I enjoyed this a lot! While being more serious than her previous books, I completely appreciated how the author deftly dealt with mental health and still gave a swoony couple to root for. I enjoyed Indira and Jude's journey to themselves and each other. And of course I am always down for a bit of fake dating :)

3.75 very satisfied stars.

Huge Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. ( )

While “A Brush with Love” has been staring at me from my TBR list for awhile now, this is the first book I’ve read by Mazey Eddings. I have to say 1) I thoroughly enjoyed it and 2) I am kicking myself for having not read A Brush With Love because it and Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake are within the same universe. While each are standalone, like most standalone with cross over characters – the stories intertwine and when read out of order, you end up with spoilers of the prior books. Despite the glimpse into the previous books, this one went straight to the bone. The intricate emotions Eddings weaves into the story pulls you in and doesn’t let go. It’s too real and too relatable as it describes moments, situations, and life experiences that anyone can either personally or within two degrees, relate.

Indira couldn’t ask for a better life. Dream job, wonderful boyfriend, and the honor of watching her brother marry the love of his life in his upcoming nuptials. While she knew life was pulling her in different directions, she was determined to reclaim control and refocus her priorities. The problem was one of her priorities was busy with a blond on her couch when she decided to surprise him with a home cooked meal and wine. Completely floored, mainly by the amount of peanut butter involved in the deplorable scene, Indira flees to find solace at her brother’s home – only to be greeted by her childhood nemesis, Jude. There were two things Indira could feel directly to her soul, her love for psychiatry and her loathing for Jude.

Apparently the feeling was mutual from the look of sheer disdain he shared upon seeing her. For Jude, the biggest problem he had with Indira was her ability to see directly into the recesses of the human mind, to the things one wanted to keep hidden. After the ever plaguing nightmare of GHCO that has left him as a shell of his former self, the last thing he needed was her looking at him, seeing him, knowing his secrets.

All they needed to do was avoid each other, so simple yet impossible as they were part of her brother’s wedding party. Add that her now ex was also a groomsmen and Indira couldn’t figure out who she wronged in life for this to be her situation. The one thing she has gotten right is that something is off with Jude. When an incident reveals what lurks beneath, the two agree to help each other survive the pre-wedding events with the goal to come out in one piece. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer – but how close is too close?

What I like about it: First, while I understand it is standard formula for many authors, I am so grateful we skipped over the breakup, make up rigmarole in this one. What I also celebrated was continuous message projecting the power of understanding, acceptance, trust, being seen, and asking for help. Yes, this was a romantic comedy and quite humorous (the running gag about the peanut butter was a nice touch) but Eddings took it so much further than that. She used the love story as the foundation of two people struggling to survive the world around them, finding each other and still acknowledging that the struggle exists – that love isn’t going to conquer all but having a support system does make an impact. Doing the work, sitting through the hard parts, failing and trying anyway despite the plague of self doubt – that is what you saw in this story.

What I love about it: I love the issues of mental health that were tackled in this book. From Indira’s abandonment issues and need for extrinsic validation to Jude’s struggle with PTSD. It was gut wrenching to have the easy brush off of mental health highlighted in this book. Eddings is right – it is an invisible disorder, disease, illness that isn’t treated with the same sense of urgency as a broken bone or an infection. The mind is sick, broken, fractured, take a pick but because we can’t look at it and see it for ourselves, only witness what people are experiencing (or say they are experiencing), we have the right to invalidate it.

There were so many moments of Indira sharing knowledge on how to embrace the struggles that one may experience. Her constant reminders that no one is broken, helpless, and that you can be a multitude of things – happy and sad, struggling and forgiving, there wasn’t a moment where one of her diatribes shouldn’t have been made into a presentation and shared with the world. So many could benefit from her message.

Asides for the philosophical rollercoaster, the sensual scenes in this book were intense! It wasn’t even the explicit scenes that were hot, the make out and building up moments were scorching as well. The amount of attention shared between two people was never lost. Every touch, every thought, every moment – you bore witness to all of it. You felt the love and connection well before the characters verbalized it.

I have every intention of going back and ready Edding’s books from the beginning. I can’t gush enough over how much I enjoyed this book, how immensely I value what it taught me, and the imprint it has made on me as a whole. ( )

After Indira walks in on her boyfriend having sex with someone on their couch, she immediately packs up her things and goes to stay with her brother, Collin. When she arrives, she discovers that Collin's best friend and her childhood nemesis, Jude is staying with him also. With Collin's wedding to his boyfriend, approaching, Indira doesn't want to do anything to spoil the celebration, but she is edgy, and Jude's presence doesn't help. However, as a practicing psychiatrist, Indira starts to notice differences in behavior from the Jude she has always known. As they decide to be each other's "plus one" for the wedding, Indira navigates their growing attraction to one another while trying to figure out what could be wrong with Jude.

The Plus One is less romance and more a tale of characters dealing with mental health concerns. While Indira and Jude do get romantically involved with each other, a bigger part of the story involves issues with abandonment and PTSD. Both are handled with grace, and the PTSD, especially, is presented differently than I've seen in other books. The author's own experience with PTSD shines through, adding realism to the narrative. While the romance is satisfying, it seems to be used more as a plot device to introduce these more serious topics. Overall, The Plus One is a good romance anchored by significant themes. ( )

I love that this book talks about Jude's PTSD and how difficult it is to deal with and how understanding some people can be. I love that Indira and Jude went from enemies to lovers. The book is just the right amount of spicy and story. Hope there will be a book #4. Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden did a great job of narrating this novel, this isn't the first audiobook I have listened to that was narrated by Imani Jade Powers and it won't be the last. ( )

The Plus One by Mazey Eddings
A Brush With Love series #3. Contemporary romance. Can be read as a stand-alone. 5e epilogue does wrap up all three relationships of the series.
Indira was the pesky little sister of Jude’s best friend and neither liked the other. When Indira walks in on her boyfriend being unfaithful, she moves in with her brother at the same time Jude is staying there as well. Wedding prep is keeping the circle of friends busy so Indira and Jude end up faking a relationship. Fake, real, who can say what goes on behind closed doors?

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version alternating with an Ebook. The narration was done by Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden. I like that the series was all different narrators so listening doesn’t get the stories and characters mixed up. The narrators compliment each other very well while each takes their gender POV. Both gave amazing performances on the stress of PTSD, the overwhelming sounds of everyday and, of course, the passion they eventually felt for each other. For me, the audio gave the characters life and a specific “look” that I don’t generally find with an ebook.
I listened to the audio at 1.5.

There are trigger warnings mentioned in the beginning of the book which was helpful to understand the depth of Jude’s detachment. I admired Indira for her support and stance to Jude. Yes, she had training but her words are heartfelt.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. ( )