At first glance, a heroine with ADHD who can’t keep a job and experiences an unintended pregnancy is not the ideal plot for a contemporary romance. However, in Mazey Edding’s talented hands, the reader is introduced to an unforgettable heroine, Lizzie Blake, and from the first few pages, we fall madly in love with her and are wholly on board for her happily ever after.

Edding’s does a remarkable job of presenting the genuine experience of a woman living with ADHD. As I read, I found myself reflecting on people in my own life who live with ADHD and putting their actions into a different context. As frustrating as Lizzie’s behaviors are to the people around her, they represent the genuine picture of what it is like to live with this condition. Lizzie is a true heroine, encountering obstacles and surviving them with determination, a gorgeous heart, and a talent for joy.

After a brief affair with Rake, Lizzie finds out that she’s pregnant. Having a baby is the impetus for her to better manage her ADHD. At the same time, Lizzie begins to let go of her difficult past and open her heart to the possibility of love when she and Rake move in together – platonically – to co-parent. There are plenty of heart wrenching declarations of love and support as well as some excellent spice, but what I loved most about this romance was the evolution of Lizzie Blake into a woman who allows herself to love and truly embrace the knowledge that she is worthy of love in return.

Those of you who’ve fallen in love with Edding’s skill at blending genuine romance, joyful sex and layered portrayals of characters with mental illness from her previous romance, A Brush With Love, will be thrilled to find her work has gotten better. Those of you picking up her work for the first time will be laughing and crying along with Lizzie, Rake, and the support team she builds along the way. My most anticipated read next year, I can’t wait for everyone else to enjoy!

I was drawn by this cover and excited to dive in. In practice, though, I struggled with the writing style, as the story or chemistry felt forced and unrealistic. Despite a few attempts I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lizzie is a true human. All of her qualities and all of her flaws are laid out for the world to see and she owns all of it. I absolutely adored the character development in this book. Between Lizzie and her Aussie "oopsie", I believed everything about their story and why they ended up perfect for each other. I found myself hating Lizzie's
parents too, just like I was supposed to. Such great characters!

The one down side to this book for me at least, I know it's a romance novel, but there was a lot of intercourse in this one. An insane amount. Lizzie has come to use it as a means of therapy, but wow. I found myself skipping full passages just to get to the end of each of the "events".

So this one is a solid 3 for me. Great for the characters and the story, but a little too much bedroom.

There was so much I liked about this one! Aside from Rake, with the Australian accent, I loved how he was so committed to Lizzie from the start. Friends or more, he was there for her and defended her throughout it all. I also love how Lizzie really didn’t care about what people thought of her. She lived her life for herself and that was something I loved.

When I got the notification from NetGalley that I was approved for Mazey Edding’s sophomoric romance Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, I was all-caps-level THRILLED. Having *just* finally gotten over my deep love for Harper and Dan from A Brush With Love, LBBM was a book I was EAGER to get my lil romance loving mitts on. So to be approved was just a level of delight the pleasure centre of my brain was INTO.

As always a huge thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, thoughts below are my own. Enjoy.

Having met (and deeply identified with) the chaotic mess that is Lizzie Blake in ABWL, I was looking forward to finding out who would come along and love Lizzie the way she deserved. And my god, Rake was such a breath of fresh air. From the moment we meet him in that bar and the first utterance of Birdy, I was a full blown Rake-loving-fan-girl.

Lizzie experiences the world through her ADHD and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and my god there were moments reading this book that felt SO deeply (deeply) personal to me. Especially the RSD and how frequently Lizzie has been told that she’s “too much”, “too emotional”, too everything. These themes, and the genuine struggle of living life not neatly in a neurotypical box is going to resonate with a lot of readers.

I also saw SO much of my own relationship(s) show up on the pages of this fantastic heart squeezing romance. Lizzie and her brother (oof, been there), Lizzie and her Mom (also same) but most of all Lizzie and Rake. So much of my own marriage was being read back to me and y’all I was NOT ready. Too many feelings.

I think was really worked here was that Rake was written to be imperfect, but also as a mirror to Lizzie’s more outward mess, he has the inward mess. But what I LOVED, loved loved was how they made it work between the two of them. I loved how he supported her, how proud he was of her and how real he felt. He didn’t get it right. He didn’t have the perfect words. He was imperfect, but found a way to love her perfectly.

