This is a very readable and well paced book. Not tropes I generally would go for, but it is well executed for the most part. There are lots of moments that made me laugh, and there was a particular moment that spoke to me on a serious level that just sold me on the book completely.

Is it predictable and at times heavy on the cheese? Yes. It is a romantic comedy with a generous helping of spice. Predictable cheese is to be expected!

There are some important messages about the damaging self talk we can develop because of how people we care about treat us. But the self love message is well balanced with irreverent baking and adorable banter.

Would recommend. :)

The description sounded like this would be a fun listen. It did not start out well for me. Lizzie is a grown woman who lives life with reckless abandon and blames it all on her uncontrolled ADHD and yet does absolutely nothing to learn coping mechanisms. avail herself of therapy or meds or do a single thing to stop the runaway train that she is. Yes, her parents were awful to her and all she wants is their approval, but grow up and take a little bit of responsibility for goodness sakes. And yes I have a lot of experience with ADHD so don’t take her issues lightly. She never ever commits to anyone and her longest relationships are 24 hours. Hard stop there. So when she goes out to meet up with a date and he shows up late, drunk and very rude, Rake steps in to help. It starts out as a one night stand, turns into an unexpected pregnancy (yes, condoms do in fact have an expiration date!) they decide to co-parent platonically. I am glad I continued listening. Rake and Lizzie bring out the best in each other, help each other let go of old hurts, learn to let love in and finally value their individual self worth and as a couple. They truly bring out the best in each other. Enjoy the listen (or read).

Lizzie Blake is a perfectly fine romantic comedy. It was funny, there were some heartfelt moments, and there were some parts that I loved and was really drawn to. Lizzie’s ADHD is one of the main focuses of the plot, which was super interesting but something I had a hard time relating to. It seemed to me like it was talked about too much, but it’s also possible that that is what it’s like living with ADHD, so I can’t comment on that. The connection between Lizzie and Rake is cute, but beyond sexual chemistry and thinking the other one is adorable, I’m not really sure why they work. And the accidentally pregnant trope isn’t one of my favourites, and I somehow missed that when I was reading the synopsis. But all this just means this one wasn’t necessarily for me.

I’ve already talked a bit about Lizzie, and though I struggled to connect with the ADHD part of her life, her family drama felt a little familiar to me. And with Rake, I had a hard time believing he’d just up and leave his family to move to another country to raise a baby with a girl he barely knew. He was attracted to her, but other than that, there wasn’t enough of a motivating factor. They tried to explain that it was because of something that happened with an ex, but that just vilified her for no reason and didn’t give me enough to justify his rash decision-making. I did love them together once they spent more time together, but it took me some time to get there. By the end, I was totally on board…I absolutely loved the ending.

Though it wasn’t a major story point, I liked how Eddings handled Lizzie’s family drama. There is a spoiler here, so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to be spoiled (you’ve been warned!), but I loved that she and her mom had it out, and she cut them off, and that’s that. There was no magical reconciliation or realization on someone’s part—they just had a bad relationship, and Lizzie cut the toxicity out. There was no need for a happy ending on that front, and I lived for it.

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake had some areas that I couldn’t connect with, but ultimately Mazey Eddings had a few unique flairs to her novel that I was into, and it held my attention. I’m interested to read the first book in the series to see how Lizzie was portrayed there, and I’d really like to know which friend Eddings will follow in her next book.

3 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Mazey Eddings has done it again with another incredibly moving story with fantastic ADHD rep.

Now, to begin, I would like to mention that I have very strong (negative) opinions about tropes/books featuring pregnancy and/or babies. Those are not the books for me. However - going into this story, I decided to keep an open mind and see how Mazey was going to pull this off. I did not read the synopsis prior to starting the novel, but once I learned where we were headed, I wanted to remain unbiased.

Mazey's neurodiverse rep is what keeps me coming back to her stories. Lizzie Blake's ADHD made me feel seen. I really connected with Lizzie as I saw her go through life, trying to do her best to show the world that nothing was wrong with her; that she wasn't lazy, or forgetful, or that she didn't care. Lizzie showed how some folks with ADHD feel when moving through a neurotypical world - lost, afraid, and unwilling to compromise.

I loved Lizzie and Rake's relationship from the very beginning - I loved their chemistry, but also the friendship they built as they prepared for the little one's arrival. The pregnancy trope didn't bother me, and actually added a nice element (and sometimes obstacle) to Lizzie and Rake's blossoming romance.

And don't even get me started on Lizzie's friend group!! I love them but yes, sometimes they were very condescending and rude (Thu... smh).

