Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for making this a read now so I could finally get my hands on it!

I loved the premise of this book, and though I considered it a crux at first, the little bits of pop culture references fit what the book was so well that I started to enjoy them. This book was marketed as a black cat fmc x golden retriever mmc, and let me tell you, that’s what you’re getting! Eva is so prickly towards the beginning of the book that I almost didn’t like her. But slowly—and smoothly—her layers get peeled back and you start to understand her as a character. And Rylie is just…reliably Rylie.

The last 30% of this book makes the hair pulling of the first 70% worth it. I will say the latter half of the book is so heavy in spice that it starts to get a little repetitive, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. The banter and humor holds up throughout the entire book, especially towards the end (in my opinion). I WILL say that the scenes where Rylie and Eva have actual conversations seem sort of...dramatized? Just in the reactions, and it took me out of the story a little bit. Overall, a fun read!

Loved the direction the author took with the third act drama! That’s all I will say without spoilers.

I'll be posting my review this week on Instagram @readbylydiaa, and on Tiktok @readbylydiaa in my monthly wrap-up!

This love story feels real—full of tension, longing, and moments that make your heart ache in the best way. The chemistry is undeniable, the emotions hit deep, and by the end, you won’t just believe in their love—you’ll feel it.

thank you to st martins press and netgalley for this gem.

mazey eddings lives in my brain (i had to say it) her books always make me so emotional. like a warm hug that’s also too tight and makes me feel more than i want to. so obviously yes i did cry at this one.

we have a second chance romance for the ages okay. like i don’t like second chance romances but i liked this. and i don’t want to spoil anything but like Rylie earns Eva’s forgiveness.

i’ve not read many bi4bi’s. but i’m sort of obsessed with the ones i have? truly madly deeply by alexandria bellefluer is a must read if you haven’t. 🙌🏻

this book is for the chaos demons who don’t want to be as stand offish as they seem and i need everyone to read it immediately thanks

check this out in august when it hits shelves!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I loved this book so much. I found the FMC frustrating, but relatable, and I think that’s why I liked her. And the MMC was so kind and caring and supportive. He made a few mistakes along the way, but you could see how much he cared. Seeing them grow as a couple was wonderful. I also loved the conflict towards the end of the book and how it was resolved. Super enjoyable read!

I did not like the first half of this book. So much so I almost DNFd it. But I kept going and about 50% it took a turn for the better. I enjoyed the 2nd half although - i did skip the smutty scenes.

The things I did not like:
The amount of times Eva self loathes.... ok, enough, I get it. You're a meanie.
The color of Rylies eyes? Yes, I get it. They are grey.
Flip flop between Rylie and Cooper as a nickname? I did not understand that. I thought they were different people the first couple of times.

This was the funniest, wittiest, most sparkling book I’ve ever read. Pure delight. Eddings keeps getting better and better!

Mazey Eddings has written a beautiful book with a grumpy, sarcastic FMC and a kind, sunshiny MMC. Eva and Riley meet in college and have a rather underwhelming series of dates. Years later, they are suddenly reconnected and must deal with their feelings from the past.
I adored that Eva was snarky and, well, bitchy. I think so few female characters are given that space in Romance. And I loved Riley's long-suffering commitment and work to undo past harm.
I was on the edge of my seat through most of this story, a slow-burn that kept me wondering "will they?"
I think there were a few parts that could have been tightened and the ending series felt a little rushed, but overall this was a tense, fun, and sparkling romance that I really enjoyed.
Thank you to netgalley and SMP for the e-arc.

Mazey Eddings writes the best female characters- prove me wrong. Eva is smart, funny, and flawed and following her bumpy road to romance with Rylie was brutally honest but ultimately hopeful and sweet. The two rekindle a failed romance after Eva goes viral talking about their awful encounter from years before. Eva and Riley are both Instagram famous, Eva for her Chicken Shop Date-esque interview show and Rylie for his podcast. The two are thrown together by the PR/marketing teams and find themselves healing from past wounds and finding a new reason to try again.

