Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings was a solid 3.5 star read for me. I enjoyed the characters and storyline. I would definitely recommend to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed both characters and the plot kept me entertained for sure! This is my first read from this author and I’d definitely read more of her books.

A lively, witty, second chance romance that feels both modern and deeply heartfelt. For being so fun and flirty, it was surprisingly introspective. Perfect for fans of banter filled rom coms. I’d give it 3.5⭐️

Mazey Eddings the woman you are!! I’m absolutely obsessed with this. I was cackling out loud and just loving these chemistry.

Deliciously spicy. I thought the characters were well-drawn, so specific and defined, which is a hallmark of Mazey Eddings works. Which made it really easy to dislike the FMC!! Which is the only reason I rated this book a little lower than her previous books. I really liked the MMC (I thought he was too good for her! Hah)

Mazey Eddings is the premiere author of mental health in a variety of nuances!

Mazey tackles all sorts of neurodiversity with empathy, humor and normalcy. I so appreciate this valuable resource.

Eva is a minor 'celebrity' and influencer on social media. She uses this outlet to call out a brief and former boyfriend from college, who ghosted her after five dates and one night of awful sex. The boyfriend, Riley Cooper is also a social media influencer with a much larger following.

Riley wants to make amends so he challenges Eva to six dates and a chance to atone. Eva is witty and snarky and has a retort for everything. She doesn't give Riley any slack, especially when they talk on air (video). Their reels are as entertaining AF.

Riley does get to explain what happened six years ago and his reasons for his absence. Plus, the attraction they feel for each other starts to reveal itself. Fabulous!

Couldn't put it down!

🚩 Actually? No.

I really wanted to like this. Second-chance romance, podcast drama, media messiness—it all sounded like my kind of chaotic fun. But from page one, this was a hard no.

Eva, our heroine, hosts a show literally called Sausage Talk, and yet somehow spends the whole book acting like she’s too good for everything and everyone. I get being burnt out or feeling stuck, but her nonstop snark and smug bitterness made her feel more exhausting than empowered. She wasn’t funny, she wasn’t edgy—she just came off mean. And not in a fun “oh she’s spicy” way. Just… unpleasant.

Then there’s Cooper. I guess we’re supposed to believe he’s a reformed himbo now fighting toxic masculinity one podcast at a time, but honestly? He felt like a walking PR stunt. His whole “I’m soft now” act read more like performative allyship than genuine growth. I didn’t buy the redemption, and I definitely didn’t buy the romance.

As for the chemistry between them—there wasn’t any. The banter was clunky, the fake dates had no tension, and every emotional beat felt either rushed or forced. I don’t mind slow burns or messy characters, but there has to be some spark. This felt like two people play-acting intimacy for content. Which, I guess, is what they were doing… but it never evolved past that.

Also, side note: the TikTok and podcast references are going to age like unrefrigerated milk. The book is already dated and it just came out. That kind of pop culture overload only works if the characters are strong enough to ground it—and they weren’t.

The only people I mildly cared about were the side characters, and even then, they barely got space to breathe.

DNF’d at 70%. Not out of hate, just out of boredom. When even the spicy scenes feel like filler, it’s time to tap out.

I didn’t really vibe with this one. I felt like the characters were a little annoying and a lot of it fell flat for me.

I did like the idea/plot, but everything else kind of fell flat for me.

Honestly, I didn’t like Eva from the very beginning. Who does a sausage talk show and then feels embarrassed by it? If you’re going to do something ridiculous like that, own it. It just felt degrading to the character and made it hard for me to connect with her.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of Well, Actually! Eva is a grumpy, sarcastic, disillusioned journalist who drunkenly makes a TikTok calling out her crappy college ex, Rylie, a podcaster and social media star whose platform is about speaking out against toxic masculinity. After her video goes viral, Rylie goes on Eva’s show and asks her to give him a chance to show her that he’s changed, and Eva agrees, hoping it will help her career. It’s a grumpy-sunshine social media love story for the digital age!

