Publication: 6th September 2022 – Headline Eternal
Chaotic, messy and madly in love.
Lizzie Blake has made endless mistakes. Kitchen fires, pyramid schemes, you name it, she’s done it . . . and made a mess of it too.
One mistake she never makes? Risking anything more serious than a one-off 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.
Once burned, twice shy, Rake has given up on relationships. And feelings. And any form of intimacy for that matter. Two nights with charming, chaotic Lizzie might have him lowering his guard, but then he’s heading back to Australia, far away from the surprising feelings that she seems to inspire. But when Lizzie realises she’s pregnant, Rake knows he’ll do anything to be in his child’s life, but emotional vulnerability is off the table.
Except everyone makes mistakes, and Lizzie and Rake might have just stumbled upon the best mistake of their lives.
I don’t find it often in romantic comedies, but I love the trope boy-meets-girl, they have a one-night stand (with the intention of never seeing each other again), and suddenly they are expecting a baby and falling for each other. It’s entertaining and fun. Add the opposite-attract trope and you have an immersive, witty, and spicy novel that I enjoyed very much.
The two protagonists of this novel, Lizzie and Rake, are indeed different. She is chaotic, disorganized, and loud. He is quiet, neat, and tidy. They meet one night at a bar and they are instantly attracted to each other. After a weekend spent together, Lizzie goes back to her life and Rake goes home to Sidney, expecting never to meet again, until the lines on multiple pregnancy tests turn pink and Rake uproots his life to move to Philadelphia and be close to Lizzie and their future baby. Things will be far from easy as they adjust to living together, family and work drama, and, most importantly, trying to follow their rule of having a platonic, absolutely-no-sex, relationship.
What I love most about Mazey Eddings’s novels is her cast of fantastic characters that feel authentic and relatable. While Harper, from her debut novel A Brush with Love, remains my favorite of her characters, I loved Lizzie. Dealing with her ADHD, she feels too much, she says too much, and she uses baking (and sex) to filter her energy. She runs away from attachment and relationships (except for her three best friends), she changes jobs continuously, and she’s been told she is a disaster from a young age. And then she meets Rake, stable and workaholic, who didn’t expect to have his life completely changed by a woman he barely knows. Despite their differences, Rake and Lizzie are adorable as they get to know each other and pretend that they are not attracted to each other.
If you are looking for a fun, romantic, and well-written novel with fantastic characters and lots of spice then Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake is the one for you!
A huge thank you to Headline Eternal and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of the novel.
Mazey Eddings is a neurodiverse author, dentist, and (most importantly) stage mom to her cats, Yaya and Zadie. She can most often be found reading romance novels under her weighted blanket and asking her boyfriend to bring her snacks. She’s made it her personal mission in life to destigmatize mental health issues and write love stories for every brain. With roots in Ohio and North Carolina, she now calls Philadelphia home.
To learn more, visit: www.mazeyeddings.com
or follow Mazey on Instagram: @mazeyeddings.