Mazey Eddings delivers a hilarious, heartfelt second chance romcom with Well, Actually, full of witty banter, emotional growth, and one surprisingly charming podcast bro.

Eva Kitt is the host of Sausage Talk (yes, it’s real—and yes, there are lots of hot dogs involved). Her signature sarcasm is as sharp as ever, especially when she drunkenly duets a viral TikTok from her ex-situationship, Rylie Cooper. He’s now a golden retriever podcast host preaching anti-toxic masculinity… but Eva remembers him very differently from their college days. The video blows up, and soon the world is watching as Eva and Rylie agree to go on six dates to settle the score—for love, or for ratings?

This book is packed with opposites-attract energy, fake-dating tension, and enough unresolved feelings to keep the pages flying. But what really makes it shine is the emotional depth beneath the humor. Eddings explores what it means to show your real self to someone—and how hard that can be when you've spent years building up walls. Eva’s biting sarcasm is just a cover for her vulnerability, and Rylie is trying to make amends while discovering who he truly is now.

If you love emotionally intelligent romcoms with forced proximity, second chances, and electric chemistry (think Andrew Garfield + Amelia Dimoldenberg vibes), you’ll devour this one. I laughed, swooned, and rooted for these two messes-in-love the whole way through.

Read if you like:
✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Second chance romance
✨ Golden retriever x black cat dynamics
✨ Smart, funny banter
✨ Healing, honesty, and hard conversations

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I did enjoy this story! I do wish it would have been a dual POV because it would have been fun from his perspective too! I love how these two reconnected and he got to show her a different side of him! It is crazy how huge podcasts have become and I now have read many romance novels based on podcasts. This is my first book from this author and won't be the last.

This was only my second book by the author and, while I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Late Bloomer, I'm happy to report that I'll be periodically checking on any new releases from Mazey Eddings. I think you've gotta be a liiiiittle bit "chronically online" to understand certain things about this book BUT, boy howdy, was it a whole lot of fun anyway! I really love an off the beaten path way to present a tried and true romance trope and this definitely delivered. Any complaint I may have with the story is that I think the author handled the personal growth of our MMC with a lot of consideration and I would've liked to have seen a little more growth from our FMC as well. All in all, this was a really cute romance - felt a lot like a 2000s rom com! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, as always. <3

That was something, like wow, you guys!!
Starting off strong and talking about the banter ‘cause are you kidding? So so well written, the characters have a sense of humor, and Eva is such a baddie you’ll def love her, her and Cooper are such a perfect couple, he’s like the match to her flame (cheesy I know) but you get what I mean?
I would say that the second half got me bored but that ending was so cute.
The flirting, the teasing, you know, all the fun stuff to make some giggles are just there.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange of a honest review.

When Eva’s drunken rant about her ex goes viral, she’s forced into six fake dates with said ex—Rylie, a golden-retriever podcast host and the anti-toxic masculinity icon we all need. What follows, you ask? Banter so sharp it draws blood, a black cat x golden retriever dynamic that redefines the trope, and A+ commentary on media, misogyny, and the messy angst of your twenties. Think You Deserve Each Other, but set in NYC with hot dogs and couples therapy.

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rating: 4.5 stars—only docking for the cartoon villain vibes of the antagonists.

Format: Excellent on audio, but you’ll want the hard copy to highlight every savage one-liner.

Bottom line: Your new favorite rom-com and the next Mean Girls bible. Well, Actually drops August 5—thank you Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC and ALC!

Snarky, self-deprecating black cat girl 🤝 golden retriever boy in kind of a second chance romance, reunited to fake date and work on a podcast together. Friends, this is like literally all of my favorite tropes rolled into one and I ate it all up! Another fun romance by Mazey Eddings (and if you haven't read Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake I definitely recommend it!) and if you HAVE read it, you may see some familiar faces! This one is out 8/5! Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio !

Well, Actually had me literally guffawing right off the bat. And that is not a word I ever use, but it’s the perfect description to my entry into this heartfelt tale. I literally laughed out loud! And I also loved fiercely our leads Eva and Rylie. This is a second chance romance everyone will cheer on wholeheartedly, while laughing and swooning along the way.

After a drunk-fueled rant about her college ex, Eva becomes an overnight viral sensation. Impacting her rather dwindling social media job interviewing celebs over hot dogs (a la Chicken Shop Date). Eva has a chance to advance in her career if she agrees to bring onto the show Rylie, the man at the center of her viral rant. And host of a successful podcast deconstructing toxic masculinity. Eve begrudgingly agrees while Rylie happily shows up…with a twist. Turning interview into a promise of a handful of dates with him to show Eva he’s changed from the boy who broke her heart back in college. Eva once again begrudgingly agrees…but she just might find Rylie will surprise her in the best of ways…

One of my favorite things about Eva is how learns to advocate for herself, both in her career and in her personal life. She’s seen as this sort of ice queen. All fangs and sharp edges, a warrior who can fight against any and all. But she’s vulnerable and soft and she hurts. She feels hurt so much sometimes. And eventually she lets people just know that. She lets them know that maybe she wants to be held and told everything is going to be okay just like everyone else. That she doesn’t want to be seen as just indestructible but also seen as vulnerable like everyone else. Her strength isn’t born of the prickly armor she wears, it’s born when she decides to take it off.

