I enjoyed reading Beatrice's point of view as she pondered whether being the "good" daughter who always met expectations was working for her. It's nice to see a plot around an overachiever taking stock of their life at such an early age.

Watching Jonah fight his feelings for Dee/Bea was well paced and when they finally hook up, yowza!

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Best Mistake Ever is a sweet and enjoyable romance with a solid mix of charm and emotional depth. This book was a short and sweet read I managed to finish in a matter of hours.

McKellen’s writing style is crisp and engaging, making the book quick and pleasant.

The plot can feel somewhat predictable at times, adhering closely to the conventions of the genre. While this isn’t necessarily a drawback, it does mean the story lacks the element of surprise.

Best Mistake Ever is a solid choice for readers seeking a light, feel-good romance. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but delivers enough heart and sweetness to make it a worthwhile read.

Would I recommend it? Definitely, but perhaps stating that it’s best enjoyed when you’re in the mood for a straightforward, low-drama love story.

beatrice (bea) can not say no to her twin, delliah (dee), and agrees to switch places with her so dee will not lose her job. the job is at a boutique hotel attepting to get off the ground at the hands of the broody owner, jonah.

jonah is a former rockstar, recovering alcoholic, reeling from a break up that went viral. when bea arrives, he can not help but notice a difference from dee, who was all but fired. bea comes on the scene with a festical to be held on the grounds, and comes to find herself with feelings for jonah, which are reciprocated.

this was a quick, easy read. i liked the dual povs, though it was a little add to just have one or two from dee at the beginning and then not again. twin switches are always a good read because you know there will be fallout when the truth is revealed.

It was a good quick read! I did get kind of confusing with the POV at times but over all fun book! Would recommend to friends.

I do not regret reading this book and it really deserved the 4 stars, I hope to read more book from this author as I am in love with her writing style, it was easy to read and so fun to read and simple reading to get out of a reading slum as I was.

I never read a book like this with this kind of trope. But I do not regret once like I said.

I recommend this book for sure and hope that people like it as I like it.

This story is yet beautiful and warming. Go add it to your TBR for 2025.

Cheers,
Cass's Bookshelf
xo

"Best Mistake Ever" was such a cute and fun short read! The characters are wonderful and both the FMC and MMC have a good deal of character growth for such a short novel. I was really able to fall in love with them and was rooting for them the entire time. Overall, I would give this book four stars seeing as it made me smile, laugh, and get a little mad at just the right times. Perfect for a fall season romance read.

I love a good romcom and Best Mistake Ever by Christy McKellen did not disappoint. It was such a sweet book.

This is a cute but kinda weird novel. It's the story of twins switching places or as Amanda Bynes has depicted "She's the man". As the twin switches places she falls in love with someone she is definitely not supposed to.

TROPES:
Grumpy sunshine
Workplace
Forced proximity
Hidden identity
Twin swap
Celebrity romance

Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy of Best Mistake Ever....

I enjoyed this story and became fully immersed in Bea and Jonah's story and did love how it ended, but as it progressed I felt that the flow changed slightly, especially as at the beginning you were getting Dee's POV as well as Bea's, and then you didn't get this again until later in the story, as I thought Dee would be more involved than she was.

I also hoped with it being a Secret / Hidden Identity story, that there would have been more scenarios where Bea might have been nearly caught out, just to slightly add to the excitement, particularly around the time of the Festival.

Also I wanted to know more on what was happening between Dee and Bea's Work Colleague / Best Friend Jem, as it implied that some has happened but nothing further was mentioned. I presume that this is because that maybe they will have their own story in the future?

A very easy read and always enjoy a story that is set in the UK 😊

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Beatrice and Delilah Donovan are twin sisters who have polar opposite personalities. Dee is struggling to keep her job and convinces Bea to swap places with her to save her position. Bea is hesitant, but determined to help her sister out. In the midst of pretending to be Dee, Bea falls head over heels for Dee's boss, the son of a famous rockstar with a troubled past. When the swapped persona is hard to keep up with, the head and the heart become a messy situation that inevitably lead to Bea making the best mistake she's ever made.

- Contemporary Romance
- Twin switch
- Grumpy MMC / sunshiny FMC
- Workplace romance
- Set in the UK

This book was short, sweet and to the point! The storyline was easy to follow as it was fast paced and drawn out clearly. The perfect book to sit down with for the night in between other novels!

Here's what I enjoyed:
- Multiple POV's
- Easy to visualize setting
- 'Bad boy' MMC (I visualized him as Oli Sykes for some reason) turned soft when falling for Bea
- Quick resolve
- Quirky sister bond

Here's areas I didn't enjoy:
- I felt like the overall writing wasn't my style. A lot of repetitive phrases especially in the beginning, and it didn't seem to flow that well for me.
- The subject of Jonah's drinking/sobriety was handled a bit too wishy-washy for my liking.
- Also on the subject of Jonah, I understand he's a grump but the scene in the flat was very out of the blue (realistic I suppose)
- As much as I love multiple POV's, I felt like Dee's was unnecessary considering she only had one or two at the very beginning and that was it.

