While a little predictable in the direction of the storyline, I really enjoyed The Plus One. The trauma, particularly suffered by Jude, added another dimension of the story usually not present in a typical romance novel. I enjoyed the characters, and appreciated the normalization of therapy throughout the book. The spicy scenes were rather graphic, and a little abrupt, but what can you do.
The Plus One is a quick read (or in this case, listen), and I liked the narrators chosen. When multiple narrators are used, I typically appreciate when each narrator is responsible only for their chapters, but felt in this case, the audiobook could have benefitted from some of the dialog being split.
Overall, would recommend!

Indira recently caught her boyfriend cheating, and Jude is struggling with his mental health after spending time as a doctor in humanitarian crises. The two to fake date their way through the wedding festivities of Indira’s brother and Jude’s best friend. However, the childhood enemies are beginning to have real feelings.

I enjoyed this. I do think Jude’s journey with mental health added a lot to the story. It was fun! It was fun! The audiobook was good.

Yes, yes, YES. I love this. A perfect balance of hilarious and serious. Sexy and sweet. I laughed out loud reading every book single in this series, Mazey Eddings is truly underrated. The characters in these books are so well developed, I loved each and every one of them. The plot are simple in concept but heartfelt and well executed.

The Plus One is potentially my favorite in the series too (though really there’s not a weak link in the line up!) It’s got it all - Brothers best friend, enemies to lovers, fake dating. All of my weaknesses handled by a more than competent author (hallelujah!)

I don’t have all that much more to say really! Just this: read these books, they’re great!

Audio 4/5: No je n’sais quoi but very very well done. Great acting and emotion, excellent voices and delivery. No complaints.

this book was absolutely perfection. i finished in one sitting. couldn’t get enough!!! there is something about mazey eddings writing that captivates you from the very start and you are left feeling so attracted to these characters!

Super cute childhood enemies to lovers story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

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.

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings was absolutely, utterly delightful, full of laughter and heart. The audiobook was fantastically done. Highly recommended!!

This book was everything and then some. I adored learning more about Indira and the introduction of Jude was perfect. They were both so perfectly flawed in their own ways and I loved that. Watching their relationship unfold as they learned to love themselves and ultimately each other just made my heart so happy. This entire series holds such a special place in my heart, I truly don't want it to end.

The narrators were perfect for this - they held the right emotion and kept me thoroughly engaged through my entire listen. Points also to the fact they sounded just as good at 2.25x speed!

Thank you to the publisher for this ALC. Mazey Eddings does not write a bad book and this may be my favorite.

Rom-com style romance that uses elements enemies (more so frenemies) to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, best friend of siblings, and childhood friend troupes. There is a nice balance of steamy romance and humor with real-life issues like mental health and stigma and a little bit of finding yourself after the end of a relationship or difficult chapter in your life.

I’m not really into the whole “enemies to lovers” trope, but this one was hilarious. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

This was a sweet enemies to lovers story. And made even better because they were enemies in childhood! Plus he’s her brother’s best friend. Heck. Yes.

Their romance is really sweet, but what I enjoyed most was watching them help each other through their difficulties: hers, overcoming a bad breakup and his, dealing with PTSD from his job.

Indira walks in on her boyfriend deep in the throes of another woman, so she turns to her brother for a place to call home. However, she gets an unexpected surprise when her childhood enemy and brother's best friend, Jude, answers the door. She has no compassion for him, until she begins to notice some small changes. For example, he's jumpy at loud noises and acts even more awkward. The two decide to put aside their differences and go as far as to fake date during the wedding festivities. They soon find the fake part isn't necessary!

I loved this rom-com! It had frenemies-turned-lovers, forced proximity, and fake dating. The relatable characters dealt with real-life issues, making it heartwarming. While heavier than the first book, it balanced hilarity, witty banter, life lessons, and steaminess. The dual narration in the audiobook brought the emotions to life, keeping me engaged. Jude's hardships tugged at my heart. Although I read it as a standalone, I now plan to read the second book. It surpassed my expectations, but the first book will always hold a special place in my heart. Indira's perfect life is disrupted when she catches her cheating boyfriend during her brother's wedding. Staying with her brother, she finds Jude, her childhood nemesis, as an unexpected house guest. Reluctantly becoming each other's plus-ones, they discover their mutual dislike may have been a misconception all along.

I’m obsessed with this book! The audiobook narrators were absolutely perfect.

The way this deals with mental health issues is beautiful and perfect. The stigma, the way people are afraid to say anything, the embarrassment. And to see it in the male main character was so refreshing.

The side characters are amazing as well. Her gay brother and his fiancé literally make the book.

I highly recommend this book as well as the previous books in this series. Mazey Eddings is so talented.

Book 2 might be my favorite only because I related to Lizzie so much, but this book is a close contender and they’re both so freaking good.

Mazey Eddings’ has a gift for describing the indescribable. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety, putting words to those emotions is difficult, to say the least. While The Plus One is a fictional story, reader’s will be able to tell it is rooted in reality.

I adore this book for its great representation of mental health. It does a phenomenal job highlighting the various types of trauma a person can experience. No matter what tour education, gender, or socioeconomic status is, mental health can effect anyone.

*I was able to both read and listen to the audiobook. I thought the narrators did a wonderful job!!!

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I love Mazzy Eddings. Her entire series on these friends is perfect. This is the 3rd book in her series about a group of friends finding love in unexpected places. My favorite part is that each character is struggling with some form of mental health or are put in situations that exacerbate normal stress. It is a great way of looking at yourself through these characters and how they cope. Along with handling these issues well, there is comedic relief, sweet moments and perfect moments of friendship and family. I especially appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book so I was prepared.

As usual, this authir never disappoints. Loved this one and she’s become an auto buy for me. The gold standard of rom com romance. Loved it!

This book is heavier than the synopsis makes it sound, so I would first listen to the content warnings and assess if you are ready to read it. There were parts of this book that I enjoyed and parts that I didn’t like. I initially liked Indira, but she is so emotional over everything. Her main trauma is with her father who abandoned her and her brother. She also caught her boyfriend cheating on her in the beginning of this story. But she cried over everything, even things that weren’t happening directly to her. She cried almost as many times as Jude did, who has clear PTSD and depression and anxiety. She just got to be too much for me, and I didn’t want her to end up with Jude. Jude on the other hand was such a complex character. I related to him with staying in a toxic job because you feel stuck and like you have no choice. I thought he had a great story arc and really grew throughout the story. I thought the mental health representation in this story was excellent, and I would still recommend it to others even if I thought the beginning was stronger than the middle and ending.

The Plus One is the 3rd book on the A Brush with Love series. The story follows Jude and Indira. Indira is lucky enough to have a place to stay (her brother's) after finding her boyfriend having a peanut butter sex-scape with an0other woman in her apartment. Unfortunately her brother's best friend is staying at her brother's place because of the proximity of the brother's wedding. Jude is a Dr who has seen the most awful things you could imagine while working war devastated countries and is trying to find his center. Even though Jude and Indira don't get along, they decide to fake date to support one another during the wedding festivities.
This book deals with serious things like mental health, anxiety and real life issues. Is funny, steamy and charming. Is an easy read, perfect for the beach or a lazy afternoon.

I think this author just isn’t for me. From the beginning this book was so negative and just not a fun romance to read. I didn’t enjoy it at all.