This book was very funny, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but I did find that it lost steam for me about 2/3 of the way through. This may be entirely my own fault as my annoying brain randomly fancast Ariana Grande’s boyfriend as Rylie and it was a bucket of cold water on the whole thing to be honest. If you can avoid that eerily specific misstep you might enjoy this more than I did. Still, the banter, mental health, and queer rep bumped it up from 3 to 4 stars.

I liked the concept of this book & was extremely intrigued in the beginning!! But around 30% this book lost its luster. The FMC is truly so unbearable? The only reason I made it as far as I did was the banter, it was truly immaculate. I wanted to keep reading for that alone but could not bring myself to do so.. it’s just not worth the torture of reading from Eva’s pov for one more second.

This was a cute romance and super sweet! Both main characters are super like-able and the story was very sweet throughout! The story was written to allow the reader to connect emotionally and I throughly enjoyed that. I read this during a semi-reading slump so I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I could have - not to say someone else won’t ADORE this! I plan to re-read and re-rate after I read it again and get to truly enjoy it.

This rom com was extremely unique and honestly unlike anything I've read before. If you love chicken shop date and those vibes, I think you will really enjoy this one. There were some parts I struggled with a bit.. the character arc and dialogue for Eva at times, but Rylie was quite simply the biggest green flag and softest boi. I really appreciated the facetious and dry humor and I thought their relationship progression flowed really naturally!

3.5 ⭐ rounded to 4

Thank you to SMP for the ARC!!

Mazey Eddings's romances do a brilliant job of serving up hilarious situations and poignant relatable emotion. The main character, Eva, is a social media interviewer longing to transition to serious journalism and feels left behind and lonely. The way her loneliness, desire for a loving relationship, and her sarcastic avoidant tendencies appear on the page is so true to life I was shocked at how accurate it was. Plus the hero, the boy who ghosted Eva after they had sex, Rylie is a sunshiny golden retriever who delights in Eva's constant roasting. He's exactly who she needs and I loved every minute of their banter. Well, Actually speaks to the ache and the struggle of cracking yourself open to love while delivering on sitcom level comedic beats.

I loved the cover of this book and needed to read it. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. I really enjoyed this book and the storyline. The characters were all very likable as well.

3.5 ⭐️
I liked the Chicken Shop Date inspiration behind this book and especially liked that some of the typical exes-to-lovers tropes didn't rear their heads. I was expecting to dislike Eva (I can't stand a "I'm being difficult just for the sake of being difficult" FMC), but I thought she was well-developed and I felt like a lot of her reservations were actually valid (which apparently puts me in the minority of the reviewers here). However, I did not think that Rylie was well-rounded- it kind of seemed like his character was about 20 different ones. The first date to the second date to the third date all seemed like completely different people, and he went from golden retriever to assertive white man and back again too often for it to seem cohesive. I also could not stop picturing him as Stephen Nedoroscik, which didn't really help either. Overall, I liked the premise and thought the story itself moved well, but I just didn't love Rylie's character development (sorry!!).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🌭

4.5★

Oh my goodness, I absolutely ate this UPPP!! 🤩

As a major self-proclaimed black cat x golden retriever enthusiast, this book hit all the right notes for me. Eva & Rylie are my babies, and it was impossible not to fall in love with them and their story 🥹

The banter in this book was simply TOP TIER! Eva & Rylie both gave each other as good as they got, and I could not get over their quick wit and palpable chemistry that bled off the page. This book also had an unexpectedly emotional punch to it that had me in tears just as much as it had me laughing out loud. Not only did I relate a little too much to Eva, but I loved how these two had open and honest conversations with each other about the past and put in the painstaking effort to work through their issues. And Rylie being so patient and never giving up his pursuit of Eva even when she put up her walls and wanted to run away from him was just everything to me. I just want to be loved the way Rylie loves Eva! 😭

Overall, I'm so glad to have read this absolute gem of a book! While there may have been a couple things I wish had been done differently (including a more fleshed-out ending), I can't deny I had the best time reading this and never once wanted to put it down. I can tell I will be thinking about Rylie & Eva for a long time. This was my first Mazey Eddings book, but it certainly won't be my last! I cannot wait to read more from her in the future 💗

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Griffin & NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

3.5⭐️


I really liked this!! The romance in it was super sweet and I loved both of the main characters. The story was super fun while also bringing emotional aspects to make the reader further connect to the story and characters.

