Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake

A Brush with Love #2

by Mazey Eddings

Lizzie has made endless mistakes. Kitchen fires, pyramid schemes, bangs (of the hair and human variety), you name it, she’s done it… and made a mess of it too. One mistake she’s never made is letting anyone get closer to her than a single hook-up. But after losing yet another bakery job due to her uncontrolled ADHD, she breaks her cardinal rule and has a two-night-stand that changes everything.

Once burned, twice shy, Rake has given up on relationships. And feelings. And any form of intimacy for that matter. Yet something about charming, chaotic Lizzie has him lowering his guard. For two nights, that is. Then it’s back home to Australia and far away from the pesky feelings Lizzie pulls from him. But when Lizzie tells him she’s got an unexpected bun in the oven, he’ll do whatever it takes to be a part of his child’s life… except be emotionally vulnerable, obviously. He’s never going to make that mistake again.

Through a series of mishaps, totally “platonic” single bed sharing, and an underground erotic baking scheme, Lizzie and Rake learn that even the biggest mistakes can have the most beautiful consequences.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Rom Com

325 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2022

About the author

Mazey Eddings is a bestselling author, dentist, and (most importantly) stage mom to her cats, Yaya and Zadie. She can most often be found reading romance novels under her weighted blanket and asking her husband to bring her snacks. She's made it her personal mission in life to destigmatize mental health issues and write love stories for every brain. With roots in Ohio and Philadelphia, she now calls North Carolina home.

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

this isnt necessarily a bad book, i just didnt believe it.

with romance novels where there really isnt much of a plot other than two people falling for each other, the connection between the characters really needs to shine and i just didnt see that with this one. i was never actually convinced that rake and lizzie had any sort of bond other than lust. which is a type of connection, its just not the deep connection i would expect for someone who flies halfway across the world, quits their job, and coparents with someone they know fewer than three days.

it just seems so unrealistic, so implausible, so over-the-top that i couldnt get into the story. i also realised while reading this that im actually not a fan of the ‘unexpected pregnancy’ trope. it just doesnt work for me at all, personally.

so obviously not the target audience for this one. but if you enjoy whirlwind romance with characters taking all of the risks and chances, then this is something to look forward to!

thanks for the ARC, st. martins press.

↠ 2.5 stars

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

My laugh tears in my eyes blended in my ugly tears: I’m an emotional wreck ball keep circulating, banging against the wall!

I truly loved Mazey Eddings’ debut novel and so happy to move to the sequel for reading Lizzie’s story!

Lizzie: feeling too much, expressing too much, saying everything aloud comes into her mind, too straightforward, fireball, dealing with her ADHD by running away from attachments, experienced in hookups!

Rake: Aussie charm, a lord jumped out from Julia Quinn novels, emotionally unavailable because of his baggages from past!

Their unplanned two nights stands turn into unplanned, shocking pregnancy! Could they team up for this challenge? Could they be good parents?

Their story starts impactful with sudden meeting at the bar, a big fight, cavalier tendencies of Rake meets Lizzie’s I’m big girl I can protect myself against the abuse!

It’s definitely unconventional, different and messy kind of love story! But the smart and dark humor behind it and the author’s caring attitude around characters’ emotional breakdowns, her sensitive approach to mental illness and intimate relationship problems were fascinating!

Both of the flawed, broken MCs were so much lovable!

I couldn’t put it down! I cried! I snickered! I sighed! I got furious! I soothed! I giggled! This story brought out so many emotions I’d buried!
Definitely recommended!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland)]

When I found out this book featured a MC with ADHD I knew I wanted to read it because it's something I've fought with my whole life and recently finally got a diagnosis. So I've been looking for both non-fiction and fiction books to read to find out more about that part of myself. Because of that I connected to this book on a real personal level. I saw a lot of myself in Lizzie even when I didn't want to, and it was very eye opening for me. I appreciated that part of this story the most. Seeing struggles I've gone through personally, and continue to go through still meant a lot to me. Seeing how ADHD affects relationships represented was such a meaningful thing for me. But other than that, the romance was just kind of okay for me. It starts with the accidental pregnancy trope which I have very meh feelings about, but I did feel like the characters had a great chemistry together. It was enjoyable overall, a quick cute read if that's what you're looking for!

[Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is such a hard book for me to review. There were SO many things that I loved about this book, but it was not a perfect read for me. To start off with some positives: I absolutely ADORE Mazey Edding's writing style. She has such a knack for writing hilariously quirky little one liners that just absolutely make her books sparkle. I also loved the heck out of Lizzie and Rake as a couple. Fair warning, things between them start off pretty dang insta-lovey. If that isn't your thing, I would maybe steer clear of this one. However, as someone who usually loathes insta-love, I was not at all bothered by it in this case and was genuinely rooting for Lizzie and Rake from page one. One final positive will unfortunately also lead me into a pretty huge negative. If you somehow missed it in the synopsis (which it seems like a lot of early readers have, actually), this book revolves around accidental/unexpected pregnancy. This is another trope that I typically hate, but I found that it worked *so* well in this book, to the point where I think I may actually need to change my stance on how I feel about pregnancy in my romances as a whole. With with that being said....... this book did possibly my least favorite thing a romance revolving around pregnancy can do: it villainized an ex-partner for having an abortion. To be fair, the author did make it clear that both she and her characters are pro-choice, but then still chose to portray the ex as a liar and a cheater after disclosing that she had an abortion, which only continues to further the narrative that people who have abortions are untrustworthy or bad. I'm honestly really bummed that the book ended on such a sour note for me because, as you can clearly tell from the first half of this review, there was so, so much that I loved about this book. Unfortunately I just can't pretend that the bit about Rake's ex didn't leave a pretty bad taste in my mouth, especially considering I feel like that whole bit could have been completely left out and the book would have hit pretty much exactly the same notes without it. I do still plan to carry on with this series and read more from Mazey in the future because I do genuinely really love her writing and her characters, but this just wasn't really it for me and I am SAD. Here's hoping that I enjoy the next book in this series more!

CW: unexpected pregnancy, abortion, cheating

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't judge the book by its cover. This one is hoTTT!

This book took me by surprise because yes, I'm guilty of assuming it's an innocent, and fluffy rom-com.

Lizzie is a baker in Philadelphia with ADHD. She met an Aussie businessman, Rake at a bar. They clicked and have two nightstands. Weeks later Lizzie is pregnant despite using protection. Rake is back in Sydney and is surprised to get a call from Lizzie.

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake was a joy to listen to. I love the two main characters and Lizzie's group of friends. Dirty talk and dirty thoughts. Open-door scenes 🔥🔥🔥🔥, kinky baked goods, and hilarious dialog made this ten-hour book a super quick read.

The only negative is the conflict between the two felt forced. I don't even think it's needed after meeting Lizzie's parents.😮

Summer Morton and Will Peters did a wonderful job with the narration. This was my first book by Mazey Eddings and loved it!

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐

Content warnings from the author: pregnancy, discussion about abortions, ableist language about ADHD

Book 2 in the A Brush With Love series, but definitely can be read as a stand alone (and I rarely say that, so it must be true).

Featuring ~ dual 3rd person POV, slow burn, some steamage

Lizzie has made quite a few mistakes in her life, but having a two night stand with the hot Aussie, Rake, is not one of them. When Rake heads back to Australia after his business trip is over he doesn't think he'll ever hear from Lizzie again...until she calls out of the blue to say she's pregnant. Without even hesitating he hops on a 36 hour flight to have this conversation in person.

Rake is like the sweetest ever ~ love him so much. I was rooting for these two from their first hot night. I still gotta call this a slow burn because even though we get some good action pretty quickly we have to wait quite a bit for them to get their act together before they do it again.

Overall, a super fun read. I can't wait for Mazey's next book.

Side note ~ I am so happy she finally stood up to her toxic mother, that was an emotional few pages there.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy and the audiobook to review. I started out listening to it, then switched to the e-book, then back again and ultimately my favorite was the audio, so that's how I tackled most of it.

Narrated by Summer Morton and Will Peters for 9 hours and 15 minutes, easy to follow at 2x. It was interesting that for most of the narration Will was speaking in an American accent, but the dialogue parts were in an Australian accent. Summer's Australian accent was great.

*Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St Martin's Press, Mazey Eddings and NetGalley for my audio copy and ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

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[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizzie Blake has made a few mistakes. She has ADHD and has just lost a bakery job. Naturally she is bummed, but she is determined and won’t let that stop her even if it is upsetting. Lizzie is a fun and vivacious character. She has few close friends and isn't afraid to admit that she enjoys one-night stands. She met a man online and planned to meet him at a bar, when he leaves her waiting, she meets someone else.

Rake is a charming and handsome man from Australia who is in town for work. He has sworn off relationships but there is something about Lizzie that he can't resist. He knows that he won’t be in town long, but there is just something about Lizzie that piques his interest.

Lizzie and Rake have a two-night stand which is steamy and full of witty banter. They enjoy each other's company, but Lizzie is quick to point out that this is going nowhere, and Rake has to return to Australia. But when Lizzie tells him some shocking news, Rake makes plans to be with her.

This was such an enjoyable and fun book. I enjoyed the author's first book in the series A Brush with Love and I thought this book was even better! Although this is the second book in a series, it's a stand-alone as well.

I was a little apprehensive when I began reading this book. The synopsis gives a lot of information about the book and the plot. They pretty much gave away the farm and yet, this is a journey not to be missed. I enjoyed both characters and the supporting characters. Both characters go on individual journeys and their combined journey as well.

