Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmilliam.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

If you fell in love with Harper and Dan in Mazey Eddings first book, you’re going to be head over heels for Lizzie and Rake in Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake. This book is steamy and funny! There is great chemistry between the two main characters that will make you swoon. Lizzie is a hot mess struggling to keep her life together. Rake is a dreamy Australian in town for business. What could go wrong……besides sex with expired condoms?

Eddings way of addressing and explaining the challenges that people face when they have ADHD are enlightening and eye opening. The noise in Lizzie’s head, the pinpoint focus, and the drowning feeling when one gets overwhelmed resonated with me. I felt seen. I love that this is being addressed in books in a positive light.

The narrators were fantastic!

5 stars

Believe the hype❣️I. Loved. This. Story!! It’s steamy, funny and they had great chemistry and banter. It was the kind of sweet story that had precious moments that I had to reread again before I could continue reading. The half way mark made me wish that the book would never end. Yes it was that good.
Rake was dreamy and every-time he was in Lizzy’s presence I smile. Lizzie was a hot mess, honest and fun. I thought these two were perfect for each other. I’m going to be thinking about this one for awhile.
I had an ebook and audiobook version and I would highly recommend both. Summer Morton and Will Peters co-narrated together and they were awesome. Loved listening to their voices. You need to read this book!
Thanks St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

This was such a cute romcom! It was refreshing to read and I fell in love with the main characters! I would love to read a sequel to this one!

Lizzie and Rake were so fun to listen to, with a romance that was cute and steamy but still had depth, I found this book overall quite enjoyable. There was discussion on Lizzie's ADHD and how that adds challenges to her life, but I appreciated how this was done tastefully and how Rake was portrayed to never see them as a downfall, but rather just added a uniqueness to Lizzie that he adored. I found their relationship totally swoonworthy and I was here for it.

Okay, some parts required a little suspension of disbelief, as they totally would not happen in the real world (i.e. Rake dropping everything and moving to a different country IMMEDIATELY), however I do not mind this in a book if it is done well, which in this case I think it was. I read the story for the escapism, and I think this book provided that. Overall I found it a quite funny and entertaining read.

My only qualm was a brief portion of time that explained the above, and why Rake was so quick to jump on this opportunity with Lizzie, and that was a discussion about abortion (trigger warning for some). While this was a short part of the book, I just wish his cause could have been compelling but maybe not a topic that is so triggering in order to not distract from the overall tone of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Full review on my IG @manis.and.manuscripts on pub day, 9/6!

Reviewed on behalf of Verve Romance

Is this one of my favorite books of 2022? It sure is! Completely and utterly charming, I could not get enough of Lizzie, Rake, and her very best mistake.

Mazey Eddings won me over with her debut novel, A Brush with Love, a super fun, pun-filled, achingly relatable romcom that hit me right in the feels. I was more than a little wary going into Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake because what if . . . what if it didn’t live up to my expectations?

I needn’t have worried. Eddings’ writing was exactly as delightful as I remembered; her turns of phrase, on-point way of presenting neurodiverse characters, and ability to balance humor with emotion made her sophomore effort unforgettable.

The fun- and feels-filled pages of this book are something of a roller coaster. Lizzie is chaotic and hectic and “fritzy” in an endearing way—she’s always moments from disaster, at least in her own mind, and seeing her jump from one awkward or fraught or surprising moment to another was akin to an adrenaline rush. And while I related to the very real anxiety Harper presented in A Brush with Love, Lizzie’s ADHD was as foreign to me as Rake’s love of to-do lists was to her.

Yet she remained someone I could identify with. Wanting everyone to love and value you? Oh, yeah, I got that in spades. Feeling rejection on a visceral (and sometimes borderline imaginary) level? Hoo-boy, been there. Terrified at the idea of being a mother and wondering what in the fresh hell you’re doing? I’m 13 years into this parenting gig and am still convinced I’m seconds from disaster.

Seeing yourself on the pages of a book is important. Diversity and representation are conversations that I value, even knowing that as a (basic) white woman, there are (at least) a hundred books at any given moment that reflect my experiences, despite my mental health struggles and my tendency toward overwhelming homesickness. What Eddings is doing, in providing an authentic voice to the neurodiverse, is good, is needed.

Doing in conjunction with cream-coated booby pasties and strong female friendships and imperfectly perfect men is . . . well, it’s what makes it great.

(PS Shout-out to Mary for being a real one.)

In Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake, author Mazey Eddings does a superb job of presenting to the reader what it's like to walk in the shoes of someone who is neurodiverse. Not only that but she has penned a wonderful romance. Bravo! I adored Lizzie and her story. Her much-deserved HEA with Rake arrived after they both overcame many hurdles. Highly recommend!

As much as the accidental pregnancy trope scares the living shit out of me in real life, I enjoy it immensely when it’s included in a book. So, I obviously ate this all up seeing as the main characters were slowly bonding with each other over the baby they were going to have while also living together. What else could I ask for in a book if I already have accidental pregnancy AND roommates?

When it comes to the main characters, Lizzie and Rake, they got through me from the very first interaction that they had, and I mean this equally as a couple and as separate individuals. Lizzie was a breath of fresh air, I took a liking to her as an individual and I couldn’t believe how mistreated she was for her personality and behavior. Besides, what I loved to see was Rake’s response to Lizzie as a person and how he wasn’t introduced just as the person to love her unconditionally but learned besides her. They were clearly destined for one another and were ready to try for their future as a couple.

So, this novel is a fun ride where we get to see Lizzie’s journey through all the things that are happening to her while we get to enjoy the most entertaining dialogue and obviously go through the motions of what it means to be loved by someone just as you are.

*ARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book with great ADHD representation and I can see why so many people love this story about Lizzie and Rake. This is definitely my least favorite trope and it just bothered me a bit too much to fully love this one. Although the author is wonderful and her writing is fun and I look forward to reading what she does next.

I feel like this one missed the mark for me. I wasn’t a fan of the “surprise pregnancy” aspect, but still went with it. I appreciate bringing to light how adult ADHD can affect a person’s life, including those around them. However, it was brought up so often, that the redundancy took away from the book. I have not read this author’s debut novel, so I can’t compare the two. I just didn’t feel connected to any part of this book. While the author made a good attempt with humor and steam, they weren’t redeeming enough qualities for this to be a glowing read for me. Rated three stars, but it borders 2.5-3

Book Review:
“Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake”
By: Mazey Eddings

When Lizzie and Rake meet right before an Ill fated blind date she isn’t looking for much more than a one night stand. But when circumstances change can they make things work as friends or lovers?

This book was well paced and I enjoyed the theme of a woman finding her footing to stand up for herself and the life that makes sense for her. There were some elements that I found somewhat implausible… hello, that apartment? But I enjoyed watching not only the personal evolution but also the career evolution of Lizzie as it unfolded. I probably also enjoyed this more because Philadelphia is one of my favorite cities so it scored some points with me on that front. The photo for this post is from my engagement session in Philly over 10 years ago (?!?!) but it made me reminisce about our romance which started in Philadelphia.

This book comes out September 6th so it’s a good book to cuddle up and read as the weather cools. It is quick and light… probably more of a palate cleansing type of book to read when you don’t want to work too hard to enjoy yourself. Moderate steam so more apt for a girl’s weekend than a family weekend!

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the Advance copy in exchange for an honest review

Thank you so much to NetGalley + St Martin’s for an early copy of this ebook!

Lizzie Blake swears to never do more than just a single hook up with the men she’s involved with until she meets Rake and has a two night stand. After Rake leaves the states to return to his home country of Australia, Lizzie unexpectedly calls him and tells him that she’s pregnant with his child. The two work out their hesitancies of being in relationships and do what it takes so that both of them can be involved in the baby’s life.

From the beginning, I really enjoyed Lizzie’s character. She’s all parts charming as she is messy, and I really enjoyed that about her. Her banter with Rake was so much fun to read, even from their very first conversation.

Quite a few times throughout the book, I felt as if there was way more smut than there is plot, which is not really something I enjoy. I did really like Lizzie and Rake’s relationship from the beginning, and I know if there was more content in that aspect then I would adore this book. I may just not be quite the niche audience for this book. Overall, it was enjoyable, and I know a lot of people who would love this book!

Eddings has done it again with this beautiful, chaotic, messily adorable romance. The main character, Lizzie, found a direct path to my heart with her vivacious personality and the cloud of chaos that follows her wherever she goes. It was impossible not to fall in love with her immediately. This story had me laughing, sobbing, fanning myself, and feeling every emotion in between. All of the stars to this heartfelt, emotional romance.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Where do I even start.....Mazey Eddings is my idol! She's not only a dentist like me, but a brilliant rom-com writer! I fell in love with her first book Brush of Love (again dental references)....and thought nothing could get better than Dan and Harpers story......