Look, on top of all of this DELICIOUSNESS Mazey writes love stories that feel like home to my heart. They are funny, moving, real, messy and above all things they are joy.

There are so many moments of joy found in the delightful prose, moving metaphors, the humour, and the ultimately triumph of standing in front of someone and saying: hey I am kind of a mess but I love you and I want to be loved by you. And really can we ask for ANYTHING else right now? Probably not.Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake is so many things, great being one of them. Grab a yourself a copy when this comes out September 6th 2022 wherever you get your books.

A sparkling follow-up to A Brush With Love, Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is a delightful and addicting novel that ensnares the reader from the first chapter. Perhaps most powerful is way Mazey Edding's has written Lizzie's experience with ADHD, which was emotional and realistic without romanticizing the struggles that come with neurodiversity.

Lizzie Blake was alot to wrap my brain and heart around. She's a full force of color struggling with ADHD and anxiety/rejection sensitive dysphoria. She's also on a self destruction course as a result of years of hurt. When I first began the book, it took me a hot minute to see her struggles and self depreciation for what they were (and not see Lizzie as just some wild sex crazed character), but once I got there I was sold.
This is my second ARC to read and review by Mazey Eddings and I love that she is tackling characters with mental health struggles. This is not a seriously plot driven book, but it is well worth a read. You're guaranteed to be shocked, laugh, smile, and feel a heart tug or two. There's also some definite steam 🔥 between Lizzie and Rake. I recommend this book for romcom readers, those who enjoy diverse characters, and anyone who likes happy endings. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC and opportunity to provide an honest review. I can't wait to meet Mazey's next main character in book three!

It is so refreshing to read something so relatable. Lizzie Blake’s best mistake gives you an accurate depiction of life with ADHD while remaining laugh out loud funny. This book was somehow soft & lighthearted while tackling tough subjects, emotions, and life milestones. Throw in the subtle nods to historical romance & this book is easily a five star read for me.

I can’t remember the last time a book made me so HAPPY. Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake was such a joy to read. I actually didn’t read A Brush with Love before this but I most certainly will be reading it now!

We all know the accidental pregnancy trope is hit or miss (usually miss for me bc… I don’t love kids lol) BUT I will say that I loved the direction the author took with this book. Aside from the pregnancy trope, we get forced proximity (chef’s kiss) and an interesting shift from insta-attraction to platonic future co-parents to TENSION and then you guessed it.. love!!!

I think Lizzie is one of my favorite protagonists to date. She was SO relatable. I love love loved how the author described her ADHD and really explored that throughout the book. It was super interesting as reader to essentially learn about executive dysfunction and rejection sensitive dysphoria and see how it can play out in real life scenarios for those with ADHD. Aside from her ADHD, Lizzie is one of the most loving and wonderful characters I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. She honestly just made me laugh and smile throughout the whole book. I loved how real and messy and chaotic she was. This was something I related to so hard and you don’t often find such authentic characters in romance books.

NOW… RAKE. Be still my heart. He was the perfect compliment to Lizzie. I mean the fact that he’s Australian is just the cherry on top. There were a couple chapters near the end that I STG I highlighted every single word that came out of his mouth. I was SWOONING. It was so beautiful to read about how much he truly SAW and appreciated Lizzie and all of her glory.

Aside from my deep deep love and adoration for some of my favorite characters EVER…. I really enjoyed the side storyline’s. The bakeshop was hilarious and so perfect for this book. I loved the complex family dynamics with Lizzie and her parents. I loved the sibling relationship development with Lizzie and Ryan. It just all fit so well without feeling like it ever took the spotlight from Lizzie and Rake’s relationship.

I honestly don’t think I realized how much I adored this book until I just sat down to write this review. I’ll be thinking about this fabulous book for so long and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

If you’re looking for a book that will make your face hurt from smiling so much, make your eyes well up because you feel the LOVE and make you want to go find yourself an Australian baby daddy who excels at giving words of affirmation…. this book is for YOU.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for an advanced e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will be posting this review to Goodreads, Storygraph and Instragram on the pub date.

The accidental pregnancy trope is a divisive one, but thankfully the summary is direct about it so people aren't surprised/triggered when it becomes the main plot point. I thought it was done well in the book, and it was a learning experience for me to see how Lizzie managed her ADHD in general, and then with the addition of a pregnancy. I would've liked to see more of her internal journey.

