Thanks to NetGalley, author, and publisher for the ARC!

First the cover for this book is so cute and simple that I couldn't help fall in love with it. Secondly, the book is so cute and fun. I loved the characters and really felt like I could connect with them. Can't wait to see more from this author!

I really enjoyed the premise and the cover; however, the author's writing style and characters fell flat for me this time around. I hope she improves with future projects.

I want to crawl inside this book and make myself at home. I binged it as only the best, most relatable books can be consumed. Someone find me a Rylie who can handle all the sharp edges and isn’t afraid to share their own. Also! No third act breakup; I love when then tension at the climax doesn’t have to be about the relationship breaking apart only to come back together.

Eva & Rylie ❤️

🎙️Eva and Rylie had a thing back in college. She’s now a wannabe journalist stuck doing interviews for a media company while trying to stomach the hot dogs (think “Chicken shop dates” with Amelia).

🎙️When she clicks on a podcast done by the fast-forward, in touch with his emotions version of Rylie, her rant ends up going viral. Her bosses have her doing a set of interview dates with him.

🎙️Except Rylie really does seem to have his stuff together, sharing who has become and why he acted like he did back then, ghosting her after being intimate.

✏️This story felt like I was watching a car crash in slow motion, except the visceral pain is emotional. While Rylie constantly opens up to Eva, she has a wall of self-protection surrounding her, and I felt like she never really explained her backstory to him in anything more than superficial terms.

As a fan of the chicken shop date show, I thought this was such a fun story. Big hot dog fan here. Eva was so funny all around. I hope Mazey’s other characters are this funny, I’m excited to check out her other books! This was my first by her and won’t be my last. Hilarious, and an engaging style of writing!
While hilarious and enjoyable, a few parts of this fell a little flat for me. The interactions felt pretty surface level. Aida is Eva’s best friend, but I felt like we barely knew her. When she’d pop up in the story, I’d be like “oh yeah, you’re here”. Same with Ray, I want more on him! I get this is a story about Eva, Riley, and Eva’s growth/healing, but being told something is the way it is and understanding why something is the way it is are two different things. I also wanted more “dates”. We only got two or three! And I say that in a good way, as I was always looking forward to what wacky thing would happen next on the dates where Riley would try to win over Eva.

fun and cute romance with some great vibes. the characterization is really well done, the plotting is awesome, and the connection sizzles from moment 1. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy of Well, Actually—I absolutely loved this one. It’s a slow burn, workplace-adjacent romance packed with quick wit, heart, and banter that made me grin nonstop. If you love the charm and awkward flirt energy of Chicken Shop Date, imagine that vibe stretched into a full novel, but with even more emotional depth and spice.

The first 60% had me hanging on every page with the perfect slow burn buildup, and then the final 40% delivered all the swoon and steam in the best way possible. And hallelujah—no third act breakup! Just great pacing, strong character development, and a refreshing take on adult communication.

Rylie, the MMC, is the ultimate green flag. His energy, emotional intelligence, and honest communication were an absolute dream. Add in some razor-sharp banter and unforgettable side characters, and this book became a total standout.

Engaging from start to finish. Five stars, no notes—I’d shout my love for this one from the rooftops.

This book was a quick, easy read.

The banter in this book was great. Our FMC was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, and I appreciate that the MMC was up to the challenge to dish it right back.

However, many elements of this book were pretty unrealistic, particularly when it came to the workplace portrayal of the company the FMC works for and setting up the broader conflict. Additionally, neither of the main characters made a single mistake the entire book. While it does of course make them likable, it unfortunately made the story feel less realistic.

Overall, I did enjoy this book for what it was, but I think there was an opportunity to do more with this premise.

This hooked me from chapter one!