All in all, another winner from Mazey! I cannot wait to read their next book.

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake
By: Mazey Eddings

5/5 Stars

What We Have:
-ADHD Representation
-Dual POV
-Chaotic FMC x Calm MMC
-One Bed Trope
-Accidental Pregnancy
-AUSTRALIAN ACCENT
-Steamy Scenes
-Laugh Out Loud Banter

We also have the best dedication ever:

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

I selected this book because it was based about a female main character diagnosed with ADHD. Having been (finally) diagnosed as an adult, I was eager to see how this diagnosis would be portrayed. I can accurately state that this was spot on. I have never felt more seen in a book in my entire life. I have been obsessed with neurodivergent books because representation is so important! I felt so connected to Lizzie and could relate to some of her struggles so deeply that I found myself going “ oh yeah! I remember feeling this” or “ yep, me too sister!”

While I know a lot of people hate the pregnancy trope, I truly think it was done so well and it was never once an ick factor. It was emotional and beautiful and really helped highlight Lizzie’s self discovery journey.

This story is dual POV following Lizze and Rake. Lizzie doesn’t do relationships, but she does do one-night stands. She craves the feel of another person but doesn’t want the messy parts that come with being with someone more than once. She is interested in a good time and is waiting at a bar to meet her latest tinder date. While waiting, she meets a handsome, blond haired Australian at the bar. He is so beautiful and she is definitely being stood up by her date. Lizzie and Blake hit it off and end up back in his hotel room. Even though it was the BEST sex of her life, Lizzie tries to run away as fast as possible. Still thinking about Rake, and accidentally leaving behind something that fell out of her purse, Lizzie and Rake end up sleeping together a few more times while he is in Philadelphia. Turns out, he lives in Australia and is only here for the weekend on a week trip. Before parting ways, they exchange numbers and promise to stay in touch if Rake is ever in town again.

Lizzie Blake is a baker working in a stuffy high-end millennial bakery trying to keep up with her bosses demands while managing her ADHD and time management. She is on thin ice with him and after puking on her way to work (weird) she ends up late AGAIN and is fired. Feeling like crap and not like herself, Lizzie discovers that she is pregnant. The last person she was with was Rake, who is now back in Australia. She texts him the news and next thing she knows, Rake has agrees to get on the next plane to discuss things with her in person.

Rake just knows he needs to be there for Lizzie and his future child and they decide to pursue a co-parent relationship. Rake decides to move to America and get an apartment with Lizzie. All would be fine, except Rake wants to take sex off the table. Cool…cool.. except Lizzie is horny and hormonal and wants to bone her hot baby daddy! Tensions are high between them in their new apartment that Rake picked out on a whim which happens to be a studio apartment with no doors?? Rake and Lizzie soon learn a lot about each other due to close proximity. For example, Lizzie forgot to transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer, but Rake did and even folded her clothes neatly for her. Or how Lizzie wants to keep track of the pregnancy by posting weekly check lists on the wall so she won’t forget/ lose track. Rake agrees and tapes everything on the wall and even helps with the list making.

The two end up meeting with Lizzies friends and tell them that they’re pregnant. While not taking the news so well, we see Rake truly shine. He stands up for Lizzie when her friends make her feel like she is in over here head. He protects Lizzie and supports her which says a lot since they’re still strangers to one another in the grand scheme. The friends eventually come around but it should be noted that Lizzies friends are amazing secondary characters!Lizzie has been stigmatized by her diagnosis by her parents who would rather stick her more medication to dilute her personality and symptoms than try to understand their daughter. Because of this, she has created a tribe of supportive friends to be her family and thank GOD for them. Her friends love and accept her without judgement and have carried her through the years where her family has not. Being a woman and having ADHD is a struggle.

Another great point to add is that throughout this book, Lizzie is so mature and whenever she loses her shit or something goes wrong, she tells Rake exactly WHY she is acting the way she is. She tells him all about her ADHD, about her rejection sensitivity dysphoria, and her therapy/medication plan to keep her on track. And Rake just is so beautiful in accepting and helping her throughout it all. My favorite part of the story was how understanding and accommodating Rake was to Lizzie. He never made her feel like she was crazy and always took time to understand her rationale for her actions.

This book was everything I didn't know I was missing. I pre-ordered the physical copy to keep on my shelves and have recommended it to all my friends. Thank you Netgalley, Mazey Eddings, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This wasn’t for me. I couldn’t stand how sleezy the MC was. I’ll come back to this book later. Thank

This book kind of has it all doesn’t it? I definitely missed the pregnancy trope that was very much a part of the summary, so that’s on me. My least favorite trope but it actually did work for this story. Their relationship was a little hard for me to believe (do guys like this exist outside or romance novels?) however, the time that author took talking about adult ADHD was extraordinary.