The good:
-The banter is so good! Eva is very witty, and we’re shown that in the dialogue instead of just told that she is, and I love that Rylie gives it back to her without being too mean
-I loved all of the focus on LGBTQIA+ issues, and I loved that Rylie’s struggle with biphobia and Eva’s description of coming to terms with being pansexual were represented
-I typically don’t enjoy second chance romances because I tend to hate flashback scenes, but I thought this had the perfect amount and I liked that they didn’t take up whole chapters
-I really liked a lot of the side characters

The bad:
-This book often read like a TikTok comment section and felt super chronically online in a way that will likely feel outdated in a couple of years. I don’t super hate that it’s this way because the main characters work in social media but it was pretty cringey on occasion, especially because Eva was weirdly bad at social media despite working in it
-I don’t understand why Eva and Aida stayed at that job they hated for so long. Girls stand up!!!
-Eva was a bit too mean to Rylie for me, especially as the book went on. I’m not trying to have internalized misogyny and expect women to be nice and happy all of the time, but it was just a bit much for me
-Spicy scenes got repetitive imo
-A MMC having American girl doll teeth is triggering to me as an avid Love Island USA Season 6 watcher (IYKYK)
-The nickname Kitten

The swoony:
-I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love grumpy/sunshine romances, and I loved that this one was the reverse of the typical romance. I loved that Rylie loved Eva for who she was and that Eva let Rylie in despite her trauma
-Rylie is such a sweetie and so good at getting to know Eva and SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER I loved that he didn’t let Eva break up with him towards the end. A third act breakup would’ve felt so contrary to Rylie’s character so I’m glad it didn’t happen
-I loved that Eva and Rylie had chemistry from their first interaction and how that continued as they fell in love. The banter was amazing and they just were delightful to read about!

I really enjoyed this and will definitely look up the author’s other work now!

3.5⭐️
Well, Actually was my first Mazey Eddings book and I truly did have a great time! It was fun and spicy and I enjoyed the will they won’t they energy it was giving. There were a few moments where I felt that Eva was annoying and needed to get over herself and the switching back and forth between using Rylie’s first and last name was confusing but overall it was a solid read!

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

I rate this 4.5 out of 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mazey Eddings could literally write a grocery list on a cheap take-out napkin and I would pay money for it. Every time she writes something It just brings me such a sense of joy that I am torn between reading the book immediately and holding off to have something to enjoy for a really bad day. For this book Dear Reader, it was both. I was approved for this book on Netgalley a few months ago and when I had an especially bad day at work I was immediately soothed by the chaotic love storm that is Eva and Rylie.

Eddings started promoting this book around the time of Andrew Garfield's appearance on Chicken Shop Date and I can confirm that is the vibe of the first 25 to 30 percent of this book. Rylie is such a cinnamon roll there are truly moments where you just want to tell Eva to slow down with her black cat personality traits.

I think that's one of the things I like best about Eddings' writing, she is so emotive. All of her characters are written to be people who have emotions that are too big to be contained no matter how hard they try and half of the chaos in their lives is watching the character figure out what to do with those feelings. Truly, Eva's journey to understand her true feelings was at times heartwarming, funny, and a bit cringe to watch unfold. However, I loved how Riley balanced her out throughout providing a balanced counterweight to Eva. I loved the level of communication between them throughout the book. It made for great banter and also made the evolution of their relationship more believable.

This was such a fun and heartwarming read. Come for the romance, but stay for the witty banter and character hijinx.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Pregnancy

4.5 ⭐️

This book was really good. I especially loved the characters, Eva, who was a bad boss girlie, and Rylie Cooper, who was the epitome of an obsessed, golden-retriever book boyfriend 🤭 I loved that it actually had plot (and good plot at that) and I loved the representation of Eva’s job. I love how the story showed that you don’t always have to have it all figured out, and you CAN ask for help. The path you chose originally doesn’t have to be the end goal or where you stay for the rest of your life. It’s never too late to change. This is the first romance book I’ve read in awhile that I can clearly say I saw and loved the plot, and I saw the themes clearly. I really enjoyed this and I thought it was really special. 100% recommend.

