This book was a miss for me which is really unfortunate because I LOVED Mazey Eddings' book "Late Bloomer," I just was really not clicking with the main character of Eva, and unfortunately hers was the only perspective we got. She kind of was insufferable and honestly holding someone accountable for their actions from college just seemed petty. Something I've realized reading this book is that I just feel like the "going viral" trope is just not for me. Social media is such a huge part of our lives that I don't want to carry it over into my reading. Also it's really difficult to write these types of situations because not everyone knows what it's like to actually go viral and have basically the entire world watching you and picking you apart, so it can often come across almost like a caricature.

Thank you St. Martin's and NetGalley for the ARC!

Things I appreciated : the bi4pan romance, the banter and sass. Everything else just didn't quite hit the mark for me. I was frustrated with most of the characters, found the scenarios kind of unbelievable, and really just didn't feel the romance. I didn't understand why the characters liked each other or why everything had to happen this way. The happy ending was nice and I see the message the author was going for, but it was all just kinda muddled.

I absolutely devoured this book as soon as I got my hands on it; the characters and conflicts were so engaging that I could not stop reading until I got to the end! I loved the two lead characters, who have a complex history, and a viral moment pushes the two back together. As they rekindle and heal their relationship in the present, they grow to be more honest and vulnerable with each other. I found a lot of myself reflecting on Eva, which was equally uncomfortable and cathartic to read about. There are the more serious themes of self-discovery, healing, and growth, packaged between really funny banter. I found that the dialogue and references were definitely leaning more towards gen Z (which may not be everyone's preference but I enjoyed it), but not in a way that felt forced or cringey. My only wish was that their history was fleshed out more. While I did understand on a base level why their short-lived relationship in university was so impactful, I would've loved to see and feel more of that development; I think it would've made the fallout hit much harder. I rate this book a 4.5, rounded up to a 5!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

In all honesty I really wanted to like this book. I don't usually pick up books where the main characters are big social media presences so take my review lightly. I read a little over 100 pages of this book before I decide to dnf it. I really enjoyed the start of it when she makes the ranting video and it blows up on social media which essentially forces her to work with the guy she hates so much. I really liked Rylie at first as he was putting in so much effort for the dates and gives him room to grow as a character. Eva was getting a little to much on my nerves to put past and saw little to no charm between them.

As far as contemporary romances go, this one was just fine in my personal opinion.

I had a really hard time rooting for Eva because all she seemed to do was complain. No matter what Cooper did, she complained. It's like nothing he ever did was good enough, and it's her right to think that, but jfc girl if you're holding that much of a grudge towards him, let the damn relationship go! I really dislike characters that do nothing but complain and don't make the effort to improve their situation. She also can't let anything go. She becomes obsessive over every single little thing... this would be a good character flaw if Eddings had done anything to resolve it, but no, Eva remains the same throughout the whole book.

Cooper (I can't be bothered to remember his first name... he's referred to as Cooper for half the book anyway) was just fine as a love interest. He wasn't anything special, and was just your typical contemporary romance MMC. Sweet, caring, accommodating... honestly Eva didn't deserve him. He doesn't call her back when they were in college (and for a totally understandable reason), and Eva holds it over his head for 90% of this book as if he assaulted her or something. Cooper had the potential to be a really interesting MMC with his whole deconstructing-toxic-masculinity social media personality, but it literally goes nowhere.

The antagonists were almost cartoonish... villain monologue and everything. What was supposed to be a really tense moment became eyeroll-worthy. No doubt what the antagonists did was heinous, but that monologue...

I really liked that both characters were bi, and that their bi identity wasn't erased the moment they started dating each other. As a bi woman myself, I've encountered a lot of biphobia (unfortunately most of it from the LGBTQ+ community) centered around being "bi enough". Just because we date or marry someone of the opposite gender doesn't mean that all of a sudden we're not bi. Ridiculous in-fighting. Seeing ourselves represented as still bi while in heterosexual relationships is really important.

Overall, would I recommend this book? Meh, there's no harm in reading it. I don't feel like I wasted my time even though it was by no means a favourite. It was a good distraction from everyday life, which is what I primarily look for when reading.

hands down this book is going to be a top read of the year for me.

eva might be my new favorite fmc i loved her so much! and her growth throughout the book was amazing. we have so many similarities and i related to her so much.

riley is the blueprint that man was down so bad! and no matter how hard eva tried pushing him away he was standing strong and reassuring her that hes not going anywhere and he'll always be there for her 😭

"Kitten, I'd rather spend every day getting in a pointless argument with you for sport than be bored and complacent with anyone else."

