A brush with love

An anxious dentist isn't sure she can handle taking a study break for love in Eddings's alternately raunchy and poignant debut. When final-year dental student Harper Horowitz falls down a flight of stairs onto first-year Dan Craige, she's momentarily startled out of her habitual worry by his good looks and easygoing demeanor. As their paths keep crossing, Harper only likes him more but she's afraid a relationship would interfere with securing an oral surgery residency or cause stress she can't handle. Dan is also struggling: he left a job he loved in finance to please his mother, who needs help at her dental practice, but he's bored by dentistry and struggles in class. The refreshingly diverse supporting cast includes Harper's brash but well-intentioned friends and Dan's endearing roommate--and it's clear to all that Harper and Dan are made for each other, if Harper can just muster the courage to let Dan into her life. Harper's struggle with anxiety is well drawn but sometimes threatens to overwhelm the rest of her characterization--and even the plot itself. Still, fans of Grey's Anatomy will feel right at home at Callowhill University's School of Dental Medicine. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Mar.)

An aspiring oral surgeon has to rethink her priorities in life and love when she literally crashes into a handsome first-year dental student. Harper Horowitz is, by her own admission, a bit of a perfectionist, almost to a fault--she foregoes socializing for studying, studying, and more studying, all in order to pursue her dream of earning the top placement in an oral surgery residency. Life, or maybe fate, seems to have other plans when she topples down the stairs and lands right on top of Daniel Craige (no relation to the famous Bond actor). He's handsome, he's funny, and what's more, he's really into Harper, but the timing couldn't be worse, especially when there might be an imminent cross-country move in her future. The two solemnly agree to remain friends, but they start to reconsider that plan with all the free time they're spending together--and all the hard truths that come to the surface along the way. Eddings' debut is equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching, though the bumps on the road to Harper and Dan's happily-ever-after do contribute to some uneven pacing, particularly at the conclusion. What's most rewarding about the book, however, is the fact that Harper and Dan have a dynamic that helps each of them discover the best version of themselves in the course of their romance; Harper not only acknowledges, but finds successful ways of mitigating her deeply rooted anxiety, and she and Dan both deal with unresolved trauma connected to their pasts. A poignant debut that will put a smile on your face. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.