Encouraging her every step of the way is our co-lead Rylie. He wants to prove himself a better man than when Eva once knew him. He sees in her someone he still connects deeply with, and he yearns to show through action and words he can be dependable and open-hearted in a way he once was not. He is all in for fighting for Eva, to show her she’s worth that fight. The boy is obsessed and I approve!!! Initially I was all about being team Eva and not about giving Rylie any second chances. But my defenses melted pretty quickly. There is an undeniable sincerity radiating off of Rylie. I appreciated the way he opened up to Eva about their hurtful past. Letting her in on a grief he harbored she did not know about. But without making excuses, rather always taking accountability. We see his vulnerability then and now, and we see his growth. He becomes so worthy of Eva, as she is of him.

Eva and Rylie have such a fun rapport! She deals her cards with bite and at times viciousness, and he fold for her each and every time. And he does so with delight, with utter delight. She throws the punches, he takes them. Until he sees what she needs is a hug as powerful as her bite. Eva and Rylie expose their deepest vulnerability to one another and it strengthens that emotional bond between them. They bring the spice, the swoons, and the heart.

Further elevating this work, is a terrific supporting cast. We have a few antagonists that help to propel the narrative forward when needed, but it’s the friendship groups I want to quickly celebrate. I loved them! I so enjoy seeing a group of healthy friends, supporting one another while also advising one another when needed. These friends are from all walks of life, specifically depicting the different and beautiful ways they demonstrate love. There is wonderful representation in this cast, not just with the supporting cast but also our leads as well, as Rylie also welcomes Eva into his history with bisexuality, both in embracing it and the internalized biphobia he once faced. All these facets allow for the narrative to come together in a way that feels sincere, hopeful, and poignant. And so empowering.

I had a fabulously perfect time reading this one!

Thank you kindly to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy. I leave this honest review voluntarily.

As a former avid watcher of chicken shop date, this book was cringey. I love contemporary romance but I don't love when pop culture seeps its way too much in a book. Riley and Eva themselves are cute but we all know that it is suppose to be Andrew Garfield and Amelia. As funny as lactose-intolerant energy is, we also know that's the Sabrina Carpenter episode reference. Unfortunately, it was fine for a one-time read but this will not age well.

E-ARC generously provided by St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much!
Publication: August 5

Listen, I am a sucker for the grumpy sunshine troupe. I always eat it up. But when the reverse grumpy sunshine hits? It slaps 👏👏👏 literal chefs kiss 👌
I adored Eva with all of her layers and complexities. I can understand her motives, her self doubts, moments of hesitation & fears, and why she acts and is the way she is. And I love her for it. And I love her even more when she trusts Rylie to break down her walls and to be vulnerable even when it’s hard and scary.
My bisexual soul is definitely in love with both the FMC and the MMC in this book, and honestly, that doesn’t happen very often.
I also love when a man has to WORK for it, and damn does Rylie Cooper have to earn Eva, this feisty black cat’s, trust (and the nickname Kitten? 🐈‍⬛ 👌🥰)
Rylie is just precious ☺️💖

Also, narrator Ariela Crow killed it 🙌

Other wonderful things in this book:
Men in therapy ✅
Men feeling their feelings 🥰
(Positive, subtle, honest & messy) Bisexual & pansexual (and overall Queer) rep💕 ✅
Vulnerability & growth 🙌
Tickle fights that lead to sex? 😉
He💥 from eating her🐱
No third act breakup 🎉
Good, continual & tough communication 👏🙌

✨
Some of my favourite quotes 🥰 (beware for spoilers without context!):

“I deserve softness, goddammit. I deserve tender moments and gentle caresses and whispered sweet nothings. I deserve someone, somewhere, wanting to like me for me and not the hardened veneer I gloss my vulnerability with.”

“Why was I so easy to leave? What is it about me that's so simple to forget? Recitals and parent-teacher conferences and important dates and milestones where I'm left alone on the curb with my heart in my hand desperately wishing someone thought I was important enough to remember.”

“Because I fucked it up once and I saw a second chance. Because now I'm so deep in this I would crawl through hell on my hands and knees over a bed of broken glass before I let you go again."
…
"So I'm here," he says slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine, "to check on you. I'm here, despite being fucking furious at you for leaving like you did last night, because I was worried about you. I wanted to make sure you're okay. And if you're not, I wanted to see what I could do to make things better."