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*
🩵Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
🩵Genre: Romance
🩵Theme: Enemies to Lovers | Second Chance
🩵Page Count: 384
🩵Book Cover first thoughts: I love the cover
 
🩵One Liner: heartfelt romance second chance romance
 
🩵Story Review / Summary: Black cat energy meets golden retriever! 50 First Dates meets Nobody Wants This.
The FMC made me think of Alex Cooper from “Call Her Daddy”. I liked and enjoyed the banter and snarky remarks. The chemistry between Eva and Rylie was top tier!
 
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Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of #WellActually by #MazeyEddings
All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is August 5, 2025.
This review is being shared on NetGalley and goodreads.

This book is a brilliant portrayal of emotion and sticking through the hard stuff.

It follows Eva Kitt, the host of Sausage Talk, and Rylie Cooper, the host of a podcast and TikTok account created to help combat toxic masculinity. Eva and Rylie met in college when they had a whirlwind fling that ended in Eva being ghosted. She decided to say as much in her own TikTok, which then went viral! Now she has to work with the man she loathes! Or is it love? Find out on August 5th!!

I honestly felt bad for Eva because how is a boss ass woman like her stuck in a life like this?! She's hosting a show she doesn't love (and who would love to eat hot dogs every day?), has two horrible bosses (nepo baby bullshit), and even her best friend is still lowkey her boss. It doesn't seem like a happy life! I also felt bad that she was forced to confront so much when she didn't seem ready. She wasn't ready to see Rylie again, or plan to go over any of her past with him (or anyone else). I think she was pushed into a lot and took it in stride. I liked the bitchy side she had! It was fun, relatable, and shown as a cover for her really being a sensitive gansta (I know Rylie would be an Amaya Papaya stan)! She works through a lot of her issues and it made her a realistic character, even if there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Overall, I think Eva is a boss bitch. She's able to handle a lot from people, and I really liked seeing her growth over the book.

Rylie FUCKING Cooper, man! Wowwww! This book was a fantastic use of single POV, and I am not a fan of them usually. I knew what was going through Rylie's head at all times because even though Eva can't spot a down bad man, I can! From their very first interaction, he was just happy to be in her orbit. He realized that change needed to happen within himself, and he did it. He went to therapy and became a better man for himself and others. Yet, throughout the whole book, he was still determined to grow more!! How amazing is he?! His confessions and the way he loves Eva for exactly who she is were perfect! Because my Eva girl deserves that, and he deserves someone who will make his life better and more interesting....that's definitely Eva!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I think it took me till the end to see the whole picture, and that was really interesting. While reading, I had all these opinions, and then at the end, it all made sense. I think what threw me off was how Eva didn't see the twist coming, very rose colored glasses of her. I think the MCs were a good balance for each other, taught each other a lot, and made each other better people, truly. This has given me an insight into Mazey Eddings books and I'm excited to see what else she has in store!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Mazey Eddings, and her team for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"I realized I couldn't hate myself into someone I liked. So I decided to give accepting myself a try."

Absolutely adored this book. The dislike to like trope was done so well. I loved the social media show/podcast elements because it added the perfect humor to the plot on top of the cute romance story.

"i want your sour moods just as I want your sunny ones. i'm not asking you to change. you can call me any name you want, as long as i can call you mine."

As someone who has loved other Mazey Eddings books, I found this one to be shockingly underwhelming. I fell asleep twice while reading it.

The male character Riley Cooper is bland and forgettable. He’s pretty invested in this fake date thing and seems to be head over heels early on with no real explanation. Eva’s description of him as a young adult in college and her bleak experience with him kind of cemented my opinion of him and it never really changed at all.

Eva as a character was fine. She’s kind of sullen and immature. I honestly thought they were early 20s with their maturity level, but apparently were closer to 30. I liked her drive and ambition but didn’t really connect with her at all.

A lovely shout-out to Lizzie Blake from one of the books by this author that I do love.

I think this one was a one-off. I like her writing style and generally appreciate her attention to detail and inclusivity. It won’t deter me from reading her again but this one was a no from me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Mazey Eddings for an eARC of this book for review.

The banter? The spice? Perfection. I love the black cat/golden retriever dynamic and relate to Eva on a spiritual level. I loved seeing the growth of the characters too. My biggest issue with this book was the amount of chronically online snippets that were woven it. There’s a reference on just about every page that will be dated in a year or two, and while I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being acutely aware of when a book was written, I think it could have been cut way back and the book would have felt much more timeless.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve not read any of Mazey’s previous titles, and now I’ll be working through her backlist because I really really enjoyed this read.

The start of this novel was one of the best, most original openings I’ve read, the banter was top notch, the humor was spot on, and the pacing was just about perfect. I caught myself laughing out loud several times at the witty things being said. The parts that were more serious were handled with care and respect and rounded this book out nicely.

I adored Rylie. I found his emotional maturity shockingly refreshing, his ‘don’t quit’ attitude swoon-worthy, and his love of ironic clothing endearing. I both loved Eva’s sarcasm and snippy personality and hated her emotional ineptitude. I found it incredible how realistic the author kept Eva’s character because her growth wasn’t linear.

