4.5 stars- Mazey Eddings I was not familiar with your game, such whitty writing I am obsessed.

Eva & Rylie were giving reverse grumpy sunshine, black cat x golden retriever energy I loved. I actually really related to Eva and our MMC Rylie, was so funny and quirky I was smitten.

I appreciated the conversations around the MC’s sexualities (pan, bi representation) as well as the discussions around grief.

The overall plot was very modern and fun. The spice was top tier and there was a perfect balance of conflict, whit and romance.

A bonkers rom-com with a prickly heroine who hosts a pop culture segment interviewing celebrities over hot dogs. When a drunken rant about an ex who now has a podcast goes viral, she must have him on her show and agree to 6 do-over dates. Of course sparks fly along the way!

There were scenes that genuinely made me laugh out loud and I think this could be adapted easily for film. The heroine is kind of insufferable at times, but the hero is into it and I think they make it work. An entertaining romance that's clearly drawing on that woman who does the chicken shop celebrity interviews in the UK! The audio narration is really excellent with the single narrator nailing the two characters. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings was a book I connected with instantly. Honestly, where do I sign up for a job that revolves around eating hot dogs?

Told entirely from Eva’s point of view, this is a hilarious and banter-filled story packed with genuine character growth and two incredibly charming leads. Eddings absolutely nails the “black cat/golden retriever” dynamic—Eva’s sharp, sarcastic wit clashes perfectly with Rylie’s golden-hearted, eager-to-please energy. Their chemistry? Off the charts.

The snarky banter, ridiculous antics, and moments of real vulnerability make their relationship feel raw, real, and so much fun to read. Eva was an amazing FMC—flawed, complicated, and fiercely relatable. I know she might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I resonated with her so deeply it hurt. (And yes, I will absolutely defend her.)

Rylie, on the other hand, is the kind of MMC who’s so head-over-heels in love it’ll have you giggling and kicking your feet. He’s funny, tender, and so wildly obsessed with Eva—it’s impossible not to love him.

This book was equal parts hilarious and heartwarming, and I loved every minute of it.

This was my first read from Mazey Eddings and I’m immediately putting her other books in my cart!

I couldn’t get enough of Riley and Ada!! Like please Mazey, give me more!!! The banter and funny quips between them was delicious.

After ghosting Ada from their two-month-long situationship in college, she’s always held a grudge against Riley Cooper. Since Riley, she hasn’t been able to feel like she deserves love. When she calls him out on social media years later, he begs her for a second chance, to turn his red flags to green. She agrees to six dates with him, while they keep their social channels updated on the saga. If you loved the Andrew Garfield x Amelia Dimoldenberg chicken shop date, you will be drooling over Well, Actually!!

The writing was fresh and the plot was unique enough to stand out and become a memorable read for me. A beautiful and fun story about two imperfect people who support each other while they work through their own shit. Love to see it! While being fun and making me want to be in the story! Perhaps it's time to book a trip to NYC....

🌭 Bi MMCs
🌭 Slutty little glasses
🌭 Mental health rep (couples therapy!)
🌭 Hate to love
🌭 Black cat x golden retriever
🌭 Second chance

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

Thank you Mazey, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

This story was good. It is in the first person POV which I prefer. I really liked that it was set in NY and that Eva was a TV show host. The premise of this book was great! I did find it difficult at times to not lose focus, but overall I pushed through and enjoyed the story!

This book started out great. Eva was strong, clever, and funny. But in her interactions with Rylie, she turned to mush. She completely lost her backbone. DNF ~20%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Title: Well Actually-a standalone

Author: Mazey Eddings- I read Late Bloomer and The Plus One both 4 ⭐

Publication date: 8-5-25 | Read 8-2-25

Format: eBook 320 pgs.

Genre:
*Rom-Com

Tropes:
*enemies to lovers
*2nd chance romance
*LGBTQIA+ rep
*social media vs. journalism

POV: 1st person single

TW: parental neglect, biphobia, toxic workplace, misogyny, grief, death of a loved one

Setting: New York

Summary: Eva and Riley met six years ago at Breslin University, went on a few dates, and had lackluster sex. Now, Eva hosts a TV show "Sausage Talks" to interview B-list celebs. Riley has a male led podcast that discusses how to be a good partner. During a drunken moment Eva goes viral when she tells the world about Riley's bad dating. Her job sees an opportunity to boost ratings by having Riley on the show. He proposes they go on a few dates to make amends. Eva agrees and while on the dates, Eva realizes Riley's changed.