“Realising your parents are human is a devastating thing… I didn’t know what it meant to be a man, let alone a partner.”

“Feeling useless and directionless and like you aren't keeping up is kind of the entire point of your twenties. Everything is ass all the time and all we can do is lean on each other through it, not compare ourselves moment to moment."

“I'm yours. It's okay to be afraid. I'll be brave for us both until you learn to trust it. Trust me." He places a kiss to my temple. "Let me prove it to you." Another on the tip of my sniffling nose. "Let me take care of you." A hot, gentle brush across my lips. "Let me love you."

Well, Actually was the most undeniably SILLY book I have red in recent history. A JOMFORTER?? Are you kidding me?? I haven't read a book this unhinged in what feels like forever & I am obsessed with it. I have no idea what devil/spirits Mazey Eddings made a deal with, but it was the correct choice. The premise & idea behind this is so great and it was executed perfectly. The banter was phenomenal, the pacing was so well done, and the chemistry was so palpable it felt like it was jumping off the page.

I love when one character is unapologetically obsessed with someone who pretends they couldn't care less whether they lived or died. Black cat x golden retriever level 500. Every time I read & enjoy a second-chance romance I have to reevaluate my entire sense of self. How did I find another one that I not only enjoyed but would rate 5 stars?? I have no idea. That's the magic of this book lol.

This story was ridiculous and so so fun. I was a bit hesitant going into this since I read Late Bloomer by this author & didn't love it, but I can't compliment this one enough. 12/10, I giggled my way through the whole thing.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for an eARC of this story! All thoughts are my own.

Well , Actually…… this was an absolute BANGER!!!

Mazey Eddings is back with another masterpiece. I absolutely loved every second of this book. The characters were so relatable. The representation was amazing throughout.

THE BANTER IS BANTERING!!!!! You will be non stop laughing and sweating. 😅

5 stars go ahead and add it to your tbr now , bbygirl!

I thought the FMC was pathetic and I had to force myself to read. I kept hoping it would get better, but it was too little too late.

Thank you to Macey Eddings, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This. Was. So. Good. This story was so great, all of the characters were written so well. Eva is our FMC. I loved her witty tongue and strong black cat personality. Riley is our MMC, I loved that the story centered around their failed college situationship and his our journey of self reflection and correcting his behavior. I really enjoyed their back and forth. Part of my love language is also bullying & Mac n cheese so I really resonated with Eva. The spice was perfect— I’d give it 🌶️🌶️🌶️. This book also touched on tough topics— biphobia, internalized homophobia, blended family trauma, misogyny, grieving a loved one, and support for queer youth. Every topic was fully dove into and not overdone. The ending was so refreshing and had me grinning from ear to ear. Definitely going to buy a physical copy to have for my Shelfie™️ and reread.

Let’s get one thing straight: I came for the cute cover and stayed for the promising plot… but then the book turned up the heat like it thought it was auditioning for Bridgerton: Uncensored. Y’all, I wasn’t ready.

The storyline? Actually adorable. The characters had potential, and I could see the charm peeking through — if only it hadn’t been buried under a mountain of four-letter words.

Now, I’m no prude, but I do like to know whether a book’s going to be a cozy rom-com or a verbal workout with the entire dictionary of profanity. This one leaned a little too hard into the latter for my taste. By chapter three, I felt like I needed a swear jar and a fire extinguisher.

Would I recommend it? Sure — if you’re fluent in Sailor and your Kindle has a heat shield. But for readers who prefer their romance with more fluff and less f-bomb, maybe keep browsing.

That cover though? 10/10. Would display on a shelf just for the aesthetic.

This book hooked me from the start. Eva is loud, blunt, and impossible not to love/hate. She’s stuck hosting Sausage Talk when a viral video brings her ex Rylie back into her life. He’s now a popular relationship guru and the last person she wants to see.

The banter is sharp and funny. There is real tension as Eva and Rylie face their past and figure out if they can work through it. I liked that it was not all jokes. There are moments that dig into toxic jobs, mental health, and whether second chances are worth it.

I laughed and cringed while rooting for them. It is a fun and slightly messy romance with a lot of heart.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own. ♥️

Mazey Eddings always has a way of punching you in the gut from the beginning, and the characters she creates are always so vivid, so fast.

Second chances are hard. There are always a lot of questions surrounding whether you can find a HEA when it was last absent. This split was tough, but I think that Mazey Eddings is always really good at making complex character fighting understandable demons and this book is no different.

There is also something I will forever love about a FMC being prickly and still having the MMC give care and love.