Even if you know quite a bit of the plot, this book still dazzled and shined. Plus, there are things not given away, that make this book a winner.

Delightful, steamy, charming, and full of witty banter!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★

Lizzie has always preferred one night hookups to long term relationships. After losing another job due to her ADHD struggles, she goes looking for a one night stand with an online date, only to end up in Rake’s bed. After deciding to make it a two-night-stand and then cut ties, Lizzie continuing on with her life in Philadelphia and Rake returning home to Australia, Lizzie is shocked to discover she is pregnant.

Rake, determined to be a father to his unborn baby, upends his world and moves to Philadelphia to be near Lizzie. As the two try to establish a platonic co-parenting plan prior to “le-bebe’s” arrival, they find it hard to maintain physical boundaries and the lines begin to blur.

I had not read Mazey Edding’s debut, “A Brush With Love”, so when St. Martin’s Press granted me an arc for this novel, I was over the moon and knew I wanted to read it immediately. And I really really enjoyed it.

I loved reading about each of the MCs with all of the quirks and oddities, particularly Lizzie who seems like a burst of sunshine that I wish I could meet in real life. Her relationship with Rake is swoon worthy and I loved seeing them each discover who they are and who they ultimately want to be.

My only criticism is that it was a bit steamier than I think it needed to be, and not all of the open doors scenes felt necessary or enhancing to the plot line. Overall though, it was a fun and charming read that I would recommend, especially if you like a good bit of steam in your novels.

One final note - as a neurodiverse individual myself, I am hard pressed to find good representation of the intricacies of the struggles we sometimes face living in a predominantly neurotyoical world. Although more and more neurodiverse authors are popping up on the scene, it’s still few and far between. This makes Mazey Eddings one of a handful of extremely important authors and I hope you’ll check out her work to, at the very least, see what it is like to be a person with ASD/ADHD, etc.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is the second book in Mazey Eddings' adorable A Brush With Love series. These novels are Adult Romances that follow a friendship group of women.

I loved getting to know a little bit about Lizzie at the end of A Brush with Love, so I was super excited when I learned she was to have the starring role in this next novel!!!



Lizzie, a professional baker, is known to be the chaotic one in their friendship group. She really tries, but yeah, she messes up sometimes, forgets things, gets distracted, makes reckless decisions, etc. It's just who she is.

Although some people may look at these things as personality quirks, for Lizzie, who lives every day with uncontrolled Adult-ADHD, they are a lot more than that. She struggles to stay on track, with even every day functions oftentimes being difficult for her.



One mistake she doesn't make is getting into a serious relationship. Hook-ups, sure, yes, she loves that one night of intimacy and pushing boundaries. Anything more than that brings complications. No, thank you.

That's why when her most recent hook-up with a super charming, sexy Australian man named Rake, turns into a 2-night affair, it really throws her for a loop.



Rake, who was only in the States for a business trip, returned to Australia shortly thereafter. Regardless of the distance, he can't seem to get that charming redhead off his mind. He's given up on relationships though, so just needs to accept it for what it was; two wild nights.

But when Lizzie calls him to tell him she's pregnant, it very suddenly becomes much more than that. What will this non-couple, this long-distance non-couple, do?



I had a ton of fun with this book. The audiobook is delightful, the narration was so engaging. It's wild, charming, funny, OTT and 100% a page-turner.

I loved both of these characters so much, as well as getting to watch their relationship evolve. Eddings writes some incredible banter and her characters are always well-developed, often dealing with relatable issues.

Additionally, the steamy scenes are fantastic. And yeah, it's super steamy, so please don't go into this thinking it's rated-PG. It's not, this is R. However, it's not overwhelmingly so. This novel is about the story of the relationship more than the great sex.



I can definitely say after this book that Mazey Eddings is one of my go-to Romance writers. I will pick up anything she writes in the future.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this so much and am looking forward to the next book in the series where Lizzie's friend, Indira, gets her time to shine!!

[Melany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a MUST READ. Like no joke. I just got finished with it and I directly came to Goodreads to show this out to the world!!! Wow, the author's writing style puts you in a trance. You literally feel like you're there in these lives with the characters living it with them. The twists and turns kept me so intrigued, I just HAD to keep reading to see how this book turned out! Lizzie is so relatable, as I have ADHD myself. Beyond that, she's so loveable, outgoing and fully raw. I love that about her! She lives her life vividly without a regret. Rake on the other hand is well put together, tidy and a little reserved but they fit together so dang well. You're going to be rooting for them like you rooted for Ross and Rachel on Friends, the entire time! I absolutely loved this book. Going to tell all my friends to check out this romantic comedy. Had me giggling then tearing up then worried what would come next! And that ENDING. Girl, please. The whole thing was just so flawless. GRAB THIS THE MOMENT IT RELEASES, you will NOT regret it.