Heroine: Eva Kitt, 27 works at Soundbites but writes "Unlikeable" column on Babble

Hero: Riley Cooper,28 has his own male oriented podcast

Other Characters:
* Aida-Eva's producer and BFF
*Landry Doughright + William- Soundbites founder/CEO and her son who will be taking over
*Ray-Eva's friend and ex-roommate
*Sarah-Riley's little sister-deceased
*Lilith and Steve-Riley's roommates

My Thoughts: This was a good commentary on the ups and downs of social media. Eva and Riley did a reset on their relationship and went on dates to become friends. The couples therapy session was revealing because they had some miscommunication or lack thereof. Riley's sister's death affected him as did Eva's family neglect. It had a quick cameo by Lizzie Blake and a HEA.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press| St. Martin's Griffin, and Mazey Eddings for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read this book because I adored Mazey Eddings' previous novel, Tilly in Technicolor (it was actually one of my top reads of 2023). Unfortunately, this one totally missed the mark for me.

I will admit that I am generally not a fan of the enemies-to-lovers (or hate to love) trope, so you need to consider that with what I'm about to say. I found the banter to be exhausting; it was way too much and went on for far too long, and it ultimately made their relationship feel shallow to me. Other than a few small scenes where they opened up to each other, it was ALL BANTER. I have a hard time believing in a deep, emotional connection between two people that are almost constantly sniping or poking fun at each other (and this is coming from someone who LOVES to be made fun of by their mate). I also think that it was unrealistic in the way it was presented. Eva is very guarded and very hurt by Rylie's past actions, and as a result, she is cutting, rude, and mean to him. I understood that when they first reconnected and she was still carrying so much anger and hurt. But as the relationship progressed, she never really let go of the mean schtick. I know that Rylie said he appreciated that about her and loved her just as she was, but I cannot believe that he wouldn't eventually tire of her rude remarks. Stuff like that is funny for a while...until it's not.

I also thought that the story was supposed show how Rylie changed and grew from the time they were involved several years before. And while we did get to see some of the emotional maturity he underwent, their relationship was almost entirely focused on banter and lust. Again, I found their emotional connection to be lacking.

This book was also noticeably smuttier than I recall Tilly in Technicolor being. That's not my preferred genre and I found myself skimming over those scenes. I found them to be repetitive, and I really didn't need play by play details of every single sexual encounter they had with each other (which were vast).

And this is being really nitpicky, but I am someone that gets really annoyed by repetitive phrases or descriptions in books, and it felt like there were constant references to Rylie adjusting his glasses, his glasses sliding down his nose, etc. Enough already. I get it; he wears glasses, and they don't stay in place. Who cares?

Lastly, I thought the third-act conflict was very anticlimatic and a bit lame.

Unfortunately, I can't say there was a whole lot that I liked about this book. If you are new to this author, I would highly recommend you read Tilly in Technicolor instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.75⭐️ You know when you read certain banter between two characters who are roasting each other and it’s so insanely funny that you try to remember it for any future situations if you happen to find yourself in an enemies to lovers relationship? Yeah that’s this book right here.

There was one line where Eva said, “You are the human equivalent of Comic Sans.” and I’m 100% using that on someone.

Eva is the kind of prickly and harsh character that acts out in order to protect herself and I felt so seen (and called out) throughout this one. When Rylie is back in her life, after she full on exposed him online of a shitty night together years ago, her guard is up. I found myself curious with Rylie’s story and growth over the years they were apart and I adored him. They were both complex and well thought out characters that I felt like I knew everything about them.

There were a few moments where it felt a bit repetitive of Eva opening up and lowering her guards, only to then leave or spit fire at Rylie when it wasn’t necessary. I understand that there are trust issues and history between them, but I think it could’ve been wrapped up a bit quicker in some areas.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the arc!

This started off strong, but I got tired of Eva’s constant anger & negativity, especially since Cooper was being the nicest person possible. Her anger was particularly confusing given that they only had 4 dates 6 years ago; doesn’t seem like that much time to really loathe someone that much. I did enjoy their quippy dialogue and the podcaster/show plot.

I have to admit I struggled with this one. I considering DNFing for the first like 50% but I’ve really liked Mazey’s books in the past so I was holding onto hope. I liked the second half of the book much more, but overall it wasn’t my favorite. The FMC couldn’t get out of her own dang way and then I don’t know that I feel fully satisfied by her arc. And Rylie was swoony but maybe too perfect? So it didn’t feel terribly realistic. And the writing was generally good except for when bombastic was used in a sentence. Not even dialogue. But the therapy scene was gold!

This book was absolutely wonderful! If I had no other responsibilities in life I would’ve never put it down and finished it in one sitting. The characters are so easy to fall in love with and their witty banter is perfect. The author covers difficult topics with grace and every moment was amazing. So so good and a must read!

Eva Kitt dreams of being a hard-hitting journalist, but for now she spends her days hosting a show where she interviews B-list celebrities over hot dogs (think chicken shop date / hot ones). Her ex-boyfriend from college, Riley, has become a well-known podcaster who teaches men how to be good partners. After she calls him out online, she is forced to interview him on her show and agrees to go on six dates with him so he can prove to her that he has changed in the 6 years since they dated.

