i really didn't like this. the way they fell for each other felt entirely off the page (but was happening concurrently with the timeline we were reading) and so it was entirely unbelievable, which made this nearly unbearable for me. i did really like the adhd rep and the explanation of the way her brain works vs what it looks like to someone neurotypical on the outside. ( )

This was a very funny book and I really enjoyed Lizzie and Rake as two individuals. Lizzie has always been told that she is “too much, too loud, too messy” all her life and I am a sucker for those kinds of characters and always want what’s best for them. Here through a series of insta-lust, stuff happens, and she winds up being pregnant with a stranger.

I have to say this is Mazey’s second book and I really like her writing style. I find her to be witty and hilarious. However, what didn’t work for me are the tropes I wrote earlier. I am not a fan of insta-love/lust and ultimately it didn’t fully work for me here.

All in all, this was a good beach book.

Huge thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.
( )

This was a cute rom com, with a whole lot of sexual activity - so be prepared.
Lizzie has ADHD, and she flings herself into things without a lot of thought. So, when she meets Rake, an attractive Aussie in Philadelphia for a meeting, she picks him up and one thing leads to another. She inadvertently leaves something in his hotel room, so another night of fun awaits.
However, 2 weeks later, Lizzie realizes she might be pregnant. Rake flies back to the US to ask Lizzie to allow him to co-parent with her. She agrees, and the rest is the two of them trying to make it work.
If you are looking for a steamy romance with a flawed heroine, this would be a book for you.
I liked how kind Rake was, and how bold Lizzie was. I am not sure I think someone would move halfway around the world for someone they had a 2 night stand with - but I guess stranger things have happened. ( )

I love Lizzie's character, she has real self-esteem issues from her childhood, she is neurodivergent, and she speaks up on behalf of those she loves. Rake is awesome, I love how he sees the real Lizzie and loves her for all her attributes, including that brain of hers. I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in the A Brush with Love series and I am very much looking forward to reading book #3 The Plus One, Spring 2023, where we will follow Indira through a challenging time.
Summer Morton and Will Peters did a great job of narrating this audiobook. I was able to listen at 2.0x speed and still understand everything being said. I will definitely look for book narrated by these voice actors in the future. ( )

I love that Eddings wanted to bring us a character living with ADHD, but she brought us a character exhibiting no adult effort to make her life work given her ADHD. Both I and my son have serious ADHD, and we have worked really hard to create a framework where we can do what we need to do for ourselves and others. In so many ways ADHD is a superpower. We see the world differently than most, we seem to find more joy and humor in life than those around us. That said we know that we are not the center of the universe, that if we love others we need to be people they can rely upon. Lizzie Blake did not get that memo. We start with someone who is late to work nearly every day, but cannot be bothered to set an alarm. Someone who gets lost in reading on breaks, but cannot be bothered to set an alarm. Lizzie has a lot of one-night stands as stress relief (and for fun presumably) and yet does not pay enough attention to know that condoms expire (doesn't everyone know that?) She is shocked that expired condoms are not effective. Lizzy loses everything she borrows from her friends and yet still borrows things and loses or breaks them and does nothing to track those things, she regrets for a second that she has shown her friends no respect or care, but then shrugs and moves on (never offering to even replace things she lost.) I assure you it is hard, and sometimes despite all efforts things fall apart, but it is possible to structure your life in a way that honors the people who love and trust you and still have a good life with ADHD. The character Lizzie doesn't do that, and we are supposed to be okay with that. Eddings makes clear that we would be wrong to ask her to develop strategies to honor the trust others put in her. She does actually start to make an effort to do that late in the book-- in her late 20's, having not cared enough about others until then to learn to use a calendar, set alarms, or otherwise create protocols. She is all id, she is like a 3 year old with good boobs. Forgive me if I cannot celebrate a stunted narcissist with a diagnosis and access to medication and mental health services (she cannot be bothered to use) having a baby and being charged with her care. I want to call child protective services. I hate the way Eddings wrote this, and feel like she owes neurodivergent people an apology. Most of us actually try, and through effort mostly succeed. Sometimes our wiring gets the better of us, but we keep up the work.

Add to all of that the fact that the book is poorly written, and the non-Lizzy characters are ridiculous. Lizzie's mother is a soap opera villainess. Lizzie's S-in-L is Snow White. Rake is way too good to be true. (And what kind of name is "Rake" anyway? There is nothing it could be short for. Are his parents avid gardeners? I guess Rake is better than "Hoe" or "Compost" or "Garden Weasel."). Rake is a co-dependency nightmare who does nothing but shake his head good-naturedly when Lizzie robs him of sleep, employment and comfort, leaves his apartment in a shambles, and destroys his property.

I did not for a moment cheer for Lizzie and Rake to get together. This book was for me an anti-romance. Ugh! ( )