Thank you SMP for the ARC 🫶🏻

Was recommend a Mazey endings book and ended up starting with this once since I received an eARC! Absolutely loved it and ran to find her backlog to read more of her work! Strong characters with growth was *chefs kiss*

Funny, sharp, and tenderhearted. I think Edding's has a unqiue voice in the world of romcoms where her humor is relateable and especially engaging for millenials/zillenials/gen z. I think about Rylie and Eva's confrontation in the rain constantly.

Second chance, enemies to lovers ish, medium spicy, LGBTQ (even though not in the category descriptions from Netgalley)

Not for me. Skimmed a lot just to finish it. I didn't care about the characters, the side characters just showed and left for fluff. I didn't like the banter Eva just seemed self pitying, unhappy, and mean.

Overall, I loved this book and can’t wait to reread it when it’s published!!

Well, Actually has all the elements! It was such a good slow burn, second chance, enemies to lovers and a will they, won’t they story. It had everything: amazing chemistry between Rylie and Eva which leads to some of the funniest banter I’ve ever read. STEAMY spice scenes and probably one of my favorite grumpy x sunshine couples.

Everything about Eva and Rylie exude opposites:

Eva is the pessimistic black cat who loves black coffee and has a jaded view of love and is very protective of her heart. Especially knowing that Riley hurt her before. She’s scrappy, tenacious and passionate about her career path as a journalist and wants to make an impact while writing about meaningful and hard hitting topics.

Rylie on the other hand is the happy, go lucky, PRECIOUS and absolutely TENDER golden retriever who gets iced lattes and wants to right the wrong he made in college. and let me tell you, Rylie is OBSESSED with Eva! (side note: i thought id hate the pet name “kitten” but i kind of love it) while he seems to be absolutely cool, calm and collected on the surface, through out the book, we find out some serious trauma that really affected Rylie and influenced who he is.

What I love about this book is the juxtaposition of having hilarious banter while also touching on hard hitting topics like trauma, LGBTQ+, emotional and substance abuse. This book is deep and tender. You’ll want to hug the characters but will also laugh out loud multiple times!

There’s also some really good and vulnerable commentary on how often times women, especially young women in college, will shape and mold themselves into someone that isn’t them. they’ll study previous ex’s, change the way they look, talk, act, etc, and turn themselves into what they think the guy wants them to be just to keep a guy interested in them.

4.25⭐️

This was really great! I loved this book even though I’m not usually a fan of the second chance trope. I was not a huge fan of how his gross behavior was explained away through grief though.

I know that there are mixed feelings regarding Well, Actually. I actually love it very much. I always enjoy reading second-chance romance stories, especially between Eva and Rylie.

Eva is a female protagonist who is unapologetically sharp-tongued and guarded—a woman often misunderstood by those around her, except for one man: her former love, aka Rylie, aka jerk. Rylie's the only one who truly sees her, and despite the years and the scars left behind, the feelings between them have never fully faded.  Their reunion isn't just about rekindling a lost flame—it's about healing. The book handles mental illness with empathy and honesty, portraying both the daily realities and the resilience required to navigate it.

One of the most compelling elements is Eva's journey through a toxic workplace environment. It's not just a backdrop—it shapes her, challenges her, and ultimately pushes her toward a hard-won transformation. The ending delivers a sense of hope and possibility, as new doors open and she finally begins to choose herself.

What makes this story shine isn't just the romance (which is slow-burning, electric, and layered), but the sense that love—real love—means being seen for who you truly are, rough edges and all.

I wanted so badly to love this book! I love a second chance romance and an introspective MMC, but I could not identify at all with the FMC. It was hard for me to get passed that and I found myself very frustrated with her throughout the book. That being said, I enjoyed the overall plot and writing of the book. Even though this one wasn’t for me, I would recommend it to others !