This was everything!! Eva’s show was a fabulous mock up of Chicken Shop Date and the black cat has met her match in golden retriever Rylie. The banter was bantering and the snark and sarcasm were PERFECT. The bi/pan rep was amazing. They were both vulnerable and yet still edgy. Their nicknames for each other (kitten- hers and baby girl- his) left me giggling. The praise was top notch.
Check you triggers- this includes workplace harassment, biphobia, anxiety, and grief.

I DNFed this book at 74%, not because of the author but just the style of book.
Mazey did an amazing job with character building for Rylie. He reminds me a lot of Jeremiah from The Summer I Turned Pretty series. He is funny and witty. Same with Eva, her wit and charm is so easy to read and so enjoyable.

Sparks, sabotage, and sausage. Yes, you read that right.

Eva Kitt is not exactly living the dream—unless the dream involves interviewing D-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs. But when her ex (a now-famous feminist influencer, of all things) crashes back into her life, Eva takes the ultimate revenge detour: fake dates, viral content, and a chance to drag him through the emotional mud.

Only… what happens when the performative apologies start to feel a little too real? 👀💔💖

This book has:
🌭 A heroine with bite
📺 A viral takedown
💬 Banter that crackles
🔥 Second-chance sparks

📚 If you love messy, modern rom-coms with heart and heat, this one’s for you.

Well, Actually is a fantastic read! It’s got Chicken Shop Date vibes, but with sausages, and honestly, that alone should sell you on the premise. But OK, OK, here’s a bit more.

This is a second-chance romance with a side of fake-ish dating, bi and pansexual rep, and it all kicks off with a drunken viral video. The whole thing was absolutely delightful. It was funny, it made me laugh out loud, it had so much heart. The chemistry? Great. The spice? Fantastic. It’s just one of those feel good reads that leaves you smiling.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
HAPPY PUB DAY!

Chicken shop date, but make it hot dogs 🌭. Well, Actually is a novel mixed with a little bit of everything making a perfect balance of emotional complexity. Eva and Riley are a pair that provides a full force of humor and banter and I found myself laughing out loud at times. Eva provides constant pushback and Riley is right there handling it each and every time. I appreciated how this book explored deeper topics though- how there’s an always a reason for our behaviors and how you have to actively work on being emotionally aware of yourself and others. This book also dove into the complexities of working in a male dominated field and how it is okay to make your voice heard. There was also a lot of LGBTQIA+ representation and sensitivity around those topics. With this book now available, it is one I would highly recommend checking out. Mazey Eddings does well with incorporating laughter, deeper topics, and a level spice and it’s something I’ve noticed from other books I’ve read of hers.

Thank you to @ , NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

La preuve que j'ai aimé ce livre c'est que le gars appelait la fille "kitten" et j'ai même pas cringe. 🤣
Non mais pour vrai j'ai beaucoup aimé le concept avec le podcast (j'ai juste été déçue que ce soit abandonné dans la deuxième moitié). Les deux personnalités opposées des personnages principaux se complétaient bien (j'ai adoré le sarcasme de Eva et comment Riley lui répondait). J'ai adoré voir Riley toujours être là pour elle même quand elle le repoussait, comment il la rassurait toujours et la complimentait et lui montrait comment il a changé (vive les romances second chance). Bonus points aussi pour la représentation de bisexualité et pansexualité.

i looooooved this book sooo much! i literally loved it immediately from page one! it had me laughing out loud, giggling, blushing, kicking my feet, swooning— all of it! the banter is top tier, the tension is soo juicy— eva and rylie have chemistry that just jumps off the pages!
there’s truly no better pairing than a hilarious, witty, real as hell ice queen with all her walls up and a perfectly sweet and sexy golden retriever who is down BAAAD and eager to take all her walls down! eva and rylie made me feral!!! i’m going to be dreaming of these two!
there wasn’t a single dry page— i was entertained the whole way through! i truly had the time of my life!
this was my first book by mazey eddings, but certainly not my last! i can’t wait to read more by her!


thank you so much to SMP for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts <3

Well, Actually hands down was likely one of my FAVORITE reads in the month of July.

Eva Kitt is doing her best as host for Sausage Talk, a podcast where she talks to celebrities over hot dogs. When she quickly calls out her ex and everyone hears about it, the media goes HAYWIRE. The best part? This ex is none other than media personality who everyone is obsessed with---Rylie Cooper. When they are made to go face to face for views, sparks fly. Eva must come to the reality that well, actually she has feelings with the man who broke her heart all those years ago.