Lizzie is living her best life in Philadelphia, trying to figure out her thing. She seems to always be late, say the wrong thing, or miss a deadline so she’s constantly getting fired or having one-night stands. Then Lizzie meets Rake. Yes, Rake, with his broad shoulders and Australian accent *also* not looking for anything serious because of a past relationship (we’ll get into that later). A hook-up that becomes so much more because guess what, condoms can expire. Lizzie has adult ADHD and navigates that with the help of some friends and flying by the seat of her pants. What I mean is - there’s more she can do, but she struggles doing it - and we get into that. And I love that. Rake works hard a job he doesn’t love but he’s determined to be there for this baby, and for Lizzie.

Rake had a past relationship that ended badly and I can see a lot of people not being okay with the take on abortion in this book. I see what the author was trying to do but it left a taste in my mouth, I can’t lie. Although I always do appreciate both sides of an argument, I struggled with how it was handled with his ex.

Overall I skimmed some parts and found myself really enjoying others. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I remember when requesting this book knowing it was the follow-up to A Brush with Love, which I enjoyed a lot. But by the time I picked it up a few months later, I forgot. I just know I've slowly been seeing it pop up on social media with raves reviews. Once I opened, was reminded of the connection and some of the characters, I was thrilled. And devoured the book in two days.

Lizzie Blake is part of the foursome with Harper, Indira and Thu, living in Philadelphia. She has ADHD and is the flighty one. She hops from job to job, she loses track of time and forgets things. A few things settle her brain; baking and sex.

Going out one night searching for a one night stand, Lizzie meets Rake, a handsome, but quiet Australian. Rake has been trying to keep away from relationships but he is intrigued by Lizzie and one night becomes 2 and some time spent together before Rake leaves the country. A few weeks later, Lizzie discovers that those 2 nights have led to a lifetime connection... she's pregnant.

Rake moves to the states and they embark on developing a platonic, co-parenting relationship. Lizzie's challenges with her ADHD and attempts to find ways to harness it so she can be successful with work and staying on top of her pregnancy were relatable. I loved how Lizzie described how feelings are for her and how her mind works. It made so much sense and I can see beyond it being a fiction novel, people who do not understand ADHD getting a better understanding of it through Mazey's use of language. Watching the relationship between Rake and Lizzie develop as they both started letting down their walls and learning how to move beyond past hurts to truly be their authentic selves and be able to love unconditionally was just beautiful. I adored Lizzie, have a crush on Rake, felt Lizzie's pain over her relationship with her family, and wanted to be a part of the girls friend group. Mazey Edding's has become a must read author for me. She evokes emotion, writes realistic and relatable characters that are multi-dimensional and gives insight and representation to neuro-diversity.

Lizzie Blake tends to operate in one of two modes: she’s either flitting from one thing to the next or she is in a state of hyperfocus. And Lizzie tends to manage those modes in one of two ways: baking or no strings attached hookups. When a two-night stand leaves Lizzie with a surprise, things begin to change for her.

Rake Thompson tends to be buttoned-up and a bit closed off, but a couple of nights in a hotel with a sunshine tornado have him readjusting his priorities.

Can Lizzie and Rake keep things platonic or will they realize they are falling in love?

At a glance:
- Dual POV
- Open door
- Opposites attract
- Accidental Pregnancy
- Forced proximity / roommates
- Only one bed
- Mental health representation


Things I liked:
Mazey Eddings is adept at providing the “who did this to you” / why characters are the way they are background in her stories. It makes her characters three-dimensional and more real to readers and makes readers want to cheer for them.

I loved the ADHD rep in this book. It is very well done and makes understanding and empathizing with Lizzie and what she is going through more accessible to neurotypical readers.

I adored the chemistry between Lizzie and Rake and Rake’s treatment of Lizzie in how he thinks of, talks with, and treats her.

There are some truly laugh-out-loud moments, and it is tough not to grin while reading about Lizzie’s vibrance and her exuberance for life.

Things I disliked:
- The third act conflict and its treatment
- What—to me—felt like a rushed resolution
- Some of the family dynamics

CW: ADHD, emotional abuse, family tension / unsupportive family, cheating, discussion of abortion

I received an advance copy from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

This is a fascinating, and unflinching, look at what life is like for someone with severe ADHD, especially when coupled with an unsupportive (and arguably abusive) upbringing. The author doesn't shy away from the real-life results of executive function issues, RSD, impulsivity, etc. The reader can really feel Lizzie's pain, shame, and frustration and it was easy to get invested in cheering her on as she finds a way to live in the world as herself.