Well, Actually is from the point of view of Eva Kitt, pop culture journalist currently trying to work her way to writing about something she cares about. Instead she’s eating hot dogs and interviewing B-list celebrities. She’s dismayed and perhaps *a little* drunk when she posts about her ex-situationship from college, Rylie Cooper, who seems to be pretending to be a nice guy and feminist on the internet. She’s ready to set the record straight on that. When her video goes viral, her work jumps on the opportunity to seize the engagement numbers… even if it means putting Rylie and Eva in the same room together again for the first time in six years.

This book has wicked banter and is HILARIOUS. Plus it’s spicy and smart. The plot moves fast and there are so many layers to the main characters. I felt invested in them shedding their outer masks and being vulnerable. It’s sweet, romantic, and a true joy to read!

DNF 24% Oh hell no. He takes her on a date to the Met with a private tour of a Rodin exhibit and then has the audacity to say she can't stay and look at the art because he has another activity planned and they're on a strict timetable. Cooper was already giving me the ick but this is irredeemable for me and I will not be continuing because I do not want Eva with this man.
I was already getting weird vibes from this book. I don't like the blatant copying of the Chicken Shop Date concept. The Internet speak is weird and is already out dated. There were a few things I actually Googled and sure enough they were trending TikTok sounds from the beginning of the year. I'm chronically online (just not on TikTok) so the fact that I'm not understanding the references makes me deeply concerned for the longevity of this book's shelf life. I'm confused by Eva as a character. She hosts a semi-popular show and yet she doesn't like the fact she went viral. At the moment, the goal of the industry is to go viral. If she can't handle that and isn't prepared for that she shouldn't be in the business. I didn't get to the part of the book referenced in the content warning with the workplace abuse but it sounds like her job wasn't a fit even before that starts. I found Cooper to just be boring and the concept of him hosting a podcast deconstructing toxic masculinity feels out dated and honestly with the Justin Baldoni situation gives me serious creeper vibes, which is not his fault, but that was the first thing my mind went to when it was mentioned. I think I need to take a break from Mazey's books. they've really been hit and miss for me.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @stmartinspress for an early copy of Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐/5
Release date: August 5, 2025

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Initially, I thought the FMC Eva was interesting. She seems witty, snarky, tenacious, even. But when it came to Riley, she’s annoying. I mean, they clearly have a lot of baggage from the past and she did have a bad experience dating him all those years ago, but come on, at least be civil? They clearly had a lot of good times together as well, but instead Eva chooses to dwell on the bad memories with him. Riley, on the other hand, is too sweet for his own good. It’s evident that he wants to make amends with Eva for treating her badly before, but Eva was headon trying to make him grovel and grovel. Their banter was sometimes hilarious, and sometimes even more annoying. Honestly, Eva was exhausting as a main character.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for letting me read an eARC of this book! This book releases on August 5, 2025.

In this book we are following Eva Kitt and Rylie Cooper as our main characters. We find out very early on the Eva is an aspiring journalist, and her current job is to interview B-list celebrities while eating hot dogs. She's spunky, spicy and always has a quick, cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. Enter: Rylie. Rylie is an Internet personality/influencer who tries to combat toxic masculinity culture all by hosting a podcast on the Internet. It turns out, about 6 years ago, Rylie and Eva dated for a bit and had an awful hookup-one that Eva can't forget. When one drunken night Eva calls out Rylie, in a video that goes viral no less, she thinks her life is ruined. Turns out her boss wants to capitalize on this viral video, and so does Rylie. Or does he? Does Rylie have ulterior motives for getting back in contact with Eva? You'll have to read the book to find out!

I absolutely adored this book. I've read Mazey Eddings before and her books are just so compulsively readable. This one was no different. I could feel the angst and the chemistry between the two main characters jumping off the page. I was feeling Eva's emotions, and was also left reeling at some of her decisions. I was super caught up in all the emotional turmoil. This wasn't insta-lovey, Eva takes a while before even acknowledging that maybe Rylie isn't so bad after all. Eva is the grumpy one in the relationship and Rylie is the golden retriever sunshine, and they matched up perfectly. The third act conflict was totally believable, and it made sense for the plot and the way the story was going. Overall, I'm so obsessed with this book and I'm so thankful that I got to read it! Mazey Eddings, keep doing the damn thing!