The reason this is not a 4⭐️ from me - 3.5 is still a good rating !! - is because there were somethings said by the two main characters that pushed me out of the story - like pop culture references - but I still adored both of the main characters!!

This is definitely a play on Chicken Shop Date but with hot dogs. Eva, hoping to one day transition to more serious journalism, interviews pseudo-celebrities while eating hot dogs. She is the epitome of the black cat stereotype. After seeing her college situationship becoming more successful than she is and being painted as a "nice guy," she drunkenly calls him out. The viral video leads to them rehashing their time together and agreeing to go on dates for some hopefully good podcast content.

Eva and Riley are forced to confront their past and try to understand their short but disastrous time together six years ago, all while it plays out in real time for the viewers at home. This is where it began to fall flat for me. We learned a lot about Riley’s background and the demons he was wrestling with at the time of their relationship, and how they affected him then and continue to affect him. I felt like Eva’s feelings were very cut and dry. We learned them, but didn’t get the nuances, and I felt like I wanted those.

4 stars, upgraded from 3.5. The black cat/golden retriever banter was top-notch. The cover is very cute.

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

I read this in barely two days and I ate it UP! I love a good story with a grumpy girl and a sunshine boy instead of the usual vice versa. Their banter was so good and I loved being able to read about Eva’s battle trying to keep her bitchy persona even while Riley’s full breaking down her walls, against her will (or at least that’s what she wants us to believe.) I loved the diversity with the characters sexually and discussing the rough topic of internalized bi phobia. Even from the beginning of the story there was a clear flow of being able to see why Eva puts on this face and has trouble letting her guard down with Riley. Refusing to believe that someone see’s her for her behind her attempts to keep him at arms length.
I loved Riley’s character, his growth from how Eva remembered him is beautiful. This was such a good story!

As soon as I heard this had Chicken Shop Date vibes, I was in—and it did not disappoint! The witty banter was top-tier, and Eva quickly became my favorite. I loved seeing her character evolve and slowly let her guard down.

No third-act breakup was a huge plus, and the black cat x golden retriever dynamic was done perfectly. I didn’t want to put it down!

Well, Actually (arc review) ❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A huge thank you to @netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-copy.

I had- THE. MOST. FUN. reading this book. I literally laughed out loud, repeatedly reading this. I'm a super picky contemporary romance reader, and I adored this. I feel like it's been years since I enjoyed a romcom this much. Eva and Rylie are the epitome of a black cat/golden retriever relationship.

The good stuff:
- Second chance romance
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Witty Banter
-Hilarious dialogue

Triggers:
-Internalized biphobia
-Workplace abuse
-Misogyny/sexism
-Grief after loss of a loved one

Blurb:
Eva Kitt never expected to be the host of Sausage Talk, interviewing B-list celebrities over lukewarm hot dogs, instead of pursuing the journalism career she dreamed of. But when Eva’s impromptu public call out of her college ex goes viral, she’s thrust into the spotlight. It doesn’t help said ex is Rylie Cooper, a beloved social media personality that has built a platform on deconstructing toxic masculinity and teaching men how to be good partners.

Forced to confront Rylie on a live episode of Sausage Talk, he offers Eva a deal: allow him to take her on a series of dates to make up for his toxic behavior, then debrief them on his channel to show he’s changed. Eva refuses to play nice, but agrees to the scheme to advance her own career and continue defaming Rylie’s good name. When these manufactured dates start to feel real, Eva has to wonder if the boy that broke her heart has become the man that might heal it.