This ARC was given to me to review from the publishers and NetGalley. All comments above are solely my true opinion after reading this book.

[kimberly ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was perfectttttt

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This book was fun and chaotic in the best way, much like our main character Lizzie. Lizzie and Rake meet at a bar and hit it off. They spend a few nights together and then Lizzie finds out she's with child and said child is Rake's. Problem is, Rake lives in Australia and was just in town for business.

Lizzie is sure to let Rake know right away that she's pregnant and keeping it (praise the Lord- no secret baby here), and Rake decides to take a transfer to the US to be near her and the baby. What starts out as a fling, turns into a friendship, which then turns into more. I loved how Rake was with Lizzie and how he made her feel about herself. Her parent's are trash and she really needed someone in her corner.

Though this was different in a lot of ways, I would recommend this to those who love 'Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating'. It had that same messy and chaotic heroine meets and becomes with friends with a tidy guy who is nearly opposite of her. I actually loved this so much more than the first book in this series and I'm glad I read it. Lizzie and Rake's book was fun, yet emotional at times and overall enjoyable for me!

Audio book source: Netgalley
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Summer Morton & Will Peters
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 10h 21m

[Dab · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m in a mood for pregnancy books. I’ve never been a fan but something clicked in my brain when I read Out on a Limb and later Ready or Not. Turns out I love this trope, who would have thought!

Unfortunately I didn’t love this book. It was okay, but not much more than that. I had trouble connecting with Lizzie. The ADHD rep was a little overdone. I felt mostly sorry for her, she was completely unable to function in society and her parents were evil (I loved how she handled their relationship in the end though). I didn't really like her and I wasn't sure why Rake (yes, his name was Rake💀) was so crazy about her.

I remember loving the first book in the series and the writing in this one was still good, but the story was a little disappointing. I didn't feel much chemistry between Lizzie and Rake and it felt like reading a book about ADHD with a romance subplot. The pregnancy also felt like an afterthought, Lizzie puked a few times at the beginning and that's it. And then once the baby was born and was crying at night, both parents got up with a smile to tend to it, which 😳😆🤣💀

[Blackjack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect this author is one whose writing style doesn't work for me. Sometimes I don't enjoy a particular book by a new-to-me author but still want to try that author's books again. Here though I am likely to pass on future Eddings books for a few reasons that I'll cover in my review.

I like some of the author's representation of her heroine living with ADHD. Lizzie's struggles felt authentic and worthy of empathy. Some of the strategies for coping with life obstacles and time management were interesting and most likely beneficial to many neurotypical people too. ADHD is handled well from the individual person's perspective as well as how others view her. Having said that, I quickly became confused by Lizzie's larger-than-life personality, and how or even if it fits into the author's ideas on ADHD. Lizzie is scattered and unfocused, which is understandable. But why is she so crude in her language choices and behaviors? Rake, the hero of the story, finds her crude language and at times outlandish public social behavior endearing, and I do think it's meant to be a dividing point between those who are able to value Lizzie for her big heart and uniqueness and those who can't abide a non conformist among them. I felt uncomfortable at my failure to find Lizzie charming when she was suddenly blurting out at a dinner party how well endowed her new boyfriend is. The book is filled with any number of such scenes that felt kind of cringe-y to me rather than charming, but also marks me as someone unable to embrace the wonderfulness of her social behavior. Lizzie finds her passion in life as an erotic baker whose focus is on female genitalia. Okay, fine, but I needed clarification from the author why Lizzie is an exhibitionist and has an identity wrapped up in being sexually non conformist. Is Lizzie a free spirit or someone struggling to define herself outside of her sexuality? How does ADHD interconnect with Lizzie's sexual issues? I think there could be links but I struggled to make them and ended up feeling confused by her characterization.

The other significant problem in this book for me concerns Lizzie's pregnancy, which happens in the first couple of chapters and then takes center stage for the rest of the novel. Lizzie and Rake hook up at a bar and go their separate ways, and then weeks later she finds herself pregnant. The rest of the story revolves around the two strategizing how to co-parent while trying to sort out their personal relationship and get to know each other. I found this aspect of the book disconcerting in its stark and simplistic and even binary representations. Lizzie is the Good Woman because she chooses to carry her pregnancy to term. Rake's former girlfriend is the Bad Woman because she secretly had an abortion (and after cheating on him). Rake is the Good Man because he leaps at the chance to become a father two mere minutes after discovering a woman who is an essential stranger to him is having his baby. Both Lizzie and Rake throw themselves wholeheartedly into impending parenthood with no reservations or concerns. The book too is riddled with other one-dimensional characters, like Rake's misogynist villain of a boss, Lizzie's dismissive and toxic mother, and even Lizzie's misogynist first boyfriend. Lizzie has a group of loving and committed female friends who are also clearly marked as characters for future books in this series. But I could never distinguish any of them from each other - they are all fun-loving, beautiful and wonderful -- and all left me with absolutely no interest in reading their individual stories.