I enjoyed this one more than I expected to! The premise was fun and felt different than other romances I've read. It also delved into some deeper topics and I felt like the characters actually communicated their feelings to one another, which was refreshing. Despite the main characters being a man and woman, there was some great LGBTQ representation with them being bi and pan (as well as a side character who was trans).

Eva is a "black cat" type of character and at times I found her to be a little unnecessarily combative toward Riley, who was a very lovable MMC. They also strayed from the fake dating for their show after only a few dates, and I wish they would've seen that through. Overall I would definitely read more from this author in the future!

*ARC provided by NetGalley

I really liked this one! The banter between Eva and Rylie is hilarious, and the heat between them was intoxicating. I loved the therapy rep and deeper conversations about toxic masculinity, depression, and grief.

Read if you enjoy:
🎙️ second chance romance
♥️ black cat x golden retriever
🌭 banter and quirky flirting
💄 emotional payoff
👓 a man in glasses
🥵 open door spice

And now for a completely out of context quote that made me chortle:

“I wanted an obvious signal to visitors that I’m a freak in the jeets.”

the conflict in the third act felt so disappointing. of all the curveballs to throw at a plot, I really didn't love the choice made here. lots of elements of the plot were ultimately given little to no resolution. however, I did appreciate the commitment to a prickly character, since that is always a gamble with audiences. eva was crude and intense and raw and her guys loved every bit of it. it was sweet to see her be adored rather than shamed for who she is. by design, second chance romances offer so much potential and well, actually was fairly successful in delivering what a reader fond of that trope would desire.

This book immediately reminded me of the Chicken Shop Date series and I knew just from that alone I was going to enjoy this book.

Eva interviews celebrities while eating hot dogs. But she wants to write about topics that actually mean something to her. Her life blows up when she makes a video bashing her ex (a famous influencer) and posts on a social media not thinking anyone would watch it. But it goes viral 😂 and her boss wants her to interview her ex on the next show! He blindsides Eva by suggesting they go on a few dates and then they can go back on her show and she can blast him for what he does wrong.

I loved every single thing about this book. It was such a palate cleanser. I was laughing out loud throughout the whole thing. The FMC has become one of my favorites in contemporary romance! The banter was so so good!!!! I loved the LGBTQ+ rep!! I highly recommend this book to everyone. It’s one of my new favorites and Mazey is now an auto buy author for me!

Eva is a woman who has her friends and her job. When while drunk one night she goes online and blasts the one man who broke her heart 6 years ago. Riley Cooper just wants to make things right with Eva. So he decides to try to win her over by taking her on 6 dates that she can dissect on her show. But when Riley shows Eva has changed he is can he convince her to open her heart?

This book had a super strong female character and did a good job of tackling issues like workplace violence. The book was very enjoyable to read with great wit and just the right amount of spice.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings is a mix of sharp wit, emotional depth, and relatable characters made it such a standout read. I appreciated how it tackled real issues while still keeping things warm and funny. It felt honest, messy, and full of heart in the best way.

Such an insightful and therapeutic read. I really liked the banter and the teasing back and forth between Rylie and Eva. Love the progress of their relationship and the journey they took us on to get there. I adored the premise of the podcast and Eva's show - it's unique and all the elements of those settings really worked for the story.

Loved the black cat/golden retriever theme but at times, I felt Eva was a bit too much. I found it hard to like her at first but then after the therapy session scene, I really found myself endearing to her more and understanding why she is the way she is and why she treats Riley the way he does. The spice was good and appropriate.

I loved the karmic ending with William and his mom. I've never hated characters so much as him.

Overall, this is a good read, an unexpected second chance romance book that I think many will love.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts.

When I started this book, I really didn’t know if the tone of voice and humor were for me… there were a lot of wiener jokes 🌭 And I get it, she works for a show where she interviews C-list celebrities while they eat hot dogs… it’s a schtick. But it was a lot in the first few chapters of the book.

Not to mention, Eva is crass, blunt, sarcastic and quick to show her teeth with a biting remark. The true definition of a black cat FMC 🐈‍⬛ But as the story unfolded and I gave it a chance, my heart warmed to her as her icy exterior thawed toward Rylie and we got to see her softer side.

She has a quick-witted humor that made for fantastic chemistry and banter with Rylie. It was like watching them volley back and forth just waiting to see who would take the point, and it reminded me a lot of my relationship with my husband 😂 I definitely have some black cat energy, and related a lot to Eva. Especially when it comes to feeling like she was hard to love — prickly parts of her personality included.

The communication and emotional maturity that Rylie (and his therapist!) helped build with Eva was fantastic. You could see her learn to trust, let down her guard and take off the mask and tough exterior with each chapter. That growth was fantastic to see over the course of the book!

This was such a pleasant surprise, and I’d definitely encourage you to at least make it to 25-35% before making up your mind on this one. I’m so glad I stuck it out to see their second chance unfold!