While Lizzie was well-developed and had an arc, I didn't feel the same about Rake. I understand he was attracted to Lizzie and found her joie de vivre refreshing, but he was conveniently willing and able to uproot his entire life, move across the globe, and just be unendingly patient and accepting with Lizzie's issues. That sounds lovely, but it would have felt more realistic to allow him to be human and occasionally frustrated when she blurts out something embarrassing, wildly overreacts, or drops the ball on crucial life admin. There is room for him to love and accept her and still have needs and boundaries. I couldn't quite pinpoint what he was getting out of the relationship and that made this hard to fully embrace as a love story.

That said, this was well-written and had a great deal of substance, as well as enjoyable banter and spicy bits. It gave me a lot to think about and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend picking it up!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

I really enjoyed this book- and I felt like I could really connect with Lizzie. I too have ADHD so when she goes on her tangents of thoughts and talking.. I relate so much to it. I love the representation in this. It was a cute, fun read. I read it within 2 days. I wish this was more of an enemies to lovers rather than strangers to lovers.. I just felt that it was more of an insta love situation and I am not the biggest fan of that. I am looking forward to reading Mazey Eddings other books!

“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈-𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈--𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍."

I requested this book without fully realizing what this book was about. I don’t usually like the accidental pregnancy trope, especially in today’s climate with women losing their rights. HOWEVER, this book was so cute and had so many redeeming qualities I’ll bite my words!

Lizzie Blake is a bit of a mess, having just gotten fired from her job. Her ADHD has caused her significant struggles despite the fact that she clearly is caring and passionate and skilled in her profession as a baker. She’s a one night stand kind of girl, but when she meets Rake, she makes an exception to spend the day after with him and another night. He goes back home to Australia just for Lizzie to find out she’s pregnant a few weeks later. They decide to co-parent “platonically”

I really liked the focus on ADHD. Lizzie is struggling, but Rake makes it clear it’s not her fault, nothing is wrong with her. Her family is really toxic and I loved the choices the author made around those relationships. I also had no idea this was a book 2 for a series for this friend group so I’ll have to go read A Brush with Love ASAP, because I’m a huge fan of the writing style of this one.

📚Read this if you like:
⁃ Knocked Up movie
⁃ ADHD representation
⁃ Quick burn 🔥
⁃ Dual POVs

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

Honestly, I haven't read many books with the surprise pregnancy trope, and I think I've realized it's not really for me. With this book, I enjoyed the writing style, and like many other reviews I've seen mentioned, I really enjoyed the representation of Lizzies ADHD but what made me put the book down was how the author handled the abortion storyline. I ended up not finishing the book since it just was not a good match for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
After really enjoying Mazey Eddings’ debut, I was eager for whatever she wrote next. And while I was a bit apprehensive about Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, as there are some plot elements that are very hit-or-miss for me, I ended up really enjoying it.
Lizzie is a sympathetic heroine in how she lives with ADHD and the stigma placed on her for her “oddball,” messy behavior, especially from her parents. She has a long history of mistakes (the pregnancy situation even comes about in part due to a mistake on her part), and I appreciate the balance of her self-awareness of her flaws and the need to break free of the overly judgmental criticism of her parents who refuse to acknowledge her diagnosis.
Rake is just a generally good guy. He’s pretty solid and dependable, and wants to do the right thing by Lizzie and their child. However, throughout the book it becomes clear he’ll be balancing that with the demands of his boss, and I love the way that subtly parallels Lizzie’s situation.
As for the pregnancy plot: The narrative (briefly) discusses the options available to expecting parents, and I love how, despite the chaos of her life, Lizzie does instinctively know she wants the child, even without Rake’s involvement, while also briefly considering other options. It’s more than I’ve seen many similar books explore the subject, and that’s kind of sad to reflect on, especially given the times we’re living in.
I also appreciate how they really get to know each other through their experience living together. I did wonder at times why they refused to acknowledge any other coparenting options besides (or between) marriage (proposed fleetingly by Rake initially), friends-with-benefits, and platonic coparenting, when they could easily have tried to test the waters of their romantic relationship, with the plan to go back to being platonic, amicable coparents if it didn’t work out. I guess some of it is related to their respective helpings of emotional baggage, with him having been burned by a past relationship and her resolving against them, but if you like each other and you’re forced to spend time together anyway….
But for the most part, the book is pretty self-aware about tropes and dynamics, so I felt much less of an urge to shake them in frustration than I often do with similar setups in romance. This one chapter late in the book has an epic opening line: “Lizzie and Rake had done the unthinkable: they’d fucked each other out of their systems.” The irony there comes through in a way not many other writers have been able to convey to my asexual sensibilities.
Also, Lizzie’s friend group (consisting of Harper and Dan from A Brush with Love) also provide some epic humor—and the occasional nugget of sage wisdom—which help the lovers on their path to HEA, without it feeling forced or like this is something they should have realized without having a third party educate them about it.
This is another solid romance from Mazey Eddings, hitting all the right notes of humor, heat, and heart. If you enjoy contemporary romance (especially with ADHD rep), I recommend picking this one up.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 (4.5)
Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (several very descriptive sex scenes)
Trigger Warning: brief mentions of abortion and cheating (side character)