Mazey Eddings has been getting lots of hype, which is perplexing to me based on this book.

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings
#2 of the Brush with Love series. Contemporary romance. ADHD. Can be read as a stand-alone.
Lizzie tries her best, but ends up making everything a mess. Look at her recent hookup with Rake. Who knew that condoms expired?

I was very worried at the start of this book that it was a bad choice for me. Single night hookup sex and new adult, love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude, job changes, parties and drinking, and roommates. I’m so past that stage. I read on with trepidation. As we get to know Lizzie and Rake we find there were ADHD reason and bad parenting issues that created the Lizzie the story started with. Rafe is charmed by Lizzie and the way she finds something beautiful on every block she walks. The two grow closer by living together platonically and really getting to know moods, feelings and backgrounds though both try to suppress and ignore all emotions.
Bottom line, I’m really glad I continued with the story. It’s a gorgeous romance with lots of emotions plus them laughing and learning to love.

Excerpt:
“ Rake was feeling fine.
Totally fine, save for this odd sensation that he was taking off on a flight and leaving his stomach on the ground. He wasn’t sure what that was all about.”
Excerpt from Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistakes by Mazey Eddings

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.
4.5

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of my new favorite books this year. And possibly for all-time. What can one say about this book? It's hilarious. It instantly reminded me of the chaos of You Deserve Each Other. I fully believe Lizzie and Naomi would be the best of friends. If you enjoy one, you'll love the other!

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, as I said before, is super fun. But deeply emotional as well. Lizzie just got fired from her baking job. Throughout all her life she has felt like she is too much. Her parents have always told her she is too messy, too lazy, too irresponsible. They don't understand that she has ADHD. After she was fired, she breaks her only rule about dating: don't do more than one-night stands. So, yeah she has a two-night stand with one hot Australian named Rake.

She gets pregnant.

This beautiful novel has from accidental pregnancy trope to only one bed. It's such a fun journey to read; Lizzie is the best and Mazey wrote the most entertaining dialogue. I love meeting Rake, he's the sweetest boy ever. As soon as Lizzie tells him she is pregnant, he leaves his job in Australia, says goodbye to his parents, and takes a plane to the US to be with her. He wants to be there, wants to be involved as much as possible. They end up living together as platonic roommates though the pact they made (not sleeping together again, not doing anything romantic) is slowly disintegrating. What Rake and Lizzie feel for each other is bigger than themselves.

[Tina Loves To Read]

This is a Young Adult Romance, and this is the second book in A Brush with Love series. I do not think this is a bad book, but I do think this is not the book for me. I ended up DNFing this book because I just did not love the writing style or pulled into the storyline. I did read the first book in this series, and I did not love or hate that book. I wanted to give this author one more try before saying that this author was not one for me. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizzie is a whirlwind of thoughts and activity, authentic to the core and I absolutely adored her. Mazey Eddings does a great job writing neurodiverse characters into her stories. Lizzie’s ADHD is realistically represented in this book. With a swoon worthy male MC, lots of laugh out loud moments, and some heartfelt emotion, I think this one is my favorite in the series so far. My GR friend Fran warned me not to let the cutesy cover fool me, but I still wasn’t prepared for that level of spice. 4 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ stars.

[h o l l i s · Rating 2 out of 5]

So clearly I only ever read the first paragraph (if even that) of the synopsis because after finishing this book, and realizing what makes up the majority of the content, I was sure the synopsis was cheekily dodging this particular trope. But no. It's right there, in paragraph two : unexpected baby. Yikes. So, yeah, this one's on me, folks. But here's your warning incase you missed that, too.

Obviously (well, maybe not) this isn't only about these two strangers who have to deal with the unplanned (despite their best intentions) consequences of their hook-up gone unexpected. We also have a lot of dialogue, discussion, and dealing/living-with adult ADHD and the various processing struggles and tricks required to function. Not only function but thrive. And, at the same time, finding the people around you -- platonic or otherwise -- who cherish you regardless and don't treat you as a burden. Which is what one of our MCs was brought up to believe. The other has his own baggage, too, but it's a little more in line with standard romance stuff; except for one thing that is sorta used as motivation (maybe not the right word, I'm struggling with how to phrase this without being too obvious, even though I want to shout about it from the rooftops; though I won't) for why he is so quick so early on to jump in on making their partnership work. I won't say more but there are layers that, even though it's explained and there doesn't seem to be an intent to villainize the situation, it just may not work for some readers because I think it's a fine line on how it may come across -- especially right now. And honestly while I understand to some degree why the author included it, it could've easily just not been there.