I gave this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) because I really enjoyed reading it. Were the characters a little bit more like caricatures? Yes. Was the plot kind of bonkers? Of course. But I had a damn good time reading it!

For the grand majority of the book, all I could think was how Rake is the perfect man. My next book boyfriend, right there! But then something clicked (or better said, a certain scene happened) and I realized I had it all wrong. I was so wrong. The perfect character is Lizzie.

The perfect woman in all her gloriously imperfect ways.

Lizzie is a neurodivergent protagonist whose ADHD has made her feel othered by the very people who should have been supporting and validating every part of her. There's a lot of hurt there in that childhood rejection that's lasted through her adult years, at that lack of having anyone feel pride in loving her *exactly* as she is-- because who she is, is who she is meant to be. Lizzie is untethered, and then along comes Rake, not to tether her down, but to take joy in her unique, wild path.

I adored Lizzie, I felt inspired by her exuberance for life, that unabashed joy she held on to so tightly. And I loved Rake too, even though he does have a major stumble, he is overall a steady wave that doesn't clash against the unruly wave that is Lizzie, rather he harmonizes gorgeously alongside her. Rake and Lizzie complement each other so well, I loved their story from start to finish.

If there is anything I would change it would be for there to have been more of an epilogue, it just ended too soon, I wasn't quite ready to part with these characters I grew so quickly to love.

This book brought the joy, the tears, the heartbreak, and the heartwarmth. I absolutely adored it.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is about an accidental pregnancy. Immediate DNF. What is even the point of stories surrounding this trope

This was a cute, witty read perfect for those beach or pool days. I adored the characters and loved how the author handled the subject matter in just the right way for this book. I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it.

I honestly do not like the unexpected pregnancy trope but I really enjoyed the way it was done in this book. I also loved the emphasis on ADHD and all the complications that come with a diagnosis like that. Lizzie is a louder than life personality that I loved learning more about throughout this story. Honestly, I initially found her a little annoying but then I started to truly understand why she is the way she is. Add her family drama and I fell in love with Lizzie’s character. Rake and Lizzie navigating this new, “platonic” relationship is downright funny but both Rake and Lizzie have past hurts they have to overcome in order to make this relationship work. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

Such a fun read! I love an interconnected series, so I was happy to find out this was the follow up to A Brush With Love! I really liked Lizzy and Rake’s banter and I thought their relationship was so cute. I also liked the portrayal of Lizzy as an adult woman with ADHD and how that impacted her life. Seeing the way that Rake viewed her and helped balance her lifestyle was cool, as well as seeing how empowered Lizzy was once she found a job that she enjoyed. I’m not a huge accidental pregnancy trope fan, but I thought Mazey Eddings did a great job with her sophomore novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

I LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH
I was so excited when I found out Lizzie was getting her own book! After reading a brush with love I had high expectations and mazey enddkng did not disappoint with rake and Lizzie
My new comfort book💕
5⭐️
Thank you net gallery!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Oof (in a good way!) where to start with this one...ok... Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake follows the titular Lizzie and her two-night stand Australian hunk Rake as an unexpected pregnancy pushes them both to overcome their struggles with emotional intimacy, vulnerability, relationships, and love, as caused by personal traumas both have experienced. I will start by saying that this book and its plot hinge around a lot of things happening for romance reasons (insta-lust, Rake being a dual citizen and being able to easily move from Australia to Philadelphia, etc) rather than being overly realistic, which I can see people not necessarily jiving with or believing and/or being a point of critique, but for me doesn't ultimately matter. My one minor point of criticism of the story is that I found Rake's emotional narrative arc to be much less significant than Lizzie's. Again I don't think this ruined the story in any way, but I definitely found myself noticing that there was a lack of balance between the two characters. Ok, now for the gushing time. I will begin by acknowledging that as someone who has ADHD this book means a lot to me. I have never had the chance to read a book with an ADHD heroine (ADHD heroes, yes), and while I have inattentive ADHD and Lizzie reads as being hyperactive (or at the very least combined), there are so many moments in this book that gutted me in the way that they brought the ADHD experience to the page in both big and small ways. Examples: when Lizzie explains to Rake what RSD is and how it impacts her relationships and communication, the depictions of brain traps and ADHD paralysis as well as the complicated relationship ADHD people have with their brains, and when Lizzie's mom shushes her at the dinner table. These are just a few of so many, and I cannot adequately explain how accurate they each represent the scale of what it's like to live with ADHD. I'm so thankful that people will read this book and gain a bit of understanding. Having people like Mazey Eddings write these stories illustrates so clearly why own voices in writing matters. With all of that said, I will also note that this is a deeply funny book that has great friend banter and lush writing, which balances out the more heavy parts of the plot. Overall, Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is a fun read that provides a fantastic portrayal of ADHD, but is also a tropey-romancey story of two people overcoming their fear of love and intimacy and living happily ever after. What else could you ask for?!

