Well, Actually was such a fun read. Reminded me a lot of Chicken Shop Dates, which I think was supposed to be the point. I like a strong female lead and could relate to Eva's hard exterior being a front. Rylie was funny, and the tension between them was amazing. Loved it.

Such a fun read! The banter between these two is hot! Mazey Endings did such a great job covering the real issues that couples/humans experience- grief, jobs, sexuality, parents, therapy, and more. Loved that this was not just a second chance romance but a redemption story. It really showed how people can grow and change. Did I mention, it's very hot!

Thanks to St. Griffin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC. Opinions are my own.

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS BOOK!

First we have Eva - a top tier FMC! She is the host of Sausage Talk, where she interviews celebrities with a dry humor and wit that is not appreciated, but still has dreams of becoming a journalist. She is the perfect black cat FMC (my fave) and gives us some pan rep! One night, Eva drunkenly stitches a video from her ex, Rylie Cooper, who is now a famous internet podcaster whose platform focuses on deconstructing toxic masculinity. She calls him out about how he treated her in college and how he isn’t the golden boy he leads everyone to believe. The video goes viral and an agreement is made between her company and Rylie to do a live interview for her show, where he makes a deal with her. He wants to take her on dates to make up for his past, while debriefing afterwards on his channel to show how he’s changed.

Rylie is a man DOWN BAD and I love him so much. He truly has put in the work to become a better human and I love a second chance romance with reformed characters. Throughout their dates, you can see how badly he wants to make it up to her, even when half of their plans go awry. The way some of them went SO BADLY had me dying of laughter. Their chemistry was top notch as well! I love a book when the banter is hitting, especially when it borders on her being so mean to him, and this one was perfect! I literally was eating every crumb the put down.

I loved how their relationship developed throughout the book. Eva is so desperate to be soft with someone but has had to have her guard up and be strong for so long. Her character was so relatable with her struggle through this and the scene with them doing couples therapy had me tearing up with how she opened up! I also loved how we got to see the changes Rylie has made from the frat boy to where he is now. His opening up to her about what he was going through at that time and how much he has changed had my heart hurting.

This book truly gave me all the feels! It was heartwarming, it was spicy, it was so freaking funny, and filled with so much character growth. I absolutely loved everything about it! Not to mention there are amazing side characters who really hold their own! This is definitely a new favorite of mine!

🎧: The audio is a must listen! Ariela Crew had me so sucked into these characters and really added to what made this book so special! She delivers Eva’s dry humor perfectly and really digs into the vulnerability as well. She makes Rylie even hotter than he already was, which I didn’t think was possible. I highly highly recommend the audio!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the early copies!

Mazey Eddings has written such a witty second-chance romance that feels both current and trendy, while also coming across deeply heartfelt.

The banter is next level in this, and I absolutely loved it. I was cracking up throughout the whole book.
I definitely got the Chicken Shop Dates vibes, but it was also so unique and went deep. I love the dichotomy between Rylie and Eva, it was so fun. He was the perfect level of golden retriever to her black cat energy.

This was an incredible book! I love Mazey Eddings’ other books and I knew this would be great too, however the book was better than expected! This book is so relatable, following Eva’s struggles in the podcast industry and wanting to be taken more seriously. This has moved to my top favorite book of Mazey’s!! I loved it so much!!

5 juicy stars!!! This book was heart wrenching and hilarious. Eva is one of my favorite FMCs to ever exist. She is sassy, hilarious, and rightfully knocking down men a peg. Her black cat persona sings to my soul and I don’t know if I want to be with her or be her. The layers and backstory to who she is broke my heart but it added so much pressure to the story as we learned more about her ambivalence towards Rylie.

Rylie is the perfect, goofy guy with glasses. He takes Eva’s jabs with grace and you can tell he’s pathetically obsessed with her. Learning his past broke my heart and seeing the way he makes conscious effort to be a better person and right his wrongs had me rooting for him the whole time (even when he was being a dummy).

It’s the perfect story of 2 imperfect humans who needed to grow, make mistakes, and find support with each other. Watching them embrace each other and their loud personalities was chef’s kiss. I am so grateful to have received this ARC, it’s definitely a favorite of the year!

Like the majority of the reviews I've seen, I found this book to be lacking. It's essentially fan fic of the Chicken Shack date. I feel like they could have made a few changes and it would have been more enjoyable.
This was a huge miss for me.

I read this book in one sitting and couldn't help but laugh out loud in my room by myself multiple times! Well, Actually is a hilarious rom-com

Eva is going to be one of those fmcs that some romance readers say are ✨too mean✨ and I love it. I love her! Give me all the bitchy fmcs with a simpy, emotionally available bi king. Eva, they could never make me hate you. Riley!!! Sweetness personified. What a gem and man obsessed.

The chemistry! The banter! The man hating!! Truly all of my favorite things (plus hot dogs) summed up in one perfect package. You definitely don't want to miss this one!

Read if you love
🌭Banter
🌭Fake(ish) dating
🌭Workplace Romance
🌭Hate to love
🌭Black cat x golden retriever
🌭Queer rep (bi x pan)
🌭Second chance romance

I loved Eva’s character from the start. The snark, the wit, the ambition but willing to play the “game” (up to a point). But I also worried that it came across as too Gen Z coded for my tastes, there were certain social media ideals or tones that I just didn’t care about. Luckily, the emotional depth, exploration, and connection eventually snared me and the humor pulled me through too.

Rylie is a unicorn. The once idiot male who embraced therapy and growth and now lays bare the toxicity of men. He gives apologies and teddy bear energy as a born-again enlightened man. It’s a good counterpoint to Eva’s energy and they have great chemistry. But he’s also just the littlest bit annoying in his perfection.

