“I’ve known Jude my entire life. He lived on the same block as us growing up, and he and Collin were best friends from the jump. But he and I have always been, like, these fundamental opposites. Even as a kid he was serious; had a certain sharpness about him. And I was nothing but soft spots. (…) And he and I fought all the time. And it was always about the silliest stuff. A snarky comment, a mean look, breathing too loud . . . I could always get under his skin, and I kind of loved it. It meant he saw me.”
Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 5 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes and discusses panic attacks, medical trauma, and war and PTSD. Contains explicit sexual content.
“The Plus One” follows Indira Papadakis and Jude Bailey, two childhood frenemies that are forced to walk down the aisle—not of their own wedding, but of Collin Papadakis’s, Indira’s brother and Jude’s best friend. Not only that, but they’re actually all living together for the few weeks before the wedding, for various reasons. Will they be able to coexist around each other? Or will their bickering ruin the party, perhaps even before it starts?
Jude was so haunted by his experiences as an emergency doctor that it killed me, Indira was so set on dealing with her emotional baggage that it inspired me. When I thought Mazey Eddings couldn’t make me fall in love any harder for a set of characters, she gave me “The Plus One.”
These novels all technically work as standalone romances, yet they’re part of a series because they take place in the same world, revolving around a mismatched group of (rather lovable) friends. Indira was never a friend of the group that stood out to me—Lizzie was my fave from book one. But gosh, Indira had my heart on her sleeve about 20 pages in.
Enemies to lovers isn’t my favorite trope, but this was carried out so perfectly I am reconsidering my biases. This was a 5-star read all-around. No beating around the bush with that.
“The Plus One” will be one of my most recommended romance read of 2023, so grab it. No need to hesitate. You’ll love this one, even if you haven’t read the other books in this series. Even if, like me, enemies to lovers isn’t your favorite set up.
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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
andrea's galley 