The Plus One & A Brush with Love

Posted April 5, 2023 by Carole in Reviews / 9 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Plus One & A Brush with LoveThe Plus One by Mazey Eddings
Narrator: Imani Jade Powers, Joe Arden
Series: A Brush with Love #3
Published by Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Griffin on April 4, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Length: 9 hours 39 minutes
Pages: 320
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
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four-stars

"Mazey Eddings’s writing is authentic, emotional, and intensely romantic! To me, it’s like a Taylor Swift song in book form." - New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood

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

She’s not looking to fix him. She’s looking to love him, if he’ll let her in.

Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exists. 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.

Jude has nothing together. A doctor that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust.

Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each other’s fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit...real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.

This was fantastic! I loved Indira and Jude. They have known each other since they were young children since Jude was Indira’s brother’s best friend. They are not huge fans of each other but with Indira’s brother getting married, they somehow find themselves living in the same house. After deciding to be each other’s dates for all of the wedding festivities, the fake situation starts to become very real. 

Jude and Indira were wonderful characters. Both Jude and Indira had a lot of issues to deal with personally and I liked the way they supported each other. I thought that the story dealt with mental health and therapy in a very positive manner. I thought that they were really good for each other and the chemistry between them was palpable. I really enjoyed their journey towards a happily ever after.

I thought that Imani Jade Powers and Joe Arden did a fantastic job with the narration of this book. I thought that they both did a wonderful job of bringing this cast of characters to life and I thought that their voices complimented each other very well. They added just the right amount of emotion to their reading and I am certain that their performance added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of contemporary romance. This book is the third book in the Brush with Love series but it reads perfectly fine as a stand-alone. I had a great time with this book and look forward to reading more of this author’s work soon.

I received a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St Martin’s Griffin.

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Plus One & A Brush with LoveA Brush with Love by Mazey Eddings
Narrator: Emily Lawrence, Vikas Adams
Series: A Brush with Love #1
Published by Macmillan Audio on March 1, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Length: 10 hours 40 minutes
Pages: 336
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm
four-stars

"Mazey Eddings’s writing is authentic, emotional, and intensely romantic! To me, it’s like a Taylor Swift song in book form." - New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood

"An unbelievably cute and funny debut about friendship, the expectations of family, and mental health. A Brush with Love fills that itch for a STEMinist rom-com with laughter, slow-burn romance, and toothy puns." - Buzzfeed

Nine out of ten dentists agree, Mazey Eddings's rom-com A Brush with Love makes your smile brighter!*

*not scientifically proven

Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable. A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules. So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.

Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture.

This was great! I believe that Mazey Eddings does an amazing job of dealing with mental health issues and this book was no exception. I read the other two books in the series before picking this one up so I was already somewhat familiar with the characters but it was great to finally read Harper and Dan’s story.

I really liked Harper and Dan and thought that they were a great match. I like the fact that the characters are going to dental school since I don’t feel like that is a setting that I have seen very often. Harper and Dan both had a lot of issues that they were dealing with and I felt like the way they worked through things was very realistic. I did wish that Harper would have let Dan in a little quicker than she did but I loved their journey overall.

Emily Lawrence and Vikas Adam did a great job with this story. They both have very pleasant voices which were easy to listen to for hours at a time. I loved that they were able to bring the characters of this story to life by adding just the right amount of emotion to their reading. I thought that their voices complimented each other incredibly well. Their performance definitely added to my overall enjoyment o this story.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. I found this to be a wonderful listen with characters that were very easy to fall for. I cannot wait to read more of this talented author’s work.

I received a review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio.

9 responses to “The Plus One & A Brush with Love

    • I reviewed Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake in September. This author does such a great job dealing with mental health issues. I highly recommend her work.

  1. I’ve listened to Joe Arden and Vikas Adam, but I’m not sure about the other narrators. Both books sound like romances I’d enjoy so I’ll see if my library has an audio copy.

    I tried to go back to your post for The Soulmate to comment but the comments were closed. It was one to read *listen* straight through! I also loved The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth too. It was so good! I definitely want to read more by her!

    • I do highly recommend all the books in this series. It is quickly becoming a favorite.

      I hope to read more of Sally Hepworth’s books very soon!

      I probably should change my settings. Scammers tend to target older posts and are relentless. I turned off comments for a few individual posts and I think that I may have turned it off for any post older than two weeks. I can’t figure out how leaving 20 comments on a blog post benefits the scammers but it is incredibly frustrating.

      • I didn’t even think of that but I should’ve because I’ve had to go back on a few older posts and shut off comments, too! I have no idea how it benefits scammers either but I agree, it’s so frustrating!

  2. I just saw The Plus One at the library and I almost picked it up! I will have to go back and get it. Both of these look good!