A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings Narrator: Emily Lawrence, Vikas Adam
Published by St Martin's Griffin on March 1, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 336
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
Add to Goodreads
Buy on Amazon
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.
I’ve been eagerly anticipating the moment I got to read A Brush With Love, and it finally happened! I follow Mazey Eddings on Twitter, and she is so funny and sweet and adorable and relatable, which made me even more excited to read this book. I love a good romcom, and I love it when the characters are in STEM because it always brings interesting discussions. A Brush With Love started off very strong for me, and I was convinced I’d found a new favorite novel. But… things took a turn for me and I’m going to get a little vulnerable in this review. As always, my main points are bolded.
1. I’d like to begin this review with a discussion on the content of A Brush With Love. The book begins with a compassionate note from the author cautioning readers about some of the book’s content, but I didn’t realize what a large role anxiety was going to play in this story. As someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, reading this book was hard on me. While there was a lot of humor and lighter moments, I came away emotionally and mentally exhausted. Seeing glimmers of my anxiety in Harper, while also seeing that my anxiety could be even worse than it is was very hard. I’d realize I was in physical pain while reading, and had to try to unclench and relax my muscles multiple times. The author did a great job conveying what anxiety is like and how it feels, but it was too much for me to process. If you are triggered by reading descriptions of panic attacks, fear, negative-self talk, sexism in the workplace, and grief I suggest you pass on this one.
2. Harper’s character was a major struggle for me. In the beginning, I found her to be bubbly, quirky, funny, and dripping with personality. I saw a lot of myself in her and related to her desire to be perfect in all things. She can be very sweet (her meet cute with Dan is adorable proof), but she’s also very frustrating. I didn’t see her act like a good friend or a good partner very often, and kept grappling with my confusion as to how her life is filled with great people when she’s doing nothing to keep them there. She takes Dan for granted and pushes him away at every opportunity while also stringing him along. She tells him they are just friends, but cuddles with him and kisses him before saying it was a mistake and pushing him away. She gets mad at him for being a distraction multiple times, and just isn’t nice. I don’t know how he could handle the whiplash. She takes and takes from her friends while shutting them out and giving them almost nothing in return. Clearly she’s found herself a bunch of very understanding saints, I just can’t picture a world where someone can treat people like this and still have them fall all over themselves to be a part of that person’s life.
3. Dan was the highlight of the story for me. I loved him immediately and never wavered on that. He’s sweet, compassionate, understanding, and accepting. He’s very much aware of the people he cares about, and makes it his job to make sure they are ok. He zeroes in on Harper very quickly, and I felt like he knew how she was doing before she did! I loved that about him. What girl wouldn’t want a guy so in tune with her that he knew how to help and what to do without having to be asked? A dream. He is so unbelievably patient and supportive. I don’t know how he was able to do it, especially since he was going through his own stuff, too. He’s stuck in a life he never wanted to live because he feels too guilty doing anything else. He struggles and hurts and goes through a lot of personal growth and evolution, and I just loved his journey.
4. I LOVED the meet cute. It was so mortifying and hilarious and adorable. I won’t spoil it, but it was a great moment.
5. The romance was not my favorite. Harper is moving in a few months, so she decides they need to quash that instant attraction and desire to be together and remain friends. Except… she rarely treats Dan like a friend. He’s basically her boyfriend without the label, and since he’s not allowed to be her boyfriend things get frustrating. Because of how long this story is and how quickly the leads fall for one another, the bulk of the “romance” is them trying not to be more than friends, slipping up, and then Harper pushing him away and/or lashing out at him. And, of course, everything is about Harper so she’s in charge or everything that happens between them and poor Dan was probably blue for most of the book. I got tired of this push and pull. I wanted a swoony, romantic story filled with scenes that melted my heart and I ended up with a bunch of speed bumps and roadblocks that took away from the romance I signed up for.
6. I loved Dan’s and Harper’s friends. I loved Harper’s mentor, who became a bit of a life coach as well as a professor at one point.
7. I do not recommend the audio. The female narrator for Harper’s voice was mostly ok, if a bit nasally, but the voices she chose for Harper’s friends drove me up the wall. Her voice would also speed up, change pitch, and fill with frustrated/mad passion when Harper was getting upset at someone or experiencing an anxiety flare-up. Tense, angry voices agitate me, so this just didn’t work for me. The vocal choices the male narrator made with Harper’s voice made me cringe, and he didn’t have the voice I wish Dan had had. I’m sure I would have been happier if I’d read this with my eyes instead of my ears.
Regardless of my issues with A Brush With Love, I will be recommending it to others. It was not the right choice for me, but the meet cute is adorable, Dan is a wonderful cinnamon role, and there are some really great moments. The writing is lovely, and I enjoyed a lot of the story (even though Harper frustrated me). Eddings sheds light on issues that real people go through every single day, and that’s important. I know many readers will feel seen in these pages, and I know many readers will learn and maybe even become more understanding of people in their lives who struggle with their mental health. I will definitely be giving her next book, Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake a try. Lizzie is in A Brush With Love, and I really liked her!