Overall I thought the book was pretty cute, but I really would've loved for this book to be longer while also showcasing Dee's side of the story with Bea's coworker and their dad on the work trip. If the book was longer and solely focused on Bea and Jonah, I think I would've enjoyed reading more of Jonah's complex background with his celebrity past while handling the alcoholism with more mindfulness. I also would've enjoyed more scenes where the twins are almost caught in their switch! The tension between Bea and Jonah blossomed pretty quickly but it fell short for me during the flat scene and it turned me off to the MMC. I think it took a bit for the plot to start coming together and then it was over pretty quickly with some rushed plot points but I think it's a great quick read for anyone who enjoys shorter stories!

A solid 2.5 star rating from me!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! It was a quick and fun read but at times I felt that the whole story was rushed and the attraction between the main characters seemed superficial. If you like the parent trap then this would be for you since the fmc switches places with her twin and ends up falling for her boss.

The story revolves around a woman named Bea who finds herself caught up in a messy situationship that she just doesn’t know how to fix. The story starts with Bea’s twin sister Dee, who embellished her resume to get a dream job working for a famous rock star at his new hotel. Dee is just a hot mess. She has a hard time keeping it together and is about to get fired. When she gets injured and can’t work she asks her identical twin help her keep her job by pretending to be her. It was only going to be for one weekend to keep one event going smooth. Bea will do anything for her sister and and does her best to make a good impression on her grumpy boss, Jonah. What Bea doesn’t expect is that she begins to see her grouchy boss, Jonah, as not so grumpy after all. Bea and Jonah start to fall for one another. Bea needs to tell him the truth.

This was a quick easy read about the journey of self discovery and reminding yourself that everyone deserves good things and to fight for what you want. I enjoyed the tension between the main characters Bea and Jonah as Bea struggled with the shame she felt about telling Jonah her true identity but also just wanting to forget everything and just make out. The author adds so much detail that it really made the scenes come to life l and I could visualize them in my head.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy. It thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to read more of this author’s work!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

~ Some mistakes are worth making - Beatrice Donovan would do anything for her identical, twin sister. Including stepping into her hotel management job and pretending to be her - she’s desperate. What could go wrong? ~

This was a quick read that took me by surprise, that I ended up really enjoying. Everything for a perfect story was there, the execution just felt a little rocky at times. However, it didn’t take long for me to be swept up into things. I could feel the tension and relationships between each character and I felt invested in their storylines - smiling along and excited to know how everything would turn out!

What I liked:
* A bright and cute cover that drew me in.
* Well written and developed characters.
* Sweet, romantic storyline and setting that was easy to visualize.
* Multiple POV worked really well.


What I wasn’t a fan of:
* Info dumps and excessive internal dialogue.
* Pacing felt a bit off.
* How the MMC treated the FMC when he went to the flat. Especially how he left. Not cool.
* How the FMC didn’t even seem mad and forgave the MMC after he left the flat! 😖

Oof! It pains me to say this, but I was not at all a fan of Best Mistake Ever. It started out so freaking good and I was hooked, and then the pacing started going all over the place. Plus I didn't really buy into the chemistry between Bea and Jonah, and wanted more from their relationship.

🌈 Contemporary Romance
🌈 Set in the UK
🌈 Workplace romance
🌈 Mistaken Identity

🌶️🌶️1/2

Best Mistake Ever by Christy McKellen is a contemporary romance with an intriguing setup.

Beatrice agrees to masquerade as her twin sister, Delilah, to cover for her job at Gladbrook House, the home of retired rock star Jonah.
What follows is a tale of mistaken identity, unexpected connection, and complicated emotions.

The story’s heroine, Beatrice, is easy to identify with—kind, driven and a stark contrast to her more dramatic and self-centered twin, Delilah.
While Dee’s antics made her difficult to like at first, her love for Beatrice eventually won me over. Jonah, on the other hand, is a compelling mix of grumpy and sensitive, with a backstory that reveals his emotional scars, struggles with trust, and a complicated relationship with alcohol.

The romance between Beatrice and Jonah develops quickly, with an immediate spark of attraction that sets the tone. While the chemistry is evident, the mistaken identity creates tension and complications. The “spicy” label felt a bit overstated, as the romance didn’t fully heat up until the end, which also felt a bit rushed. The resolution tied things up a little too quickly for my liking, leaving some emotional threads underexplored.

Overall, Best Mistake Ever is a light, quick and enjoyable read with engaging characters and an interesting premise.

However, the reliance on unnecessary deception and the pacing of the ending detracted from the experience.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I honestly didn't love this one. It was okay but I just wanted more, I didn't really connect with the characters and the romance didn't have much depth. The pacing was all over the place too

This book was so catchy and cute! Just loved the characters and their sweet story! Couldn’t put it down.

Best Mistake Ever was cute! The whole thing of twins switching places may not be the most believable thing, but it was a cute story. I enjoyed the sisters becoming closer in the end.

I unfortunately did struggle with this book mainly with the pacing it was quick at some moments and then slow at others which made it difficult for me to delve into.

Bea and Dee are identical twins but very different characters. Bea has always been disciplined, hard-working and eager to please her father by being succesful. Dee is more an artistic and flighty type who drifts from jon to job looking for her breakthrough as an artist.
When Dee asks Bea to pretend to be her in order not to loose her job as an event planner at a hotel Bea reluctantly aggrees. But what is she to do when there is obvious attraction between her and Dee's boss Jonah, who thinks she is Dee and hates being lied to...
I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt that both main characters were relatable and their attraction was believable. The story was fast-paced, entertaining and the HEA gratifying.
A very sweet and entertaining romance.