“Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake” by Mazey Eddings
Description: “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.”
Review: According to Goodreads “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake” is book 2 in the Brush with Love series by Mazey Eddings but it’s really a standalone. You do not have to read “A Brush with Love” to read “Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake.”
When we first meet Lizzie she seems to be floundering in her jobs and struggling to manage her ADHD. I do not have ADHD nor does anyone close to me that I’m aware of so I cannot speak to the author’s description of it. What I can say is that Lizzie is a very sympathetic, likable character, I was rooting for her from the start. As the book progresses we see Lizzie become more accepting of herself, her struggles and acknowledges her strengthens. I loved seeing Lizzie find a job that she flourished at and a partner who completely supported her.
Lizzie and Rake’s meet cute is a little over played but it worked. Lizzie and Rake’s first meeting and sexual interaction is AMAZING! The author is very descriptive without being gross or over the top. I also love that the author interjected consent throughout without it being annoying.
I loved Lizzie and Rake’s relationship. It was fun to see a guy be (initially) more invested emotionally than the girl. I thought Rake’s reaction to the unexpected pregnancy was a little over the top, just dropping everything to move to a different country but I liked that he was ready to step up. Rake handles Lizzie’s ADHD so well. He doesn’t judge her or see her as different like her family does. He rolls with it and finds joy in the things Lizzie notices that he wouldn’t.
One of my biggest pet peeves with romance novels is that the spicy bits happen too late in the story. I love that this book started off with a bang. I often get annoyed with romance novels because they use the same verbiage and descriptions repeatedly but that was not an issue with this book. Mazey Eddings used a plethora of words to describe the intimate parts and was very creative with it which kept me interested. The sexual relationship between Lizzie and Rake is definitely a theme throughout the whole book but it doesn’t take over the storyline. This book is the perfect mix of rom-com and spice.
I’m not always the biggest fan of 2 POVs in a romance novel but it worked well here. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship blossomed from both sides and it was fun to see how they were longing for each other while trying to keep it platonic. I don’t think I’ve ever rooted for two people more than Lizzie and Rake.
Now for the things I didn’t love: I’m not the biggest fan of the unexpected pregnancy troupe. I understand it and I even have friends who have experienced it in real life but it’s just not for me. My daughter was conceived through fertility treatments so unexpected pregnancies tend to make me cringe for personal reasons. I also did not like Lizzie’s parents. I kept hoping they’d come to their senses and be grateful for their daughter but they never did.
I highly recommend this book and/or audiobook to people who enjoy rom-coms, a little bit of spice and happily ever afters.
Audiobook Review: I enjoyed that the audiobook was read by 2 different narrators, Summer Morton and Will Peters. Having a female and male (with an Australian accent) narrator really helped with the 2 point of views. Overall I thought the audiobook was well done.
*please note that I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillian Audio in exchange for an honest review.