THE PLUS ONE

Childhood frenemies find that they have a lot in common when they reconnect as doctors trying hard to heal themselves.

Indira Papadakis, a psychiatrist, rushes to her brother Collin’s Philadelphia home after she catches her live-in boyfriend cheating on her. All she's hoping for is a comfortable couch until she can get her life back in order. Instead, she encounters Jude, Collin’s best friend and her childhood nemesis. A doctor who's spent the last three years in conflict zones torn apart by humanitarian crises, Jude has taken a short break to attend Collin’s upcoming wedding. Reeling from unprocessed trauma that he's concealing from his friends and family, Jude is already on edge before Indira walks back into his life. While he has always been wary of her perceptiveness, he is even more unnerved by the psychiatrist’s capacity to see past his defenses. After a few conversations, the duo realizes that they will both be able to weather the endless events in the run-up to Collin’s wedding with greater ease if they pretend to be a couple. But pretenses collapse quickly when the warm comfort of shared memories sparks an attraction that both find hard to ignore. Eddings dwells on Jude's and Indira’s struggles with mental health with a vivid attention to detail. Consequently, the evolution of their relationship from enemies to lovers roughly parallels the individual paths they take from pain to recovery. Indira and Jude are easy to root for: Not only is there undeniable heat between them, but they each demonstrate a lovely willingness to work on themselves as they try to reach for lasting love. But the focus on pain and healing leaves several scenes sounding like a well-intentioned wellness manual.

An uplifting and honest portrayal of the healing potential of companionship.