Overall, nothing about this made me mad -- not even the thing I went on about above, I just kind of did a mental dodge around it; not even the baby stuff (which, by the way, I'm not anti-baby, I just don't prefer them to be the focus and it was mostly the only plot-related conflict). But it's just obviously not my jam. There were some emotional beats, some of the ADHD representation was interesting to read about as I'm not aware of anyone in my life with that diagnosis and certainly not read it described in the way the author did here, and some of the 'trying to remain platonic while lusting after each other' hijinks were entertaining. But I just didn't connect. I didn't laugh. And I was only minorly impacted by some of the aforementioned emotional turmoil.

This is Eddings' second release and neither have quite landed for me, though both in different ways. I can definitely see why people on my flist are already enjoying this, and why others will still enjoy it. To each their own! I might give her one last shot (three strikes, you're out!) before throwing in the towel though.

2.5 stars

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love that Eddings wanted to bring us a character living with ADHD, but she brought us a character exhibiting no adult effort to make her life work given her ADHD. Both I and my son have serious ADHD, and we have worked really hard to create a framework where we can do what we need to do for ourselves and others. In so many ways ADHD is a superpower. We see the world differently than most, we seem to find more joy and humor in life than those around us. That said we know that we are not the center of the universe, that if we love others we need to be people they can rely upon. Lizzie Blake did not get that memo. We start with someone who is late to work nearly every day, but cannot be bothered to set an alarm. Someone who gets lost in reading on breaks, but cannot be bothered to set an alarm. Lizzie has a lot of one-night stands as stress relief (and for fun presumably) and yet does not pay enough attention to know that condoms expire (doesn't everyone know that?) She is shocked that expired condoms are not effective. Lizzy loses everything she borrows from her friends and yet still borrows things and loses or breaks them and does nothing to track those things, she regrets for a second that she has shown her friends no respect or care, but then shrugs and moves on (never offering to even replace things she lost.) I assure you it is hard, and sometimes despite all efforts things fall apart, but it is possible to structure your life in a way that honors the people who love and trust you and still have a good life with ADHD. The character Lizzie doesn't do that, and we are supposed to be okay with that. Eddings makes clear that we would be wrong to ask her to develop strategies to honor the trust others put in her. She does actually start to make an effort to do that late in the book-- in her late 20's, having not cared enough about others until then to learn to use a calendar, set alarms, or otherwise create protocols. She is all id, she is like a 3 year old with good boobs. Forgive me if I cannot celebrate a stunted narcissist with a diagnosis and access to medication and mental health services (she cannot be bothered to use) having a baby and being charged with her care. I want to call child protective services. I hate the way Eddings wrote this, and feel like she owes neurodivergent people an apology. Most of us actually try, and through effort mostly succeed. Sometimes our wiring gets the better of us, but we keep up the work.

Add to all of that the fact that the book is poorly written, and the non-Lizzy characters are ridiculous. Lizzie's mother is a soap opera villainess. Lizzie's S-in-L is Snow White. Rake is way too good to be true. (And what kind of name is "Rake" anyway? There is nothing it could be short for. Are his parents avid gardeners? I guess Rake is better than "Hoe" or "Compost" or "Garden Weasel."). Rake is a co-dependency nightmare who does nothing but shake his head good-naturedly when Lizzie robs him of sleep, employment and comfort, leaves his apartment in a shambles, and destroys his property.

I did not for a moment cheer for Lizzie and Rake to get together. This book was for me an anti-romance. Ugh!

[Heather K (dentist in my spare time) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt a little middling about A Brush with Love, so I'm beyond thrilled that Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake was such an unputdownable story. I literally didn't want to stop reading, and risked car sickness to finish the story.

I get why Lizzie might not be for all readers, but I immediately clicked with her. I loved her chaos and how she said exactly what was on her mind. After reading so many buttoned-up female MCs, Lizzie made me feel alive. I laughed and cried with her, and I really just GOT her. Her baking journey was so fun for me, and her personal journey felt very rewarding.

Rake was less developed and a little too perfect, but I still actually liked him. Sure, the story was a bit insta-lovey, but I think they really grew together over time. I'll also never turn down tall and handsome with an Australian accent...

I read Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake in practically one sitting, and it made me so excited for what else is in store for us with the rest of the series. Keep it up, Mazey Eddings.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

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[m · Rating 4 out of 5]

I GOT IT I'M SO EXCITED AHH

update :5/5/2022

TW: very chaotic paragraph(s) I call reviews

Let me say I loved Lizzie in a brush with love (if you haven't read that what are you doing with your life) and I was so excited when I found out she's getting her book and Maezy Eddings did not disappoint.
I'm not okay rn so I’m going to rant with a list:

•THIS WAS SO FUCKING SOFT AND FLUFFY ?? (despite the unexpected smut lol we don't talk about that) brb adding rake to my never-ending list of fictional bfs💞💘


•LIZZIE DESERVES THE WORLD OKAY NOTHING LESS
OKAY SHES SO STRONG AND I STAN HER FOR THAT NAD WHY DO I ALWAYS HAPPEN TO RELATE TO THE MCS WHY??