Lizzy Blake's ADHD has always caused her trouble. Her mother saw her as a problem to be fixed, she has struggled to keep a steady job, and she's never felt capable of being with a man for more than a night of fun. Then she met Rake- a handsome Australian in town for business- and spent a passionate weekend with him that resulted in an unexpected pregnancy. Lizzy can barely take care of herself, let alone a child. When Rake decides to move to America to be part of the baby's life, Lizzy is shocked. And as they spend more time together, she's caught off guard by the feelings she's having and the way Rake seems to balance out her chaotic tendencies. Could this unexpected pregnancy really be the best mistake she's ever made?

I loved so many things about this book! Lizzy's personality was fun and quirky, and I truly appreciated how honestly her ADHD was portrayed. I felt like I learned a lot about how her mind worked, and it broke my heart seeing her rejected and judged because of her neurodiversity. Even her friends were quick to judge when they learned she was pregnant. Thank goodness for Rake, though. I mean, this man took care of Lizzy and stood up for her when no one else did. He was her complete opposite, but he adored how her brain worked and was in complete awe of her creativity and curiosity. He had his own issues to overcome, but I loved how he expressed his feelings in the end and proved his devotion to her and their unborn child. My only real complaint is that this had a lot of steamy sex scenes and a bit more language than I personally care for, but otherwise I truly enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!!!
I loved Lizzie and Rake’s characters and how they developed throughout the story. The storyline wasn’t like anything I had read before, so I was engaged the whole time. I was laughing and crying throughout. I want another book to watch the baby grow up!!!

Initially, I thought this was a really cute book even though I hate the accidental pregnancy trope. I loved Lizzie and Rake and was rooting for them. Then Rake’s past with his ex-girlfriend was revealed and this book hit a really sour note for me. A bunch of other reviews have mentioned it and it irked me so much how the abortion storyline was handled. As someone who is pro-choice and believes a woman should be able to do whatever she wants with her body, it did not sit well at all with me the way Rake described and basically shamed his ex-girlfriend Shannon’s choice when she found out she was unexpectedly pregnant. And then to basically use Lizzie’s pregnancy as a do over for himself, made me almost want to DNF this book. The author is entitled to write whatever she wants on the topic of abortion, but I feel there should have been a huge trigger warning at the front of this book that the book would be discussing the topic in a way that may not sit well with readers.

Aside from that storyline, it’s a funny book, and I really appreciated the care that was given to Lizzie’s ADHD.

I thought this book was a super cute romcom! Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is an accidental pregnancy trope and a one-night stand to more. It was a little far-fetched in terms of being realistic, but I'm not really bothered by that. I will say that there is a lot of lust between the two main characters and I think that maybe the book could have focused less on that aspect. That being said, I really liked Lizzie's character and I loved seeing her character development throughout the book. I also liked how Lizzie had her own side storyline separate from the main romance story with her and Rake. Rake is such a sweet guy and I thought he was perfect for Lizzie--they're really cute, in my humble opinion.

Also, the dedication hit a little too close to home but you didn't hear that-

Overall, I would recommend to anyone looking for a cute, easy-to-read romcom with--to my knowledge-- great mental illness representation.

Release Date: September 6, 2022

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC!

Awww Lizzie! What an endearing MC. Mazey does it again with a sweet and sassy, realistic and romantic story. And the STEAM. Whew. Accidental pregnancy is basically my nightmare, but somehow it worked so well here and managed to keep me hooked? Well done.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Lizzie may be one of my favorite characters of all time. She is bright, funny, vivacious, engaging, fun...I could go on & on. There's a time when Rake says that if yellow were a sound, it would be Lizzie's laugh. That's how I feel about this book. It's so full of joy & light. Highly recommend reading Lizzie & Rake's story.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review