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jillkaarlela 's review for:
The Plus One
by Mazey Eddings
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Taylor Swift songs: “New Year’s Day”, and “Golden”, and “peace”, more on those at the end, but also, “False God”!
If you like Tessa Bailey level spice with childhood nemesis/enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, fake dating, BUT ALSO beautifully written with amazing character growth real people with real problems trying to figure out life together, this is literally perfect for you. Right now, I’m not into reading books with spice in them, but everything else about the book was perfect for me!!
For this book it was definitely the right choice to do dual alternating POVs. Instead of taking away all of the tension (like most enemies to lovers books do) if you just see how they are feeling for each other and know it’s reciprocated, you get to see these extremely complex characters slowly come to terms and heal from their own traumas. We also get to experience the revelation of their feelings for each other as they do, but it is written in such a beautiful way. I love how while being attracted to each other, they are obviously falling so hard for each other’s souls much more. They slowly become more and more vulnerable with each other, despite not being vulnerable people. Of course the main male character says a few thinks he likes of her physical appearance (actually almost all of them were about her eyes) after he realizes he has feelings for her, but I LOVE how he talked way more about her presence and how safe and comfortable he was feeling with her, and how he truly fell in love with her soul first. And everything feels so authentic between them. While this book definitely doesn’t skip out on their physical relationship, it heavily focuses on their emotional connection much more. I honestly think this book had one of the best emotional connections I’ve read, it was seriously amazing.
I also loved how mental health focused this was, she is a psychiatrist, but also goes to therapy and works on her past traumas with abandonment, and he is also working through a lot of PTSD. I love to see their beautiful relationship form as they both work on their own healing journeys, not trying to fix each other, but to be there through it all. This is really where the song “peace” comes in. They learn that the other will accept them no matter what baggage they carry, the other is there to help ease the burden.
This book was very much a “New Year’s Day” and “Golden” type of love (the songs by Taylor Swift). This book emphasizes how love is shown in the small, everyday moments, where “I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day”!!!! A quote from the book says: “He’d forgotten that happiness wasn’t a banging, violent emotion like all the others that bombarded him every moment. Happiness was soft. Uneventful. It was holding Indira’s hand. Sitting next to her on the couch and listening to her talk. It was a quiet cup of coffee with her next to him reading a magazine. It was teasing her, being goofy and pretending to pass out after sniffing her feet, making her shriek in outrage and giggle. Happiness was them.” 🥹🥹😭
Age rating: 17+, a little spicier than Emily Henry, about 2.5/5🌶️
Thank you Netgalley for providing and advanced reader copy ebook in exchange for an honest review.
If you like Tessa Bailey level spice with childhood nemesis/enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, fake dating, BUT ALSO beautifully written with amazing character growth real people with real problems trying to figure out life together, this is literally perfect for you. Right now, I’m not into reading books with spice in them, but everything else about the book was perfect for me!!
For this book it was definitely the right choice to do dual alternating POVs. Instead of taking away all of the tension (like most enemies to lovers books do) if you just see how they are feeling for each other and know it’s reciprocated, you get to see these extremely complex characters slowly come to terms and heal from their own traumas. We also get to experience the revelation of their feelings for each other as they do, but it is written in such a beautiful way. I love how while being attracted to each other, they are obviously falling so hard for each other’s souls much more. They slowly become more and more vulnerable with each other, despite not being vulnerable people. Of course the main male character says a few thinks he likes of her physical appearance (actually almost all of them were about her eyes) after he realizes he has feelings for her, but I LOVE how he talked way more about her presence and how safe and comfortable he was feeling with her, and how he truly fell in love with her soul first. And everything feels so authentic between them. While this book definitely doesn’t skip out on their physical relationship, it heavily focuses on their emotional connection much more. I honestly think this book had one of the best emotional connections I’ve read, it was seriously amazing.
I also loved how mental health focused this was, she is a psychiatrist, but also goes to therapy and works on her past traumas with abandonment, and he is also working through a lot of PTSD. I love to see their beautiful relationship form as they both work on their own healing journeys, not trying to fix each other, but to be there through it all. This is really where the song “peace” comes in. They learn that the other will accept them no matter what baggage they carry, the other is there to help ease the burden.
This book was very much a “New Year’s Day” and “Golden” type of love (the songs by Taylor Swift). This book emphasizes how love is shown in the small, everyday moments, where “I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day”!!!! A quote from the book says: “He’d forgotten that happiness wasn’t a banging, violent emotion like all the others that bombarded him every moment. Happiness was soft. Uneventful. It was holding Indira’s hand. Sitting next to her on the couch and listening to her talk. It was a quiet cup of coffee with her next to him reading a magazine. It was teasing her, being goofy and pretending to pass out after sniffing her feet, making her shriek in outrage and giggle. Happiness was them.” 🥹🥹😭
Age rating: 17+, a little spicier than Emily Henry, about 2.5/5🌶️
Thank you Netgalley for providing and advanced reader copy ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Abandonment