Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake: A Novel

by Mazey Eddings

Overview

"Mazey Eddings’s writing is authentic, emotional, and intensely romantic! To me, it’s like a Taylor Swift song in book form." - New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood

Mazey Eddings mixes passion and humor to create a luscious love story between two people stumbling through life and learning to open their hearts in Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake.

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.

*USA Today bestselling author Evie Dunmore

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250806017
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	47,740
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

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 Philadelphia, she now calls Asheville, North Carolina home. She is the author of A Brush with Love and Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake.

Editorial Reviews

07/18/2022

Eddings (A Brush with Love) serves up a charming and surprisingly deep accidental pregnancy romance that begins with a two-night stand between a free-spirited Philadelphia baker and a hot Australian businessman on a work trip. Lizzie Blake’s unmanaged ADHD often makes it difficult to focus on anything, something her unloving parents aren’t shy about pointing out to her. The resulting insecurity has her limiting herself to no-strings-attached sex rather than risking burdening a partner with what she considers to be her shortcomings. When Lizzie meets Rake, a gorgeous, honorable Aussie, their chemistry is immediate. Rake’s still smarting from a nasty, unexpected breakup, so he isn’t looking for forever either. But when their hookup ends up with Lizzie unexpectedly pregnant, she decides to keep the baby, and Rake is eager to be a part of his child’s life—and he quickly falls for the baby’s mother as well. Eddings handles Lizzie’s neurodivergence with sensitivity and care, crafting a heroine who will claim readers’ hearts from page one. The supporting characters are similarly well-drawn, particularly Lizzie’s icy, antagonistic mother, who readers will love to hate. This smart love story is a gem. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"Eddings writes with compassion about Lizzie’s difficulties keeping on top of things, and her sex-positive attitude toward Lizzie's love life is a win for feminism." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake is phenomenal. Laugh-out-loud funny, filled with joy, as deliciously swoony as it is downright steamy, this is such a compassionate, affirming portrayal of neurodivergence, found family, and falling wildly in love. I couldn’t adore it more." —Chloe Liese, author of Two Wrongs Make a Right

"Steamy scenes and smart writing will keep you wanting more." —USA Today

"Joyful, voicey, sex-positive." —Buzzfeed

"This is a must-read steamy romance that is filled with personal growth, supportive, healthy relationships and friendships, and a message that the way in which someone thinks doesn’t determine their value, because everyone deserves to be loved as they are." —Library Journal

"Eddings' second novel is an unconventional and messy love story brimming with steamy scenes between the instantly attracted duo, and has a raw wit that will leave readers cackling." —Booklist

From the Publisher

08/01/2022

When Lizzie ends up pregnant after a brief hookup with Rake, neither wants a real commitment, but they agree to have a platonic relationship for the sake of their child. Of course, the relationship doesn't stay platonic for long. The book checks cliché contemporary romance tropes like meeting a perfect stranger at a bar and having a no-strings-attached one-night stand, but the real story is about Lizzie's journey of finding her place in the world and simultaneously dealing with her adult ADHD. Eddings (A Brush with Love) continues to incorporate neurodivergent representation in her latest and does an incredible job of illustrating the difficulties that someone with adult ADHD and RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria) might face in every facet of their life, from the varying perspectives of other characters. VERDICT This is a must-read steamy romance that is filled with personal growth, supportive, healthy relationships and friendships, and a message that the way in which someone thinks doesn't determine their value, because everyone deserves to be loved as they are.—Michelle Mistalski

Library Journal

★ 2022-07-08
A delightfully scatterbrained baker prefers one-night stands to relationships—until a sexy Australian marketing executive visits her city and turns her life upside down.

Lizzie Blake is relatively happy in spite of a lonely childhood. She has a tightknit group of friends and loves working as a baker, although she has a hard time holding down a steady job due to chronic lateness. Thanks to dating apps, she has all the sex partners she wants. Lizzie likes to love 'em and leave 'em. As usual, she expects to forget all about her latest paramour, a business traveler named Rake Thompson. But after Rake goes home to Australia, Lizzie discovers that her disorganized brain has really messed things up this time. She and Rake used an expired condom, and Lizzie is pregnant. She wants to keep the baby, but when she calls Rake as a courtesy to let him know, he shocks her by deciding to move to Philadelphia to be near Lizzie and their child. The two are determined to be friendly, platonic co-parents, but their attraction to each other causes delicious complications. Lizzie is unusual for a romance novel character. She's even more commitment-phobic than Rake, defying gender stereotypes. And Lizzie has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Her need for sensory input makes regular sex an important part of her self-care. Eddings writes with compassion about Lizzie’s difficulties keeping on top of things, and her sex-positive attitude toward Lizzie's love life is a win for feminism. Reading about a neurodiverse heroine like Lizzie is refreshing. This is a funny, tumultuous novel that will inspire readers to think about how different kinds of brains shape our human need for love and sex.

A quirky and engaging second novel from an up-and-coming author.

Kirkus Reviews