HOT DOG! I was laughing while also hitting "bookmark" on a lot of different relatable passages. I kept shouting out "YES" while reading to the mental health chat and then needing to google a denim comforter. It's a beloved story that y'all need to read...with a hot dog (or other summer food if you don't like those).

Format - E ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- Second Chance, enemies to lovers, big city, grumpy/sunshine.

Representation-

CW- Work place bullying


Two things you need to know about Eva Kit . She is stuck( girl I feel ya), in a job that’s just adjacent enough to what she really wants that’s it hard to leave but becoming detrimental to her mental health to stay. If that’s not relatable to half the romance population I don’t know what is. And Two she Capital H Hates Rylie Cooper.

Rylie Copper regrets a lot of things. The way he treated Eva Kit is pretty much at the top of that list. So when she puts him on Blast in a new viral video he’s gonna take the chance to right his wrong and hopefully get this black cat girl to maybe be as obsessed with him as he is with her.

Well, Actually I loved it. Mazey is one of my auto request auto buy authors, because her writing style just speaks to my soul. This book was no different. I found both characters relatable and dynamic Mazey has yet to write a character that I don’t want to be friends with. Their chemistry is off the charts and the banter had me in tears I was laughing so hard.

Eva is not perfect in handling her shitty work situations but honestly who is? Stuff like that is hard to navigate and in the moment impossible to get right. I would love to say I would have told my shitty boss to fuck off and quick but that’s not reality for everyone and Eva is a representation that group of people. Rylie is the type of golden retriever man we love to see and will root for till the end of time. He’s obsessed with Eva, is in touch with his emotions and has a dirty mouth. He’s basically a unicorn among men.

Needless to say I loved this book and Mazey continues to scratch that itch in my brain and I love her for it!

Thank you Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for the advanced copy my opinions are my own.

5 stars amazing. This is the PERFECT black cat/golden retriever trope executed flawlessly. Cooper is so sturdy and solid and sure. Eva is real. They are excellent the story is excellent I could gush about it forever.

My first 5 star Mazey Eddings read!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. These are my honest thoughts!

I DEVOURED THIS AUDIOBOOK IN 24 HOURS. I've been in quite a slump, and this book had all the makings of a 5 star read! I was intrigued from the first page to the last. There was drama, there was banter, there was black cat/golden retriever vibes, and there were some hard truths that I appreciated being represented in romance. I think Mazey does that well.

I think this is my first audiobook narrated by Ariela Crow, and I really enjoyed her performance! She played a variety of characters with diverse backgrounds, and I instantly recognized characters within her performance. I thought the pacing was perfection and the delivery of this story was exactly what I needed to enjoy myself to the max.

I feel like there are a lot of podcast/talk show host/radio host romances out there right now, but this one is my favorite from recent memory. I loved that both Eva and Rylie had their own things going on when the social media nightmare (for Eva) occurs, giving Eva and Rylie the chance to reconnect on air. Eva's got this dry sense of witty humor that I just ate up, and Rylie is *sooooooft* in the best way, which is not what I expected when Eva blasted him for ghosting her in college. When Rylie challenges Eva to date him so he can make up his past mistakes, THE TENSION IN THAT MOMENT... it was perfect. AND thennnn, the dates started out with a bang... quickly turning into a disaster. I loved that Rylie put forth so much effort for the perfect redemption, but he also obviously cared about Eva. Eva's experience in relationships... left something to be desired, but it's important to note that her emotional reactions are a direct response to her past experiences (or inexperience in general).

Read if you love:
- Lovers-to-enemies-to-frenemies-to-lovers
- Hate to love
- "Fake" real dating
- Second chance
- Tension + banter + THE CUTEST PET NAMES (kitten k!lled me EVERY TIME)
- Black Cat/Golden Retriever
- Bi x Pan Reps!!!!
- Workplace romance
- NYC
- Podcasts, pop culture, trending topics
- Reading mean tweets, but do it with a man who wants to protect you/your mental health
- Challenging toxic masculinity, toxic workplace environments, toxic friendship behaviors
- A man in therapy
- LGBTQIA+ representation (in so many beautiful ways)
- Spiceeeeeeeee
- And probably most importantly, he c***** in his pants from e*ting her out. Duh.


Like I said, the audiobook gets 5 stars. Will be recommending to people who love diverse characters, representation, and a man who is DOWN BAD for his kitten.

this book was genuinely such a breath of fresh air!

an angsty but also delightful, sweet and romantic second chance love story with strong chicken shop date vibes but also with witty and thought provoking social commentary. i truly had the best time reading it.