•the dedication hit a little to hard ngl…

“For anyone who’s been told they’re too loud. Too emotional. Too much. You are the perfect amount of enough.”


• THE LOVE CONFESSION ARE YOU KIDDING ME RN

“You love me? A small burst of fear shot across her nerves. “Yeah, Birdy, I do. I love you like a heart beats or a fish swims. It’s automatic and unavoidable, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. You’ve busted into my heart and carved your name into every chamber.”

I cried. In public


•THE FACT HE BAKED A CAKE TOO AND PUT THEIR NAMES WITH A HEART ON IT EVEN THOUGH HE CAN'T REALLY BAKE TO GET HER BACK IDK WHAT TO CALL IT

Lizzie stepped closer, looking at the splotchy pink icing, trying to make out the words written in terrible cursive on the top. She realized it said Rake ♥s Lizzie, and she sucked in a breath.
“It’s really ugly,”

still ugly crying here lol


•THERE WERE SO MANY SCREAMING CRYING MOMENTS IN THIS BOOK (sad and cute)


•I usually don’t like the pregnancy trope but this book is an exception okay it was actually portrayed perfectly☹️🫶


I AM DECEASED?/?/?.?:
(not an understatement)
probably going to reread abwl to this week cause I’m feeling nostalgic (I literally read it 2 months ago)
okay ly bye <3

5⭐️

thank you net gallery for this e-arc!

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW: Abortion, accidental pregnancy. I am so annoyed by this book. I knew it was an accidental pregnancy book going into it and because I knew that, I was fine reading it. What I was not prepared for was 72% through it being revealed that the reason Rake, the hero, wanted to be involved with Lizzie, the heroine, and the pregnancy was because his cheating “evil ex” (god, I hate that trope) had an abortion without telling him. READ THE ROOM. We do not use women who have abortions as a foil for the good little heroine who chose to go through with the pregnancy. While the book did establish both the hero and heroine as pro-choice, it didn’t make up for the fact that how it is written comes across as bad women get abortions and good women don’t. I lost my access to abortion on Friday, so reading that background explanation felt very personal and especially painful. It was not needed. Without changing anything else in the book his back story could have easily been that he’s an only child and has always wanted kids, or hell, keep the cheating ex and the subsequent breakup and don’t include the abortion. Seriously the omission of about a page and half would have bumped this book up to a 4 star book for me. Should the book be edited to remove this section prior to publication I will happily rewrite my review, but until that moment, this is where I’m at with the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Syndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is quite a mouthful for a title. I like the writing. Miss Eddings proven herself to be my favorite rom com. I feel she writes Lizzie as her alter ego in the story.

Although the plot is not as stellar as Brush with Love, I still feel entertained with it. The focus for the heroine as ADHD is good. More and more authors bringing up this issue as their center character.

Overall a great book.

4 stars

[Angelina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m glad I gave this author another chance, but this one wasn’t for me. Similar to “A Brush with Love,” I appreciate the representation of neurodiversity and mental illness in this book, and I’m partial to series where the secondary characters from one book get to have their own romcom in the next installment. My issue with “Lizzy Blake’s Best Mistake” is twofold. First, I’m not especially drawn to the accidental pregnancy romcom trope. I didn’t do any research on this book beforehand, so this one’s on me––I probably should have guessed what Lizzy’s “mistake” would be.

Second––and most importantly-–the writing just isn’t very strong. It’s repetitive and awkward, especially whenever there’s conflict between the characters. I noticed this in “A Brush with Love,” but it’s especially apparent in this book, perhaps because the focus is on the protagonist’s ADHD. The book reads, at times, like the author is following a WebMD checklist of the ways that adult ADHD manifests in women. Many scenes in the first half of the book feel like they were built around Lizzy’s specific issues (her impulsivity, her RSD), instead of allowing those issues to come up organically. I imagine that Eddings’ lack of subtlety could be helpful to readers who’ve had similar experiences, but who haven’t been able to understand or name them. But as a reader who doesn’t need as much hand-holding when it comes to this topic, I wish this book didn’t read so much like a PSA.

*Thank you to NetGalley for access to this electronic ARC in exchange for my honest review*

[ß · Rating 1 out of 5]

goddamn i hate redheads #gingerphobic

no but in all seriousness i cannot believe anyone enjoyed this pile of shit. scroll thru the negative reviews and ppl are just complaining about the accidental pregnancy when a) it’s pretty obvious from the blurb b) that was the least of this book’s problems.

bc other than the boring ass instalust and the annoying need to focus on how sexy the other person was (seriously. how are grown ass ppl this horny. do they not have a life), the guy’s tragic backstory is that his ex got an abortion LMAOOO my guy is traumatized bc his ex deigned to have autonomy over her own body!! wow

[Fadwa]

This book made me happy a disgusting amount, actually. The only source of serotonin i've had in WEEKS. RTC!

