ridiculous I was skeptical to read this one. Lizzie was kind of annoying and Rake wasn’t very fleshed out. Indira and Jude are completely opposite and seem like real life people. I would definitely recommend this book!

This wasn't a light rom com novel. There were lots of fun parts but there was depth in the storyline of the main characters. The serious issue of PTSD was handled very well. I appreciate Eddings tackling it. I highly recommend this book. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #ThePlusOne

4.5 stars

My favourite Mazey Eddings book so far!! I loved this book, Indira and Jude have my whole heart ❤️

Their chemistry in this book was absolutely amazing, the snark, the brother’s best friend trope, the hate to friend to love trope, sooo good! And sooo entertaining and fun while still containing an important message about healing and traumas and mental health❤️ it’s the perfect balance of what you need and what you want in a romance book🥰

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the earc in return for an honest review

I loved this book. I can't explain how much it made me feel while I was reading it. Easily one of my favorite rom coms of all time. The way mental health and PTSD was addressed in this book was amazing. I laughed, I cried and I think I will never be the same person. Bold assumption but with this book I felt seen in a way that I have rarely felt in my life.

It was my first time reading a Mazey Eddings book and it was an amazing experience, I definitely need to read her other books.

When the book is published I'm going to do a longer review again but I'm definitely running to pre-order a copy of The plus one for me.

Indira, a psychologist, is in an on/off relationship with a guy named Chris when she walks into their apartment and finds him with another woman. She immediately packs her backs ad goes to her brother's place and forget about Chris.

When she reaches her brother Collin's place, she automatically feels better and at home with her brother, his fiancee Jeremy, and Collin's best friend Jude. Jude grew up with Collin and the two boys had always teased Indira.

Collin and Jeremy's wedding is coming up and while Indira and Chris have broken up, Chris is still invited to the wedding and it is assumed that his new girlfriend will be there as well. While certain events leading up to the wedding has made it very awkward for Indira with Chris being around, Jude decides that he will be Indira's fake boyfriend in front of Chris so that Chris will leave Indira alone and also for Chris to be jealous that she has already moved on.

Indira and Jude have grown up and are no longer kids, so their teasing relationship has changed. Jude is a surgeon for GHCO, an organization that perform emergency medicine in areas where there's natural disasters or conflicted areas. In exchange for his service, GHCO helps pay for his student loans. Jude definitely has classic signs of PSTD and Indira is there to guide him to realizing he needs help.

After reading the first 5 chapters, I was rolling my eyes as this really started to read like a super classic romance book, which there's nothing wrong with, but I didn't want to read another book that didn't stand out. I did enjoy the way the author wrote and I was curious to where this story was going to take me. I was definitely wrong as this is NOT your typical romance book. While there are very heavy topics, I do think Mazey Eddings did an amazing job to allow the seriousness of the topics, but without a very intense weight on one's shoulders. For me, it was enough to feel for the characters' struggles without crossing the line of it effecting my own mental health. I enjoyed reading how even Indira goes to a psychologist for help. I loved how the conflict between the characters was not a misunderstanding or someone did something stupid and the other person took it pretty hard. This was about teamwork! The only part that I wasn't a huge fan of, and this is my own opinion, was that certain romantic parts were erotic and I didn't think a lot of it was necessary. I felt like it was added to give the reader a break from some of the serious topics.

I just want to wrap Jude up in a big hug and not let go. This was such a beautiful romance, and loved seeing both Idira and Jude heal from their traumas together, one step at a time. The mental health rep in this is incredible, if a bit heavy at times. However, this book also had me in tears laughing which was a nice balance, there were some hilarious moments in this! I haven’t read the other books in this series yet, but I am now! Can’t wait to read more by this author.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for and honest review.

With a focus on mental health, The Plus One is a slow burn friends to lovers story with solid and nuanced characters. Although Indira and Jude are not quite as appealing as Eddings's earlier protaganists, they will subtly steal your heart.