*arc kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

the fmc, eva, is the host of “sausage talk” where she interviews b-list celebrities while eating endless hotdogs. it’s not a career she thought she’d have but it’s what works for now. on one drunken night she posts a very public video that ends up going viral over her saying her ex from college could only go three pumps. her ex, rylie cooper, has a podcast where he talks teaches men to be better. that leads to the forced proximity of them now having to work together based off the growing popularity of the situation where she agrees to go on a few dates with him.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

it did take a few chapters to get into it but honestly fatigue has been heavy so could just be me! i did automatically love the forced proximity and rylie cooper himself. i appreciate both characters and their growths separate and together. i did feel as if she was too harsh towards him at times though. i always love when books have a grieving character in it due to just feeling like it should be talked about more. i do wish we did dive more into that though.

also LOVED that the fmc is pan and the mmc is bi!!

overall i really enjoyed it! the banter is THERE and there’s funny moments between both main and side characters. good plot. high stakes. i definitely recommend this one 🩷

Why did I instantly think of Chicken Shop Date but with hot dogs? 🌭🤣

If you’re looking for a couple that’ll remind of Kat Stratford & Patrick Verona… look no further. The banter between these two had me 🙂‍↕️🤭

Also, when this becomes a romcom if Jonathon Bailey doesn’t play Rylie… I will riot!

This filled a void I didn’t know I had. Going to read Mazeys backlist now 🏃🏻‍♀️

Thank you netgalley for the arc

3.5 ⭐️

This is obviously inspired by Amelia's chicken shop dates. Inspiration is fine, but I just kept picturing Amelia and had a hard time separating the two. And I don't even watch chicken shop dates outside of short clips.

The romance was decent. The pacing felt off at times but I couldn't put my finger on why. I liked Rylie, he was so laid back and witty. And he really put in the work to get her forgiveness and a second chance (second chance romance anyone?!). The relationship was a little weird with how mean she was to him, but he liked it so I guess it's okay?

The FMC was bitchy and at times annoying, but at the same time it nice to see a different type of FMC rather than the nice girl next store vibes like a lot of books. She was very guarded from a hard childhood and that made me empathize with her and understand her personality more. I was glad to see her finally open up to him about all the things. Overall I guess they were a good fit.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC 🤍 All opinions are my own.

This got a lot of rave reviews in the beginning, so I jumped on the bandwagon to read it. Unfortunately, it took a lot to convince me to actually pick it up. Even then, I found it easy to sit it aside and do something else. In the end the story was decent, but nothing too different than many other second chance romances.

I always love Mazey Eddings’s storytelling! this story is full of so much heart, tenderness, hilarity, and joy. I just love a boy obsessed, and oh boy is my boy Riley obsessed with Eva! he’s so loving and tender. and I love and adore how Eva’s character develops, how she finally gets the long-lasting, dedicated love she deserves. 🥹 thank you @youhadmeathea for the ARC

This was cute. I liked the steamy steamy romance between these second chance romance characters.

I enjoyed this book overall except for Eva. She is extremely unlikeable and was a jerk to Rylie the entire book. I'm not sure why he kept pushing. We get her inner monologue about why she's so afraid of love and her issues with her childhood trauma but it was never relayed to Rylie on page. It was like he loved her without actually understanding why she is so horrible to him all the time.

I felt like if you took the sex out there wouldn't be much plot and/or character growth for Eva. Rylie is the reason why I kept reading.

I still love Mazey Eddings books overall and will continue picking them up but this one was my least favorite.

This book was so cute!! I thought the FMCs character arc was beautifully written and the MMC is top tier book boyfriend material! To me, some of the main themes of this book are growth and learning to be vulnerable. As the reader, we get to follow along with the FMC on her journey in real time while learning about the previous trials and tribulations the MMC went through.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

4.5 stars overall

This was my first book by Mazey Eddings and I'm officially a fan! I can't wait to read her backlist. I went into Well, Actually blindly so I didn't know what to expect. What I got was a bunch of laugh out loud moments and loving all the love/hate between Rylie and Eva (mostly on Eva's part with the hatred). Their banter was some of the best I've ever read and each one tried to out do the other when it came to a comeback. I really enjoyed the story and love that it was set in NYC. For a semi workplace romance this was one of my faves. In a weird way this book may make you crave hotdogs by the end of the story. This is a must read for the following tropes:

Second Chance
Hate to Love
Black Cat x Golden Retriever
Fake (ish) Dating
Mental Health Rep
Bi x Pan Rep

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review.