It’s the essential feeling of unconditional love

RYLIE COOPER THE MAN THAT YOU ARE

The steam was like a sauna 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

📱 First person single POV
🥞 Second chance romance
📱 Fake dating (ish? more like forced dating)
🥞 Black cat/golden retriever
📱 Workplace romance (interviewer and podcaster)
🥞 Enemies to lovers (one sided)
📱 Bi and Pan representation
🥞 Nerdy MMC (with slutty little glasses!)
📱 FMC with rough edges

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The blurb of this book really appealed to me. I mean, come on — a Hot Ones, Chicken Shop Date style interview show called Sausage Talk where the FMC interviews B-list celebrities while they eat hot dogs? Color me intrigued from the start! Pair that with the MMC being a podcaster with a history with the FMC and their paths somehow cross again, and I’m hooked.

The MMC, Rylie Cooper, turned out to be one of the sweetest, most earnest, caring, emotionally aware and emotionally available (!!!) men I’ve ever even heard of, let alone read. He was not who I anticipated him being from the beginning of the book, and I truly enjoyed getting to know him and seeing the layers of his character get peeled back, one by one. My issue with Rylie is simply the spelling of his name. While the name itself is gender neutral, this particular spelling leans feminine, so it took some getting used to while reading.

The FMC, Eva Kitt, is a fighter. She is the true definition of a black cat in the black cat/golden retriever relationship. She’s never short of a witty comeback, and I loved her bite as much as Rylie did. She and Rylie had a rhythm in their snappy banter that had me smiling throughout the book. Their physical chemistry was just as explosive as their social chemistry — that spice was damn near scorching, it was so hot!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It made me smile on numerous occasions, and I connected to the characters. My biggest complaint is not about the story itself, but rather, the formatting. The social media comments and the texts blended into the narration, and it was at times difficult to differentiate where each began or ended. Making those into graphics, or indenting them, or something like that, could solve this issue. Similarly, I think that indenting or even italicizing flashbacks to the past could help differentiate timelines so it’s easier to follow.

A few things I loved:
* the emotional vulnerability
* the jomforter
* how Eva and Rylie’s friends blended together into one community

"The truth is, I want all the dates you'll give me because I'm terrified of you, Eva Kitt. And I know I'll need as many opportunities as I can get to shake off the nerves and show you a good time."

“You didn’t know how to do that last time.”
“I’m a big believer in character growth.”

“He unravels me, seam by seam, until I'm nothing but a mess of loose ends and frayed edges and he cherishes me like I'm sacred.”

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early copy of this book! Receiving a free advanced copy of this book did not influence my opinions or the content of my review.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for access to the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I ended up reading the physical ARC I received in a trade.
Wow. This was my first novel by Mazey Eddings, and it definitely will not be my last. This book was honestly everything I was hoping it to be and more. First off, I want to grow up to be Eva Kitt one day (yes we are the same age). She is fierce, takes no shit, and deserves all the happiness in the world. And gosh, her and Rylie are just perfect. The tension between them from the beginning of the book was electric, and it only got more palpable from there. I loved how Eddings brought up topics like females in male dominated fields, toxic masculinity, internalized biphobia, etc. Eddings also handled each topic with grace and delicacy, and I applaud Eddings for her tact. This book genuinely helped get me out of a reading slump, and as I got closer to the end I wanted to put it down only because I truly did not want the book to end. This is a book I would love to see turn into a series, it's that good. There's no need for it as everything resolves, but Ava and Rylie and their friends honestly deserve a whole catalog of books. And just a reminder, while this book is a male/female pairing, BOTH characters are queer, making this a queer romance. And I 100% recommend this queer romance to all!

Wowowowow what a fun book!!! I have been dying to read it - thank you St. Martin's Press for putting me out of my misery and allowing me to read this book early!!

Eva Kitt is everything I aspire to be - a sardonic woman who is constantly putting men with healthy egos in their place with vicious remarks, a secret soft side that yearns to be known and loved, and great wardrobe,
Riley Cooper is everything I'd ever look for in a man - a little afraid of me, enjoys verbal sparing, plans amazing dates, goes to THERAPY, and isn't afraid to be a little goofy.

I absolutely adored everything about this book. Mazey executes the tropes with efficiency and skill, and the cast is really a study in how to be inclusive without it feeling robotic and like boxes are being ticked (I wouldn't expect anything less form Mazey honestly!) The sharp banter and wit, paired with the emotional availability, mixed with the YEARNING were a perfect blend for this story.

If I keep going, I will just continue to ramble and talk in circles. This book was a fun read, and probably one of my new favorite books!

I enjoyed this book! It was a fun read. I liked the second chance romance of it. You got to see a lot of growth from the characters, which I always appreciate. I laughed several times throughout this book, there were so many funny lines. This specific line had me dying. "Okay. Sure. But you also can't even raw-dog vision so I"m not particularly eager to take life advice from you." Just some witty, fun, banter, but also had some really sweet moments. There were some spicy scence, but definitely didn't take away from the plot!

I definitely recommend this one! It's perfect for a quick and fun rom-com.