Rylie and Eva together - I didn’t fully buy into it. I’m stuck on the fence with understanding how it all came to be and the draw for Rylie because Eva was really harsh at times. I still enjoyed them together; I’m just not 100% convinced of it.

Fans of witty banter, books featuring hot dogs 🌭, and emotionally focused books will enjoy this one.

Although the sarcastic tone captured me and made me laugh, it did wear thin after a while. The FMC was unlikable the whole way through. It was fine but not for me.

Eva can't help but call out her college ex, Rylie, after seeing his video teaching men how to be good partners. Surprisingly, her response video goes viral. Eva and Rylie are forced to make more content together to keep the attention on Eva and traffic going to the site she works for.

I really loved this one. The premise was unique and hooked me immediately. My favorite was when he called her "kitten". 😍 Mazey Eddings is hilarious and it shows in her writing. Heads up, there was a decent amount of spice. I'm so excited for everyone to get their hands on this book next week!!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mazey Eddings for the advanced copy of Well, Actually!

Obviously, we all know what Sausage Talk was based off of and it had me hooked from the first page. I love the concept and how Eddings spun the show and wove the plot out of it. The second chance romance of it all was to die for. Eva and Rylie are definitely my relationship goals- one witty, sarcastic, and a little mean (me, obviously), and the other soft and accepting and challenging when I need it.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I had heard good things so I was excited to jump into this story but I immediately found the FMC to be so crass and unlikable. I don't usually mind a grumpy, black cat FMC but I just could not find a single thing that I liked about Eva so I was not invested in her at all. Rylie seemed like a lovable golden retriever MMC but from the beginning, I wanted better for him. Maybe Eva's character grows a lot throughout the book but I couldn't force myself to keep reading long enough to see if that happens. The writing, in general, wasn't bad so I am giving it 3 stars because I am sure there is an audience for this book (it just wasn't me).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!

Well, Actually is a story that had me giggling. It is a second chance romance that will keep you coming back for more. It is not just fluff though, there was a lot more depth than I expected from the MMC, Cooper and the story of his past made me think. If the cover is calling you, you won't be disappointed!

Thank you Net Galley, Mazey Eddings and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to preview this title. The opinions shared are my own.
Well, Actually is expected to be released Aug. 5, 2025.

Well, this is a masterpiece! This book had me a complete chokehold and I finished in one day. I laughed, I cried, I got secondhand embarrassment (that first date 🙈), I swooned over Rylie, and I wholeheartedly loved this story! After one too many glasses of prosecco, journalist Eva Kitt stitches a video to social media good guy Rylie Cooper's latest video stating they dated in college and he is not the good guy he is portraying himself as. Unbeknownst to her, the video goes viral and Rylie wants the chance to change her mind about him. Her employer wants them to document their second chance dates on social media (with partnership with Rylie's podcast) and that's when everything starts getting messy and maybe even too real for Eva.

This is literally the perfect second chance romance story with the epitome of black cat x golden retriever main characters! I fell head over heels for both Eva and Rylie and was rooting for them the entire time. I don't think I've ever become so invested in fictional characters as I did with these two. 😍 This book also dealt with some heavy topics regarding sibling death, internalized biphobia, misogyny, and inadequacy but they were handled carefully and beautifully and the therapy representation made me tear up. This was my first Mazey book and completely fell in love with her voice. I'll absolutely be reading her backlist!

Read if you love:
✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Fake Dating(ish)
✨ Black Cat FMC x Golden Retriever MMC
✨ LGBTQ+ stories (Bi and Pan reps)
✨ Found Family
✨ "Good girl"
✨ Podcasts
✨ Non-toxic masculinity (oh and hot dogs)

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy! 🖤

This is a fun second-chance romance that gives major Chicken Shop Date vibes. Eva and Rylie had a fling in college that left Eva feeling jilted and resentful and her drunken online rant about it goes viral Rylie wants to show Eva that he's done a lot of growing and self-reflecting since college and is a changed man. This leads to a public series of dates in hopes of furthering both of their careers and maybe winning her over.

I did not love how mean Eva was to Rylie. I understand being hurt and stubborn, but it was a little excessive and drawn out, in my opinion. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Press Griffin, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange of my honest review.

This one unfortunately didn't work for me. I loved Mazey's last book, so I was expecting more I guess. I felt like the FMC was a mess and that is hard for me because I put myself into all of them. The MMC was cringey at first, but by the end he was the saving grace. He wouldn't let Ava get into her own head and ruin what they had. I enjoyed Riley's character at the end. There was one line that made me laugh though. "The bar is on the ground and you keep bringing a shovel". I feel like this is the most relatable line in the book.
Thanks to St. Martin's. Netgalley and Mazey Eddings for an early copy.