I- I don’t know what to <i>say</I>.

I’ll write things soon. But oh my god. If you loved Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating then this book will make you VERY happy.
______
Okay, I'm back.

Some may say wow. Others may say woah. But me? I say holy shit. I loved this book. Like legitimately cannot stop thinking about it and will think about it for days and days until my brain turns into goo. I'll be honest, I maaaaaybe skipped book one. I thought about reading it but when I have ARCs and I try to do this, I'm scared I'll hate book one and not want to read the book I actually NEED to read. I can say now that I am so glad I jumped ahead to this book. Lizzie and Rake are going up there as two of my favourites and once you've read this, you'll understand why.

Lizzie is a little bundle of chaos that she would love to manage, but having ADHD makes it a lot harder for her to remember or stay on track with the things she wants to do. She can't even seem to remember to take her ADHD meds. On a night out, she's certain she's getting stood up but she can't complain when the man she does end up meeting is tall, dark and Australian. Rake is a sight and she's got her eyes set on him but she's got a one and done rule when it comes to her hookups. No one is more surprised when one hookup turns into two. Rake goes back home and they part with the quiet promise of reaching out of they're ever in the other's neck of the woods again.

Lizzie thinks nothing of it but when everything feels heightened, she realizes Rake left more than just a little impression on her before he left for Australia again. The two navigate this unexpected turn of events in the best way possible but how do you go all-in on joining forces with someone you've known for less than a week.

Lizzie was sunshine. I loved her. The fact that this book cover is bright yellow is exactly correct and I hope never changes. She is filled with humour and kindness and is so witty. Following in her POV is never a dull moment and the same can be said for Rake but for different reasons. I find my favourite moments of his weren't even in his own POV but the way that Lizzie sees him and everything he does, whether it's for her or not. He's patient and understanding and is honestly the yin to her yang. They're so balanced as a pair.

The characters were wonderful. Her friends are there for her (despite a hiccup) but really, Rake is the star. I- I simply just think he needs to be appreciated but I also think you should all read it from the book and not from me. Just trust me. Please. Love him with me.

Lizzie just made my heart hurt. Her parents were awful and I was so happy that she was able to find people who (mostly) understood her but Rake? He didn't even hesitate.

It has been days and I'm still thinking about these guys. I adore them so much.

Lizzie Blake is kind of a mess. She knows why—her ADHD makes functioning in the world the way the world expects her to function incredibly difficult. Her found family gets it and supports her. Her biological family, on the other hand, takes every opportunity to tell her she’s just not right. When Hurricane Lizzie encounters hot Aussie Rake, their attraction is instant. A sizzling 48 hours leads to an unexpected pregnancy and everything changes for both of them. Can they make platonic co-parenting work? Can Lizzie hold down a job? Can Rake adjust to his very unpleasant new boss? Will they fall back into bed together? Ok, that last one is a definite yes!

I have to assume it was on purpose, but being in Lizzie’s headspace felt frantic and really conveyed the unfocused, bouncing interest, hyperactivity of someone who has the condition (and gave me greater insight into my son, who is an ADHDer). I saw a review that basically said they didn’t understand what Rake saw in Lizzie and I think that’s kind of the point: where others see chaos, he’s found his person. I think that’s a lovely idea. Did everything with her condition, job, and man come together a bit too neatly? Maybe, but hey, we could all use a little escapism these days. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC. Available 9/6/2022.

This was absolutely delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were charming and witty. I highly recommend this fun and quick read!

Lizzie's ADHD representation was beautifully done. I don’t normally enjoy the unplanned pregnancy trope, but it was well developed in this case. The story was very real/believable to me and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.