DAMN was I wrong - Mazey completely outdid herself with Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake. It was funny, serious, disastrous and the only way I can describe it - and EMOTIONAL roller coaster!

Lizzie - what is there to even say....she is a brilliantly written hot mess of a character and that is what makes her SO relatable, likable and perfect! Mix that with reserved, hot, Australian RAKE and kaboom! you have a recipe for a disastrous relationship - RIGHT? WRONG....but you must read this book to see why. I could not put this book down and devoured it in 24 hrs - though I wish I had some of Lizzies "special treats" to devour with the pages. You will laugh and cry so be prepared but truly this book was special!

Mazey please keep sharing your gift with us all - can't wait to read Indira's story next....you are such a gifted writing and the world needs more of you!

“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.”

***

This book left me feeling decidedly itchy.

On one hand, the picture painted about a neuro-divergent woman with ADHD, was a fun and hopeful look at what could happen if you’re in the right bar at the right time, and end up with someone who loves your quirks.

On the other hand, there’s something unsettling about having the way your brain works, (and the feelings you have about how your brain works), that leaves one feeling very exposed.

It’s like someone read your therapy notes, and jury’s still out on how they’ll be used – to understand you, or as a weapon.

7/10

I’ll definitely keep my eyes out for more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Lizzie & Rake. *giggles* Rake. LOL. This one didn't work for me but I know romance readers will devour it. Check the things and stuff to see if this one is your cup of tea!

THINGS AND STUFF
-he falls first
-bakery & marketing
-enthusiastic to do lists
-mental health rep: anxiety, ADHA
-accidental pregnancy
-forced proximity
-HEA

Thank you to SMP Romance for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lizzie Blake's uncontrolled ADHD has left her unemployed and feeling scattered. The result of her two night stand with an Aussie in the states on a business trip only further complicates her life! For his part, Rake has given up on relationships after enduring a hurt he quite hasn't gotten over. But something about Lizzie tugs at his heart, even after he returns home to Australia. When she calls to tell him that she's pregnant, he is determined to be part of his child's life. Lizzie, who's family never understood her, can't deny her child of her father's involvement. Will their platonic co-parent relationship work? This is a fun and heartwarming read, but Mazey Eddings also is able to share how ADHD feels inside of Lizzie in a very relatable way. It definitely gave me a greater understanding. This was a fun read and with likeable characters who are easy to root for!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this ARC.

I couldn't put this one down! While I thought Lizzie was going to frustrate me to no end in the beginning, she really grew on me. I loved seeing Rake stand up for her and and seeing her stand up for herself. I don't even like pregnancy-related tropes, but I found that this one really worked for me. It wasn't perfect, but it was really fun.

This book is compellingly readable - I could not put it down and tore through it in about 48 hours. This is my first time reading Mazey Eddings and her writing is such fun to read.

Lizzie Blake has just been fired from another dead end job when she meets Rake in a bar. He’s huge and hot and his Australian accent is like a siren song for Lizzie. They have a weekend of fun and two weeks later, Lizzie finds herself pregnant. Rake immediately moves from Sydney to Philly and the book basically follows them for the first few months of the pregnancy.

Lizzie Blake is a super memorable character. In the beginning of the book, her ADHD isn’t well managed and we see the impact of that in her life from her job to her apartment to her friendships. The author’s acknowledgments share that this an an own voices book for adult ADHD and I appreciated the clear and thorough descriptions of how that manifested for Lizzie. Rake was an amazing male lead - a cinnamon roll if there ever was one. The way he comes to adore and worship Lizzie gave me serious heart eyes.

I struggled a bit with feeling that not a lot happened in the book beyond them being horny for each other (which, frankly, isn’t a bad thing with the chemistry they had!) They also navigate two different third act conflicts - one internal and one external - and so that ended up feeling a little rushed at the end.

Content warnings: Unplanned pregnancy; references to abortion from the male MC’s last relationship; distant and gaslighting parental relationships for Lizzie; physical and sexual harassment in a bar

Thanks to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Very cute book with a sweet ending! It was a quick read and a fun main character. There are different issues brought up and addressed throughout the story and some good spicy scenes! It is the second book in the series but easy to read on its own. I really enjoy Mazey Eddings' writing!

Thank you NetGalley and Mazey Eddings!