Using actual therapy though as a way for the characters to explore their drama and trauma was genius. Enough of having characters magically speak in psychological phrases out of nowhere. Just send them all to actual therapy. Thank you.

Overall, getting to see Eva’s journey was totally worth the read. I loved them together as a couple but her solo arc was powerful on its own. Really enjoyed.

(Oh, but f+#& Ada. That “friendship” could have died.)

SMP Romance eARC
I have such mixed feelings about this book, and it makes me so sad because usually Mazey Eddings' books are an easy five star read for me. I know I struggled with Eva being a black cat main character. I felt that she was just so mean at times. I also understood her defense mechanisms and building a wall around herself to keep herself safe, but at the same time, it was really hard for me to root for the romance because it didn't feel deep enough with emotional vulnerability. But I really enjoyed Riley Cooper. He was sweet and patient with Eva, and I did like that aspect of their relationship. I am seeing her on tour next week and I hope hearing her talk about it helps give me some more insight and makes me fall for Eva more than I have now.

I wanted to like this one, but I could never really get into the romance. Every time I tried, it felt like I was ripped out to hear a long-winded explanation of why the MMC was a reformed idiot. It was as if I were being mansplained how he was no longer a mansplainer. It pulled me out of the story because it happened so frequently.

I LOVED this so much! I was laughing out loud so many times that I lost count! The banter was top notch and I loved the mental health representation! I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this book! They are going to fall head over heels in love!

Let me start by saying I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. There was nothing wrong with the writing, and I ended up liking the second half of the book but I really struggled with the first half. The dialogue between the main characters through the whole book had me cringing and rolling my eyes. The spicy scenes and Riley’s communication skills got me back into the story when I felt it was dragging from the beginning. I liked the style of this book and thought I’d like the premise based on the blurb but it fell a little bit flat.

There are so many great elements to this story: the diversity, the MMC’s self-awareness, the FMC’s snark, and the overall premise had me hooked from the start.

That said, there was quite a bit that didn’t work for me. Why does the FMC’s snark have to come from insecurity? Why can’t she just be over all the nonsense around her? And why is one of her closest friends both her biggest cheerleader and unkind when the FMC doesn’t conform? The contradictions were frustrating.

I’m conflicted. Did I laugh out loud multiple times? Absolutely.
Did I cringe at most of the spicy scenes? Also yes.

I’ll try more by the author.

There are so many great elements to this story: the diversity, the MMC’s self-awareness, the FMC’s snark, and the overall premise had me hooked from the start.

That said, there was quite a bit that didn’t work for me. Why does the FMC’s snark have to come from insecurity? Why can’t she just be over all the nonsense around her? And why is one of her closest friends both her biggest cheerleader and unkind when the FMC doesn’t conform? The contradictions were frustrating.

I’m conflicted. Did I laugh out loud multiple times? Absolutely.
Did I cringe at most of the spicy scenes? Also yes.

I’ll try more by the author.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I found the main character to be so insufferable and I just couldn't get into the book. I can't deal with characters that are just rude and mean.

I hope others love this one.

It's been six years since Eva's heart was broken by Rylie Cooper. Although they only briefly dated in college, her heart has still not healed from what Rylie did to her. Rylie is now a social media influencer, teaching people how to break down toxic masculinity and how to be a good partner. After seeing one of his videos leaves Eva angry, she posts a response, revealing to all how Rylie is the last person who should be telling others how to treat their partners. The video goes viral and one thing leads to another, landing them a partnership deal. Eva will have to go on a series of dates with Rylie at an attempt for him to redeem himself and they will discuss their dates on his podcast. As much as Eva resists it, Rylie's charming and wooing ways wins her over.

This was such a fun read! I found myself laughing out loud while listening to this book. All of the characters in this book were quirky and funny. The banter between Eva and Rylie was fantastic! I wish I had the quick wit that they did, going back and forth with responses that had me giggling.

Eva's hate for Rylie was palpable. He really did a number on her and it seemed like there was nothing that he could do to convince her that he had changed. Tensions were high, but Rylie was patient, slowly revealing his new self to her. I liked the message of the book - with work, people can change and maybe sometimes it's ok to let go of that hate and forgive someone. Although Eva didn't know it at first, Rylie had an good explanation for why he did what he did back in college.

I can't write this review without mentioning the steamy scenes. YOWZAH! Mazey Eddings knows how to write those steamy scenes well. Eddings took all of that built up tension between Eva and Rylie and made it into combustible chemistry in the bedroom.

I really enjoyed the narration of this book. The narrator, Ariel Crow, does Rylie's voice with charm and I could feel the swagger in his character. Crow was emotive, bringing humor and emotion to when needed.

Pick this up for a fun laugh-out-loud second chance romance!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: grief, mention of death of a loved one & homophobia

2.5 stars
I really liked the set up of the book— the hot dog equivalent of Chicken Shop Date! The enemies to lovers genre isn’t my fav but I do like a second chance romance. Unfortunately, I felt like this book tried to do too much and take on too many traumas and toxic behaviors. It got bogged down with it all and I struggled to root for Eva and Rylie.

Talk about enemies to lovers 🔥

This book was hard to put down! The banter was off the charts, and it felt so genuine and unique. It hit on some important, hard hitting topics along the way, but found its way back to its rom-com essence with ease. Enjoyed this one a lot!

A banter filled second chance rom-com. Eva and Ryan split years ago but he's back, much to her surprise. And he's improved. He's also never forgotten her and he proposes that they go on dates and then rate them on their respective media platforms. You know how this is going to go, don't you? Well, Eddings has a way with dialogue and with her opposites-attract characters. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's light it's fun and it's funny.