As a fan of Mazey Eddings, I knew I had to read The Plus One as soon as I finished Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistakes. It’s a book which features charming chemistry, working through our own ideas of ourselves, and fake dating. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exits. 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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Mazy Eddings books are auto-buys for me. I love the ways Eddings is able to describe the character dynamics and get us to fall in love with them. From the premise alone, The Plus One is an utter delight. Childhood rivals who kind of hate each other with a burning passion who are then forced to reconcile – temporarily – for her brother’s wedding and fake date? Who else is smitten?
The Plus One is a dual perspective delight, allowing us to see not only through both of their perspectives, their vulnerabilities and fears, but also the way they see each other. Our misconceptions, barriers, and quick retorts. The character work is intricate and tender. How the relationship between Indira and her brother is charismatic and heartwarming. Or the ways in which Jude is wrapping his own head around his survivor’s guilt and visions of the future.
Listening to this on audio book was not only some spicy fun, the narration brings Indira and Jude alive. The ways in which you can hear the wavering in their voices. The unspoken words in their silences. Imani Jade Powers & Joe Arden do such a fantastic job at bringing these characters alive and getting readers even more invested.
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The romance in The Plus One is unparalleled. And I also adored the ways in which Eddings works through our fears and trauma. How we can feel we are too damaged to deserve anything. A mere danger waiting to explode and hurt those around us. Or how terrifying it can be to be abandoned, left alone, to feel that ache and fear for the future. It’s a book that balances the sweet and the bitter, the ups and the downs of falling in love and getting to know someone else – and ourselves. Find The Plus One on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, Libro.fm, and Google Play.