Mazey Eddings can't miss, and this book is an absolute delight! It contains everything I love about the romance genre - humor, heavy emotions, steamy scenes. And the banter is perfection! (She rakes him over the coals and he loves every minute of it)

Second chance is my favorite trope and it's done so well here.

Highly recommend.

There is something so wonderfully and beautifully raw about this book—and I loved it all. Eva is the grump to Rylie’s sunshine, and I loved her snark and sarcasm and biting wit—and I loved his reaction to it all! The rawness of their emotions felt so genuine, especially as they revealed their pasts and their pains as they navigated this second chance to know each other, six years after dating in college ended badly. The passion between these two was undeniable, sparks that became infernos, wariness and hesitancy that became devoted and hopeful. Many thanks to author Mazey Eddings, who always gives her readers characters who they can relate to, characters who themselves want to be seen and loved and appreciated.

I always love Mazey Eddings books. I read Late Bloomer last year and fell in love. Well, Actually has just as much heart and humor as Eddings previous works. I adored Eva and Rylie so much. I'm not usually a fan of second chance romance but these two were too easy to fall in love with. Definitely recommending this one to my reader friends.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even more than expected. I do feel like it took me a bit to get into because our main character Eva felt so abrasive unnecessarily.

As we got further into the book, her character started to make more sense. The connection and relationship with Riley felt so beautiful and realistic, where the right person will stick with you through it all. You could tell how much they cared about each other.

I do wish we got to see more of Eva’s healing journey, and the ending wrapped up a bit quickly.

The story follows Eva Kitt, a journalist who never imagined her career would involve interviewing B-list celebrities about hot dogs instead of chasing serious stories. Life has a way of throwing curveballs, and Eva’s takes the form of a heated on-air rant about her college ex, Rylie Cooper, who’s now a famous influencer. When the rant goes viral, Eva finds herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The two are now engaged in a 6 date bet in terms of changing the minds of each other and trying to make up for the past. It is a fun read wtih many deep underlying theme's which I would have liked to see further delved into but were not. Mazey Eddings has been a good romance & spicy authors, but I'm disappointed to say I didn't feel this one measured up to past books. The vibes were not at all what I was expecting from this, and the humor didn't land. I think Eva was meant to be witty and sardonic, but instead she was combative all of the time, and she escalated any given situation any chance she had, and it was frankly exhausting to read. I didn't like Cooper either, who felt very different from the golden retriever type and the LGBTQ felt forced and not really represented in the summary I saw. Appreciate the author, Netgalley and publisher.

This book blew me away - I loved every second of this! This was a slump buster for me - my top read of the summer so far.

We have bi rep, a black cat FMC (with the most fun, snappy, witty one liners), and a golden retriever MMC.

There’s also an interesting side plot next to the romance, an interesting window into sexism into the workplace and micro celebrities in the age of social media.

Definitely pick this one up!

This was very funny and sweet. Loved the black cat- golden retriever dinamic. Rylie was a different kind of MMC, very emotional intelligent and great communicator. The FMC was a little immature at times, but understandable considering their history. All in all, it was a good read, loved the spicy scenes and the emotional scenes. I didn’t really understand why she let her bosses humiliate her in that firing scene and why she begged for her job because it was obvious that was not a healthy environment and I don’t understand why she would want to keep working there

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book !
This was an easy 5 stars. The banter between Eva and Riley was too good. I was giggling the whole time. The writing was smooth and funny. But we still get a lot of growth from both characters. They’re able to see where they went wrong and make it right. Perhaps I’m just a sucker for books where the man is obsessed with the FMC and Riley was yearning for Eva so bad. I highly recommend this book!