[Carole (Carole's Random Life) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/

I had a fantastic time with this audiobook! This is the first book written by Mazey Eddings that I have picked up and I am so glad that I decided to take a chance with it. I loved Lizzie right away and thought that Rake was her perfect match. The narration of the book was incredibly well done and I found myself always wanting to listen for just a little longer. This is a romance that is definitely worth a read.

Lizzie knows all about making mistakes. She has ADHD and has a hard time with all of the things that most adults are able to handle like being on time, remembering appointments, or keeping track of her belongings. As a result, she has a hard time holding onto a job. She has a string of one-night stands in her history but decided to spend a couple of days with the hot Australian hunk she meets while out one night. Soon everything changes as a result of that encounter.

I thought that Lizzie and Rake were fantastic together. The chemistry between them was off the charts but I really liked the way they seemed to understand each other. Rake liked Lizzie for what she was instead of wanting to pressure her to change. He was willing to take whatever she was willing to give and he didn’t hesitate to stand up for her. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between them blossom.

Summer Morton and Will Peters did a fantastic job with this story and I loved how they were both able to bring these characters to life. I thought that they added a lot of emotion into their reading. I thought that their voices worked well together and I loved the accent that they used for Rake. I believe that their narration added to my enjoyment of this story.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. This book is the second book in the Brush with Love series but it reads perfectly fine as a stand-alone novel. I plan to read more of this author’s work very soon.

I received an audio review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio.

Initial Thoughts
I loved this! Lizzie and Rake were both great characters and I loved the chemistry that they shared. They had a lot to work out and I enjoyed getting to see them tackle things together as they fell in love. I thought that Lizzie's struggles with ADHD added a lot to the story and I loved how supportive Rake was throughout the story. The narrators did an amazing job with the story.

[Kelleen (booms.books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - it's such a fun, easy read! and the writing is so compelling! - but something about it hasn't sat right with me since I read it a few months ago. I couldn't put it into words, I just felt weird about the way the pregnancy was handled and discussed? But I recently read a review that talked about how uncomfortable the reader was with the hero's backstory. He had a cheating ex who had an abortion without consulting him about it, which resulted in him really wanting to be a father and really wanting the heroine to keep their baby when she accidentally gets pregnant. This whole thing feels gross and shamey and now, living in a world where folks in America who can get pregnant are not guaranteed access to abortions, this anti-abortion narrative feels not only unnecessary and oblivious, but downright harmful. The hand-waveyness around birth control and the heroine's absolute refusal to consider her options when she has no job, no familial support, an incomplete grasp of her own needs when it comes to her neurodivergent disability, no partner, and a hero who lives halfway around the world just didn't work for me. I am NOT shaming any person who decides not to have an abortion just as I am not shaming anyone who does choose to, but I felt pretty uncomfortable with the way the pregnancy was handled in this book and given that it's the inciting incident and the focal point of the whole book, sets the whole reading experience askew for me.

I liked the heroine a lot and I felt like this was really her story, with much less of a focus on the hero, who I actually feel like I know very little about. I'm glad these two found their HEA, but in a post-Dobbs world, this whole books just doesn't sit right with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and SMP for this ARC.

Disclaimer: I'm friendly with the author on Instagram.

CW: accidental pregnancy, familial rejection

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an absolutely adorable story!!

• Pregnancy trope
• Forced proximity
• One bed
• Dual POV

I would quite literally do anything to have Lizzie's confidence. I LOVE her ❤️ She's funny, fun, sunshine, and all around a well developed character. You can tell that she was written by a woman. The things that went through her head— I've never felt so seen 😂

Rake was so friggen cute. A hot Australian man that gets flustered every once in a while and then takes charge the next? Say less. However, when you have a dual POV story where one character was so well developed, I felt like compared to Lizzie, Rake fell a bit flat. I really liked him!!! But I loved Lizzie so much that he seemed too "typical romcom mmc" for me? I know this makes zero sense, but there's no other way to describe it.

I know some people hate the pregnancy trope with every fibre of their being but uhm... I kinda LOVE it. Maybe it has to do with the fact that a man is willing to drop his entire life to live with and help the fmc (the bare minimum, I know) but OU bAbY, it gives me all the giddy-kicking feet in the air- blushy feels 🤭


The one thing I wished was that Mazey Eddings REAAALLY leaned into the pregnancy trope: go big or go home, right? It was a factor in the beginning of the book and helped to direct the story in a certain direction, but then about 50% in, it became kinda irrelevant and no longer pregnancy-trope focused. I just felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities, where this trope is concerned. However, as a romance book this one was so cute and I highly recommend it!

Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!