A Brush With Love by Mazey Eddings

*Spoiler free*

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 mean, a romance book about dentistry sounds pretty interesting. And if I’m being honest, that’s all I really needed to know to wanted to read it. I was eager to see how teeth would be incorporated into a book about love. Plus, I knew it would have an adorable meet-cute and a main character who is trying to grapple with her feelings. I wanted to know what I would think of it. Trigger warnings: grief, some minor dental stuff, sexism, anxiety, panic attacks

Oh this book is so good. I fell absolutely completely in love with it.

This is a weird thing to start off with, but I found the dentistry fascinating, probably because I didn’t need to look inside someone’s mouth to learn about it haha. And, Harper has such a passion for it, and it shows in everything she does. She truly loves what she is doing, and I loved hearing about all the dental stuff she did, even if it was filled with a lot of big words.

Alright, I guess I’ll just get right to the anxiety rep. It felt like a complete gut punch. It hit very, very close, in the best possible way. A lot of the ways I loved it are extremely personal, so I will be vague, but they meant the world. Just, I got a lot of what Harper was thinking. The overwhelming feelings, the need to get away from crowds, the need to follow a plan, the fear, just gosh, I loved it so, so deeply. I cried over multiple sections. It’s messy, because feelings and anxiety are messy, but that was why it was so great. It was there, messy and all. And it isn’t just Harper who is dealing with emotions, it’s Dan as well, and he deals with them. His feelings aren’t brushed off, they’re dealt with and recognized, and I just loved it so much.

Speaking of Harper and Dan, I loved both of them a whole lot. They’re fantastic characters, and their relationship is truly top notch. The mutual pining, the sexual tension, and just the genuine bond that they share was so awesome. They were adorable and sweet, and they worked together. The hard times aren’t brushed off, they’re dealt with. Love doesn’t stop at the hard times, love continues through it, even if that is hard to see sometimes. It’s not a love that crumbles, it’s the kind of love that sticks around.

There were also fantastic friendships! Harper’s group of friends were hilarious and just downright amazing. I loved them all.

Harper is also Jewish! It isn’t a huge part of the book, but it is something that is apart of her, and is important to her.

Just, there’s a date at the GROCERY STORE, there’s hard emotions that are looked at head on, there’s sexual tension that seems like it could burn down a room, there’s super cool dental stuff, there’s friends that are hilarious and wonderful, and it’s just an all around incredible, amazing, spectacular book and I loved it so, so much.

A Brush With Love comes out March 1, 2022! You can add it on Goodreads and pre-order a copy in the meantime!